Chapter 30
Returning her husband’s hug, Heather felt peace for the first time since that awful day. “Wesley,” she murmured, “we need to find our son!”
“We will,” Wesley replied. “Oliver came to get us.”
Heather shifted her gaze and spotted her nephew standing next to the bed. Letting go of her husband, she reached for him, exclaiming, “Ollie! I’m so happy to see you! How are you? Is everything all right?”
Ollie stepped into his aunt’s arms and closed his eyes as her familiar scent swirled around him. Despite the foul smell that permeated the basement, he could still detect hers—the one that comforted him after his parents died. “Hi, Aunt Heather,” he murmured.
“Mac,” Dylon said, “if they can travel, we need to go.”
Hearing Dylon’s voice, Heather looked over her nephew’s shoulder at the group of strange men in her cell. “Ollie,” she whispered, “are those men with you?”
Smiling, Ollie said, “Yeah, they came to help me rescue you and Uncle Wesley.” Pointing to the man next to him, he said, “He’s my mate, Dr. Mac, and the others are his cousins.” Turning to his uncle, he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
“Can’t happen soon enough,” Wesley replied, helping his wife off the bed.
Nodding, Dylon said, “Ollie, please take your aunt and uncle upstairs and wait for us by the back door. Mac, you and Colton can go with them.” He waited until they were gone before he said to Sawyer and Zane, “We can’t leave any evidence behind that could link the Blackwood Pack to their escape.
That means everything needs to be wiped down to remove all fingerprints and our DNA, cuz when this Alpha finds out his ‘slaves’ are gone, all hell’s gonna break loose,” he said, reaching into his pocket.
“So grab one of these special cloths I brought along and get going.”
“We don’t have to do that,” Sawyer said. “According to Oracle, once someone is cloaked, every part of them is invisible…including fingerprints and any DNA. Even a magic user can’t use a spell to find them.”
“Fucking cool,” Zane murmured, handing back his cloth to Dylon.
Nodding, Dylon looked around the cell, then said, “New plan. Time for a redirection…Zane, tear the bedding apart and if you can break the bed with no noise, do it. Sawyer, we need to break one of the door hinges without making noise. I want it to look like a powerful creature took Theo’s parents.”
Zane grinned as he ripped up the sheets and blankets, then picked up the pillow.
Extending a claw from one of his fingers, he shredded the pillow, sending feathers flying.
After that was done, he turned his attention to the bed, pulling it apart until there were only pieces on the floor.
Noticing a small chest in the corner, he opened the first drawer, frowning at the threadbare clothes neatly folded inside.
“They won’t need these anymore,” he muttered.
He scooped them up and ripped them apart, smiling grimly as the tiny pieces fluttered to the floor.
Then, looking into the bottom drawer, he rummaged through old towels and odd pieces of cloth, gathering them up and throwing around the cell haphazardly.
He was about to shut the drawer when he spied a small wooden box in the back corner.
He picked it up and slipped it into his pocket to give to Theo’s parents later.
Dylon studied the lower hinge, looking for a weakness that they could use to break it.
Finally, he located a spot with a tiny crack that would give under pressure when he and Sawyer used their power against the cell door.
Pointing to it, he said, “See that…we need to concentrate our efforts on twisting the lower part of the door.”
Nodding, Sawyer sat down and braced his feet against the bars of the cell door and said, “You pull the top part toward you as I push the bottom the other way.”
Dylon grabbed the upper bars on the door, then said, “Okay…one, two, three. Go.”
When nothing happened, Sawyer yelled, “Zane, get your ass over here and help me push.”
Zane dropped to the floor and, placing his feet next to Sawyer’s, added his muscles to the effort.
Dylon called on all the strength he’d received from Hercules and pulled harder.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack as the bottom hinge broke in half, causing him to stumble backwards.
Righting himself, he smiled at the cell door hanging crookedly from one of its hinges.
“Great job, guys,” he muttered, helping them up from the floor.
“Do you think anyone heard that?” asked Zane.
“We ain’t staying around to find out,” Dylon growled.
After taking one last look around, he said, “Let’s go.
” Following Zane and Sawyer up the stairs, he was satisfied with their efforts to confuse the Alpha.
When they reached the back door, he said, “Wesley and Heather, I want you to hold Ollie’s hands while he follows me.
The rest of you stay together behind them.
” After getting nods from everyone, Dylon opened the door, stepped out onto the small porch, and stopped next to Glenn. “All quiet?”
“Yup…but not for long. Two enforcers are heading this way.”
“Can you hold them off until we reach Remy?”
“Won’t have to…they just stopped to have a smoke.”
“Okay,” Dylon replied, gesturing to the group behind him to follow. He headed over to the copse of trees where Remy was waiting, next to the unconscious enforcer.
After locking the back door, Glenn joined the group and, glancing at the enforcer on the ground, asked, “Do you want me to haul him back to his post?”
Dylon thought for a moment before answering. “No…let’s take him with us so you can interrogate him…like to ask him what the Alpha has planned for Theo and Norm.”
Glenn growled his approval and hefted the man up into a fireman’s carry. “Smokey will love this gift,” he muttered.
“I bet he will,” Dylon smirked. Then, looking at Remy, he said, “Time to leave.”
Nodding, Remy raised his hand and transported everyone back to the Blackwood Pack.
~/~/~/~/~
Kieran set down his pen, stretched his cramped fingers, and looked at his mate.
Taking notes of the changes Logan needed to make to each floor plan for the Scottish Wolves’ new homes had occupied the entire morning meeting.
“That went well, didn’t it, macushla? Everyone was so nice and grateful that the time just flew cause I thought it would take much longer than it did, but nope, and I can’t believe it’s almost lunchtime.
I’m starving, and so is squirt. He was patient earlier but not now cause he’s kicking up a storm, do you want to feel him? ”
“Hmm…” Logan murmured, trying to figure out how to make the changes the last couple had asked for and still keep the cottage the same size.
Seeing his mate’s frown, Kieran stood up and stretched before walking over to Logan.
Peering down, he studied the drawing before tapping his finger on a section.
“What if you put a loft over part of the living room? They could make it into a place where the kids could study or read or play while still being near their parents.”
Looking at the place Kieran’s finger had landed on, Logan considered his mate’s idea, pondering the possibility.
He nodded slowly as his mind worked on the details of how he could make it blend into the rest of the cottage.
Grabbing a pencil, he sketched the loft next to the stairs leading to the second floor.
Then, sitting back, he said, “Like that, babe?”
A bright smile graced Kieran’s face as he said, “Absolutment! They’re gonna love it!”
“Who? The parents?”
“And their pups!” Kieran exclaimed, just as his stomach growled.
Placing his hand on Kieran’s baby belly, Logan grinned at the series of kicks their little one was giving. “We'd better go find you something to eat so our squirt settles down.” He pushed back his chair and stood up. “Where did Angus say the food would be?”
“In the Great Hall of Ian and Colton’s castle,” Kieran said, bouncing up and down on his toes.
“I can’t wait to see it, can you believe how fast Slate got it moved and rebuilt here?
Angus said it has made a huge difference with everyone since it has always been the heart and home of the Scottish Wolves since their beginning…
Did Angus tell you Ian wants you to design the interior?
I’ve already been thinking about the nurseries for Prince Lory, and Princesses Lili and Killi…
do you want to hear my ideas or should I show you what I’ve picked out already, but of course, I want to see the rooms first just to make sure they are perfect for them but I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine cause after all, one room belonged to Ian when he was young. ”
Chuckling, Logan said, “Eat first, then we can look at the rooms you picked out for the royal pups.”
~/~/~/~/~
Jackson hurried across the great room to the stairs leading down to the hospital, eager to get a report from Mac before he spoke with Theo’s parents.
It had been the longest two and a half hours of his life as he imagined everything that could go wrong.
Luckily, nothing had and everyone was back safe and sound.
Descending the steps, he heard Glenn’s growl first, followed by Dylon’s sharp response.
It wasn’t the first time they’d clashed, but Jackson had hoped the friction between the two would fade over time.
So far, it hadn’t, and it appeared he needed to step in to find out the cause and fix it.
Even though he knew both were too professional to let their problems interfere with any mission, the hostility between them would start affecting other pack members if Jackson let it go on too much longer.