Chapter Seventeen.
Leon/Midas
“Anything?” he demanded as Killian checked in.
“The car’s been discovered at the airport. Mitch’s whereabouts remain unknown. Mary can’t find him either. Mitch hasn’t shown up in a mirror or reflective surface anywhere,” Killian responded.
“Makes you think they know about the portals,” Leon said.
“Yeah. How’s Jess?”
“Alternating between falling to pieces and then being stubborn. She won’t accept Mitch is gone, which is good, but Jess is terrified deep down that she’s lost him,” Leon replied.
“What happens if we lose our mate?” Killian whispered.
“Let’s not find out. Keep everyone searching. Has Tisiphone activated Refuge?”
“Mac and Ranson have sent teams of two out. They’re not having any luck either. Mitch could be anywhere,” Killian said.
Leon wanted to roar in frustration. Mitch’s kidnapping was all over the news; surely someone would spot him. The reporters had reacted instantly, and Frederick had been identified on the security footage. The police had arrived in force, and the fundraiser had been cancelled.
“Keep me updated,” Leon said, and cut the call.
Jase was pacing back and forth. He’d confirmed seeing Frederick, which was good and bad. The Hunters had no idea who Leon, Jase, and Jess really were. They’d been in the vicinity of three shifters and not known. The grim news was that Frederick seriously wanted to hurt Mitch.
The bedroom door flew open, and Jess emerged.
Jess/Loch Ness Monster
“He’ll go back to Alexander’s home in London,” she stated.
“What?” Leon demanded, turning around.
“Mitch mentioned that Frederick thought of it as home. He’ll want to kill Mitch somewhere he’s comfortable. That’s at Alexander’s house. And we’ve got an ally on the inside,” Jess said.
Jase grinned. “Yes, we have. Will Gargoyle react?”
“Yes, because he winked at Mitch last time he was there,” Jess replied. She turned to the mirror.
“Already checking,” Mary Worth muttered as she stared at an image Jess couldn’t see. “All mirrors are covered… there’s something in that damned house.”
Jess paced back and forth as she waited. “Can you get us near?” she finally asked.
“Yes, but not inside. Frederick will see you coming. And if you’re caught on camera, you three will be hunted. I’m not taking the risk,” Mary replied.
“He’s my mate!” Jess yelled, briefly losing control. Disease surged, and Jess quickly reined it in.
“If Mitch dies, I’ll burn this world to the ground. I’ll let Disease run riot. Find me a way in,” Jess hissed.
Mitch
A kick to his stomach woke him. He moaned and tasted blood in his mouth. What the hell had happened?
“Wake the fuck up, cousin,” Frederick sneered, and Mitch groaned inwardly.
How had he ended up in Frederick’s hands?
Mitch checked his circumstances and almost winced.
He was tied to a chair, and his hands were bound behind him.
His ankles were lashed to the legs as well.
Standard procedure for Sealgair Uilebheist torture.
Frederick would beat him first and torture him, and when Mitch couldn’t fight back, he’d move Mitch to a gurney and cut him open. Joyous, Mitch thought sarcastically.
“I know I drugged you, but I needed to keep you quiet. Wake up, Mitch, or I’ll start cutting body parts off until you do,” Frederick threatened.
“Bastard.”
“That’s right, Mitch. And a dead one walking. You destroyed everything,” Frederick screeched.
Mitch opened his eyes, and Frederick landed a punch in his face. Mitch’s head snapped back as Frederick paced back and forth.
“I wanted Alfred to leave me alone. The old bastard wouldn’t. He’s to blame, not me,” Mitch replied.
“He was our grandfather!” Frederick yelled.
“Not mine! And what grandfather puts conditions on his love? Fuck that!” Mitch retorted.
Frederick punched him two more times, and Mitch felt his left eye begin to swell.
“You need to die for what you did to us,” Frederick seethed.
“I told you to leave me alone. None of you did. You all pushed, and now you’re paying the price. One of the few lessons I did learn was to follow through. Don’t blame me for doing so! Stay away, was that so hard?”
“You have Weideman blood, but you’re a Neach-brathaidh, a Uile-bheist loving Neach-brathaidh,” Frederick retorted. He stared at the wall where Alfred had kept a display of knives and pulled one down. Striking without warning, Frederick slashed Mitch across the face, and Mitch bellowed in pain.
“Jess Mayhew. You condemned her, you know? I don’t know whether to keep you alive and kill her in front of you or just fuck her and then kill her.
But she’s going to suffer, that arrogant witch.
Who does she think she is? So superior. She won’t be when I’m shoving my cock in her mouth,” Frederick hissed.
Mitch saw movement but didn’t dare turn his head.
“She’ll get you first, and she’s not alone. She’s got friends and family,” Mitch said, spitting blood out.
Frederick grinned and shrugged. “Then I’ll murder them too. As many as possible, before either Murtairs kill me or a cop does.”
Frederick stepped forward and began raining blows down on Mitch. Mitch was unable to defend himself and could only suffer.
“I’ll keep you alive. This is fun. How much will you scream while I screw your fiancée? Oh, I saw that. Nice ring. I’ll shove your cock through it, and if it doesn’t fit, I’ll carve you till it does,” Frederick threatened.
“Touch Jess, and I’ll kill you,” Mitch managed to spit out.
“I’ll slice her up as I fuck her. Did you take her ass? I hope you did, because if not, she’s going to scream,” Frederick taunted.
“You’re a vile, pathetic little man, aren’t you?” a voice stated.
“What the hell?” Frederick demanded, spinning around. His eyes rounded at what stood before him.
Gargoyle reached out with two stone hands and clasped Frederick’s head between them. Frederick’s eyes opened wide.
“Uile-bheist!”
“I’ve been sitting here for over seventy years, and you idiots didn’t even know. And you’re the elite? Christ,” Gargoyle said in disgust.
“Mitch, help me!” Frederick screamed.
“Why the fuck would I? Remember what you threatened to do to my woman? I hope he rips your head off,” Mitch slurred. He was feeling a lot of pain, and his words were slurring, but he wanted to watch this.
Gargoyle snorted. “Not quite. This is for my siblings, the ones your family killed for kicks.” Gargoyle began squeezing his hands together, Frederick’s head still trapped between them.
Frederick kicked and punched, but hurt himself more than anyone else.
His screams ricocheted off the walls as his eyes popped out.
From his rapidly closing right eye, Mitch winced. “Nasty shit that,” he commented.
“So was what he was threatening,” Gargoyle replied and clapped his hands together. Frederick’s skull exploded like a watermelon, and Mitch flinched as he was splattered with brain matter and gore.
“Dude, really?” Mitch complained and then finally gave in to the pain and passed out.
Gargoyle
So, this was the Loch Ness Monster’s mate.
Not quite what he’d imagined, but he’d do.
Not once had he caved under torture. Jess had done well for herself, but now it was down to Gargoyle to get her mate to safety.
He knew the Hunters were still monitoring the house, and he had to play this carefully.
He couldn’t open Mary Worth’s portals; the Hunters would know how they travelled them. Nor could he shift into his human form, which would put a target on his back. As much as he hated it, Gargoyle would have to leave Mitch here and call the authorities. Mitch’s breathing was steady.
Gargoyle hoped Jess would forgive him and left the human behind.
Jess/Loch Ness Monster
She raced through the hospital corridor with Diar, Leon, and Jase on her heels. Bursting through the door, she startled the two police officers and the doctor standing over the bed.
“That’s my fiancée,” Mitch slurred.
“Oh my God,” Jess exclaimed on seeing him. She shoved everyone out of the way and hovered over him. Her hands fluttered, unsure where to touch him, as he was a mass of bruises and torn flesh.
“What did that bastard do to you?” Jess cried as tears tracked down her cheeks.
“I’ll heal, baby,” Mitch murmured. “Don’t cry.”
“Tell me you found him. That Frederick Weideman is behind bars!” Jess seethed, spinning to the cops.
“Um,” the two officers exchanged glances. “Frederick Weideman won’t be a problem anymore. He’s dead.”
“Good! He’s no loss to society. Go away,” Jess ordered, and Leon chuckled.
“I think we’ve finished taking your statement,” one of the officers said, trying to regain some dignity.
Jess scowled, and they left.
“You need to shift,” Jess murmured as she cupped Mitch’s face carefully. Mitch’s eyes widened.
“What now?” He slurred.
“As my mate, you should be able to shift. I bet it’s because you’re not near water. Jase, get Mitch out of here. Leon, get a car ready to take him to the hotel,” Jess ordered.
Both men disappeared, and Diar came closer.
“Shift?”
“Mitch is my mate. The other mates can shift, so Mitch will as well. Let’s get him to Scotland,” Jess said.
“Dair’s… coming… too.”
“Yes, Mitch, anything you want. He can come stay at home with us,” Jess offered. She wasn’t sure how the board would take it, but Diar was a loose thread, and they hated them.
“Good.” Mitch closed his eyes, and for a moment Jess panicked, then calmed when she saw he was sleeping.
“I could kill Frederick. He always was a rotten bastard,” Diar muttered.
“Gargoyle squished his head,” Jess whispered, and Diar straightened.
“What now?” Diar demanded.
“Later, in private,” Jess replied.
◆◆◆
An hour later, they were in a limousine heading back to a hotel. Jase had wrangled Mitch’s release, claiming he’d already hired nurses. That, coupled with a nice donation, secured Mitch’s escape. Once in their room, Mary transported them to Scotland, where they stood at the edge of Loch Ness.
“How do I shift?” Mitch asked, wincing in pain.
“I just shift,” Jess said, shrugging, unsure how to explain it.
She waded into the water, and Mitch very carefully made his way in too. Then, after checking around her, Jess shifted, and Ness nuzzled his wounds.
Mitch
Something woke in Mitch as Ness flipped water at him. It felt like a snake writhing in his belly, and then his body ached. There was a crack, and Mitch crashed onto his side, his flippers going sky-high.
“What the hell!” he exclaimed as he flapped his front flipper.
Ness chuckled as she helped him balance. Mitch instantly started tipping to the other side, and Ness broke into full laughter.
“Come out deeper,” she chortled as she paddled backwards.
Mitch lunged forward and misjudged, falling over his flippers and belly flopped into the loch.
Mitch scowled. This was worse than a baby walking.
How embarrassing. Slowly, he managed to keep his balance, but not before he belly-rolled several times.
At one point, as Ness howled with amusement, Mitch was upside down in the loch with all four flippers flapping frantically in the air. He craned his neck, trying to figure out how to flip back, when Ness nudged him. Mitch spun like a canoe before he could complete it, and he regained his balance.
Ness crowed and splashed the water in congrats as Mitch grinned stupidly at her. She twined her neck with his and began dragging him deeper. Mitch went willingly, loving how he could share this with her. It was an amazing experience, and he intended to do it often.
Jess/Loch Ness Monster
As she dived, Jess’s heart was full. She had a mate, one who loved her and would protect her no matter what.
Nothing could beat that feeling. Disease was sulking because it knew that with Mitch’s strength aiding her, it would never slip Jess’s leash again.
As for Jess, she’d never experience another moment’s doubt, not ever again.
Love had won this time and would always win.
Watcher
Astounded, he watched as the two Loch Ness Monsters played in the lake.
He filmed them as they swam—evidence of the Loch Ness Monster at last. He waited decades in a caravan beside the loch for this momentous sighting.
A smile crossed his face as he recognised them as a mated pair.
Then he wondered when babies might appear.
On that note, he stopped filming and put his phone away. The world didn’t need this special moment. They’d come and hunt the lake, and the Loch Ness Monsters would hide, and maybe their babies would be killed.
No. Not on his watch. He’d not publish this footage, not even if it proved all the naysayers wrong and him right.
Smiling, he walked back to his caravan, knowing he’d witnessed a miracle.