Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Ihad moved past worried to freak the fuck out.
I’d expected someone to come back and tell me all was okay.
Or have my mate come sauntering through the door so I could kick his ass and then kiss his boo boo.
As the minutes turned into a half hour, then an hour, I became even more worried.
Our location had been compromised, and my mate was out there bleeding.
I thought about calling out to Kellen or my brother Xan, but fear for their safety if they were in the middle of a battle kept me in check.
Knowing my friends were locked up in their own safe spots, I had nothing better to do than pace back and forth.
Rowan’s scent still clinging to my body made me ache for him.
Mr. McCartney eyed me with a look I couldn’t decipher.
His wife sat behind him, chewing on her thumbnail.
Several of the high-ranking wolves had taken up residence in the lower levels under the club.
I could see the McCartneys didn’t want that much testosterone in one place without their attention elsewhere.
All unmated females had been accounted for, except for Taya, and steps had been taken to ensure the weaker were safe until the threat was addressed.
So why then was I feeling as if something was off in one of the safest places?
A look around at all the familiar faces didn’t turn up anything out of place.
My wolf itched to get out and protect me.
I had learned early on to listen to the other half of myself and allowed a partial shift, one that would go unnoticed.
My brown eyes became those of the wolf, and beneath my blonde hair, I allowed my ears to shift along with my nails.
The men may be a lot bigger and stronger, but I was faster and smarter.
If there was a threat amongst us, I would not be an easy target.
My ears twitched at the sound of static from the older couple's office. The noise reminded me of the walkie-talkies Syn, and I had played with as children. Why they would have such archaic devices, I had no clue. Not wanting to alert them to my plans but needing to find out if they had betrayed the pack, I entered their space. The static was even louder now that I was in there. Most of the wolves had no reason to enter where the McCartneys spent their time, and I could count on one hand the occasions I’d come inside.
The sound came from Mrs. McCartney’s purse.
I looked around, hating to snoop through another woman’s personal belongings, but saw no way around it.
As I stood there contemplating what to do, I noticed several other disturbing things.
A picture of a man who looked very similar to one of the men who had attacked me outside of the club was tucked away in the corner, almost hidden.
Any bit of guilt evaporated. Knocking the plaid bag over and watching the contents spill out, I bent to pick it up.
The walkie-talkie had been turned down too low for most to hear.
With a small adjustment, the device beeped, and then a man’s voice came across.
“We are five minutes out. How many are there? Just push the button if you can’t speak with the number.”
Anger threatened to overwhelm my good sense.
We had five minutes to get out or prepare to defend ourselves against an attack by who knew how many.
In the tunnels, we were sitting ducks, but if we got back up to the club, we at least had a fighting chance.
Grabbing the little black walkie-talkie, I stepped out of the office.
Arynn, the omega, was there along with Bodhi, the beta.
I walked up to the beta and, in as few words as possible, told him in a whisper too low for the others to hear.
The immediate change in Bodhi had me stepping back.
“You two, over here now.” Bodhi pointed at the McCartneys.
The other pack members formed a band around them, making sure the elder couple couldn’t escape.
They didn’t need to know why Bodhi was ordering them to him, only that he’d taken the place of Kellen in his absence.
Mr. McCartney was the first to comply, while his wife’s face contorted into one of loathing.
“You and your filth use this pack and this club like a whorehouse with a swinging door. Your alpha is a sadist who takes pleasure in hurting the females of the pack, and yet they can’t wait to come crawling back.
I would never allow my family to become part of such depravity, and when my nephew and his pack wipe the likes of you from here, I’ll be revered, instead of used as a gatekeeper of a whorehouse,” Mrs. McCartney spat.
The depth of her hate resounded around the space.
“The man on the other end said they were five minutes out about a minute ago. We’re sitting ducks down here, not knowing how many he’s bringing, especially not knowing where he’ll come at us.
I suggest we go up to the club and change the master lock key code.
Kellen can still override it, but I’m assuming they gave their nephew access.
If we change it now, it may buy us a few extra minutes. ”
Bodhi’s voice came out more like a growl. Arynn nodded before taking off at a jog toward the computer room.
“Since I don’t have the authority to kill you yet, that means you are both coming with us, but I do have the right to do this,” Bodhi said, knocking Mr. McCartney unconscious in one swift move. The look he gave Mrs. McCartney said he’d like to do a lot worse to her.
The older woman’s scent had changed from defiance to fear the moment I had produced her way of contacting the other pack.
It increased even more at the hate coming off Bodhi.
I stepped up to the older woman. “You’ve betrayed the pack and will be sentenced as such.
You know Kellen will not let you go just because you are a woman and an elder.
Bodhi is clearly too much of a gentleman to do it, but I don’t share his problem.
” With a flash of my fangs, I hauled my arm back and punched the older woman.
“Damn, girl, I knew I loved you.” Bodhi eyed me up and down. “Too bad you’ve gotten mated to another. Now, let’s head up. Time’s a-ticking. Bring the traitors with you and tie them up. Use extreme force.”
“Kellen and the boys are on their way back. Bad news, their time frame is longer than five minutes. They were taken on a wild goose chase, it seems.” Arynn growled.
Being the omega meant he could communicate with all the members without disrupting whatever they were doing.
His wolf and the male were attuned to their well-being, which had to suck sometimes.
I grabbed his hand. “Is Rowan okay?”
“Oh, your mate is fine. Pissed beyond belief, but fine.”
Dread coiled within me as I pounded up the walkway back to the club.
No doubt we’d be facing an army of wolves out for blood, whether we were ready or not.
Fear was like a knot in the pit of my stomach.
The other wolves took up places in front and behind me, acting as protectors.
Bodhi’s face could’ve been carved in stone.
“Don’t even think to move from the spot we put you. If I tell you to stay put, you stay put. If I say jump….” He raised his eyebrow.
“I’ll say, how high?” I answered.
He took a step closer, handsome features darkening as his body towered over me.
“No, you will already be jumping. I say this not to be an overbearing ass, but because it could be the difference between life and death. Kellen and Xan have entrusted me with your life, and now your mate has done the same. I will see to your safety, and you will do as I say.”
I swallowed what I worried was the beginning of a sob.
All these wolves would give their lives before they allowed anything to happen to me.
“Bodhi, I will hide in a box if it means I am not a distraction. I promise you this, though. I am a fighter. Both Kellen and my brother made sure Syn and I could fight off an amorous wolf.”
Arynn’s voice interrupted us. “The codes are changed.” He looked around the large bar. “Every exit has been blocked, which means they have to come at us from the front. Or we will know when they breach the inner sanctum.”
The tables were bolted down for the occasional—or frequent—brawl.
While we waited, the guys gathered the chairs and stacked them against the walls, clearing the space for the upcoming battle.
Several men had already shifted, using their heightened senses.
I shifted from one foot to the other. Hesitation and concern heightened my worry for our safety.
Most of the men who’d been called in were unmated and had vowed to always put pack first. What had happened in the first place that could cause an all-out war?
“Should I shift?” I asked gravely.
Bodhi frowned at me, his need to take action burning through his gaze. “It doesn’t matter what form you take. You will be no match for a dominant wolf, chérie.”
The usual pain knifed through me, but I wouldn’t allow it to defeat my purpose.
They had never seen me in action. Syn and I were always treated as cosseted princesses, so his words didn’t surprise me.
I lifted my chin. “Tell me what you want me to do, and then you go do your thing. I can and will fight, Bodhi. Surely, they will be beating down the doors any minute.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw, a sure sign he didn’t like my words or my actions. “Go behind the bar. If they make it through the front line, you get into the safest position you can, and you do your damnedest to stay alive. You hear me?”
“I hear you,” I snapped.
His voice dropped to a low timbre. “I lost my baby sister years ago. I won’t let that happen to Xan’s if I can help it.”