22. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
B ennett really wanted to kill Delvin, but he refrained.
It wasn’t his place and leaving it to Ramsey sent a clear message about where his loyalty lay, not that there was any real question his loyalty was with his brother.
It would always be with Ramsey, and the whole clan knew it.
What the whole clan didn’t know, until that moment was, one, Bennett had a mate and, two, he would defend him at all costs, because attacking another clan member was punishable by his Alpha.
He was fairly certain Ramsey wouldn’t punish him, given that Delvin had challenged the Alpha, even if it had been in an indirect way. Still, Ramsey never gave Bennett a direct order.
Bennett’s job as Ramsey’s beta was to defend any challenge or threat. Delvin had been both for a long time and Ramsey had let it go. It was long overdue, and Ramsey knew it.
Bennett walked across the yard, everyone giving him a wide berth.
He felt Lucas in his mind and softened a little. Even the air around him felt lighter, warmer whenever Lucas was near. He heard him start to say something and then Lucas was gone as if someone wiped him away. He looked toward the patio and quickened his pace.
“Where’s Lucas?” He asked Forrest as he passed him.
“Ramsey made him go inside when the fight started,” Forrest said and followed alongside him.
“Something’s wrong. Gabe,” Bennett called his brother over when he got to the patio. “Keep all the clan members in the yard. Make sure everyone is here.” Gabe nodded once and took Kristin and Owen with him. “Forrest, see if you can scent anything unusual?”
Forrest did so immediately. He watched Forrest sniff the air and then head around the house.
“What’s going on?” Vaughan asked, walking behind him.
“Something’s wrong with Lucas,” Bennett said and walked through the sliding glass. Vaughan was just getting ready to follow him in when Ramsey stopped him. “Grab Delvin, Vaughan, and take him to the basement. Hold him there until I tell you differently.”
“Got it.” Vaughan turned and left the doorway then.
“What is it?” Ramsey asked as Bennett tried to find even a hint of someone.
“I don’t know. Nothing.” Bennett turned to look at Ramsey. “Smell that. Nothing. Not even Lucas’ scent is here.” Bennett started to shake as he searched the house and couldn’t find Lucas anywhere.
Bennett made his way through the house and to the front door. He saw taillights down the road and knew instinctively that Lucas was in that car. Bennett started to follow the truck, but Ramsey stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“We need to plan our strategy. We already know it was the vampires that took him. Going off alone will only get you killed, and probably him as well,” Ramsey said.
“Yes, Alpha. ”
He saw Forrest sniff around for a few seconds before shaking his head.
Forrest shifted as he made his way over to them.
“There’s a chemical smell. I’ve never smelled it before.
The weird thing is I can’t smell anything else until I get over there.
” Forrest pointed to the road and then turned to walk over.
Bennett followed, smelling the air as he went. Lucas and Sage, the waiter from the diner. And then…
“Vampire. At least six of them,” Forrest said to him.
Bennett’s eyes changed and he let out a roar. “No, Bennett. There’s too many for you to take on alone.” He turned to Forrest. “Can you track the vampires?”
“I can tell they went south, but the scent trail went dead just a few yards ahead.” Forrest pointed to the left.
Ramsey patted his back. “We’ll get him back, Bennett.”
Bennett couldn’t keep from shifting, forcing Forrest and Ramsey to step away from him, making room for his much bigger dragon’s body.
“Try your link Bennett. See if you can talk to Lucas.”
Bennett had been trying to reach Lucas and it wasn’t working. He shook his head and shifted back. “He’s not there.”
“What do you mean he’s not there?”
“He’s not there, Ramsey. As in I don’t feel him at all.
Fuck, what if he’s dead?” Nausea clawed at Bennett’s throat and all he heard for long seconds was the sound of his own breathing.
He fought the urge to shift and take off after Lucas.
Ramsey’s orders be damned. He’d do it if he thought a reaction like that would help get Lucas back faster.
“Forrest, would you go get Gabriel? Tell him to bring some clothes for Bennett,” Ramsey said from right behind him.
“Yes, Alpha. ”
“Can I have a moment, Ramsey? I need space, man,” Bennett said when Ramsey put a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll get him back, Bennett. And no, you can’t be alone right now.
I’m your fucking brother first, man. Plus, those fuckers came into my territory and took one of my clan members in my own mother’s house.
I want him back too. And then we’ll make those fuckers pay.
This just caused a war. Their coven leader had to know that. ”
Bennett looked at Ramsey. He couldn’t hold back his emotion even if he tried. He had a tornado of terror threatening to eat anything in its path and that included his brother. “He’s my whole fucking world, Ramsey.”
“I know.”
The front door of the house opened and closed.
Bennett wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand and turned around just in time to see Gabriel come toward them.
He tossed a pair of sweats and a shirt at Bennett.
Bennett caught them mid-air, pulling the sweats on and then the T-shirt over his head.
“Where did Lucas say he was from?” Gabriel asked Bennett.
Something about the question finally calmed Bennett enough so he could think about the answer. “West of here. A few hours’ drive.”
Vaughan came out of the front door and then went right to his truck without a word to anyone.
“Well, we’re not driving. Vaughan is leaving for the airport and will be getting his plane ready to go.
I think the vampires will take Lucas back to their lair.
We’re checking personal flights scheduled to leave out of Southwest Airport soon.
Apparently, Vaughan has a friend who works at the airport and can find out if any private planes left in the last few minutes.
We want to know how far ahead they are. Fighting on their territory isn’t ideal, simply because we don’t know the area. We need a good plan. ”
“We’ll talk about it on the way there. Let’s go,” Ramsey said, and made his way to his truck.
Bennett climbed into the back seat. Gabriel got into the passenger seat and turned around, handing Bennett socks and shoes. Bennett took them absently. He went to pull the shoes away, but Gabriel held them firm. “I got your back, brother.”
Bennett nodded and tried to smile. He just didn’t have it in him, and Gabriel knew it.
“Can’t say that I know what it’s like to have a mate. I’m kinda glad for that. Never really wanted one. But Lucas makes you happy and that’s good enough for me. Plus, I like the way he sings.” Gabriel let go of the shoes.
“Yeah, me too. Lucas sings like an angel,” Ramsey said as he pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the airport.
“So, let me get this straight. The only reason you’re getting Lucas back is because you guys like the way he sings,” Bennett growled.
“And because he’s your mate,” Gabriel said.
He had always been a tough shell to crack.
Bennett thought it was probably because of all the shit his biological dad had done to him when he was a kid.
He had a hard time attaching himself to people, trusting those around him.
So Bennett wasn’t surprised by his less than warm attitude.
The normality of it actually calmed his nerves some.
“Lucas has a kind heart. He fits into our family,” Ramsey said.
“Yeah,” Gabriel whispered.
Bennett didn’t say a word. Because that was true. Lucas did have a kind heart. That was the one thing Bennett worried about the most. Those bastards wouldn’t kill him with a bullet or by draining his blood dry from his body. No, they’d make him heal until Lucas had no energy left.