Chapter 52
Zane
I stare at the iPad in front of me and listen as our offensive coach talks through the next set of plays.
Our defense is currently on the field. They’ve done a good job holding them, but we need to score in this next drive and increase our lead.
Fear slams into me suddenly, surprising me.
I go still, my eyes darting over the field trying to figure out what it is that’s got my guard up.
Then I realize it’s not my fear; it’s Evie’s.
Evie.
I reach out to her through our bond. My entire body goes rigid; there’s nothing there. I search for our bond; it’s still there, but it’s...muted or something. I stand to my feet and reach out again.
Evie.
Panic courses through me. I scan the crowd, not that I can see her from here. Something’s wrong.
Reid. Do you have eyes on Evie?
Shouldn’t you be paying attention to your game? He asks in return.
I can’t feel her, I snap back.
She went into the bathroom a few minutes ago.
Get in there and find her. I am aware that my words carry an alpha order in them, but I can’t find it in me to care right now.
I also don’t care that I just sent my best friend into the women’s bathroom.
I don’t breathe as I wait for him. Seconds tick past, and I know it’s not good.
I’m already moving down the bench before I hear from him.
She’s not in here.
Go back and make sure you didn’t miss her. Check her seat. But even as I give the order, I know she’s not going to be there. “Coach, I gotta go.” Coach Mitchell’s head whips towards me, shock in his eyes. Something happened to Evie; she’s gone.
He doesn’t miss a beat. Go. I have to stay here.
I know.
Go get her. Your dad’s already on his way.
I nod at him, hoping he sees my gratitude. And then I take off. I whip off my shirt and my pads as I run and drop them in a place my teammates can grab them. Anything? I send to Reid.
She’s not in her seat.
I curse, but I’m not surprised. Which bathroom was it? As soon as he tells me, I run that way. People stop and stare at me, but I push past anybody and everybody.
Son, what’s going on?
Evie’s gone.
What happened? His voice is calm, something that irritates me.
She went into the bathroom and never came back. I felt a spike of fear from her and then nothing. I can’t reach her through the bond.
I feel his shock a moment before he recovers. We're on our way. We’ll find her.
I see Reid and run that way. Seconds later, I shove open the door to the bathroom, not bothering to care about the shock on women’s faces or even a few girls that yell at me.
I follow her scent, though it’s weak. I know as soon as my wolf returns full-force, I’ll be able to trace it no problem.
I follow her scent to the back of the bathroom.
My stomach drops when I see the door. I shove it open and grind my teeth when I smell her scent out here.
I take a step forward, and a curse explodes from my mouth as Jace’s scent slams into me.
I memorized that scent and made a pledge never to forget it.
“What is it?” Reid asks, coming through the door behind me.
“Jace has her.”
His face matches my own. I don’t stop to think but follow her scent through the maze under the stadium seating. Her scent gets weaker and weaker, and I don’t understand why. “Reid, do you still catch her scent?”
“Barely,” he admits. We keep moving, but I don’t like this.
Evie. Evie, can you hear me?
When there’s nothing, my fists clench into a fist. I can feel my wolf rising, fighting against the effects of the shot.
We finally come to the end of the stadium and out into an open field.
When I don’t see her, what’s left of my control snaps.
Rage roars through me, and my wolf comes roaring to the surface, pushing past the drugs that kept him bound.
Now with the full strength of my wolf, I shove all my alpha power into the connection between us.
Evie, I thunder through our bond. And then I hear her. My legs nearly go out from under me when I hear her precious voice in my head.
Zane. There’s so much fear and terror in that one word, it nearly undoes me. I fight against my wolf trying to take control. Jace and Sam took me. There’s so much fear coming through the bond, it’s hard to focus on her words.
Where are you? My voice thunders through our bond.
I don’t know. I’m in a car. They—I don’t know—there's a driver—I can’t—
I cut into her panic. I'm coming for you, Baby.
Zane, they have my mom.
I can feel her anguish through the bond, and I tamp down my control on my wolf even as my rage grows. I’ll get you and her out of there. I’m coming, and I’m not coming alone.
Zane, Jace said he’s going to bite me, and your mark will fade. Is that true? Can that happen?
Everything around me slows down. You fight with everything you’ve got. You understand me. But no matter what happens, Evie. I'm coming for you. You're mine. You always were, and you always will be, no matter what happens.
Reid and I are in wolf form now, heading in the direction I think they took her based on scent. I reach out to my dad and let him know which way we’re headed.
We'll meet up with you.
I race faster, trying to get to my mate. Are you still traveling by car? I send to her. I’m trying to just keep her calm, but I’m not sure I’m doing a good job of it. I can’t keep my own self calm.
Yes.
What do you see?
Trees. I don’t see anything but trees.
Okay. I try to send calm through the bond. What else?
She’s quiet a moment, and I worry I’ve lost her again. But then I hear her voice again. There’s a house with a light on, on the front porch.
Good, Baby. What else? Any help she can give will aid me in finding her.
There’s a run-down gas station.
Her voice is calmer now. Good. Anything else?
Jace, they’re giving me that shot again. I don’t know if I’ll be able to contact...her voice fades.
Evie! I shove down the bond.
When I hear her voice again, it’s faint. I know you’re coming for me...think...warehouse...And then there’s nothing. My wolf explodes in rage.
What is it? Reid asks through our pack link.
They gave her something that cut off our connection again.
We’ll find her.
We run another two miles or so before my dad cuts us off. We jump in his truck. It takes me a minute to get control back from my wolf, but when I remind him that this will be faster, he relents. “What do you know?” My father asks. He’s in the passenger seat, and his enforcer is driving.
“Jace and Sam took her. They have her in a car. She told me there’s a house with a light on the front porch on this road, and there’s also a run-down gas station.
” I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t know what they’re giving her, but it dulls the connection between us.
” My dad turns around in his seat and faces me.
I can see the worry in his eyes for just a moment before he pushes it away.
“We’ll get her back, Son.”
“She said that Jace is going to bite her, and that my mark will fade.”
The car goes eerily quiet. My dad’s eyes flash to those of his wolf for just a moment. “What?”
“Is that possible?” I demand. “Can a skinwalker do that?”
My father stares at me a moment before answering in a quiet voice. “I don’t know.” I curse and hit the seat next to me, not that it will do any good. “Save your rage for the enemy.” My father’s voice is calm but full of Alpha power.
I try to think logistics, or I’ll lose my mind. “She said a guy was with them. Do you think that could be their master? Would he be stronger?”
“If he’s the alpha I know, then yes he is very strong.” His eyes meet mine. “We’ll take him down.”
“I think they—”
Zane! Evie’s scream pierces my mind, and her fear comes roaring through the bond. He's trying to bite me. And then she screams right into our bond.
“Stop the car!” I hear Reid shout, but he sounds so far away.
“No!” I say through grit teeth, even as I try to control my wolf. “Go! Get there now!” Every word is punched with Alpha command, and the air in the car feels thick. But nobody tells me to tone it down.
“What’s happening?” My dad’s voice is calm in the midst of the chaos.
My spirit feels like it’s breaking. “He’s trying to bite her.”
Agonizing pain hits me, and I can barely breathe. I close my eyes. Evie, I’m here. I send the words to her, but I don’t think she can even hear them.
“We’ve got the power of the pack with us,” my dad says, and I hear his voice from far away, even though he’s only a foot or so from me. “We will destroy them.” We just have to find them. He doesn’t say the words, but we all feel them.
“There’s the gas station,” Reid says.
I try to calculate in my mind how much time there was between when she told me about the gas station and when she said warehouse.
I don’t even know if she meant to send that.
We drive further, and I don’t feel anything from her.
I squeeze my fists, my claws breaking the skin of my palms. But I feel nothing.
Only rage fills me now. Jace has no idea what’s coming for him.
I stare out the window and almost miss the run-down building. “There. That has to be it.”
Joe immediately turns the lights on the truck off but keeps driving a little further and then pulls off on the side of the road a moment later.
I throw my door open. Zane, wait, my father orders through the pack link.
I’m ready to ignore his order when his words stop me.
If you rush in there, you just might get her killed.
Those are the only words that could stop me.
I turn to him as several more trucks park behind us.
You’ve got thirty seconds, and then I’m going in to get her.
My father nods, not at all surprised. Our packmates gather around us, and I’m not surprised to see Quint and Slate among them.
They come and stand next to Reid and me, a sign of solidarity and support.
Plan? my father asks Joe. We’re only communicating through the pack link, so nobody inside can hear us.
Joe doesn’t waste a minute. He calls out names, assigning people to the front, sides, and back. Then he meets my gaze. You and I and your father will go in the front door. But be ready for anything. Will you be able to pull back if we have to?
No, but I nod anyway. The longer we spend out here, the longer before I can get Evie to safety.
Joe leads the way, lifting his fist in the air. Let’s go.
We approach the warehouse silently. Most of the pack has shifted, but Joe and my father and I stay in human form. Evie, I try when we get close; but I get nothing from her. We walk slowly towards the front door, ready for anything.