Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Brent Foley was no fool. He’d had a feeling in his gut that things would go tits-up when Hawthorne abducted the gryphon girl.
If he’d witnessed anything over the last year in trying to take out the shifters in Northern Ohio, it was that the male beasts were particularly psychotic when it came to the safety and well-being of their women, whether they were human or beasts or something else.
He’d attempted to warn Hawthorne, but the man was as unhinged as they came and wanted the huge, seven-figure payout riding on his ability to deliver a living gryphon. In essence, money had trumped good sense.
All Brent really wanted was to kill all shifters and make cities safe for humans. Was that too much to ask? He sure as hell didn’t think so.
He stared at the monitors in the dining room, watching the security feed that one of Hawthorne’s mercs had hacked into at the decrepit warehouse district along the riverfront. Hawthorne had chosen the location because it was remote.
Brent watched on the grainy footage as Hawthorne and his thugs returned to the warehouse with the unconscious gryphon woman and chained her to a pole. Maybe the bastard was going to get away without being discovered by the beasts, and Brent was wrong.
Ah. Nope.
The wolves showed up in force, and as Brent watched, a seriously crazy battle took place with a witch throwing fire around like dodgeballs.
“Doug!” Brent bellowed, calling for one of the lackeys who’d been with him for years. The man had a knack for getting out of dodge quickly.
“Yeah, boss?” Doug asked as he skidded to a stop in the dining room.
“Pack up. We’re gone in twenty.”
“Uh…what?” His gaze landed on the monitors, and his brows went high. “Oh, shit. You called it, huh?”
“I always do.”
Brent stood and stared at the monitors for a moment longer, watching as the ground opened up and swallowed a smoldering Hawthorne whole, along with his motley crew of for-hire criminals.
The camera footage went shaky, and static filled the screen just moments before it went black entirely. Shutting the nearest laptop, Brent said, “Move. Tell the others, they’re in the vehicles in twenty or they’re left behind. And send me Frankie. I need his skills.”
“On it. Where to next? Another town around the wolves?”
“No. Ohio is cooked. The beasts are too coordinated, too allied to each other and other supernaturals. I’m tired of wasting resources. We’ll head west. Start from scratch where the beasts’ groups are smaller and more scattered.”
“Humans Against Shifters will be better than ever,” Doug said. He nodded decisively and scurried off, calling for the handful of men who’d stayed behind to get their asses in gear.
Brent quickly packed up the monitors and laptops, shoving them into a nearby crate and ensuring nothing was left behind. As he made his way down the hall to the bedroom to grab his things, Frankie strode up, a bag over his shoulder.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. I need your special skills.”
Frankie smiled, his eyes dark with mischief. “What do you need?”
“We’re going to leave a present for the beasts when they come here.”
“You’re sure they’ll find this place?”
“They tracked Hawthorne. They’ve got a witch in their midst, and I don’t fuck with witches anymore.” He grabbed his bag, stuffed the few things he’d left out inside, and followed Frankie into the kitchen, explaining his plan.
As time wound down, Brent got in the passenger seat of an SUV driven by Doug, and they waited in the circular driveway until Frankie bounded down the steps with a malevolent smile on his face. He slid into the back seat of the SUV and set his bag on the seat next to him.
“Done,” Frankie said. “Some of my best work.”
“Good,” Brent said. “Let’s go, Doug. We’ve got to put miles between Northern Ohio and us as soon as possible.”
GPS was set to get them out of the state the fastest, while Brent looked in the side mirror at the mansion that had been home for just a short while. He’d been defeated in his attempts to take out the tigers and the wolves and avenge his old partner, Jason Finnegan.
Oh well.
When the mansion was no longer in view, he settled into the seat and began to plan the future.
Somewhere out west, he’d find his purpose again.
He’d start a new headquarters for Humans Against Shifters, and he’d go back to his roots: not hiding in abandoned buildings and scurrying from place to place but setting up a real business and recruiting humans who were tired of living side by side with those beasts who ran through the woods at night and howled and roared.
The world would be a better place without them for sure.
Brent would see to it that his group rose to power once again. And maybe someday he’d come back to Ohio and take out the tigers and the wolves and the other groups like the falcons and the bears.
Or maybe he’d just stay out west and let someone else try their hand at the midwestern beasts.
Closing his eyes, he envisioned a beast-free future. And he smiled.
Monday night, Solan stood in Adam’s office with the other high-ranked males and listened to the plan.
The human who’d survived Kaeli’s powerful evil-eradication at the warehouse because he’d been deemed by the earth not to be fully evil had eventually revealed the location of Brent Foley and his Humans Against Shifters headquarters.
It was a mere twenty minutes from Thorn Hollow, in a residential neighborhood of upscale homes that Foley had rented after his last headquarters had been discovered.
“Nice to have you back,” Solan said in a low voice to Brick.
The male nodded. “I can’t believe I missed everything. Thanks for handling things so well.”
“I don’t know how well I did; Mira got abducted.” Solan glanced at Leo, who was listening intently to Adam, his face set in grim lines.
“That would have happened on anyone’s watch,” Brick said. “That’s the tough part of being in charge. Sometimes, no matter what path you choose, someone gets hurt. The important thing is that we got Mira back and didn’t lose any pack members.”
Solan rubbed his chest, thinking about how he could have lost Kaeli numerous times since they’d met. He wanted the danger to her life and the pack’s put down for good, and the only way to do that was to go after Foley and take him out.
His attention swung from his mate to his alpha, and Adam wrapped up the plans.
“I’ve got assignments. We’re taking ten males with us; the others will stay in town and around the neighborhoods, patrolling and keeping tabs on everyone.
Until we know for sure that Foley and his people are dealt with permanently, we will not change anything about our security measures. ”
Brick and Solan moved up to Adam’s big desk and took the assignments, letting their people know who was staying and who was going.
Since Solan was among those leaving to deal with Foley, he let the high-ranked males know who to contact and headed to the kitchen to talk to Kaeli before he left.
“We’re leaving in five minutes,” Adam said as he followed Solan into the kitchen, grabbing Cinder around the waist and giving her a kiss. “So don’t go getting all distracted by your mate.”
“I’d say the same to you,” Solan said with a grin.
Kaeli wrapped her arms around Solan’s neck and kissed him. “I can come with you.”
“Absolutely not,” Solan said. She opened her mouth, and he was sure she was going to protest, so he kissed her.
“I know you can fight; you proved yourself, and you saved my neck. But we need you here as a precaution. It’s not because I want to keep you home and away from danger, it’s because we need to make sure that no one is able to cause any problems here in Thorn Hollow. ”
“You’re the best defense we have,” Cinder said.
“I’m blushing,” Kaeli said with a chuckle. “I just didn’t want you sidelining me out of some caveman thought that I need to be protected.”
“I would never,” he said. He leaned over and brushed his lips along her jaw and whispered in her ear, “When I get back, I’ll be a caveman and toss you over my shoulder and run home, how’s that?”
She shivered and giggled softly, the sweet scent of her arousal making his wolf growl. “Sounds good to me. Be careful.”
“I will.”
She grabbed his wrists and scratched lightly with her nails, speaking a few words in ancient Wiccan. His skin burned where she’d scratched him, and it glowed red for a moment, and then the faint lines of what looked like runes appeared on his skin.
“What did you do?” he asked.
“It’s a protection spell. Cinder told me about it. I can only do it for you because you’re my truemate, though. It won’t stop you from getting punched or anything, but it will alert you if there’s evil around you.”
He cupped her face and kissed her. “Precious female, you are my whole heart. Thank you.”
“You’re mine, too.”
He gave her one last, lingering kiss and then left the kitchen with Adam, heading outside into the cool night and climbing into the vehicle that Brick was driving.
After their people had filled four vehicles, Adam said, “Let’s get this done. I’m ready to send Foley and his merry band of assholes to their maker.”
“I second that,” Solan said.
Brick growled as he put the truck into gear. “I’m ready to make Northern Ohio H.A.S. free for good.”
The mansion that Brent Foley had been renting for a short while and used as his headquarters was in the middle of a large development of similar, high-end homes.
The manicured lawn was lit by solar lights, and the brick house’s exterior was illuminated with spotlights.
Inside, the lights were on, but there were no vehicles in the circular driveway.
“They could be in the garage,” Brick said, staring out the windshield.
“Possible,” Adam said. He opened his door. “Let’s go.”
Their people got out, all ten of them passing through the gate and spreading out across the lawn, making their way slowly to the house.
Solan’s wolf snarled softly in his head. Something felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
They reached the sidewalk, Brick moving up to the porch and peering into the windows on either side of the large front door.
Solan’s wrists burned suddenly as Brick reached for the front door to check if it was locked.
“Back! Back! It’s a trap!” Solan yelled, grabbing Brick by the back of the shirt and rushing away with Adam by his side. The wolves scattered, running toward their vehicles.
The house went up in a sudden blaze, windows shattering, and heat blasting outward. The shockwave drove them off their feet. Solan covered his head as he hit the ground, heat licking at his skin.
Rising in a crouch, he said, “You guys okay?”
“Yeah, shit,” Adam said. He brushed his jeans off.
“I’m good,” Brick said.
When they were all accounted for, Solan looked down at his wrists and saw that the runes were faded again, and his wrist wasn’t burning. “Kaeli saved us,” he said.
“Having a witch for a truemate is the best,” Adam said. “We’d better hit the road. It’s clear it was a trap set by Foley, and the cops for sure will be here any minute.”
They hurried into the waiting vehicles and drove off, leaving the burning home in their rearview.
He sent a text to Kaeli.
You saved me with the protection spell. You saved all of us.
I’m glad I was able to help, and I’ll be very glad to see you safe and sound.
I’ll be there soon. No luck on Foley, it was a trap.
We’ll keep each other—and the pack—safe. Together.
He sent a smiling emoji and put his phone in his pocket. “I need to mate her properly, bring her into the pack as a member.”
“We can do that whenever you’re ready,” Adam said.
“I’ll talk to her when we get back.”
By the time they made it back to the alphas’ house, Solan’s wolf was humming and ready to see Kaeli again.
Security team members had been instructed by Adam to hack the home’s doorbell and street cameras in the area around the mansion, and they’d watched the footage of Foley and his people packing up and driving off.
They were able to follow their small caravan all the way out of town and heading west.
“I think it’s safe to say he’s gone,” Adam said, sitting back in the desk chair. “But we’re not going to take anyone’s safety for granted. We can ease up some on the security restrictions and get back to where we were before everything went to hell.”
“If it’s okay with you, Brick,” Solan said. “I’m going to take my mate home and sleep in tomorrow.”
“You deserve it,” Brick said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Take tomorrow off, and you can start back to patrols on Wednesday.”
“I’d like tomorrow off,” Leo said.
“Hell no,” Adam said. “We’ve got gas tanks to replace.”
“Damn it,” Leo said with a chuckle. “That’s what I get for being such a talented mechanic.”
Solan walked out of the office and hurried to the kitchen. There, he found his mate, whose eyes lit up when she saw him. He moved swiftly to her, ducked his shoulder down, and upended her over it. She laughed as she landed softly against him.
“Cinder,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me, I promised my mate I’d be a caveman once we were safely home.”
“Have fun, you two,” she said. “I’m going to see if I can get Adam to be a caveman. That sounds like a good time.”
“It’ll be the best,” Kaeli said. “See you later.”
“Ready, Nightling?” he asked as he strode from the kitchen and out to the porch, hurrying down the steps to the yard.
“Hell, yes. Take me home and love me good and hard.”
“Whatever my sweet mate wants.”
“Just you, Solan. All I need in the world is you.”
He felt the exact same way.
“I’m one lucky wolf, Kaeli.”
“Not as lucky as me.”