Chapter Eighteen
John
I was jet lagged and feeling it, but my brother and I had a lot of catching up to do. He said he had great news that he couldn’t wait to tell me.
“Twins?” I replied, my voice a little higher. For all that they have gone through, I was extremely happy for my brother and his mate. They both deserved this.
“I know. I couldn’t believe it myself, but we’re having twins,” Aiden said with a huge grin.
“How’s Gemma doing?” I asked. It felt like an eternity since I had seen her even though I had been gone a few weeks.
“She’s doing great. Glowing and as surprised and excited as I am,” he beamed.
Aiden was overjoyed and understandably so. I stared at my brother across his desk and my mind wandered back to Kara. I hoped that she was doing well. A small part of me hoped that she would change her mind and accept me as her mate. Would I be sitting across from my brother, reveling in the glow of fatherhood as he was? Time will only tell.
Vince took over the pack as alpha without trouble, but Paul and I stayed for several days to ensure all went well. Mostly, I stayed because I wanted to spend some time with Kara. She seemed interested in us getting to know one another, but she also felt as if she needed time before moving forward in a relationship.
Maybe it was what she had gone through or the fact that she had never had a real relationship. I wanted to be there with her to show her that I was there for her, but she insisted that I return home and give her some time to think.
My wolf had been quiet since leaving New York and I was afraid it was because Kara didn’t come back with us. I wanted to give her space and the freedom to choose even if her choice was painful. She said she needed time and I could only give her all the time she needed by walking away.
The moment I stepped onto my flight back home, my chest began to ache. I had only heard stories of those whose mating bond was not accepted. It was a fate worse than moonsickness. I now knew what my brother was suffering through all those months ago. Paul had stayed behind, having spent his time looking after Sophia and her son. I fought to keep it together the whole flight home. But, now, sitting with my brother and hearing him talk about family was what helped chip away that final piece that was holding me together.
“Hey, brother,” Aiden said softly. I didn’t see him stand up, walk around his desk, and approach my chair. Tears stung my eyes, threatening to fall as I peered up at him. “She’ll come around,” he said with a small smile.
I nodded. I wanted to believe him. I hated showing this side of myself. I was the one who helped others in our pack when they were feeling down and now I felt like I was the one who needed the help.
A stray tear finally fell and I turned my gaze toward the photos on the wall behind his desk. It was covered with pictures of our pack, our family. The moment we arrived, I told Aiden how everything went, but he sensed that I was leaving something out. I told him everything, leaving nothing out, including Kara being my mate.
My mind wandered back to the moment when Vince and I had rescued Kara and Sophia.
When we arrived at the address Mason had given me, a few dragons were waiting outside the house as if they were acting as the lookout. They stepped out of their car the moment we did. One of them approached us while the others stayed behind and watched us, albeit cautiously. I could sense that Vince was on high alert with their appearance.
“I forgot to mention that I had met with the alpha of the dragon hoard today.”
“That would’ve been helpful on our drive over here,” Vince chuckled. He rolled his shoulders and drew in a deep breath, releasing it through his nose, and I could sense his anxiety slowly dropping.
“The male wolf is still inside, but the human male has left,” the dragon said. “Not sure when or if he’s going to return.”
“Thank you for sharing that bit of information,” I replied with a small smile. “Are you here to help?”
It was a question I need an answer to. Were they here to help or watch? Though I was sure Vince could take care of Warwick, it wouldn’t hurt to have help in case things had gotten out of hand. I didn’t want anything to happen to Sophia or Kara, let alone Vince and I or his mate.
The dragon’s lips broke out in a smile that had my hair standing on end and my wolf on edge. His eyes flickered, changing colors, and he barred his elongating fangs. I knew he was close to changing, but he didn’t shift, and I was thankful for that.
“Mason sent us here to help. We want to make sure things go smoothly and that this wolf is removed from our town.”
“He’s to be taken into custody. The Council is expecting him in one piece, if possible.”
“You better hope that he chooses to remain in one piece. I have orders from my alpha to intervene should it require it.”
“Understood,” Vince replied and nodded at me to silently say that he was ready to go.
Vince kicked the door in and we found Warwick on the couch in the living room. He must’ve been asleep as his reaction was slow. I quickly bypassed him, leaving Vince to take care of him, and headed down the hallway. I could smell Kara’s scent strongly there. My heart leaped in my chest. She was here.
“In here,” Kara called out. Her voice was muffled, but close by.
I followed her voice to the room at the end of the hallway. My heart lurched into my throat the moment I opened the door and saw her chained to the bed. Sophia was sitting up, clutching what I believed to be her newborn child in a blanket to her chest.
“Is everyone all right?” I asked, my gaze finding Kara’s face again.
Tears were trailing down her cheeks and I could feel a sense of joy and relief emanating from her. I knelt before her to assess the chain situation when she leaped into my arms, nearly knocking me over. My arms immediately went around her and I held her against my chest. My wolf sighed a sense of relief as well as we had our mate safe in our embrace.
The baby in Sophia’s arms began to stir fussily as the sounds coming from the living room grew louder. Warwick was not going to go quietly. From the growls, nips, and sounds of things being shredded and broken, I ascertained that they had shifted and were now fighting one another. Was it a fight for life or dominance? I wasn’t sure. One thing was certain, I needed to get Kara, Sophia, and her newborn out of here to safety.
As if she could read my mind, “I’m not sure who has the key. Ciaran was the last one in here. Warwick had him chain me back up so I didn’t get any ideas about trying to escape again.”
Again? My heart broke hearing her say those words. I was kicking myself for not being able to get here sooner.
“I’ll find it,” I said to her, then turned my attention to Sophia. “Are you two okay?”
“Yes,” she replied, her voice coming out shaky.
“I know you’re scared. Try to ignore what’s going on in the other room. My cousin Vince is taking care of Warwick. We’re getting you all out of here. Baby included.”
“Thank you,” she replied, wiping the tears from her cheek with the back of her hand.
“I have some friends who are outside waiting for us. Do you think I can help you get outside?” I asked Sophia and she nodded. “Vince’s mate is in the car and she can sit with you until I can get Kara free from this chain.”
I helped her off the bed and led her to the door. The moment I opened the door, I heard a yip and a thud. Ignoring Sophia, I rushed to the living room to see Vince changing back into his human form before kneeling over Warwick and checking his pulse.
“He’s still alive,” Vince panted, sitting back on his heels. “But just barely.” Blood oozed from a cut above his eyebrow and dripped down his face. He dug. Through a pile of shredded clothes and frowned as if what he found amongst them couldn’t be salvaged.
“Are you okay?” I asked, feeling genuinely concerned for my cousin’s well-being.
He nodded but suddenly, he reached his hand out and grabbed onto the couch beside him as he swayed over to his left, catching himself from falling over onto the floor. “Just a little woozy,” he mumbled. “It’ll pass.”
Understanding it may be a bit of low blood sugar, I rushed into the kitchen to find something to help. The only thing I could find was a bottle of water, half a loaf of bread, and a pop tart. “Pop tart and water it is,” I muttered and quickly returned to my cousin and handed him the food that I found. “I need to check Warwick’s pants for some keys. Kara is chained to the bed. Sophia and the baby appear to be okay.”
Vince’s lip curled into a snarl, his eyes darted to Warwick still lying unmoving on the ground. “You’re so lucky that the Council wants you. I would be more than happy to finish you off myself.”
“I could hold off calling them.”
“And risk getting into trouble? No thanks. He’s not worth it. Besides, I’m sure the Council needs to make an example out of him. If I were to call saying they missed the opportunity, I may be his replacement.”
He stood up and took a bite of his food. His eyes roamed the living room as he walked around in search of something in particular while I fumbled through the pile of clothes in search of keys.
The front door flew open and Vince and I jumped to our feet, ready to pounce when Mason rushed inside with two of his dragons. He stopped within a few feet of us, his body relaxing after taking in the scenery. Warwick was still out when Vince had found some duct tape and wrapped it around Warwick’s arms and legs.
“Forgive me for barging in,” Mason drawled. “It was a little too quiet for my tastes. I needed to check that you wolves were okay and got what you came for.”
“Thanks for checking up on us, Mason,” Vince said as he finished the last bite of his pop tart.
I turned my head in Vince’s direction with a surprised expression on my face. “How do you know Mason?”
Vince smirked, “He helped me out with a similar situation. It seems that the human Warwick was working with may be more trouble than what you were aware of.”
Mason drew in a deep breath and released it with a loud sigh through his nose. “Ciaran is a bit of a problem in our world, as well as the human’s world, and needs to be stopped. He’s a powerful druid so, he’s been hard to locate.”
“I see,” I replied. “It would’ve helped to know all this.”
“We’ll track Ciaran down eventually and deal with him,” Mason replied.
“Hopefully, before he does this again,” Vince added.
“I feel like I’m missing something,” I said.
“I’m not sure how much Warwick and Ciaran were working together, but they may have been part of an organization kidnapping women.”
“Especially if they are a rare species,” Mason added. “Kelpies, dragons, Fae, and even your wolf mate are catches to have for anyone with the money to buy them. The list of who they want is quite long.”
“My mate, Lissa is a dragon shifter. She told me that they had kidnapped a few other unique individuals along with her in hopes of selling them to breed,” Vince added. “It’s disgusting.”
“It is and it needs to be shut down,” I added. I hated that my cousin had to endure what I dealt with. What was happening was disgusting and it needed to be stopped.
Mason nodded. “I agree. We’ve been working with the Council in trying to locate as many of those behind this as possible. Catching Ciaran is crucial as we believe he’s much higher up in the chain of command than we think.”
I needed to free Kara from the confines of that chain and her room and finish talking to Vince and Mason. I’m sure that once Kara was free, Vince was now the alpha and this matter would no longer be my concern, but it was. Whomever was out there taking our kind with ill intentions needed to pay. Was the Council aware of what was going on? I’m not sure. Now that I had more information, they needed to know. Though that was not my job anymore, as it fell onto Vince’s shoulders, it still wouldn’t hurt to pass the word along, if not let Aiden know.