Black Wolfe's Mate (Paranormal Shifter Romance) (15 page)

Wake up, sweetheart. Time to go
.

“Derrick...” she murmured the name.

Who the hell was Derrick? Still in her mind, Lachlan clearly felt the love she had for him. Was he her mate? Was he the stupid fuck who left his pregnant, newly transformed bride alone to be captured by the likes of Schaeffer’s mercenaries?

A deep growl answered his question. Not Angelica’s.
Who are you and how are you in my mate’s thoughts?

Jealousy, rage, a bloodthirsty desire to kill — Lachlan clearly felt all of those things as the words slammed into his mind with great force. More force than he would expect, unless...

You’re an Alpha?
Lachlan quipped in disbelief as he unhooked Angelica’s restraints under the guise of checking her vitals, making sure to follow the exact same sequence he did every time he came to her. He was too old, too intent on his task to feel any fear, just a sense of urgency.

How does an Alpha lose his mate and unborn cubs?

There was a pause as Lachlan felt the rippling waves of shock echo back through him. Stupid bastard.
Yes, Angelica is pregnant. How long have you been an Alpha, anyway? A week?

I am going to enjoy killing you slowly.

Yeah, well, get in line, pal
.

The last cuff was released. Lachlan detached the I.V., tucking the end beneath the mattress.
Just a few more minutes, sweetheart, then you and I are out of here
. Lachlan deliberately put extra emphasis on the endearment.

I am coming for my mate.

Good. Bring an army. I need all the help I can get.

There was a brief pause.
You are helping her?

Not the brightest bulb in the box, are you?
Lachlan said sarcastically.
Yes, I’m getting her out of here before they start carving her up into pieces.
 

You are Lachlan.

That surprised him, but only for a moment.
Talks about me then, does she?

Lachlan felt the tsunami-force wave of possessive jealousy pound against his mental barriers for several moments before it receded slightly.
You are a wolf
.

Duh
. At nearly nine hundred years old and holding an untold number of degrees in alchemy, medicine, science, chemistry, and a host of other disciplines, Lachlan didn’t think he’d ever used that word before. It took him a few moments to realize the unexpected utterance came from Angelica. She was awake.

Thank God.

Help us, Derrick.  

Angelica, my love!
Derrick’s voice was filled with relief.
Who is this male? Has he hurt you?

Angelica opened her eyes and looked at Lachlan as he waited for her to answer.
I trust him,
she answered carefully.
Please help us.

Lachlan was glad she had kept the details of the things he had done over the last few days from the forefront of her thoughts. He hoped she understood he had only done that which was necessary to keep her alive long enough for a chance at escape. But her mate wouldn’t understand. Not yet, anyway. He shoved that and all other non-essential thoughts to the far recesses of his mind where he would deal with them later, should it become necessary. The most important thing right now was getting her out of here in one piece.

Liam is with us.
Lachlan heard the words spoken into Angelica’s mind, knowing they were meant for him.
Open your mind to him and show us where you are. We have a retrieval team ready.

Lachlan couldn’t hide his shock.
Liam? But they said he was—

He’s not.

There are others here,
Lachlan responded.
Males from Liam’s pack.

How many?

Three. They may need assistance.

They will have it.

Lachlan did not have a very high opinion of Angelica’s mate, but there was no denying the strength of conviction he managed to convey. Lachlan felt a great burst of energy as the rest of Angelica’s pack pushed their way into her mind. He counted at least six others, all old, all strong, and said a silent prayer of thanks.

Brother.
Relief and wonder poured into him as a connection he thought was lost forever flared to life.
Liam
.

Lachlan showed them the way, leading Liam through the maze of tunnels and providing access codes at each subsequent level. Now that he knew he was not doing this alone, he could afford to be a bit more thorough. They all agreed that Derrick’s men would see to the captured males, while Lachlan would take care of Angelica. Derrick didn’t like that at all, that was clear, but even he had to admit Lachlan had the better chance of success. Lachlan was already in there with her, and as a recognized doctor, could move around with her without raising the alarm.

Though he knew it was coming, even Lachlan was startled when the first explosion rocked the underground labs. Emergency sirens blared throughout the facility. Protocol dictated the lockdown would begin next.

Lachlan swept Angelica from the bed and tucked her against his chest, moving quickly. With the strength of his kind, he carried her easily through the corridors, barking orders to anyone who noticed him. His deep, authoritative voice worked to his advantage — no one questioned him or his actions.

A second explosion sounded, right on schedule. This one would ensure there would be an exit for him and the others.

Schaeffer suddenly appeared in the hallway, looking disheveled and disoriented. His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils still dilated from the tranquilizers Lachlan had slipped into his liquor.

“Lachlan? What the hell is going on?”

Lachlan didn’t hesitate. “We’re under attack. I’ve got the female. Come!”

Confused, Schaeffer obeyed the underlying command in Lachlan’s voice. Brilliant scientist he might be, but even he had survival instincts. He looked around and saw the techs scrambling as guards appeared to lead them out.

Lachlan went in the opposite direction. Schaeffer followed behind Lachlan, jogging to keep up. “What about the others?”

“Leave them,” Lachlan answered without turning around. “She’s the one we want. She’s pregnant.”

Lachlan knew dangling that little tidbit of information was a bait Schaeffer couldn’t possibly resist, and he was right. Schaeffer followed without question.

The floors rumbled beneath their feet as a third, then a fourth blast hit in quick succession.

“My lab...” Schaeffer moaned the words, stumbling as he looked back over his shoulder. Lighting flickered on and off as the corridor behind them simply collapsed. Lachlan ignored him and kept moving.

After traversing through miles of underground tunnels, Lachlan finally stopped. Schaeffer was breathing heavily, leaning over with his hands on his knees. Lachlan looked as though he had done nothing more strenuous than simply stepping out of the shower.

The distractions had worked. The element of surprise and carefully placed detonations kept the staff away from the holding areas, allowing Derrick’s pack to get in and reach the others without being spotted. They moved a lot faster than Lachlan, since he’d kept his pace deliberately slow to ensure that Schaeffer could keep up. By the time they stopped, Lachlan received word that the others were already being loaded into the multi-terrain vehicles that would take them down to the base of the mountain.

“Why have we stopped?” Schaeffer panted.

“Because this is as far as you go,” Lachlan said quietly.

Schaeffer looked at him in confusion. Then his eyes grew wide as several very large men filed into the chamber behind Lachlan.

Lachlan had no trouble identifying the Alpha. He was the one barely holding on to his human form. His eyes blazed with intensity, a glowing blue that practically lit the entire chamber. His canines had already begun to extend. Before he could complete the shift, Lachlan put Angelica into his arms.

“Get her out of here,” Lachlan said.

Derrick kissed Angelica reverently, then murmured a few words to her and handed her to Christophe. “He is mine,” Derrick growled, looking at Schaeffer.

“No,” said Lachlan. “I have waited too long for this. I will not be denied.”

“Angelica is my mate.”

“He destroyed my pack.”

Derrick’s jaw clenched as the two males faced off. As much as he wanted the scientist all to himself, he understood Lachlan’s need as well. “Together, then?”

“Aye,” Lachlan nodded in agreement.

They shifted into their lupine forms. Schaeffer’s eyes grew wide as he stumbled backward, pasting himself against the far wall of the chamber. “Lachlan! You are one of them?”

Lachlan growled in answer. He and Derrick each took a step forward in perfect synchronization. It was the last thing Victor Schaeffer ever saw.

* * *

S
ilas and the others erected a temporary camp several miles away, but it was close enough to feel the tremors as the last of the explosives detonated, permanently burying any remains of Schaeffer’s private facilities. No one left inside was alive to experience it, though. Derrick’s men had been quick and thorough.

Lachlan shook hard, spraying arcs of icy water everywhere. He’d managed to wash most of Schaeffer’s blood from his fur, the silver and black no longer tainted with crimson, but it would take a long time to get the foul taste out of his mouth. He shifted back into his human form, hoping to hell someone had the foresight to bring a bottle of Listerine or, at the very least, a tin or two of Altoids.

Derrick was waiting for him in his tent. He’d expected as much, sensing the other male’s presence easily.

“How is she?” Lachlan was the one to break the silence, pulling on a pair of jeans.

“Our healer is with her now.”

Lachlan clearly sensed the barely-leashed violence and knew Derrick had read enough of Angelica’s mind to know at least some of what had happened. “I had to do those things,” he said simply, his voice cold, flat. “It was the only way to keep her alive and away from Schaeffer until I could get her out of there.”

“
She is my mate
.”

Lachlan was in no mood for a pissing contest. He was exhausted and more than a little cranky. “And you allowed her to be captured.”

The level of aggression in the tent rose a couple of notches. Lachlan met it and raised it even higher. Ripping Schaeffer to shreds had been rather satisfying, but not nearly enough. Now that his beast had tasted freedom after being caged for so long, it wanted more.

“How exactly does an infant manage to get taken right from under the collective noses of a centuries-old Alpha and his sentinels in his own backyard, anyway?”

Blue eyes glowed in fury. “I did not come here to kill you,” Derrick growled, the sound more wolf than human as his lips curled back in a snarl. “But I find the idea increasingly appealing.”

“Save it for someone who cares,” Lachlan snapped. “You cannot intimidate me.”

“What makes you so fucking invincible?”

Lachlan laughed. It was a hollow, empty sound. “Do everyone a favor, will you? Go to your mate. Make love to her until the horror of this leaves her eyes. Then spend the rest of your life making this up to her and those whelps of yours.”

Silence fell heavily around them as the realization suddenly hit Derrick. “You were mated.”

Lachlan turned away. He was so not going there. “Fuck you.” He took off his jeans again and stuffed them into a pack along with a shirt, a pair of socks, boots, and a few other items.

“I’m not finished with you.”

“But
I
am finished with
you
. Take care of Angelica and those cubs. And if you’d look out for my brother and the others, I’d appreciate it. We’ll call it even.” Without another word, Lachlan shifted, grabbed the pack in his teeth, and trotted out of the tent.

“Want me to go after him?” Silas asked a few seconds later, appearing from the shadows.

“No,” Derrick answered, watching the massive creature lope into the surrounding forest. “Let him go.”

O
ne Year Later

Angelica laughed at the sight before her. Fully grown men, rolling on the floor like pups while three wolf cubs playfully snapped and growled and batted at them with tiny claws.

The smallest of them, a rare female with golden fur and big eyes, latched on to Silas’ finger and refused to let go. “Fierce,” he laughed, trying to gently disengage her sharp, needle-like teeth. “Just like her mother.”

“And just as beautiful,” Derrick added, bending over to kiss his mate lovingly. At the sound of his voice, the three cubs leapt off the others and made a mad scramble across the room, tripping and falling all over themselves in an attempt to get to him.

One by one, he lifted them up and nuzzled them with an affectionate growl. Suitably appeased with their father’s attention, they returned to the games at hand.

There was a knock at the door. Liam entered, followed closely by Oskar, Erik, and Markus, as well as the three other males they had retrieved from Schaeffer’s facility. Physically, all were healed, but the mental and emotional scars would take much longer.

“We just wanted to say goodbye,” Liam said. “And to thank you for all you have done for me and mine.”

“You will not stay?”

“No,” Liam said, shaking his head. “As beautiful as it is here, as kind and generous as you have been, our home is in the mountains. I hope you are not offended.”

“Not at all,” Derrick assured him, understanding his need to return. “Know that you will always be welcome here.”

“As you will be in our land, once we have rebuilt.” Liam glanced shyly at Angelica. “It would make a nice change of scenery for you and your pups.”

“Count on it,” Angelica said with a smile as she stood. “We will miss you, Liam. All of you.” Angelica proceeded to give each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek, ignoring Derrick’s soft growls. He wasn’t jealous; it was simply a natural reaction of his beast. Angelica’s singular love and devotion, as well as the honor of Liam and all of his men, was never in question.