Alder, Alanea - Fated to Be Family [Kindred of Arkadia 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (14 page)

“These are awesome, thank you. To tell you the truth, I’m still not that comfortable either,” Kate said smiling gently.

Both women stripped their clothes and folded them into tiny squares before stuffing them in the surprisingly durable bags. Both shifted and, using their muzzle, carried their clothes with them.

After they shifted, the smell of blood became magnified. Both wolves headed toward it. As the scent became stronger, their pace increased. They came upon a small clearing and skidded to a halt. Hanging upside down from the tree, a small, white figure swayed with the wind. Cecelia shifted back and, with an anguished cry, ran toward Gina. Kate shifted and ran over to help pull the girl down. Neither one of them carried a knife so Kate simply reached up and snapped the branch off. Kate felt sick as she saw various cuts on Gina’s arms and inner thighs. Whoever had hurt the girl had intended for her to die slowly.

Cecelia sat on the ground, holding Gina in her arms, crying.

“Cecelia! Cecelia, focus!” Kate said, sharply.

“She’s still breathing. Get up and get dressed. We need to get her to town and the clinic. Hurry!” Kate said, pulling on her clothes. Cecelia gently placed Gina on the ground and pulled on her clothes as well. Kate easily lifted the small girl in her arms and they ran as quickly as they could back to the vehicles.

“Cecelia, I know you want to go with Gina, but I need you to do me a huge favor.” Cecelia nodded rapidly, eyes blinking.

“Cecelia Raymond, are you with me?” Kate asked.

Cecelia shook her head as if to clear it and then met Kate’s eyes. “I’m okay. What do you need me to do, Alpha?”

“I need you to go to the Pack house and tell Rian to take the boys to the Pride House, that I am personally asking the Pride Alpha to guard my sons. Tell Riley what happened and have him bring only his most trusted men to the clinic.” She strapped Gina into the passenger seat of her truck.

“Can I tell my mom? Gina will want her there. My mom is like a second mom to her,” Cecelia said.

Kate hesitated for only a moment. She knew that a woman who doted on her daughter as much as Beverly Raymond did would never do this to Gina.

“Yes, now hurry. Do not stop the car for anything. Literally drive up to the front door. Do you understand me?” She grabbed the girl and looked her in the eye.

“Yes, Alpha!” Cecelia said.

“Good girl, now go and be safe!” She said.

She watched the red car speed away from her as she turned the truck west toward town. Driving with one hand, she dialed Liam’s cell.

“Chelllo, Katie Belle, to what do I owe this honor?” Liam said cheerfully.

“I just found Gina Wade strung up in a tree in the woods on pack lands nearly drained of blood. I sent Cecelia Raymond to the Pack house to tell Rian to bring the boys to you. I am asking for you to guard my sons, Liam Lewenhart,” she said formally.

“I will personally watch over them and guard them with my life, Alpha Kate Edwards of the Arkadian wolf pack,” he said, finishing the formal response.

“Fuck, Kate! Is there anything else I can do?” he asked. She could hear him barking orders in the background to start locking down the Pride house.

“You have the most important job already in my opinion. I am trusting you with my children,” she said.

“I won’t let you down, Katie. I am sending you Beau and Kaden. Be careful,” Liam said.

“You, too.” She hung up and then called Bran.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Bran said. She could picture his relaxed smile.

“Bran,” she started and her voice broke. Just hearing his voice made her want him next to her.

“Kate! Kate, where are you? What’s going on?” he yelled into the phone.

“I’m on the east road heading into town. I have Gina. They got to her, Bran. I’m heading straight to the clinic.” She looked up. She could see the lights from the town.

“I can see the town. Meet me at the clinic.” She threw her phone in the console next to her.

She drove straight down Congress Avenue and skidded to a stop in front of the clinic. She nearly stripped the gears as she put the truck in park, the back tires still coming to a stop. She jumped out and was met by Dr. Claybourne. She opened the passenger side of the truck, very gently lifted Gina out, and passed her to the doc. He immediately ran inside the clinic and disappeared behind the sliding double doors. Kate followed and found herself standing alone in the waiting room.

“Kate! Oh thank God!” Bran strode into the waiting room. He spun her around and pulled her into his arms. She immediately felt Caleb behind her, pressing his body into hers. Both held her as if afraid to let go.

“Kate! What happened?” Rebecca said as she and Aleks came through the doors, followed by Ashby and Ma.

“Cecelia was right. We found Gina hanging from a tree on pack lands a few miles from her home. She had been stripped and it looked like she had been beaten then drained.” Kate pulled her head from Bran’s chest.

“I hate to think how long they had her or how long she had been hanging in that fucking tree,” Kate said, her voice breaking.

“Thank God you didn’t listen to me,” Aleks said, looking pale.

“Kate, I’m so sorry for not listening to you,” Bran said, closing his eyes.

“I was so concerned with keeping the pack safe I let this happen to Gina.” Bran kept his eyes closed as if he couldn’t face her or the others in the room.

“You didn’t let this happen. If you’d known it was happening, you would have stopped it. The hyenas and the hyenas alone are responsible for this.” Kate rubbed her hands up and down his upper arms.

“She’s right, Bran. You’re not God. What we have to concentrate on right now is making sure we do everything we can for Gina and find these bastards,” Caleb said, his voice filled with emotion.

“Where is she!” a penetrating voice said from the clinic doorway minutes later.

Kate looked up to see Beverly Raymond breathing hard, her husband and daughter close behind her. Cecelia had been able to get her parents released given the severity of the situation. Beverly’s hair was undone and sticking out in every direction and her normally well-pressed blouse and pants were creased. Kate moved away from Bran.

“Ms. Raymond, Dr. Claybourne is with her now. I’m sure he’ll come tell us something as soon as he can,” Kate said, stepping toward the older woman.

“My Beverly told me what you did, what both you and the Alpha Mother did to go look for Gina. Thank you, Alpha. Thank you for what you have done for Gina. Her mother was my best friend. I failed her and I have failed to look after her children, but that stops now. You have my full support.” She placed her fisted hand over her heart. Kate stared in shock. With a shaking hand, she returned the gesture. That final gesture seemed to take the last of Ms. Raymond’s strength. She crumpled in front of Kate, who caught her as she fell forward.

“Please, God, let her be okay.” Kate could hear the steady repetition of words coming from the older woman.

“It’ll be ok, Mama,” Cecelia said and took her mother from Kate’s arms.

“Shush, Mama, Kate will take care of everything. She and our Alpha Mother will keep us safe.” Cecelia moved her mother to one of the chairs.

“Bran, we have ten pack members that I trust out here. Just say the word. We’re ready to hunt,” Riley said from the doorway.

“If you’re here, then who is guarding the boys?” Caleb demanded, turning to Riley.

“Kate sent Rian and Damian to Liam. They have the Pride House on lock down. Liam has given his word of honor to protect the boys,” Riley said, his eyes showing his disbelief. It wasn’t often that another shifter group would take in another’s young and swear to defend it to the last dying man of that group.

“Thank God!” Caleb said, running his hand over his face.

Bran looked at Kate. “Liam agreed to this?”

“For me, he did,” she said simply.

Rebecca had somehow closely woven their small town together. Before her arrival everyone stayed close to their pride or pack. It was as if her arrival helped others see beyond their animal and helped them become friends. Kate smiled when she realized that she hadn’t even hesitated in calling Liam.

Dr. Claybourne came through the double doors. He looked up and went to Kate.

“She’s not doing well. If and it’s a big if, she survives the night, she’ll still have a rough next couple days. She’s been beaten and then drained of blood. Our normal rapid healing has been slowed to a crawl. She had bruising on her inner thighs. I administered a rape kit, but results are inconclusive. She will need a lot of support in the next couple weeks and months it will take her to recover,” he said slowly and carefully.

Kate looked over to Beverly Raymond.

“She’ll be coming home with us, Dr. Claybourne. God only knows her father is useless and would not be of any help to her,” Beverly said with disdain. She turned to Kate.

“They die,” she said.

Kate nodded. “Every last motherfucking one of them,” Kate said, blinking hard.

“Alpha Kate, Alpha Liam sent us,” a familiar voice said from the clinic door. Kate looked up to see Beau Thompson and Kaden Barnett waiting on her.

She went to take a step forward toward them when a wave of dizziness swept through her. She wrapped her arms around her body as her teeth began to chatter. She was cold, so cold. She felt her knees give out and suddenly, she was blinking up into Bran’s frantic face. She saw his lips moving but couldn’t hear him. So cold. She knew she was shaking and couldn’t stop. Then, from the distance, she heard a faint voice.

Alpha Mother, help me.

All at once, sound and motion returned. She sat up.

“Nicholas!” Her screams echoed with Ashby’s and Rebecca’s. She turned her head and saw that they, too, lay on the floor. Kaden was holding Ashby and Aleks hovered franticly over Rebecca.

“Bran, Caleb, Kaden, Beau, Riley, take the men and go! The Grind, save Nic! Hurry!” she yelled. Her voice acted as a release and the men sprang into action. Bran gave her one last look before standing and running out the door.

Kate tried to crawl to Ashby and Rebecca, but her arms gave out. Gently, Arthur Raymond picked her up and carried her to where Ashby now lay cuddled next to Rebecca on the floor. Arthur set her down on the other side and they waited. In the background, she heard Dr. Claybourne barking out orders to get a second trauma unit prepped to receive Nicholas.

They didn’t have to wait long. Less than twenty minutes later, Caleb barreled into the clinic carrying Nic’s unconscious form. Ashby cried out in anguish. Caleb carried Nic back to where the doctor waited behind the double doors open. A few minutes later, Dr. Claybourne came rushing back out.

He pointed to Ashby and Rebecca. “You and you come with me. Hurry!” They scrambled to get up and ran into the room. Kate followed without being asked. She walked in as Dr. Claybourne was explaining his treatment.

“Rebecca, he will benefit from your bond so lie as close to him as possible. He also needs a blood transfusion. Ashby, surprisingly, you are also O negative. He’s lucky. O negative is a universal donor but can
 
receive only O negative. It’s extremely rare among shifters. Lie down and I’ll get the transfusion started. ” He pointed to the bear-sized bed where Nicholas lay. Ashby and Rebecca jumped into bed with Nic. Nic moaned and buried his face into Rebecca’s neck. Ashby snuggled up behind him.

“It’s okay, Nic, you’re going to be okay,” Rebecca said.

“Knew you’d come,” he whispered. “Knew you would keep me safe.” He closed his eyes and snuggled closer.

Rebecca looked up with tears in her eyes. Aleks lay a hand on Rebecca’s back, letting her know that he was there.

“Kate, find them. Find them and kill the bastard who let them in. Seal the perimeter,” Rebecca said, pushing Nicholas’s bangs out of his face. Kate nodded and walked back out into the waiting room.

Bran stood and walked over.

“How is he?” he asked

“He needs a transfusion. Luckily Ashby is a match. But he and Rebecca will probably need to stay the night with him. The bond we share is helping.” She looked around for Caleb.

“He’s outside with the men.” He pointed to the door. Kate hesitated and then looked back to the room where Gina and Nic lay unconscious.

“Go, my brothers and I will stand guard,” Connor said, stepping forward.

“Thank you.” She and Bran walked to the door heading outside. Waiting for her were Beau and Kaden.

“What are you two up to?” she asked, stopping in front of the clinic’s doors as Bran made his way over to Caleb and the men.

“Sticking with you,” Kaden said. Beau nodded.

“I’d prefer it if you helped Aleks watch over Rebecca,” she said.

Kaden snorted. “And I’d prefer to keep breathing. Liam said if anything happened to you he’d rip our intestines out through our cocks.
 
It takes a
lot
to rile a Lewenhart male, but once they are riled, you stay on their good side. His orders were to protect you. So we’re gonna be all over you, darlin’.”

“Okay, boys, try to keep up,” Kate said and then started walking over to where Bran was coordinating with Riley and Caleb in the open grassy area at the end of the road that the clinic was on. Just beyond the grass the woods that surrounded the town began.