An Alpha's Pride [tribal bonds 2] (13 page)

Carlton ached, but he was alive. The pain alone told him that. He wasn’t in too bad of shape, but his head felt like it was going to explode, kind of like it did the last time he had been shot with a dart.

He was really getting tired of that, too.
He lifted his head and tried to figure out exactly where he was. Well, it wasn’t the Ritz, but it wasn’t a hellhole either. He was on a simple single bed pushed up against the wall. There was a nightstand next to the bed with three bottles of water. A lamp hung from the high ceiling, too high for Carlton to reach.
There were three ways out of the room. A window that had metal bars over it. The bathroom, which consisted of a toilet, sink, and shower. And the locked door, which Carlton assumed led out of the room.
He didn’t know how long he had been there, but he doubted it was that long. He still couldn’t use his bond link to contact Daniel, and that meant it had been no more than a few hours. The block caused by the dart only lasted a few hours if he remembered correctly.
He’d just sit and wait it out except he didn’t know what had happened to Daniel. He had no idea what happened after he passed out. For all he knew, Daniel was being held captive in another room.
And his mate in danger just wouldn’t do.
Carlton knew he had to escape somehow. Figuring that part out was going to take more brain power than he currently had. Carlton pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning his head back against the wall.
He reached for one of the bottles of water, happy to note that the seal had not been broken. After getting shot with a dart, he wouldn’t put it past anyone to tamper with his water. Carlton twisted off the lid and took a long drink.
He dangled the bottle between his legs as he looked around the room trying to see any way that he could escape. As strong as he was, he doubted he would be able to pry the metal bars loose, so the window was out.
The bathroom had no outlet unless he could figure out to swirl himself down the drain. That left the locked door, and whoever was on the other side of it. Not a welcome prospect in his current condition.
He was actually wishing he had some of Daniel’s blood right about now. Carlton chuckled lightly to himself. How sick was that?
Carlton stiffened when he heard a scrape of metal outside the door, and then the door handle slowly turned. He was grateful he wasn’t tied down when the door opened and a tall, slim man stepped inside the room. His hair was perfectly combed, his dark suit wrinkle free. He looked like a GQ ad model.
Carlton’s eyes narrowed. “I know you.”
“We’ve never officially met.” The man nodded. “But we run in the same circles. I’m sure we’ve seen each other at one gathering or another.”
“The same paranormal circles.” Which meant he probably was not being held by hunters, and wasn’t that just a mind fuck. “You’re a vampire.”
The corner of the man’s lips quirked up. “I am.”
“Are the hunters even real?”
The man folded his hands behind his back and slowly paced across the room. “Oh, the hunters are very real, but as I am sure you have realized by now, they have nothing to do with this.”
“What about the people that were kidnapped and killed?”
The man shrugged as if the lives of those taken and kidnapped didn’t matter to him. “A simple distraction, nothing more.”
Carlton grimaced. “It worked.”
“Yes.” The man smiled as if proud of himself. “I was quite impressed with the plan.”
“What have you done with the people you took?”
“They will be held until they are no longer useful to me.”
“And then what?”
“And then they will be let go, of course.”
“And you’re not worried that they will turn you in?”
The cold laughter that filled the air was the most horrible thing Carlton had ever heard. This guy was clearly off his fucking rocker.
“Do you honestly think I would devise this plan without considering that? They will be released in a few days to return to their perspective homes, fully believing that they were taken by hunters. They will never guess the truth.”
Carlton so wanted to rip this guy’s throat out. He was using people like they were pawns in a game for his amusement. “And those men that attacked me earlier? You don’t think they might have something to say about you blaming them?”
“They were not hunters, merely thugs I hired with a love for money and violence.” The man shrugged. “It was simple enough to promise them money to capture you once my plan was in place. I knew you would be able to defend yourself.”
“And it saved you from having to pay them.”
“Yes.” The man chuckled. He was clearly amused. “There was that as well.”
“How did you set all of this up anyway?” Carlton asked, somewhat curious but mostly stalling for time. “Don’t you have duties at the tribe that keep you busy?”
The man nodded. “I understand your confusion but it’s easily explained. My duties are such that my time is not greatly required at my tribe. And my position within the tribe allows me to come and go as I please.”
“That must be very convenient for you.”
“Oh, it is.” The cold laugh the man gave made Carlton shiver.
“So, now that you have me, what are your plans?” he asked.
The man chuckled again as he shook his head. That grating sound was really starting to get on Carlton’s nerves. “Oh no, that would be telling, and I do so enjoy watching the surprise on people’s faces when they discover that they have lost the game.”
Carlton made sure to keep his hands hidden in his lap when they clenched into fists as rage filled him. “This is all a game to you?”
“Of course. It’s the best kind.” The man’s wicked grin sent a spike of fear down Carlton’s spine. It was the first time since he had been attacked that he truly feared for his life. “It’s a game that I have every intention of winning.”
“Not if I have anything to do about it,” Carlton snapped as he launched himself off the bed. He had no idea what possessed him, especially considering the condition he was in. He just knew he had to stop this man before he went through whatever evil plan he had in mind.
He knew it was a bad idea before he even did it, and the fist that was planted in his gut reinforced that. The fist that ploughed into his face just backed that up. Still, Carlton had to try.
He swung his fists at the guy, at the last moment opening his hands and extending his claws. Satisfaction filled Carlton when he felt his claws drag through flesh and heard the man cry out. If he was going down, he was going to do the most damage he could muster.
One particular punch to the side of his head took Carlton to his knees. As he fell, he reached out and raked his claws along the man’s leg. He heard the man shout, but whatever damage he had done wasn’t worth the boot to his head. Carlton cried out as he rolled to his back from the force of the kick.
He could feel blood trickling down the side of his face, and he knew his head was bleeding. He couldn’t exactly tell what other injuries he had, but he felt like he had been run over by a truck.
But he wasn’t the only one bleeding. Carlton grinned when the man leaned over him and he saw blood dripping from the deep scratches. He hadn’t even known he had caused that much damage. The guy even had a split lip.
Go him.
The man spit some blood out on the floor next to Carlton then glared down at him. “I was going to let you live, but you just had to go and prove what a big strong alpha you were, didn’t you?”
“I’m an alpha. Isn’t that why you took me?”
“You didn’t think this was all about you, did you?” The man started laughing hysterically as he straightened up and stepped toward the door. “Oh no, alpha. This has nothing to do with you.”
Carlton followed the man’s progress as he finished walking across the room and stopped at the door, turning to look back at him.
“You were just the bait.”
Carlton gulped as the chill he had felt earlier turned to ice. “Bait?”
Once again, laughter filled the small room. It trailed after the man as he stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him. Carlton blew out a deep breath as his eyes slid closed.
He was pretty sure he had just signed his death warrant, and he still didn’t have a clue why. It was becoming pretty clear that the hunters really had nothing to do with this. So, who did?
Carlton laid there on the floor and racked his brain, trying to figure out exactly how he knew the vampire holding him. He had seen him somewhere, and it had been recently, too. But where?
Carlton’s eyes popped open as he suddenly remembered who the man was. He bolted upright, ignoring the strain on his sore muscles and open wounds. Panic unlike anything he had ever felt took hold of Carlton and dug in, refusing to let go even enough for him to think clearly.
All he could consider was the danger to his mate. It was a lot closer than any of them ever thought, and this particular threat made the hunters look like a basket of harmless puppies.
“Daniel, if you can hear me,”
Carlton shouted through the mental link he had with his mate,
“now would be a really good fucking time to answer me because we’re in really deep shit!”

Daniel glanced up to see Sadiki standing in front of him. He really didn’t have time for this. He needed to figure out what had happened to Carlton because he knew his anamchara wasn’t dead. He felt it deep down in his bones. The bond that they had was still there, still pulsing with life.

But Sadiki was his second-in-command. Daniel knew he needed to hear what Sadiki had to say. He could only hope it was something about Carlton. “What can I do for you, Sadiki?”

Sadiki’s eyes briefly flickered to the others in the room then back to Daniel. “Alone, please, Electus,” he murmured in a very low voice. “It’s important.”

Daniel heaved a deep sigh and climbed to his feet. He gestured for Sadiki to follow him as he walked out of Luca’s office and down the hallway to a side parlor. He glanced inside to make sure that it was unoccupied then walked inside, turning to face Sadiki. He crossed his arms over his chest, and he waited for the man to speak.

“Well?” he asked when Sadiki didn’t say anything, just glanced around nervously.
“I needed to speak privately to you because I heard something that I believe you need to know about.”
“Okay.”
“I was walking down the hallway when I saw the hunter and one of Electus Ucathya’s tribe members walk into one of the rooms off of the dining hall. Now, that in itself isn’t unusual, but they kept looking around like they were trying to be sneaky. It seemed very suspicious.”
“Did you recognize the vampire?”
“No, Electus. I’ve seen him hanging around Electus Ucathya, but I don’t know exactly who he is.”
That made sense. There were a lot of Luca’s tribe members that Daniel had yet to meet, even if he had seen them around the hotel. “Okay, then what happened?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure what to do, but they seemed to be up to no good. Like I said, it seemed very suspicious, so I waited until they walked into the room then snuck down and listened at the door.” Sadiki shook his head. “I know that there’s been speculation that there’s a traitor in the tribes, and I think the only reason Roman knows this is because he knows the guy.”
“What did you hear?”
“They were making plans, Electus.”
Daniel clenched his hands. He was starting to lose his patience with Sadiki. He wished the man would talk faster. “What sort of plans, Sadiki?”
“To kidnap your anamchara.”
Daniel’s body stilled, but his heart beat out of control at the mention of Carlton. “Did you hear them mention Carlton by name?”
“No, not by name, Electus, but they were discussing a wolf shifter that had been taken. Since your anamchara and one of his pack are missing, I thought it might be important.”
“Did they mention the vampires that were taken?”
“No, Electus.”
“Okay, thank you, Sadiki.” Carlton turned away, pushing a hand through his hair. He had more information but just as many questions. They knew someone was betraying them to the hunters. They just didn’t know who.
“Electus, there’s one more thing.”
Daniel drew in a deep breath and turned to look at Sadiki. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know by the grim look at his second-incommand’s face. On the other hand, he couldn’t not know if it involved Carlton. “What?”
“They mentioned eliminating the wolf shifter before the sun set,” Sadiki said. “They called him a liability. They were making arrangements for one of them to sneak out and take care of the job.”
Daniel closed his eyes, his misery an acute pain in his chest. His actions were just bound and determined to get his anamchara killed. No matter what he did, no matter how many precautions he took, Carlton’s life kept being put in jeopardy.
It had to stop!
“Would you recognize this vampire if you saw him again, Sadiki?” Daniel asked as he opened his eyes and pinned them on the man.
“I believe so, yes.”
Daniel pressed his lips together and nodded. He needed to think. He didn’t trust Roman any further than he could throw him. The man was a hunter after all. He also had a habit of shooting people for his own enjoyment. But did that make him a cold-blooded killer?
Luca seemed to have faith in the man, even if he was cautious around him. But just how much did Luca know about Roman? And how much did Daniel actually know about Luca?
They had been adversaries for years. Add in the fact that Carlton was the man that had threatened Luca’s anamchara, and things were not adding up quite like Daniel would have liked.
There was also the whole vampire mating with a wolf shifter thing that they had going on, too. A lot of people both in the tribes and Carlton’s wolf pack didn’t want them together. Ben was proof of that. There were a lot of odds against them.
“I don’t want you to speak of this to anyone, Sadiki. We’re just going to go back into Luca’s office like nothing happened. If you see this man, I want you to let me know. Just nod to me or something. Do not, under any circumstances, let anyone know if you see him. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Yes, Electus.”
Daniel drew in a cleansing breath then walked out of the room, heading back down the hallway to Luca’s office. He tried to keep all emotion off his face as he walked back into the large room. He just walked back over to the desk where he had been before and tried to look like he was contemplating the maps.
He saw Sadiki walk in a moment later and take up position a few feet from the door. Every few minutes, Daniel would look up at Sadiki. Otherwise, he tried to look like his nerves weren’t frayed to shreds.
When he heard someone new walk into the room, Daniel glanced up. Sadiki subtly nodded his head. Daniel’s eyes snapped to the new tribe member and his breath caught in his throat.
“Daniel, are you okay?” Luca asked from beside him.
Daniel nodded because there was no way he could speak. The man that Sadiki had pointed out was none other than Naheem Ucathya, the man that had helped save Carlton’s life when he had been shot.
Daniel dropped his eyes down to the deskful of maps. He didn’t want anyone to see the fierce emotions running rampant through him. He felt like he was being torn apart from every direction.
Carlton was missing, kidnapped, and possibly hurt. Crazy-ass hunters wanted to eradicate them all. He was making friends and signing treaties with people he had considered enemies for most of his life. And there was a traitor among them.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Daniel now knew exactly who the traitor was. Daniel curled his fingers around the edge of the desk as he lifted his gaze and looked across the room at the one man that he knew was betraying them all.
He gave himself a moment to regain his control then uncurled his hands and walked across the room as casually as he could. He gave Sadiki a simple nod to take up a position next to him.
He closed the door then stood in front of it, blocking anyone from coming in or going out, and then he drew his dart gun from inside his suit jacket and held it to his side, hiding it behind his leg.
“I know who the traitor is,” Daniel said loudly enough to gain everyone’s attention. He regretfully met the startled gaze of each man in the room. Luca, Rowan, Naheem, Roman, and Seth all stared at him like he had just declared that aliens had landed.
“How do you know, Daniel?” Luca asked as he edged in front of Rowan.
“We knew there was a traitor,” Daniel said. He nodded toward the hunter. “Roman himself told us we had a traitor among us. Everything pointed to it being someone close to us, someone that knew what we were planning. How else did they know Carlton was going to the first location? How did they know to plant a bomb?”
“What are you saying, Daniel?”
“I’m saying that the person that betrayed us all is in this room at this very moment.” Daniel wasn’t surprised in the least when everyone started looking suspiciously at everyone else. “He knows everything about us. Who we mate, what agreements we have between us, what we do, even what we plan to do. Everything.”
“Daniel, I trust every person in this room,” Luca said. “Are you trying to tell me that one of them betrayed us?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Luca’s face darkened. “Who is it?” he growled.
“Who has access to all of us, Luca?” Daniel asked. “Who can come and go without notice because he is trusted? And who has been here from the very beginning of this whole mess? Who knows everything we have planned?” Daniel’s eyes narrowed as he watched Luca’s hands clench, claws popping out when he unclenched them. “Think about it, Luca. Who knows everything?”
Luca shook his head as he glanced around at every man standing in the room. “Daniel, everyone in this room fits that description. Who the fuck are you talking about?”
“Why don’t you tell them, Sadiki?”
Daniel heard Sadiki’s soft inhale and knew the man was surprised that he had brought him into it when their brief conversation in the parlor was supposed to be secret. But he knew he was right about all of the puzzle pieces he had put together when Sadiki turned to look at Naheem.
“Sadiki?” Luca whispered as he looked between Sadiki and his brother, Naheem, with a combination of shock and disbelief crossing his face. Luca slowly started to shake his head.
“No, I—” Naheem’s voice wavered and broke. His face drained of color.
Luca frowned, taking a step toward his brother. “Naheem—”
“Is not the traitor,” Daniel said as he stepped behind his secondin-command and pushed the barrel of his dart gun against the man’s throat. “Is he, Sadiki?”