Betraying the Pack (18 page)

“He’s got balls, that’s for
fucking sure.”

“And wolves to waste,” Parker
added.

They lapsed into silence after
that, letting themselves sink into their own thoughts as they waded through
brush and bramble looking for a sign rogues had passed this way.

The fear, sharp and sudden,
came through his link with Bailey loud and clear, and then nothing. Stopping
abruptly, Wyatt turned to face Gavin and Parker, who searched the forest
outside the compound with him.

“Did you feel that?”

They didn’t answer, instead
taking off running, back toward their SUV, but they’d wandered far from the
road in their grid search, and it took an eternity to make it to their vehicle.
Parker took the wheel, spinning the tires in his haste to return.

It seemed crazy to think
someone or something had penetrated so deep into pack to get to Bailey,
especially given the crazy security around the place. However, rationalization
couldn’t overcome his trepidation, and he especially didn’t like the way his
link to her refused to respond.

Arriving at the compound gates,
pandemonium reigned, with the on-guard duty knocked out cold, drugged, apparently,
and unable to answer questions. Still not speaking, Wyatt and his pack brothers
raced to the house. He already knew she was gone, but he searched the place
anyway, frantically calling her name.

She didn’t reply, and they
discovered another chilling fact. Jaxon appeared gone as well.

Spilling back out onto the
street, they ran into Nathan, grim-faced as usual, Dana at his side, her face a
mask of anger.

“We were watching the wrong
wolf,” she spat.

“What do you mean?” Wyatt
asked.

Nathan growled. “All this time,
we assumed Bailey was the ticking time bomb, but it was never her. She was the
objective. Jaxon was the means to get her.”

“Jaxon betrayed the pack? I
don’t believe it,” Parker said shaking his head.

“I doubt it’s what he wanted,”
Dana said. “But somehow, Roderick got to him and invaded his mind.”

“But why now? What happened to
make him go off?” Gavin exclaimed, his face haggard and his voice drawn.

Wyatt straightened. “Shit. Hold
on a second.” Racing back into the house, he flew to the bathroom and grabbed
the packaging from the counter that he’d ignored before. His stomach fell as
his suspicion proved true. It was with sluggish steps that he returned and held
up the reason for her abduction.

“She’s pregnant?” Gavin’s brows
arched.

“That was the trigger, I’ll
bet,” Wyatt said.

“Oh fuck,” Dana exclaimed in a
most unladylike manner.

“We need to get her back,”
Nathan intoned.

“And how do you propose that?
It’s not like Roderick left a map to his location, and we’ve yet to find any
clue as to his hideout,” Wyatt drawled sarcastically, not caring if he was
being rude to his leader. Frustration made him want to yell worse.

A grim smile ghosted across
Nathan’s face. “Actually, we do have a map. I took the liberty of chipping your
mate.”

Dana dropped her eyes. “I’ve
been feeding it to her in muffins for the last few days.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Gavin
bristled while Wyatt fought an urge to let his wolf make mincemeat out of the
people he trusted.

“Only Dana, myself, and John
knew. We didn’t want to take the risk someone else would slip and let Roderick
know.”

“You wanted him to take her,”
Wyatt spat, realization setting in.

Nathan’s face darkened. “Not
wanted. Expected. And, I might add, it’s a good thing I did, or our chances of
getting her back would be slim to none. Now, would you like to keep standing
around debating the decision I made, or are we assembling the pack to get her
back?”

“Let’s go kick some ass,” Gavin
said, his eyes narrowing with menace.

“And bash some skulls,” Parker
added, flexing his meaty fists.

“Time to shed some blood.”
Wyatt’s cold tone brought a smile to their faces, the lupine smile of a
predator about to go on a hunt.
Time to
kill.

Opening her eyes, Bailey
blinked in the dim light, staring at the cracked cement ceiling. Why did it
seem so familiar?

A clawed hand drags sharply across my skin. Blood beads, dripping down.
He laughs, drawing near with his damned needles and his hungry mouth.

Shaking her head, she tried to
dislodge the memories, but faster than a speeding bullet, they filled her mind,
the echoes of her past screams ringing in her head, ricocheting off the
horrifying recollections that wouldn’t stop coming. The cries, the screams, the
blood, so much blood, and
him.
Roderick.

Clutching at her aching skull,
she rocked back and forth, but she couldn’t stop the tears, the horror.
He tortured me.
Too much to take all at
once, she sank into oblivion.

Wakening a second time, Bailey
moaned as she recognized the nightmarish décor around her.
I’m back.

She recalled most of those
forgotten days, horrific days that seemed a lifetime ago, recalled Roderick as
he laughed at her misery, and then gleefully applied more. She didn’t remember
everything he’d said, the pain controlling too much of her conscious thought,
but she did remember one phrase in particular, and even now, it made her
shiver.

“You shall be the mother of my army. With your womb, I shall rule the
packs.”

A moan slipped from her, and
she stifled it as she heard a rustle.

“Bailey?” The uncertain voice
made her eyes pop open.

Jaxon, looking worn and
dejected, knelt before her.

“You!” She spat the word at him
as she scrambled back. “How could you do this?”

“Bailey—I—”

The misery in his eyes hurt her,
which she didn’t understand. The traitor didn’t deserve any sympathy, not after
hand-delivering her to the monster.

“You betrayed your pack, Jaxon.
Betrayed me,” she cried, watching as he flinched at each of her thrown words.

“I didn’t want to,” he moaned.
“He got in my head. I had no choice. He controlled me. Oh God, I wish Wyatt had
killed me like he kept threatening. I should have died that night in the park.”

“The night I attacked you?”

He nodded. “Once Wyatt left to
look for you, Roderick came out of the darkness. I tried to fight. I really did.
But, I was too weak, and he got into my head.” He grimaced in remembered pain.

“Oh, Jaxon.” Her tone softened.
She knew all too well what Roderick was capable of.

“I didn’t even remember until I
woke up in this cell,” he admitted with a mournful sigh. “I wondered why I kept
dreaming of red eyes. I swear I didn’t know what he did to me. As soon as you
said ‘pregnant,’ I wasn’t me anymore. It was like I was a passenger while he
drove. And he’d had me stash things, like drugs to knock you and the guards at
the gate out.” His shoulders shook as his head dropped to hide his tears of
shame. “I wish I’d known. I would have killed myself before I hurt you or the
pack,” he whispered.

Sliding over to him, she put
her arm around his shaking shoulders. “I know, Jaxon. He hurt me too. And then
made me forget.”

“What does he want?”

She placed her free hand on her
stomach. “He wants my child.”

“But why?”

“Because he thinks my child is
the key for him to build an army to destroy the packs.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I know, but don’t forget,
Roderick isn’t all there.”

“Tell me about it. I thought
Wyatt was the coldest killer I know. This guy makes him look like a docile
bunny rabbit.”

“How long have we been here?”

“I don’t know. At least a day.
Maybe more. I remember driving for a long time before we got here.”

“Wherever we are, we need to
get out.”

Jaxon sprang up and went to the
door, which of course didn’t budge when he yanked on it. He pounded on it
before she could stop him, the metallic echo dying slowly until silence reigned,
the gabbling madness and despair of those imprisoned from her last tenure
missing. Perhaps death had come to rescue them.

“Save your strength,” she
cautioned. “We’ll need to wait until he opens the door before we can make our
move.”

Resigned, Jaxon leaned against
a cement wall and slid down. His body posture screamed he wanted her to leave
him alone. She ignored it and sidled over until she sat beside him. He flinched
when she laid her head on his shoulder.

“You know, I had your claiming
all planned,” she said softly.

“Y-You did?” His voice emerged
hesitant, so unlike the brash Jaxon she knew. It broke her heart.

“Yup. I was going to bake a
coconut cream pie.”

“My favorite.”

“I know. I figured you’d end up
making some smart-ass remark, and I was going to throw my portion in your
face.”

A rusty chuckle made him shake.
“What a waste of pie.”

“Not really, because in my plan,
you threw yours right back. And then”—she turned her head until she whispered
against his ear—“I was going to lick it off you.”

“You are a wicked girl, sweet cheeks,”
he said, turning until their lips hovered a hairsbreadth apart.

“I’ve been learning from the
best,” she said, letting herself lean in that last millimeter to touch his
mouth.

Their kiss was slow, sensual,
and bittersweet. They both knew their chances of making it out of there lingered
in the slim-to-fat-chance realm. It made tears prick her eyes to know that
she’d waited too long to claim this wonderful man. She deepened the kiss when
she heard the sound of steps approaching. Just as desperate, he clung to her, and
when she bit his lip, she hoped he got the hint as the flavor of his blood hit
her tongue. He managed to nip her back just inside the lip before the door
burst open. They both opened their eyes wide as the shock wave of their joining
hit.

“Isn’t this cozy?” sneered a
familiar gravelly voice.

Bailey turned from Jaxon to
peer upon the face of her nightmare. Her bitch snarled in her mind, waiting
impatiently for an opening where she could tear open Roderick’s throat. Bailey
hoped she got a chance.

Jaxon pushed up off the floor
and stood in front of her. “Let her go,” he valiantly said.

A chuckle that sent spidery
shivers skating down her spine made Roderick’s eyes glow even brighter. “Aren’t
you still just the comedian? Stand aside, boy. You’ve completed your task for
the moment. I won’t be needing you now until the bitch whelps. And wasn’t that
kind of you to bind her to you before I had a chance to order it.”

“What do you want with us?”
Bailey demanded, standing to face her captor, trying to still the trembling of
her limbs.

“I want my own pack, of course.
One not bound to me by force, but because they’re mine. Born and bred for one
thing, to serve me.”

“You’re sick.”

“I prefer to think of myself as
a visionary. And you should thank me. As the mother of the future ranks, you
get to live, along with the pup here who so kindly brought you. I’m sure he’ll
be more than happy to play stud.”

“Never,” Jaxon growled.

“Really?”

Roderick never moved, but a
moment later, Jaxon dropped to his knees, screaming as he clutched his head.

“Stop it!” Bailey cried.

“Why? The sooner he learns my
will is the only one he should own, the better.”

An alarm sounded, startling
them all. Roderick’s face creased, and his eyes went blank. Jaxon stopped
screaming, but still knelt on the floor, heaving. Sensing their chance, Bailey
grabbed at him and pulled. He stumbled to his feet, but as she went to go
around Roderick, his hand shot out and grabbed her arm in a painful grip.

“Going somewhere?”

Bailey tugged, but got nowhere,
and when Jaxon made to lunge at Roderick, he stopped halfway with a scream,
clutching at his head instead.

“Come, my pets, it’s time to
leave. It would seem my son and his ragtag rabble of dogs have stumbled upon
us.”

As Roderick dragged her down a
corridor lit by bulbs strung on a string, she couldn’t help a bubble of hope.

Her mates had come for her.

Parker chafed at the delay in
following the signal left by Bailey as Jaxon, the traitor, took her further and
further from the pack.

Not usually a rash man, he was
ready to jump in his truck and go, but even among bloodthirsty werewolves, some
preparation needed to happen. First off, the women and children left behind
required protection, so some males were selected to stay and the females armed
with guns. Sexist, but then again, a smaller female wolf didn’t stand much of a
chance against a larger aggressive male. Bullets, however, evened the odds.

Once they’d squared that
situation away, they ran into another. Nathan feared them leaving in a large
group would alert Roderick’s spies, so they slipped from the compound in
vehicles that seemed empty except for drivers, but were in fact packed with
Lycans. The overflow of males ended up disgorging in towns on the way, picking
up rental vehicles, dispersing their trail even more and making them less of a
target if cops pulled them over. The whole process to get them on the road and
en route to save Bailey took hours, and Parker could only stew in frustration,
worrying about what had happened to his mate. As for Jaxon, the pack brother
who’d taken her? The traitor wouldn’t live long enough to regret betraying
them.

A part of Parker understood
that Jaxon probably didn’t act of his own volition. It didn’t matter. They
could no longer trust him. Could no longer accept him into the fold of their
pack. Even if they defeated Roderick, Parker knew the carefree boy he’d come to
know would leave forever.

The drive lasted far longer
than Parker liked, but his consolation resided in the fact that while Bailey’s
captor drove, nobody could spare the time to harm her.

He knew the lack of sensation
through their mating bond didn’t bother him alone. The assumption was Roderick had
done something to block the link they had with her. Or so they hoped.
I’d know if she was dead.

When the GPS signal inside
Bailey finally stopped moving, they were still at least an hour behind with
daylight fading fast, and Parker couldn’t help the way he kept cracking his
knuckles, needing to do something with the frantic energy flooding him. Gavin,
behind the wheel for this last stretch, peered at him in the rearview.

“She’s going to be fine.”

“Of course she is,” Wyatt
snapped. “Bailey’s a fighter.”

Parker didn’t reply. He knew
Bailey would fight. He just hated she had to.

Arriving at their destination,
only hours from where Gavin first met their mate in the bar, they poured out of
the truck and silently stripped. By unspoken decree, having arrived at least
fifteen minutes ahead of everyone else, they opted to go in using stealth
before the rest of the pack arrived. Nathan had made plans to go in when the
sun rose, assuming his father would be resting, as the vampiric legends
claimed. However, dawn still remained too many hours away. None of them could
sit by idly for that amount of time while Bailey possibly suffered.

For once Parker embraced the
pain of his change, because the pain meant strength and speed, and he would
need every ounce of it to save his woman.

Off they ghosted into the
woods, luck on their side, as the wind kept them downwind of any patrolling rogues.

Still, the first sentry they
killed raised the alarm, and the noisy distraction, while sadly announcing
their infiltrating presence, did come with a bonus. Their link to Bailey was suddenly
restored. With Roderick’s attention wandering, probably rallying his troops, it
allowed Parker and the others a beacon to locate Bailey.

Or not. They converged on a
spot in the woods, no different than any other, overgrown with trees and
shrubs. Parker’s beast whined as it pawed at the ground, sensing Bailey, but not
seeing her.

She’s underground, and moving.
Arriving at the only possible conclusion, he kept his ears perked for
sound, his nose sifting the myriad scents on the night breeze, and followed the
link. He spotted the vehicle first, a dark sedan parked at the end of a path
comprised of mashed-down weeds. Past it, the woods opened up, but only for
about twenty yards before dropping off, a deep gorge slicing through the earth,
the rushing sound of water coming up to him.

In this clearing also stood a
concrete cistern, and as he watched, the hatch on it lifted. Jaxon stumbled out
first, quickly followed by Bailey and finally Roderick. Parker could only watch
in cold fury—and heart-stopping fear—as Roderick grabbed Bailey by the throat,
the sharp points of his claws digging into her alabaster skin. At his feet,
Jaxon knelt, his head bowed. The dirty traitor. He would not leave these woods
alive.