BirthControl (27 page)

He laughed and hugged her close. “I love you and I promise to be careful.” He kissed her again, this time long and hard. She ached to hold him longer when he released her. “I have to go, they’re waiting for me.” He stood and walked to the door. Warmth flowed through their link.

“Love you,” she said as he walked out the front door.

Chapter Nineteen

Silas and his small group had run ten miles through the woods. Now they picked their way through dense foliage. Silas found it hard to believe Cameron ran this far from the compound on such rough terrain. Inhaling, he continued forward following his godson’s scent. “
Hey sexy man, keep your eyes open and ears alert,”
Jasmine said through their link.

“
Thanks for the hourly reminder. We’re getting closer and all is well.”
He never broke his focus, but her contacting him at the top of every hour steadied him in ways he’d never experienced before. A foul odor rose before him and he stopped along with the wolves behind him. “
What’s that?”
Jasmine asked, surprising him again.

“
You smell that?”

“
Yeah. It’s like a poopy diaper, make that ten diapers.”

“
What?”

“
A nasty diaper filled with –“

“
I get it.”
He placed his nose close to the ground and sniffed. The other wolves spread out, their noses to the ground, but never going past him.

Hank barked.

Silas trotted over to investigate. “
Somebody buried rotted cabbage along this area?”
Jasmine asked.

Silas wondered how the mated Alphas got work done if their mates could hear and see everything. “
I’m not sure,”
he answered after sniffing around more.

“
How far is Cameron?”

“
He’s close, but I’m not able to determine how close.”

“
Could he be beneath you? You said he fell or rolled somewhere.”

The idea had merit. He and the other wolves spread out, seeking an entrance to a cave. Five minutes later, Brad yelped as he fell into a ditch. Silas and the other wolves slowly picked their way down to help him. The rocky path downward took precision and time, one of the things Silas feared Brad might not have. The wolf hadn’t moved since he'd landed on the bottom.

When he reached the bottom, he shifted and made Brad shift as well. Feeling a faint pulse, Silas sent out a call for wolves nearby to come to his aide. He returned Brad to his wolf and waited. Ten minutes later, five men lowered a stretcher. Silas placed Brad on the canvas. He whined as Silas strapped him in.

Placing his hand on Brad’s head, Silas sent him into a deep healing sleep. “Thank you my friend. I will see you when I return,” Silas said before waving to the men above to pull him up. Once Brad cleared the top, Silas changed, retook the lead and trotted forward.

They’d traveled through two caverns before Silas reached Cameron. If it wasn’t for their blood-bond, Silas wasn’t sure he’d have recognized the man lying on the ground in front of him. Cameron wore a full beard and his hair hung matted down his back. His pants were ripped and a long limb was tied to the side of his right leg.

Silas smelled Arianna and shifted. He took the supplies from the slings on the backs of two wolves and sent them all back into the forest.

“Cameron?”

The man lying on the ground opened his eyes. Silas noted the dilated pupils and wondered if Cameron had been drugged.

“Patron?” Cameron blinked. “Are you real or is this a dream?”

Silas kneeled and opened the pack. He took a cup of soup and held it to Cameron’s lips. Cameron inhaled and then turned his face. “No, feed her and my pups first.” Silas felt Arianna’s presence and shielded himself from an attack. He glanced over his shoulder. She stood naked with a tiny bump.

“After. I’ll give her something after you eat and grow stronger.” He compelled Cameron to swallow the soup. When the cup was empty, Silas stood and handed Arianna a cup as well. She gulped it down without taking her eyes off him.

Returning his attention to Cameron, Silas fed him pieces of bread and medicine. “What did you take?”

“I ate some berries. That probably wasn’t the best idea.” Cameron leaned back and winced.

“What happened to your leg?” Silas asked as he removed the stick.

“I broke it and was too weak to shift. I didn’t want it to heal wrong.” He yelled as Silas poked the break.

“Hold still, I need to reset it.” Silas poured water to clean the skin, then pushed the bone back in place and held it, commanding Cameron to shift.

Cameron howled and lay panting on the ground. Silas kept his hand in place a few seconds more and then reversed the change. Cameron looked at him through heavy lids as he moved his leg.

“Thank you.”

Silas nodded. It was time to go. “Do you have clothes for her, we need to leave before dark.” He extended a hand to Cameron and helped him up.

“Yes.” He nodded to Arianna and she walked off, returning a few moments later in a long dress. “But we need to talk about her. There’s a bounty on her head. We’ve been chased everywhere we’ve gone, that’s why I came back here. She’s carrying my litter. My first litter. So I’m asking. No, begging for her life.”

Rage bubbled up in Silas so quickly, a strong wind blew in the cave.

“
Calm down, Silas. He’s asking for the same thing you asked for,”
Jasmine said, easing him.

“Do you realize how many men died because of her? Jacque is gone. She had them torture Jayden and Theron.” He stared at Cameron, wondering if this was indeed his godson. “Are you asking me to forgive all of that?”

Cameron looked at Arianna and then back at him. “At least until after the pups are born.”

Arianna’s eyes widened and then narrowed at Cameron. “You fool,” she spat. “I would have spared you, but you are like the others, liars, takers.” She stepped forward, a cruel twist to her lips. Silas was certain she’d finally gone mad.

“
Get out of there right now, Silas. Something’s going to happen,”
Jasmine yelled through their link.

Arianna pointed at Cameron and laughed. “These are not your pups. You killed their father to sleep with me, remember?”

“
Silas, get out of there or I’m coming to you,”
Jasmine warned.

Cameron’s guilty gaze caught his. “It was an accident. Felipe challenged me. I was returning to the compound and he picked a fight. I didn’t mean to kill him.”

“
Damn you, Silas, at least cover yourself,”
Jasmine yelled.

Silas ran to Cameron, hugged him, and threw a layer of protection over them at the same time an explosion knocked him a few feet away. The cave crumpled like paper and he lay beneath tons of earth. He should’ve listened to his mate.

“
Silas. Silas? Answer me, damn it.”

“
Are all mates this bossy?”

“
Only when their other halves are stubborn. The twins and I are headed for the tunnel”.
A few minutes later she returned. “
Okay, we are all in the rooms watching the monitors. There are hundreds of rebels at the gates trying to get in. Tyrone said no matter what they do, the damage will be minimal, is that right?”

He appreciated her attempt at light-hearted conversation but he felt her turbulent emotions. She was scared and angry. “
Right, just furniture. All the important stuff is in the vaults, and those will blow up if anyone other than me tries to access them.”
He felt around and touched Cameron. He was hurt but still alive. Reaching out, he sensed an Alpha nearby. It was McAllister, of West Virginia. The man was leading a group of wolves down the ravine, but it wasn’t to rescue. The intent Silas read in the wolf was vengeance. Silas contacted Jayden, gave him an update. No matter what happened, McAllister would lose his tattoo today.

“
I’m going to add my strength to yours so you can break free a bit and get comfortable until Jayden comes for you,”
Jasmine said.

“
What?”

“
You know, the twins merge and share strength all the time. Let me help.”

“
No. Just take care of yourself and the babies.”

She gasped. “
Thank you.”

“
Are you crying? Don’t cry. I promise I’m okay, just regenerating my strength to get out of here.”

“
No…you called them babies. That’s the first time you’ve done that.”

Silas closed his eyes and basked in the pleasure she received from a few words. “
I should’ve said it sooner, I didn’t understand how much it meant to you.”

“
Yeah, it does. Now, I’m going to join my forces with yours so you can get rid of some pressure.”

“
Jasmine,”
he said right before a jolt of energy filled him. He moved two large boulders and pulled Cameron from beneath another. He couldn’t stand, but he could sit comfortably and the food bag was within reach.

“
Thanks, we’re good. Now pull out, get some food and rest.”
Bereft at her departure, he turned his energy to dealing with his rogue Alpha. McAllister was close by. Silas took control of the Alpha’s wolf and ran him straight over the nearby cliff. The drop was at least fifty feet and should break McAllister’s neck, especially if Silas didn’t repair him.

Seconds later the connection they’d had for fifty years was severed. Silas checked Cameron, nothing seemed broken, yet he hadn’t opened his eyes since the explosion. Leaning against the wall, Silas strengthened security at the compound and sent sexual thoughts to his mate. The next explosion caught them all by surprise.

Chapter Twenty

“Silas,” Jasmine yelled, jumping from the bed. Tyrone, Tyrese, Rose and Thorn ran into her room, wide-eyed, searching for a threat.

“
Silas
?” Heart racing, she looked at her sons. “I can’t…I can’t reach him.”

“Mom?” Tyrese held his palms up as he took a step forward. “Reach him how?”

She spun around the room looking for a pair of boots. She needed boots to search for him.

“Mom,” Tyrese yelled. “I can’t reach Silas either. But I don’t understand why you can’t.” Rose pushed him aside and opened the closet. “They’re mated and she’s going to find him.”

“No,” Tyrone said as he caught Rose around the waist and held her close.

Tyrese shook his head. “Mom, please… please don’t do this. There are wolves out there who detonated a bomb to kill Silas so they could get to you and his pups. Honor him by keeping his litter safe. Please stay here, stay safe.”

Jasmine slumped on the bed as the words penetrated her bubble of despair. The tears started slow and then she couldn’t control it. Life just refused to give her a break. She’d lost both of her children's fathers? How was that fair? She lay on the bed crying when Rose climbed behind her and hugged tight. Tyrone lay behind Rose, and Tyrese lay on his side in front of her. Thorn laid across the foot of the king-sized bed and they all hugged, offering her comfort.