Loving Lachlyn (Ashland Pride Two) (14 page)

Alek asked, “Did you see a plate or get the make or model of the SUV?”

Lachlyn shook her head.  “The plates were gone.  But it was big, like a Durango, and there were at least two men inside.  The side and back windows were darkly tinted.”

Alek felt his cat rising to the surface, furious that Lachlyn was so terrified.

Snapping back to reality, he shoved his cat aside and cleared his head.  Turning to Pauline he said, “Call Eryx and my dad and tell them what happened.  Uncle Aaron, take Sam and Lachlyn home.  I’ll follow in the patrol car and then see if I can find out where they went.”

Aaron nodded and Alek walked out with them, kissing Lachlyn as he helped her into Aaron’s SUV.  “It’ll be okay, baby.  I’ll call Jericho to have him meet you at the house.”

Her hands gripped his arms.  “I think Detroit found us.”

The thought had crossed his mind, but he didn’t want her freaking out until he’d had a chance to investigate.  “I don’t know how he possibly could have, love.  We’ve been so careful.”

He kissed her again, shut the door, and jogged over to the patrol car.  He followed his uncle home, calling Jericho and sharing Lachlyn’s thoughts about it being connected to his father, and then continued on into town, talking to Eryx on the walkie.

“Lachlyn thinks it’s Jericho’s dad,” Alek said.

“Is that possible?” Eryx asked.  He was at the station with their father, and both were going out to patrol.

“Anything is possible, but I don’t see how.  They’re using fake names, and we’ve been cautious.”

“Well, let’s assume the worst and step up patrols.  I know you want to get home and comfort your mate, but finish out your shift.  Take the north side of town.  Dad and I will split up and cover the rest of town.”

Alek patrolled the north end of town for several hours, driving by the boarding house from time to time, his eyes peeled for a black SUV.  By the time he drove back to the station, Eryx had processed the damage to Sam’s car and filled out a report, and a friend of his from the county had looked at the traffic cameras and found the SUV trailing Sam’s car, hitting it, and then taking off once the station came into view.  As far as they could tell, it left town and hadn’t come back.  The dark tint prevented them from determining who was driving, and the driver and passenger had obscured their features through the windshield with big sunglasses and non-descript baseball caps

He’d worked several hours past his regular shift time, and when he stopped in the office to say goodbye to Eryx, he found his brother hard at work behind his desk.

Eryx didn’t look up.  “I’m bringing in some patrols from Bracks, and they’re going to cover the night shift for a few days.  I’ll want you to patrol tomorrow and Sunday morning.  And then we’ll figure out the schedule for next week.”

He was struck by how much his brother had changed in the years since he’d been mated.  Before Callie, he’d always been a male who could be counted on, but now that he was a husband and a father, he took responsibility for his own family and the pride like a true leader.  He’d always thought of his dad as the unofficial leader of the pride, but as he watched Eryx make plans to run patrols and how he’d stepped right in and taken over, Alek knew he was looking at the head of the pride.

Eryx looked up with a raised brow.  “You need anything, little brother?”

Alek smiled at the nickname.  “No. I just wanted to say thank you, for everything.”

Eryx nodded.  “You’re my brother and that makes Lachlyn my sister.  You know that I would do anything for family, Alek.”

“I know.  I would, too.”

Saying goodbye, he headed home and found Lachlyn in Jericho’s arms in the family room, the pride surrounding them.  He joined them on the couch, and Lachlyn curled against Alek’s side.

“I was so scared,” she whispered.

He looked over her head at Jericho, whose face was stony with rage.  “You’re safe now, sweetheart.  Jericho and I will keep you safe.”

“And the pride,” Grant said from the other couch where he sat with Aaron and Sam.  “We’re all in this together.  Someone attacks one of us, they attack all of us.”

A chorus of agreement came from the other adults, and plans were made to keep everyone safe.

Alek just hoped it would be enough.

Chapter 15

Lachlyn couldn’t shake the worry that had settled over her from the moment the SUV tried to run her and Sam off the road.  The whole house was on edge.  The adults had decided to send the kids to Rhett’s farmhouse just to be safe.  Eryx moved his family there as well so they could all be together in one place.  Her Uncle Don had arranged for some of his bears to help patrol around town overnight.

The house was quiet without the kids.

She helped Dylan with the lunch dishes and cringed when she heard some of the men arguing over something on television.

“They’re just stressed,” Dylan said, handing her a clean dish to dry.

“I know.  I feel bad.”

“Why?” his cousin Chase asked, leaning against the counter.

“This whole mess is my fault.”

Dylan shook his head.  “No way.  It shouldn’t matter that you can’t shift, and Jericho should have been allowed to be with you, regardless of what his dad thinks.”

She appreciated his sentiment even though it wasn’t realistic.  Yes, she
should
have been able to be Jericho’s mate without his father having a conniption and trying to kill her.  And yes, it
shouldn’t
have mattered a bit that she couldn’t shift.  But life wasn’t always fair or right.

“The only good thing that came from it all is that you found Alek,” Chase said as he turned around and put a plate up on the shelf for her.

“It was the best thing,” she agreed.

Hunter came stalking into the kitchen and tugged open the fridge door, grabbing a beer.

“Something up?” Dylan asked his other cousin.

“Ray’s being a dick.  Oh, sorry, Lachlyn.  Ray’s being a giant male genital.”

Lachlyn chuckled lightly at first and then couldn’t stop the tide of laughter that bubbled up from inside.  She knew that it was most likely just her brain’s way of letting go of some tension, but she couldn’t stop laughing.  And she didn’t want to.  By the time the other men came into the kitchen to investigate the laughter, Chase, Dylan, and Hunter were laughing, too.

“What’s so funny?” Alek asked.

“Nothing, really,” she answered, wiping away stray tears that had escaped.

James clapped his hands together and said, “I think we need to blow off some steam.  How about some football in the backyard before dinner?”

There was a chorus of cheers from the group, and Lachlyn sent Dylan off to play, promising to finish the dishes.  Henry, who had been allowed to stay at the boarding house instead of going to Rhett’s with the other kids, said, “Are you coming, Alek?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right out,” he said as Jericho joined him.

“You okay, love?”  Alek bent and kissed her cheek.

She hugged herself to both men, one arm around each of them.  “I am.  It’s just been tense around here, and I miss the kids.”

“Me, too.  There wasn’t anyone to explain SpongeBob to me this morning,” Jericho said, kissing the top of her head.

“You didn’t have to watch it,” she said and looked up at him.

He shrugged.  “I’ve been watching it every day since we got here.  I hate to admit it, but I’m a bit hooked on the yellow sponge dude and his pals.”

“At least it’s not Barney,” Alek said ruefully and they laughed.

“Watch us play?” Jericho asked.

“Of course, let me finish up, and I’ll be right out.”

When the last dish went in the drainer, the front door opened.  Sam and her mates came in with several sacks of groceries, and Lachlyn helped put them away.  She and Sam stood in the kitchen doorway and watched through the screened-in porch as the men played touch football together.  Jericho and Alek were on the same team, along with Micah, Tristan, James, and John.

“I could go for some sweet tea before heading out, how about you?” Sam asked.

Lachlyn agreed and followed Sam back into the kitchen and retrieved tall glasses and filled them with ice.  As Sam poured the chilled liquid into the glasses, she asked, “How are you doing?”

“Good.”

She smiled.  “I ran into my superintendent friend, Louisa, at the gas station and she said to let you know that they’re going to call on Monday and offer you the job.  Congratulations!”

Lachlyn shouted in happiness and hugged Sam.  The two hopped up and down, laughing.  “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, Sam.  I can’t wait for school to start.”

They clicked glasses in cheers, and just as Lachlyn swallowed a sip of tea, she heard shouting from outside.   Henry raced into the house, slamming and locking the kitchen door behind him before racing to the front door and locking it, too.

“Henry?” Sam asked, panic rising in her voice.

Lachlyn went to the backdoor and looked out.  Through the glass she could see the lions facing off against a small group of males.  She narrowed her eyes, straining to see and realized that Detroit was standing among the men.

He really had found her!  Her worst nightmare was playing out in front of her eyes.  The lions outnumbered the bears, and with just a few words from Detroit that Lachlyn couldn’t make out, most of his men shifted into their bear forms.  She grabbed the cordless phone from the counter and called her Uncle Don.

“Detroit and some of his men found us!”

Don cursed.  “Are you okay?  The kids?”

“The kids aren’t here, and I’m in the house with Sam.”

“Stay put, Lachlyn.  I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

Her hands were trembling as she hung up the phone and put it back on the counter.  She watched the stand-off and knew she couldn’t just wait inside the house while her mates and the pride fought for her.  She had to do something.

She reached for the lock and was pulled bodily back.  She gasped in surprise as Henry wound both arms around her and held her close.

“Jericho said to stay in here with you no matter what.”  He was taller than her and stronger, but she struggled anyway.

“Let me go, Henry!”

“I can’t.  You have to stay in here where it’s safe.”

“No, Henry, please!”

Half of the lions shifted, including Alek, and the bears attacked.  Detroit grappled with Jericho.  Could Jericho defeat his father?  The man who had trained him?  She didn’t know, and she’d hoped to never find out.

Struggling harder, trying not to hurt Henry, she growled, “For fuck’s sake, Henry, let me go!”

Her bones started to ache and her muscles and joints burned as she watched her mates fighting for each other and for her, the pride fighting alongside them.

Her chest tightened and her heart thudded erratically.  Her jaws hurt, her teeth tingled, and her fingers curled inward as the knuckles cracked.

Henry wouldn’t let her go.  Her bear paced in her mind as her protective nature rose to the forefront of her mind.  She had to get outside.  Her mates needed her.  She looked at Sam, pleading with her eyes for help.  Sam frowned but seemed to understand.

“I’m sorry, Henry,” Sam said and jerked Henry backwards, causing all three of them to fall.  Sam threw herself onto Henry as Lachlyn stood, unlocked the door, and ran out onto the porch.  She raced from the porch, the screen door clacking loudly as she hit the ground.  She didn’t make it two steps before a thick arm wrapped around her neck, and she felt the tip of a knife press against her throat.

“You’re a bad girl, you little bitch.  You made us come all the way up here to find you.”

She recognized the voice as belonging to Leonitis, one of the men who had helped Detroit hurt her.  She watched Alek in his mountain lion form battling with other cats against two bears.  Tears burned her eyes, and she felt as though her bones were aching.  Her muscles twitched and her gums hurt.

“Let me go, Leonitis,” she said as bravely as she could.

“Never.  After we kill off these pussy cats, we’re going to take you and Jericho back home where you belong.”  His breath was hot and damp against her ear, and she shivered with dread.  “You’ll live just long enough to be the entertainment at our welcome home party, and then you’re gonna die—”  His words were cut off as he was ripped away from her body by a small mountain lion.  Lachlyn stumbled as relief washed through her.

Then she saw the bears who were fighting against Alek and the others and her blood ran cold.  One of the bears grabbed Alek with his jaws, giving him a mighty shake and tossing him aside.  Alek’s sleek furred body landed on the grass, and the bear rose up on his hind legs and lifted his paws.  She knew what he meant to do.  He was going to smash down onto Alek’s body with all his weight.  Alek wasn’t moving and couldn’t get away, and everyone else was fighting.

She screamed.  The sound that ripped from her throat was pure, animal rage.  She raced forward as the bear loomed over Alek; her only thought was to put herself between Alek and the monster that was going to kill him.  She lunged forward, covering Alek’s body with her own.  Her muscles burned, and her bones cracked as she cried out.  She’d never been in so much pain!  As she grunted, her body contorted and painful shocks raced up and down her spine.  She heard fabric tearing, but she couldn’t comprehend what was happening until she looked at her hands and saw fur pushing through her skin and claws sprouting from her fingertips.

She was shifting!

Happiness flowed through her as she gave herself over to the shift.  It hurt badly, as if her body was trying to turn itself inside out, but it meant she could protect her mate.  As her shifted form took over, she dug her claws into the earth to steady herself.  Her legs were shaky as she stood over Alek’s body and bellowed at the male who was staring at her in confusion.

Lunging forward, she butted him in the stomach, and he stumbled backwards, tripping over another bear.  She bellowed again, daring anyone to touch her mate.