Shifter's Revenge (Alpha Lineage) (8 page)

“I see the rumors about you were untrue Miss Conway.” Rayland’s voice boomed as he entered the warehouse.

Maddox tightened his grip around her waist.

Every muscle in her body tensed in reaction to seeing the man who killed her mother. She kept that piece of truth to herself for now. “What is this about?” she stared at him as he approached.

His eyes roamed the room and rested on his son. Furry lit in the depths of his eyes. “So this is where you ran off to. I don’t suppose that Andrew is here too.”

Jason stepped up to his brother and put a hard hand on his shoulder.
“Agreeing to meet you here doesn’t condone your actions. You are directly responsible for the deaths of those who chose to follow you instead of me. I expect you to explain yourself and submit to punishment I feel your actions deserve.”

Rayland laughed and brought the book out of his coat. His broad shoulders shrugged off his brother’s hand. “There isn’t any way I will submit to your authority. I
refuse to continue to live like an animal.”

Jason growled low in his chest but didn’t push. Kera could tell that he wouldn’t until his son was healed inside and out.

Kera stepped forward and waved Maddox off when he tried to pull her back. “Give me the book and I will do what I can to reverse the damage that was done to you.”

Rayland’s eyes widened in surprise. “What do you know of damage?”

Kera smiled. “I was there.”

It seemed to take all of his strength to contain his anger. Within the rage he betrayed hints of fear as well. His eyes shifted to his brother but because Jason didn’t have a clue what she knew the only thing Rayland saw was curiosity pointed in Kera’s direction.

She inclined her head at Jason. “I told you I accomplished much in my time away.”

Rayland laughed darkly. “And what would that be?”

“I found that the reason you enlisted Luke in your elaborate plan to get me within your grasp was because five years ago you went after my mother and as she died from the car wreak you caused she tore you into two beings. A shifter was never meant to cage one or the other halves of themselves. I just found that out recently myself. Whatever you had been planning to do with her obviously had to do with the multiple failed attempts to kill Maddox. I can only assume it has something to do with the fact that you hate being under the rule of your brother.”

“Very interesting theory,
” Rayland mumbled.

The rest of the pack behind her emitted low growls in their throats.
Rayland held up his hand and more people filtered through the door behind him.

“Not as interesting as you bringing an army to this meeting.” Jason spoke darkly.

“We should just get this over with.” Kera stepped back into Maddox’s arms and relished the feeling of their strength as they wrapped around her.

“I agree.” Rayland motioned for one of the men to take the book from him. “I will need collateral of course. Miss Conway you will accompany me to an undisclosed location to be returned after your task is complete. You seem to know exactly what issue I have but there is no way I will allow you free reign of this book. Your uncle read it from cover to cover and found nothing helpful for my predicament.”

“Not happening.” Maddox said at the same time Jason gave a simple. “No.”

Kera took a deep breath
and brought her hand from her side and angled it at the book. She gave a quick metal tug and tasted magick on her tongue. She figured she was doing something right so she strengthened the pull. Air whipped around her and the wolves began to growl. Then the book shot out of the hands of the man it was given to and across the room.

Once it reached her hands she locked her fingers around it and began flipping through the pages. She found page seventy seven as her mother had directed and began fumbling her way through the Latin script. Rayland roared in anger and Maddox tightened his grip on her as a fight broke out around her. She felt herself sway in his arms as her mind began to open because of the words she spoke.

When she finished she went back up to the top of the page and began again. A bright hot light prodded at her temples. She cried out in pain. Suddenly as it started a wave of warmth passed over her and she opened her eyes into darkness. A voice called out to her in the vast blackness that surrounded her.

Kera looked around but saw nothing. A rush of information began to pour into her mind. She screamed out in agony as the thoughts and phrases bombarded her. It felt like her eyes were being opened even though she did everything she could to slam them shut. The images she saw of words and actions frightened and confused her.

“How do I reverse what was done?” she yelled out into the void. Her voice was lost in the rush of information but the information began to change. It lightened and her question was answered. With the knowledge she needed, Kera clawed her way out of the blackness and took a deep breath when she felt Maddox’s arms surround her again.

She
slowly spoke the words her mother used to protect her father and herself in reverse. She concentrated for a moment with her eyes closed before she got the hang of it. A hush filled the room as the fighting stopped. Rayland and Maddox fell to their knees at the same time. As Maddox’s arms loosened, Kera fell to her knees beside him and wound her arms around his waist. Resting her chin on his shoulder she watched the two opposing sides of the pack battle for control over the other.

“Restrain them.” Jason yelled around the chaos.

Daniel twisted the arm of the man standing closest to him taking him unaware. He kicked him in the back of the knees and pulled a zip tie from his pocket as he fell. As she looked around she saw the capture of most of the men Rayland had brought with him.

Nick struggled to subdue a man over
twice his size. His lips were busted and his nose was bleeding. From the glint in his eyes his determination wasn’t ebbing in the slightest.

“Wrong fucking team son,
” Rayland hissed out in a winded breath.

Kera’s eyes widened.
Rayland looked at her with a secretive smirk. The anger in his eyes chilled her to the bone. He glanced back over at his son and his lips twisted into a frown. His eyes glossed over for a moment as she continued to mumble the words over and over. Her tongue grew heavy and a bitter taste filled her mouth.

As she started to tremble with exhaustion Maddox embraced her, his breath rugged and muscles tense.
Suddenly his back arched and Kera strained to keep him from falling backwards. The light sheen of sweat coated his skin. She rubbed her hands up and down his arms to comfort him and try to determine when to stop.

Her breath caught when he tilted his head to her and
opened his eyes. The blue was perfect. The next word on Kera’s tongue froze in her mouth. She smiled when she recognized the perfect union of Man and Wolf. He touched his lips to hers gently. The softness brought tears to her eyes. The renewed strength of their strange bond that soaked into her skin made her sigh. Her arms shook when she wrapped them around his neck. The skin on the back of his neck was warm against her forearms. She threaded her hands in his hair and held him against her tightly. His lips moved cautiously against hers causing more tears to slip from her eyes.

His chest pressed against her and a deep rumble vibrated inside of him causing chills to spread to every part of her body. The commotion around her was a distant thing in her mind overpowered by the stabbing need to get closer to Maddox. She realized she wanted to know him inside and out. She wanted a bond so strong that it could never be broken. His body was just one of the things she wanted to explore. She wanted to also explore his mind
, his soul and his heart. The horrible distance they had experienced after she had been captured and tortured by Andrew was followed by the pain she caused him when she left was tearing them apart. So far their relationship had been tested so severely that she wasn’t sure the fragile bond they forged in the few months since they met could withstand another blow.

Her breath caught in her throat as a sob tore from her chest.
She felt the loss so strongly that she broke the gentle kiss and buried her face against his neck. Her fingers tightened in the silky dark strands of his hair and when Maddox adjusted his legs so he was no longer kneeling, she crawled onto his lap like a child. Her arms shook at the position around his neck. She loosened her grip on his hair and ran the palms of her hands down his neck and across the thick sinew of his arms. Still unable to control her tears she lowered her head to his shirt and felt the fabric soak up the moisture. Her hands trembled as she traced his sides and felt his muscles flex beneath the pads of her fingers.

Maddox’s hands went to her shoulders. He leaned his head down and pressed his cheek to her hair.
A moment later he looked up and answered a question she hadn’t heard. “I’m strong enough to run but I don’t know if she can keep up.”

“There is no way to get out of here without them arresting us.” Jason whispered quickly.

Kera furrowed her brows in confusion. Her heart began to pound as her surroundings became painfully hard to ignore. Footsteps cracked twigs and dry leaves outside the walls of the warehouse. Inside, the wolves were hushed and murmuring possible ways to escape without being exposed. The captured men heckled their former pack mates asking to be untied so they wouldn’t draw attention to the humans.

The truth hit Kera like a shot to the chest. As the steps grew closer outside she heard guns being cocked and readied for battle. The blood drained from her face as she realized she was implicated again in the situation.
“What do I do?” she whispered.

Maddox pushed at her shoulders so she could look at him. The hardness in his eyes told her he had come to the same conclusion. “Nothing.”

She studied his face for a moment. The muscles along his jaw tightened as he ground his teeth. Her heart sunk to the depths of her stomach at the anger in his eyes. “A storm. An earthquake. Maybe a tornado.” She rasped out her options.

Maddox shook his head and pulled her off of him so he could stand. He brought her up with him and slipped his hand into her pocket to retrieve her phone. She swayed on her feet as a chill worked up and down her spine. His fingers worked the plastic off the back of her phone and tossed the cover and battery to the ground. Hidden inside was a small chip. He lifted his eyes from the phone and looked to Jason as he pulled the device out and crushed it between his thumb and forefinger.

“Where did you go, Kera?” Jason’s voice enveloped her with shame.

She sucked in a steadying breath as she turned to him. He held the book in his hand by one side and his right hand was curled into a fist on the other. He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at her. Her voice came out weak and brittle as she tried to explain about her father and the army unit she met. He let her get out most of it before he held up his hand to silence her. His gaze flickered to Maddox in silent communication that churned her stomach.

The door to the warehouse was quickly surrounded as well as the four corners of the building. Low whispers of military men filtered through the walls. The shifters inside the warehouse barely made a noise. Kera’s breathing seemed the fill the large room. Her head swam with possible outcomes. Her skin chilled to the bone and she fought off the tremors of fear that shook in her chest.

She dropped her head to the floor and chose to do what Maddox had asked of her. Nothing. Her muscles tensed further when the door was kicked open. She angled her head to see red lights pierce through the warehouse and attach themselves to the chest and head of the men around her.

Maddox stepped in front of her protecting her from view. Though she felt unworthy of such a protective action from him she still did nothing.

“Everyone to the ground,” a
voice called out from the chaos of men pouring into the room, “hands above your heads and on your knees slowly.”

The pack stood still. The men already on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs lifted their heads in defiance.

“Kera Conway.” Donavan’s voice echoed against the walls and filled the room.

She flinched and looked up to see the muscle across Maddox’s back tense. “Let me see if I can help.” She whispered.

Maddox tilted his head to his shoulder to show he was listening but not enough so he could see her.

“I won’t go with them unless you tell me to. I’ll do as you say Maddox.” Her heart thundered as she spoke leaving her open for him to let her go. The anger inside the warehouse was palpable. Her fear was suffocating her and she knew that each shifter in the room heard her guilt of the situation.

“What do you want with her?” Jason called out smoothly.

Red lights moved swiftly through the warehouse and settled on Jason. Kera looked around and saw each man had at least one fatal reason to stay where they were and obey. Though they hadn’t fallen to the ground in submission they didn’t move to attack either.

“Her signal is gone.” Gavin’s voice was a light whisper somewhere close to where Donavan had spoken.

Maddox stepped to the side and grabbed her arm to tuck her into his side. When the lights moved again and red dots appeared on her chest Maddox growled and covered her again with his body. With his back to the danger he looked back at his father before his eyes met hers.
“Ask them to leave.”