Three Mates, One Destiny (12 page)

Mostly, we’re up against humans.”

“Humans?” Paulie repeated in a whisper. The word sounded strange in his mouth, since, after all, he belonged to the same race.

“But how?”

“We have a few enemies who’ve joined forces,” a brunet sitting by Wolfram explained. “We’d have never thought to even look for them here if your intruder hadn’t confessed. But never mind that now.

We should go in, carefully.”

Through his night vision goggles, Paulie caught sight of Ash nodding. “I agree. We have to take them out as quickly as possible.”

Something in the Magistrate’s voice and demeanor made Paulie feel even more apprehensive. He wanted to ask, but the squad set into motion, so he shut his mouth and decided to simply follow in silence.

He’d been brought along after much insistence. The last thing he wanted was to become a burden.

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They crawled onto the rocky ground, the harshness of the terrain making Paulie feel thankful for his protective gear. All of a sudden, the squad came to a halt. Ash pointed ahead, and Paulie spotted a group of armed men watching over the canyon, shielded by a rocky outcropping.

The spirit wolves charged forward like a silent killing machine and took the guards down. Truth be told, Paulie had no idea if the humans even died, but he couldn’t focus on that now. He’d have to deal with his own priorities first.

After making sure the coast was clear, the group proceeded to the next step of the mission. Strong ropes went around the rocks and helped them descend into the deep canyon. Apparently, their people were being held somewhere underground.

From this point, their operation became more and more difficult.

The rift seemed even more strongly guarded than the top, and the spirit wolves had significant trouble in getting rid of the humans in silence. After what seemed like forever, they reached a carefully disguised cave.

With the guards incapacitated—the wolves did indeed avoid killing the humans—they snuck inside. To Paulie’s shock, his eyes fell on something that looked like a warehouse dug into the very heart of the mountain. The hideout held vehicles, weaponry, and an iron staircase revealed the existence of both a superior level, and an underground one.

“They must be below,” Ash said.

Logic agreed with Ash’s assessment, but Paulie’s heart led him in a different direction. He could feel the pull of his mates coming from the second level. It was dim, since their bond remained unfinished.

For all he knew, it could be something else entirely. But Paulie followed his instinct and replied, “No. They’re upstairs.” He hesitated then amended, “At least Sebastian and Marcus are.” He didn’t know about everyone else.

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The Magistrate nodded. “We split into two groups. Paulie, you come with me upstairs. Ashton, you lead the others at the lower level.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

No other words were spoken. Ash led his assigned men underground, while Wolfram did the same, heading up the staircase.

At first, they didn’t find anything interesting, other than a couple of guards the spirit wolves took care of with their customary ease. A few minutes into their search, Wolfram’s steps became more certain.

“Voices up ahead,” he explained. “Hurry.”

As they approached, the concentration of guards increased. Much to Paulie’s dismay one of them managed to sound the alarm before being dealt with. At this point, the spirit wolves rushed forward with no regard for stealth. By some miracle, one of them grabbed Paulie, flashing forward with supernatural speed. The man dropped Paulie at the entrance of a room that bore a striking resemblance to a mad scientist lab.

The spirit wolves burst inside, and the human soldiers, now alerted, fought back. In a strange development, a large enemy force pooled here, so Paulie found in dismay the humans actually succeeded in pushing the wolves back. Obviously noticing his men’s predicament, Wolfram intervened, his power sweeping over the room, confusing their foes.

To Paulie, time seemed to stand still and everything moved in slow motion, like in a dream or a movie from a DVD that didn’t work right. He didn’t know if any of the others felt it, but the spirit wolves were clearly boosted by their leader’s assistance. Still, in spite of the effect of Wolfram’s abilities, he saw something—or rather, someone—that both perplexed and horrified him.

With all the people struggling against one another, Paulie hadn’t originally spotted his loved ones. He did now. Marcus, Sebastian, Trent and Valerius were tied up in something that looked like silver nets. They were fighting against their bindings, but whatever held
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them must be very strong because they didn’t succeed. Paulie caught sight of blood against Sebastian’s wrists, heavy manacles encasing the wounded flesh. Paulie now understood the ache around his wrists—

which persisted even hours after Ross’s attack—originated from his mates.

Marcus was facing Paulie, unlike Sebastian, and his expression seemed a mix between relief, horror, and hope. At the same time, Paulie saw his dad struggling to keep three people at bay and away from the four spirit wolves. He almost looked like a lion tamer, holding a chair which he swung left and right, trying to push his enemies back.

Paulie didn’t know the younger of the three, but when the man in question turned into a wolf, Paulie surmised he must be a feral or perhaps the spirit wolf traitor who caused them so much trouble.

Under Paulie’s terrified eyes, he snapped his jaws at Drew, but Paulie's dad managed to hold him off.

Paulie tried to force himself to move, but he was frozen. From this angle, he was pretty much away from the battle, but he saw everything clearly, and he acknowledged the identity of the two other persons present with a heavy heart. An elderly woman and man were by the wolf’s side, and the man seemed to be trying to reach for Drew as well. One thing was certain. Paulie’s grandparents had aged gracefully, and they didn’t seem all that different from the moment Paulie last spoke to them, more than seven years back—neither physically, nor in their hatred for Drew.

It was very strange to see them again. They belonged to a life he’d left behind, an existence when he hadn’t been aware of the existence of the supernatural, during which he ignored so many interesting, vital things. Looking back, Paulie felt more time had passed, and a distant thought made him realize the true extent of the change they’d agreed to when accepting the world of the spirit wolves.

But more importantly, Paulie could not understand how Chad and Judith even found out about this world. He knew for a fact Valerius
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had taken care of forging his and his dad’s death certificates. Hell, they even had tombs in the small town they’d lived in, Tennington. So how could his grandparents stumble onto the truth? Someone must’ve told them, but who?

With horrified eyes, he watched his grandmother retrieve a small pistol. Drew waved the chair at her, sending the weapon flying, but in that brief moment, the unknown spirit wolf found an opening and jumped on Paulie’s dad.

As they fell, Judith struggled to recover her weapon. Paulie didn’t know what happened next. His mind went in a different space, something that defied all fear and weakness. He only knew his family and his mates were in danger, and he needed to do something to stop them.

His muscles unfroze and he rushed through the crowd, ducking and dodging the fighters. Several times, he was an inch away from being trampled, but somehow, he managed to reach his loved ones.

He crashed straight into Judith just as she was retrieving her weapon and pointing it at Sebastian. His momentum sent them both to the floor. The gun went off, and Paulie panicked, thinking he’d been too late.

He looked back at his mates and adoptive fathers. He was almost afraid to see what had become of his dad. After all, what could he do against a spirit wolf? Nothing.

A grunt to his left drew his attention. Paulie nervously looked in that direction, half believing he’d see his dad’s bloody corpse.

Instead, he saw Drew push the still form of a wolf’s body off him.

Paulie took in the red on the animal’s coat and remembered the gunshot. The bullet must have hit the floor and bounced off straight into the wolf. Of course, they weren’t out of the woods yet. Judith got up and smoothed the wrinkles off her impeccable skirt, as if she were at a cocktail party, not in the middle of battle. Fuck, she’d just tried to kill someone and looked annoyed that Paulie made her miss.

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“Now, Paulie, see what you made me do,” she said in a berating tone, looking down at his still prone form. “You shouldn’t treat your grandmother like that. What’s your brute of a father been teaching you?”

She didn’t seem surprised at seeing him, and neither did Chad.

“Well, he’s here now,” the man said. “Don’t worry. You can come live with us after all this is over.”

Paulie gaped at them. Either they weren’t serious, or they didn’t realize their own situation. He stole a look around and saw the human force begin to retreat. Chad and Judith couldn’t possibly be thinking they’d win this fight.

Of course, judging by their behavior, it would be safe to say they’d lost their ability to reason at some point during these years.

Still, it might take a while until the wolves managed to come to their aid. When she picked up the gun, Paulie decided to go with it and stall. “Sorry,” he gritted out as he got up. “It’s just that this whole thing is very unexpected. Besides, even if all these people here have their flaws, I can’t help but be fond of them.”

Judith made a sound of understanding. “Of course,” she said.

“You were always such a good child. It’s not your fault. Now come along. We should get out of here.”

So, they did realize. As Chad smiled at him, Paulie found himself in quite a predicament. The presence of the gun effectively tied his hands, and he couldn’t do anything to spite them.

He nodded and did his best to smile back. “Sure.”

Chad extended his hand, gesturing him forward. Paulie obeyed, but at the last moment, he faked tripping over his own feet. Chad let out a low curse and knelt next to Paulie. Paulie clutched his uninjured ankle, moaning theatrically. “I think I twisted it.”

“Never mind,” Chad said. “We’ll carry you.”

Paulie yelped when Chad lifted him and draped him over his shoulder. What the fuck? He might be slim, but a seventy-year old shouldn’t have the strength to lift him, let alone carry him.

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He heard his father call out in protest. As far as he could tell, Andrew had been injured, but not severely. This was beginning to turn into one of those ridiculous films that never made any sense. For fuck’s sake, the spirit wolves were just a few feet away. Couldn’t someone, anyone, give them a hand?

As if summoned by Paulie’s thought, Wolfram snatched him from Chad’s grip. Before the two humans could say anything, the Magistrate immobilized them, with two subdued blows. Even if Wolfram obviously held his strength back, the humans fell, dazed.

The Magistrate put Paulie down and removed the net off Marcus, throwing it around the humans. Next, he retrieved the one on Sebastian and checked the vital signs on the unknown wolf. The stranger must’ve been alive because Wolfram tossed the silver netting on him. After freeing Valerius and Trent as well, Wolfram focused on the ongoing battle.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, so fast Paulie didn’t even get to thank the spirit wolf leader. A small thread of amusement went through him when he realized his own heroic endeavor must’ve lasted a minute or so. No wonder the wolves took their time. The flow of time seemed so much slower when you were terrified for the life of your loved ones. Still, he wondered why Wolfram couldn’t just wipe the floor with all these people. They were just humans, after all. They couldn’t compare with the Magistrate’s power.

On shaky legs, Paulie went to check on his father, who was closest to him. By the time Paulie reached him, Andrew already struggled to his feet. He gave Paulie a tight smile. “I’m fine. Or I will be.”

Valerius and Trent joined them, looking pale and exhausted. “His shoulder,” Valerius explained. “He hit it when Peter jumped him.”

Paulie’s heart hurt at the knowledge of his dad’s pain, but Andrew just grinned and nodded. “Go on. I’ll be okay.”

Sebastian and Marcus also approached, and Paulie took his dad’s offer and allowed his three fathers a moment of privacy. He hugged
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the two hunters, paying close attention so as not to accidentally hurt them.

A low cry and a snap made him break away from the embrace in alarm. Andrew looked pale and sweaty, and Paulie understood one of his adoptive dads must have set the dislocated shoulder back in place.

He winced, knowing it must’ve hurt like a son of a bitch. It would have been better if they’d waited a bit and gotten Andrew to a medical facility, where Paulie could give him some painkillers. But these days, Andrew healed faster than humanly possible, so his injury might have worsened had urgent measures not been taken.

The doctor in Paulie told him Andrew would be all right. Other than the injuries around their wrists, Marcus and Sebastian seemed pretty much okay, too. They’d gotten here just in time. Still, Paulie needed to get those cuffs off. The silver could cause severe damage if the situation wasn’t dealt with.

“We need the key,” Sebastian said, probably realizing Paulie’s dilemma. “We tried to break them, but it’s no use.”

Paulie headed to his grandparents’ sides. He didn’t even bother to ask. They were much too dazed and wouldn’t cooperate anyway.

He found a long silver key in his grandfather’s shirt pocket. With a victorious “aha,” he rushed back to his mates. One turn of the key in the manacle locks, and the heavy shackles fell. After freeing Sebastian and Marcus, Paulie did the same with his two spirit wolf fathers.