STANLEY POV "Stan," someone whispers, and my dream of lying in a field of roses ends. I groggily open my eyes, and my arms tighten around something warm. "Stanley," the whispering voice says again, and I grin as the melody practically caresses my ears. "Stan, we fell asleep," Tabitha says as my senses finally awaken. My eyesight clears, and my grin turns into a megawatt smile. "Best sleep I have ever had," I reply, and she chuckles while attempting to unwrap my arms. I shake my head and pull her closer. "I haven't slept good since you ran off last week. Give me a few more minutes," I mumble, and she begins to poke my stomach with her long graceful fingers. "Excuse you! I haven't slept either...but right now, I have to pee, and you are making it difficult to get out of bed," she grumbles, and I groan unhappily as I release her. "Fine, but as far as makeups go, this went better than I envisioned," I reply to gauge her reaction. She shoots me a smile, and relie
TABITHA POV Wails rip through my eardrums as I groggily open my eyes. I don't remember going back to sleep, and my body feels like I got hit by a truck. I groan as I roll over. My arms feel sluggish and heavy, but the wails make me push past my grogginess. My brain is muddled, but I know that I shouldn't be hearing crying. "Ma Ma," someone screams, and I look over to see little Angelica pulling at Samantha's hair with her baby fists. Samantha isn't responding to her daughter's desperate attempts to wake her, and I suddenly realize I am not at home. My half-asleep brain does a quick evaluation of my surroundings, and I quickly come to the conclusion I am somewhere I have never been...with two pregnant shifters and a baby. I shake my head to keep from freaking out before crawling toward Angelica. She needs me right now. I can't cry or dwell on the crazy situation until I comfort her. Every instinct in me is telling me to get to the cub. "It's okay, baby girl. Cousin
TABITHA POV It's been at least 24hrs since I heard my mother's screams, and our kidnapper has yet to bring us anything. Samantha has tried to breastfeed poor Angelica, but the current pregnancy, plus the lack of water, has made her supply drop. Mariah keeps watching the door and looking at the infant with worried eyes. "Do we have a plan," I ask quietly, and Mariah looks at me for the first time in hours. She gets up and paces the room before sitting next to Samantha and me."I think he wants us weak. He knows that the door is our only chance, so he will wait until he is sure we won't attack. The problem with that...Angelica can't go that long without fluids, and Samantha will run dry soon. I'm worried," she whispers, and I look at Sam to see that her lips are pale. "Maybe the guys are close," she whispers with fake hope, and I catch the movement of Mariah's head in my peripheral vision."It's doubtful. He kidnapped us with our mates in the pack house. He didn't leave a scent
STANLEY POVAt this point, all any of us are feeling is despair. There is absolutely nothing to go off of. Our mates are just gone.When Samantha and Angelica were taken seven months ago, finding them had been simple, Adam hadn't accounted for the fact we were shifters, and he left clear trails. Both natural and digital, but this kidnapper is different. He is organized and aware of our limitations."We should go through the names of all known Layne pack members. As we go down the list, we should only mark off the ones we confirmed to be dead. Then we locate the whereabouts of the ones we have left," Fin says, and I nod to show I like the simple plan.I look over at the other males, and the dagger in my heart twists. Benji and Dan look as if someone has sucked their souls from their bodies. Their eyes are completely lifeless, and their skin is a sickly gray color. I know I don't look much better, but their mates are pregnant. We are running out of time."Get started, Fin," I whisper wi
TABITHA POV "Knock knock," our kidnapper sings as the steel door finally creaks open. Mariah had me lie down about twenty minutes ago to ensure I was in position and to get my heart rate consistent. I didn't think it was necessary, but after about fifteen minutes, I could hear the difference myself. Laying down had allowed me to think and become more comfortable with our plan. He has to come into the room to retrieve me, so we will have ample amount of time to execute him, and I shouldn't have to do it all myself either. If my bear can restrain him, Mariah can end his life. This sound be easy. I continue my practiced breathing as my soft snore blows past my lips. "YOU DRUGGED THE FOOD, YOU SON OF A BITCH," Mariah screams, and I snore again. She sounds furious and very convincing. We are lucky that this is all right up her alley because I don't think Samantha and I would have come up with this on our own. "Will my daughter be okay? What did you give her," Samantha cries, and my h
STANLEY POV We finally found it. It took us an hour, but we finally located the rat's tunnel. "This fucker has been at this longer than nine months," Benji snarls, and Dan grunts as we maneuver down the narrow path in a single file line. "This area doesn't have cameras, so the software couldn't spot him. He has probably been here since killing Hazel Layne," I mumble, and Dan looks over his shoulder at me. I nod, and he looks forward. "We always knew it was someone who they wronged," Dan mumbles back, and we fall silent. Each one of us is straining our ears in hopes of hearing our mate, but so far, we haven't heard anything. After another hundred yards of twists and turns, we reach a door. Benji pushes it open cautiously, and when he does, the scent of blood tainted with silver slaps us in the face. Thick puddles of dried and drying blood are on the floor under a chair, and in the pools are clumps of long hair. "Fuck. He is a savage," I growl as Dan scents the hair. "I
STANLEY POV The normal scents of our packmates mixed with blood is making the hairs on my body stand. I don't smell anyone else blood besides David, but that doesn't mean she didn't use her buddy's chemical mixture. "Guys," Dan calls, and my eyes snap to him. He looks at me, and a shiver runs down my spine. "I can't walk in silence. I have to hear my pack. My wolf is going crazy," he explains, and I nod while studying the wild look in his eyes. "Alpha," Lewis yells, and Dan jerks toward his title. Lewis comes stumbling into the living room, looking drugged, and I move toward him quickly. I wrap my arm around his waist, and he throws his arm over my shoulders. He gives a thankful nod before looking at Dan. "Where is she," Dan growls, and Lewis shakes his head. "Gone. She drugged us. The dose didn't put me all the way under. It just made me really wobbly. She tried to convince David to leave with her, but he refused. He said he would never betray his family. She started
TABITHA POV "Are you sure," I ask as Stanley walks me toward the house while holding my arm. He is acting like I am eighty-three years old and can't walk on my own, but I secretly love it. I feel dainty and protected for the first time in my life. "Yes. Lewis was conscious when she killed David. He heard almost everything. Gary Farce was her uncle, and his daughter was her cousin. That's all we know right now. She is awake, so we should get the whole story. Try to see past the friend we all trust. She will try to use her tears. She tried that on her mate, and he received a knife to the chest. I don't know how much of her friendship was fake, but she fooled everyone. Samantha is an absolute mess. She still won't accept that she did it,' Stanley says, and I begin to feel nauseous just thinking about hurting my mate. "I can't believe she killed him," I whisper, and Stanley sighs before nodding. His eyebrows furrow and his beautiful lips begin to frown. The pain in his e