Nathan POV
"Free me!" I yelled again.
My throat raw from screaming all night and all day or for several nights and several days---without windows or a clock, I had no idea how much time had passed. Every thought in my head was focused on trying to keep myself human. I couldn't spare any to worry about Rachel.
Being chained in a windowless room in a place I didn't recognize? Right then was the first time I had stopped worrying about Rachel since the day she told me she wasn't mine any longer.
"I am not a danger to you! I am not going to lose control again! I need to reach out to my parents! They're going to be worried!"
I was yelling into a void for all the response I got, but I realized I wasn't lying as soon as I mentioned my parents.
My mother and father had no other child. I was their only son and heir. They'd never been blessed with another babe either male or female.
For a time, I'd thought I would be givi
Rachel POV"Get away from my mate!" roared Tyler as his hands transformed into those of a Lycan, great claws tipping each finger.I screamed out of shock more than fear. The animal in me knew Tyler would never hurt me. I was his mate and he wouldn't dare risk me or the baby I carried.Art pushed me behind him which only further enraged Tyler. I quickly moved around to try to get between the two Alphas. They were already huge compared to me, but Tyler was losing control, shifting into his Lycan form which was even bigger than his human one."Tyler, no! I was only saying 'thank you' to him! Tyler!" I cried, trying to get his attention so he could calm down.Tyler had always been outfitted with a steel will when it came to holding back his beast. Wynd only took control when extremely unorthodox situations happened like if I were to go into heat or the full moon happened during a fight or---I lost the ability to come up with scenarios as I
Rachel POV"How do you know this was done by those wolves?" Tyler asked me, shifting his grip on me to lower me to stand on my own feet again.I couldn't believe he was even asking me the question. They were my fathers! I had grown up with Patrick Flores as the man I called "Daddy" first and later "Father" and I had known Richard Campbell to be my father only a short time, but I'd known him long enough to recognize his voice."I heard their voices! I saw Patrick!" I cried, tears starting to leak down my face against my will, "Patrick was literally in the room with me and the men holding me hostage spoke to Richard Campbell on the phone while it was on speaker. I heard his voice. I heard him."Tyler rubbed his hands up and down my arms as if to soothe me, but my tears wouldn't stop. What had I done to make it so easy to betray me? Why did I have not one but two fathers willing to use me, hurt me, even kill me for their own ends?
Rachel POVWright HouseAdam had brought the sedan around within a span of time I couldn't even remember. All my thoughts had become scrambled due to exhaustion of both the mental and physical varieties. I just wanted to go home with my mate.Tyler carried me to the car and then insisted on carrying me inside Wright House when we arrived home.I'd thought I couldn't sit on the sofa there a moment longer, but it turned out I was never so grateful to see a piece of furniture. I might have even cried a little in joy at being back to my sequesterment."Oh, so now you like the couch?" Tyler teased.Sniffling, I smacked his chest lightly, "Stop it! Don't tease me. I'm in a fragile state."I felt silly even saying the words, but they got a deep chuckle out of Tyler and even a little chortle of laughter from Adam who was following us inside. I'd managed to convince Lindy, Bella, and Jack to stay at their apartment. Adam was obviou
Tyler POVEvery breath was tinged with the hot burn of hatred; I literally breathed in anger and blew out fury with every movement of my lungs. I wanted to tear someone apart except the ones I wanted to be the focus on my rage were out of my reach for the moment.Patrick Flores had raised Rachel yet he was never a father to her. I would have said it was because his mate had come to him with a child already in tow except Ethan was his own child and he'd been no better father to him. "I want Patrick Flores and Richard Campbell," I told Adam as soon as he answers my call, "I'm calling in the Alpha Inspector to get them both. No excuses. Understand?" Adam answered, "I understand, Alpha." "Good. Wait for my call," I said before hanging up then called Art Windsor."What are you thinking, Wright? You think we can just take down the head Alpha of a major pack without an heir lined up?" Windsor responded when the call connected."I don't care about his heir or his Alpha House or his pack. H
Art POVOur Blessed Goddess Medical Center - Intensive Care UnitWright was giving me a headache. Again. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I breathed out hard, trying to pop my ears to relieve some of the pressure in my head.All I managed to do was make the nurse in the room with me hop back from me like a rabbit before a wolf which wasn't too far off considering my personal afflictions and nature. I wasn't in danger of giving in to my thirst, but she did smell delicious. I wondered if she had fae blood in her. "What were you saying?" I coaxed, trying to get her to resume the conversation we'd been having before Tyler Wright called. "His blood shows poison. Signs of poison," she corrected, "Doctor Thomas ordered a full blood panel when he wasn't responding to treatment." I prayed for patience as I stood beside Ethan Flores in his bed. He was breathing on his own, but he was completely comatose, virtually unresponsive to stimuli, and showing no signs of improvement even though he h
Lindy POVFollowing the Alpha Inspector or his witch wasn't possible. They could move through space using magic and I didn't have any. I had my senses though and I'd always been good at being invisible.No one paid me any attention when I slipped out of the apartment to track the scents of first the Alpha Inspector then his witch.Windsor hadn't left much of a trail to follow. For all his magnificent muscles and size, he was proving to be lazy, preferring to use magic to move around rather than his two good legs.The witch was less careful. I found her tracks outside the apartment in a concentrated area where she must have spoken with the Alpha Inspector for a while before parting company. I was able to follow her scent much farther since she seemed to have just strolled away.I knew no one wanted me poking around for information on Nathan, but how could I not? He was my mate! I'd never dreamed I would find my fated mate much less learn he was wonderful, handsome, and the Alpha heir t
Rachel POVWright House"What in the name of our Goddess---" Art exclaimed, shoving Lindy away from his chest and knocking her onto the bed with me.Lindy landed in a sprawl, her face tear-streaked and eyes swollen. She looked haggard as if she hadn't slept in days; I realized I had no idea how she was doing since I'd been caught up in my own plight. Her bruises were still visible from the beating she'd taken."You said you were going to check on Nathan!" Lindy spat out, "You're a liar! I knew you were a liar. My father told me not to trust anyone.""Your father?" Art asked as I started to feel a sinking sensation in my chest.What had Lindy told Richard Campbell? Did he know we were aware my mother was alive? Was he going to try to kill her before we could rescue her in order to cover up his involvement?I had too many questions to wait for Art to try to communicate with Lindy. I knew the woman well enough to get answers from her. She'd be less afraid of me than Art. He'd just have t
Rachel POVWright House"Who's Peter?" I asked again, bewildered by the thought some man's first name would be enough to find my mother after she'd been missing for twenty years.Lindy looked up at me, adjusting herself on the bed to sit beside me with her back against my headboard, "I don't know. Just Peter. He's always been around Daddy. Doing whatever Daddy wants or needs. He's a 'good dog' or that's what Daddy says.""A good dog," I repeated.I felt nauseated at the idea of this man being nothing more than a pet who fetched, sat, and rolled over on command. Had he fetched my mother on the day Patrick pretended she'd died? Had he taken her away to be put in chains somewhere in a stone building where the wind blew over the ocean?Lindy shrugged. She had never known any other life. The secrets her father asked her to keep weren't suspicious to her because she had no idea what kind of horrors Richard Campbell might be hiding or trying to hide."What sort of things does your daddy ask
Rachel POV"The baby is coming!" I criedHow was my baby coming?I'd had pain in my back, but I was used to that by now. I spent all day in the bed. My stomach was so swollen I couldn't see my feet and the extra weight put pressure on my spine.I had not had the first cramp! Where were my contractions? Where was the agonizing pain women all talked about?"Relax," a nurse said as she bustled into the room behind my mother who'd bolted for the hall as soon as I'd first called out.The nurse looked gloriously professional and capable. I wanted her help more than I wanted my next breath of air. I sighed audibly in relief."It's not really my water breaking? Was it just some kind of---accident?" I asked, blushing as I looked at the tablet where the Alpha Council was still hanging on the line on their side.All the male Councilmen looked terribly uncomfortable while the two females both looked amused. I was mortified this had happene
Rachel POVDays turned into weeks in Our Blessed Goddess Medical Center.Mama had taken over a week to detox from the drugs flooding her system. She'd managed to regain her ability to speak after only a few days. She was, however, still taking physical therapy to assist her with strengthening her muscles and bones again after all those years of living a dormant life in the asylum.My body was still fighting against itself. Some part of me -some animal part deep inside- wanted to reclaim the ability to shift, to fight, to run.I knew Rayne wanted to stretch her legs, but I didn't think my wolf was the one calling all the shots. I believed most of the restlessness in my body was from a part of me even more primal than Rayne herself."Have you seen Ethan today?" I asked my mother.Mama looked up from where she had been studying her hands. I knew it would take her a few moments to respond. She'd gotten her voice back, but speech was still not ea
Rachel POV"How is my brother?" I asked again, feeling like a crazed parrot as I clutched my mother to me yet every muscle in my body had gone tense in her arms.Ethan was going to have to be okay, too. I couldn't gain my mother only to lose my brother. Ethan was too young, too vital, and he had too much life left to live.Mama sat at my side on the edge of the bed tangling her fingers with mine while being careful not to pull on my IV lines or interfere with her own. We were a pair of invalids it seemed.I couldn't quite comprehend the situation we were in. Everything felt too surreal. Nothing was going the way I had ever imagined it in my head though I had certainly dreamed of my mother being returned to me more than once."Ethan is still unresponsive," Tyler answered, taking a seat beside me and reaching for my other hand, "He's not getting worse, but he isn't improving at all either. Your mother has agreed to donate blood. The hospital is tryin
Rachel POV"Your mother is doing well considering," Art said."Considering what?" I asked.My body was hot yet numb at the same time. I had a baby monitoring band wrapped around my waist to monitor my daughter, a pulse oximeter to monitor my oxygen and pulse, a blood pressure cuff for exactly that, and two IVs to make sure the hospital had access to my bloodstream as fast as possible "just in case."Saying I felt out of sorts was putting it mildly."Considering the quack caring for her had kept her overmedicated for the last two decades," Art said, shrugging a shoulder, "I think they did all they could to keep her barely conscious to avoid her fighting for her freedom. According to Justice, she can't even speak."I frowned, the muscles in my face moving as sluggishly as the rest of me, "According to Justice? You haven't seen her?"Art shook his head, "No. I distracted the facility attendants while Justice got your mother from her room
Elena POVTime passed based on the light coming in from the only window in my room. I knew the rays of dawn, the brightness of noon, the fires of dusk, and the silver of moonlight at night.Everything else was a guessing game.I've never been allowed a clock or a calendar. I tried to count days by marking them on the wall beside my bed, but they just painted over my marks on one of the days they took me for their tests.'Tests' were supposed to determine how safe I would be in normal society, but they consisted of a series of random questions I couldn't follow with all the drugs in my system.Every time they asked me something I knew there was a right answer and a wrong answer. I just couldn't make my mind identify which was which so I played the part of a mute after a while.If I didn't speak at all, they didn't give me more drugs. I was given a little more autonomy. I was left with books to read and, for a time, paper to write on.I
Art POVEvery breath felt harder and harder to draw in. I couldn't get my head on straight. For some unknown reason, I was more involved with this case of this missing female than any other case I had ever investigated in my career as an Alpha Inspector.I'd rescued children -babies even- and plenty of women before. What made this woman special? What made Rachel's baby so important to me?I couldn't think of anything hurting her child or her without the Alpha instinct rising up in me. I could feel my wolf, Merlyn, bristling all over and I couldn't afford a moment's lapse with the vampire demon sharing my body with my wolf.Merlyn had to keep the vampire in check. We would go on a rampage, drink dry anything with a pulse. I'd lost control once before and it'd been worse than any nightmare I had ever had.Coming back to myself with my belly full of the blood of others, I remembered wanting to erase every memory I had to take away the taste.No
Tyler POVRachel had finally drifted off into a fitful sleep. They'd had to pump her full of icy IV fluids to drop her temperature enough to allow her any peace. Every drop of sweat from her forehead felt as if it were being wrung from the marrow of my bones.I literally ached with the need to protect her, care for her, heal her.But there was nothing I could do."You'll drive yourself insane if you keep pacing out here worrying over what you can't change. We need to get to Elena," Windsor said.I could hear the finality in his tone; I knew he wanted to push me to do something for him. I just didn't know what more I could do for the Alpha Council. What help could I be in tracking this 'Peter' down?I'd never crossed paths with the man to the best of my knowledge."How can I help?" I asked, knowing Art Windsor well enough to realize he would tell me what he needed if I only asked.Art placed his hands into his pockets, walking o
Rachel POV"Why aren't we going to get my mother, now?" I asked, wiping the sweat from my brow with a towel growing steadily warmer with every touch to my skin.Art had brought Richard Campbell's computer along with the files from behind the picture frame. We had an exact location on the asylum my mother was being held at, but we had no access to her. I was still trying to understand why.I prompted, "What is the plan, Art? We can't just let them keep my mother in that hellhole."I knew the place Mom was in had to be terrible. They couldn't be a reputable institution and keep a woman with no illness hostage for two decades. I didn't even want to visit the place much less imagine how my mother could have survived there for twenty years."Are you okay?" Art asked, his expression concerned as he studied me hard enough to make me wipe myself with my cold towel again, "You don't look okay.""I feel hot," I said, "I don't know? It seems to be gett
Rachel POV"What do you mean you don't want to meet them?" I asked, feeling ridiculous even repeating the words aloud, "Lindy, we're talking about your family. Your real, blood family."Lindy shook her head 'no' over and over. Her wet hair slapped against her cheeks and I noticed she was crying now, too. Her gaze was slightly vacant, as if she couldn't understand what she was saying or what was being said to her or both."You---"Art cut me off, saying, "Lindy, do you need something to drink? Some water? We don't have to talk about those people right now. Can I get you anything?""Water," Lindy mumbled.Adam offered, "I'll go get it. Plenty of ice. I've been---well, I haven't been where she's at right now, but I understand enough."The big Beta left the room while the rest of us simply stared at Lindy as if we expected her to do a trick of some kind.I couldn't say I had ever seen anyone look so lost before. Lindy looked the wa