Astrid Cielo (18 page)

Wesley
surveyed for the first time where they were and shook his head.
 

"We've
crossed over into pack lands Daphne."

Daphne's
mouth formed an
'O.'
 
Elias
was one territorial bastard, not that he wasn't fair, but
he took trespassing seriously.
 
More than
once Daphne had called him to stop her brother from doing something
stupid.
 
It was weird that the pride
didn't heed the signs they were crossing into pack lands.

"I
can smell that she's been here, I can smell her blood," Skylar yelled
while he fought against the four or so cougars that held him back.
 
Ah, shit.
 
Xavier, the one he'd pegged as more level headed was beside
himself
pacing in wolf form and looking ready to
pounce.
 
Caleb had his hands full,
because whether the two wolves knew it or not, having mated with Aspen they
were now pride.

Wesley
stepped in front of Daphne and growled back when Elias growled.
 
"Look, Elias, we've got to find Aspen
and the one who kidnapped her-"

"These
are my lands and we will find-"

Wesley
balled his fist and barely restrained himself from punching the somewhat young
and headstrong male.
 
Elias had great
potential.
 
He kept his pack in line and
besides his hot headedness Wesley thought he was a great guy.
 
But then his bear had been playing with his
mind too much tonight.
 
All he could
think of was Essence in Aspen's place.
 
And if this fucker got away there was always that chance.
 
Over my dead body.
 
Wesley whole-heartedly agreed with his bear.

"Look,
Elias unless you want the council raining down on your parade, I suggest you
let this agent do his job."
 
Wesley
pointed to Skylar whose change was starting to take control.

Elias's
jaw clenched but Wesley saw he'd make the right decision.
 
Despite Elias's temper he wasn't stupid.

"Just
the Agent," Elias said.

A
wolf's howl broke through the night.

"And his mate."
 

Elias
nodded after a moment and each wolf parted to give Skylar and Xavier room.
 
Caleb looked upset and rightfully so.
 
Aspen was a friend and a pride member.
 
Caleb took care of what was his.
 
Skylar and Xavier were released and now both
in wolf forms they ran, the scent of their mate leading the way.
 

Caleb
walked toward Daphne and Elias and extended his hand.
 
They knew each other, maybe not personally,
but since their parents had decided what lands belonged to whom, these boys had
played together once.
 
Funny how becoming
an alpha made everything a power struggle.
 
Elias took Caleb’s hand and shook.
 
These two had a long way to go to be as great as their parents.
 
And he had a long ways to go to win a certain
little cougar, he feared.

Naked
and tied to a bed shouldn't be this terrifying.
 
No.
 
It should have been her,
Skylar, and Xavier exploring their new mating bond but, nothing ever worked out
like it should.
 
Aspen sighed in relief
when she opened her eyes and found herself still alone.
 
Being pregnant and kidnapped sure tuckered a
person out.
 

It
was still dark and there was no light in the abandoned-cabin?-she wasn't
sure.
 
Aspen sighed and like she'd tried
for no telling how long before falling asleep the first time she began
struggling against the rope.
 
She groaned
in frustration, the only thing she was doing consistently was getting rope
burn.
 
She tried again to release her
claws and use them to her advantage.
 
But
that bastard had tied her just right.
 
When she got loose and got her hands—claws--on him he'd wish that he'd
never been born.

The
sound of a door creaking open stopped her struggles.
 
So far he'd seemed happy just leaving her
be
, shooting her with another tranquilizer, which she put
from her mind because there was no way to know if that was safe for her
baby.
 

So
maybe if she just lay still he'd ignore her like he'd been doing.
 
Aspen didn't trust fate all that much, I mean
her parents were shining examples that sometimes fate got it wrong, but she
wasn't willing to no believe he'd leave her alone.
 
She'd realized after the second shot of
tranquilizer that Skylar and Xavier were probably still alive since he'd only
shot them with a tranquilizer--or so she hoped.
 
But she needed that hope, especially if she were going to get out of
this mess.

Aspen's
eyes shot open at the sound of a slap followed by pain blossoming over her
cheek.
 
He'd hit her.

"About
time you woke up, bitch.
 
They'll be here
soon and I need you to look good."

They?
 
Look good?
 
It didn't matter that the statement was senseless to her; she wanted no
part in this plan.
 
Aspen started
struggling again, even though she knew she couldn't get free, even in her
cougar form--desperate times and all--she wouldn't just lie idly by and
wait.
 

His
laugh was terrible, but the sharp pain that turned into a deep burn took her
breath.
 
The coppery smell of blood gave
her pause.
 
Aspen looked down to find
blood welling from the painful line from between her breast and down her
abdomen.
 
Rage consumed her.
 
How dare he endanger her child?
 
Aspen growled low in her throat when he
raised the knife to his nose and sniffed.
 
He laughed at her.

"Poor,
poor kitty tied up and unable to do a thing to stop me."

Aspen
growled again and watched.
 
He would make
a mistake and when he did she would rip his throat out.

Again
his knife made a trail, this time on the sensitive underside of her
breast.
 
Again and again he sliced, never
too deep, but enough to make her bleed.
 
That was until he got to the tops of her thighs.

"You
know my brother was always a breast man.
 
Loved to pinch and bite their nipples until they screamed.
 
I on the other hand am a leg man, but unlike
my brother I enjoy watching them bleed."

Aspen
couldn't keep her scream bottled inside as he stabbed the top of her thigh.

"
Ahhh
, I love to hear you scream.
 
Do it again."

Sweat
poured off her and her breathing was erratic.
 
She felt the room spin and her mouth went dry.
 
Aspen knew she was beginning to panic, the
pain starting to become too much, but a part of her held on.
 
She wouldn't give this fucker anything.
 
She looked him in his blue eyes.
 
Not one damn thing.
 
He growled his blue eyes glowing as the wolf
came closer to the surface.

"You'll
scream alright bitch, you'll scream plenty when I cut this parasite from your
stomach."

He
twisted the knife and she bit her cheek until she tasted blood.
 
But she didn't scream.
 
Oddly enough she couldn't decide which was
more painful; the knife's excruciating drive into flesh, its brutal twist, or
the sickening pain of it leaving her thigh.
 
She didn't have long to decide that it didn't matter when he stabbed her
other thigh more viciously.
 
Its descent
was only stopped by the bone that rested there.
 
Unbidden a scream tore from her throat and tears streamed down her
face.
 

It
happened so quickly, the excruciating twist of his hand damaging even more
flesh and then his face was hovering above her.
 
He'd fucked up, just like she knew he would.
 
Her teeth transformed moments before she
struck her canines digging deep into his throat.
 
A strange gurgling sound came out, but she'd
taken down enough deer to know that would be all.
 
His hand twisted the knife that still dug
into her thigh and it took every ounce of sheer determination to keep her teeth
locked around his throat.
 

Aspen
bit harder with each twist of his hand, and for good measure shook her head to
help rip his flesh.
 
When finally she'd
had enough, she reached deep inside herself and found the strength to rip his
throat from him.
 
She spit the blood and
gore that filled her mouth and turned her head to the side to vomit as he
slipped to the floor.
 
Dead.
 
Aspen cried until the loss of blood took her
into unconsciousness.
 

***

Skylar's
wolf ran his nose leading the way and Xavier followed him.
 
He wanted Aspen in his arms, safe where she
should have been since day one.
 
Skylar
forced his mind to leave the past alone.
 
It would do Aspen no good.
 
His
wolf stopped and lifted its head to the wind.
 
There.

The
trees that had surrounded them now cleared out to show a small cabin within the
dense pine forest.
 
The smell of the pack
was strong, but so was the blood.
 
He
forced his wolf not to howl and changed.
 
He needed to be in control.
 
Xavier stood next to him, what little light the moon afforded illuminated
his muscled chest.

"She's
here?"

Skylar
nodded.
 
The smell of her blood was
driving him a little crazy.
 
Xavier's jaw
tightened and he moved forward.
 
Skylar
restrained him with a hand.

"Calm
down,
Zay
.
 
We
need to go in there level headed.
 
Our
mate depends on us."

Xavier
nodded and they both walked slowly toward the house.
 
Skylar grew increasingly worried when he
heard nothing.
 
Edging closer to the
cabin he motioned for Xavier to go to the front door.
 
When he nodded, Skylar ran quickly toward the
back, hoping to get inside before Xavier.
 
His need to protect both Aspen and Xavier warred within him.
 
The cabin was simple and there was no back
door, but when he heard Xavier cry out Aspen's name, he didn't give stealth
another thought and burst through the window.
 
Glass cut at his body, but he didn’t care.
 
All that mattered was getting to her.
 
Protecting her.
 
Protecting them.
 

The
dense smell of blood made him growl.
 
He
spotted Xavier bending over a prone body on a bed and stepped over the body on
the ground after he stooped to see Shawn's dead face.
 

Xavier
struggled with the rope holding Aspen to the bed and Skylar feared the
worst.
 
When she moaned in pain he became
unfrozen and helped pull the knots free.

"Oh
my god, baby, don't move."
 
Xavier's
hand hovered over the knife protruding from her leg and Skylar grabbed his
hand.

"Don't
pull it out.
 
We're not sure of the
damage.
 
Wrap something around it to keep
it stable.
 
We've got to get her to a
hospital."

Xavier
nodded and wrapped a sheet around her thigh.
 
"There's so much blood."

"She's
going to be alright."
 
Skylar kept
repeating that to himself.
 
He had to or
he would lose control and Aspen needed him.

He
finished untying her legs and traced the abrasions left by the rope.
 
Every piece of him wished that the fucker was
alive again just so Skylar could kill him all over again.
 
Xavier picked her up and cradled her naked
body close.
 
Skylar finally found a sheet
that wasn't covered in blood or vomit and wrapped her carefully.
 

Grey
eyes stared at him when he cupped her face.
 
"We've got you, sweetheart."

Aspen
smiled before groaning in pain.
 
Xavier
bent and kissed her forehead then followed Skylar.

"We've
got to make it back to the pack or pride.
 
She needs a hospital and we don't have a phone."
 

The
trek back to where they'd met the pack seemed to take forever.
 
Already the forest was beginning to become
lighter with the sun starting to peek from the horizon.
 
Other than moaning, Aspen made not a
sound.
 
It was starting to worry Skylar,
and when he looked back at Xavier's clenched jaw and troubled brown eyes he
knew Xavier suffered as well.

***

Caleb
waited until Skylar and Xavier had made it past the line of wolves then walked
straight to Elias.
 
Daphne and her
brother resembled each other, both boasting green eyes and high cheekbones, but
where Daphne's hair was almost flame red, Elias's was more auburn.
 
His skin also held a tan that Daphne's
lacked, but it didn't hide the freckles that dusted his cheeks.
 
Of course they knew each other.
 
Hell, Caleb vaguely recalled playing with the
male when his father used to bring him to pack lands for negotiations when they
were children.
 

"Elias,
we apologize for trespassing, but please understand that we were just worried
for our pride mate."

It
burned him to apologize for taking care of his pride, but like his father had
always said, never underestimate the value of an alliance.
 
There had once been an alliance between the
pack and pride, so surely Caleb could repair what he let become frayed during
the grieving of his parents.
 
He'd have
to be sure to mention to Zackary the need for ironing out the details of a
compromise both the pack and pride could agree on.

"Just
because there is a crisis it doesn't excuse the trespassing.
 
Chaos doesn't ensure the safety of our
respectable charges, so instead the pack should have been notified to assist in
the search that extended to our lands."

Caleb
nodded his head.
 
He would not get angry,
because the wolf made damn perfect sense.

"Are
we really going to do this now?"

Elias's
turned to Daphne who stood regarding them with hands on her hips.
 
"Look, I've got a kidnap victim out
there who doesn't need this...this posturing right now.
 
What we-"

"Daphne!"
 
Daphne's head bowed at her brother's tone,
though she did growl her displeasure.
 
Elias shook his head and though he tried, Caleb caught the slight smile
he sent his sister.
 
"I've already
got our pack out looking through our land to find the missing cougar
female.
 
But you of all people know that
structure during any crisis is
key
to a
sucessful
resolution."

Daphne
nodded then stomped away.
 

"Well,
like I said, we do apologize for coming into your territory without proper
notification."