Finding Our Way (Werewolf Wars) (19 page)

“I do. We were also able to capture three of the younger girls and one boy from the group,” Malakai replied meeting his eyes.

“Fantastic. I want them moved to the Luna’s at once. There will be no rescue missions or escape attempts. Were any of them alpha’s?” Fernando asked, smiling.

“Yes, one of the females was Amelia. I’m sure you remember her from Emmett McKinley.”

“Ah, yes, I do. She was taken in by Claire and is one of her charges. We should move them quickly.” Fernando smiled. “And the last task? Was it a success?”

“It was not. None of the men that went into the house came back out,” Malakai revealed quietly.

“I see.” Fernando narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “Were they able to plant any bugs in the home.”

“Our technology suggests no,” Malakai answered.

“Damn it,” Fernando snapped, punching his desk. “We cannot lose those women again. We need more breeders. Do you realize that we only have one-hundred-and-three fertile women in our pack?”

“I did not know the number,” Malakai responded.

“Remember it. You are to be a leader some day. Out of those women, only six of them are currently with child, and of those far enough along to tell the gender none of them are carrying females. We have a crisis on our hands. One that needs to be amended as soon as possible. During the next attack, I want it to be made clear that the Davies sister’s and this new girl Nora are not harmed.”

“Do you really want half-breeds?”

Fernando sighed and laced his fingers behind his back. “Of course not. However, a group of three women defeated our men we sent inside. Regardless of their weapons, that should not have happened. These women are fighters—they are strong. If we are going to use humans, it’s best to choose the strongest not the weakest. Besides, think how much fun it will be to break them, boy.” Fernando grinned. “I hear Natalia and Lark have become close friends, and she is the alpha’s mate. Think about it, Malakai. You could have Lark as your toy and we’ll find you a proper alpha to be your mate.” Fernando clapped him on the back with a wide grin. He beamed further as a slow smirk spread over his grandson’s lips.

“Should I call the Luna’s to have them send more men?” Malakai questioned.

Fernando scratched his jaw. “Call him, but I don’t want him to send the men yet. Let’s wait till I speak to Maddie first. I want to know what the Harris’ are planning. Once we know their plans, I want to get men here without their knowledge. The next time we attack, we will obliterate them.”

“I will speak with Charles Luna,” Malakai agreed. “Have we heard from the second group yet?”

“Not yet, Papa. Although, they had a further distance to travel, I expect them back soon.”

“Very well, I’m sure they were successful. They probably never even saw it coming,” Fernando grinned.

***

N
atalia padded back into the bedroom and smiled as she took in the sight before her. The two people she loved most sat on the bed. Gene held Adrian in his arms, feeding him a bottle. Adrian greedily sucked on the contents creating a loud popping sound.

“How are you feeling? Did your run help?” Gene asked looking up at her.

“I must have pulled a few muscles during the fight last night. I took a short run, and I feel a lot better.” She stretched and went to the dresser to pull out some clothes for the day. “Adrian did not sleep long,” she commented, depositing her clothes at the end of the bed as she sunk down next to Gene. “He’s eating good though, I believe he is going through a growth spurt. Not to mention, the confusion last night.”

“I remember hearing babies go through a growth spurt about this age,” Gene said, setting Adrian up to burp him.

Natalia brushed her hand over Adrian’s dark hair. “I was so afraid for all of us last night.” Her lip trembled as she kissed her son’s head. “And I cannot help but think that I failed those kids. We have to go after them, Gene.”

“We will. Dev and Lark should be here in an hour. We’ll go over everything then.”

“We need to strike now, Gene. Today! While his numbers are still down. He lost a lot of men last night,” Natalia pointed out.

“So did we.” Gene began to feed Adrian again.

“But he can send for reinforcements. We cannot. We have exhausted all of our contacts. If we go now, we can take a shot at him again, and this time take him out.” She’d intended to do it before, but Luis had showed up in his stead. “He’s there now, Gene. Just a few miles away. We can end this and leave his pack in disarray.”

Gene nodded. “We’ll work out a plan with Devon and Lark. If we’re going after him, I want to get him this time.”

“And then we will be safe,” Natalia closed her eyes and sighed.

Gene placed a kiss to her forehead and her eyes fluttered open. “I’ll always keep the two of you safe, Talia, until my last breath.”

“I love you,” she whispered, hoping it never came to that.

***

N
ora helped herself to a few cinnamon rolls and pieces of fruit before going to sit down at the table. Vincent and Sarah were already at the long, rectangular table, she sat next to Sarah who seemed more interested in playing with her food than eating. Daniel followed behind her, taking a seat between her and his brother, Vincent.

“So,” Vincent started waggling his eyebrows. “How is everyone this morning? Did you two
sleep
well last night?”

Nora shifted in her seat and stared down at her cinnamon rolls. Flames engulfed her cheeks and the fire spread to the tips of her ears.

“Knock it off,” Daniel grumbled stirring his cereal with his spoon.

“Someone’s in a grumpy mood,” Vincent rolled his eyes. “How are you, Nora? You look lovely as ever,” he commented his voice taking on a more serious tone as he complimented her.

“Fine, thanks,” Nora answered quietly.

“And you Sarah? It's a beautiful morning,” Vincent went on.

Sarah sighed. “I’m just ready to get the day over with already.”

“It’s not even lunch yet. The day’s not a total loss until it’s half over,” Vincent teased.

“Look, I’m going to The Cookie Jar because Lark needs the help—not because I want to,” Sarah snapped.

“Ease up, I’m only joking. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together for the unforeseeable future. Might as well make it fun,” Vincent said, smiling as he nudged her lightly on the bicep.

“It’d go a lot faster if you just kept your mouth shut. I’m not interested in making friends.” Sarah shot up, causing her chair to almost topple over. “I’ll be ready to leave in twenty,” she said before storming off.

“She’s looking forward to spending the day with me you just can’t tell yet,” Vincent said, taking a bite of his apple.

“Really?” Daniel grinned. “Because I think you might have just met the first girl who doesn’t like you.”

Nora chuckled as Vincent’s face dipped down into a scowl.

“She likes me, she’s just still in a funk. You like my company, right, Nora?” Vincent asked, turning his attention to the red head.

Nora cleared her throat and finished chewing on her banana. “Yeah.”

“She likes me,” Vincent smirked staring at his brother. His eyebrows shot up suggestively as he eyed them.

“Do you have a point to your shenanigans, Vincent?” Daniel asked around a mouthful of cereal.

“Always.”

The kitchen door opened and clanged shut as Gene and Natalia walked in. The she-wolf had an empty bottle in one hand and a baby monitor in the other.

“Morning,” Gene nodded as he took in the assortment of food.

“How are you, Nora?” Natalia asked, sliding the chair Sarah had vacated in so she could set in it.

“Good, thanks. You?” Nora asked.

“Tired, but I am well.”

“Lark and Devon here yet?” Gene asked.

“Nah, not yet. They had a late night, though,” Vincent spoke up. “Or they are
busy
that seems to be going around here.” Vincent jumped back. “Ow,” he barked bending down to rub his shin.

Gene’s cell phone chimed and he pulled it out of his pocket. “This is Gene.” He turned to the window. “On my way.” Gene hung up and spun around. “We have a problem. Daniel, Vincent, we need to go now. Talia see if you can round up a few more men. Send them south to the road.”

“South?” Natalia questioned.

“Yeah. That was one of the guys from Derek Stiles’ pack, they were attacked last night. They have Derek’s daughter with them and are being chased,” Gene explained, heading to the door.

“I’ll be back soon,” Daniel assured, squeezing her shoulder as he hurried after Gene and Vincent.

Natalia hurried out the door with them leaving Nora sitting at the table by herself. She shoved her plate away, no longer hungry. Would it ever end?

N
ora got up from the deserted table and rinsed her plate off, placing it in the dishwasher. She let out a long breath and decided to seek out April.

Just as she was about to leave the door thudded open.

“Where did everyone go?” Sarah asked as she walked back into the kitchen.

“There was some sort of issue-“

“Is it Lark?” Sarah interrupted her blue eyes widening.

“No, Gene said something about some Derek guy,” Nora replied shrugging.

“Oh,” Sarah sighed, her shoulders slumping down. “He’s an alpha friend of Gene and Devon’s. Their pack is a few hours from here. I wonder if everything is okay.”

“They all went running out. It didn’t sound good,” Nora said.

Sarah huffed and sat down at the table. “I guess I won’t be going to The Cookie Jar today. Not that I really wanted to anyway.” She stared at the wood as she tapped her fingers against the table.

“You don’t like working there?” Nora asked curiously.

“I love it. I use to love it. I just...I don’t want to do it,” Sarah explained.

“What do you want to do?”

Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know.” Sarah fell forward onto the table resting her head on her forearms. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“It’s all a little overwhelming,” Nora nodded in agreement. “Last night...”

“I don’t know what came over me,” Sarah said, looking up with haunted pale blue eyes. “All I could think is these are the men that killed Preston and Rick. The same men that kidnapped me and Lark, and Talia.”

“No one can blame you. If you hadn’t acted, Lark and myself would be someplace else right now,” Nora said placing her hand over the other girls.

Sarah’s fingers trembled and she closed her eyes. “I was so mad. I
hate
them. All I can think about is how they died—what they took from me. Preston and I were supposed to start school together. We were going to get our own apartment and buy furniture. Hell, we may have even gotten married, or mated. That’s never going to happen now.” Tears streamed down her face.

“I know it’s hard right now, but it does get better. When my grandma passed recently too, I tried to focus on what she would have wanted me to do. It wasn’t easy, but eventually, I got back into the swing of things.” Nora studied the other girl as her shoulders shook. Sarah’s head fell forward resting in the palms of her hands.

“I don’t want to feel like this anymore. I don’t want to get hurt anymore. Everyone is dying. Forty-six people died last night and four are missing. How can we come back from this? It’s only getting worse.”

Nora opened her mouth to respond when the door opened. Natalia walked in juggling the baby monitor in her hand. Her gaze fell on Sarah and she gave Nora a small smile as she took a seat at the table.

“Twelve more men went out. I am sure Gene and Daniel and the rest of the guys will be back soon,” Natalia said.

“I hope everything is okay,” Nora whispered.

Natalia shook her head. “I fear not. Juarez enjoys the game. While we were under attack, he was probably doing the same thing at the Stile’s homestead.”

“But I thought his men were attacking here?” Nora asked frowning.

“He has men everywhere. There are thousands of men in his pack. They are spread out throughout the country. I believe he has many packs like the Luna’s where he houses large groups of men,” Natalia explained.

“Are we still going to the Luna’s?” Nora asked.

“We have not decided one way or another yet,” Natalia answered.

“Why would we go there?” Sarah asked, peeking up at them.

“Lark has not told you?” Natalia asked, glancing at Nora.

“No. What? What is going on?” Sarah demanded.

“We were planning to go there—to attack,” Natalia said.

“I want to go,” Sarah blurted.

“What?” Natalia questioned.

“I want to go,” she repeated. “I can take care of myself. Last night should prove that.”

“I am not sure that is a good idea,” Natalia said.

“If Lark is going, so am I. I want revenge for what they did to my family. Don’t you?” Sarah accused, narrowing her eyes on the she-wolf.

“Of course I do,” Natalia snapped. “They killed my mother and Adrian’s father. But, I have Adrian and the entire pack to think of, we all have our place, Sarah. Vengeance isn’t the answer,” Natalia explained her voice softening.

“Revenge is the only thing I have. I am going, especially if Lark is. I’m not watching my sister—my only living relative, run off into danger, without me,” Sarah replied adamantly.

The room grew quiet as the she-wolf appraised the blonde. Nora fidgeted in her seat not wanting to get involved. A part of her wondered if Sarah went, would she still be invited along? As silly as it seemed she could see where the girl was coming from. The idea of April and Daniel going off without her didn’t sit well. What if something happened?

“All right. We will discuss it when everyone gets here,” Natalia replied after a long moment.

“Good,” Sarah nodded. “I can’t believe Lark kept this from me.”

“She’s just trying to keep you safe,” Natalia reasoned.

“There isn’t anywhere that is safe. The ranch has been attacked two times this week. I am no safer here than I would be there,” Sarah argued.

Nora flinched. Realizing again the younger woman was right. There wasn’t anywhere safe.

***

D
aniel clung to the bar on the roof of the jeep. Three wolves on foot sprinted toward the property. The black alpha female was flanked by the two white wolves. Behind them, Daniel could make out many more wolves kicking up dust.