Hagen, Lynn - Murphy's Madness [Brac Pack 15] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (11 page)

Drew spotted bricks in a circular pattern outlining a tree on the curb. He rushed over and picked one up, heaving it at the glass door. They covered their heads as the glass exploded around them, shattering and then falling down like rain as it hit the ground.

All three ran inside, heading straight to the back of the bookstore to lock themselves in Murphy’s office.

“Holy fuck!” Oliver shouted as he raced across the room and righted the ladder, quickly climbing up as Cecil slammed the office door closed and locked it.

Drew ran around the desk, looking for anything sharp to use. He pulled desk drawers out, letting them hit the floor as his eyes frantically searched the contents. He bent down and snatched a large pair of scissors from the floor, running back around the desk to hand them to Oliver. “It’s the only thing I could find.” He said desperately as Oliver snagged them from his hand.

“Drew, Cecil, I need you to grab his legs and push him up. I want to take the pressure off of his neck,” Oliver shouted down to them.

Once they secured Murphy’s legs, they heaved his limp body up. The rope gained enough slack to loosen it from around Murphy’s neck.

Drew could see that it wasn’t enough to remove the noose from around his neck. Whoever had done this was making damn sure Murphy couldn’t get out of this alive. His blood boiled as he looked at Murphy’s closed eyes and parted lips.

Drew shifted his eyes to Oliver, not wanting to remember the look on the mate’s face. He held on tight to Murphy as Oliver went to work.

Oliver’s jaw clenched tightly as he sawed the open pair of shears back and forth with a quickness born of desperation until the rope unwound and the final strand gave.

Drew and Cecil, still holding Murphy’s limp body, fell to the floor with the sudden weight.

Oliver jumped down and threw the scissors across the room as he began CPR on Murphy.

They couldn’t lose him.

He was one of them now. Drew prayed that Oliver put all his effort into saving the young half-wolf’s life.

* * * *

Maverick raced through the forest at breakneck speed. He didn’t need to take his time to track. He knew exactly where the three had gone.

If another mate was in trouble, Cecil would be there ready to battle and help out in any way that he could. He commended his mate for the honorable way he stuck by the others, but one day it was going to cost him his life, and that was something Maverick wasn’t willing to chance.

They had been together for many years now, but everyday with Cecil felt like it was their first to him, and he wasn’t willing to end it so soon. He loved his mate with every single cell in his body.

Although Melonee now held a special place in his heart, no one could ever take Cecil’s place.

His mate was witty, sexy, fun, and full of laughter. He was kind, compassionate, and put others before his own needs. Cecil was everything and anything a man could want in a partner, a lover, and a best friend.

The image of his mate clouded his vision, the smile that made Maverick's heart stop every time he saw it. He put on a burst of speed, feeling his chest constricting at the thought of losing the only man that had ever made him feel like he was alive.

Maverick entered town, making his way past the rec center and getting closer to the bookstore. As he shot across the street, a howl ripped from deep within his chest at the state the front door of the shop was in.

His ears tucked back, his hackles rising as he leapt through the front door. He didn’t stop there as he spotted the vampire trying to break down the door in the back of the store.

Maverick leapt onto the vampire’s back, savagely tearing him to pieces. He whipped his head to the side, letting the undead fly from his jaws and then head-butted the locked door with full force.

It crashed open as he ran into the room. The three missing mates jumped back and screamed, and then Oliver went back to his CPR.

It took only a second for Maverick to take in the scene, to see what had taken place. He shifted, pushing Oliver out of the way as he began to work on Murphy with diligence.

The mate pulled in a lung full of air, thrashing around as he opened his mouth wide and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

* * * *

Ludo howled in anguish as he lunged. He didn’t give two shits that it was his Alpha he was attacking. His mate was on the floor fighting to get free, and Maverick was holding him down while the mates stood by and watched it happen.

Murphy came first. His mate would always come before any living creature.

He jumped on Maverick’s back, sinking his canines into soft flesh as he fought for his mate’s life. His claws scratched across the Alpha's skin as he struggled to get a firm hold.

Maverick roared and then shifted, knocking Ludo’s hold on him free. Ludo flew into the desk as he heard the mates screaming, but it sounded as if it were far away as he fought the hardest battle of his life. Ludo got up, shook his head to clear it, and then stalked forward. His muzzle pulled back as he circled around Maverick, snapping his jaws viciously. He may not win this fight, but he was too lost in protecting his mate to care.

Mine!

“No!” Cecil screamed from across the room.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Drew cried out.

“Maverick saved him,” Oliver yelled at the top of his lungs.

Some of the cloud that had enveloped his mind cleared. Ludo stared at Maverick and then at the mates before looking down at Murphy.

Ludo couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t take in enough air as he shifted and dropped to his knees. His chest began to spasm as a sob broke from deep inside of him at the sight of the rope around his mate’s neck.

Murphy had tried to kill himself.

Ludo’s hands trembled as he pulled the rope off of his mate’s neck. He wailed as he pulled Murphy close to his chest, rocking back and forth as he openly wept. He didn’t care about the mates in the office or the warriors that began to fill the rest of the room.

His mate had tried to take his own life.

Ludo snarled when Maverick approached him. Nobody was taking his mate away from him, not even Murphy himself.

“We need to get him back to the Den, let Nicholas look at him.” Maverick spoke softly. Ludo couldn’t understand how Maverick could be so caring after what he had just done.

He looked around helplessly, holding Murphy closer as he shook his head. He couldn’t think. He didn’t know what to do. Ludo pulled back, looking down at his beautiful and broken mate. He seemed so angelic with his eyes closed, so peaceful.

Ludo cried out, clutching Murphy against him again, tears racking his body as it shook.

His beautiful
rebenka
. He’d almost lost his beautiful baby.

“We need to get him there now.” Maverick placed a hand on Ludo’s shoulder, squeezing it. He nodded, wiping his face as he stood, his mate clutched tightly in his arms.

Micah and Remi had driven, the large SUV idling in front of the bookstore. Ludo climbed in the back and slid to the opposite door. He ran the tip of his fingers down his mate’s face. “Why?” he whispered. “Am I not enough to love?”

Micah drove back to the Den, Ludo staring out of the window into the darkness that now encased his heart.

* * * *

Maverick returned to a house of utter madness. The warriors were shouting and running around, no mates were anywhere in sight.

“What the fuck is going on?” Maverick shouted. This night was getting better by the fucking second.

“Melonee is missing.” Storm stopped to tell him. “We’ve secured the mates in the tunnel. George and Lewis will watch over them.”

Maverick threw his head back, and his arms fell to the sides of his body, as an unearthly sound ripped from his soul.

He lashed out, knocking the hutch by the front door over and smashing the mirror that hung close by. He grabbed Cecil and Drew, running them to his office.

“Don’t fucking leave this tunnel, mate, or I swear I will tie you up for the next one hundred years.” He threatened.

Cecil shook his head rapidly. “I promise, Maverick, I won’t.” His mate grabbed him around his waist, holding him in a death grip. “I love you, Maverick.”

Maverick ran a hand over Cecil’s hair, lifting his face and kissing him on his lips. “I love you, too, baby.”

He closed the door, engaging the lock, and took a deep breath. If anything had happened to his mate…Maverick shuddered and turned away. Leaving his mate in the tunnels that he feared the most was the hardest thing the Alpha ever had to do.

“Now who the fuck took my princess?” Maverick shifted, joining the others in their search.

* * * *

Ludo placed his mate on the bed in the infirmary that Maverick spared no expense to create. There was also an operating room and an office for the resident doctor, Dr. Nicholas Sheehan, who was also a mate.

Nicholas’s mate, Jason, had yelled, screamed, and hollered that he wasn’t helping to find the little girl as long as Nicholas was in the medical room and not secured in the tunnels. “Not even the primal source of the universe will tear me away from my mate,” Jason roared at Tank. “I’m truly sorry she is missing, I really am, but Nicholas comes before even my own life. As long as he is treating Murphy, I stay.”

“It’s okay, Jas. Everyone understands. Stay with your mate and protect him.” Tank patted him on the shoulder and then closed the door behind him.

Ludo paced back and forth, worrying about brain damage that Murphy may have sustained. He didn’t know how long his
rebenka
swung by his own rope before the others found him. It was a damn miracle his neck hadn’t snapped, a miracle that Ludo would always be thankful for. But he feared that asphyxiation may have caused severe damage.

Why? Why would his mate do this? Was it his mental instability? Ludo wanted to hold Murphy in his arms and never let him go. It didn’t matter to him if his mate was mentally ill. He would stand by his side forever and be there for him through it all.

“Ludo, I need you over here. He’s becoming combative,” Nicholas called over his shoulder.

Ludo ignored Jason’s growl and went to his mate’s side. Murphy had tears streaking down the side of his face as he stared unfocused at the ceiling. “I didn’t do this.” He swung his arms out wildly, crying as he fought to get everyone’s hands off of him.

“Hush,
rebenka
. We’ll talk later.” Ludo ran his hand through Murphy’s soft tendrils, feeling the tears stream down his face at the hopeless look on Murphy’s face.

“No, Maribel did this. I didn’t do this to myself.” Murphy’s voice was rising, becoming hysterical as he knocked Ludo’s hands away and fought to get off of the exam table. His mate was pale and weak from the blood loss and the lack of oxygen, but he wasn’t giving up his fight.

Ludo reached out and snared his mate’s hands, running his thumbs across his soft skin as Nicholas injected him with a sedative.

His heart was shredding, and it felt as though his soul was dying as he watched the helpless and lost look in Murphy’s eyes.

Ludo cursed fate for giving his mate this illness. Murphy was fun, humorous, and sexy as sin, and they had to go and toss in a mental illness.

He ran his fingers through the softest hair he’d ever felt as Nicholas began to work on his mate. Ludo thought of when they first met.