Mated To The Devil (20 page)

The latter frightened Remy most of all. He’d smelled the lingering trace of the human, the sense of wrongness. A man with nothing to lose could do anything. Had done the unthinkable. What other depravities was the kidnapper capable of? Remy really didn’t want to find out. They needed to locate the vehicle in which the kidnapper had taken his son.

Clambering into his truck, he switched on his CB and listened to the chatter as those who’d kept their human shape reported their findings. The problem was, they didn’t have much to go on. A bunch of kids who’d seen a minivan and a stranger. Blue. No, black. Maybe green. It wasn’t a van but a race car. No, a small car. Big car. The problem with witnesses was no two people ever saw exactly the same thing.

Adding to the mess, as of fifteen minutes ago a light rain fell. Not a deluge, but dense and wet enough to wipe any scent trails if they even located a possible one. Remy wanted to shake a fist at the sky and curse. Having Mina shivering miserably at his side stayed his hand. It wouldn’t do to let her know how hopeless the situation appeared. Without a lucky break, Remy feared they wouldn’t find their son.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she stared out her window.

Where indeed? His GPS mounted in the dash, showed a map of the roads, roads he knew like the back of his hand. Think. Where would the kidnapper head? He obviously had some kind of ulterior motive or agenda. A man who’d braved pack lands alone obviously had a plan for escape. His eyes scanned the routes. “There’s only so many ways out of town,” he mused aloud.

“He could have gone anywhere. Any direction.”

“Not necessarily. If we assume the kids’ description is accurate and the kidnapper is that doctor you went to see, then he’s from the east, which narrows it down. He’ll want to avoid busy areas, so he’s going to aim for side roads that won’t take him through town. There’s not that many of them heading east, and my dad is heading out on one, Dean on the other. But there is a third. It doesn’t appear on any GPS, but if the doctor did his research or accessed satellite images of the area and preplanned this, then there’s a chance he knows about this hidden road and took it.”

“How does that help us? We’re almost half an hour behind him.”

Precious minutes Remy lost as he first went to the scene of the crime, hunting for a clue, then back home so his mate would hear the news from him. But he could make up those minutes. “Don’t forget, I know this area. He doesn’t. I can shrink the gap.”

And he did, hitting the countryside road in record time. The truck’s tires spun a bit at first on the wet gravel until he shifted on the all-wheel drive. Wipers swishing the moisture away, he kept his eyes peeled ahead of him, searching for taillights. When he did spot some, on the side of the road, parked with a door gaping, he immediately pulled over and jumped out. It only took one whiff of the interior for him to know he’d found the vehicle. Inhaling deep, he memorized the odor of the man, the sensation of wrongness stronger than ever.
You can’t hide from me now, you bastard.

Pulling his head out, he snarled as he realized the scent did him little good in the pouring rain. The damp foiled his nose. The realization had him yelling at the sky. “Fucking hell!” His son needed him, and he had no way of finding him. No way of tracking. Or did he? Tearing at his shirt, ignoring Mina’s gasp, he let his beast have its way.

I need to hunt,
and when it came to a chase through the wild, wolf not man needed to dominate. Remy relinquished his control to his other half in a way he’d not allowed since the night he mated Mina. But this time, he knew full well what he did. Knew it and embraced it.

Hunt,
he ordered his wolf.
Find our pup.
Bring him back to Mina, safe and sound.
Then kill. Kill the one who dares touch what is ours.

* * * *

Oh, my God. What a nightmare. And she didn’t mean the savage way Remy tore out of his clothes as he morphed into a massive wolf with devilishly yellow eyes, a snarling hairy mess who let out a savage howl. Remy ran from her into the dusky shadows of the woods, but Mina didn’t fear him. Nope, she actually silently cheered the fact he turned into his wolf because if anyone could find her son in this mess, it was Remy. However, confidence in him didn’t mean she’d sit still. Her little boy was out there in those woods chased by a madman, a madman who knew their secret. A sicko she’d brought into their lives. A threat who needed elimination whether God approved or not.

Arming herself with a tire iron she found in the back of his truck, she stalked into the forest, anger her only guide.

Her baby was in there. Alone. Frightened. And all because of a man whose purpose she still hadn’t quite discerned. Why did the doctor go through so much trouble to stalk them? Did he work for the government? Was he just some sicko who saw opportunity in her son’s special side?

Did she care? Dr. Moireau threatened her son.
He harmed my baby.
You could do a lot of things to Mina: call her names, underpay her, fire her, disown her, and she’d take it in stride. Heck, she’d used some of her abuse to make herself stronger. But hurt her son? No one did that.
I won’t allow it
!

And when her chance came to save her family? She forgot God’s commandments. Didn’t care if it was a sin. She didn’t hesitate.

Chapter Twenty

Bounding through the dripping forest, Remy used his keen eyes to track the trail left behind, a trail that both elated and frightened. The damp impression of paws, little paws, wolf pup paws pressed into the damp leaves and mud. Jacques had shifted.
That’s my boy.
He’d managed to escape. But atop some of those marks was the wide tread of a human shoe. The doctor followed his pup.

The rain obscured much like the scent of his prey and obscured his visibility as the thick forest loomed shadowy around him. The crack of a gun was his first indication he’d found his prey, the bullet fired slicing the skin of his shoulder.

Remy stumbled and turned. He ignored the blossoming pain in his shoulder. Nothing could compare to the pain he’d suffer if something happened to his son.

With his feet planted, an older human aimed the gun. His hair was plastered to his skull, and a wild gleam shone in his rheumy eyes. “And you must be the daddy,” cackled the doctor. “I guess maybe I should have brought more men after all. Here I’d hoped to get my hands on just the boy. But a full-grown male . . . What an even bigger prize.”

Snarling, Remy pulled his lip back over long canines and he stalked forward. The human held his ground, but the gun swiveled to the left.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Remy’s gaze flicked, and he halted in his tracks. Unmoving by the doctor’s foot was a small furry heap.
Jacques.

Dead or alive? He didn’t dare turn his gaze or take a breath until he saw a slight rise indicating his pup still breathed.

Where his wolf now proved ineffective, perhaps the man and logic could prevail. Remy shifted back, uncaring the doctor saw his secret. Dead men didn’t talk. And despite what the doctor thought, he wasn’t leaving these woods alive.

“Fascinating. And to think you’ve managed to live under our very noses all this time.”

“Because we kill those who might betray our secret.” Remy imbued every ounce of menace he could in his smile.

However, the maniac before him didn’t flinch. “Not so secret anymore. We’re on to you,
creatures.
”

“Who is?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know? What a shame you’ll never find out. I’ve already got one live specimen. I don’t need two.” The gun returned to aim at his heart.

“How did you find us? I know my father didn’t leave a trail.”

“He didn’t. I thought I’d lost you, and after coming so close to nabbing the brat and his mother.”

“So how did you locate him?”

“A tracking device planted in your girlfriend’s stuff. It was stupidly easy and right under your friend’s nose. It proved all too easy to bribe some local hoodlums to slip one into his car when they stopped and asked your buddy for a light as he was preparing to leave.”

Fucking technology. “Why? Why do you want him?”

“Because he’s a scientific impossibility, one that needs closer study.”

“You want to study him?”

“Study him. Dissect him.” The doctor shrugged. “The people I work for don’t really care.”

Again with the allusions he didn’t work alone. “Take me instead of the boy.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because he’s a child. An innocent. Surely those you work for won’t mind the difference, especially since they can actually question me.” Not that he’d ever answer. If he ever did get caught, he’d die before giving up the secrets of the pack.

“My daughter was innocent, too. My beautiful Caroline. Sweet and pure, until he came along and tainted her.” The doctor’s face darkened. “She left me for that bastard without a word, and I thought she was gone for good until she came running home to me, babbling about wolves and secret societies. I thought she was crazy, that she’d joined some cult. Until the baby was born.”

“Your daughter had a Lycan pup?”

“Pup? You make it sound so normal. It wasn’t. She birthed a monster. But, then again, she wasn’t human anymore either. Or so I learned later. However, by then it was too late.”

Remy kept the doctor talking, hoping he didn’t notice how he inched forward, gauging when he could make his move. “What happened to her and the child?”

“She left. Her and her baby. She left me a note saying it was just a misunderstanding and to forget she’d said anything.”

“I take it you didn’t.”

Blazing eyes filled with fury kind of indicated the doctor hadn’t. “As if I’d forgive and forget what they did to her. Do you know when I found her using my contacts she actually tried to defend the bastard? Him and the monster they’d created?”

“What did you do?” What had this sick human done to his own daughter and grandchild?

“I only did what I had to of course. I did my duty to the human race. But that didn’t work out as expected, which is why this time, I’m going to do things differently with this abnormality.” When the doctor’s eyes flicked down to Jacques, to better aim his kick, Remy lunged. But Mina was there first.

Screaming, “Over my dead body!” his mate swung a heavy tire rod and hit the doctor in the back of the head. Eyes rolling up, the human slumped to the ground. Dead or unconscious, Remy didn’t care. He scooped up his mate and his son, hugging them in the pouring rain, his hot tears mixing with the cold drops.

They were alive and safe. That was all that mattered.

Chapter Twenty-One

The events after she hit the doctor and he went down in a sprawling heap passed in a blur for Mina. She vaguely recalled hugging a small furry body to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably until the puppy turned into a familiar little boy whose precious “Mama” had her hugging him so tightly he protested. She could kind of understand, given how vehemently Remy hugged her and their son.

They’d all suffered a massive scare. But they’d survived. Lucky for them, Jacques only suffered a few bruises and scratches. But would his psyche recover from the trauma? Only time would tell.

As for Remy, the bullet wound left a deep furrow, which took a few days to heal, but in no way hindered him. The haunting in his eyes, however, would take longer. They each bore their brunt of guilt, her for bringing the madman into their lives, Remy for not catching him before he did Jacques harm. It didn’t matter how many times people said they were lucky. They’d both come so close to losing their son. To losing the happiness they’d only recently found. And, given the doctor’s words, their ordeal might not be over yet. Not that the doctor lived to tell his tale. Mina didn’t want to know the finer details, but she learned enough to know Pierre and some of the other Lycans took care of Dr. Moireau. He wouldn’t threaten them or anyone else ever again. One threat gone. However, he’d implied he wasn’t alone.

Only once Jacques was bathed, dressed in warm pajamas, and snuggled into bed did she raise her concerns.

Or meant to. As soon as they closed the door, Remy took her into his arms and kissed her breathless. He kept kissing her while walking them down the hall into his bedroom, where he used his foot to close the door.

Need, frantic and overpowering, swept her. A need to forget. A need to feel alive. Despite the turmoil in her mind, she didn’t fight it. Couldn’t.

She kissed Remy back just as roughly, their teeth clashing as their hands fought the fabric keeping them apart.

“I love you, baby,” he kept muttering.

“I love you, too,” she panted back. “Oh, God, Remy. I was so scared.”

He rested his forehead against hers at her words. His eyes closed, and his breathing hitched. “I failed you,” he whispered. “Failed you both.”

The dejection in his tone broke her heart. She cupped his cheeks. “You didn’t. You found him.”

“But what if I hadn’t? I promised he was safe. Promised both of you, and once again I failed you both. Maybe you’re better off without me.” Funny how he voiced the same things she’d thought herself more than once.

“You listen to me, Remy Garoux.” She adopted a stern tone. “I spent the last couple of years thinking I’d never find you again, but look what happened. Against all the odds, we’re together.”

“Through no action of my own.”

“No. We have God to thank for that. Or luck. Or fate. Whatever force is out there guiding us obviously means for us to be together.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I have faith. Faith in us. Faith in this family. For the first time in a long time, I believe I can have a happily ever after, with you and Jacques. We’re family. Aren’t we?”

“Of course we are.”

“Then it’s time you believed it, too. Stop blaming yourself for the past and the things out of our control. If you want to blame someone for what happened today, blame me. I was the one who took Jacques to the doctor. But at the same time, if I hadn’t, I might never have found you again. Everything happens for a reason.” And while some of those things were hard to bear, they’d made her stronger. Made her and Remy into the people they were today.