RaleighPointRescueSue (12 page)

“You can’t,” Cassie gasped again.

“He’s dead, Cassie. The guys told us. They were just being
over-cautious. Stop worrying. Look, you stick by the phone and take care of
Codie. I bet we’ll be back in five minutes.”

Cassie’s hand shot out. “I’m sorry. I never get much
responsibility around here.
Too much protective testosterone.
I was too busy trying to be in charge.” Cassie smiled apologetically. “I
shouldn’t have—”

Lisa hugged her quickly and shot to the mud room. She
grabbed spare jackets for the girls as well as pulling one on herself. They’d
only had sweatshirts on upstairs, and it was freezing outside.

Lisa ran to the yard at the back first. No sign of them. She
swallowed and looked toward the trees. Would they? Lisa walked determinedly to
the tree line, nerves ramping up with visions of the last time she had come out
here with Mac.

She shrugged. Concentrate. The rogues are dead. The worst
thing that can happen here is catching a cold. Lisa smiled, squared her
shoulders and called for the girls.

Chapter Twelve

    
Mac
sighed as Miranda drove away. He had no idea why she’d turned up at their
house. They were supposed to be meeting at the foster mom’s. He’d made the
mistake once of calling home for some papers when they were both with Daniel,
and she seemed to take that as an open invitation. He was going to have to say
something about that to Daniel. Her thinking she could just show up was too
risky. He wanted the kids there to feel like they were at home, not worried
that someone might see
them
shift.

He remembered a cat they’d had once, a teenager who used to
shift suddenly if he was angry or frightened. The kids needed that sort of
release without having to worry about being seen. It was bad enough when they
got older and had to cope with the real world.

Miranda had asked him about taking her to a benefit next
week that they had attended together last year. He’d tried to tactfully say he
wasn’t interested. He shook his head.
I
hope she gets the damn message.
This is where it got complicated talking to
humans. He couldn’t explain the whole mating thing.

Mating thing?
He’d
spent too much time amongst teenagers.
Thing?
Christ, his
whole body burned.

He dropped the file down on the car seat next to him.
Cute kid.
It had all been a mistake. Kids all over the world
were places they shouldn’t be, and he thought Miranda had panicked calling him in.
They’d tracked the kid to a new friend’s house. Little tyke had just got
carried away with a new video game and hadn’t told the foster mom where he’d be
after deciding an impromptu sleep-over was a good idea. The other kid’s parents
had been a bit casual about the whole thing though. There’s no way any kid of
his would ever be somewhere he didn’t know.

Mac suddenly blew out a sharp breath as an image of a
dark-haired little boy
with hazel eyes,
came
running through his head. He smiled to himself. All this responsibility was
getting addictive.

He’d loved seeing the foster mom’s face when they’d brought
the kid back. It was nice when things went the way they were supposed to. It
shouldn’t take too long to get him permanently placed. They already had a beta
couple who had expressed an interest, and there was no point yanking him out of
his current foster placement where he was happy. He was still too young to be
in danger of his first shift.

He waved at Mrs. Grayson as he drove away, and wished they
had more foster families like them. It certainly made his job easier.

Mac pulled out of the driveway and smiled, satisfied at the
thought of getting home to his mate. A warm feeling settled in him, and he
remembered her rubbing up on him this morning. He chuckled. She certainly
didn’t seem to have much of an off switch, but they would be happier once
everything was settled. He might even take her away.
Maybe a
cruise?
She hadn’t seen anything but four walls for a long time. Yeah, a
cruise was a good idea.

Mac unconsciously eased his pants out as he thought about
hot sunny beaches and Lisa in a bikini, or maybe even not. He grinned.

His cell phone rang.
“Yeah.”

“Daniel.”

Mac’s hackles rose. “What? You have news?”

“You’re not going to like this. Where’s Lisa? Are you with
her?”

“She’s at home with Cassie. Shit, Daniel. What’s up?” Mac
didn’t like the sound of this. He pulled onto the highway and pointed the car
to home.

“We’ve found the nurse.”

“Well, that’s good. What’s she saying?”

“She’s dead.”

Mac pressed down on the gas.

“We’ve done some digging, but haven’t got much.”

Mac heard the frustration. “So speculate.”

“We talked to the nurse’s neighbors. Apparently, they were
under the impression she was a foster mother. Different kids coming in and out
of the house were seen, but none of the kids were ever placed at the local
school. The explanation given was that they were all homeschooled short term,
rescued out of abusive situations. Incidentally, the kids that the woman had
with her were always girls. My speculation would be child porn, sex ring, and
prostitution.” Daniel added dryly, “Unfortunately, the list is endless.”

“Lisa was kept in that place for years. Why would she be
different?”

“We think because the nurse knew she was an alpha female.
We’re not sure how high up this goes. Obviously, the nurse was some sort of
scout, looking for suitable kids. She may have even been placed there
deliberately to keep an eye on Lisa.”

Mac blew a harsh breath and eased off the gas slightly.
Being pulled over wouldn’t get him home any faster.

“Daniel, I know alpha females are a big thing, but isn’t
this a bit extreme?”

“Alpha females are rare, Mac. They are an instant
in
to anyone wanting to do an alpha
challenge. That rogue you told me about? Mating to an alpha female would
immediately give him precedence over any small pack. He could literally just
walk in and take over. They’re rare enough that the larger packs would take
note also. The ruling alpha would be obligated to accept a one-on-one
challenge.”

Daniel hesitated. “Put simply. Lisa’s worth a lot of money.
Have you two mated?”

Mac shook his head, frustrated. “No, Daniel, we’re not. Not
officially. Hell, with what she’s been through? She only found out she was a
shifter a couple of days ago.” Mac didn’t like the silence that followed. “At
least, the rogue’s been taken care of.”

Every hair on the back of Mac’s neck stood up when he didn’t
get an answer.

“That’s the thing, Mac. He was wrongly identified. To be fair,
a human pathologist took the first pass and wouldn’t know what he was looking for.
We only got a special
p.m.
done
this morning, after we realized he shouldn’t have gone to the regular morgue
and got him transferred.”

Mac’s phone bleeped to indicate another call, and when Mac
saw it was home, he just cut Daniel off.

“Mac,” a voice wailed.

“Cassie? What’s up? Lisa?” Mac’s hands gripped the wheel
tighter.

“The girls ran off. Lisa’s gone to look for them.
Mac.”
Cassie’s voice rose with every word. “Riley’s not
picking up.”

“Calm down, Cassie, I’m twenty minutes away. If Riley’s in a
client meeting, he has to turn his phone off. I’ll be there soon. Just keep
trying to get hold of them. “

Mac disconnected. He knew he shouldn’t have gone. Opening
his phone, he went to dial Brett then stopped himself. Angie’s plane was due to
land about now, and Brett would be over an hour’s drive away.

Mac gunned it.

* * * *

Lisa was tiring. She trudged on through the trees, stopped
every few feet and called for Erin. She knew she hadn’t got her strength back
yet and as hot as she’d felt in the house, she was getting really cold, and
alarm started to snake through her. Where the hell were they? She was debating
whether to turn around and go check if she had missed them and they were back
at the house, when she heard a twig crack.

She whipped her head around. Thank God. “Erin? Molly?”

Oh God.

Heart beating out of her throat, she watched as three huge
wolves padded out of the trees. She immediately recognized the badass in the
middle, the black one that had attacked Mac. In the split second it had taken
her to decide there was no point in running, with ominous bone popping noises,
all three morphed into humans.

Bewildered, Lisa gazed at the middle one. “But, you’re
dead.”

Badass cracked up. “Yeah, walking corpse, me.” He glanced at
his men imperiously, and they dutifully sniggered.

He stalked toward Lisa. She backed up, but not in time to
stop the huge arm that twisted hers. Black eyes glinted out of a pockmarked
face, and she could smell his unwashed body. Sick horror washed over her, and
she really didn’t like that he was naked. Disgust overrode fear, and she
straightened her spine as Badass lifted his face at her, chest expanding on a long
inhale.

“So little wolf, what you doing hanging around with stupid
bears, huh? Not got a proper man? Having to slum it?” Lisa wanted to close her
eyes as his fingers bit into her arm, but terror snaked around and held them
open. He snickered and grazed a hand down her face curling it around her breast
painfully. “Not what I usually go for, but any port in a storm and all that.”

“Let me go.”
Push.
“Now.”
Please.

Badass’s
eyes lit up. “Not going
to work on me, but nice try bitch.”

Lisa stumbled as his hand connected with her face. Black
edges tugged at swimming eyes, and she blinked furiously.
God
that hurt.
She would have fallen over if he wasn’t holding her.

He yanked her closer. Black eyes shadowed as he inhaled.
“Well, well, well, alpha
mate.
Very nice.”
He laughed gleefully, and Lisa tried to look
dumb.

“What do you mean?”

Cruel hands tightened. “Don’t ask stupid questions, bitch.
You know what you are, trying to use your alpha power on me. Now, I know what
you are. You just need starving a bit. Get that fat ass down, so I won’t have
to close my eyes when I fuck you.”

Lisa’s fist curved to his head, fury making her quick.

He caught her hand and twisted. Pain shot through her arm,
and she bit her lip, refusing to cry out.

She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and
glanced at the younger guy who was staring at her. Black hair fell over deep
scars on his face. Amber eyes lowered fractionally.
I remember you.
Pulse beating hopefully, she turned to look back at
the badass, so not to draw attention.

“What do you want?” Lisa raised her chin defiantly.
Where the hell are the girls?

“We found something and thought it might belong to you.” He
nodded to someone unseen in the trees.

Horrified Lisa’s breath hitched. A huge guy stomped out of
the trees holding Erin, a hand clamped over her mouth and her legs swinging.
Another guy followed holding Molly. She hung limply, dazed green eyes pleading.

Oh God, Molly?

Lisa drew herself up. “Let them go.”

Badass laughed. “Well, we can definitely throw the trash
out.” He nodded at Erin and Lisa gasped. He nodded at Molly. “But this one is
good breeding stock.”

Lisa thought she was going to vomit. Disgust nearly made her
gag.
They were babies.

“Of course, if you wanted them…” Badass gleamed.

She thought furiously. She didn’t trust him one bit. If he
believed for one second, she cared about either of
them,
they would be kept as a bargaining chip. But what if she convinced him she
didn’t care? It could easily backfire, and he might decide they were too much
trouble to keep around.

The guy holding an inert Molly clearly decided he’d had
enough and, snickering, shoved her at the one with the scar. He seemed shocked
and struggled to take hold. Lisa narrowed her eyes, maybe?

Push.
“Let her
go!” Lisa sent a huge wave at him with her mind, and startled, he dropped Molly
on the ground. Molly fell in a heap of legs and arms. The guy holding Erin
dropped her as he lunged for Molly. Three guys all scrambled for her and
collided.

Lisa screamed at Molly. “Run!”

Molly, scrambled a few feet, and then hesitated, looking at
Erin. Erin dived in front of the legs of the nearest one going after Molly and
sent him sprawling. He missed Molly. Badass made for another grab, and somehow
Scar-Face got in the way. It all happened in seconds, and that was all that it
took for Molly to jump up and run. Erin screamed at her to move as the guy who
had been holding her, grabbed an arm and hoisted her up. He clamped a hand over
her mouth, effectively shutting Erin up.

Badass took a threatening step toward Erin, and Lisa
shouted, “Alpha Mate!”

The silence in the clearing was deafening. He stopped and
turned to her, eyes gleaming, canines descended. Lisa wanted to gulp, cry,
shake, scream, but she just stood there. She lifted her chin lifted toward him.
Her arms dropped to her side, and she tilted her head and bared her neck, in a
gesture of submission that instinct dictated. At the same time, she
acknowledged any offering of herself to this monster was plain wrong, something
in her had her bowing her head, not with shame, but with pride. She was alpha
female. It was her duty to protect cubs, all of them.

Something finally clicked inside her. It was as if she’d
waited all her life for this, and one by one, all of his men dropped to their
knees. The one with Erin dragged her down too.

“Alpha, I am your queen. You want me willingly, let her go.”

His eyes shot up, and he growled low at the wolves
who
had raised their heads at her words.

“I think not.” He licked his lips. “You may wish for
something to amuse you.”

“She’s a human child.” Lisa hardened her heart and tried to
make it sound like something disgusting. “I thought you wanted an alpha female?
Want me to play nice? Well, that’s the deal.”

Badass didn’t look convinced.

“I don’t need some sniveling kid.”
I’m sorry.
Erin’s eyes turned bewildered, then angry.
Yeah, kid. Fight.

Lisa edged closer to the Alpha trying not to vomit. She
rubbed slightly up and down his arm and licked her lips.

Interest flared in black eyes.

Lisa pressed home. “She’s an insignificant human.”

“Alpha?”
The younger, scarred guy
stepped forward hesitantly. “I can drop her at the edge of the woods. They’re
less likely to follow if we give them back both the kids.”