Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series) (18 page)

To his right stood a taller dark-skinned man, his muscles bulging unnaturally; maybe the result of lifting
heavy weights for many years. His dark eyes glared at us, his mouth turned down in a frown. Aaron introduced him as Franklin, his second in the pack, his beta, and explained that Garrett had saved his life and the lives of his entire family long ago and so Franklin was extremely protective of ‘young Garrett'.

The last wolf was a petite woman, slim yet curvy, with thick dark red hair falling past her shoulders. Her green eyes, lighter than mine, looked me over as she strolled past us to put a possessive arm around Aaron’s waist. He introduc
ed her as his mate, Catherine. She smiled and nodded like a queen greeting her subjects.

I told them what I’d come up with,
omitting my ability to pull up magic. Sinc showed us a video on her laptop from a gas station security camera of a green van following closely behind Garrett’s car, and also some data tracking Garrett’s cell phone signal north of us. Ethan and Rob had already discussed my changing to cheetah to track more efficiently, so I transitioned and headed off ahead of everyone. They’d wanted to send Ethan or Kyle with me but I’d convinced them that they would just slow me down. I’d mark the trail with scratches so they could follow as quickly as possible.

My ke
en eyesight allowed me to make out the tire tracks left in the dirt by the van way ahead of where I was, so I was able to race down the path, much faster than the others could have run. I kept to the side road for about two miles until I came across a clearing. The van was parked here, leafy tree branches piled on top of it in a hasty attempt at camouflage. The smell of unwashed werewolf was overpowering but I could also smell Garrett and the other magic user. I crept forward hesitantly to find that the van was empty and there was more of Garrett’s blood in the back where the seats had been removed.  There was also that disturbing burned flesh scent and I remembered what Rob had said about the effects of being restrained with silver.

I paced and tried to decide what to do. I could wait for the others, who were still a distance away,
or head off on my own. I sensed that I was near him and didn’t know how weak he was or if he could feel my presence at all. My wall was up for protection, but I could still feel the energy of the lines buzzing through my body. I toyed with the idea of reaching out to him mentally.

To be honest,
I was terribly afraid. Afraid of being overpowered by the lines if I tried to use them untrained. Afraid of what the violent weres who’d kidnapped Garrett had done to him or may do to me if they caught me. Mostly I was afraid that I might fail him when he needed me. I decided I wouldn’t wait.

I sat on the ground and forced myself to recall my song, beginning to breathe in and out the way Garrett had taught me. I thinned out my mental wall rather than tearing it down, allowing only the smallest chink to appear near my heart and abruptly opened myself to more of the magic than I ever had before, having reasoned it out that larger amounts of power would be necessary. It cut into me sharply at first, like many small daggers, causing me to hiss in pain, but as I slowly regained my balance, the way he'd taught me, t
he pain eased up. My senses extended out like a web, tendrils spreading, searching for Garrett’s unique mind.

Suddenly he was there, connected to me so strongly that I could feel his intense agony. I worried that it would be impossible for me to communicate with him since I was in cheetah form and he wasn’t, but I tried anyway, sending him a picture of the team and our wolf allies coming to get him. I asked him “
Where?”
and I felt his answer.

“
Old park lodge basement
” seeing also a picture of a beat-up sign welcoming visitors to Redwood State Park. “
Blood magic. Dark witch
.
Can't use lines.”
  he was cut off abruptly. I knew he was unconscious when I couldn’t get through to him again. 

Blood magic. A dark witch. He needed me now.
I scratched a mark on a tree, crouched down and followed the tracks left by his captors.

Chapter Twenty-three

Twenty
minutes later I peeked around a salmonberry thicket to survey the lodge below. Although I heard nothing, there were three cars were parked in the lot and there were lights on in the building. I was downwind but still afraid that one of the werewolves might be able to scent me, so I stayed low, regulated my breathing as best as I could, and silently watched.

A woman, petite with light brown wavy hair and a man, stocky and tall with light shaggy hair came out the front door to stand under the porch light and talk. I caught a few angry phrases as their volume increased.

”This was agreed upon beforehand. The spell must be invoked now. We had a contract.” The woman’s voice was becoming strident.

“If you kill him now then we miss all the fun when the sun comes up and my pack’ll be very disap
pointed. They might even take it out on you, Miranda. Go ahead and torture him all you want, but you can’t kill him until he’s smoldering and almost dead from the sun, and that’s final. There must be a few organs you can remove without killing him." He laughed, then lowered his tone. "He’s going to pay for those three deaths last night. Then we'll go after his friends.”

“I shouldn’t have agreed to he
lp you, John.” She hissed and turned, storming to a black sedan in an angry huff. “Since I can’t perform the ritual I’d planned, I’ll be back at 4:30. I have another spell in mind and need a few more supplies.” She drove off, her tires kicking up dirt as she left the parking lot.

T
he Pine Ridge pack leader glanced at the tree line. I flattened myself , afraid that he might see or smell me. He sniffed the air and scowled. I hoped a wolf’s sense of smell wasn't better than a cheetah’s, because I could smell him on the breeze. He paused, looking straight at the brush where I was hidden, then moved on to scan the entire perimeter. He opened the main door of the lodge and called out, “Hank, up here, now!”

Hank, a very tall man with broad shoulders and muscular arms and legs, appeared at the door
. “Take a look around. I thought I heard something. Can’t have any of his shifter friends showing up, though I’d like to get my hands on a few of their women." He leered at Hank who grinned back.

“Sure John." He ran up into the trees to the right of where I hid.

John strode back inside the building, closing the door behind him. My ears perked up as I heard Hank heading away from me. Knowing I had less time than ever, I tried again to reach out to Garrett. I found him, weak and in pain, but still awake. “
Careful love
” he sent to me.

“
How many
?” I asked, visualizing him being captured.

“
Four plus a witch
,” He answered. ”
Silver poison and a spell.”

“
Feed from me
?” I asked, picturing him taking energy from me as he had when he was a raven trying to change to cheetah form.

“
How close are you
?’  He seemed so weak, it made my heart ache with worry.

“
50 yards. Try now.
” I dropped my shields and opened completely to the raw power of the lines, willing him to take whatever he could at this distance to stay alive. The magic burned through my chest and my stomach, directed through my mind to link with his.

The horrible pain made me claw at the ground and close
my eyes. I held on for as long as I could before I felt myself on the edge of blacking out. Finally I was forced to pull down my shields and close myself off to the line energy.

Hank must have
heard me whimper, because a few seconds later he was standing over me grinning. With the energy drain I had unavoidably changed back to human and so was laying naked on the ground at his feet, completely vulnerable. Still, I made a feeble attempt at kicking him in the knee.

He laughed loudly and grabbed my leg before it made contact, twisting
it roughly at the ankle. I heard a bone snap and screamed. The pain was excruciating and I sobbed in agony. He laughed and twisted my injured ankle once more, just so he could hear me scream again. I didn't disappoint him.

“You’re a pretty one. When John’s through with you I’ll get a turn.” He was still smiling when I heard a thud and looked up. Hank wasn’t grinning anymore. He had a shocked expression on his face
, probably because there was a long silver shaft sticking out of his chest where his heart should be. He started to topple over on top of me as blood spewed out through the wound so I dragged myself away as quickly as I could, gritting my teeth against the pain. With a loud thump he fell across the bush I'd hidden behind, obviously dead, his eyes dull and his mouth still open in surprise.

Ethan, Rob and Sinc appeared a moment later, still human, followed by Kyle holding what looked suspiciously like a crossbow.  Sinc threw a jacket over me and Ethan propped me up against him and held me so I wasn’t lyin
g on the cold ground. I sobbed and moaned as quietly as I could manage, trying not to give our location away to the other wolves. For some reason, they hadn't appeared when I'd screamed.

Bone protruded though the skin near my ankle and I was bleeding heavily. Rob took a look and said he needed to splint my leg before my natural healing ability kicked in and the bones healed unevenly. He gave me a thick stick, told me to bite down on it and to stay as quiet as I could for Garrett’s safety. Ethan wrapped his arms around me to hold me still and I stifled the scream against Ethan's arm when Rob pulled on my foot to realign the bones. He attached my leg to the splint and immobilized my ankle using strips from his ripped shirt. Ethan whispered encouraging words into my ear and Sinc wiped away some of my tears with her shirt sleeve. I desperately wanted to close my eyes and drift off into unconsciousness, but I had to tell them about Garrett and all that I’d learned.

When I'd managed to stop sobbing and could speak again, I told them about the conversation between the pack leader and the witch but then hesitated to say more. Should I tell them how I communicated with Garrett and fed him through the lines?

I asked Ethan, “I need to tell them about—you know. Is there an oath or a promise or something?”

He looked around at the others and smiled. “It’s all about
the honor of the team, Jackie. Kind of an ‘unto death’ situation.” His eyes were deadly serious as he looked from Sinc to Kyle and back to me. Our lives depended on our integrity. Promises broken could end in death.

Sinc decided f
or me. “You’re a cheetah. We know you have powers that we can’t begin to imagine. We’ll keep your secrets.” Kyle nodded in agreement. I told them everything.

Kyle’s face lit up as he whispered, “Cool. Our team is freakin’ unstoppable now.” Sinc squeezed my hand.

Rob spoke. "Aaron and the others are circling to the north end of the building and will wait there for my signal. Can you contact Garrett to see if you helped him?” I nodded and sent out my mental fingers. Instantly he responded, his energy feeling much stronger than before.

“Are you alright? I
heard you scream but I couldn’t reach you.”
I felt his panic.

I could talk to him more easily now that I was back in human form.
“I’m weak, but ok. Rob and the team and Aaron are here. The witch will be back in thirty minutes. Hank is dead, thanks to Kyle and his crossbow.
” I smiled at Kyle and sent Garrett a picture of Hank draped over the bush. “Are you alright?”

“
Much stronger, but I’m still bound with silver and the witch's block is in place. I’m in the basement near the stairs. There should only be three wolves now. Tell Rob to save me the witch.”

I turned to Rob, “He says he’s better and to save him the witch. He’s still tied up with silver in a room near the basement stairs. There should be only three weres inside.”

Rob pulled out his cell phone and sent Aaron a text. They agreed to move in on the lodge in one minute.

My leg
felt better, but when I made a move to get up, Ethan yanked me back down saying, “You’re staying here with Sinc. Garrett’s going to be furious if anything else happens to you.” He walked over to speak to Kyle and Rob, assuming that I would do what he said.
Huh
.

Sinc plopped down next to me and handed me my clothes which she’d brought along in her backpack. I took them back gratefully and she helped me put them on. It sucked to be sitting
naked on a bunch of pine needles. We had to cut the leg of my sweats with Sinc’s Swiss army knife in order to get the splint through the hole. She made me keep her jacket since I was still shivering slightly. I asked, “Don’t you want to fight with the guys and Aaron's pack?”

“I’ve kicked some werewolf butt in my time, but I’m fine with hanging here with you. They’re all testosterone ridden right now anyway, and that makes them grouchy. I helped with the tech and the tracking so I’ve done my part.” 

She smiled then looked at me appraisingly. “Are you and Ethan
together
?”

“No. We're friends. He treats me like I'm his little sister. I’m
seeing Garrett.”