Author: J.D. Tyler

He wanted to see his mate again. Selene.

The word whispered through his mind, and he felt it connect with hers. He hadn’t meant to actually reach out. He didn’t want her to be afraid, didn’t want her to be in his head if he died. She was tough, but that would be too much.

Zan? What’s wrong? What’s happening?

It was a trap, he sent to her. There was a bomb and it went off. Baby, we need help.

Oh my God! Are you all right?

He paused, struggling to breathe through the dust and debris.

Zan? Her voice in his mind was starting to panic.

I will be. I love you, baby.

Were you caught in the explosion?

I’m trapped. But I’ll keep until help comes.

You hang on. Do you hear me?

Yeah. Love you.

A buzzing started in his head, and his brain swam. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t hold on to consciousness. With his mate’s cry of alarm fading, he went totally under.

Love you, Zan said. He sounded tired, hoarse.

She started to reply, but felt him fade. “No!”

But the connection had been severed. Her heart leaped into her throat as panic threatened to take over. She started to run from the room she shared with Zan, but realized she was naked under one of her mate’s T-shirts. She had wanted to be ready to seduce him when he returned. Now she just prayed he’d come back safe.

Quickly she dressed in jeans and one of her own T-shirts, and pulled on running shoes. Then she dashed into the corridor, shouting for help. One of Tarron’s soldiers rounded the corner, obviously seeking the source of concern.

“Get as many of your men together as you can,” she gasped, grabbing the man’s shoulders. “They walked into a trap, and there was a bomb! Hurry!”

The soldier eyed her skeptically. “How do you know—”

“My mate is with them, and he contacted me through our link. Please, we have to go!”

“On it.” The vampire bolted in the opposite direction.

Heading for the wing that housed the infirmary, she poured on the preternatural speed. In a matter of seconds, she reached the hospital, yelling at the top of her lungs. “Noah! Melina!” As she shouted again, the two of them jogged from somewhere in the back, followed by Victor Archer and a female nurse. The vampire doctor looked just as alarmed as his own nurse and temporary staff.

“What is it?” Melina demanded, grabbing Selene’s arm.

“The men were led into a trap,” she informed them, pulse tripping. “There was a bomb in the motel, and it detonated. They need help.”

Noah’s face turned white. “Nix.”

Melina snapped, “If you’re going to be of any assistance to your mate and the others, you’ll have to keep it together. Can you do that?”

He nodded, making a visible effort to keep control. “I can.”

“Good.”

“We’ll take two ambulances and meet you all out front,” Victor said. “We need to hurry.”

Selene would have preferred to ride with them, but she needed to make sure the vampires were mobilizing and let them know the medical staff was coming as well. She found them out front, assembling and loading themselves and weapons into three vehicles.

Spotting the soldier she’d spoken to in the corridor just minutes ago, she marched up to him. “Dr. Archer is coming around with their transports. I’m riding with you.”

He opened his mouth to possibly refuse, then reconsidered. “Fine. Just stay out of the way when we get there.”

Like that would happen. But she wasn’t about to say that and risk being left behind.

The twenty-mile ride was the longest she’d ever endured. Every minute was fraught with fear because that was another minute her mate was trapped in the rubble of the motel. Unless the others had managed to dig him out. Please, let him be safe!

But he hadn’t contacted her again, and that filled her with terror. Wouldn’t he have let her know he’d been rescued? She knew the answer. As they pulled into the parking lot and she got her first glimpse of the devastation, cold sickness gripped her stomach. The building was in shambles, little more than the outer walls still standing. Vampires and Pack team members were everywhere, tending to the injured.

She spotted Tarron and Jax first, standing at the edge of the debris field, bent over, tossing aside bricks and Sheetrock. It struck her hard that they were looking for more victims, and her breath caught. They looked up as she rushed to them.

“Where’s Zan? Is he all right?”

Jax’s face was pinched. “Selene, you should have stayed at the stronghold. There’s nothing you can do here.”

Instantly, her internal alarm went off, and she reacted, shoving the wolf in the chest. “Fuck you, Jax! Where is he?”

“Easy,” he said, his tone gentle. “We haven’t found him yet.”

“What? But he contacted me! You should have found him by now!”

“We’re doing everything we can. But . . .”

“But what? Don’t hold anything back from me,” she warned.

His voice was tortured. “He and Nick were bringing up the rear. They didn’t make it out before the bomb went off. And now they’re both missing.”

She stared at Zan’s best friend, trying to process the last part of what he’d just said. “Missing? They have to be here somewhere. I spoke to Zan through our mind link. He said he was trapped.”

“I don’t doubt he was at one time. But we’ve been over almost every square inch of the grounds and we haven’t seen any sign of them yet.”

Shaking her head, she looked out over the rubble. Cast her senses along their bond and tried to feel him. Zan? Honey, I’m here, and they’re looking for you and my dad. Are you still there?

No answer. Zan? The lack of response was more frightening than her mate saying he was trapped. Feeling helpless, she glanced around and saw Noah wrapped tightly in Nix’s arms. She couldn’t help the bolt of envy that shot through her at seeing the men reunited and immediately felt shitty about it. Truly, she was glad the others were safe to return to their loved ones. But she wanted hers safe, too.

She was about to lend a hand and start digging in the debris herself when a vampire trotted over to Tarron. She listened intently.

“Your Highness, one of our wounded, Trace, has just come around and says he saw something important. He’s on a stretcher over there.” The soldier pointed.

Selene accompanied the whole group to the fallen vampire’s side, eager to hear his news. The young soldier’s face was covered in blood and his breath wheezed in his chest. He gazed up at his prince, eyes wide.

“The rogues . . . have to stop them.” A cough rattled his body.

Tarron spoke kindly as he crouched next to the young vampire. “Tell me what you saw, Trace.”

“They took the two shifters. Plucked them right from under our noses. Picked them up and . . . vanished.”

“Oh, God,” she moaned. Suddenly her legs went weak and her mind whirled. Kidnapped. Her mate and her father, taken by those bastards. This couldn’t be happening. “Where would they take them? How do we find out?”

“I don’t know.” Tarron’s jaw clenched in barely concealed anger. “But we’ll find them and make them pay. Especially Darrow.”

“Cut off the head of the snake,” Jax put in, clearly seething as well. “I’m going to enjoy watching Darrow writhe on the ground.”

She gave a humorless laugh. “Not if I get to him first.”

Icy-cold purpose flowed through Selene’s veins. She was going to find her mate and her dad, and then she was going to gut Darrow like a trout.

You hear me, my mate? I’m coming.

Still no answer. But she wouldn’t fall apart yet. She’d know if either of them were dead; she was convinced of that.

She held on to that knowledge. Because if she didn’t, she’d go insane.

Zan awoke to the strange sensation that his arms and legs weighed a ton. He could barely move them, and when he did, he heard a metallic rattling sound. Opening his eyes, he blinked and then squinted, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom. When he did, he knew he was fucked.

He was in a large chamber, chained to a wall. He’d been left sitting, and he supposed he should be thankful considering that across the dim space, Nick had been left hanging by his wrists, toes just barely grazing the floor.

“Nick?” he called, voice rasping. “Nick, wake up.”

His heart lurched when a figure stepped from the shadows and crossed to him with preternatural speed, striking him on the side of his face. His head snapped back against the wall, making his vision swim. “I was just making sure he’s alive, asshole,” he growled.

“Shut up.”

Another blow landed on his face, and his jaw began to throb. This time he held silent, but he glared daggers at the rogue, who was enjoying their torment.

“A feisty one, huh? The boss loves the ones who fight.” He smirked. “He’ll have a lot of fun breaking you, for sure. But that will have to wait until he’s dealt with Westfall. Long time comin’, that one. A little revenge served with his evening wine.”

Zan tried to think of the rogue as a caricature. A bad joke that would be gone any second, soon forgotten. But the cackle the creature let out was hair-raising, making goose bumps prickle on his skin. It was the sound of a mind three-quarters gone, reminding him of a hamster trying to run on a broken wheel.

Just then Nick groaned, saving him from forming a response that likely would’ve gotten him hit again. He didn’t want their attention shifted to Nick either, but any hope of putting it off was dashed when Carter Darrow entered the chamber.

Zan’s first thought was that the vampire looked sophisticated. As though he had just finished dinner at the country club with a few wealthy friends. His suit was expensive and well tailored, his shoes no doubt an equally pricy brand. The vampire’s face was chiseled, good-looking for anyone who went for that sort of I’m-too-good-for-you attitude, he supposed—and the rotten fucker had attitude in spades.

That much was apparent by how he walked and carried himself. Just like on the video feed, he had his head back, so that he appeared to be looking down his nose at you from under his lashes. His ash-blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing a fresh scratch on his cheek, which ran to his neck.

Zan studied the scar and a plan began to germinate. He just hoped he was able to put it into action.

“I see I have two of you availing yourselves of my hospitality,” he said, his voice oozing with cultured, urbane charm. “A bonus.”

The male had been rogue for more than twenty years. How had he managed to forestall the level of insanity exhibited by his underlings? Or did he simply mask it better? Probably the latter.

“Not by choice,” Zan informed him. “Personally, I’m not happy to be missing another episode of Ghost Hunters.”

Darrow laughed, revealing straight, white teeth. “I think I like you, wolf.”

“Funny. The sentiment isn’t returned at all. No hard feelings.”

“Hmm.” The vampire studied him, crossing his arms casually over his chest. “I think what—or who—you’re really missing is your mate. Nick’s daughter, the prey that should’ve been mine.”

Horror seized his throat and his head began to pound. In that instant, he knew why he’d been kidnapped along with Nick. “How did you know what she is to me?”

“Same way I know everything. I have sources.”

“Who?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Nick put in, voice groggy.

“Ah, you’re awake!” Darrow looked pleased about that. “And answers you shall have. It’s the least I can do for you before you die. What would you like to know?”