Blood Rites (24 page)

Jeff's eyes widened at the news and it was apparent
to Vasile that he had not been aware of this information.

"Cynthia has not been around the pack since Lucas
fell. Do you think she is involved in Jacque's disappearance?"

"I think there are members of your pack who harbor
anger towards Fane for taking their Alpha and I can only imagine
the hurt that Dr. Steele must be enduring at the loss of her
brother. It would make sense for Logan, Dillon's wolf, to seek out
help from wolves that would do anything to take from Fane what
their Alpha had failed to do."

Jeff didn't respond for several minutes, the lack of
focus in his eyes making it evident he was lost in thought. Finally
he spoke, but not to Vasile. His eyes settled on Fane. "I know of
four wolves that are loyal to Lucas even now. I have had to force
their obedience on more than one occasion."

Fane didn't hesitate. "Call them now. I will not wait
any longer to get the information I need to find my mate."

"Give me five minutes."

Fane nodded, acknowledging the Alpha's request. The
fact that Jeff would even seek Fane's approval revealed who the
dominant wolf was between the two.

True to his word, Jeff returned five minutes later.
"They are on their way. I told them it was a pack meeting. They do
not know of your presence."

"That was wise," Vasile agreed.

Twenty minutes later the four wolves Jeff had called
sat before Vasile, unable to move before the Alpha's power. Fane's
growl as he stood beside his father had the wolves baring their
necks in submission, although it was evident they did not want
to.

"You will answer Vasile's questions honestly, be
advised he will know if you lie." Jeff growled low at the four
seated before him.

"Are any of you acquainted with a wolf named Logan?"
Vasile asked.

At first the wolves did not answer but as Vasile's
power began to squeeze their throats, cutting off their air,
finally one relented.

"No, we don't know a wolf by that name."

"Truth," Vasile acknowledged.

"It would make sense, Alpha, for Logan not to reveal
himself to them." Decebel spoke low, not affected by his Alpha's
power flowing through the room.

"Did any of you aide a wolf in the abduction of
Fane's mate?"

Again, the wolves did not answer right away. Vasile
growled a warning promising discipline at their lack of
obedience.

"We don't know what you are talking about." This time
a different wolf spoke up.

Fane lunged forward, grabbing the wolf by the throat.
"You lie," he growled, allowing his wolf to show. His eyes glowed a
deadly blue, his canines lengthened, and his claws dug into the
wolf's neck. For the first time, Vasile did not try to stop
Fane.

"It is obvious that none of you learned your lesson
about harming an Alpha's mate when Fane killed Lucas." Vasile's
voice was sharp as a knife. "You will answer with truth or I will
allow Fane to glean the information from you however he deems
necessary."

The four wolves looked to their Alpha, pleading with
their eyes for him to intervene. His response showed the ultimate
disrespect as he turned his back, essentially saying he was turning
a blind eye to the Romanian Alpha's actions.

Finally the wolf sitting farthest from Fane broke.
"We gave him a car. He said he needed transportation that could not
be linked to him in order to take Fane's mate." The wolf dared to
snarl at Fane when he told him, "It's no less than what you deserve
for taking one of ours."

Fane dropped the wolf he had been holding and to his
father's surprise he stepped back. His gaze swept over each of
them, and a power Vasile knew matched his own caused the wolves to
fall to their knees in submission.

"Where did he take her?" he asked, his voice had gone
low, the calm before the storm.

"That we don’t know. He didn't say and we didn't
ask."

"Truth." Vasile nodded.

"You will hear my Alpha's judgment for your actions
and you will thank whatever god you serve that it is not me dealing
out your fate." Fane once again pushed his power out and the four
wolves grabbed their throats, trying in vain to breathe. Finally,
after they began to turn blue Fane relented.

Vasile turned to Jeff. "Alpha of the Coldspring pack,
this is my decision for these four wolves who are under your rule.
I expect you to make sure it is carried out. If you do not you will
share in their fate."

"So as you say, it shall be done," Jeff told Vasile
as he bared his throat in submission.

Turning back to the condemned wolves, he told them,
"You will be forced into your wolf forms by your Alpha. While in
this state you will be declawed and your fangs pulled from your
mouths. Your pelts will be shaved from your bodies." The wolves
whined in fear and anger but Vasile was not done. "Once back in
your human forms, the markings on your backs shall be distorted to
show you have been stripped of your place in the pack. You will
then be turned out to be lone wolves in your vulnerable states,
without a pack to protect you. Do you understand that this is the
price you will pay for your treachery and crime against Fane, the
prince of the Romanian Canis Lupis?"

The four wolves had no option but to bow in
submission and bare their throats. Vasile turned back to Jeff. "I
thank you for your cooperation and if you find anything else out I
would ask that you contact me immediately. Do you still have my
card I gave you after the challenge?

"Yes, I will help in any way I can." Turning to Fane,
Jeff averted his eyes to Fane's shoulder, not wanting to challenge
him by looking in his eyes. "I'm sorry for the pain my pack has
caused you again. I know that does not help, but I want you to know
nonetheless."

Fane gave a single nod at the Alpha to show that he
heard his words, but said nothing in return. He turned to follow
the way they had entered, needing to think and process the
information Jeff's wolves had said. He didn't know if it was enough
to help them but it was something, and right now something was
better than nothing.

Chapter 27

Cynthia
held on to the handle on the roof of
the small plane that Logan had procured once they had arrived in
Dallas. She had never flown in one so small and had already decided
after thirty minutes of the it rattling all over the place that she
never would again.

"How long did you say this flight would take?" she
asked Logan.

"We have about an hour and fifteen minutes left."

"Great," she muttered under her breath.

It hadn't been as difficult as she had thought to get
Jacque loaded up into the plane. She did have to give her another
dose of the sedative as Jacque had started to moan again. Cynthia
was hoping that once they arrived at her cabin she could allow the
sedative to wear off so that Jacque could tell her how she was
feeling. There was no way for her to gauge the progression of her
condition without Jacque's input.

Logan looked over at Dr. Steele and decided it was
time for her to explain what exactly would need to be done to fix
Jacque. He didn't want to have to wait to bond with her, he knew
that even now Fane would be doing everything he could to locate
her.

"Tell me again what is wrong with her," Logan said,
more of a command than a question.

Cynthia took a deep breath and let it out slow,
knowing it was inevitable that this conversation would take
place.

"She received a transfusion of human blood. To put it
simply, because she is half wolf that part of her blood does not
recognize it. Therefore, it is attacking the cells. Cells that have
already begun to flow through her heart, her liver, her kidneys,
all her muscles. Blood is the nourishment of the body, taking
nutrients and oxygen to the organs. Her body is trying to prevent
that from happening because it thinks the blood she received is a
virus."

Logan's face was somber when he asked what needed to
be done.

"She needs werewolf blood to replace the human cells
that her body is attacking," She explained.

"That will be easily remedied."

"I don't know if it's that easy, Logan. I don't know
if she has to receive it by biting and taking the blood through her
fangs, I don't even know if she has fangs, or if a transfusion
would work," she admitted.

"Still easily remedied, we will do it both ways,"
Logan said, complete confidence in his voice.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Cynthia
worried about Jacque and how Logan had practically salivated at the
idea of Jacque taking his blood. Cynthia wasn't paying attention to
the fact that she wasn't seeing any of the mountain ranges that
outline the Colorado skyline.

She was brought out of her stupor when she heard
Logan on his phone.

"Is it ready?" she heard him ask. "Good, we should be
there in a few minutes."

Realizing something wasn't right, Cynthia looked out
her window and could tell by the landscape that they were not in
Colorado.

"What's going on, Logan?" she asked, her voice
wavering, betraying how nervous she was.

"Change of plans," was all she heard before
everything went black.

Logan looked over at Cynthia's slumped form, feeling
a small pang of regret at having to cause her pain, but it was
necessary. After he had decided to take her with him he realized
that she could tell Jacque where they were and then Jacque could
tell Fane. He wasn't about to let her ruin all his hard work if she
suddenly decided to have a conscience. So he had called one of his
wolves, Sam, because he knew was loyal to him and wouldn't contact
Dillon, and asked him to rent a cabin in the Ozark Mountains in
southern Missouri and send him the coordinates as well as find a
place to land. His pack mate had done better than that. He had
found a cabin with an empty field right next to it. Again, Logan
felt like fate was intervening. He told Sam to get on a plane and
fly to the airport nearest to his location, then to rent a car and,
after getting groceries. to meet him at the cabin.

As he closed in on the location of the field, he
began his descent. He saw the cabin to the right of the field. As
the wheels touched down to the earth, the plane bounced at the
contact. Overall it wasn’t too bad a landing, Logan thought.

Once the plane was fully stopped Logan jumped into
action, not wanting Cynthia to wake up before he had her
blindfolded and cuffed. He was still going to need her help with
Jacque, so he figured he could allow her to be uncuffed under his
supervision while she tended to her patient. He went around to the
passenger side of the plane and opened the door. Cynthia's
unconscious form tumbled out and he caught her just in time to keep
her from hitting the hard ground. He grabbed a bag from the front
floorboard and then headed in the direction he had seen the
cabin.

When he got to the door he remembered Sam had told
him that the place that rented the cabins would put a key under the
mat. Gingerly leaning down to move the mat aside without dropping
the doctor, he saw the silver key. To his eyes it was a small
trophy proclaiming his victory at having finally arrived at his
destination with his soon to be mate.

He stepped into the cabin, not bothering to look
around, and hastily placed Cynthia on the first piece of furniture
he saw. He reached into the bag he had brought in and grabbed a
pair of handcuffs. He leaned her forward, pulling both arms behind
her, and secured her wrists with the cuffs. Feeling like for now
that would be enough, he headed back to the plane to get
Jacque.

Logan grabbed the IV bag and laid it on Jacque's
stomach for the transfer from the plane to the cabin. He lowered
one end of the gurney onto the ground and then pulled it forward
until the front wheels were at the edge of the doorway. Stepping
into the plane, he grabbed the front of the gurney and lowered it
to the ground as well. Logan grabbed the rest of the bags that
Cynthia had brought with her and shut the plane door. He began to
push the gurney forward as fast as he could without toppling Jacque
from it.

Finally arriving at the front door of the cabin once
more, Logan pushed the gurney into the cabin, and this time stopped
abruptly, caught off guard by how open it was. The roof was pitched
and rose at least thirty feet in the air. There was a loft across
from the place where he stood that was open to look over into the
main floor of the cabin. Below the loft there was long hall and he
could see several doors that he assumed led to bedrooms. To his
left along the back wall was the kitchen, the cabinets done in
beautiful cedar. There was an old fashion Dutch oven in the wall to
the right, and on the island that stood in the middle of the
kitchen was a flat top stove. All of the appliances had matching
cedar fronts that had to have been custom made. To his right he saw
a huge rock fireplace and various chairs and a couch made out of
cedar that appeared to have suede cushions, all forming a
semicircle around the fireplace. There were blankets thrown across
chairs and pillow stacked on the floor, making it obvious this was
a place of comfort, to relax and push away the rest of the world.
Logan's wolf rumbled in approval of the place he would call his
den.

Needing to figure out the best place to put the
women, he walked down the hallway towards the various doors. Two of
them were just regular square bedrooms, each had a bed made of
cedar and a bedside table. In between those two rooms was a small
bathroom. The third door on the left was the master bedroom, it was
larger than the first two and Logan could see double doors that
opened into a spacious bathroom. Finally he walked into the door
across from the master bedroom and stepped into an inviting space
that appeared to be a library/study. There were shelves that lined
the left side of the wall all the way across, filled with books of
various sizes and colors. In the middle of the room was a fluffy
rug that, at a second glance, he realized was a bear's pelt.
Surrounding the rug were several cedar chairs with plump cushions
and blankets thrown across their backs. On the furthest wall from
the door was a beautiful cedar desk with a credenza with shelves
that had lighting built into them. This was where he would put
Jacque and Cynthia. They would be comfortable in here, and the best
part was there were no windows in this room.