Cameron, Paige - Commando Cowboys Desire Their Queen [Wyoming Warriors 8] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance) (20 page)

“It’s Mother, Pearce. Join me.”

A large, dark-brown wolf with red eyes sauntered into the clearing. Pearce shifted and was clothed. “How did you get out of the cabin? I didn’t hear any alarms go off.”

“Do you have such a lack of faith in your mother?” She chuckled. “They never saw me. But earlier I met another witch, and she recognized me. She’s accepted by the leaders. I’m sure she’s told them who I am. We have to hide until we can complete our work.”

“I know a place to stay.”

“Where?”

“At my adopted parents’ house. We’ll sneak in, and I’ll make sure my mother’s spell is still working. You can put a spell on my father. He’s stronger, and your powers are much better than mine.”

“Excellent. Lead the way.”

* * * *

Mother Aileen had gone to her room at Garth’s and meditated. Suddenly, she saw darkness and felt cold. She opened her eyes and rushed out her door to the kitchen where she found Garth, Rae, and Cad sitting at the table.

“She’s out of the cabin. She’ll be trying to contact Pearce. Garth, the shape-shifters will have a better chance of finding her and Pearce. I’ll contact Mitch. I fear her skills are even better than I thought. If she didn’t kill a guard, then she can make herself invisible.”

“Cad can call all the shifters. We’ll spread out across the ranch. I’ll start now.” Garth kissed Rae and shifted into his white leopard.

Cad opened the door for him. “I’ll have the others out there soon.”

Mother Aileen and Rae watched as Cad punched in numbers, and then told the men who answered what had happened. He gave them their assignments.

“Hopefully, this will end tonight.” Cad reached out and hugged Rae.

“She’ll put up a good fight. I’m going to call Mitch and then meditate again. Maybe I can get into her thoughts.” She looked up Mitch’s number in her contacts and called.

“Mitch here.”

“She’s out of the cabin. Evidently, she can make herself invisible. Unless you’ve heard that she murdered a guard?”

“No, I haven’t heard a word. How do we find her?”

“The shifters are all going out to look for her and Pearce. I’m going to meditate. I hope one of us can locate them.”

“Lang and his men will be out also. I’ll call him and put everyone on full alert. We’ll make it as hard as possible on them. Thanks for the call.”

Mother Aileen put down her phone. “I’m going to my room.”

“I’ll sit with you and bring you out of your trance, if it appears to be hurting you,” Rae said.

“Then if you’re both going to be in the room together, I’m going to sit in the corner and observe. Garth and I don’t intend to lose either of you.” Cad got his gun. They looked at him questioningly. “Remember, Jewel shot at a dark spot before and whatever entity was in the room fled. It might work again, if needed,” Cad explained. He kissed Rae. “Be careful.”

They followed Mother Aileen into her room. Rae sat on a cushion across from her, and Cad stood holding the rifle ready as Mother Aileen went into her trance.

* * * *

Pearce crept around his adopted parents’ home. The doors and windows were securely locked. “I’m going to try something. You stay out of sight.”

Brazenly, he knocked on the door. He heard heavy footsteps coming to answer. His father looked out the window.

“You dare to come here,” he yelled. His adopted mother came running and stood beside her husband. His father raised his hand and showed him a gun. “I’ll shoot you if I have to.”

“He’s innocent, I tell you. Let our son in. You aren’t going to shoot him in front of me, but someone else might without hearing his side.”

As Pearce had hoped, before his father could stop her, she’d unlocked the door. Pearce charged in. The door bumped his father, and Pearce grabbed the gun. Then he threw his father on the floor. He might be a strong, old man, but he couldn’t compete with Pearce.

Dyna ran into the house, shut the door, and locked it. She smiled at Mrs. Rexford. “Hello, I’m a witch, and Pearce’s biological mother.”

Mrs. Rexford fainted. Pearce knocked Mr. Rexford out with the butt of the gun. He straightened and grinned at his mother. “We did it.”

“Of course, we did. Did you doubt our success? Together we’re impossible to defeat. I’m tired. Since you knocked Rexford out before I could put a spell on him, you’d better tie them up and gag them for now. I’m going to rest for a few hours, and then you can. We have to be at our best when we face our enemies.”

Pearce watched his mother head to Mrs. Rexford’s room. He’d always thought of her as Mrs. Rexford. There’d never been any question in his mind as to which mother he truly belonged.

His father had rope and tape in the garage. Pearce tied them securely and taped their mouths shut. He wanted to kill them, but this wasn’t the right time. Pearce would rest before the action started.

* * * *

When Kira asked to ride with Mitch to the cabin, where Dyna and Cindy were staying, Rex and Hakan said they were going wherever she was.

“You can all three come with me. I might need you.”

The guards were making their rounds as usual. When questioned, they reported they’d seen nothing. Mitch knocked on the front door. There was no answer. He took out his master key and opened it.

Kira rushed into Cindy’s room. She tried to wake her. Mitch came to the door. “The rest of the cabin’s empty.”

“She’s alive, but in a deep sleep.”

Hakan moved Kira aside and checked her pupils and heart rate. “Her heart rate is slow, and I don’t like the looks of her pupils.” He held out his flashlight to Rex.

Rex checked Cindy’s pupils. “It’s doesn’t look good. We’ll have to run some tests. My guess is she got hit in the head and has a slow bleed. I’ll call the ambulance and go to the hospital with her.” He glanced at Hakan and Mitch. “I expect you two to keep Kira safe.” Rex called for the ambulance and notified his surgical assistants to meet him at the hospital.

“You know we’ll keep her as safe as she’ll let us,” Hakan said.

“I know. I hate to leave though.”

“You have to go. Cindy needs you, and she’s a very good person.”

The slight smile she loved came and went quickly. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Go. Do what you have to before I change my mind and tie you to my side.”

“Like you or anyone else could stop me.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I might take that challenge one of these days, but not today.”

Hakan and Mitch urged her out of the cabin. They got in the truck. “Where to next?” Mitch looked at Kira.

“I’m going to shift. In my bird persona, all my senses are more acute. If I find anything, I’ll contact you. Why don’t you call Mother Aileen again and see if she’s learned any new information? Also send the helicopter for Nanna. We need all our resources to beat this witch.”

Hakan got out with her. “I don’t like this.”

“You have to trust me and my abilities. I have to do this. Too many lives are depending on all of us.”

He held her close. “Come back to us.” Then he watched as she shifted and flew high into the night sky.

Her night vision was excellent, as good or better than her ability to see long distances during the day. She circled around the immediate area. A large eagle flew toward her.

“I’m Aleron. My men are flying all around the ranch. We’re here to help. Tell us what you want us to do.”

His telepathic message came through to her good and clear.
“I’m glad to meet you, but I’m sorry it’s under these conditions. Are your men doing a search by sections?”

“Yes. And they do a grid of each area. But if our enemies are smart, and they are, they’ll stay under the trees. We might miss them that way.”

“While we fly along, let’s try and think about where they’d go. The only person Pearce worked with at the ranch, as far as we know, was Gala. Do you know where Gala was found?”

“No, but Sahale and Lang do. I’ll bet they’re searching together. In this form none of us have a phone.”

“True, but mine is in my jeans. I’ll shift back, call, and locate them, and then we can fly by the directions they give us.”

“I’ll circle above you.”

Kira landed and quickly shifted. She got her phone out of her jeans pocket and punched in Mitch’s number. “How do I locate Sahale?”

“He’s out searching with the others. I’ll contact him, and he’ll get right back in touch with you. She ended the call and waited to hear from Sahale.

In just a few minutes, her phone rang. “Where are you?” she asked when she heard his voice.

“We’re searching the east side of the ranch.”

“Tell me where you found Gala.”

Sahale told her and added, “Lang and I and several of our men will head that way.”

“Aleron and I will fly to the area immediately. See you there.” She put her phone back in her pocket and shifted. She flew upward and joined Aleron.

“Follow me.”
She flew according to Sahale’s directions.
“That should be the area below us. I’ll go down and move into the denser area.”

“Wait for the others.”

“We don’t have time. If I get into trouble, I’ll let you know. Forget that you’ll be naked. I’ve seen naked men before. Just come to my rescue.”

“If I was in my human persona you’d see my blush,”
he joked with her. She swirled around him, and then dove for the ground.
“My wife thinks I’m beautiful in the sky, wait until she sees you.”

Kira landed, shifted, and walked gingerly into the thick trees. She didn’t smell them or feel their presence until she got to a central clearing. Kneeling, she still caught the metallic scent of Gala’s blood. This was where he destroyed her. He’d come back here.

She moved further on and caught a hint of their foul odor. When making evil plans, the scent would be stronger. Here was where they decided on their next step.

“Aleron, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear.”

“Get a message to the shifters. Send them here. Let’s see if we can follow the scent of our enemies to their lair. The more of us who work on this, the better the chance of success. I’m going to start following the trail myself. They can catch up with me.”