Darkness Awakened (8 page)

Her lips pulled into a thin line as she nodded. “I figured. I just don’t like leaving the site unsecured.” She peered around the corner of the warehouse in the direction of the totaled vehicle before moving behind the building once again.

“Bo is watching it and my packmates will be here in less than five minutes.” Gabriel had already been on standby when Finn had told him he was coming to Bo’s place. His Guardian had been pissed Finn was going alone with Lyra, but he didn’t give a shit.

She crossed her arms over her chest, her expression fierce, though worry lingered in the depths of her eyes. “What now?”

“Gabriel’s on his way with a new vehicle for us. While my packmates try to hunt down the scent, we’re going to start hitting up addresses of newly rented vacation homes along the beach. There are a lot.”

She blinked as she digested his words. “Of course. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” She shook her head, her self-disgust clear.

Reaching out, he tugged on one of her hips, pulling her close. To his surprise, she leaned into him, her piercing gaze on his. “That’s good, but what about unused places? If someone is trying to hide my daughter they might just use a home closed up for the winter, not rent a place.”

He nodded at her reasoning, something he’d already thought of himself. The truth was, whoever had taken her daughter could even
own
a home, which would make searching that much more difficult. But he had to narrow down search zones somehow until he had a better lead. “It won’t be just you and me hunting for her. My Guardian will be helping us and so will four of my warriors. The tracker will be trying to hunt down any scents from the bomb, but—”

“You told your packmates about my daughter?” She tried to step back, but he held firm.

She could have shoved him off if she’d truly wanted to, but she stilled, which told him all he needed to know. She was welcoming his touch even if she was angry. His other hand searched out her other hip. “I just texted them with orders to meet me to form a hunting party. Gabriel and I will divide the addresses when they arrive. My warriors didn’t know about this meeting if that’s what you’re worried about.”

At his words she relaxed a fraction. “So what are you telling them?”

“The truth. That an old friend needs help finding her kidnapped daughter and my pack will be providing all the services she needs. And, that no one else is privy to this information.”

“You trust these warriors?” Her voice was hesitant.

He nodded. “With my life. They supported me
before
I defeated my uncle.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay. If you trust them, I trust them.” Placing her palms gently against his chest, her fingers dug into him for a moment.

The feel of her set him on fire. He hated the circumstances, but having Lyra this close was making his wolf crazy. Making him crazy with a hunger he just couldn’t contain anymore.

She continued. “Thank you for doing this. You don’t owe me anything and—”

Taking himself by surprise, he bent his head and crushed his mouth over hers. They’d have less than sixty seconds before his men arrived, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want her gratitude, he just wanted her. Had from the moment he’d spotted her in that bar all those years ago. Right now he also wanted to make her suffering stop. To give her just a few seconds of peace. Her hands fisted the front of his shirt, twisting it tightly as his tongue stroked hers, hungry and urgent. She met him stroke for stroke, her tongue flicking against his in a way that reminded him of raw fucking.

Her taste was addicting.

Erotic.

And everything he’d been missing for seventeen years.

Abruptly he pulled back, breathing hard and trying to will his body under control. His erection pressed painfully against his zipper and he wished they were anywhere else under any other circumstances. Not one where she was worried out of her mind for her daughter. Finding Vega, giving Lyra peace,
that
he could do. Hell, he’d tear this damn city apart to find her daughter. Yeah, because it was the right thing to do, but also because this was Lyra. He would do anything for this female. “I’m sorry,” he said tightly, stepping back from her.

She looked as if she might respond, but at the sound of vehicles approaching they both paused and looked around the corner of the warehouse. “Is that your pack?”

“Yeah.” Once the headlights turned off, he clearly recognized all six vehicles.

Seconds later four warriors, one tracker, and Gabriel and Victoria got out of their respective vehicles. Gabriel must have asked Victoria to follow so he’d have a mode of transportation. That wasn’t a surprise. They had an interesting relationship; one the pack had speculated about, but Finn knew the truth. They were more like brother and sister than some true pack siblings. They would both die for each other, but anything sexual—hell no.

“Come on,” he murmured to Lyra as they headed across the lot.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Lyra continued scanning the area, ever vigilant. As they neared his packmates, he sensed the tension rolling off them as they eyed her. Well, from everyone but Victoria. She just watched Lyra with open curiosity but that was it. No hostility or anxiety. It was one of the reasons he liked the tall shifter. She almost never judged you unless you gave her a reason to.

Knowing there was no time to waste, he looked at his tracker Spiro first. “Someone rigged my vehicle to explode with me in it. See if you can pick up a scent on anything.” He placed a light hand on Lyra’s shoulder and watched as seven sets of eyes tracked the movement, but he ignored them. “Rule out her scent now. Anything else unusual, report to me immediately. Track if you can.”

Nodding, Spiro moved into action, the lean shifter not questioning his order. Next he focused on the remaining warriors. “Did you all receive the list of addresses from Gabriel?”

At their nods, he continued. “This is my friend Lyra. Her fifteen-year-old daughter has been kidnapped and is being held somewhere in the city. Our objective is to rescue her. Her captors should be taken alive if possible, but dead works too.” The only reason he wanted them alive was to question them. Then he would take their lives. As an Alpha, he couldn’t let the kidnapping of innocent females in his region go unpunished. Even if it had been acceptable among his kind, his own moral compass would never allow it.

“At this point all we know is that we’re looking for a location near the ocean. Lyra and I will take the first ten addresses.” From there he ordered his four warriors to each take the next set of ten, making sure the locations they would be searching were near each other so no one was wasting time driving too far in between residences. Finn could have told them over the phone but he wanted everyone to see his support—and possessiveness—of Lyra firsthand.

He had no clue what the future held for them, but he knew what he wanted with her. To make that happen, he had to make his feelings and loyalty toward her clear now. Even more than he wanted to show his pack, he wanted it clear to her that he had her back. That she could trust him.

Jason, one of his youngest pack members, but also incredibly strong, cleared his throat. “Why are we searching for a missing vampire?” When Finn growled low, Jason held up his hands, palms out. “I’m only asking what everyone else wants to know. This vampire shows up, it’s the first we’ve ever heard of her and now we’re helping look for her daughter—I’m just curious.”

“Do you need a reason to obey your Alpha’s orders?” Lyra asked, her voice dripping with ice.

Finn’s inner wolf smiled, all razor sharp teeth ready to strike this pup. He liked that his female—and she would be again soon—didn’t back down to anyone.

Jason straightened, his jaw tightening in annoyance. Before Finn could respond, Victoria snorted. “If you need a reason to help find a fifteen-year-old kid in trouble, then you’re an asshole, Jason.”

The other three warriors chuckled lightly, dispelling the growing tension. As they all started to head to their vehicles, Finn stopped them. “The parameters of this mission don’t leave this group for the time being.” Which meant even the mated ones wouldn’t tell their significant others. Something he didn’t have to specify to these hardened men.

Once everyone but Gabriel and Victoria were gone, Finn looked at Lyra. “You ready?”

“How do we know she isn’t lying? Or this isn’t part of some other scheme to start a war between us and vamps? You don’t even know if she has a daughter.” Gabriel’s voice was challenging, his expression deadly.

Victoria, who had already made it halfway back to their vehicle, turned on her heel, her green eyes wide. “Gabriel, what the hell?”

“My word is good enough, that’s how you know.” He pinned his Guardian with a hard stare, his inner wolf daring Gabriel to question him again. For how tightly he was wound, he was walking a tightrope of control right now.

After a long moment, Gabriel lowered his gaze, though nothing about his stance or expression reflected the submissive gesture. Despite his attitude, Finn knew he wouldn’t have a problem with the other wolf. They butted heads all the time, but Gabriel always supported him. Even if he didn’t always agree with him.

Once Finn and Lyra were in his SUV, Finn plugged the nearest address on his list into his GPS. He was familiar enough with the city that he knew where most neighborhoods were, but he didn’t want to waste time.

Lyra let out a long breath as he steered out of the parking lot. “I’m sorry for any issues I’m causing with your pack.”

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. If they don’t like it they can leave or challenge me.”

“I’m still sorry,” she said quietly. The truth pulsed off her in a wave of tension he felt and scented. “For so long I hated you for pushing me away when I came to you.”

Surprised by the statement, his entire body turned to ice. He might have known she’d harbored anger, and yes hate, toward him, but hearing the words was like a silver dagger to his chest.

“Now I think you might have been right,” she continued. “Even if we’d run away together, no one would have ever accepted our relationship.” There was such a stark note of sadness in her voice it just embedded the dagger even farther.

“I questioned my decision every fucking day, Lyra.” And every day he buried his pain just a little bit deeper. Being separated from her had given him the edge of rage he’d needed to kill his uncle. It was like he’d lost part of himself when she’d gone. And he’d blamed his uncle, his rage simmering and growing every second of every day.

Her head whipped around, her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulder in a wave. “You did?”

Jaw tight, he nodded. “After I killed my uncle I searched for you.” Hell, he’d still been searching for her right up until she showed up on his front doorstep. Now he knew why he hadn’t been able to find her. She hadn’t been living in any covens; she’d been in the human world.

As he pulled up to a stoplight, he glanced at her to find her watching him with an unreadable expression. Finally she turned away, looking out the window.

Her silence shredded him but he wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Changing the subject, he said, “As soon as we stop at the first place I’ll email you the list of addresses so you have a copy too. Maybe next time you connect with Vega she’ll be able to give you a clue about the place; help us narrow it down.” He prayed that was so. The constant worry lines on Lyra’s face were clawing at him. More than anything, he wanted to make them go away, to give her back her daughter. Then he wanted to possess Lyra once and for all. To bind them together. The rest of the world be damned.

* * *

Her lover’s voice came over the phone in a whisper, as if he was afraid of being overheard: “A group of warriors just left the mansion.”

She rolled her eyes because he couldn’t see her. She was growing increasingly annoyed with his whininess. He might be fantastic in bed, but as soon as they made the rest of the money they’d been promised, she might kill him too. “So what? They’re probably just hunting for more demons.”

A long pause. “I don’t know. They rushed out of here so quickly. And when I questioned Gregory’s mate she didn’t know what he was up to.”

“You questioned his mate?” He was dumber than she’d originally thought.

“I made it sound casual. I’m just worried they’re on to us.”

No, if anyone was on to them, they’d be dead. Finn would kill them for what they’d done.

“I know the money is good, but…”

“Good? The money is
insane
.” Way too much to turn down. A very powerful vampire had sent out a notice to certain purveyors that he wanted to hire someone to kidnap a young blood-born vampire in this region. It had been an easy grab and bag. Well, once they’d managed to pump the little bitch full of silver.

Because she and her lover had done different jobs for extra cash in the past, they’d been contacted for the kidnapping job. Even though it had been a risk it would be worth it. The vampire who’d hired them couldn’t enter this region without drawing attention to himself. He thought he was so smart; that they wouldn’t realize who this little vamp was once they’d taken her. But she knew. And she intended to capitalize on the opportunity now in her lap.

“You shouldn’t have double-crossed him,” her lover said, as if reading her train of thought.

Him questioning her decision was even less attractive than the whining. “We didn’t.” She’d just changed up their plans a bit. Instead of delivering Vega Marius to the male vamp, she’d decided to keep her until the last minute possible. The male needed Vega at the eclipse, and even though she didn’t know exactly why, she wasn’t stupid enough not to realize that as soon as she turned over the kid, she and her lover would be killed. Now that the kid’s mother had shown up in town, she understood why her lover was worried. Because deep down, she was terrified too. But not of the male vampire.

Finn was a powerful Alpha and while she’d done a few things that might have gotten her into hot water before—if she’d been caught—kidnapping a hybrid vamp who was almost definitely Finn’s daughter guaranteed she and her lover would be sorry they’d ever been born if he found out. Because he wouldn’t make their deaths easy.