Jana Leigh & Bryce Evans (9 page)

“
The doctor said she will live, Kane, but only time will tell if she is all right.  I left her with the Alpha,” Vander explained.

“
Good, we will bring her through this, Vander, she is ours,” Kane said softly.

“
Do we have protection set?” Vander said quickly.

“
Yep, and I spoke with Ret and Lex.  They are going to send more.  If they come back for her, we will be ready.”  Vander could tell Kane was about to explode in frustration, he felt the same way.

Orion Holder walked into the building they had purchased
for their meetings and held their prisoners. He was angry and needed to hurt someone.  As he entered the room where two men were sitting, Orion growled out questions.  Josh Campbell was out of control, and the Redeemer was pissed off.  And Diane was nowhere to be found, he was going to have to find out what was going on.

“
Which one of you morons dumped Waverly Grant’s body?” 

The man sitting on the couch smugly lifted his hand.  “
That would be me.  Following orders.” The man never saw it coming when Orion half shifted and swung his arm out with his claws dragging them across the man’s face.  He howled out in pain as the claw traveled down to the bone.

“
You fucking idiot.  Whose orders were you following?” Orion snarled out.

“
No, no, no she was dead.  I didn’t feel her breathing anymore.  We were supposed to check on the prisoners and if they had died then we were to dispose of the body.” 

Orion knew they needed more minions
, these two had to be the stupidest wolves on earth.  Diane was going to be pissed when she got back.  Orion didn’t plan being there.

“
She wasn’t breathing?  How do you know she wasn’t breathing?” Orion sneered.

The man groaned as he felt the blood dripping into his eyes.  “
I put my face up to hers to see if she was breathing and she wasn’t so we got rid of her body.”

“
How in hell have you gotten this far in life without someone killing you?” Orion asked.  The two men looked at Orion as if he had asked a mathematical equation.  “She was still alive and now they have her in the shifter hospital.  She will be talking soon if she hasn’t already.  She saw who you were and she knows your name you fucking imbeciles.” 

The man who Orion didn
’t hit was up as he sputtered out, “Do you think she knows about this place?”  The man was shaking as he asked.

At least this one wasn
’t stupid enough to realize that they were still safe.  “I would say this place has been compromised,” Orion snarled.  “Here is the question I need to know.  Did you ever use my name around the girl?”  Both men shook their head no.

“
No, sir, we were very careful.  We never spoke about you.  When you called we walked out of the room where she couldn’t hear us talking to you.  Diane was the only person in the room.  Josh was the one showing the others how to cut and where, with that one back there.  We never spoke of anything else except that.”  Orion nodded hoping the two idiots hadn’t compromised him yet.  He eventually would need to kill these two because they screwed up more than he could fix.  Josh Campbell wasn’t his problem, the Redeemer had plans for him.

“
Sweep this place clean and then burn it to the ground,” Orion commanded.  The two men got up and started cleaning the place of any paperwork and equipment. 

Orion knew he needed to get back to Grant house before anyone noticed he was gone.  He needed to be there if the Alpha called a
nd needed anything.  Acting concerned was what he had to do to keep them off his trail.  His time would come when he would be the Alpha.  He was made to be an Alpha.  Josh promised he would run the Atlanta Pack after they eliminated Marcus Grant. 

Orion knew that getting rid of Waverly was the first step
to make that happen.  He needed to get a message to Jack letting him know the Omega was still alive and he needed to lay low for a while.  Jack was the one who went and visited the Redeemer and got all the information from him on what to do next.  The Redeemer would mail letters to them in code.  They never even knew that he was still running his operation out of the shifter prison.  How pathetic these people were thinking they were smarter than them. 

Orion laughed as he walked out the door leaving the cleanup to these two idiots.
  The real Josh Campbell was in for a surprise, the Redeemer was not forgiving, and for this mistake, he would kill the man.  But first, they needed him to give them what they needed.  The little idiot held the key to the destruction of a werewolf.

“She is a wolf, Vander, and she will survive this,” Kane said softly.

“
I don’t know.  The doctor said that she would survive it physically, but mentally, with all the abuse and torture, she may not.”  Kane looked over at Vander with a worried expression on his face.  Vander’s face held the look of sadness and rage.  These two emotions were the most explosive combinations to have.  Kane knew when the time came he would kill whomever was responsible for hurting their mate. 

Vander stopped talking because he felt a type of calmness from Kane touching his hand.  He inhaled deeply as Kane squeezed his hand.  He knew when Kane got to see Wa
verly he would need to be near him so he didn’t go crazy.  Vander knew how Jewel got when her mate died and he wasn’t even her true mate.

He knew Waverly would be in the hospital for a while but
, when she got out, he wanted her at his house.  Vander wanted Kane to move in too.  His house was bigger than Kane’s condo.  Waverly would probably want to live at Grant house, but Vander knew he couldn’t live with Marcus Grant.  No way was he going to listen to him.  He wasn’t a wolf and he didn’t live by their rules.  A lot of discussion was going to be needed once Waverly was well.

They were standing in the entranceway to the Emergency ward, Kane and Vander met there before going into the room, they wanted to
make sure they presented a united front.  Since they had been talking, a bunch of men had appeared around them.

“
They were not here when I left or I would have remembered them,” Vander advised Kane.

“
They are Protectors.  Probably the Alpha’s since Waverly is here,” Kane said darkly.  Both men knew that none of them would be there if their mate had not been hurt.

“
Yeah, probably.  Jewel said he would do that.”  Vander walked to the door when two more Protectors came up and blocked them from entering the hospital ward. 

Vander narrowed his eyes and was about to get angry when Jewel opened up the door to the
ward.  “Move so they can pass.  They are Waverly’s mates.”  Both of the Protectors looked up surprised.  They moved away from the door so Vander and Kane could pass.

“
Is she still out?” Vander asked.

“
Yes, she hasn’t moved either.  The doctor said it was her body’s way of healing itself.  He also said she may not remember certain things,” Jewel explained.

“
I want to see her,” Kane advised.  Vander walked over to where two more Protectors were guarding a door.  “Nobody gets in here except the doctor.  Alpha's orders,” the Protector stated.

“
Then you better get him out here or you and I are going to break some stuff in this pretty house.  Then I will be taking some asses to jail, so you decide,” Vander snarled.  The Protectors looked at each other when Jewel cleared her throat.  Vander wasn’t putting up with anyone telling him he couldn’t see his mate.  Plus this was still an active investigation and she was a witness and they needed to talk to her.

The door opened behind the Protectors with the Alpha looking at them.  He looked Vander and Kane up and down then opened the door wide so they could come in.  The Protectors looked at Vander before they moved so they could
pass.  Vander walked past the Alpha without saying a word as he went to Waverly’s side.  Kane walked and swallowed hard as he stared at the bruises and cuts all over Waverly’s arms and upper body.  He couldn’t stop the growl that came out of him as he stared at her.

Marcus watched the two men who called themselves his daughter
’s mates.  He wouldn’t know for sure until Waverly woke up.

Vander and Kane both picked up her hands
, caressing the top of them.  As soon as they both touched her, Waverly started moving.  Her eyes blinked open, staring at the two men holding her hands.  Before she could scream thinking she was still being tortured, Vander advised who he was. 

“
Waverly, my name is Vander Collins.”  Marcus ran up to the table so she could see him.  She pulled her hands from them and reached out to her father.  Vander stepped back so the Alpha could hug his daughter, then watched as Waverly started shaking.  She was so exhausted and without strength, that she couldn’t keep her hands around her dad. 

“
You are safe, baby girl.  You’re safe.  Nobody will ever hurt you again.  I promise.  It’s okay.”  Marcus rocked her as he held on to Waverly who drifted back to sleep as she relaxed.

Kane came around the bed and s
tood beside Vander as the Alpha rocked his daughter.  Marcus stopped his rocking, then laid Waverly’s head back down onto the pillow and placed her hands beside her.  Then pulled away from her.  He wiped his eyes, then turned and faced Vander and Kane.

“
She woke up because her mates touched her together.  You will have your work cut out for you.  I don’t know if she will ever be ready for this.  The doctor said Waverly may not ever get past this.  I want to say leave her and never come back but that would be wrong of me.  My daughter will need you soon.  She may not know it yet, but she will figure it out.  Just don’t press her.”  Before Vander or Kane could say anything, Marcus continued, “If you push her or try to make her do something with you…I will kill you both.”  Vander understood what the Alpha meant but before he could say anything Kane was up in his face. 

“
Let me tell you something.  I’m not any fucking wolf.  I’m third in command of the biggest pack in the United States and I know how to treat a mate.  Especially a mate that has been beaten and tortured.  I’m not cruel, Alpha, and I won’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do.  But know this.  Waverly is ours now and we will take care of her.”  Marcus started growling because Kane was up in his face.  They were both the same height but Marcus was the Alpha and nobody got in the Alpha’s face. 

“
Daddy,” Waverly whispered and Marcus backed down looking over to his daughter.

“
Waverly.  Honey, how are you?  Do you need some pain medicine?” Marcus said, and when Waverly nodded yes, she glared at Vander and Kane as Marcus went to the phone to call the doctor.  She didn’t speak to them but watched as they watched her back.  “He is coming, honey,” the Alpha said to Waverly with a half smile. 

“
Thank you,” she whispered and frowned a little.

“
Honey, do you know who did this to you?” her father asked but when Waverly tilted her head so she could look over her dad’s head at Vander and Kane he asked, “You want to know who they are?” 

Waverly narrowed her eyes then nodded yes.  Befor
e Marcus could introduce them, Vander spoke first, “Waverly, my name is Vander Collins and I’m the Detective working on your case.  We have been looking for you.” 

“
Hello, Waverly, my name is Kane Foster and we are your mates.”  Waverly jerked, glaring at her dad for confirmation.  Kane didn’t believe in beating around the bush, she should know them.  If she couldn’t scent them, or remember that she had contacted them, he would remind her.

“
What are you talking about?  I don’t have any mates or want any mates.”  Waverly had fire in her eyes as she sputtered out. Kane wanted to laugh at the feistiness their mate had.

“
We know you have been through a lot, and we get that.  But we are your mates, and we will be here to help you through this,” Kane muttered back.

“
We will see about that,” Waverly snarled.  “What is happening to find the assholes who did this.  They are trying to find a shifter’s weakness, they have a plan to do something, but first want to know how to kill us.”

“
Honey, you need to rest,” Marcus said firmly.  “But you know as well as I do, that mates would not leave if something like this happened.”

He could understand Vander who was a human but Waverly was an Omega of her pack.  She would be able to smell them.
The doctor had been wrong about her not being the same, apparently, all the men did was piss her off, not break her.

“
Kane, let’s give her some time with her dad,” Vander said and looked at daughter and father who seemed to be ready to have an argument about staying still.  As her mate, Vander wanted to hide her away until she recovered, but it seemed like they had underestimated their female, she was a force to be reckoned with.  Kane looked over at Vander like he was crazy.  He motioned for Kane to follow him.

Vander could te
ll Kane didn’t want to go outside but he followed Vander out.  “What is going on?  She should know us,” he bristled. He could see how out of control Kane’s reaction was becoming.  He knew if he didn’t calm him down then he might scare Waverly off.  Vander wouldn’t push Waverly into being Kane’s and his mate.

“
Come on, man, can’t you see right now she is focused on finding the men who hurt her.  Jewel said the doctor wasn’t sure if she would remember certain things, obviously we are going to have to wait. She has been tortured and beaten, but apparently, it only pissed her off.  She is strong-willed.  Let her get her bearings or she will run.”

“
Let her, she knows we will chase. She is amazing, isn’t she?”  Kane smiled.  Vander looked at him and nodded before saying.

“
I don’t know how to do all the mating thing.  What would you suggest?” Vander asked.

“
Well, basically it is instinctive.  She knows we are her mates, she will come around.  We just need to have patience,” Kane said.  “The Omega stuff, I am not so sure of, this is all new to me too.” 

That was the quest
ion wasn’t it, what was she going to remember, because both of the men wanted her to remember how she called to them. 

“
I need to make some calls and get this investigation moving.  We will never have peace if we don’t figure this out,” Vander said and looked back toward the door where Waverly was talking to her father.  “You think she will be ready to discuss us soon?”

Kane shrugged.  “
I don’t like that her father is the only one in there.  I would like to think he would respect our mating, but I am not so sure.”

Vander looked at the room again.  “
There was someone on the inside, he feels responsible I am sure.”

“
Well, I am only giving him a few more minutes before I go in there,” Kane said.

“
I need to make some calls,” Vander said.

**
***

“
Dad, you can’t control everything you know,” Waverly said.

“
You were taken and tortured.  I can control who I allow in here.  What if they hurt you?” Marcus growled.

“
I am a grown up.  And yes, I was tortured and it sucked, I will probably have nightmares for a long time, but here is the thing.  They didn’t break me.  They wanted to and they tried but they didn’t.  And you know why?  Because of the pack, I could still feel them even with all the shit going on.  They were my strength just as I am theirs.  I kinda figured out a few things.  Yes, I was taking on too much, but I was also not allowing the pack to help me when I was becoming drained.  It works both ways.  You know as well as I do that you are reacting to them because of everything that went on.  They aren’t to blame though.  And if they are my mates, which I think they are, then I can’t hide from that,” Waverly said.

Her father looked at her a
nd shook his head.  “You are my daughter.”

“
Yes I am, and I will always be your daughter.  But I am also a grown up, and honestly, I want to kick someone’s ass.  I really don’t want anyone ever to go through what I did.  So, I will help Detective Collins, and get to know them more.  But the most important thing is to get the fuckers who did this,” Waverly said firmly.

Her father nodded but took her hand and sat down next to her.  “
I know I am your dad.  But I am also your Alpha, you can talk to me about this.”

Waverly looked at her father, he could handle
it, and she was going to have to talk anyway.  “It’s not pretty.”

“
I didn’t expect it was,” Marcus growled.

“
There was a familiar scent, but I can’t place it.  All of my senses were screwed up from their little experiments.  They wanted to see how we heal, and how fast we heal.  They started with little cuts all over my body, and when they healed quickly, they moved on to deeper ones.  The head guy, they called him Josh, he was sick.  I could feel his depravity, it was scary.  He wanted to do things,” Waverly said and her father saw her fear for the first time, she had hidden it well.

Ma
rcus grabbed her hand and held on as she struggled to regain her composer.  “You don’t have to be brave for me,” he whispered and Waverly nodded at him.

“
His sick and twisted mind was just too much, you know.  I mean, when he was cutting me, he enjoyed it.  And his thoughts, if he could have done everything he wanted, I would be dead, because I would have killed myself before I let him rape me,” Waverly said angrily.  “They never should have gotten me.  I was so stupid, I was so deep in thought I never even saw it coming.  It was so out of character, like they knew the exact time when I would be my most vulnerable.  You know me, I am always aware of what is around me.”