Kismet (18 page)

A door opened, scraping across the ground as
it swung wide, letting more cold into the room. The air smelled
like forest; she could make out the smells of pine trees and moss.
Of course, in Washington, it could be someone's back yard if it
were big enough. She did her best to control her breathing and fake
sleep, but she couldn't keep it under control. Her heart was
beating so hard it felt like it was shaking her body.

"She's awake," she heard a gruff voice
say.

"Give her some water," another voice
said.

They both sounded stern and she didn't want
to see their faces again. She knew the likelihood of her getting
out of this alive went down if she saw her captor's faces. She
heard heavy footfalls coming her way and hands started messing with
a cord around her neck. The bag lifted off her head and she blinked
her eyes, trying to adjust to the light emitted from an old oil
lamp. One of the men that attacked her was standing in front of
her. He looked to be about fifty years old and had salt and
peppered hair and beard. Wrinkles lined his face. His nearly black
eyes and stance intimidated her as he handed her a cup of water. A
tattoo of a red and black snake's head peeked out from the cuff of
his sleeve.

"Drink," he barked.

She tentatively took the cup and sniffed the
water. She didn't smell anything weird, but how would she know if
they put something in it? It's not as if she had a deviant mind and
learned about what to drug people with. However, she was thirsty
enough to take a sip. It tasted fine, so she drank deeper. She knew
if she were ever going to get out of this nightmare, she'd need to
keep her strength up.

"Where am I?" she whispered.

"No questions!" he yelled, roughly grabbing
the cup out of her hands.

He put the hood back over her head, securing
it with the cord. In the few seconds she had to look around it
appeared she was in a rustic, old cabin of some kind, maybe a
hunting cabin since it didn't have any furniture or real kitchen.
It was about 12 x 12, with rough-hewn walls and floor. An unlit
wood stove sat in the corner. The one window she saw was dark -
either it was nighttime or they had painted it black. Since it was
after noon when they grabbed her, it was a good chance it was dark
now. She started to think about her situation, which led her to
think about the clinic.

What did they do when she didn't come back?
Did they call the police? Was anyone looking for her? What about
Wolf? At least he was at doggy daycare and Mara would care for him,
but he wouldn't know why she didn't come pick him up. Then her
heart dropped out when she thought about Garrett. What would he do?
He nearly flipped out from a scratch when ice-skating. What would
he do when he found out she was kidnapped? That's if he didn't
think she ran off and deserted him. He wouldn't think that, would
he? Surely, someone would start looking for her, but how would
anyone find her? She didn't even know where she was. Her head was
spinning with worries.

"What do you want with me?" she tentatively
asked. She heard two steps come toward her and then her head
snapped back with the force of a slap across her face. Her cheek
and temple felt like it would explode from the pain and her eyes
began to water. She balled her legs up to help ward off any further
abuse and quietly cried.

*

Garrett slowly opened his eyes, trying to
remember where he was, when he remembered Riley's distress and his
wolf surged forward. He started to growl and shift. He saw Breck,
Jason, Jasper, and Chase standing in a circle in front of him: his
closest friends.

Breck moved towards him with hands out in a
placating gesture, "Whoa, Garrett. Calm down, we're here to help.
Stay with us son. We need you to stay with us. You wolfing out
won't help anything."

"Riley! Where is she?" His voice came out
more animal than human. He could feel her fear, it was making him
sick, and his wolf was snapping at its confinement. It was taking
all of his strength to keep him locked inside.

Jason stepped forward. "We're not sure,
buddy. John called us during the flight and asked us to meet you at
the airport. He had to drug you, knowing you'd shift on the flight
if you found out what was happening. He didn't want to do it, man,
but he had to."

They were all shifting back and forth on
their feet, trying to figure out what to do. Garrett was strong,
and they weren't entirely sure if the four of them could stop him
if he went feral. They could smell the rage on him.

"Keep it together for Riley. We'll fill you
in, but you have to keep control, and right now, you don't look
like you can. We need to hear you say you can," said Breck

He gritted his teeth and growled, "I can keep
control. I'll do anything for her and you know it. She's my Kismet,
and you know what that means, but if one hair on her head is
damaged, I'll kill the asshole that did it, understand? Now, where
the hell are we and why isn't John here?"

"We're at a hotel near the airport. John had
to meet with the elders who flew here. Listen, they made their
decision this morning before you left, but he had to make sure he
was able to get you home safely, without you finding out. He didn't
want to keep you in the dark, but he did it for you. The elders
called a private meeting with him alone. He argued for you, but
they had already decided what they were doing." Breck hesitated.
"Are you OK son? Are you ready for more?"

He wasn't entirely sure if he could keep his
wolf in line. He was having a very hard time holding him back. The
fear coming from Riley was drowning him. It felt like he was a tiny
kid in the ocean, getting his head above the water before the next
wave of fear crashed over him again. "Chain me Breck. We're in a
populated area, so chain me." He hated to say it. He didn't want to
be treated like some feral, uncontrolled wolf, but he'd never
forgive himself if someone innocent were injured due to his boiling
rage. Right now his wolf wanted to kill everyone in the way of
getting to Riley and that included his best friends.

He saw the sadness in Breck's eyes as he left
to get the chains out of his truck. The remaining three were pacing
the room; he could smell fear on them. They knew they wouldn't be
able to contain him if he went feral. He did everything in his
power to keep his wolf at bay. A creak emitted from the metal chair
as his grip bent the armrests, and they all turned toward him in a
battle stance. He was literally seeing red and his claws extended,
along with his canines. He felt pure rage and was huffing in and
out, trying to fight his wolf back, but Riley's fear was too much
for him to handle. He saw Jason strip the bed of its comforter and
run toward him, barking orders at the others as they removed their
belts and did their best to wrap him up as quickly as possible. It
was laughable they were trying to tie him up with fabric and
leather.

As he was shifting, he heard Jason yell, "For
Riley! Stay here for Riley!" That was like a douse of cold water to
his wolf. He started to gain the upper hand and his fangs and claws
receded. He needed to keep his head if he were going to be of any
help. Massacring the good people of Portland would not help him
find her. Breck rushed in the door, chains in hand. He froze when
he saw them hovering around Garrett with the comforter.

"What happened?" Breck demanded.

"He started to go feral. His eyes actually
turned red, Breck. I've never seen anything like that before. The
only thing that brought him back was Riley's name," Jason said,
wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Wow, did he hear that right? Did his eyes
actually turn red? He could tell they were a constant gold right
now; his wolf was simmering right below the surface. Breck advanced
on him with the chains and wrapped them around his body from
shoulders to toe, making sure he wouldn't be able to shift out of
them.

"Keep control, damnit! That's the last time
I'm going to tell you. You can't help her if you go feral. I know
you're upset, but keep control! I'll drug you if I have to," Breck
growled.

"You don't understand. I can feel her fear -
she's terrified! What happened to her? Who has her?" he begged.

"As I was saying, the elders had already made
their decision when John met with them. Two of the elders actually
flew out before they even met. They came here to get Riley and hold
her until a tribunal on the new moon. They won't hurt her. We know
who has them and to what purpose, but they won't hurt her, not
until the tribunal anyway," Breck said with a frown.

Garrett knew the New Moon Tribunals judged
for the gravest of offenses. The law mandated any judgment
concerning life or death be handed down on the new moon, when the
council's wolves' influence was at its weakest and their human
nature would be strongest, to ensure a fair ruling.

"She hasn't done anything, why are they
judging her? I haven't told her ANYTHING!" he yelled.

"We're not sure, son. John is hoping to find
out more at the meeting tonight. The council is scared about the
Kismet connection filtering into the human population. They believe
this is a onetime thing which needs to be eradicated."

Eradicated!
He started to see red
again and his wolf began emerging.

"Riley needs you, son! Don't do this. You are
one of the strongest wolves I know. Stay with us and think about
saving Riley," Breck pleaded.

*

Riley drifted in and out of sleep. She heard
her jailer leave the room a while ago, and hadn't heard anything
since. It was hard to judge time, but she guessed it had been about
thirty minutes to an hour since he left. She had tried to break her
hands loose, but the binds were too tight. She figured she was
probably cutting them into her wrists, but her hands were so numb
she couldn't feel anything. She also worried about the temperature.
It had to be below freezing and her fingers were exposed to the
cold air without gloves. All of the sudden she felt fury, cold
fury, and it wasn't her; she was too scared to be mad. She didn't
understand what she was feeling and it scared her even more. She
whimpered and cowered into the corner further as the fury crashed
over her wave after wave. She felt as if she was losing her mind.
She stayed balled up in the corner, going in and out of sleep for
hours. When she slept, she had nightmares and when she woke, she
felt the unadulterated rage.

*

Garrett grunted and growled as he fought to
control his wolf. He was exhausted from the fight. He looked up at
the group of men around him, "I'm sorry, I'm fighting the best I
can. If you could only feel her terror - it's all encompassing and
I'm completely helpless."

"No you're not. If you can feel her, then she
can feel you. Concentrate on your emotions and your connection;
figure out a way to send her love and comfort."

"I don't think I can, Breck. I'm not that
strong. I can't keep my rage at bay and if she's feeling that, then
she's probably even more scared," he said disgusted with himself.
"What time is it? Where is John?"

"It's about 5:00 in the morning and we're not
sure where John is. He went to the meeting at 10:00 last night and
we haven't heard anything since. Just so you know, him telling us
or you any of this is against the council's permission. He has put
his life and the life of his Kismet in danger to warn you. Remember
that when you see him."

Garrett felt sick, he didn't want anyone else
hurt because of this, but he was grateful for his pack and Breck.
"I'm sorry; it means you're all in danger. Thank you for being here
and helping me with this. I have no doubt I would have turned feral
without your help."

Chase and Jasper advanced and patted him on
the shoulder, letting him know they would do whatever they could to
help. He closed his eyes and focused on the love he felt for Riley,
trying to ignore thoughts that would fuel his rage. He pictured
their night out at dinner and ice-skating, their first kiss. He
could feel his wolf receding and continued to picture a wall of
love between him and his wolf. He opened his eyes feeling in
control for the first time in hours. Jason walked over and started
to unchain him.

"What are you doing? Don't unchain me. What
if I turn feral?"

As Jason unwrapped him he said, "You aren't
going to turn feral. Your eyes are normal again and I don't smell
that overwhelming rage on you anymore. We'll keep the chains close,
but I can't stand seeing you chained up like a beast."

Garrett swung his arms around, letting
circulation back in and stood up to pace around. Jason was right;
he had his wolf so far behind a wall he couldn't sense him. He
didn't know it was possible to lock him up that tight. He was
completely under control for the time being.

About an hour later, there was a knock on the
door. John entered with a grim look on his face. His eyes flashed
to the chains and then back to Garrett. "I'm sorry, man, I feel
horrible for drugging you, but I needed to get you back here if you
were going to be any help to Riley."

He bowed in formal supplication. "It's OK.
You did what you had to do, and I appreciate your help, Alpha.
You've helped me, regardless of the risk to your Kismet and
yourself. I won't be able to repay you."

"Please rise. You are my pack, as Alpha I
will always do everything in my power to help you. I met with the
council members that are here - which includes Jeremiah and three
others at this time. The rest are due to arrive before the New Moon
Tribunal on Wednesday. They are holding Riley at an undisclosed
location until then. They refused to tell me where, but I did pick
out a distinct scent of volcanic ash on their clothing. I believe
they have her in the Gifford Pinchot Forrest somewhere, which will
narrow down the search quite a bit."