Rise to Embrace [Rise of the Changelings, Book 3] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) (6 page)

BOOK: Rise to Embrace [Rise of the Changelings, Book 3] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove)
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Chapter Seven

 

Rick knew it was too late to warn Deluca and Brooke. Garrett had shown up too unexpectedly and caught them off guard. He stood there as fury flashed in his eyes. “Where is Willow?”

There was someone outside the loft with a rifle aimed at Rick’s head. He could feel it. If he attacked Garrett, either he or Dorian would be killed. He had no doubt they would go for his mate if they couldn’t get him.

Rick was ready to push Dorian aside and attack nonetheless when Willow walked out of the bedroom, looking and smelling downright terrified. When Rick took a step forward, Garrett shot him a challenging expression. “Don’t be foolish enough to interfere.”

“Interfere in what?” Rick asked just as Brooke and Deluca appeared in the doorway. Garrett’s anger seemed to flame off of him, hot enough to singe.

“Come, Willow.” Garrett turned and Willow followed.

“Wait,” Deluca said. “Where are you taking her?”

The alpha kept walking. Both Brooke and Deluca began to follow, but Rick stepped in their path. “We’ll get her out of here. But right now, if you go out there trying to take her, you’ll be killed.”

“Get out of my fucking way.” Brooke’s eyes held a daggerlike gleam.

“Deluca, you know I’m speaking the truth,” Rick said as he turned to the other human, but he could tell from the man’s expression that he wasn’t thinking clearly either.

“Move, Rick,” Deluca said. His aggression level rose, filling the air with the promise of violence.

Rick gave a nod. “Then if
we
do this, we do it right.” He moved closer. “You better plan on keeping this female if we put our necks on the line trying to save her.”

Rick turned toward Edward. “Get Isabelle, Howard, and Dorian out as soon as the shit hits the fan.”

“You are not making me run like a coward!” Dorian said as he jumped to his feet. “If you fight, then so do I.”

Rick turned to argue with his stubborn mate when an explosion rocked the loft. He ran to the door, stepping out onto the natural moss and wood of the balcony. Chaos was reigning below. People were screaming and running in every direction. Rick wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew an opportunity to get away from this place when he saw one.

“Willow.” Brooke said the female werecoyote’s name as he took off down the flight of stairs, Deluca hot on his heels.

Rick spun around as soon as Dorian cleared the doorway. “Go tell Edward to get everyone out.”

“I’m not leaving your side,” Dorian said with a steel edge to his voice. “We’re in this until the end, remember?”

Rick remembered those quiet promises they made each other in that dark barn. It felt so long ago. Dorian had been terrified, and Rick had been trying to comfort him. Now that promise was coming back to bite him. “You don’t even have the Smith & Wesson.”

“We’ll protect him,” Miguel said as he and Benito hurried from the loft. “Besides, I told Dorian once already that I would be protecting him, not the other way around.” There was no heat to Miguel’s words, but Rick could tell his pride was still hurting over Dorian trying to send the two juveniles home. He reluctantly nodded as Mason and Omar joined him.

“Let’s go help Deluca and Brooke find Willow.” They took off down the stairs and ran through the chaos. Another explosion lit up the night, and Rick saw which direction it was coming from. It was obvious that someone had placed explosives all around the compound, in places that would scare everyone, but not close enough to kill any innocent people.

“It’s too soon to be Nate,” Benito said as he ran alongside Rick. “I’m not sure who is attacking.”

Rick nodded. Benito had told him that he had texted Nate. Although Rick hoped the man had gotten there on time to help, Rick also knew Nate was needed in Shelton. If this wasn’t Nate helping them, then he would need to call his top enforcer and tell him to go back home.

But what had impressed Rick was Benito thinking to text the enforcer in the first place.

God love quick-thinking people.
He was glad to see the juvenile didn’t lose his head when the heat rose. Rick already knew Miguel was going to make a fine enforcer one day. It seemed Miguel’s cousin was following in his footsteps.

Rick spotted the young teenager who had been in the loft earlier, preparing dinner with Willow. Her dark-brown eyes were wild as she carried a young pup in her arms. Rick immediately ran toward her.

“You have to help us,” she cried. “Alpha Garrett forced Willow into a car and then told me she was a traitor and that he was sending her to the detention center.” The girl visibly shook as she stared up at Rick with pleading eyes. “Can you take us with you? I have to help Willow. She’s not a traitor.”

Red-hot anger lashed through Rick. How in the hell could the man call Willow a traitor? All she had done was take interest in the two humans. There was nothing traitorous about that.

“He teaches us all that mating outside our breed is a death sentence,” Trisha said and then squatted down, protecting the pup’s head with her hand when gunfire began to sound nearby.

“Whose child is that?” Rick asked, nodding toward the pup. He wanted to get out of here. He wanted to warn Brooke and Deluca that Willow was no longer here, that she had been taken to where they were headed. But he wasn’t going to be a part of kidnapping. No matter how he felt about children, he wasn’t going to allow this young juvenile to take the pup from her mother.

“This is Harmony, Willow’s niece. Willow is raising her.”

Rick grabbed the girl’s arm, pulling her toward the protection of trees. “Where are your parents? I won’t take you from them.”

“They died. My aunt is raising me, and she would be thrilled if I disappeared.”

That was a very odd thing to say.

“I haven’t told Willow, but I haven’t seen my aunt in eight days. I’m not sure what has happened to her.”

Mason grabbed the pup from the teenager’s arms. She spun around, fighting to get the child back. Rick was stunned at how vehemently she fought. Her mahogany hair swung around her as she clawed at Mason’s arms, pulling and tugging, a low growl erupting from her throat.

Rick grabbed her arms, pulling her back. “This is Mason. He just wants to help you carry Harmony.”

“Peanut,” she corrected. “Willow calls her little Peanut.”

Rick gave her a reassuring smile as they ran deeper into the mountain. He wasn’t sure where they were going, but was relieved when he saw Brooke and Deluca join them.

“A few people saw Willow being taken away in a car,” Deluca said.

“I know,” Rick replied. He turned toward the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Trisha,” Brooke answered for her.

“Trisha saw what happened and came running for help. Garrett said Willow was a traitor and sent her to the detention center.”

Rick knew what was coming. It was the same way he would have acted if anything happened to Dorian. Even though the two men had just met Willow, Rick could sense a bond already forming between the three.

Brooke was the first to stop running. He stood motionless as he stared at Rick. His expression was filled with fear and rage. “He did what?” The question was spoken so quietly that it was less than a whisper.

Deluca cursed low. Rick knew this war was going to take its toll on everyone and demand a price he feared would be too high. But the real battle hadn’t begun yet. There had been murders and manhunts, but the war was going to explode to epic proportions when Rick and the humans leveled the detention center.

It would be yet another perceived act of aggression by the nonhumans.

But for Rick and those he was fighting for, this would be showing the government that they couldn’t stop the changelings. That they couldn’t beat them down and make them disappear quietly in the night.

Deluca was quietly speaking with the Brooke. Rick could hear the conversation. It wasn’t like he was trying to eavesdrop, but being changeling, he had superior hearing. Deluca was promising Brooke that they were going to get Willow out. The man was speaking his promise with total conviction. He was also telling Brooke to remember the friends who were on standby, waiting for their word.

Brooke nodded and turned around. Some of the anger had eased from his face to be replaced by determination. “Who is she?” Brooke nodded toward Mason.

Rick wasn’t aware other militant men were coming to help. He wasn’t sure what Deluca was talking about, but Rick knew the two human soldiers standing in front of him were sent to help. If they trusted others to help them without trying to turn Rick over to his enemies, then Rick would give the same. “She’s Willow’s niece, Harmony. According to Trisha, Willow is raising her.”

“Peanut,” Trisha quietly corrected him.

Rick nodded. “Peanut is her nickname.”

Dorian grabbed Rick’s hand, giving it a light squeeze, telling Rick he was there for him. It was a small gesture, but was what Rick needed at that moment. They were about to embark on the largest part of their fight, and Rick was honestly scared.

So many things could go wrong. But they had no choice. Too many people they cared about had been taken. Rick was not going to sit by and let them suffer. He just prayed he didn’t come away from this fight with wounds so deep he would never recover. He had lost close friends, like Miguel’s parents since this started. People he thought he could trust had sold him out, and those he loved were in constant danger.

He had even sentenced one man to death when he wrongly accused Leon of being a mole for the Death Squad. Even though Edward told him that Leon had in fact betrayed them, it still was a slice across his soul.

Brooke closed the distance and carefully took Harmony from Mason’s arms. She glanced at Trisha with her baby-blue eyes, and Rick knew he would fight to the death to keep the young pup alive.

“You’re safe, pup,” Brooke softly crooned to her. Rick was amazed the man knew to call her the changeling term for a child. The man was human. He would have thought Brooke would have called her some endearment humans used for toddlers.

But then again, if these two men planned on keeping Willow, Rick knew they would have to get used to the changeling life. It didn’t look like either of them were going to have any problems.

“Did you see Edward, Isabelle, and Howard?” Rick asked.

Deluca nodded as he moved closer to Brooke and Harmony. “They said they would meet us by the trucks.”

“Who attacked?” Mason asked.

“No one knows,” Deluca replied.

“Then we need to get moving,” Rick said as he began to head toward where they had left their vehicles. He wasn’t sure if the people attacking were friend or foe, and he wasn’t sticking around to find out. They needed to get to the detention center, and Rick needed to get a phone so he could let Nate know he was no longer in the mountains.

As they grew closer to their destination, Rick felt someone gaining on them. He spun around to see Clyde emerge from a dense part of the forest, a large group of men following him. Deluca and Brooke immediately backed away, Deluca grabbing Trisha’s hand and pulling her close.

“What the hell?” Rick asked as he grinned widely. “Was that you making all that noise back there?”

Clyde chuckled as he grabbed Rick and hugged him. Rick’s eyes nearly bulged, but he allowed the show of affection.

“You’re damn right.”

“How did you know we were being held captive?” Rick asked. He could see Deluca and Brooke relaxing, marginally.

“Word gets around fast.” Clyde’s brows pulled down into a frown as he stared at Rick. “Don’t you know every breed of changeling is keeping a close eye on you, making sure you win this war?”

Rick had no clue.

“Do you think you have been meeting with the different changelings and not making any progress?” Clyde asked.

“I didn’t think anyone was listening,” Rick admitted.

Clyde shook his head. “Man, you have so many people ready to back you that it isn’t even funny. What’s more surprising is that you have a hell of a lot of humans ready to fight on your side as well. You’re famous.”

Rick didn’t want to be famous. He wanted the government to stop taking his species and locking them away, or worse. He wanted the bloodshed to end and peace to reign. But he knew they were all empty wishes. Even the White House itself was in on this. There was not going to be peace until the body count rose so high that there would be no one left to care.

“But you need to get moving,” Clyde continued. “Garrett isn’t a happy man, and even now he is rallying his pack to come after you. I heard on the wind that he had planned on selling you and your group to the werehyenas.”

Rick’s anger exploded. “He was going to do what!”

“He’s one fucked-up individual.” Clyde waved a hand. “Let’s go.”

The men with Clyde surrounded their group, boxing them in, protecting them as they made their way to the vehicles. Rick just hoped like hell Garrett hadn’t done anything with their trucks. They were the only way out of this place.

“How are Kara and your cub?” Rick asked.

Clyde beamed. “They’re fine. Thank you for asking.”

“Have you found a new place to stay?” He hated that Clyde lost all of his belongings in a fire that was started by a mercenary group of changelings in order to kill Rick.

BOOK: Rise to Embrace [Rise of the Changelings, Book 3] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove)
3.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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