The Trail Back (13 page)

As Shane shot to his feet with his claws descending from his fingers he was thrown back against the tavern wall as Josh landed on top of him. They took a moment to untangle themselves, and when they did, they found Aiden glaring down at them.

“What?” he and Josh asked.

“We have a vampire in town, and I have been unable to protect your mate because I was here protecting mine while you were off playing with Brody.”

Aiden disappeared as Shane lunged at him. He shifted and swung around looking for something to kill.

“Where is Abbie?”
Shane asked. He howled, his wolf furious that Abbie was in danger. His howl was joined by Josh’s. He had also shifted. Their clothes lay shredded at their feet.

“We don’t know where she is. Brayden left her with a female wolf at the fire station and she’s taken her somewhere,” Aiden said.

“That bitch Fiona?”
Shane asked.

“A vampire set fires all around town as a distraction, and while we were all busy with that situation Fiona seems to have taken Abbie. Brayden is going to her house now,” Landon said. Landon had Brody in his arms, and Elliot had an arm wrapped around his mate’s waist.

“I know I’ve only just got back,” Brody said, “but can I take them somewhere so they can help? I’ll come straight back to protect Kaitlyn, I promise.”

“Do you know where this wolf lives?” Elliot asked.

“I do,”
Shane said coldly. He directed his thoughts to Aiden.
“Does Brody know where the park with the war memorial is?”

Aiden relayed Shane’s question and Landon put Brody down when the demon nodded.

“I’ll come straight back,” Brody said.

Shane and Josh pushed past his two mates and stood beside the demon. They were alone in Memorial Park the next second.

It was early afternoon and they were two huge wolves in the middle of a park. Shane didn’t feel lucky with Abbie missing, but as he ran through the empty park he felt lucky that no one was around to see them. Fiona’s house was just across the street and her car was in her driveway.

“If that bitch has hurt her…”
Josh said.

“I can smell her blood,”
Shane said, a growl rumbled softly from him as he slowed his pace to tread silently onto Fiona’s porch.

“I can smell her fear as well,”
Josh said.
“Door or window?”

“
I’ll take the door,”
Shane said. He looked at Josh as he reached the door. Josh nodded and they both moved.

* * * *

Abbie was pushed down onto the floor. The vampire had made short work of her clothes and was now feeding from her as he stroked himself through his clothes. His pants were wet from where he’d already made himself orgasm. His mouth was attached to her breast and the pain from his fangs speared through her with each noisy slurp.

She’d seen the vampires lose control like this with the other hybrids and knew that as soon as he regained some of his sanity he’d be able to stop masturbating and remove his pants. Then he’d rape her.

Abbie was ready to die. She couldn’t live through this again. She had nothing to live for anyway. Her mates didn’t want her. She rolled her eyes to look at the woman sitting witness to her abuse. Fiona would be the one spending her life with Brayden. She’d been an idiot to think she could have even a half-life with him.

Fiona screamed as an explosion rocked the room. Abbie screamed along with her, only her scream remained in her mind. A blur of white flashed across the room, but all she could hear was deafening growls.

The vampire roughly released her breast, and the delicate flesh tore. The pain was so agonizing that Abbie felt herself slipping into darkness. She instinctively fought against it, but then she remembered, life held nothing for her. Nothing. She closed her eyes and surrendered to the pain and darkness.

“Abbie. Abbie, he’s dead. He can’t hurt you anymore,” Shane said.

When she managed to fight the darkness and open her eyes she saw Shane’s bloody face looming largely in front of her. “Fuck, she’s bleeding. Josh, bring me something to hold over this wound. We have to get her to Doc Charlie.”

Shane was looking at something Abbie couldn’t see. Growls and snarls filled the air, followed by whimpers and squeals of pain. “You can’t kill her. Her fate is in Caleb’s hands now.”

“Do something, Fiona. Try and hurt me,” Josh said. “Give me a reason to kill you.”

Josh came into view as he moved to Shane’s side. He had his hand around the neck of a large, brown wolf. Abbie assumed it was Fiona. She tried to sit up but found she was still frozen in place. Shane had said the vampire was dead, but she remained trapped inside her body. The real prospect of living this way for the remainder of her life pushed her into panic mode.

“She’s terrified,” Josh said. “Abbie, it’s going to be all right. We’re so sorry we didn’t get here sooner. Abbie, can you blink your eyes?”

Abbie tried, but found she couldn’t. She screamed as something was pressed against the wound to her breast.

“I’m going to ask Aiden to come, Abbie,” Shane said. “He can remove whatever compulsion that vampire put on you. I’m sure he can. Please, sweetheart, hang on a little longer.”

Sweetheart?
Now Abbie knew that she was dreaming. None of this was real. She was actually back in the cage with the vampire feeding from her. She’d already decided she wouldn’t live through that again, that she’d rather die. She let go of all hope and finally stopped fighting.

* * * *

As Brayden pulled up outside Fiona’s house he processed the sight of the destroyed window and the broken door that now hung from its hinges and feared the vampire had already escaped with Abbie. As he leaped from the borrowed car he was assailed with the scent of his brothers, Abbie, and Abbie’s blood.

He raced into Fiona’s house, and his brain struggled to make sense of the scene before him. Shaking his head, he ignored everything else and focused solely on Abbie. Carefully stepping over body parts he knelt on the bloody carpet at her side. She was pale and naked, Shane was pressing a blood-soaked kitchen towel to her right breast.

Josh was kneeling beside Shane. He had one knee on Fiona’s back with her throat gripped tightly in one of his hands. “Abbie can’t move,” Josh said. “We think the vampire did something to her.”

Brayden glanced around the room at all the pieces of the vampire. His brothers were both naked and covered in blood. “Thank you,” Brayden said. He picked up Abbie’s hand and brought it to his chest.

“You don’t need to thank us, Bray,” Shane said. “She’s our mate, too.”

“Good job,” Aiden said, as he appeared beside Brayden. He nodded at Josh and Shane. “I assume you took off his head as well?”

“I think it rolled under the sofa,” Josh said. “He’s dead. Abbie was awake before, but she wasn’t able to move.”

“You’re free, Abbie,” Aiden said, touching his finger to her forehead.

Brayden’s heart stopped beating as Abbie’s scream immediately filled the room. “Abbie. Abbie, it’s Brayden. He’s gone. Josh and Shane killed him. You’re safe now, little wolf.”

“I’m dreaming,” Abbie whispered when she stopped screaming, “or I’m dead.”

“I need to cover Abbie up,” Shane said, his voice was rough with the growl of his wolf. “I don’t like Aiden seeing my mate naked.” Abbie blinked open her eyes and turned her head to look at Shane.

Despite Abbie’s pain, and the horror and gore of the room, Brayden felt a smile tugging at his lips. Aiden disappeared and returned a moment later with a blanket. He laid it gently over Abbie.

“Thank you,” Shane mumbled. “You’re not
allowed
to die, sweetheart. Not when we’ve just decided to live.”

“Plus, we brought you a present,” Josh said.

“Not now,” Shane said. He smacked Josh on the head. Josh fell sideways and put all his weight on Fiona, who whimpered in pain. “Abbie’s hardly in a fit state for her surprise now. She’s hurt and bleeding.”

“I have a present and a surprise?” Abbie asked softly.

Brayden saw light spark back into her previously dull eyes. Her features smoothed out as her pain seemed to lessen. His brothers smiled down at Abbie and Brayden felt the weight of decades worth of pain and worry lift from his heart.

“It seems they’ve been very busy preparing something for you, Abbie. We need to get you to the doctor now. Then you can go home to your surprise present.” Aiden said.

“Take my truck,” Caleb said. Their Alpha stepped carefully into the room and stood beside Aiden. “I have business to discuss with Ms. Johnston.”

“I’d like to stay, Alpha,” Brayden said. “I placed my mate in Fiona’s care.”

“We’ll meet you at the clinic,” Josh said.

Fiona began to struggle in Josh’s grip as he handed her over to Caleb. When Shane stood with Abbie in his arms, Brayden leaned down and placed a kiss on her undamaged cheek. The claw marks on her other cheek were distinctly wolf. Fiona was going to pay for this betrayal.

“I’ll be with you shortly, Abbie. I’m so sorry for leaving you. I didn’t know what she’d do.”

He saw the pain in Abbie’s eyes even if she didn’t speak of it. He’d made a mistake, and it had nearly cost him Abbie’s life. He’d do better. He had to do better. “I won’t fail you again.”

Shane carried her out, and he felt like he’d lost her.

“You’re not to blame, Brayden,” Caleb said. “No one saw the evil lurking in this one’s heart. Not even Aiden.”

Caleb shook Fiona, and she whimpered pitifully. Brayden felt nothing but anger and disgust when he looked at her. He was repulsed that he’d ever touched her.

“I haven’t had to carry out many death sentences since I became Alpha, but if my pride has been betrayed then I will do it. Do you want Aiden to speak for you, or will you shift, Ms. Johnston?”

Fiona decided to shift, and she begged Caleb for forgiveness. To explain her actions she stated she was temporarily crazed by Brayden’s rejection of her. She failed to divulge, however, that she had willingly helped the vampire when he’d approached her and that using the fires as a diversion had actually been her idea. Aiden had needed to supply those aspects of her involvement.

Aiden then became as enraged as Brayden when Fiona’s mind also revealed that she’d volunteered to help the vampire to also acquire Kaitlyn before his return to Canada with Abbie. It seemed she had no liking for any of the new mates, Meg included.

“I will gladly take the burden of killing her from you, Caleb,” Aiden said.

Brayden saw the vampire actually shake with the force of his rage. His eyes burned red as he stared at Fiona. She remained on her knees at Caleb’s feet, her head lowered submissively. They all knew it a lie. Aiden had read the hatred for their mates directly from her mind, and Caleb would be scenting her lies as clearly as he was.

“As Alpha, the duty is mine,” Caleb said.

Without another word he reached down and snapped Fiona’s neck. Brayden only felt sorry that she hadn’t suffered more. He saw Aiden nod his agreement before the vampire walked slowly from the room.

Brayden added her house to that of the day’s arson attacks, the fire consuming all traces of the vampire along with the body of the traitorous wolf. Their mates would never be safe until Selwyn Graves and all his men were dead. The time for waiting was over. They needed to go to Canada and kill them all.

Josh drove to the clinic while Shane held Abbie on his lap. He was barely holding his wolf in check. The fight for control still felt foreign and abnormal to him, but he was getting better at it. He didn’t want to think about why Abbie had been naked when they’d found her. The room had stunk of blood and sex. The vampire had stained his beautiful mate with his semen and even now Josh’s nostrils burned from the offensive scent.

“We’re nearly there, angel,” Josh said. He glanced at Abbie in the rear view mirror and saw her wince at his words. He was unsure why she was becoming increasingly afraid. The smell of her fear grew thick in the truck.

When they pulled up to the clinic there were quite a few cars in the parking lot. Once inside they saw the waiting room was half-filled with people, all human, and the smell of smoke wafted from their clothes. Josh strode past the empty reception desk in search of the doctor. He was not going to sit in a crowded waiting room while his naked mate was wrapped in nothing but a thin blanket.

Charlie emerged from one of the rooms and removed a pair of gloves. She tossed them in a bin and washed her hands at the basin outside. “Caleb called and said to expect you,” she said. “Go into exam room three. I’ll be right there.” She disappeared into another room.

“What the fuck’s going on?” Shane asked. “Did a bomb go off while we were away?”

“Fires,” Abbie said.

Josh held open the door to the room the doctor had indicated and Shane carried Abbie inside. “Aiden told us something about the vampire lighting fires,” Josh said.

“I’ve been busy treating all the burns,” Charlie said as she bustled into the room. She put on some gloves and turned to face them. “Put her down and get out. I’ll take care of Abbie now. Is Brayden on the way?”

“She is our mate,” Shane said slowly. Josh watched as Shane’s eyes blazed red in possessive anger. He tightened his grip on Abbie. “We will not leave her.” His canines had descended, and his speech was now garbled in his distorting jaw. His intent to fight to remain at Abbie’s side was clear, even if the doc had failed to understand his words.

Josh held tight to his control over his beast.
Abbie is here. She’s safe now.
“We know you want to help her, Doc, but we need to stay with her.”

“I don’t care what you want,” Charlie said, poking Josh in the chest as she enunciated each word slowly. “I care what Abbie wants. Abbie, do you want them to leave?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Abbie muttered.

Josh snapped his gaze to her. She looked pale, but worse, she looked defeated. A month of captivity and torture had not sapped her of the will to live. Two days in his and Shane’s company, however, had somehow managed to completely break her spirit.