Wolf Tales 12 (16 page)

He glanced at Baylor, recognized sadness in his beautiful amber eyes, and knew he was thinking the same thing. They both loved it here. Loved the work they’d been able to do for Pack Dynamics on the East Coast. Close enough to Washington and the intrigue that kept Nick and Beth Barden guarding the First Family in the capital, they’d been able to satisfy their testosterone-driven need for the occasional adrenaline rush while still being close to their families.

It appeared it was all coming to an end. Jake loved this land. Loved the home he and the others shared, the harsh winters, the glorious autumns, the unbelievable beauty of spring and summer, but it felt as if all of it was slipping out of his grasp.

He knew Manda and Shannon were okay with the idea of moving. They missed being around the other moms, missed seeing the children and spending time with the other Chanku women—the only ones who truly understood this reality that had become their lives. He missed the others, too, but he’d found peace here. Peace and the love of a woman who was more perfect for him than he’d ever dreamed.

Shannon was everything to him—adding Baylor and Manda to the mix made their lives so close to perfect it scared the crap out of him.

He’d never had so much to lose before.

He and Baylor had talked about the possibility of selling this place and moving to Montana. They’d weighed the plusses and minuses, but it hadn’t felt like something that had to be decided right at this moment.

Of course, the latest phone call from Anton had definitely added some pressure.

He still couldn’t believe Lily and Alex were capable of shifting. They were hardly more than babies. The thought of Lily traveling on the astral was totally beyond his comprehension. He wondered how Anton was coping. Wondered how he’d cope, if one of his three suddenly decided to take a journey into another realm.

Everything had been moving along so beautifully—now all of a sudden, it felt like his world was being rearranged without his permission.

Change wasn’t necessarily bad, as long as it was change he was ready for. He really wasn’t ready for any of this, and yet Jake sensed a need to make a decision, and make it soon.

He knew how he would vote. It wasn’t just about his own needs or wants. Not anymore. What he wanted for himself really didn’t even enter the equation. He couldn’t risk his children and he couldn’t risk his wife. His own life was worthless compared to theirs. Always had been, but now he had something worth protecting. A family to love, who, for whatever reason, loved him in return.

He heard the deputy talking on his radio and glanced at Baylor. Bay nodded, and Jake slipped off into the brush. There was no need to show himself. As far as the deputy needed to know, Bay had sent his well-trained wolf back to the house.

It helped that local law enforcement agencies were well acquainted with Pack Dynamics. Lucien Stone had made a special trip out shortly after the attempted presidential assassination. He’d introduced Baylor Quinn and Jacob Trent, along with two of their wolves used, among other things, in search and rescue and the occasional hunt for escaped felons. Shannon and Manda had been more than happy to play the four-legged roles, though both had been pregnant at the time.

Since then, Bay and Jake had aided the sheriff’s department on more than one operation under the guise of Pack Dynamics. They’d earned the locals’ respect for their professionalism and dedication to getting the job done, especially since they’d done the work pro bono.

For the eternally cash-strapped agencies, Pack Dynamics’s professional assistance had earned a lot of points.

Now, as he waited in the shadows, Jake heard Baylor greet the deputy, a man they both knew well. He waited while Baylor turned over the weapon he’d confiscated and the two trespassers were cuffed and secured in the backseat. Then he followed discreetly while Bay took the deputy back to retrieve the second rifle. A few minutes later, the cruiser pulled away with the prisoners in the back.

Jake met Baylor back at the fallen tree.

Bay stood there, staring off in the direction of their home. After a moment, he sighed. “Will it never end, Jake? Will we ever have lives where we don’t have to worry about some idiot discovering who we are? What we are?”

Bay blinked rapidly before he turned away and began to undress. When Jake tried to see what was going on in his mind, the shields to his thoughts were high and tight. Obviously Bay didn’t expect an answer to a question that had no answers.

It took him only a moment to change and stash the clothes beneath the log once again, less than a heartbeat to lose any semblance of humanity before two wolves turned and trotted back toward the house. Each kept his thoughts to himself, though Jake realized this incident today had, in many ways, been a good thing—a catalyst of sorts. It had been all he’d needed to convince him Anton’s offer made sense.

Whether he liked it or not, it was their only choice.

There were no longer any doubts in his mind. He’d wait until they were all together at the house and see how the others felt. Today’s incident had been persuasive. He had a feeling they were going to spend the next few days packing.

Bay couldn’t get Manda out of his mind as he and Jake loped back to the house. Her years of captivity were a nightmare that she still occasionally revisited, especially after an event like today’s. Any time there was a threat to their lives, to their children’s lives, Manda was once again entangled in the memories of those terrible years of life in a cage—twenty-five years as a lab experiment had done a job on her, and he knew she’d never totally escape the fears that lurked below the surface of her conscious mind.

Now that they had children, it was even worse. She knew of the terrible deeds evil men could do to innocent children. Telling Manda not to worry, that he would always be there to care for her, to protect her and their babies, was never going to convince her they were entirely safe.

And who could blame her? They’d had more than their share of scares over the years. This latest problem was merely a reminder that things were getting worse, not better.

The sky was a robin’s-egg blue and the meadow a soft, golden brown as he and Jake rounded a curve in the drive and the house came into view. He loved it here. Loved the life they’d built for themselves and their children.

But he no longer felt safe. No longer knew if he could truly protect them. What if the kids decided to shift when there were strangers lurking? What if someone saw them? The risks grew by the day as more people moved into the area, and now, knowing that Lily and Alex were already shifting . . .

The idea scared the crap out of him.

Jake nipped his shoulder.
Race ya.

You’re on.

Jake immediately took the lead. The silver tips of his dark gray coat rippled like quicksilver in the sunlight. Ears back, tail stretched out behind him, he ran hard and fast, his belly low to the ground, his big paws tearing up clumps of earth.

Baylor felt the pull and bunch of his muscles as he built up speed. Within seconds he was gaining on Jake, then catching up to him. The house was only a couple of hundred yards away. He saw Manda and Shannon in the front yard sitting beneath the shade while the kids splashed in the plastic pool.

They looked up and waved as he passed Jake with a cocky nip to his shoulder. The sounds of the children laughing, the joy on Manda’s face, and the laughter in her eyes had him pushing harder, running faster, all thought of the race with Jake lost in the sense of homecoming he felt whenever he saw his mate.

Then, without warning, without any sense of contact, a single word filled his head. A name, screamed into his mind with such pain, such unimaginable horror, it sent him rolling and tumbling across the dried grass.

In the distance he heard Manda’s cry, Shannon’s curse, and the terrified shrieks of the children. Jake lay nearby, whimpering, his body twitching, eyes glazed from shock and pain.

Slowly, Bay struggled to get his front legs under him, to find the strength in his hindquarters to stand. It took him a couple of tries before he felt confident enough to take a few steps, to actually move at a lurching gait toward his family.

Jake was slowly coming around. Bay went on ahead, aiming directly for Manda.

She was still in her chair, doubled over and holding the baby protectively in her lap. As his head cleared, Bay heard Donovan’s cries and broke into a run. His gait was awkward, his head still reeling. Keegan had crawled out of the pool and was clinging to Manda’s legs. Shannon was sitting in the water fully dressed, holding all three of her children in a tight embrace.

All the kids were crying, but Donovan’s wails were the loudest. Jake caught up to Bay, wobbling as he raced to Shannon. Baylor reached Manda at the same time and shifted. He wrapped a towel around his hips and knelt beside her, running his hands over Keegan’s narrow spine, planting a kiss on Donovan’s fuzzy head.

Shannon glanced up as Jake knelt beside her in the water and embraced his entire family. “Call Anton,” she said. “Find out what’s happened. We’re okay, but . . .”

Bay rose slowly to his feet. Keegan was no longer crying and Donovan’s screams had turned to whimpers. The baby clung to Manda with his fist jammed in his mouth and gazed up at Baylor with tear-filled eyes. Sighing, Bay kissed his son. “Stay here, Jake. I’ll call Anton,” he said.

Jake’s three were still crying. “Thanks, bro. It can’t be good.”

Bay kissed Manda. She nodded in response to his unspoken question.

“We’re fine,” she said. “They were more startled than hurt, but something terrible has happened. It must have, to cause Anton such pain. Now I can’t feel him in my thoughts at all.”

“Me, either.” With a last stroke over Keegan’s narrow back, a final kiss to Donovan’s head, and another for Manda, Bay turned away. He hated leaving them, but even more, he hated what he might learn. Still, he walked quickly into the house and prayed it wasn’t what he feared. There’d been no question when that scream had seared his mind. No question at all that Anton had been lost in grief.

That single word, that one name, was burned in his mind.

Lily.

Anton’s cry still reverberated in Bay’s mind—a cry filled with unbelievable pain, with a father’s love compounded by fear. Then all had gone silent. His mental cry in Montana had practically deafened all of them here in Maine.

What in the name of the Goddess had happened to Anton’s beautiful little girl? What would have wrenched such a horrible cry from her father?

She couldn’t be dead. That was totally unacceptable. If anything happened to Lily, Keisha and Anton would never get past the pain.

None of them would. She was the first of the next generation. A beautiful child with all her mother’s sass and style, her brilliance and her warmth, her father’s amazing mind and magic, and a unique aura that was pure Lily.

Unique, irreplaceable, unimaginably pure. She had to be okay. With trembling fingers, Bay reached for the phone and hit the key for Anton’s number in Montana.

Chapter 12

Washington DC—early September

Nick Barden glanced across the crowded room and made eye contact with his mate. Beth flashed him a quick smile, but her concentration, as always, was focused on the two teenaged girls they’d been assigned to watch over throughout the event.

The press was thick and kids from twelve to twenty filled the building. Problem was, Nick thought, it was hard to tell, just looking, if all those older kids were really kids.

Security was tight and the place was swarming with Secret Service and uniformed guards, but that didn’t take the edge off his typical case of nerves. After five years as personal security for the First Family, Nick had long ago realized he’d never be able to relax.

Thank the Goddess he’d learned to tune out the constant chatter in his earpiece, because Beth’s mental voice suddenly came through loud and clear.

Nick, something’s off. My senses are firing like crazy right now. Someone is here under false pretenses. What about you? Do you feel anything wrong?

Nothing here, but you’re always better at picking up on stuff than I am.

Beth’s laughter sounded a bit more strained than usual.
I am woman. I am strong.

I’ve heard that one before.

I can also tell when some bastard is lying through his teeth, and someone in this room is lying about something big.

I’m on it.
Nick scanned the throng of kids, all of them anxious for a chance to hopefully meet the president’s daughters. So far, everything felt fine to him, but he’d learned to trust his mate’s instincts.

There was a surge from the back of the crowd, a subtle parting of tightly packed bodies as a young man carefully pushed a wheelchair through the group.

These were all good kids—young people here to be honored for their work with the homeless across the country—and they politely moved aside to allow the chair through.

Something drew Nick’s attention to the girl in the chair. She was pretty, about thirteen or so. Spiky blond hair, slight build. Her legs were strapped to the chair, thin and obviously useless. Her spine appeared to be somewhat twisted, but her eyes . . . her eyes watched him with a look of utter desperation.

Amber eyes, so eerily familiar they twisted his heart and stopped the breath in his lungs.

Without considering the consequences, he projected his thoughts, including Beth in the silent conversation.
Why are you frightened? What’s happening that has you afraid?

She blinked rapidly, focused intently on Nick’s face. And, as clear as if she spoke aloud, her words filled Nick’s mind.

The man pushing me. He’s evil. He wants to kill us all. He’s put a bomb in the pack on the back of my chair. It’s set to go off in under four minutes. I’m unable to speak. I’ve been paralyzed since I was little. Help me. Please!

Beth? Did you get that?