Chapter Six
Ash stared out through the window of his cabin, looking over toward Blackwater Falls. When he built the cabin, he had purposely faced it in that direction so that he could look out across the land every day and be reminded of what was taken from him and his pack. It served as great motivation to stay the course and find a way to take back what was rightfully his.
He heard Felix, his second in command, step into the room behind him. “We’ve brought back the bodies of those who died at the hands of those bear bastards yesterday. Every wolf has been buried with the honor befitting their sacrifice.”
Ash took a deep breath and nodded. As Alpha of the pack he felt the loss. It would have been impossible not to, but he knew that they had given their lives for the greater good and he could reconcile the loss. “Make sure that the others only take a few hours off from their training to mourn. We must all be at full strength if we hope to survive the battle on the horizon.”
He heard Felix step out of the room and knew that the younger wolf would pass on that message. For the past eight years, ever since Ash had taken his father’s life and stepped into the role of Alpha for his pack, he had been plotting a pathway to this point. He’d known that Chubbuck’s death would come sooner rather than later. He was an old man, and from what Ash had gathered from alliances he had on the council itself, Chubbuck had been sick, and Ash just needed to ensure he had everything lined up for when the inevitable happened. Getting the news that he’d died had been one of the best days of his life.
The sound of his cell phone ringing interrupted his thoughts, and he stepped away from the window to grab the phone from his desk, taking note of the name of the caller before swiping his thumb across the screen to connect the call.
“Has she moved in?” He didn’t bother with pleasantries. The man on the other end of the phone was a means to an end and nothing more.
“She’s been living in the apartment above the garage for the past three days.” The man’s voice was flat, almost completely devoid of emotion. “Ryker and Bastian have been taking turns sleeping in their vehicles across the street, but neither of them has been invited to stay with the woman.”
Ash grinned at the thought of those two big bastards being given the runaround by a mere human. As Alpha of his pack, he had his choice of the women who lived on pack lands. If he wanted to fuck, he made a call, and within minutes he had one or two women here at his house to service him any which way he wanted. It pleased him no end to think of theBarrettswith a severe case of blue balls.
But he needed the three of them completely committed to each other to execute his plan. “Make it so they think she is being threatened. I want those three mated before the end of the week.”
There was a pause at the end of the phone. “You want me to hurt the woman?” Again, the tone of the man was emotionless. He wasn’t concerned with hurting the woman, just wanting to make sure he understood what he was to do next.
Ash thought about that as he threw himself down on the couch against the wall. “If you must, but not too badly. I don’t want the bitch killed, just scared enough that she asks them to stay. She has to still be able to attract them, and of course be able to fuck them for the mating to take.”
“Anything else?”
Ash had to appreciate a man who only had to be told once. “Make it soon. I’m running out of time and patience.” He disconnected and sat for a moment with the phone in his hand.
He probably shouldn’t have mentioned his little time limit to the traitor who was working for him, but it didn’t make it any less true. He’d had to call upon powers with darker magic than he had ever known existed to get to this stage of his plan, and he’d had to promise a pretty penny to get it here. There were only two weeks left in that deadline, or he would forfeit all lands belonging to him and his pack.
His wolf growled within him, still no doubt furious that Ash had made the decision to risk everything. But they were both in agreement when it came to Blackwater Falls. That land was rightfully theirs and they wanted it back, and if Ash’s actions got that for the pack in the end, then his wolf just had to fucking deal.
Frustrated, his body humming with unspent energy, he reached for his phone and tapped in a message. He needed to release some of this energy, and he knew just the two girls to help him do it.
****
Hannah woke with a start, sitting straight up in the bed. She couldn’t say what it was that had her waking up that way, but something had her heart racing and adrenaline flooding her system. She looked around the darkened room, lit only by the streetlight that stood ten feet from her bedroom window, but it gave her enough light to see around the entire apartment. She knew the apartment itself was empty, but that didn’t stop the tendril of fear from blooming within her.
She pushed back the covers and was about to slide out of the bed when she heard the unmistakable sound of tools hitting the concrete floor of the workshop below. Someone had broken in downstairs. She had only been in the place for a couple of nights, and the garage was starting to come together. The thought of someone walking around downstairs, potentially damaging or stealing from her, flooded her with disbelief. Fast on the heels of that emotion came rage.
Pushing herself from the bed, she padded as quietly as she could toward the internal door that led to the stairs. Once she got there, she listened carefully. When she heard someone opening the office door she gritted her teeth. Whoever the fucker was, it was obvious they knew the layout of the ground floor, and assumed she had something of value in the office. Little did they know, all the computer equipment she had ordered for the office had yet toarrive.
As quietly as she could, she started down the stairs. When she got to the bottom, she leaned out past the doorframe to look through the frosted glass wall of the office. She could see the outline of a person rifling through the papers on the desk. From the size of the shadow they cast against the glass, Hannah was sure it was a man.
Hannah looked around her, trying to find something she could use as a makeshift weapon. Cursing silently when she found nothing around her, she thought about heading back upstairs to grab one of the kitchen knives from the drawer, calling herself all kinds of fool for not having brought something down with her.
Another quick glance at the glass partition, she saw the figure turn from the desk so that his back was to her. Her gaze swept the room in desperation. Her tools were only a few feet away. If she moved fast enough and as silently as she could, she figured she could make it across the room before the guy even knew she was there. Hell, if worse came to worst she could use her damn cast! Thinking fast and light thoughts she took off toward the tools.
"Dodge left, child, dodge left!"A female’s voice sounded in her head. Surprised, rather than heeding the strange warning, she simply kept on."Dang it! Drop!"This time the voice seemed even more insistent, and Hannah went to heed the warning, but it was too late. She screamed as someone slammed into her from behind, drove her to the ground, and darkness enveloped her.
****
The sound of her scream, muffled as it was through the walls of the garage, almost had Bastian’s heart stopping within his chest. He threw open his door and dived from his car faster than he had ever moved. As he sprinted for the garage, he had to hold his bear back as hard as he could, both bear and man desperate to get to their mate.
Bastian reached the door that led into the workshop, but he didn’t slow down, slamming into it at a full sprint. The wood seemed to implode on impact, and he swept his gaze through the room. Almost simultaneously, he saw a man moving toward the back of the workshop, and his mate lying sprawled on the ground near the office. There was no hesitation. He ran in her direction, and ignoring the glass that surrounded her, slammed to his knees beside her.
“Baby,” he whispered as he reached out to press a shaking hand to her neck, “please, please, please.” He repeated the word over and over until he felt the strong, steady thump of her pulse against his fingers. He exhaled with relief as he took his phone from his pocket.
“Ryker,” he growled into the phone, when his brother answered on the second ring.
