“You're not going to prove anything but how stupid you are, Randall. I'm not going to let you do it. I will have somebody here later this evening to let you out. You won't be here in the morning for the fight. I'm not going to lose my brother over a woman.”
Randall hissed bitterly, “You already have. You chose another one instead of me.”
Randall didn't want to talk to Ben anymore. He didn't want to talk to anybody. All he could do was sit there and feel helpless. He focused on what came next, but it did him no good.
***
That evening when some of Ben's men came to let him out of his cell, Randall refused to go. He had thought about it long and hard and knew that if he ran, not only would it look bad, but it would also be impossible for him to hold his head high in front of anybody after that. Randall wasn't just worried about his life; he was worried about his reputation and his children's reputation. They were all connected, and he couldn't just run like he was afraid. Maybe in some ways he was, but in other ways he wasn't. Randall was willing to stay and fight.
The guards tried to drag him out of the cell, but Randall went right back in. “I am going to be there for the fight in the morning. If you pull me back out, I will just stay here and wait.Ben is not going to take away my right to defend my honor and keep my mate.”
The man radioed to Ben and although Randall couldn't hear what was being said, he knew his brother well enough that he had a pretty good idea of what he was saying. He was either going to back off or maybe he would even come down there himself, but he wasn't going to put his guards in danger because of it. Randall wished that his brother would just drop it. It was the only way that they were going to be able to move forward.
His men came back and locked the door without saying another word, Randall wondered what was going to happen next. He had gotten his way it seemed, so why wasn't he happy about it? Why did it feel like he had just messed it all up? Randall was out there the rest of the night, not able to sleep a wink, wondering what the next day was going to bring. There were a few times that he considered if he had made a mistake, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Now, he was just going to have to deal with it, whatever “it: was.
Randall knew when it was time for his destiny to come calling. The sun started to peek out and the skies were bright pink, orange and red. “Red in the morning, sailors take warning.”
Randall felt like sailors and shifters should both take warning. He hoped that he was wrong, but a part of him knew that he wasn't. Today was the day that everything changed. The only problem was Randall didn't know how it was going to change. Either way, he was about to find out.
Chapter 18
Page
It took Page longer than she had imagined that it would to get to Randall. She tried her best to get there as quickly as possible, but it felt like the universe was slowing her down. She got on a bus to take up some of the distance. Page was tired and didn’t want to travel in her true form, so a bus sounded good. She would sit back and ride the bus, letting someone else do all the driving and it wasn’t nearly as expensive as flying would be. She didn’t have much, but what she did have was lost in one of the bus changeovers, and halfway through the trip, Page dozed off and missed her bus. She had barely anything with her and she was stuck hundreds of miles from where she needed to be.
If that wasn’t enough, Page found a nice person to give her a ride to the next town to get another bus or train, then she was robbed at gunpoint. She was showing considerably that she was pregnant, but the sweet older woman that had picked her up, was actually not so sweet and after she emptied her pockets, Page was kicked to the side of the road to walk again. She politely said no thank you to a couple of people that looked a lot like her last attacker that stopped to see if she needed help. Page didn’t. Eventually, she shifted into her wolf form and ran as far as she could in the dark. She went to sleep outside and exhausted, trying to figure out what came next.
Since it took her a couple of days to get to where she figured he was, Page worried that she was too late. Being too late would be the worst thing that could happen. It meant that she had to find him and quickly. She was sure that it was going to be easier than it was. She had expected it to go well. It didn’t though. She was almost seen twice before she even got to where the prisoners were kept. It was all bad luck, the broke down bus, being robbed, it felt like she was being pushed away from where she headed. Were her decisions the wrong ones that Glenda had told her about?
The village where Randall came from was quiet and it was well manned. There were people watching the gates and the woods around it. Page thought that there was something off, but she couldn’t feel the way she did, knowing that Randall was in there. She wanted to leave, but according to the witch, he was being held captive. She couldn’t let that go. It was too much, and Page was sure that she would find him, and her punishment would happen close to that.
It was almost daylight when she found the cell that he had been in. Page could smell Randall in the place, but there was something missing. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but Randall wasn’t in the cell. His smell was all around, blood, other body secretions, but the man where it all came from was gone. Why did Page’s fear stitch into her chest and take her breath away? It was quite clear that Page was in the right area, but some of her information was off. Randall was gone, and she had to find out where he was. Her heart called out to him, hoping that he would understand what she was doing there, even if she didn’t.
Page looked most of the night and when she couldn’t find anything, she had to sleep in the bushes and under leaves high up from the village. The woods were constantly being picked clean by people there that were looking to get some naturalingredients for cooking. Page was almost found twice and once she didn’t notice they were around because she was sleeping. Page was grateful more than ever that she didn’t make a lot of sounds in her sleep. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she was found out. She shivered to think of the possibilities.
When it was dark again, Page decided that instead of finding the impossible, she was going to try someone that Randall trusted. He talked about his sister a lot, so Page was hoping that it would work out. Randall thought that his sister would help, and Page was eager to figure out what came next. Now, she had at least one idea. Her heart was covered in hope.
His sister still lived part time there and thought she could have been at her other home with her mate, which wasn’t the case. She was home and while her mate wasn’t around, there was a guard that quickly wanted to know who Page was. When she said as much, it gave her a warmth that she had hoped for.
“You must be, Page!” Allie threw her arms around Page and hugged her closely. Page wasn’t ready for that and before she could say or do anything else, she was inundated with love that she didn’t think was possible. She didn’t know Allie, but she could already see why Randall had talked so highly about her. She had fought for love and seemed willing to embrace their life as Randall had embraced her lower-class husband.
Page agreed that she was and said she was surprised that she knew who she was.
Allie waved her off. “Of course, I know who you are! Randall talked about you before he took off. Where is he? I am sure that we have a lot to talk about. I’ve missed him. He was leaving me messages but has been radio silent the last few months. I’m glad to know that you two are okay. I was worriedabout what my brother was going to do. He found out about Ethan and was mad…”
Page’s throat constricted; she didn’t know. Not only was she going to have to ask Allie for help, but she was also going to have to deal with the reality that she had to tell her that her brother was locked up somewhere, most likely by her other brother. Page sighed; it was too much complication.
“Your brother isn’t here?” Page asked carefully, trying not to show how worried she was. It wasn’t that she thought Randall was dead, the witch assured her that he wasn’t, but where was he? It felt like the longer she tried to ignore that question, the worse off she was going to be.
Allie’s face changed and she narrowed her eyes. “No, he is supposed to be with you. Didn’t you guys get married? I mean, you are pregnant, right?”
Page agreed that she was. She’d been showing for a while. At the moment she was big and pregnant. It was pretty obvious, and Page wanted to wish it away. She wished that she didn’t have to tell Allie such bad news. She also didn’t want to have to relive it herself either.
“He was taken when we were together a few months back. I’ve been waiting for him, but then I needed to get healed from a witch and the next thing I know, she sent me here to find him. Your brother should be here. I thought that Ben…” Page’s voice trailed off, because Allie had a look of horror on her face. Page hadn’t wanted to say any of it, but it was clear that it was going to have to be figured out.
Allie started to cry, and Page felt like crap. She didn’t want to upset her. Allie’s eyes were red-rimmed, and Page told her that it was going to be okay. Allie didn’t know what Page did. Page knew that Randall was okay. The witch had told her, whichwas in and of itself enough. She knew that Randall was okay, but Page knew that she would have felt something if he wasn’t. They were so deeply connected that Page was sure that she would have known. That meant that he was okay, they just had to find him.
“Are you sure he is here?”
