“Have there been any female super soldiers?” Raechel asks.
“Not that I’ve seen.”
“I wonder if they’re not strong enough to go through the transition,” Talya, Liam’s mate, offers.
“We need to let other packs know. The smaller packs are going to be more vulnerable,” Liam adds.
“And we need to up our patrols here,” Garrett adds. He looks over to Max, their enforcer. He merely nods, but I have a feeling there was an entire conversation in that look. “We need to make sure the weakest in our pack are in the safest zones. Liam, can you start making a list of the weakest in our pack?” Liam nods and immediately pulls out his phone. “Is there anything else you can add?” Garrett asks me. “This has been a huge—” His words abruptly cut off, and his head jerks to the side. “Emma.” The word is guttural, and his eyes flash. And then he’s gone. Like literally gone. He was there one minute and gone the next. The room is silent for all of one second. Max is on his feet and out the door next, and Liam is right behind him. “Bryce, Hunter, protect the women.” He’s out the door a moment later with Paul hot on his heels, leaving the rest of us staring after them.
Raechel strides over to the door, and I think for a moment she’s going to go out. But she doesn’t. Bryce and Hunter have moved to opposite sides of the room. Bryce walks over to the door, and Hunter stands by the sliding door. Talya stands and paces, and Sage stays on the couch and doesn’t say a word. “What do you think happened?” Sage asks quietly.
Ava, who stayed in her chair as well, looks at the girls. “Have any of you heard from your mates?”
Talya shakes her head. “No. They’re not—” er words cut off, and a look of horror crosses her face. “No,” her voice is just a whisper.
Alarmed, I face her. “What?” Ava demands.
“She’s been attacked,” Raechel says fiercely.
“No!” Sage shrieks, and we all spin to her. “They took Daniel.”
Cries of alarm and shock ring out, and I’m left trying to figure out what’s going on. “What? Who’s Daniel?”
Ava turns to me with wide eyes; her face is deathly pale. “Their son.”
“Who? Who took him?” I shout over the chaos. The look she gives me...I know. I just know. Still, when she says it, it’s like a gut punch.
“Vampires,” she whispers.
I don’t remember leaving the house. But I’m suddenly outside, and I close my eyes. I don’t have a sense of smell like the wolves do, but I have an internal radar. I’m not sure if all vampires have it, or if it’s a by-product of them turning me. But I’m always able to find other vampires. I can sense them. It’s like a built-in radar system that I’ve wished I didn’t have every single day right up until this moment. Right now, I’m more thankful than I’ve ever been for it. I let my senses take over as I search for them. It takes me less than thirty seconds to get a lock. There are two of them. I’m running before I’ve even thought this through. I run because I’m the only one fast enough to catch them. The wolves will never catch them in time. I don’t know what the vampires want with Garrett and Emma’s child, but it can’t be good. The vampires have shown that they have no morals, no code of ethics. This isn’t the first time they’ve stolen a child. But this is different. This isn’t just any child they’ve taken. No, they took Emma and Garrett’s child. This is personal. I know Ajax hasa vendetta against Emma; Ava told me about it. And he’s just made his move...against the most powerful alpha in the country.
Chapter Fifteen
Sherese
I race through the woods. My vision is sharp, and I avoid everything that comes at me. My heart is thrumming and pulsing, and I know I’m nothing more than a blur. I let my anger fuel me now, and I push myself faster. There’s a child out there, and his life depends on me right now. I run and run and run and wonder if they’re planning on blurring all the way back to West Virginia. I don’t stop to rest; I just push on. I’m nowhere close to burnout...yet. I keep a lock on the vampires. Every time I feel like I'm getting close, they get further away. I’m beginning to wonder if they are older vampires. That doesn’t bode well for me because they’ll be faster in all things, including fighting. But I don’t think about that right now; right now, I just have to catch up to them.
They finally slow down, and I know this is my chance to catch up to them. But when they come to a complete stop, dread fills me. This could be where they’re planning on transporting the boy. I push harder; I need to be there now. I don’t stop to think. I just run right at the stopped figures. I leap over a fallen log and land in a clearing, and clock everything instantly. Two vampires. The child. A dark van. And...Ajax.
Ajax spins around, shock on his face. I clock it and file it away.He wasn’t expecting me to be here, so this wasn’t for me. It was for Emma.His expression clears instantly, but it’s too late. I already saw. “Sherese, what a welcome surprise.” He smiles, but it’s so cold. I’ve never liked Ajax, but he’s been around forever. He joined us after the war, or maybe he was around before. I only met him after the war when he showed up with Rizo one day. I hear the tiniest whimper, and my eyes jerkover to the little one. My heart tugs in my chest because he’s so obviously Garrett and Emma’s little one. He has Garrett’s dark hair, but the eyes are all Emma's eyes. His big, bright blue-green eyes meet mine, and I see the fear there. I don’t know how he’s not screaming in fear; he’s so young. I take a step towards him, but Ajax puts a hand on my arm. I yank it away.
“Don’t touch me.”
Ajax smirks; I hate that smirk. I always have. “Sherese,” he croons. “You don’t know what you’ve stepped into here, but I’m glad you came when you did. You can help us.”
“I’m not helping to kidnap a child, Ajax.”
His eyes cool, and I can see the presence of his wolf there. I’ve never understood why a wolf would align himself with the vampires on purpose. “You have no idea what this is about.”
“You’re going to give me the child to take back to his parents,” I tell him, taking a step forward.
He throws his head back and laughs, but when he looks at me again, there is no warmth there. “Cute. No, the boy goes with us.”
“No, Ajax.”
He stares me down, and I shiver at the coldness there. “Rizo is under the impression that you’re still with us, Sherese. Has that changed? Are you with them now? With the wolves?” It’s his turn to take a step closer to me. “If that’s so, that would be very unfortunate. Very unfortunate indeed. He’s already given orders as to what should happen if you turn on us or betray us.”
I keep any expression off my face. Living with them for years has taught me a lot of self-preservation skills. “Yeah? And what’s that, Ajax?”
