Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen
Lucas pulled his Jeep into Graham’s driveway. Graham glanced around, his face a mask of indifference. All of his neighbors were out on their lawns. Some were being questioned while others were merely curious. Jensen was on his front porch, towering over one of the patrol guards as he berated him with questions.
“Grey…” Lucas began.
Graham ignored him. He pushed the door open and calmly walked up his drive. The chaos around them quieted. Jensen watched his beta approach with his jaw slack. Graham didn’t spare the alpha a glance as he walked into his home.
“Why isn’t he in a fucking haze right now?” Jensen asked Lucas, his tone filled with disbelief.
“I don’t know, Alpha. Frankly, I would take a haze over this. At least I know how to deal with that. He’s just been… quiet.”
“What does he know?”
“We were at…”
A feminine scream stopped Lucas from continuing. Graham ignored it knowing it wasn’t that of his mate. Lucas shoved him to the side of the hall as he raced inside. Graham looked away from the forgotten bowl of popcorn on the couch and followed him to the kitchen.
“I don’t know what happened! Let go of me! Leave me alone! Where is Catherine?!” Juno screamed.
“Get your fucking hands off her!”
“Lucas?”
Graham entered the kitchen just as Lucas slid along the floor to get closer to Juno. He gripped her hard, urging her head into his chest while she clutched him desperately. She sobbed into his shirt. Lucas spoke softly to her, trying to get her to calm down. Graham leaned back against the wall.
“What happened, Jun?” Lucas asked.
“I don’t know,” Juno sobbed.
Lucas made her sit back. His fingers prodded at the massive wound on the back of her head. “What do you remember?” Lucas asked.
“I…” Juno choked. “The last thing I remember is Marty rejecting me.”
“Shit,” Lucas cursed. “You don’t remember who did this? Did you see who took Catherine?”
Juno started to cry. “I’m sorry! I want to. I’m trying!”
“Shh, shh, it’s okay, Sweetheart,” Lucas whispered as he rocked her.
Mark appeared next to Graham and handed a piece of ceramic to him. “She was knocked on the back of the head with a toilet tank cover.”
Graham looked down at the ceramic and his eyes caught something on the floor. He walked over to the pool of blood. He squatted down and touched his fingers to the blood that smelled of his mate. He saw glass shards scattered about and a broken syringe. She fought. Another shock of fear rolled through him. He closed his eyes and inhaled, shoving his lycan back. When he opened his eyes again he spotted her phone, smashed to pieces.
“Graham,” Theo called behind him.
Graham stood and turned to face him. He raised a brow. Theo’s eyes traveled over his expression searching for something. Whatever he found sent a shiver down his spine. Theo nodded and stood straighter, the perfect soldier.
*There was no forced entry but there are signs of a struggle. Scents we’ve discovered are the two girls, Dominic, Curtis and another female we haven’t identified yet. It’s lycan so possibly your mom or one of the girls from the kitchen. Juno obviously doesn’t remember anything. Best we can figure is the broken wards allowed Curtis to form a portal in the house allowing Dominic to take her without being detected.”
1/3
Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen
Graham shook his head. Still holding the ceramic toilet piece, he strode from the kitchen. He walked past the guest bathroom and went for the master bath. He walked in and stopped in front of the bathtub. He flipped the ceramic in his hands as he surveyed the damage. Theo came in behind him and cursed. Several of the stones at the bottom of the tub had been smashed.
“Is that where…”
Graham nodded. It’s where Chloe had put a ward to protect his house. No one with magical qualities could enter the home without his or his mate’s invitation. He threw the ceramic shard into the wall. The force of his throw shattered the piece into dust.
“I didn’t even know where this thing was,” Theo said under his breath.
“She promised not to let anyone in she didn’t know,” Graham said, his voice hoarse from holding back his emotions. “Gather everyone in our inner circle at the training field.”
“Everyone?” Theo asked.
“Even my mom,” Graham confirmed. “Leave. I want everyone out.”
“Graham…”
“Now.”
“I’ll have everyone at the field in 30. Don’t break anything you’ll regret,” Theo said.
Graham stood there with his hands in his pockets as he listened to Theo ordering everyone out. He closed his eyes and heard Juno’s soft sobs and Lucas’ words of endearment as he promised to get her somewhere safe. He waited until the front door clicked closed. He waited until he heard the sound of engines fading down the street. He waited a few more minutes. Then he opened his eyes and commenced tearing apart anything he could get his hands on.
Thirty minutes later, Graham stood in the training field looking out at the dozens of pack members who had interacted with Catherine since she moved to Blackmoore. He kept his hands behind his back, flexing his knuckles every few seconds to make sure the bones there were setting right. He didn’t mind that each time he moved them, a searing hot pain shot up his arms. It was a welcome distraction from the gaping abyss where his heart was just a few hours
earlier.
Theo stood beside him and looked out at the mass of people. “This is all of ’em, Graham,” Theo informed him.
Graham looked at each person. He locked eyes with his mom and she gave him an encouraging smile. It’s okay, Honey. Do what you need to do, she told him through mind link. He nodded.
“Join them,” Graham said to his oldest friend.
Theo’s head whipped to look at him straight on. “I beg your pardon?”
“I need to know for sure.”
“Graham… I’ve known you since we were two. I’m pretty sure my first sentence was ‘Fuck you!’ when you wouldn’t let me be alpha in our war games,” Theo reminded him.
Graham sighed. “I know, Theo. I know you didn’t have anything to do with this but… For fuck’s sake, you think my mom did anything? I need you to get in line so we can get this over with and get back to finding my mate. It’s not personal.”
“Theo, can you please come stand next to me, Baby?” Nat called. “I’m just upset from everything and…” Natalie started to cry.
Theo gave Graham a look telling him this discussion wasn’t over before walking through the crowd toward his mate. Theo hugged her. When her head was over his shoulder Natalie winked and he nodded his thanks. Jensen stepped up beside Graham then and he fought the urge to strike out at him.
“Need me to do this?” Jensen asked.
“No.”
“It’s a large group, Grey, I have more authority and my command might…”
Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen
“I don’t need any help,” Graham growled. Jensen threw his hands up and took two steps back before crossing his arms over his chest. Graham cleared his throat. “My mate, Catherine, was abducted from pack lands this morning.” Murmurs of shock rippled over the crowd. “The intruders were able to get through our fences by destroying wards that have only been disclosed to a few people. They got into my house the same way. Someone in this crowd is a traitor to
their pack.”
The murmurs turned to gasps. People craned their necks, trying to see if anyone looked guilty. Graham gathered his strength, his anger, his sense of betrayal. He let those emotions roll in his stomach until he felt the sharp bite of fury cause the hairs on his arms to stand on end. He let his lycan out from the recesses of his mind. He packed down the instinct to go into a haze and search for his mate. Instead, he let that unhinged power flow up through his
vocal chords.
“If you were involved in hurting my mate, you will drop to your knees!” Graham commanded. The force behind his command reverberated around the training field where only a week earlier he’d sworn an oath to protect this pack. His command made everyone in the crowd sway. Gasps rang out as his power caught everyone off guard.
“Holy hell, Grey, where have you been hiding that?” Jensen asked in disbelief behind him.
Graham wasn’t listening to him. Instead he listened to the sound of two sets of knees hitting the dirt. He walked through the crowd until he spotted the first. His mouth twitched into a snarl as he walked up to her. He wasn’t surprised. Both he and Catherine had their suspicions. Nancy’s hands dug into the dirt as her shoulders rocked with her sobs. Graham stopped in front of her. He used the toe of his boot to kick her shoulder back. She shrieked as she fell on her butt. Nancy looked up at him from the ground, her eyes wide and bloodshot as fat tears rolled down her cheeks.
“P-Please, B-Beta Graham. I didn’t have a ch-choice! He threatened to kill my mate and my children! I didn’t have a choice!” she begged.
Theo materialized beside Graham. “I’ll take her.”
Graham nodded. He turned away and walked through the crowd who parted for him while they also tried to see who had been the second person to crumble under his command. He followed the sound of the sobs surrounding the person, sobs that sounded eerily similar to his mom.
As he got closer, he noticed most of his sisters stepping back while their mates’ tried to console them. His mother was bent over, her hands clutched to her chest. His own heart started to clamp up when he realized what this meant. He stopped in front of his sister. She was on her knees, her head held up to the sky as if she was waiting for someone to call her up. In that moment he figured out who Catherine let into the house.
“Leonora.”
