MadMoon (10 page)

Tears welled in her eyes and damn it, she might as well have
ripped his heart out but he had to take a stand with the stubborn woman. He
reached out for her and she jerked away. She was acting like a brat, that was
for sure, but he didn’t like being responsible for her tears. Feeling helpless,
he turned and noted that everyone else seemed conspicuously occupied, as if
they hadn’t witnessed the exchange.

Fuck!

Just then, his cell phone rang. The number belonged to
Lincoln Calder, who was scouting activity far north of Sweetridge. There were a
lot of vacant hunting cabins in that area that he’d wanted to check out. “Talk
to me, brother.”

The news Linc shared turned out to be a good solid lead, the
first they’d had in days. The savage urge to hunt roared to life and his
heartbeat accelerated. He hated leaving Lana when she was pissed at him but it
couldn’t be helped.

Once he disconnected, he faced the others. “Linc has been
checking out some hunting cabins north of here so we’re going to start there
tonight. Some of the guys are staying to watch Lana here at the house so I
think we’re all set. Let’s get moving.”

As everyone started piling into trucks, he looked at Lana,
who shook her head sadly. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me behind again.”

He moved close and pulled her against him. He felt her
resistance at first then she finally relented and sank against him. “Please try
to understand. I would die before letting them get to you and we have to find
them before it happens.” When he stepped away, he glanced at Savannah, who
stood watching them quietly. “Watch out for my mate, okay?”

When she nodded, Moon slid into his truck and glanced over
at Ringo, who was riding with him tonight. Ringo smiled, something the stern
lycan seldom did. “She’s a fierce little thing, isn’t she?”

Mad looked at Lana standing with Savannah at the bottom of
the steps to the house and nodded. “You’ve got that right, brother. It’s one of
the things I love best about her.”

Several hours later, the group had investigated the entire
area. Moon shook his head and turned to Linc Calder and the other lycans.
“You’re right, Linc. They were here and not long ago. No question about it. How
many do you think there are?” Mad had his own estimation but wanted
verification from the others.

Gabriel Dunham shrugged and looked out over the wooded area.
“I figure a dozen or so. They’ve been staying in the cabin and bunking in the
woods around here for sure. What’s really bothering me is, where are they now?”

A sense of impending doom gnawed around the edges of his
brain and he glanced at Ringo whose attention was riveted to a figure in the
distance.

Sam Rainwater stood with his hand on an outside wall of the
cabin. His head was back, eyes closed. The stoic lycan was inhumanly still. He
suddenly dragged a deep breath into his lungs and then turned, his gaze
razor-sharp. “We need to get back to the house, Moon. They’ve taken the women.
No time to lose.”

Working in the kitchen was not soothing in the least but as
the night wore on, Lana’s nerves began to frazzle. Together she and Savannah,
who was also abnormally quiet, washed and put away dishes from the evening meal
and had tidied up the den from the hours of movie-watching earlier. Being edgy
was a major factor in her world these days but tonight it seemed as if the very
air was laced with tension. Savannah obviously felt it too. Later they moved
back into the den and turned on the television but Lana mainly stared at the screen,
comprehending little of what she saw.

“I have a bad feeling,” she finally said, shaking her head.
“I don’t know what it is but I’m so damn jumpy.”

Savannah blew out a breath. “Thought it was just me. I
didn’t want to make things worse for you by saying anything.” She looked at her
cell phone. “They’ve only been gone a few hours. I doubt they’ll be too much
longer. Maybe we should just give up and go to bed? I’ll curl up in the guest
room until everyone gets back.”

“Do you really think we can sleep?”

“Oh hell no, but it’s better than sitting here like a couple
of potential victims of the zombie apocalypse.”

Lana sighed and stood as she hit the button on the remote to
turn off the television. She and Savannah had just walked from the room when
they heard a series of sharp growls and several masculine cries.

It sounded like a dogfight but she knew that wasn’t the
case. She and Savannah exchanged wide-eyed glances and together raced to living
room windows that gave them a clear view outside. Roughly a dozen white wolves
fought with the men who’d stayed to protect them. Moon’s men were outnumbered.
Several of her protectors had shifted and obviously others had been caught
unaware and had been attacked before having a chance to shift.

“We need weapons.” Savannah yelled. “Where does Moon keep
his rifles?”

“I don’t know. Don’t know that he even has any.” Feeling
panicked and knowing she had to help the men who lay injured on the ground,
Lana began to strip.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’ve got to go out there.”

Savannah grabbed her. “You can’t. You can’t fight them off
alone. Stop and think!”

“No time for thinking.” Naked, Lana looked at her friend.
“Find a shotgun if you can and for gods’ sake call Moon while I try to hold
them off. My father is out there, Savannah. He may not like me very much but I
don’t think he’ll kill me. I have to buy some time.” Lana rushed to the front
door, shifting as she launched herself off the steps and into a large area of
lawn at the side of the house. Harley, one of the first wolves she’d met since
coming to town, lay dead, his eyes staring sightlessly upward. A white wolf,
his muzzle red with Harley’s blood, snarled at her. Lana moved low to the
ground as she advanced, her ears back. An answering growl shook her chest. This
good man had died protecting her but she wouldn’t let this lycan take anyone
else.

Fierce rage mixed with the natural savagery of her wolf as
she met the male midair and they rolled together over the grass. He sank his
teeth into her shoulder but with adrenaline pumping through her veins, she
barely noticed. Her jaws opened over his throat and ripped until the larger
wolf lay bleeding on the ground. Gone.

She’d never taken a life but she couldn’t think about that
now. This was the nature of battle. Spinning to take in the scene, she noted
Moon’s wolves were largely overpowered. It wasn’t for lack of strength. They
were simply outnumbered.

A low snarl drew her attention and she instantly recognized
Anton as he stood near the edge of the fighting, his silvery eyes narrowed in
his wolven face. Aside from her father, he was the only creature who had ever
intimidated her and that fear affected her now as she backed away, purely from
instinct. He advanced slowly across the yard and the nearer he moved, the
faster her heart pounded.

Suddenly a shriek from the house caught her attention and
she turned to see two naked men, Snow Wolves, dragging Savannah down the front
steps. As she struggled with them, she tripped on the stairs but they caught her
with firm grips beneath her arms. Savannah fought like the wolf she would one
day be, but her strength was outmatched.

In moments of distress, it was common for a lycan to shift
rapidly from human to wolf form and it happened to Lana now. Worry for her friend,
the terror of it, caused her body to flash wildly back and forth until she lay
in a naked heap in the yard. Weakened from the event, she struggled to her feet
and faced them.

“Don’t hurt her!” She’d yelled the words but even to her own
ears, the declaration seemed faint. “Please. No more. I’ll come with you.”

A familiar frightening voice reached her and she turned to
see the powerful Tomin Vronski watching her, a smirk on his handsome face. He
was fully clothed, his shock of white hair, so much like hers, shining in the
moonlight. Obviously he found her distress amusing. Anton shifted into his
human form and stood beside him. Unlike so many others of their pack, he had
dark hair. It was slightly long, framing a sharply edged face. Lana’s father
looked at her disapprovingly and sent his stern gaze over her naked body. “For
the sake of the gods, put some clothes on.” He glanced at Anton. “Go with her
but make it fast.”

Anton gripped her elbow and Lana shuddered at his touch. Her
former fiancé, the man who believed he owned her, smiled unpleasantly. He
leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Best get used to it, sweetheart. You’re
mine now.”

Frantic, she looked at her father as the sounds of lycan
battle dimmed. “Don’t hurt Savannah. She hasn’t had her first shift. Even you
wouldn’t hurt an innocent.”

“Hm. I wouldn’t be so certain of that, daughter.” He looked
past her shoulder. “Take the woman back to the clearing and if she gives you
any trouble, tear her to pieces.”

Savannah sent a fearful look in Lana’s direction as she
passed with the two men who held her. Lana tried her best to convey her hope,
love and confidence but then Anton roughly pushed her forward until she stood
in the foyer of the house. He looked around, a sneer on his face, before
turning his attention to her. “You’ve been fucking someone in this house. I can
smell it. You stink of another wolf.” He leaned closer, his nostrils expanding
as he sniffed her face. “Ah Lana, my dear, you have seriously underestimated me
if you think I’ll let this go unpunished. You are mine.”

Lana opened her mouth but Anton backhanded her across the
face. The power of the blow propelled her across the room until she crashed
into a wall. A framed picture crashed to the floor, its glass splintering on
the shiny hardwoods. Blood filled her mouth, coppery-tasting on her tongue.
Already her lip began to swell. Anton threw her jeans and tee shirt in her
direction and they fell in a heap on her lap. “Get dressed. You’ve already cost
me enough time and energy.”

Praying as hard as she’d ever done before that Savannah had
managed to call Moon, Lana pulled on her clothes and hurried back outside with
Anton. Five wolves lay dead on the ground and others sprawled over the grass,
injured, moaning in pain, but the Snow Wolf pack had no mercy for their wounded
brothers and left them as they climbed into several large SUVs and headed out
into the woods.

Lana had a feeling her father wasn’t done with Moon because
they stopped in the clearing by the creek where she and Mad had been spied upon
by the white wolves days earlier. Piles of clothing littered the area and Lana
realized they had parked here, undressed, and then shifted into their wolves
before heading to Moon’s house to launch their attack. The Snow Wolves had made
sure their scents were all over the area north of town and, knowing Moon’s men
would investigate, sprung a trap.

Assuming Savannah managed to call Moon, the Rogues and Wolf
Creek packs would head back here for a final showdown. The only blessing to be
found was that the Snow Wolf pack had seriously depleted numbers now. They’d
begun with a dozen and now half were dead or lying injured in Moon’s yard.

Please, please, let Savannah have gotten through to Moon.

Ignoring the pain in her face from Anton’s blow, Lana
worried about those she loved. Moon was as tough as any wolf she’d ever known
but Anton was savage and lived without rules of any kind. He was an evil beast
who would seek his revenge on Moon for encroaching on what he saw as his.

And Savannah!

As an unshifted female she was particularly vulnerable. Lana
would never forgive herself if something happened to her friend. She knew the
best thing all around would be to throw herself on her father’s mercy and leave
with them before there was more bloodshed. She didn’t want anyone to die
because of her.

Her father was driving the big black SUV as she sat in the
backseat with Anton. She jolted as Tomin braked to a stop and before she could
blink, she was dragged unceremoniously from the vehicle. A ring of headlights
illuminated the tree-edged clearing where days ago, Moon had made love to her.
She was dragged into the center of all those lights, practically blinded by
them. Shadowy figures moved past as the wolves circled Tomin, Anton and
herself, no doubt wanting to watch the show. The onlookers remained naked and
she knew that was to make for an easy shift into wolf-form once Mad and his men
arrived.

As the harsh light swam around them, Lana noted that
Savannah stood not far away, flanked by the men who’d taken her earlier.

“Dad, please listen to me,” she began. “I will return with
you willingly if you’ll just let Savannah go. We can leave here and I’ll mate
with Anton.”

Silence fell as her father studied her. Silvery brows rose
high over his startling blue eyes. “You think to bargain with me, Lana?” He
shook his head. “Oh no, I don’t think so. You have put me to quite a bit of
trouble. Yes, I will be taking you home but not before teaching this
wolf
of yours a lesson. No one takes what belongs to Tomin Vronski and lives to talk
about it. You have sealed his fate, and yes, your own as well.” He looked at
Anton. “In the meantime, you must be punished by your mate. Anton, take her and
do what you will.”

Headlights shined on an ancient oak near the edge of the
clearing and Anton dragged her to it before forcing her to her knees. She faced
the rough bark as he dragged her arms around the trunk of the tree, tying her
wrists with a piece of rope someone had tossed him. With her cheek pressed
against the bark, she looked out over the shadowy figures who filled the
clearing, spotting Savannah right away. The lights flickered over her hair,
catching the dark red, seeming to set it ablaze.

Have faith. Have faith. Have faith.

The phrases swirled in her mind and she hoped that Savannah
would stay strong until help arrived.

Anton gripped her hair and yanked her head back until it
hurt. “I hate this short hair. I think I will beat you for this too.” His grin
flashed evilly before he shoved her head forward until it cracked against the
wood. She barely had time to register the pain when Anton gripped the back of
her tee shirt and tore it from her body, leaving her naked from the waist up.

Gods!

“Toss me a belt!” Anton yelled the demand and she heard the
low sounds of men whispering. She heard a noise, a swish, and then the sound of
the belt cracking as Anton whipped it through the air.

“No!” Savannah yelled out as her captors struggled to hold
her still.

Be quiet. Be quiet.
Savannah couldn’t help her and
Lana prayed her friend would remain composed.

Leather
whished
and
cracked
through the air
before striking across her bare skin. The incredible burning sensation was
followed by another and another as Anton beat her with the strip of leather.
Lana bit her lip against the pain but finally it was too much. Whimpering,
tears rolling freely, she gasped and then as yet another blow landed, cried
out.

“Nooooo! You bastards!”

Lana dragged open her eyes to see Savannah break free of her
captors. Lana opened her mouth. She wanted to tell her to stop before Savannah
was hurt but she never had the chance.

“Kill the bitch,” Tomin roared. A lycan who stood almost two
feet taller than her petite friend pulled back a fist and hit Savannah squarely
in the face. Savannah blasted across the clearing, the power behind that blow
propelling her as though she were a rag doll.

A roar beyond the crowd of men went up. Snarls and snaps.
Growls.

Wolves!

A huge black beast growled loudly as he leapt through the
air, easily one of the biggest lycans she’d ever seen. His ridiculously sharp
teeth sank into the back of the man’s neck. She heard a snap as the asshole
crumpled to the ground.

Lana knew the identity of the wolf the instant he loped over
to Savannah, nuzzled her face, and then stood over her in a protective stance.
His head went back and his muzzle lifted as he howled.

If Sam Rainwater was here, then so was Moon.

* * * * *

Rainwater’s stark announcement that the women had been taken
was instantly followed by Savannah’s frantic call.

“Hurry, Moon, hurry! We’re under attack.”

Those words had the power to chill him. The connection
instantly went dead and Moon wasted no time in rallying the troops. Rage welled
up, heavy and intense, as he gripped the steering wheel and raced back to his
place, the others following close behind. The scene that met them once they
arrived replaced that chill with the need to seek revenge on those who had
killed his men, terrorized his friend and threatened the love of his life.

Yes…love.

Mad couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life without
Lana by his side. She was funny, sweet, loyal to the bone. Sickened by what
might be happening to this woman who filled his life with unbelievable joy, he
instantly worked to determine where the Snow Wolves had taken his mate.