RaleighPointRescueSue (14 page)

Gray eyes blinked at her, and his feet shuffled.
“Because I have nowhere else to go.”

Lisa inhaled sharply at the dull voice that echoed back at
her. “Don’t you have a family?”

“They didn’t want me, My Queen.” He twisted his lips. “I was
an abomination to the pack. I ran before I could be put down.”

“Abomination?
What?” Lisa looked
incredulously at the pale slim young man. He reminded her of a boy she’d met in
one of the group homes, always awkward, never
one of the boys.
Seemed happier with the girls… “Jesse? Jesse, are
you gay?”

Gray eyes bled to amber and
teared
up. He nodded miserably. “Alpha Killian needs an alpha female to get Stone
Ridge Pack. He’s been trying to get more numbers as there aren’t enough of us
for an all-out war. But if he makes a challenge with an alpha female, the other
alpha will have to accept a one-on-one challenge. No one would deny him that
right with a queen.”

Lisa blew a harsh breath out. She felt increasingly nauseous,
and it wasn’t just because of the heat.

“Jesse, is that what the ceremony is?
A
mating ceremony?”

Lisa watched fascinated as a dull flush crept up Jesse’s
face. “I need to know. Please.”

Looking anywhere but at her, Jesse explained. “The mating is
going to be very traditional—in front of the whole pack.” The last words were
but a whisper, and Lisa wished she hadn’t heard them. Fumbling for some more
water, she sat down heavily. He was going to rape her in front of the whole
pack.
She had to get out of here.

“Jesse, you can come home with me. I live in a lovely family
of shifters. You would be welcome.” She added firmly, “No one would hurt you,”

Jesse’s eyes rose hopefully.
“My Queen?”

Lisa smiled. “Okay, so again, I’m not your queen. Call me
Lisa.” When Jesse looked confused, she added. “Well, maybe not in front of
Badass. Killian,” she added at Jesse’s puzzled look. She swiped a hand over her
head again.

“My…Lisa?”
Jesse changed it shyly.
“Are you okay?” He lowered his head. “Sorry, stupid question,” he mumbled.

Lisa leaned back against the wall. She was a lot less than
okay. Sweat poured off her, and her stomach was starting to cramp.

“Jesse, I’m kind of sick.” She smiled gently at his alarmed
face.
She sure as hell wasn’t going to
explain this.
“I need to get out of here. You know he’s real bad, don’t
you?”

Jesse nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, but I have people I need to get back
for, so we need to go.”

Jesse looked hopefully at her again.

“You know how to get back to where you found me, right?”

He nodded again. “But
My…
Lisa,
it’s over ninety miles. You were
carried. If you’re sick…” He suddenly stood determined. “I can carry you.”

Lisa swallowed the lump in her throat. “Well, let’s hope it
doesn’t come to that. Our biggest problem is how to get out of this cellar.”

A slow smile on Jesse’s face amazed her.

“Actually, I may know how to do that.”

Chapter Fourteen

Mac was climbing out of his skin. His bear wanted out, and
out
now.
He’d failed her. She was his,
damn it, and now she was gone. He stared at everyone. “We need to get going.”
He looked at the sky and clouds heavy with snow. “Snow will make it harder to
track her scent.”

They all started to strip. Mac caught a faint scent and
tried to zero in on it. It was no use, there were too many of them. “We do this
my way, guys.”

The sheriff raised an eyebrow, but didn’t make any comments.
Mac’s reputation as a tracker must have got to him. He assigned pairs. Split
bears and wolves.
Different
skills.
He gave each pair
an area to hunt and set Brett up in the truck, as their central contact point.
Brett had all the first aid supplies with him, food, water, and blankets.

Mac sent everyone off to start a sweep. Riley stood by him
as he hadn’t assigned him into a pair.

“You’re with me.”

Riley’s eyebrows rose. “But I thought—”

“I’m better at tracking than any wolf.” Mac sighed. “I
already caught her scent. Did you notice none of the others did? Too many
shifters were mixing it up. I just need them at close points as back up. That
way I know where they are if we need them, but they’re not close enough to
confuse the scents. I’m
gonna
shift. I want you to fasten
that pack on me before you shift.” Mac nodded to a pack on the ground.

 
“Mac, I don’t
think it’s because you can scent her. The sheriff is an experienced tracker,
and he hadn’t a clue. How come you can find the kids when no one else can?
Especially when wolves are better than bears at tracking?”

“I don’t know.” It wasn’t something he’d ever questioned.

“I think you find people the same way I can heal. You didn’t
smell her. You just know.”

Mac pulled a frustrated hand through his hair. “God, Riley,
I hope so.” Within seconds, they had shifted and were running, Riley close on
Mac’s heels.

In a little over an hour, Mac brought his bear to a
standstill. Riley crept up behind him. He smelled wolf and every instinct he
had told him Lisa was here. Bears weren’t exactly silent, and he couldn’t
afford to get any nearer. In a few seconds, he had changed and was grabbing for
the pack. They both grabbed some clothes and got dressed silently.

“What do we do now?”

Mac glanced at Riley and held his phone up, cursing silently
that he couldn’t get a signal. “You have to head back toward the others. As
soon as you get a signal, call them.”

“What are you going to do?” Riley looked urgently at his
brother.

“I can’t risk leaving Lisa until everyone else gets here.
You heard Brett. I have to go in, Riley.”

Riley put a hand on his brother’s arm.

* * * *

Lisa was starting to panic. Jesse had to leave her after
giving her more water and the clothes she was expected to change into. She’d glugged
the last of the water some time ago, and had to spend a very embarrassing two
minutes in the corner with a bucket they’d left for her.
Some royalty she was.
She bent over as another hard cramp seized
her belly and wiped more sweat off her face. With shaking hands, she looked at
the white shift he had brought her. It would cover her mostly, and she thought
she would die if she didn’t get out of these jeans.

She had barely slipped it over her head when the door opened
at the top of the steps. God, she hoped it was Jesse
and
more water. The sound of heavy feet chilled her insides, and
she scooted to the ledge again, schooling her face.

Killian stomped in followed by his guards.
Where was Jesse?

“Good.” He nodded at the dress. “The ceremony starts in one
hour.” He took two paces toward her, and Lisa tried not to cringe when his hand
snaked out. One finger ran down the side of her face. He pulled his hand away
and frowned. Black eyes pierced her, and it took all she had not to drop her
gaze. He nodded to his men. “Restrain her.” His two henchmen pulled at each of
her arms. They both had weapons everywhere, long knives tucked into their
belts.

Lisa’s heart sped up. “What?”

The two goons roughly pulled her upright and pinned her arms,
so she was immobile. He leaned toward her and unable to cringe away, she
suffered his long tongue licking the length of her neck up to her jaw as he
inhaled deeply.

Lisa tried not to vomit. She hadn’t realized she was
shaking.

A wicked gleam lit his hard face. “This will be a good
night, My Queen. You will bear me many alpha pups.” Horrified, Lisa watched him
start to undo the buckle of his belt. “I don’t think we need to wait for the
ceremony, not now, I know you will be so willing.”

Lisa shook her head helplessly. She didn’t know what to say,
what to do. All her hopes had been pinned on Jesse getting them out, and he
seemed to have disappeared.

She vaguely heard snarling and a click of heels.
Open-mouthed, she gazed at the woman that descended the steps. She was clearly
not a captive, and clearly knew exactly what she was doing.
Miranda.

Green eyes glared, so cold they could freeze. “Well, well,
what did you manage to catch Killian?”

“Miranda?”
Lisa stared
incredulously.

“You don’t really think you were good enough for Mac do
you?” Miranda ignored the low growl that came from Killian. She calmly flicked
a speck of imagined dust off her suit “Luckily, as I have fairly expensive
tastes, we were able to come to a mutually beneficial agreement.” Miranda stood
in front of her. “I know Daniel is getting ready to shake the team up.” She
laughed. “He doesn’t like that the F.B.I. are always one step behind, and his
suspicion is proving tiresome.”

Lisa was dumbstruck. “How could you possibly put kids
through that?”

Miranda’s expression changed. Lisa saw a second of something
not defined enough to be regret, but then it was immediately masked by
hardness, and the shutters came down again.

“Kids have to toughen up. Being soft in this world will get
them nowhere. Once they learn that lesson they can make it work.” She
straightened her sleeve casually as if inspecting herself once more and smiled.
“I wasn’t always able to afford Prada, you know.”

Lisa gaped at the cool blonde. “How long have you known?”

“About what?
Mac’s little zoo?”

Lisa shook her head. Miranda seemed oblivious to the
grumbles and snarls around her as the insult registered. She wondered if she
could turn it to her advantage. “Yes, about Mac and his family.”

“And Daniel?”
Sculptured eyebrows
rose disdainfully.

Well, that answered
that question.

“I overheard Cassie saying something to Daniel that, shall
we say, piqued my interest? It wasn’t too hard to find the rest out. Obviously,
I will be a great comfort to Mac when everything falls apart for him.”

Miranda turned impatiently to Killian. “So, are we done? I
will expect payment in the usual way.”

Killian made a signal to his guards, and they immediately
surrounded Miranda. Her haughty expression changed to fear and then back so
quickly, Lisa thought she had imagined it.

“Killian, what is the meaning of this?”

Killian laughed and waved to one of the guards who
immediately grabbed Miranda.
“Tying up loose ends.”

Miranda struggled as the other guard grabbed her too. “Are
you mad? I’m an F.B.I. agent. They won’t ever stop hunting you.”

Killian laughed harder as Miranda was dragged up the stairs,
kicking and screaming, alternating threats with promises. “I don’t need you
anymore.” He stood in front of Lisa again. His look changed once more to lust,
and Lisa wanted to cower, but didn’t. “I have My Queen.”

Lisa desperately tried to avert her face away from the
stench of his breath.

“Now, before we were so rudely interrupted.” Killian grabbed
her in a punishing hold and mashed his mouth onto hers. His teeth dug into her lip,
and she could taste blood. She twisted her head, and he laughed again as he
pulled back. Incensed, she couldn’t move as the guards still held her, she spat
right in Killian’s face.

So fast, she hardly saw it, he backhanded her. If the guard wasn’t
holding her, she would have gone flying. Pain flashed from her cheek straight
into her head, and she wanted to gag once more.

Killian snickered again. “I’m going to enjoy taming you, My
Queen.” He eyed all his guards, who dutifully laughed. As he laughed, the one
at the side of her let her go. Desperation making her quick, and all thought
leaving her muddled brain, she lunged for the knife in the guard’s waistband.

She grabbed the handle of the knife in her clammy hands and
backed up to the ledge. Killian raised two arms to stop them from grabbing at
her.

“I am glad to see you have spirit, My Queen.” Killian smiled
cruelly and slowly slid a knife from his own belt. It was huge and gleamed
wickedly. “Now, what exactly do you think you are going to do with that?”

Shaking, Lisa looked down at the pathetic little blade.
There was nothing she could do, and her heart sped up as he started to undo his
belt once more.
Oh God.
He was going
to rape her. Sudden clarity flashed into her mind. She had to buy some time,
had to. “Keep away from me!” She screamed and raised the blade to her throat.

Killian’s features changed from amusement to anger. He
lifted his arm to stop one of his henchmen who had taken a step toward her, and
she pressed the blade closer.

“Go get the prisoner.”

Lisa shook.
Oh God,
not Jesse
. What would they do? She couldn’t let them hurt him anymore. She
hoped the threat of losing his queen would buy her some more time to see if
Jesse could come up with a way of getting them free.

Harsh grunts and dragging noises came from the steps. Two
more guys dragged in another one, bent over double and clearly barely
conscious.

Lisa silently screamed. The knife fell from her numb
fingers.

Mac.

Killian smiled as one of the guards retrieved the knife from
the floor. He gestured to the wall. “Tie him up.”

Lisa was shaking so hard she didn’t know how she was still
upright. Confused thoughts all warred, trying to get out.

Killian took the knife from the guard and with one arm,
slammed her against the wall. Lisa didn’t even gulp and closed her eyes in
defeat. The metal pricked her skin. “You may die one day, My Queen, but it will
only be by my hand.”

Giving orders to check Mac’s bindings, they turned and left,
the door clanging shut.

Lisa curled up on the floor where she had dropped when
Killian let go. Short gasps crowded out of her throat. Hard walls closed in on
her. She was trapped—trapped again.
Wicked.