Kai seemed worried. “That’s all of my strong dominants. Who will protect the pack we leave behind?”
I chewed my lip. “We will have to risk it. From my vision, it looks like we will need all of the help we can get in order to get Jameson out of there.”
Kai’s brow furrowed but he nodded.
*
We decided to drive. It was only about six hours. We could do it in one day, taking shifts. We had attempted to make contact with the Alpha, Harris. Since Kai was now a member of the council, he had Harris’ contact info but calling him didn’t go over so well. Harris told us to drop Alexa off and leave but we would not be permitted to linger and he would not be allowing Jameson to leave the pack. Kai tried to explain further but Harris hung up on him.
Kai slammed the cell phone down on the dash and I cringed as the screen cracked. Well, there went $600. Angry dominant werewolves went through cell phones like crazy.
“He hung up on me!” Kai roared. I’m guessing Kai didn’t get hung up on often.
“I haven’t been hung up on since high school,” I stated.
Max was staring out the window. I reached back and nudged him and he glanced my way.
“You okay?” I said softly.
His energy was low. I felt his depression seeping into the pack bond; we all felt it.
He simply shook his head but Kai and I shared a quick look.
‘Tara,’ Kai told me.
‘Yeah, I figured. Any leads on where she is?’
I felt Kai’s anger rise up so quickly my breath hitched.
‘No. They blindfolded her and then our bond was snuffed out. I can tell she is alive but I can’t communicate with her.’
Shit. My mind went through dozens of ideas in trying to find the girls. Spells. Trackers. Anything. But we couldn’t smell the vampires so our trackers couldn’t get a trail, and if they had snuffed out the mate bond they sure as hell wouldn’t be found with a finder spell.
“Showtime,” Kai grumbled, pulling the SUV up to a large cabin. Kai had said that most all Alpha residences were on file with the council. I gazed up from the dash, the entire Redwood’s pack was assembled in a semi-circle, with Harris in the middle.
“Well, shit. Homeboy looks ready to throw down,” Max said, cracking his knuckles, readying for a fight.
I busted out laughing along with Alexa and the others.
“Homeboy? When did you join a gang?” I joked.
But Max’s jaw was set. He was a loose cannon. I could see it. He was waiting for something to set him off so he could take out all of his aggression about Tara on someone.
We jumped out of the SUV and I put a cool hand on his shoulder.
“You good?”
His eyes went from glowing amber to ice blue. He cleared his throat and nodded.
Alexa was wiping her hands on her jeans. Anna, the strongest member of our pack, surveyed the situation as she jumped out of the car after us. I could see her calculating how many people there were. Aside from having super strength as her special power, Anna had really shown improvement in practices. She was a quick learner.
I took the lead even though Kai tried to walk past me and get in front of me.
The last time I saw Harris he didn’t want to join our pack and wasn’t strong enough then to fight Kai. Now with Jameson by his side … I was worried about my vision and what it meant for Kai’s safety.
As we approached, I saw about twenty wolves spread out before us. I could see, just beyond the semi-circle of dominant wolves, that Jameson was chained by the ankle to a tree. He was maybe ten feet from Harris. How close did he need to be for his gift to work?
I met Harris’ yellow gaze, taking in his appearance. He looked more filled out than the last time I saw him, more toned. His arms were covered in tattoos and his dark hair was slicked back.
“I believe your wolf Jameson is the mate to our female Alexa.” I got right to it and pointed at Alexa as I felt Kai stand beside me.
Harris nodded. “Good. Leave the bitch and go.”
My mouth dropped open. Kai slipped off his t-shirt and tossed it to Max. Oh, shit. Here we go.
Kai had been through a lot of shit in the last forty-eight hours. Having one of his wolves be taken by the vampires, me getting shot and nearly bleeding to death. I wouldn’t mess with him right now, but Jameson’s gift made Harris super strong.
Kai’s voice was so gruff I barely recognized it. “I wouldn’t give you one of my females in a million years!”
The hairs on my arms stood up. God damn, my mate could be scary ... and sexy. I nearly salivated staring at his chiseled, shirtless body.
Harris took off his shirt and gave Kai a devilish grin. “Then I guess we fight for it. The old way.”
Kai nodded and his pack formed a circle around them.
‘The old way?’ I asked Kai.
‘We stay human. First one to get knocked out loses their wolf.’
‘Kai, he has super strength with Jameson near.’
Kai gave me one glance that told me to shut the hell up. I swallowed. I guess I should have said, ‘Go, babe, go!’
Harris grinned as he slipped on a glove with silver knuckles.
“Hey! Dirty cheat,” Max roared.
Harris shrugged. “Anything goes. You are allowed one non-lethal weapon of your choice.”
Max stalked off to the SUV and returned with a tire iron. Whoa. Shit just got real.
He handed it to Kai who still hadn’t taken his eyes off Harris. I probed my mate’s thoughts. He was feeling murderous with not one ounce of fear.