"No, we don't know a wolf by that name."
"Truth," Vasile acknowledged.
"It would make sense, Alpha, for Logan not to reveal himself to them." Decebel spoke low, not affected by his Alpha's power flowing through the room.
"Did any of you aide a wolf in the abduction of Fane's mate?"
Again, the wolves did not answer right away. Vasile growled a warning promising discipline at their lack of obedience.
"We don't know what you are talking about." This time a different wolf spoke up.
Fane lunged forward, grabbing the wolf by the throat. "You lie," he growled, allowing his wolf to show. His eyes glowed a deadly blue, his canines lengthened, and his claws dug into the wolf's neck. For the first time, Vasile did not try to stop Fane.
"It is obvious that none of you learned your lesson about harming an Alpha's mate when Fane killed Lucas." Vasile's voice was sharp as a knife. "You will answer with truth or I will allow Fane to glean the information from you however he deems necessary."
The four wolves looked to their Alpha, pleading with their eyes for him to intervene. His response showed the ultimate disrespect as he turned his back, essentially saying he was turning a blind eye to the Romanian Alpha's actions.
Finally the wolf sitting farthest from Fane broke. "We gave him a car. He said he needed transportation that could not be linked to him in order to take Fane's mate." The wolf dared to snarl at Fane when he told him, "It's no less than what you deserve for taking one of ours."
Fane dropped the wolf he had been holding and to his father's surprise he stepped back. His gaze swept over each of them, and a power Vasile knew matched his own caused the wolves to fall to their knees in submission.
"Where did he take her?" he asked, his voice had gone low, the calm before the storm.
"That we don’t know. He didn't say and we didn't ask."
"Truth." Vasile nodded.
"You will hear my Alpha's judgment for your actions and you will thank whatever god you serve that it is not me dealing out your fate." Fane once again pushed his power out and the four wolves grabbed their throats, trying in vain to breathe. Finally, after they began to turn blue Fane relented.
Vasile turned to Jeff. "Alpha of the Coldspring pack, this is my decision for these four wolves who are under your rule. I expect you to make sure it is carried out. If you do not you will share in their fate."
"So as you say, it shall be done," Jeff told Vasile as he bared his throat in submission.
Turning back to the condemned wolves, he told them, "You will be forced into your wolf forms by your Alpha. While in this state you will be declawed and your fangs pulled from your mouths. Your pelts will be shaved from your bodies." The wolves whined in fear and anger but Vasile was not done. "Once back in your human forms, the markings on your backs shall be distorted to show you have been stripped of your place in the pack. You will then be turned out to be lone wolves in your vulnerable states, without a pack to protect you. Do you understand that this is the price you will pay for your treachery and crime against Fane, the prince of the Romanian Canis Lupis?"
The four wolves had no option but to bow in submission and bare their throats. Vasile turned back to Jeff. "I thank you for your cooperation and if you find anything else out I would ask that you contact me immediately. Do you still have my card I gave you after the challenge?
"Yes, I will help in any way I can." Turning to Fane, Jeff averted his eyes to Fane's shoulder, not wanting to challenge him by looking in his eyes. "I'm sorry for the pain my pack has caused you again. I know that does not help, but I want you to know nonetheless."
Fane gave a single nod at the Alpha to show that he heard his words, but said nothing in return. He turned to follow the way they had entered, needing to think and process the information Jeff's wolves had said. He didn't know if it was enough to help them but it was something, and right now something was better than nothing.
Chapter 27
Cynthia held on to the handle on the roof of the small plane that Logan had procured once they had arrived in Dallas. She had never flown in one so small and had already decided after thirty minutes of the it rattling all over the place that she never would again.
"How long did you say this flight would take?" she asked Logan.
"We have about an hour and fifteen minutes left."
"Great," she muttered under her breath.
It hadn't been as difficult as she had thought to get Jacque loaded up into the plane. She did have to give her another dose of the sedative as Jacque had started to moan again. Cynthia was hoping that once they arrived at her cabin she could allow the sedative to wear off so that Jacque could tell her how she was feeling. There was no way for her to gauge the progression of her condition without Jacque's input.
Logan looked over at Dr. Steele and decided it was time for her to explain what exactly would need to be done to fix Jacque. He didn't want to have to wait to bond with her, he knew that even now Fane would be doing everything he could to locate her.
"Tell me again what is wrong with her," Logan said, more of a command than a question.
Cynthia took a deep breath and let it out slow, knowing it was inevitable that this conversation would take place.
"She received a transfusion of human blood. To put it simply, because she is half wolf that part of her blood does not recognize it. Therefore, it is attacking the cells. Cells that have already begun to flow through her heart, her liver, her kidneys, all her muscles. Blood is the nourishment of the body, taking nutrients and oxygen to the organs. Her body is trying to prevent that from happening because it thinks the blood she received is a virus."
Logan's face was somber when he asked what needed to be done.
"She needs werewolf blood to replace the human cells that her body is attacking," She explained.
"That will be easily remedied."
"I don't know if it's that easy, Logan. I don't know if she has to receive it by biting and taking the blood through her fangs, I don't even know if she has fangs, or if a transfusion would work," she admitted.
"Still easily remedied, we will do it both ways," Logan said, complete confidence in his voice.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Cynthia worried about Jacque and how Logan had practically salivated at the idea of Jacque taking his blood. Cynthia wasn't paying attention to the fact that she wasn't seeing any of the mountain ranges that outline the Colorado skyline.
She was brought out of her stupor when she heard Logan on his phone.
"Is it ready?" she heard him ask. "Good, we should be there in a few minutes."
Realizing something wasn't right, Cynthia looked out her window and could tell by the landscape that they were not in Colorado.
"What's going on, Logan?" she asked, her voice wavering, betraying how nervous she was.
"Change of plans," was all she heard before everything went black.
Logan looked over at Cynthia's slumped form, feeling a small pang of regret at having to cause her pain, but it was necessary. After he had decided to take her with him he realized that she could tell Jacque where they were and then Jacque could tell Fane. He wasn't about to let her ruin all his hard work if she suddenly decided to have a conscience. So he had called one of his wolves, Sam, because he knew was loyal to him and wouldn't contact Dillon, and asked him to rent a cabin in the Ozark Mountains in southern Missouri and send him the coordinates as well as find a place to land. His pack mate had done better than that. He had found a cabin with an empty field right next to it. Again, Logan felt like fate was intervening. He told Sam to get on a plane and fly to the airport nearest to his location, then to rent a car and, after getting groceries. to meet him at the cabin.
As he closed in on the location of the field, he began his descent. He saw the cabin to the right of the field. As the wheels touched down to the earth, the plane bounced at the contact. Overall it wasn’t too bad a landing, Logan thought.
Once the plane was f
ully stopped Logan jumped into action, not wanting Cynthia to wake up before he had her blindfolded and cuffed. He was still going to need her help with Jacque, so he figured he could allow her to be uncuffed under his supervision while she tended to her patient. He went around to the passenger side of the plane and opened the door. Cynthia's unconscious form tumbled out and he caught her just in time to keep her from hitting the hard ground. He grabbed a bag from the front floorboard and then headed in the direction he had seen the cabin.
When he got to the door he remembered Sam had told him that the place that rented the cabins would put a key under the mat. Gingerly leaning down to move the mat aside without dropping the doctor, he saw the silver key. To his eyes it was a small trophy proclaiming his victory at having finally arrived at his destination with his soon to be mate.
He stepped into the cabin, not bothering to look around, and hastily placed Cynthia on the first piece of furniture he saw. He reached into the bag he had brought in and grabbed a pair of handcuffs. He leaned her forward, pulling both arms behind her, and secured her wrists with the cuffs. Feeling like for now that would be enough, he headed back to the plane to get Jacque.
Logan grabbed the IV bag and laid it on Jacque's stomach for the transfer from the plane to the cabin. He lowered one end of the gurney onto the ground and then pulled it forward until the front wheels were at the edge of the doorway. Stepping into the plane, he grabbed the front of the gurney and lowered it to the ground as well. Logan grabbed the rest of the bags that Cynthia had brought with her and shut the plane door. He began to push the gurney forward as fast as he could without toppling Jacque from it.
Finally arriving at the front door of the cabin once more, Logan pushed the gurney into the cabin, and this time stopped abruptly, caught off guard by how open it was. The roof was pitched and rose at least thirty feet in the air. There was a loft across from the place where he stood that was open to look over into the main floor of the cabin. Below the loft there was long hall and he could see several doors that he assumed led to bedrooms. To his left along the back wall was the kitchen, the cabinets done in beautiful cedar. There was an old fashion Dutch oven in the wall to the right, and on the island that stood in the middle of the kitchen was a flat top stove. All of the appliances had matching cedar fronts that had to have been custom made. To his right he saw a huge rock fireplace and various chairs and a couch made out of cedar that appeared to have suede cushions, all forming a semicircle around the fireplace. There were blankets thrown across chairs and pillow stacked on the floor, making it obvious this was a place of comfort, to relax and push away the rest of the world. Logan's wolf rumbled in approval of the place he would call his den.
Needing to figure out the best place to put the women, he walked down the hallway towards the various doors. Two of them were just regular square bedrooms, each had a bed made of cedar and a bedside table. In between those two rooms was a small bathroom. The third door on the left was the master bedroom, it was larger than the first two and Logan could see double doors that opened into a spacious bathroom. Finally he walked into the door across from the master bedroom and stepped into an inviting space that appeared to be a library/study. There were shelves that lined the left side of the wall all the way across, filled with books of various sizes and colors. In the middle of the room was a fluffy rug that, at a second glance, he realized was a bear's pelt. Surrounding the rug were several cedar chairs with plump cushions and blankets thrown across their backs. On the furthest wall from the door was a beautiful cedar desk with a credenza with shelves that had lighting built into them. This was where he would put Jacque and Cynthia. They would be comfortable in here, and the best part was there were no windows in this room.
Logan went back into the living area and picked Cynthia back up. He carried her to the library and set her in one of the cedar chairs. Then he went and picked Jacque up off her gurney and placed her in one of the chairs that was more the size of a love seat. As he began to leave the room, he heard Cynthia moan and turned to see she was waking up. She moaned and tried to move her arms, her eyes snapped open as she realized they were stuck behind her. Looking around wildly, trying to get her bearings, her eyes landed on Logan.
"What have you done, Logan?"
"I couldn't have you telling Jacque where we were if you suddenly decided you couldn't go through with the choice you had made. So I decided it would be best not to go to your cabin. I regret having to cuff you, but until I can put a lock on the outside of this door you will have to say that way."
"You know, I could just shift and be out of these in a second," she challenged him, trying to hold his stare.
Logan growled and stepped towards her, his eyes glowing. Cynthia had to drop her gaze. Crap, he was more dominant than her. Of course he would be, he was a freaking Beta.
"You can try to change, but know this: there is only one reason I am not an Alpha of a pack. Can you guess what that is?"
Cynthia realized what he was telling her was that his power was strong enough to prevent her change. He would have to be Alpha material in order to do that. The only thing that would make him weaker than other Alphas of course, she thought, looking over at Jacque... "You don't have a mate," she answered.
"That will be remedied soon enough," Logan growled, his eyes still glowing.
Logan turned to leave the room, telling her not to move. Regardless of what he had said she tried to change, but Logan had been telling the truth. The power he had flowing through the house prevented her change.
Logan returned, carrying three more sets of handcuffs. He walked over to her and he grabbed one of her ankles and applied the cuff, then with the other end he cuffed the rail of the cedar chair. Cynthia glared at him as he watched him secure Jacque in the same fashion.
As Logan stepped away, he heard Jacque moan. He looked back at her and saw that her eyes were fluttering and she was trying to move. He stood frozen, waiting, but he didn't have to wait long as Jacque's eyes opened. She looked at him then tried to look around, her eyes finding Cynthia.
"Dr. Steele?" Her voice was hoarse and full of unasked questions. Jacque turned her head back to him. "Logan?" She groaned and tried to pull her legs up towards her chest but wasn't able since one was cuffed to the chair rail. When it seemed that the pain had passed she looked down at her foot, and then tried to pull her arms around, realizing she was handcuffed.
"Would someone like to explain to me why I'm handcuffed and not in the hospital?" Jacque asked, looking back and forth between Dr. Steele and Logan.
"You've been kidnapped, Jacque. Logan wants to make you his mate," Cynthia answered matter of fact like, and with much more truth that Jacque expected.
Once again, pain wracked Jacque's body and she closed her eyes, trying to shut it out. When she could breathe again she looked at Dr. Steele. "What's wrong with me?"
Cynthia explained to her the same thing she had to Logan in the plane, but stopped before she told her how she could be healed.
"Okay, doc. You can't possibly think that I don't know that you must know how to fix this. Why else would Logan bring you along?"
It was Logan who answered. "You need wolf blood. You will get it from me."
"Excellent," Jacque said sarcastically even as she reached for Fane with her mind.
"Fane!" She couldn't contain the fear that poured into the bond between them. She was in pain, she might die if she didn't get werewolf blood, and some crazy wolf had once again decided she should be his. Said wolf wanted her to take his blood and, yeah, scared was an understatement at this point.
Jacque felt arms wrap around her and a hand caress her face. “Jacquelyn." The desperate ache she heard in his voice was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
Chapter 28
Sally and Jen listened as Vasile told everyone what had happened with the Coldspring pack. When the wolves had returned from their meeting, eyes glowing and the power rolling off of each of them sucking the air from the room, it gave away th
at they had bad news.
"Now that we know who has her, how can we figure out where Logan took her?" Alina asked her mate.
"I've been thinking about that and the only thing I can think to do at this point would be to question Dillon's wolves." Vasile turned to look at the Alpha. "How do you feel about that?"
Dillon nodded his head in agreement. "I was thinking the same thing. I don't know if Logan would have confided in any of my pack, but the only way to know for sure is to question them." He turned to his wolves. "Lee, Phillip, Dalton, and Aidan, you will be first."
Vasile stood and turned to Lilly. "If you don't mind, I would prefer all of the women wait in the kitchen."
Before Lilly could object, Jen grabbed her hand. "Come on, Ms. P. Let the fur balls do their thing. I'm sure they will gladly fill us in once they have beaten the truth out of these four."
"Jennifer," Decebel growled.
"Save it, wolf," Jen growled back, holding her hand up in indication she didn't want to hear what he had to say, "you and I will dance later."
Lilly let Jen pull her into the kitchen while Sally and Alina followed. Sally went straight for the fridge and pulled out a Coke. Turning to Jen, who had hopped up on the counter, she tossed her one, knowing she would be expecting it. Then Sally grabbed her own and went and stood next to Jen, leaning back against the counter. Alina stood opposite the girls with Lilly next to her.
"Alina, why would Logan take Jacque?" Lilly asked the female Alpha.
Alina stared at the floor for a few moments before answering, "I can think of two reasons. One, he thinks he is helping Dillon by being the one to make the decision to take Jacque so that Dillon doesn't have to."
"If that's the reason he's dumber than he looked," Jen said in between drinks.
"The second would be the one I feel is probably the reason, he wants a mate. I'm not sure how old Logan is, but from the power I could sense on him he's old enough to be feeling the effects of not having a mate," Alina explained.