Enforcer's Redemption (Redwood Pack), page 18
That was all that mattered.
Where was Adam?
Oh, God, what if he were already dead? She tugged on her bond to him, and she felt him move.
Good, he was alive. But not here.
Damn.
“You can’t have him. He is my son.”
“Oh, Bay, you have your mother’s spirit.” He grinned, and a darkness settled over him. “I loved that I fucked that spirit out of her. She fought like the bitch she was, but don’t worry, fate wanted you here. After all, she was my mate. How else could you have been born?”
Her stomach clenched, and she wanted to vomit at his cruel words. Rage pooled through her, and she lunged. He moved slightly, drawing Micah into his arms. She scraped her claws down Caym’s side, and he kicked out, throwing her against the dresser. She got up quickly, ignoring the pain, but it was too late. Caym blinked away, her son in his arms.
“No!”
She screamed until her throat was raw. She screamed Micah’s and Adam’s names, but neither of them were there. Shakily, she got to her feet and staggered to the empty crib. She clutched Micah’s blanket to her nose and inhaled his baby scent laced with pine. Tears streamed down her face, and agony ripped through her.
“Bay!” Adam roared from the front door as she heard the wood splinter from its frame.
She heard his footsteps as he ran closer and wrapped his body around hers, his pine scent enveloping her. She didn’t melt against him like she would have before this. She didn’t close her eyes and inhale his musk and think “mate.”
He hadn’t been there when she needed him.
“Where is he? I can smell that demon. Where is he?”
His words lashed out at her, and she pushed him away with such force that he staggered back.
“Caym’s gone. He took our son and left. He said he was going to raise him as his own and make us watch. But where were you? Where were you?” With each statement and question, her voice rose to a screech. She could hear the others in the room as they gathered in their home. She felt the tension along her skin as the others felt the shock of hearing one of their own was missing.
But they’d felt his before after all. With Adam’s first mate and child. This was just a repeat performance.
Not on her watch. She strode away from him and stormed into the living room.
“What do you plan to do?” she screamed. “You’re the fucking Redwood Pack. Don’t just sit back and let my baby be lost.”
Everyone in the room froze, and Edward lowered his head. That this man, this wolf, would do that floored her.
He raised his head, his eyes glowing gold. “We will find your son. The Centrals will not have your child. He is ours. He is our blood. We will fight for him.”
Jasper, the Beta of the Pack, came to her and bared his throat. Her wolf whimpered, not liking the submission and apology in their eyes. “We will fight, but we may lose. Know this. We are strong, but the demon is stronger.”
“Josh and I have his blood. We are strong too,” she promised.
Josh nodded, the scar on his throat stark against his tan skin.
“I know; that’s what we’re hoping,” Kade added. “We won’t let anything happen to Micah.”
“Don’t make any promises you can’t keep,” she growled, aware that all might be lost but not wanting to voice it.
“Bay,” Adam whispered from beside her.
She’d known he was there. She’d felt his presence like a second skin. Her wolf had cuddled close to the surface to feel his, but Bay had ignored it.
She was broken. Damaged. She was losing everything, sinking in quicksand, yet could do thing about it. Nothing yet.
“Bay,” Adam repeated.
She turned on him, her wolf in her eyes. “What?”
“I’m sorry.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the others leaving the house, most likely regrouping to plan their attack. She would follow later as she would not be left out of this. But, first, she had to deal with an Enforcer.
“You weren’t here.”
Pain shattered the expression on his face as he went to his knees. “An adolescent snuck out of his house tonight to see a girl, and I had to deal with him.”
“So you left your family to deal with a kid who couldn’t listen? Caym walked into our home because you weren’t here. He might not have come if you were.”
He growled but didn’t contradict her.
“Where were your enforcers? Where were your men?”
“They were dealing with other things.”
“Bullshit. You put your job before your family.”
“They are my Pack, and they needed me. I was coming right back.”
“And yet the demon came.”
“And what would I have done if I were here, Bay? Caym is stronger than me.”
“You would have been here!”
He kissed her bloody knuckles, and she closed her eyes. “I would have died for you and Micah. I will die for you two. I will not let that piece of filth raise our son. With every last breath I have, I will find a way to defeat him and get our son back.”
She fell to her knees and held him close. “I was so scared.” She hadn’t been mad at him, not really. It wasn’t his fault. He had been doing his job. Caym had come into their home, and Adam’s presence wouldn’t have changed that.
He wrapped his arms around her, and she cried onto his chest.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’ll find him. I will.”
“I’ll be by your side.”
He kissed her softly and growled. “I don’t want you there.”
Hurt laced through her. “What?”
“I want you safe.”
“I’m stronger than all of you. I can do this. Besides, everyone else knows I need to be there. I’m part of this, Adam. You can’t keep me away. I’m not a submissive mate. You know this.”
He kissed her again and ran his hands through her hair. “I know. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I want Micah.”
“I know.”
He held her close for a few more minutes before they both stood up and got changed. They needed to go to the Alpha’s home and make their plans. They needed to save their son.
****
Adam stormed back into the house after the Alpha’s meeting and roared. No matter what they did, they might lose. But he’d die before he’d just let Caym have his son. In two hours, Jasper, Adam, Josh, Bay, Maddox, and Cailin, along with a handful of his enforcers, would invade the Centrals den.
The rest would prepare for a second wave and protect their own den. He wasn’t happy that both his mate and sister would be in the first wave, but he had no choice. With the blood of the demon running through her veins, Bay would be strong. Not to mention she was a momma wolf on a warpath. He’d protect her to the death, but she could handle herself. And despite the fact that Cailin was the baby and princess, she was a fierce warrior and top sharpshooter. They needed her as well.
Bay paced behind him, and it took everything in him not to grab her and hold her in his arms and never let go. If he did that, they might not leave. They needed to focus. As he walked toward the bedroom a fresh, tangy scent made him pause.
Fuck.
The demon had returned, though he wasn’t there now. Adam ran to the bedroom, checked his surroundings, found them empty, then picked up the note on the bed.
Bay wrapped an arm around his waist, and he did the same as they read the scrawl of the handwritten note.
I will kill your child, your Micah, if you, Adam Jamenson, and your bitch mate, Bay Jamenson, do not come to me personally. Do not tell others of this note, or I will kill your child myself. Slowly.
Adam roared, and Bay took the note from his shaking hands. She leaned against him and gasped as rage poured through him.
“Bay?”
“I see him.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “What?”
“My powers. You know how I can use them to see pasts and memories with objects? I can see Corbin; at least that’s who I think it is. He at least looks like the man you described. Oh, Adam, he and Caym aren’t at the den. They’re in the cave. The same cave I ran to before where you found me. Oh, God, they have Micah.”
He kissed her temple and held her tightly. “We have to go. We can’t let our families go to the Centrals.”
She nodded, her gaze off in the distance.
“We can’t tell my father where we’re going, but we can tell them not to go to the Centrals.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. Worry crept through him as he gripped her chin.
“Bay?”
She kissed him, hard, then pulled back. “I’m sorry, Adam. I love you.”
Confused, he pulled back as she gripped his shoulder. Pain ricocheted through him through a pressure point, and he fell on the bed, darkness falling over him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as he passed out, his mind on the fact that she couldn’t betray him. No, she was saving him. Or at least that’s what she thought.
Darkness.
****
Caym strolled through the cave and took a deep breath. It would be over soon. It had been easy to snatch the brat, but he wasn’t strong enough on his own to kill all the Redwoods. Damn.
Bay and Adam would be there soon.
His daughter.
What a novel idea.
He hadn’t loved her mother. No, she had been just a wolf who’d had the ill fate to mate with him. He’d taken what he’d wanted and apparently left his baby in her belly.
This Bay was too wild, too independent. He didn’t think he’d be able to use her for what he wanted. He would most likely give her to Corbin then use her child. His grandchild.
He would raise it in his image and kill everyone in his path. Oh, he liked that idea.
His body went on alert as he felt Bay walk toward the cave.
Ah, she’d come alone. This would be good.
“Corbin. Take care of her.”
Corbin grinned and walked toward the entrance. Caym stood back and watched as Bay walked in with her chin held high.
Corbin would enjoy beating that confidence out of her.
Caym ignored what they were saying; it wasn’t important to him. He just wanted this to be over with so he could move on and take over. It was taking too long as it was. He smiled when Corbin backhanded Bay and she flew into the air, crashing into the wall.
Progress.
Chapter 19
A droplet of water hit a rock near her face, and Bay jerked. She tried to move, but her arms were at an odd angle, and she discovered she was chained to the cave wall. She forced herself into a sitting position, ignoring the fiery pain in her shoulders. Her lip ached where Corbin had slapped her. She looked out into the cave and sighed. Before where it had looked like in an oasis inside of a forest, now it looked like a death trap. No, the pools and trees hadn't changed, but what it represented had. Before she had ran into this cave as a place to hide, not from the people who loved her, but for them. She hadn't wanted them to get hurt, so she had run, not thinking. And now, she had run directly to the enemy for the same purpose. To protect those she loved. She couldn't let the family that had taken her in get hurt by attacking the Centrals. It was a war they could not win. Maybe if she’d had more time she would have been able to figure out a way to strengthen the wards. But as it was, it was too late.
She rested her hand on her flat stomach and held back a sob. Her Micah was out there somewhere, in the hands of her enemy. She could feel that he was close, that bond between the wolf and her child wouldn’t fade for a few years. But it scared her that not even the Alpha could feel her child. That meant he was near the demon. It was only because of the blood in her veins she could even feel Micah.
“Ah, I see you’ve woken up,” Caym drawled from the edge of the cave opening. Bay stiffened but didn’t lower her head. She wouldn’t, not for this piece of trash. She would go down fighting to the end. “It’s about time. I had been afraid that my Corbin had hit you too hard. But really, it would have been a shame for you to have died…so soon.”
The way his eyes gleamed when he had said “my Corbin” made her want to vomit. There was no love in that gaze, only a desire for power.
She could almost feel sorry for the wolf, almost.
Caym took short, measured steps toward her, as if knowing each time he moved closer she had to bite her tongue that much harder not to flinch. He squatted in front of her, resting his forearms on his thighs. He still wore his suit pants and pressed shirt, but he’d lost the jacket and tie he’d worn the other time she’d seen him. His hair was smoothed back so his cheekbones were even more pronounced, and his eyes were their usual black orbs of darkness, but now the red flashed with each breath.
She didn’t want to be like him, nor did she want her child to be raised like him. She’d die first.
And she probably would.
“I’m not surprised you came, darling,” he said softly as he traced his finger down her cheek. Against her will, she flinched away from his touch as it left a trail of cool numbness in its wake.
She lifted a lip and showed some fang. Her wolf wanted to pounce and tear out his throat, the woman not too far behind. But she couldn’t do anything rash. Not when she knew she wasn’t yet strong enough to do it and when she didn’t know where Micah was. Her baby had to come first. Then Adam. Then her. That’s the way it had to be.
“Uh uh uh. Watch your attitude, little girl.” He twisted his finger so his nail ran across her cheek instead. She flinched at the sharp sting then held back a growl as blood seeped from the wound.
“Good girl. I know you want to growl and make a fuss, but that won’t do you any good, will it?” He smiled a wide smile, full of sharp teeth, and she wanted to crawl into a ball.
So much for being a strong wolf. One look at this demon and she knew she’d met her match.
“I know you came for your baby, and not me. That much I understand. You’re a selfish child for not wanting to be near your daddy, but it’s okay. I’ll beat a new attitude into you.” He smiled again then stood, leaving her chained to the wall. “You really are an idiot, aren’t you? Like I’d let Micah live with you after this. No, I’ll raise him in my image. I really do think Corbin and I will make great parents.” He gave a malicious grin, and her heart stuttered.
No, dammit. No. He couldn’t have her little boy.
“As for you, well, you’re so wild and independent, and that won’t do. I’ll let Corbin have you to play with for a bit to see if we can make you a little more manageable. Yes, he’ll rape and beat you, but really, it’s your own fault. You should have come when Daddy called you.”
Chills ran up her spine as bile rose up into her mouth. This creature was truly evil. That he’d say that to his own daughter made her want to throw up, but the fact that Corbin was just as sadistic and of her own kind wanted to make her scream.
But, wait, she was also a demon.
Thank God she was more wolf than demon.
“I’m a gracious sort, so I won’t kill your Adam right away. No, I’ll wait a bit, just so he knows how lucky he is. Then I’ll kill him and the rest of his bastard Pack. Those Redwoods piss me off more than you can ever imagine. If they’d just get over it and surrender already. They don’t have a chance, not against me. And, their trinity bond pissed me the fuck off even more. Now I can’t call the other demons. But no worries, I still have you and your little boy. And I’m going to make more babies with the Centrals’ wolves. What do you think of that? Those women spread their legs for anyone. Well, it might be due to the fact that their Pack bonds are tainted, but whatever. Then I’ll have Corbin sire some whelps with you. I like that idea.”
“We can’t have children if we’re not mated.”
“Corbin already has a child with a mate of his, I’m sure we can find a way to make it happen with you. Though the bitch left him before he could raise the bastard. Don’t worry, we’ll find them. Pity your whore of a mom mated me.”
“Don’t talk about her. You don’t deserve that right.”
“I can do whatever I damn well please. And I know we can’t sire babies without mating. But with a little bit of dark magic, I can try and make demons.”
Revulsion slid through her. “What?” she breathed.
“I’m going to fuck those little bitches until they breed. Along with some dark magic, I’ll be able to procreate at least something. It won’t be pure wolf, or demon, or even what you are. But according to my old texts, something will come.”
“You’re a sadistic monster.”
“Yes, yes I am. But I’m winning.”
“They’ll fight you. The Redwoods won’t let you win.”
“Oh, I can’t wait. I want to see the blood of their fucking Alpha on my table. I want to see your precious Adam plead for his life. Then I’ll kill him in front of you. Just because I can.”
“I hate you.”
“Good.”
With that, he walked away, leaving her chained to the wall, her hopes crashing down to the floor. She’d known it had been a long shot to come here and plead. But maybe if she went along with Caym’s plans, at least for a little while, she’d protect the Redwoods. At least long enough for Adam to save Micah. Then she’d let Corbin kill her, anything to protect Micah.
Bay rested her head against the cold wall and tried to break free. The metal dug into her wrists. She looked a bit closer and cursed. It was spelled metal, meaning no matter what she did; she wouldn’t be able to break through. And even if she shifted to her wolf, the clamps would expand or shrink to fit. There was no way she would be able to break free so she’d have to wait until one of them unlocked her. But then what? She couldn’t run, not with Caym’s ability to flash. And she would never leave Micah here.
She could only hope that Adam would come for their baby. It was really the only way. She couldn’t have let Adam come with her at first because he too would have been caught or killed. And she hadn’t let him in on her plan because, if she had, he wouldn’t have let her come.
