There was only one Valley wolf he could think of that would take the news of Callahan Vann’s death well, and as Nova rounded the corner of the mansion to meet Jaden’s beaten, but strong gaze and see his mother’s expression of insurmountable relief, his heart fell to the deepest pits of his stomach with complete certainty:

  Kal Vann.

  His mood only grew worse as Ian hurriedly recounted the events that transpired around Kal’s escape and then Amara’s disappearance.

  “Kal incapacitated Nate, and I chose to save a brother in arms, sir. I take full responsibility for that,” Ian admitted. His voice was strong, but Nova noticed that the young Protector couldn’t bring himself to meet his leader’s gaze. “Shortly after, Amara said she’d be right back and went to collect her weapons. I haven’t seen her since.”

  The deductions were obvious, but Nova’s mind didn’t want to make the connection. “When you saw Amara, how long had it been since Kal escaped?” he barked.

  Ian flinched, but in that moment, Nova didn’t care. “About fifteen, twenty minutes, sir.”

  Just long enough to find the perfect cover and lie in wait for your prey. “Which way did Kal travel in his escape?” Nova asked.

  Ian pointed South, down near the… “The guest houses…” Nova whispered with mounting horror. He shot a hard, severe glare at the young soldier. “Which direction did Amara go when she left to gather her gear?” Nova hissed venomously, already knowing the answer before Ian began.

  A look of utter dread washed over Ian’s face as he understood, turning his skin a pallid shade of gray as he raised his finger to the South once more, directly at the distant guest houses that they’d stayed in the previous night. “S-sir, I didn’t…” he stammered. “I couldn’t... I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” His voice was weak and heavy with unfathomable guilt, an emotion Nova had never seen in Ian before. Even in that revelation, Nova could only feel something close to hatred for the boy in front of him

  “It’s true, Nova. He couldn’t have known,” Neveah defended, her normally stern eyes round with empathy for the young guard.

  “Amara couldn’t have known!” Nova snapped. Everyone within earshot flinched under his fury, surprised at the outburst. Nova was known for his ability to stay calm under pressure, so for him to lose his cool was extremely out of the ordinary. He just couldn’t bring himself to care. “She couldn’t have known that Kal was nearby, possibly lying in wait to finally finish what he started ten years ago. Kal has her. I can feel it. And he’s doing God knows what to her while she’s alone and scared!” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “How can I call myself her protector when I can’t even keep her safe from the man she fears most in this world!” He wanted to hit something, anything. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs in helplessness and panic and fear. If something happened to her, he wouldn’t ever forgive himself.

  “Let’s be rational here, Nova,” Nemoy suggested calmly. “We have men and women out searching every nook and cranny for them both. Winds are shifting, scents are strong pretty much everywhere, so things are muddied, but we will find her.” He placed a tentative hand on his brother’s shoulder. When Nova didn’t shove him away, he gave the shoulder a pat. “We’ll find her, brother. I swear it. And then that bastard will never hurt her again.”

  A trembling rage started deep within Nova transcending past his protective anger into outright savagery for the safety of his mate. “If he hurt so much so much as a hair on her head…” he growled, voice cold and certain. “I will kill him, Nemoy. I want you to know that. Tribunal or not.” Nemoy looks as if he wanted to dispute, but remained silent.

  “Well then you’re probably not going to like what we found, sir,” from a small ways off, a limping Nate was being helped along by Callum, the youngish pup that led Nate’s unit.

  “Status report,” Nova barked, and Callum looked as if he might bolt from the furious Beta wolf.

  Nate nudged the boy’s shoulder pushing him toward Nova with a small despondent smile. Nova heard him whisper, “You’ll get used to the yelling,” softly as the boy took a small step forward.

  Slowly, the young soldier pulled out a large handful of fabric. Nova recognized it immediately and his stomach lurched.

  It was the shirt Amara had been wearing before they separated.

  Callum unwrapped the balled up shirt and inside were the three knives that Nova had seen her wield personally during the war. The shirt was in tatters, and everything was covered in blood. He didn’t want to ask, but his mind was already reeling, blocking off his senses from the truth. “Who’s…” His voice faded before he could finish the question, his clouded eyes never leaving the bloodied torn fabric of his mate’s shirt.

  Nate understood the question. “It’s Amara’s, sir. All of it. The shirt, the knives, the blood. We figured, since you two share a mate bond… it couldn’t hurt, you know?” He shrugged uncomfortably. “There was also some hair we think might’ve been hers as well, but it proved hard to collect.” A moment of shame passed over Nate’s face. “I… I’m sorry, sir. All of this. It’s my fault. I let the chaos of the battle distract me, and in my neglect, the detained got the better of me.” Nova could see Ian stammering to interject, but Nate spoke over the softer spoken wolf, clear in his confidence. “Whatever happens, I take full responsibility. No one else gets the fall for this. I should have known better.”

  Several tense moments passed as Nova and his protégé stared each other down. Finally, Nova said, “We’ll discuss this later. Every second we waste playing the blame game, the more time Amara’s out there being tortured and who knows what else.” With a centering breath, he held out his hand to take the shirt and its contents.

  When his fingers made contact with the fabric, cold and sticky with shed blood, he could suddenly sense only Amara. He only smelled her blood, he only saw her fear, he only felt her pain. She couldn’t move, she was panicked and disoriented, and she was utterly alone. The flash of white hot rage that overtook him was blinding. Nemoy was instantly at his side, pulling him back to reality.

  “Did you see anything?” his brother asked warily.

  Nova shook his head. “Not in like a psychic kind of see through her eyes kind of way. It was kind of like a dream, gone as soon as I opened my eyes.”

  “Did you get anything that might help us narrow things down?” Nemoy questioned.

  Nova thought back at the already fading sensation. The mate bond had never been so prominent in his mind before. Was that how it was supposed to feel all the time? He wanted to be elated that maybe he might be getting the hang of it, but a small nervous part of him suspected that it was only so strong this time because Amara was going through something especially traumatic. He’d worry about the how later. Right now, all that mattered was getting his mate.

  All he could settle on was the searing pain of his anger. “Nothing much. She’s hurting and scared. I think it’s finally safe for everyone to assume that Kal has something to do with this,” Nova amended, finding that talking about the experience out loud calmed him to normal proportions.

  “How can you be so sure?” Jaden asked, speaking for the first time. “Wouldn’t she have the same reaction to any of the Valley wolves? We may have won the war by official standards, but they scattered when they found out their Alpha had perished. Who’s to say many won’t strike out on their own and act independently?”

  Nova shook his head. “You remember how she looked the night of our wedding, Jaden. That terrified look was one that only years of trauma could produce. Amara doesn’t fear easily. This entire trip, I haven’t felt fear from her from any of the wolves except two. Callahan, of course…”

  “And any time Kal was mentioned, I’m sure,” Nemoy finished.

  Nova nodded. “Yep. A reflexive fear that she probably didn’t even know she’d expelled.” He looked back to Jaden. “That’s what I felt from her just now, but one million fold. He’s there, nearby, terrifying her and bleeding her.” He tried to keep the already rising heat out of his voice as he spoke.

  “We just need to figure out where ‘there’ is,” Nate said.

  “Well for starters, where did you get all of this?” Nova asked Callum, indicating the mount of Amara’s belonging.

  “All over,” the young wolf replied.

  “Everywhere,” Nate said at the same time. “It was scattered like some sort of weird scavenger hunt. We figured it was intentional after her shirt and two of the knives were found in all different locations, plus hairs and who knows what else is still out there that we haven’t found yet.” Nate rubbed his arm in discomfort. “It appeared that someone, possibly Kal Vann, is trying to intentionally spread Amara’s scent as broad as possible, so we can’t pinpoint where he’s taken her.”

  “But to go this far,” Nemoy interjected, “It’s safe to assume that he’s still in the compound. That’s good; it means he’s not too far or travelling right now.”

  Nova looked around, “That’s not really great news considering there are nearly a hundred houses hear, too many unoccupied to check quickly.”

  Nemoy nodded. “It won’t be quick, but in order to finish eventually, we have to start first.” He sighed. “I’ll go ahead and change back. Callum, Ian, you two should do the same. Spread the word. No house goes unchecked.”

  Nemoy looked out at the small group that had already formed around them. “Amara is captured and locked away somewhere on this compound. Let’s find her and go home.”

  Chapter 20

  It had been hours since the search began. The pack combed through abandoned house after abandoned house, and even uprooted the homes of some of the Valley families to make sure they weren’t hiding Amara’s whereabouts. All to no avail.

  Nova was exhausted and exasperated. His arm was throbbing; his mind was worn and torn from hour upon hour of stress, panic, and worry for his love. She was still out there waiting, expecting for him to come to her rescue at any moment. And yet, he’d gotten nowhere in pinpointing her location. In a fit of rage, he roared his anger to the sky, toppling a nearby garbage bin. It practically exploded on the stone walkway, shooting shards of plastic bin and glass bottles in every direction. Nemoy, dodged a stray burger wrapper after he rounded the house he’d just morphed to man behind.

  He sighed, taking in Nova’s disheveled display. “Aren’t you supposed to be the brother that’s good under pressure?”

  “She’s everything I live for, Nemoy,” Nova said, all the fight practically drained out of him and replaced with fatigue.

  “I understand that completely, which is why you’re not going to like what I say next, but I promise you it’s in our best interest,” Nemoy warned. He made sure his beat little brother was looking directly at him before he continued, “Let’s take a break.”

  Nova bristled almost immediately. “Nemoy—”

  “You told me that when we were training Amara for the war, her fear clouded her sense of focus and dwindled her mental fortitude to nearly nothing. Doesn’t that sound exactly like what a certain Beta wolf is doing right now?” He paused, making sure Nova comprehended his point. “Only after a much needed rest did she gain the focus and drive to find something worth fight for, which in turn motivated her to hone her skills to a degree that impressed you. That’s what we need to do right now; go back to the guesthouse, make some coffee, maybe eat something small, and bump heads with the others. Maybe they found more of Amara’s items for you to use the mate bond on.”

  Given that Kal was taking her clothes off to provide these items, Nova sincerely hoped that there was nothing else to find. “We don’t have the time,” Nova retorted.

  “Running around in circles while you’re loopy and barely there will waste more time than lunch would,” Nemoy reassured. “Come on, brother. You need to be in as best a mindset as possible if you want to get in a punch or two before taking Kal into custody.” He smirked at Nova as he spoke.

  Nova planned to do a whole lot more than a punch or two. He’d be lucky if he made it off the compound alive. He sighed, accepting his fate. “Okay, brother,” Nova breathed. “A small meal. Thirty minutes tops. Then we resume the search.”

  Nemoy nodded, jogging over the Callum as he loped on all fours out of one house and towards another. “Soldier, do you remember the reconvene howl?” Callum huffed and dipped his large head in a single nod. “Good, go to your Unit guesthouse and make the alert, we’re taking a short meal break to recharge.”

  The large search party barely fit in the open kitchen, dining area, and living room floorplan as they chatted and cajoled over a light lunch. Some elected to stay outdoors, the mild valley breeze a welcome change of pace from the mountain’s sharper winds. Nemoy, Nova, Callum, Nate, and Ian were all standing around the island nursing hot mugs of coffee and simple sandwiches.

  Nova had to admit, with every bite of his food or sip of caffeine, he was more inclined to agree that this break was much needed. Already he could feel the tension that sang in his body earlier beginning to melt away. Even his battered arm was starting to feel slightly less terrible. As he looked across the island, he could still see abject guilt clouding Ian’s eyes and Nate was finding it hard to be his usually cheerful self. He’d have to apologize to them both for his behavior earlier in the day after they found Amara and finished their business in Valley territory.

  A large thump sounded from below, and a few nearby wolves chuckled. Nova overheard one of them say, “You think Iso’s kickin’ that old geezer around down there?”

  Another barked a dry laugh. “Serves him right. He’s nothing but traitorous scum.”

  “Never liked that Isiah,” a third chimed in.

  “Hey,” Nate began, “why didn’t we invite Iso up for lunch?”

  Nemoy shrugged. “He’s only down in the basement. If he wants to join us, I’m sure he can hear us moving around.” He took another big bite of his sandwich.

  Nova opened his mouth to speak, but Callum’s constipated expression cut him short. “Something wrong kid?”

  Callum looked up at Nova in surprise. “Oh! Um, no, sir. I mean, I don’t think so… I’m not sure, actually…”

  “What’s up kid?” Nate prompted, bumping him with a friendly elbow.

  Callum worried the crust on his sandwich. “Well, it’s just um…” He took a deep breath, and boldly met Nova’s eyes as he exhaled. “Sir, I’m pretty sure that Iso left with the unit that returned to our compound earlier today.”

  The entire party at the island froze.

  “I didn’t hear anything of this,” Nemoy spoke, the beginnings of alarm evident in his voice.

  Callum shook his head. “That unit was all last minute, self-formed and already departed before you two returned here. They didn’t have time to pass it up the chain of command, especially if the fleeing Valley wolves decided to take their anger out on Strathford or our hom—”

  “Are you absolutely certain that Iso was in that party,” Nova barked, quiet, but fierce.

  Callum visibly paled. “I… well, I think…” He physically shook the nerves away, and once again met Nova’s glare. “Yes, sir. Absolutely. Whoever’s in the basement, it’s not Iso or Isiah.” It was clear in Callum’s eyes who he actually thought was down there, and the possibility of it made Nova’s blood run cold.

  The silence stretched long and tight over the kitchen island before Nova moved to leave, dropping his half-eaten sandwich haphazardly on the countertop as he departed. “Don’t follow me.”

  “Like hell I’m not,” Nemoy countered.

  “I’m going, too,” Nate added. Callum nodded in agreement.

  “No,” Nova bit back heatedly. “Kal is seriously messed up right now, and he has my wife hostage. If we charge an army of wolves down there and it is in fact them, we’d all be putting her in danger. I’m not going to take that risk. Just stay here.”

  “As I said, Nova, like hell,” Nemoy repeated. “I’m not letting you waltz down there busted arm and all and go toe to toe with a completely mental wolf that has held a personal grudge against you for as long as I can remember.” Nova pleaded silently with his eyes, but Nemoy was having none of it. “If you won’t accept my answer as your brother, accept it as your Alpha. I’m going with you. End of discussion.” He turned to Nate and Ian. “Keep things quiet up here while we go check what’s bumping around.”

  Nate nodded. “Howl if you need help,” he replied, watching the two brothers with a concerned look at they left.

  The entrance to the basement was outside about half way into the lawn. The doors lifted upward out of the ground, where a steep set of stairs descended into the hallway that would lead to a few rooms closed off directly under the house.

  They crept down into the dank darkness of the underground hallway in soundless movement and Nova made sure to keep an ear strained in case he got a clue of what they were up against.

  Sure enough, another thump sounded out in one of the enclosed rooms. Underground on the same level, it was more of a scrape against the cement floor, than a slam against something, the noise much louder than when he was standing in the kitchen.

  There was another, smaller scraping noise followed by the distinct sound of heavy footfalls. But it was what Nova heard next that chilled every fiber of his being.

  “Why the fuck won’t you listen!” Kal’s cruel voice shouted, the words predicated by the loud slap. The harsh noise bounced off the cement walls in a harrowing echo. “If you honestly think I can’t find other ways to have some fun while your useless band of dogs wanders around upstairs, keep trying me, Princess. I dare you.” His voice was manic, dangerous, and too far gone to put Nova at ease.

  His heart hammered in his chest, and he could barely focus on anything aside from quieting his frantic breathing. Amara was here. She was right here. All this time, right where they’d begun. It was downright comical when Nova thought about it, and in his mental hysterics it took effort to keep from laughing out loud at the situation.

 

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