As I spoke, my voice was barely a whisper above disbelief. “Damon?”
Our pack leader stood, looking worse for wear. Despite his obvious exhaustion and questionable hygiene, the glint in his eyes said that he had not given up despite what he’d been through.
Damon stood favouring one leg. His slacks were ripped, barely hanging together. He wore no shirt, which made visible long pink-tinted scars across his chest. I wondered at how long ago he’d gotten those. With his Were blood his wounds should have healed fairly quickly. I wondered if he’d gotten them on his way down here or if the wounds were older and very deep. His arms were covered in new scars and his face wasn’t much better. His knuckles were raw and red and I knew he must have gotten those recently. His hair was a complete mess and if lice had nested in there I would not be surprised. He wore no shoes and his toenails had mud crusted underneath them. In fact his entire body was covered in dirt and mud. He even had a speck of dirt on his nose.
Everyone in the room swarmed around him, Cade leading the way. As they hugged and greeted our weary alpha, the siren continued to wail. I made my way to Cade’s side.
The team made way for me as I passed through them until I stood facing Damon. I smiled hesitantly, not quite sure of what to do. Me and Damon had never had a very close relationship and I’m sure I’d given him grief my first few days here. Nevertheless, I was relieved to see him. A part of me had blamed myself for what had happened in his office that day. More than once I’d told myself that I should have done something to stop Ashton.
When Damon opened his arms to me, relief rushed through me. I don't know whether I’d expected him to hold a grudge. On instinct, I ran into his arms, uncaring about the dirt that clung to every part of his body. I squeezed him tightly, so glad he was safe. I forget all about his family history and my anger towards him. When Cade cleared his throat purposefully I blushed lightly and stepped away from Damon.
“Is there any way we could get that siren turned off?” Damon’s voice was rusty, as though he hadn’t spoken in a while. His following laugh was even rougher. Though I suppose that was expected – he’d been gone weeks and what had happened to him probably hadn’t given him cause for laughter.
Cade signalled to one of the men in the room to shut off the siren. He leaned into a man who hovered by his elbow and told him to call off the attack teams and let everyone know what was happening, but that no one was to attempt to see him yet. The man nodded his agreement and began to leave.
I stepped into Cade’s arms as the team filed out the door and into the elevator. Damon’s eyes tracked the movement and a knowing smile flitted across his lips. “Mated?” He asked, though it was more a statement than a question. Cade smiled that devastating smile and curled his arm around my waist possessively. The message in his eyes was clear: Mine. Damon laughed, the sound still a bit harsh and unrefined. “I knew it was going to happen.”
“Damon, what happened to you?”
His eyes grew serious at my question. “A lot. We’re going to need our team down here, Cade.” Cade answered with a sharp nod before whipping out his phone. He began dialling numbers. I pulled away from Cade and stepped closer to Damon.
“Do you want anything? Water, food?”
For a moment, it seemed as though Damon hadn’t heard my question. His brown eyes were distant, as though he were thinking deeply about something, or remembering a past event. “Damon?” I asked softly.
“Oh. No thanks.” He ducked his head to avoid my questioning eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” My raised eyebrow of disbelief got a smile out of him. “Really Ainsley, I’m just a bit tired.”
“Why don't you rest a bit?” I asked. Who knew what the man had been through all this while, and the first thing he did when he got back was get right down to business.
“There’s too much we need to do and not enough time. Cade!” Damon walked past me and began to talk with Cade, who was still on the phone. I sighed and rolled my eyes. That was men, for you. They thought they were too manly to take a rest every now and then. I went to sit down on the couch and wait for things to start happening.
Boy, did I get what I wanted.
Five minutes later, the steel door was sliding open once more. This time, there were more familiar faces entering. Cameron, holding his laptop entered first, a bagel between his teeth. Behind him were Kat and Declan, followed by Shane, Athena and one woman I didn’t recognize.
The women threw themselves at Damon, hugging him tightly, Athena smothering kisses across his face, inciting laughter out of the people in the room. The men did their manly hugs, much more subdued than their female counterparts. Everyone, however, seemed extremely happy and relieved to see him.
Once everyone was settled in, Damon got down to business. He sat with me and Cade on the couch. The rest of the team was scattered on the floor, one-man couches and chairs pulled from the kitchen. When Cade saw me looking at the mystery woman, he leaned down to my ear to explain, “Rena, our pack’s witch.” Rena was what you’d think of as the brunette bombshell. She had full, dark brown hair that was streaked with lighter brown and fell to the top of her butt in sexy, languid waves. Her skin was tan, as though she spent all day soaking in the sun. She was tall, and slender with curves that made a man’s jaw drop. Her lips were pouty and were a reddish-pink, as though they’d just been bitten. But the most unique thing about this witch was her eyes, royal purple with blue flecks. It was the eyes that made me believe she was a witch.
“Werewolves and witches?” I asked, half-joking.
“And goblins too,” he quipped, lacing his fingers with mine. The feel of his skin against still sent zings through my body. He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I placed a kiss on his sexy jaw before turning my attention to Damon, who had just cleared his throat.
“I’m going to be completely honest with everyone in this room,” said Damon solemnly. His eyes locked on each of ours before he continued. “Our pack is in a lot of danger right now. And it is because of you, Ainsley.” He turned to lock his eyes on mine. My breath caught in surprise and I could feel the weight of the team’s eyes on my face. Though, when I think about it, I should have seen this coming. I couldn’t have expected a war to start over me without my pack becoming threatened. Cade’s fingers tightened on mine.
“What are you talking about?” Cade asked sharply.
Damon stood. “I’ll start from the day Ashton tried to attack us. Begin at the beginning, no?” He paused a moment before telling us what had happened to him after his multi-story fall.
“When I fell from the window, I was badly injured. Even for a Were a fall from that height could be deadly. I tried dragging myself into the shrubs in case anyone was around, but I couldn’t move fast enough. Someone shot me in the leg with a sedative. A strong one. I didn’t get a good look at the his face, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of a tattoo on his upper arm.”
Shane, sitting on a chair frowned. “Red Howl pack members don’t have tattoos.”
“I know,” said Damon. “It wasn’t one of their men who took me.”
“More than one pack had men here that day?” Declan asked. “How is that possible? We would have scented them.”
“I don’t know how they managed to go undetected. But it wasn’t Red Howl.”
“Then who was it?” This question, from Cade.
Instead of answering, Damon continued to recount the events that had befallen him. “The last thing I saw before passing out was the tattoo. I wasn’t even sure that it was what it was when I saw it. The sedative had blurred my vision. When I woke up, I was chained to a wall in a cell. It was maybe a few days after I’d been shot – I could tell by the dryness in my mouth. My shirt was stripped off but I still had my shoes. I tried to stand up, but the chains wouldn’t allow it. A while after that, a woman approached me. She had the same tattoo was the guy who’d shot me. I knew immediately who she was.”
“How?” I breathed the word, lost in his retelling.
“Two things. The necklace around her throat and the scar running through her right eyebrow to the corner of her nose.”
Everyone but me gasped. I shook my head, lost. “Who is she?”
Shane filled me in, his voice filled with awe and fear. “She’s the alpha of the Claws pack. They’re one of the most ruthless packs out there. They take no prisoners, and they show no mercy, not even to their own. The easiest way to identify them is by the tattoo of a claw crossed by a dagger right about their wrist. Most people, when they’re captured, commit suicide.” A shiver ran through my veins. “In some circumstances, they’ll kill you even if you give them what they want, just to make an example of you. One of their favourite things to do is make you shift and then cut off one your claws. Then they’ll choke you with it, cut you up with it, make you eat pieces of it-”
“Thanks for the nightmares, Shane,” I said, cutting him off. I hadn’t noticed I was inching closer and closer to Cade until he gently pushed my leg off his. Shane smiled grimly. “Is that what she did to you? And what’s this necklace you mentioned?”
“Do you want more nightmares?” Damon asked me. When my eyes widened and I shook my head, he continued. “In short, over two weeks she tried to... persuade me into giving her information about our security and you, Ainsley, but I wouldn't give. When she gave up, she ordered my death. Obviously that never happened.” Damon paused, to smile faintly to himself. “When a guard came in to do the job, I managed to catch him by surprise. They’re good fighters, let me tell you, but eventually I managed to knock him out. I took his weapons and keys and cut myself loose. By the time I got out of the building and stole a car they realized what happened and came after me. She even sent her personal guard to find me and kill me.”
“How did you manage to lose them?” The question came from more than one person.
“I drove into a city close to their reserve, found a department store and doused myself in perfume.” His answer sent the team into a laughing rage. Athena even had to wipe tears from her eyes. “The perfume managed to cover my scent long enough for me to get some distance between me and them.”
“Is that all?” Shane asked. “Much more time has passed then the few weeks you mentioned being in there.”
Damon’s face lost all traces of humour. “I know. This is the bad part. While I was there, I would hear the guards talk, in between my... talk sessions with Irena, their alpha. Let me tell you, she and her warriors may be fierce, violent and cunning but those traits were not passed down to their guards. My first few days locked up I was drugged all the time and I suppose they assumed I was kept drugged all the time. But I wasn’t, I was listening. So while they were gossiping and whining and discussing, I was writing it all down in my head.
“Irena has a team of scientists that she pays to develop deadly weapons that are very unique. One thing that her scientists developed was a drug, for her spies and warriors. It masks their scents and replaces it with other ones. Trees, animals, hell they could even smell like a garbage can if they really wanted to. That’s why you couldn’t scent them when they took me the other day. It’s a really dangerous tool, and nobody needs to be told that in the Claws’ hands, it’s deadly.” There was silence as the implications of this new drug set in. “So, when I made my escape, I manage to swipe some research papers they had on the drug. It was kept in the safe down the hall from where I was being held. I had the guard’s set of keys so I was able to get in.” Damon reached into his pants pocket and pulled a bunch of crumpled papers from it. Handing it to Rena, he said, “I don’t know what information is in here, but hopefully you and your assistants can get something from it.” The witch rose from her spot, and taking the papers, immediately began to read through them. “I drove the car to an airport and managed to sneak onto a plane overseas. I wanted to talk to the Were Council and ask them if they would provide protection for you, Ainsley. And now of course, Cade.”
“But why would they do this? Don’t they want me too? Wait, do they know I’ve mated already? Does anybody?”
Damon pinched the bridge of his nose. “There have been rumours going around that you’ve mated. I heard them when I was in Greece with the Council. I didn’t confirm or deny them, so nobody really knows for sure. As for the Council, they’re impartial. They’re only there to confer with the Big Alpha and when he’s not there, make the decisions that affect the entire Were world. I doubt they’ll have much participation with the war that’s breaking out.”
“It’s breaking out already?” I asked. Fear began to creep into my body.
“There have been no attacks between other packs. The only ones that I know of are the ones that we’ve encountered here,” said Damon. “That being said, there are packs that are forming alliances and preparing themselves and their reserves for war. This is happening.”
“What about us? Why aren’t we preparing for war?” I couldn’t stop the questions from streaming out of my mouth.
“As far as I know, we have the best secured reserve in the country.”
“But this war is happening across the world. How do we rank there?”
“Ainsley.” Cade’s voice stopped me from speaking. “Nothing is going to happen to you. These people in this room right now are the best. And they’re committed to you. As long as I’m breathing, nothing is going to happen to you, and no one will harm you. Not even over my dead body.”
I could feel Cade’s conviction. He believed I was safe and he knew much more about this world than I did. His belief was enough for me. I nodded my head and settled back into the comfort of Cade’s body. “Okay.”
“So as I was saying,” continued Damon, “the Council has agreed to provide protection for you once we arrive there. On the way back, however, we’re on our own.”
“We’re leaving?” Kat asked.
“Very soon. Something is coming.”
The ominous words sent slivers of cold fear trickling down my spine.
“What do you mean?” Cade’s voice was low, almost to the point where it’d be reduced to a growl.
“I’m not exactly sure. One of the Council members pulled me aside. They told me an attack was headed our way and that it would be huge. He said it would be happening within a week’s time. That was four days ago. The member also warned me to evacuate everyone from the reserve, if I could, or, put them into lockdown.”
“Who is this Council member? Can we trust him?” These words came from Shane, of course. If there was an evacuation to be done, he’d be the one to see it through. I had no doubt he would want to evacuate the entire reserve if it wasn’t necessary.
“I can’t say, I gave him my word. But I have known him for many years and I’ve learned, in those years that his information is almost never wrong. I want to get this team and Ainsley out of here by tonight. The rest of the pack members will be sent to their temporary houses throughout the city.” Damon looked at all of us, watching him. “You guys are my number one team. I’m counting on you to see this through. We need to make sure everything goes as planned, without any problems. Our pack is depending on us.”
As Damon began to lay out a plan for what would happen within the next 48 hours, I remarked at how I was moving once more. I’d just found my home and now it was threatened by my own being. I sighed, and wondered if this was what my life would be like from now on: constant threats and dangers, lockdowns, evacuations, defence and attack plans.
Would I ever know peace?