Chapter Fifteen

Thea’s terrified and pain-filled scream echoed in the night. Bram snarled and doubled down, running as fast as he could in her direction. He didn’t know how they’d gotten away so fast with her. They were nearly to the edge of the pack’s territory. He could hear engines and the sound of footfalls.

Pack members joined him, his dad, and Logan as they raced toward Thea. He had to get to her before she was loaded into those vehicles. If she was taken away, he’d lose her scent.

He howled, calling more pack members to him. Jason and Logan reiterated the howls, urging the joining of all who could help. Answering howls echoed in the woods.

But something else echoed too.

Eagle screeches and flapping wings.

Bram pushed himself as fast as he could, the trees a blur as he raced toward the connection he felt to Thea.

They breached the edge of the pack territory where a dirt access road stretched around the perimeter of the woods. A line of vehicles was waiting with their engines on and their lights off, including a dark colored cargo van.

He could see Thea being tossed into the back of the van.

Bram charged toward the van. An eagle screeched overhead and landed on his back, sinking thick talons into his hide and trying to lift him off his feet. One of the pack members knocked the bird from his back and Bram rolled on the ground and leaped to his paws.

Eagles surrounded him in their shifted form, wings flapping to obstruct his view and talons trying to rip his fur and skin. He snapped his jaws on the nearest eagle and shook swiftly, then released it into another, the two birds flopping ungracefully to the ground.

Bram bounded forward, jumping onto an eagle and hearing something crack in its body, then darted toward the van.

A male slammed the doors shut and slapped his hand on it.

Bram howled angrily and jumped forward, but he didn’t reach his target.

Something slammed into his side and knocked him away, stealing the breath from his lungs. He clawed at the ground and struggled to breathe and get to his feet as the taillights illuminated the woods in dark red and the tires spun on the dirt road.

The van lurched forward and drove away.

No! Thea!

He howled angrily and charged forward. He couldn’t lose Thea.

 

* * *

 

Kash gripped his sword and slashed through an eagle, splitting the bird into several pieces. His father was flying a few yards away, meeting the eagles in the sky and trying to stop them from attacking the wolves as they ran to help Bram get to Thea on the ground below.

There seemed to be an endless number of eagles and many more on the ground fighting.

Kash had never seen such large eagles. Or such vicious birds in general.

Below him, birds surrounded wolves and tried to claw out their organs or blind them. The pack was strong, and the males were taught to fight in their shifted forms, but how much good was that training against so very many?

He heard a door slam and the slap of a hand against metal and heard Bram’s howl of rage.

Putting his wings down, he swooped low over the pack and shouted, “I’ve got her, Bram! Take these fuckers out!”

Cutting a u-turn in the air, Kash followed the van.

It raced along the dirt road, bumping and jerking as it hit potholes and rocks. The road wasn’t used except by pack members to patrol the area.

Below, he saw some wolves trying to cut the van off, but it easily outmaneuvered them and accelerated beyond their running capabilities.

It was on him to stop the van and get Thea.

She was their future alpha female and she had to be protected.

He tucked his sword into the sheath at his back to free his hands and flapped his wings as fast as he could, cutting through the air and staying close to the van. He had to stop the van without hurting Thea.

He searched his mind for a spell.

Shoving his hands forward, he shouted, “Beyo morta oakine, harhm!”

A loud crack sounded, and a huge tree fell across the road. The van’s tires screamed as the male driving tried to stop from hitting the tree but was unable to avoid the crash. The van listed to one side and slammed into the huge obstacle, rocking on two tires and then slamming back down to all four.

Kash surged forward, angling himself to land directly behind the van.

He grabbed the handle, but it was locked.

As he cast the spell to unlock the door, a male stalked around the side of the van and lifted a gun in Kash’s direction.

All right, gun first, lock later.

Kash spun and knocked the gun out of the male’s hand with his wings. The gun clattered to the ground. The male tried to punch him, but he dodged and punched him in the side and then under his jaw, sending him flying. Grabbing the handle, Kash started the unlock spell again.

The male got up and ran at him with a guttural yell.

“I don’t have fucking time for this,” Kash said, drawing his sword.

He swung the sword in an arc and turned to the side, the male impaling himself on the blade with a grunt. Kash kicked the male in the torso and he slid from the blade, grabbing his stomach with a groan as he fell to the ground.

“Don’t fucking kidnap females and you won’t get hurt,” he said.

He was able to unlock the door this time and jerked it open.

Thea was on her side. Her wings were out, but they were hanging at odd angles and clearly broken.

Kash climbed into the van and pressed his fingers to her throat to feel for her pulse. It was beating steadily and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Let’s get you to Bram.”

He carefully slid his hands under her and lifted her into his arms. Ducking his head, he jumped down from the back of the van and cringed when she moaned.

“Sorry, sorry.”

He stretched out his wings and prepared to lift into the air.

“Put her down,” a male voice said behind him.

“I’m taking her to her mate.”

“If you try to fly away with her, I’ll kill you both.”

Kash turned slowly and faced two males. One was older, maybe in his late forties, but the other was young, perhaps a teenager.

“I’ve dispatched a number of your people tonight,” Kash said. “Don’t add your lives to my list.”

The males’ wings sprang from their backs, and they took an aggressive stance.

Kash arched a brow and set Thea gently inside the van once more. He faced the males. “Idiots.”

And then he attacked.

 

* * *

 

Thea’s eyes fluttered open, and she couldn’t figure out what she was looking at. It was dark, but there was light coming from somewhere overhead, a sickly yellow sort of light that didn’t really illuminate much.

“Idiots.”

Was that Kash?

She lifted her head and froze as a terrible pain ratcheted through her, emanating from her back.

Shit, her wings were crushed.

And her dad had stood by and watched it happen.

Her fast healing wasn’t going to fix this, she needed to shift fully and let her body take care of it that way, but she was currently in way too much pain to shift.

It took forever for her to lift her upper body from the floor of what appeared to be a van and sit up entirely. Her head swam and her ears rang, and the pain from her broken wings only got worse as they hung from her back.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness outside the van, she could see Kash, white wings outstretched, battling two males. She recognized one of them from her own nest, a male named Brian who was her father’s age.

Scooting carefully to the edge of the van, she watched as Kash slashed the arm of a younger male she didn’t recognize, and he gasped and stumbled away.

Kash glanced at her.

“Get to safety, Thea.”

Yeah, that was a good idea.

Perhaps the best idea ever.

But where was she, and where was safety?

Her heart panged sharply, and she felt her connection to Bram flare within her. She stood slowly and took a few steps toward the trees, the dirt road crunching under her feet.

She was missing a shoe and winced as a sharp rock pressed into her sole, but she ignored it.

Was Bram okay?

As if answering her silent question, a pain-filled howl echoed in the night, and she knew in her heart it was Bram.

She closed her eyes and felt for that connection to her mate.

Her eagle called out in her head, letting her know that the homing instinct would lead her directly to her mate.

She might be broken right now, but she could sure as hell try to help.

Her back hurt so badly she wanted to barf or curl up in a ball and cry for a week. But she couldn’t do either of those things and she wasn’t about to let her broken wings get in the way of helping Bram.

Gritting her teeth as determination filled her, she raced away toward her mate.

I’m coming, Bram.