Christian
The pain was excruciating. It burned over his whole body. And it took everything inside him to stand there and not double over and puke up his guts.
What in the damn hell had happened to Ellie?
A moment later, the pain was gone. She was alive, though. He could feel it.
She was moving again.
Christian glanced at his watch. It had been twenty-five minutes since he’d left his truck, and the Quades were still arguing. His ears were tuned for the start of an engine—which should have been more than ten minutes ago if things had gone right.
But they weren’t going right, obviously.
Shit.
He glanced around the big group of fighting wolves. Some of them were getting edgy. And edgy wolves were never a good thing.
“Silence!” Miranda Quade finally yelled, spreading her arms wide. “Stop this bickering, all of you.”
“You’re not the alpha’s wife anymore,” sneered Cal, who had been in the thick of the fighting since it started. He clearly did not like the idea of the newly selected alpha. “You have no right to order us around anymore.”
“You shut up,” Daniel said, taking a step and putting out his hand like Darth Fucking Vader.
The gesture visibly affected Cal, who buckled at the knees a bit, like Daniel was actually doing something.
Wait. Was he doing something?
The buckling of Cal’s knees soon turned into a full-on kneel.
Holy shit. Daniel really was Darth Vader.
How far did this magick stuff run?
“Let him go,” Miranda said, a hard drop to her words. “You’ll best him in the alpha trials, and all this will be settled.”
“When are we going to have the alpha trials?” asked the tall, broad-shouldered man who still hadn’t released whatever Force he was directing at the wolf of his pack.
“Tonight.” Miranda sounded almost disappointed. “I don’t think the pack will wait.”
“We need time to prepare!” yelled a male voice from somewhere up on the rickety bleachers. Christian hadn’t quite learned everyone’s names yet, but this guy’s voice was new. He hadn’t been part of the fight.
Shit, how big would these alpha trials be?
There had to be fifty or sixty people in the pack. More than half of them were men. Would they all try to unseat Daniel?
Christian tried not to let any of these questions pop out of his mouth. Mostly, the Quades had ignored him while they had this discussion, this fight. But if he spoke, that would remind them of the fact that they were supposed to settle Christian Kyle with a mate.
Like she had been reading his damn mind, Miranda Quade turned her attention to him. Christian swallowed and met her eyes.
“We have to settle this mess with Christian Kyle. But we need to find Kate first.”
“Kate has made her choice,” Daniel said, like he was tired of saying it. “We may not like it, but we can’t un-bond someone from their mate.”
One of the old woman’s gray brows rounded hard, like she might challenge that assumption, but her scan of the crowd landed her attention back on Christian, and she pursed her lips. “Do you have another suggestion?”
Daniel answered, as Christian was grasping for words, thinking she had been addressing him. But of course, she wasn’t. His opinion didn’t matter.
“There are other women in our pack he can mate,” said the for-now-alpha.
“But the point was Katie’s rodeo heritage. Her mother. Her father.”
“What about Alissa?” Daniel said.
Miranda shook her head. “Madison.”
Everyone’s gaze went, as a group, to a young, blonde girl sitting in between a man and a woman in cowboy hats. The whole family gave the slightest recoil. She was too young. Couldn’t have been out of high school yet.
“Not Madison,” said the man sitting next to the young girl. “She’s not old enough yet.”
“She’ll be old enough if I say she is,” Miranda spat out, turning on the whole of the bleachers like a cartoon witch about to cast a spell. Everyone froze, clearly afraid of her. Did she have the power that Daniel had? It seemed like everyone was waiting for that Darth Vader thing. But it never came.
“We can’t do that, grandma,” Daniel said, his tone strong. “Alissa will do.”
Miranda rounded on him, like she had the rest of the family, but her anger didn’t appear to affect him like it did the rest of them.
“I’ll do it,” called out a sultry female voice.
The crowd’s attention swung to a redhead in Daisy Dukes, leaning on the edge of the bleachers. Her hair was long and curled all the way down her back. She was pretty enough, but she wasn’t Ellie. Christian’s heart sunk. This must have been Alissa.
“Fine,” Daniel said. “After the alpha trials, we’ll settle all that.”
“We’ll settle it now,” Miranda argued, moving toward Christian like she would seize him herself.
“We can’t make any pack decisions until after the alpha trials.” Daniel’s voice was resigned, but he knew undoubtedly that his Darth Vader power would only work for so long against a crowd of sixty people. He couldn’t have unlimited ability like that. It had to run out.
“But your grandfather wanted—” Miranda began.
“Grandfather is dead.” Daniel’s words hit a hard stop, and everyone seemed to go on edge. But Daniel didn’t back down. He pointed to Christian. “Where are you staying?”
“I… I…” Christian sputtered, like he had a semblance of free will. “I hadn’t found a place yet. I was hoping I could stay with my sister.”
“We’ll have you stay off the ranch,” Daniel said with a shake of his head. “The alpha trials are for pack only. You’re not pack yet.”
“You can’t just let him go.” Miranda moved toward her grandson, turning away from anger and toward pleading. She couldn’t have the power Daniel had, because she either realized she had to defer to him, or she was afraid he would turn that power on her. She was smarter than she seemed.
“The alpha trials are for pack only.” Daniel’s repetition was dark and full of threat.
“Your grandfather wanted him to—”
“He’s agreed to the mating, Alissa agreed. He can stay in town somewhere until we call for him. We will settle all this after the alpha trials.” Daniel turned and walked across the ring of people. Toward his truck.
Christian’s heartbeat thudded. Ellie.
But the entire group disbursed. The redhead, Alissa, walked purposefully past him, brushing up against him as she did. No response from his body at all.
At least he could be satisfied knowing that the magick wasn’t telling him to be with Alissa the way it had with Ellie. What he had with Ellie was special.
Different.
Miranda Quade hobbled past him, clearly giving him a stare-down. “You stay close, boy. We still have your sister, and mind me, I’ll kill her if you try anything stupid. I swear to you, I will.”
“Grandmother,” Daniel said, sharply. He had stopped in the middle of the big arena ring and was staring back at her. “No one is killing anyone. You hear me? Christian has agreed to do this. When he completes his responsibility, he will get a house for him and Alissa and his sister, and they’ll be pack. Until then, just leave him the hell alone.”
Christian’s hands itched to grab the old woman by the throat. It was her fault he was in this position. She and her husband. And apparently, Ryan Travis had robbed him of the opportunity to kill her husband.
But he would sure love to kill her. She was a villain, true to the core. He had a feeling she wouldn’t stop until the world revolved around her.
Those were the scariest kind.
But she backed down. She walked away. She at least had respect for the alpha, even if it was only fear for her own life. He’d take that.
The trucks all started, and everyone pulled away, one at a time. Families together, couples together. A few men went into the big door marked OFFICE and Christian held his breath. Was Ellie still up there? Had she managed to get Molly?
He walked toward his own truck, stunned at the turn of events, unsure of what to do. If Ellie had gotten Molly, they would be back in the truck.
Had she gotten out too late to drive up and get him?
Had she gotten captured? Had that been the pain he felt through her earlier?
“Hey, let me take you to a hotel,” said a voice from behind him. It was Daniel Quade. “The least we can do is put you up somewhere.”
“I can get my own hotel,” Christian said, watching more men walk into the office.
Shit. What should he do? If they found Molly gone… if they found Ellie up there…
But he was only one wolf against all this family. What could he do?
Daniel escorted him to his truck. “Try the Lazy Susan,” he said. “It’s locally run, and it’s close to the ranch. Cheap, but not dirty. And it’ll be an easy drive back here. If you come in the morning, you can eat breakfast with your sister.”
Christian’s heart ached. Molly.
“Can I see her right now?” he asked before he realized he’d said it.
Daniel looked at the Office door. “Better not. If we let some of this shit cool down overnight, I can get you in to her tomorrow morning, though.”
Christian let out a long breath. He had a few seconds only before those guys got up to Molly’s room. If she was gone, and in the truck, he needed to be gone. He shook Daniel’s hand, like they were old friends, and climbed into Ellie’s truck.
“Hey, did you get a new vehicle?” Daniel asked. “I thought you had a different truck the other day.”
“Mine broke down,” Christian said from behind the wheel. “Had to hot wire one from somebody’s property.”
“Well, we’ll get this back to them and get you a new truck,” Daniel said, pushing Christian’s door closed and keeping his hand on the open window. “Looks like a vet truck. Wouldn’t want them to be without it.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Christian started the truck, keeping his eyes on the Office door. He needed to get the hell out of here. Ellie had to be in the back with Molly. He needed to get them to safety.
He pulled out, watching the side mirrors for someone to run out of the office, but no one did. His heart didn’t stop thudding until he was back on the road outside the ranch. He drove for another mile, just to be sure, and then pulled off onto a side road.
Christian jumped out of the truck with it still running and ran back to the crates. He opened one, and Dodger jumped out, licking his face. He opened the other, and Ellie was curled up, sobbing, her shoulders slumped.
“Where’s Molly?” he asked, trying to keep his voice down.
“She’s… she’s…” A sob racked Ellie’s body. “I’m so sorry, Christian. I couldn’t get her out.”
“Is she…” He stopped himself, emotion burning through him. “Is she dead?”
“No.” Ellie looked up at him. “She’s alive. She’s fine. I promised her we would come back for her, but… I couldn’t…”
“God, Ellie. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He pulled her out and into his arms, sitting on the back of the truck, as she started sobbing for real.
They were far enough off the road. He wasn’t worried about being seen by a passing Quade, but he was worried that someone would come by and see her.
He carried her to the truck cab, laying her inside. He called Dodger and ran around, getting inside and back on the road. Ellie was laying down on his lap, repeating her apologies, and he stroked her hair.
“What happened?” he asked. “Tell me everything.”
Ellie sat up, and he pushed her back down on his lap.
“If you stay down for longer, we’ll be away from the Quades completely, and we can find a hotel.”
“There was a spell. I don’t know what it was,” she said between sobs. “I tried to rush her, to knock her out of it, but it… It just pushed me back. I couldn’t even get near her.”
He stroked her head, trying to reassure her. “You did your best, El. We’ll get her.”
“We’ll never get her out of that spell,” Ellie said, sitting up at last. They were among a larger amount of traffic, and several miles away from the Quade ranch. “I tried everything. I tried getting a broom and pushing her out. Nothing will break the barrier. And I’m afraid, if she falls into it, something will happen to her.”
His heart sank. He pulled off onto some side streets, looking for a place to stay. They had to regroup. Make a plan. Rest. Ellie needed rest. He had to take care of her.
“Then we’ll find another way,” he said. “So, we can’t break in and rescue her. We’ll have to come up with another plan.”
“Let me call Ryan,” she said, scooting over beside him. “It’s after six. They have to have done the alpha ceremony by now, so he’ll be the new alpha. He’ll be able to help us.”
“How?” Christian asked.
“He has alpha magick.”
“Like that Darth Vader shit Daniel was doing,” he said absently.
“What Darth Vader shit?”
“Moving people, making them kneel, scaring them.”
Ellie nodded. “I don’t know exactly how the alpha magick works, but I know that they have some abilities regular pack wolves don’t have.”
Christian pulled into an old, run-down motor inn and drove all the way around the back. He pulled in to one of the many empty spots and put the truck in park. They needed to think. To plan.
As much as he hated to admit it, having Ryan on their side would help.
He was going to have to face Kate Quade someday. Today might as well be that day.
“Do you know Ryan’s number?” he finally asked.
“Yes.” She held out her hand for his phone. “We’ll get this sorted out.”
He reached into his pocket and dug out the stupid phone. He hated having to ask for help. But Ellie was right. They couldn’t do anything about the spell. They were lucky they’d gotten out of that Quade barn without being seen. Couldn’t take any more chances.
They climbed out of the truck and Ellie was on the phone, leaving a message for Ryan Travis, which also didn’t thrill him. But sometimes, sacrifices had to be made.
He needed Ellie.
Reaching for her as she hung up, he folded her into his arms and held her, leaning against the truck, for a long time. Neither of them spoke, and just the physical touch was enough to help center him.
“We can do this,” she whispered into his chest. “I promise you, as soon as I talk to Ryan, he’ll help us. We’ll get Molly back.”
“Before they make me mate Daisy Duke Redhead?” he said, only half sarcastically.
“Long before that.”
“I hope you’re right.” He kissed her forehead and kept holding her. She was the only thing keeping him calm and sane, and he never wanted to let her go.