Christian
Christian put his key into the door of the hotel, steeling himself to see Ellie. He was lucky he didn’t have blood on his hands. Only so he could get back to her. But how he was going to help Molly now, he had no idea.
Daniel Quade waited in the truck, as Christian had asked, although the alpha wasn’t happy about being kept in the dark. But Ellie wouldn’t be expecting the big, bearded wolf and the escort hadn’t been a choice.
Everything inside him twisted around on itself when the door opened. He still wasn’t ready to see her. What he had to tell her would not be pleasant.
Instead of Ellie’s beautiful, perky face, the first thing he saw was Ryan Fucking Travis. Inside Christian’s body, the wolf pulsed. Hatred. Anger.
This was all Ryan’s fault. If he’d just let Kate go… Molly would be safe.
And dammit, now she’d never be safe again.
Something snapped in him, and he launched at the Trewitt pack alpha. He landed punch after punch, and Ryan got him once, almost in a stunned response. Jackass hadn’t been expecting it.
Christian kept seeing his sister’s face and just kept punching. He could feel the anger coming out as he struggled with the giant asshole, and now genuinely felt he might kill.
Kill.
Ellie’s voice stopped him. She called his name and drew him back to reality, even if only for a second. He became aware of his surroundings again and held his hands up, huffing air.
“Shit,” Ryan said, holding his hand over his nose. “I’m here to help you, asshole.”
“Don’t you even talk…” Christian’s breath heaved in and out. Ellie’s hands were on his back. Her touch helped him control the murderous thoughts swirling through him. Someone had to pay for what happened to his sister.
“Ryan,” Ellie said. “No.” She put herself between him and Ryan. Like she could stop two wolves from tearing each other up.
“He attacked me, Ellie. What do you expect?” Ryan spit some blood at the floor.
“You want me to attack you again?” Christian flexed his shoulders back, but Ellie’s touch pulled him back. Grounded him.
“Christian, please.” More control settled over him.
“Let’s everyone settle the hell down,” came another female voice. Christian looked up to see Kate Quade standing over the heaving Trewitt alpha.
A pang of guilt whispered through Christian’s body. Kate Quade.
The things he’d almost done to her… it might even be worse than what the Quades did to Molly. He had no place to feel superior.
He sank back into Ellie’s touch.
He was going to lose her. She was all he had left, and he was going to lose her, too. He could feel the pain eating at his soul. He could feel his wolf getting angrier and angrier. His control was slipping, but he would never hurt Ellie. His wolf would never hurt Ellie.
But these others. He wasn’t sure.
“You need to take her and get the hell out of here.”
“You will control your wolf, Christian.” The deep, growling voice of Daniel Quade snapped in the air like the crack of a bullwhip. He stepped through the open hotel door and shut it behind him.
Kate visibly stiffened.
Ryan jumped to his feet and shoved his mate behind him. “What the fucking hell are you doing here?”
Daniel sighed, his shoulders dropped ever so slightly. “This is the biggest fucking mess I’ve ever seen, and I intend to clean it up.” He tipped his head toward Christian. “But we have to get your sister off the ranch and to a safe place. I can’t do anything while my grandmother is threatening her.” Then he turned to Kate. “I’m sorry. I had no idea what they were planning.”
Kate stepped up next to Ryan and nodded. “I didn’t think you did. Even if you had, it’s impossible to go against them. They always have another weapon in their pocket. She must have something else to use against Christian. And if she doesn’t, she’ll be looking for it.”
“I know.” He rubbed his hands over his face and then through his hair. “We’re having the alpha trials.”
“Shit.” Kate said, her voice low.
“What the hell does that mean?” Ryan said, his body language relaxing enough that even Christian could feel an ease in the surrounding tension. He had no idea what alpha trials were. Sounded like some stupid ability test. “And you’re already the new alpha.”
“Our pack fights for that right. I just took it. I’ll be challenged regularly if I don’t hold the trials. If Grandpa had named me heir publicly, it would be different. There would be less pushback.”
“Your pack is fucked up.” Ryan ground out between his teeth.
“I agree with you.”
“How are you going to help me get Molly off the ranch?” Christian stepped forward, keeping Ellie tight against his side. “She doesn’t even recognize me.”
“Christian.” Ellie gasped. “What do you mean?”
Kate slumped next to Ryan, tears in her eyes. “They used the spell on her?”
Daniel nodded. “Once the trials start. My grandmother will sit and oversee them. She loves the sport and the blood. Molly will have guards I trust by tomorrow. They will walk her right out the door and drive her to safety. I give you my word.”
“What spell? What is going on?” Ellie raised her voice, but Christian didn’t even know where to begin.
“Daniel.” Kate tried to step forward, but Ryan halted her and shook his head. “You don’t have to do the trials. You’re alpha. Eventually things would settle.”
Daniel cracked his neck and frowned. “It’s too late. It has to be done. But we can use the chaos to get Molly out.” He met Christian’s gaze and more of the rage subsided. He could see the genuine regret in the expression of the Quade wolf. “I owe you this, Christian. Will and Dee are coming with VonBrandts’ witches. I already spoke with Will. The meeting place is set.”
“Thank you… but why is Kate so against the trials? Aren’t you just going to duke it out with a few of those assholes and move on?” He couldn’t help asking. He was missing something.
“Because wolves die in the trials. There are no rules.” Kate answered before Daniel could speak again. “He could die.”
Well, fuck.
“This is messed up. I thought the feud in the Oklahoma pack was bad. But you have literal hunger games starting tomorrow.” Ellie yanked away from his arm. “I need some air. I’ll be right back. When you’re ready to explain to me what’s actually going on, we can talk.”
“Ellie.” Christian took a step to follow, but Kate moved ahead of him and blocked the door.
“I’ll go with her.”
“Kate.” Ryan said her name like he was ordering her not to.
Kate just snorted out a laugh and grabbed the bag of trash by the door. “We’ll be back in a minute. Don’t start punching each other, okay?”
She hurried out the door after Ellie, leaving him alone with two alphas, both of which he hated for various reasons.
Ellie
“Hey.”
Ellie paused and allowed Kate to catch up with her. “Thank you for not hating Christian.”
Kate shrugged her shoulders. “I grew up with my grandparents. Being ‘sold’ off as a brood mare was always a lingering threat. And as much as I hated him in the moment, I don’t blame Christian for what he tried to do, especially knowing what they had as leverage.”
Ellie followed Kate to the dumpster in the corner of the parking lot. She lifted the heavy black lid and Kate tossed in the trash bag. “What did they do to Molly? Do you know?”
“It’s a memory spell. It damages the brain. When people see us shift and they aren't supposed to, the pack uses it to wipe away memories.”
Ellie’s heart clenched in her chest. “How could they do that? How could they take the memories of the only family she had? And how can it be fixed?”
“It can’t be fixed.” A harsh, thin female voice hissed from the behind them. “Take them both. Quietly.”
Kate’s eyes widened, locking in on someone over Ellie’s shoulder.
Big meaty hands locked onto Ellie’s arms, swinging her around to face a small grey-haired woman.
“Scream and I have no qualms about killing all three of them in that hotel room.”
“Grandmother, please.” Kate’s voice trembled.
“You’re a traitor, Kate. I’ll deal with you. I just have to deal with the rest of this mess first.” The little woman walked up and put a rope necklace with a white stone around Kate’s neck and then one around Ellie’s. “We’re going to make this a little more entertaining for me. I don’t like disobedient children and I seem to have a lot of them. Maybe I can still salvage some of my husband’s plans.”
The second the necklace touched her, Ellie felt the break. It was a like a knife in the gut, slicing out a part of her soul. Her bond was broken or blocked or something. She met Kate’s eyes and terror and pain were bright in them.
The men dragged them toward a couple of pickup trucks.
“Kate!” Ryan’s voice called from the door of the hotel.
“Ellie!” Christian’s cry was right behind her cousin’s.
Ellie didn’t call out.
Neither did Kate.
Whatever that crazy old woman had planned, she would not risk her following through on the threat and killing Christian. At least this way, he might still have a chance to get Molly back.
They shoved Ellie and Kate into the back seat of the pickup. Kate on the bench. Ellie on the floor. Dodger was barking. The guys were shouting. The doors slammed, and they were moving. Someone or something hit the side of the truck like a bolder.
Kate sobbed.
Another heavy thunk on the other side and then the sound of nails on metal.
The guys in the truck and Miranda groaned in sync. Ellie heard the old woman tell the men to push through the pain or she’d make sure they didn’t have any balls by the end of the night. Daniel was trying to stop them.
“They attacked the truck, didn’t they?” Ellie turned over, just enough to look up at the seat.
“Yes, they did.” It was Miranda Quade that answered, not Kate. “They know who has you. Should be fun now.”
Kate was quietly sobbing. Ellie couldn’t see her face from her position on the floorboard, but she could hear the hiccups and shuddering breaths.
“You want them to follow us.” Ellie’s stomach knotted and bile crept up her throat. She knew why Kate was sobbing now.
Miranda Quade was going to kill all three of them, including her grandson.