Third Rank Penn Lake Wolves Book Three (5 page)

‘Fuck you, Greg. I didn’t tell
Brandon about your involvement, so you can carry on here like nothing happened.
Please, just let me go. Marcus doesn’t have to know until I’m gone. Please…’ Again,
she was begging.

‘Oh, you will fuck me, again and
again,’ replied Greg. ‘Marcus already knows and he’s requested that I bring you
back. Don’t fight me because you won’t like it when my claws come out.’ He
grabbed her arm and pulled her along to Hope’s house.

‘Why aren’t we just leaving? Please,
I don’t want Hope to get hurt.’

‘That stupid bitch is at work in
the shop you should have been at hours ago. We need to get your phone and a few
bits of clothes so we don’t raise suspicion when we reach the mainland. I don’t
want your filthy humans thinking I’ve attacked you... yet!’ His eyes were
freely roaming her body, making her feel sick.

Once they reached Hope’s house,
he pushed her inside. ‘You have five minutes to grab your phone and get dressed.
And don’t even think about running as I’m faster and strong than you, and I
will catch you.’ With that, he walked through to the lounge, pulling his mobile
free to dial.

Chapter Seven

Brandon sat down heavily on the
floor, putting his head between his knees. His Maggie had lied to him about
everything. She’d made love to him, knowing she was working with Marcus all
this time. He felt as though his heart had been ripped from him as he stroked
his hand across his chest, to check it hadn’t been. Maggie, his mate, was
supposed to be the one person he could trust. But, when she started telling him
her story, even before she’d mentioned him, he knew the neighbouring pack alpha
was Marcus. It wasn’t until she confessed she had been sent here to infiltrate
his family that he saw red. The time and effort he had spent trying to keep
them safe when, all along, it was his mate that was conspiring against him! He
needed to get out of here. Needed to find Seth or Logan.

He ran from the house, making his
way across the town to Seth’s house. Once he was outside, he didn’t know what
to do. Shit. He wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. He turned around,
thinking he should leave his brother to his new bride and go find Logan to seek
his opinion on how to progress. Logan was the beta and second in command, so he
would know where to go with this information. Just as he turned, he heard
Callie calling his name.

‘Hey, Brandon,’ she called. ‘You
okay? What happened?’ Just as she reached him, he turned to her and the tears
finally came. ‘Brandon, you’re scaring me.’ Callie embraced him tightly as he
fell to his knees. He couldn’t stop the tears now they had started. The pain in
his chest was constricting his breathing, as if he was going to die from a
broken heart. He vaguely heard Callie call for Seth when his vision and world
swam before him. Callie’s warm arms and familiar scent enveloped him into
darkness.

Seth ran from the house, followed
closely by Sarah. It was obvious they were still in the middle of their
honeymoon judging by their state of undress, but pack business came first. Seth
had never seen Brandon like this before.

‘Callie, what the fuck happened’
Seth reached for Brandon and pulled him into a fireman’s lift and carried him
into the house.

‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘I
was coming over to Hope’s to see Maggie, when I saw him standing outside your
house. He just fell apart, then passed out.’ Callie was crying now. She loved
Brandon like her own brother and couldn’t bear to see him in this condition.
‘Is he okay?’

‘I think so,’ replied Seth. ‘Something’s
wrong, though. We need to speak to Maggie and find out what’s happened. But
let’s check Brandon first, as he looks like he’s just run straight from home. He’s
not even dressed yet.’ Callie had thought it strange to see him standing there
in just his shorts, but sometimes things on this island were best left unsaid.
‘Call Logan,’ continued Seth. ‘I want him here as soon as possible.’

‘I’m on it.’ Sarah jumped up and
grabbed the phone.

‘Put some more clothes on first,’
said Seth. ‘I don’t want my brother seeing you like that.’ He snarled out his
order, but both women just looked at him and rolled their eyes, knowing the men
could have a jealous streak a mile wide.

‘Okay, mighty Alpha,’ said Sarah.
With that, she dialled Logan's number and run upstairs to their bedroom to
change.

‘Seth, I’ve never seen him like this
before,’ said Callie. ‘Something bad has happened.’

‘I think you’re right,’ replied
Seth. ‘Shit, Brandon, wake up, buddy.’ He tapped Brandon’s cheek lightly to
rouse him.

Brandon could feel himself coming
to and felt his alpha’s presence all around him. He opened his eyes and found
he was in Seth’s house, with Callie hovering over him.

‘Brandon, you okay?’ she said. ‘You
scared us. What happened?’ He could see Callie had been crying as Seth helped
him to sit up. His head felt like he had been hit with a truck as all the
emotions swirled around him. Maggie, his sweet angel, had lied to him. The
memories came back to him so suddenly he felt his world tilt again.

‘Calm down, Brandon,’ said Seth. ‘You’re
scaring us. What the fuck happened? Is Maggie okay?’ Seth’s look of concern
made him feel ashamed at having fallen apart; but, before he could get up, the
front door slammed open and his brother Logan stormed into the room.

‘What the fuck’s going on?’ he
shouted. ‘Sarah called and said we had a crisis.’ He rushed to Callie’s side
and pulled her into his arms. ‘You okay, baby? Are you hurt?’

‘No, not me, Logan,’ she said. ‘Brandon
just passed out, but we’re not sure what’s going on. Brandon, what happened?’ Brandon
watched Callie resting in Logan's arms and he suddenly missed the feel of
Maggie against him. No, he couldn’t think of that now. She had come here to
threaten his family. She needed to be gone. His face hardened.

‘Maggie was working for Marcus,’
he said. ‘We spent the night together last night and she confessed everything
this morning.’ He relayed all he remembered to his brothers and Callie. Sarah
had come down moments earlier and was listening as well. ‘She fucking lied to
me. To us. I told her to leave and get off the island. Shit, I threw her out
the house before she could explain more. She said Marcus had promised her
freedom for one of us.’ Everyone stood and looked at him in silence.

‘You fucking sent her off, back
to that bastard?’ It was Callie's harsh words that shocked him the most.

‘Didn’t you hear me?’ he said. ‘She
was working with Marcus!’

‘For her own freedom. You said
she had been a prisoner her whole life and is now running scared. She trusted
you to help her, begged you to help her, and you just handed her back to the
one person she was trying to get away from.’ Callie pulled herself from Logan's
arms and surged toward Brandon. He certainly wasn’t expecting the slap across
his check she delivered.

‘Fucking hell, Callie!’ Logan was
pulling her back from Brandon, who simply looked at her, dumbfounded. ‘Didn’t
you hear what he said? She was going to betray us.’ Logan spun her around so
she was looking at him.

‘For her own life, Logan. You
seem to forget you weren’t so quick to protect me when Colt took me. You just
stood by and let me be taken, like it was easier for me to be gone than to deal
with your feelings for the fat girl!’ Callie sobbed in his arms now, but Logan’s
expression showed pain.

‘Callie, baby, you know that’s
not what happened. I regret every nasty word I ever said to you and will always
be making it up to you. I know I hurt you, but family is family and she
betrayed all our trusts.’ Logan loved Callie so much and Brandon could feel
that love coming off him, but he guessed he still had a long way to go before
Callie believed he truly loved her. They hadn’t started well, but he’d assumed
everything was fine between them now.

‘You’re right,’ replied Callie. ‘Family
is family, and she needs our help. Marcus won’t be able to get to her if we
protect her.’ She turned to talk to Brandon again, but he wasn’t sure he wanted
to hear. ‘She’s lived with him her whole life, never knowing when her time was
coming to an end, to suffer the same fate as her mother. She has been here for
weeks and there’s been no sign of Marcus. If she wanted to be free so badly,
she would have just turned you over sooner. Your family has accepted me, even
though I’m of the same blood as that prick, yet still you can’t find it in yourself
to forgive her for wanting to be free. I thought you were a better man than
that, Brandon.’

‘Callie’s right,’ said Seth. ‘We
need to find her and see what she wants to do. Trust is a high priority now and
I hope she is telling the truth about all this, but we won’t know until we hear
her side. How long ago did you ask her to leave, Brandon? Hopefully, Alex
hasn’t run the ferry yet. I’ll text him.’ Grabbing his phone off the side, he ran
his fingers quickly over the keys and hit send.

‘I came here right away after I
told her to leave,’ said Brandon sadly. ‘Fuck, I told her to go. At the time I
didn’t care if she ended up with him or not. I just wanted her away from my
family. I’ve fucked up, haven’t I?’ He turned back to Callie, who nodded her
head.

‘You brothers all seem to fuck things
up with us women. Why can’t you just trust us when we say we love you? Accept
us, warts an’ all?’ Logan's arms wrapped around Callie as he heard her words. He
bent down to kiss her head.

‘I love you, Callie,’ he said
softly. Callie closed her eyes and sunk back into him.

‘I know you do, baby, and I love
you. Please, we have to help Maggie. You guys came for me when Logan fucked up.
We have to help her now. Please, baby?’ She turned and kissed Logan.

‘As if I can say no to you…’ He
kissed her until Seth cleared his throat.

‘It’s supposed to be my honeymoon,
you know.’

‘Stop pouting, Seth,’ said Sarah.
‘Maggie needs our help. Callie's right, you guys can’t seem to get it right
with your mates. We’re not perfect and we never will be, but if you love us
enough then fight to keep us.’ Sarah had tears rolling down her cheek as Seth
walked to her and swept her in a hug.

‘Fucking great,’ said Brandon. ‘Now
I’ve made all the women cry. Just Mamma and Hope to go, then I’ll feel like a
real prick.’ He had never felt so low. ‘Please tell me I haven’t just sent my
mate off to Marcus’s pack. Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick.’ Brandon
lowered his head between his knees, feeling his stomach contents about to come
up.

‘Sorry, bro, I but I think you’ve
done just that,’ replied Seth, reading a message on his mobile. ‘We need to go
tell Dad what’s happening so he can stay on the alert and watch the women. We
will
get her back. I’ve just got a reply back from Alex. He said Greg was escorting
her off the island onto the mainland earlier. He said Greg had already spoken
to you and it was a security measure to get her off the island as quick as
possible. I’ll call Greg on the way over to Dad’s to see where he dropped her
off.’ Seth was typing into his phone again.

‘Wait Seth, I haven’t spoken to
Greg at all,’ said Brandon. ‘I just came straight here and, until Callie, I
didn’t see or speak to anyone. How did he know to get her off the island?’ Something
was wrong. He could no longer feel Greg through his omega pack line. Was Maggie
working with Greg against him? No, he’d known Greg his entire life. He would
have known if Greg was working with Marcus.

‘Maybe he saw Maggie whilst she
was leaving and thought it best to make sure she got over safely,’ said Seth. ‘Greg
wouldn’t lie to Alex, they’re like brothers.’ Brandon could see Seth was
running thoughts through his head, trying to tie together the pieces that just weren’t
adding up.

‘Maybe, but something’s off,’
replied Brandon. ‘Is Greg answering his phone?’ Seth shook his head, but
continued to dial.

‘Maybe it’s just bad reception on
the mainland,’ replied Seth, ‘but maybe not. Come on, we have to get going. They
already have a head start. We need Alex to run another boat across. Now!’

All of a sudden, things were
happening and the Penn Lake pack was, once again, heading into danger to save
one of their own.

Chapter Eight

Maggie woke up to find she was
being held in some sort of cell. Stone walls surrounded her with no means of
escape except a rusty door. She tried to listen for any sound but she couldn’t
hear anything. She didn’t care what happened to her; she just hoped she had
pissed Marcus off enough that he would kill her outright rather than give her
to the pack as he had promised. Maggie gave the room a quick scan and
discovered that she wasn’t alone. Lying on a dirty blanket was a man who looked
like he had been badly beaten, almost dead. She ran over to the scrunched-up figure,
only to discover it was Colt.

‘Oh god, Colt, what have they
done to you?’ She wiped away his hair from his forehead and looked around for
something to clean the blood off his face.

Her face hurt when she moved, and
she lifted her hand to feel the swelling there. Greg had punched her so hard
she’d passed out. She guessed it was because it would make her more
transportable if she was out cold, the wimp. Looking down at the man before
her, she guessed they had done the same to him to keep him from fighting back. None
of this made sense; he was Marcus’s son, so why would he be down here with her,
beaten almost beyond recognition? If only Brandon was here to give her the
strength to know what to do. He had given her more hope in the few weeks she
had been with him that anyone else in her life, but now she had lost him. Grabbing
the bottom of her T-shirt, she ripped a strip off and began wiping Colt’s
bloody face.

She’d kept Brandon’s T-shirt on,
but had changed into jeans whilst Greg called Marcus from Hope’s living room to
let him know he was bringing her home. Somehow, the T-shirt gave her hope that,
one day, he might come for her; that dream would see her through anything that
Marcus would throw at her. Now, however, it would serve a more useful function.

Suddenly, a loud, crashing noise
bounced off the wall as the door swung open. Marcus was standing there in all
his alpha glory, waves of displeasure coming off him that even she could feel. His
new minion, Greg, was standing behind him.

‘Glad you’re awake,’ sneered
Marcus. ‘I was afraid Greg had hit you so hard that he may have done some
damage. Nevertheless, he still would have enjoyed your body, all the same.’ He
stormed over to her and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back. The pain made
her eyes water, but she wouldn’t let him see her cry. She wouldn’t give him the
satisfaction. ‘I told you what would happen if you failed me, you bitch. I told
you I would let the pack use you as I saw fit. Greg here thinks you’re his, but
I think I might chuck you in
the den and see which one
can get to you first.’ Greg stuttered behind him.

‘You said I could have her. She
was mine. That was the deal.’ Greg sounded almost put out. Marcus let go of Maggie’s
hair and back-handed him violently across the room.

‘I fucking say who fucks her, not
you. This is my pack. You forget that your time spent on the island hasn‘t been
as productive of late. I might even decide to keep her for myself.’ He walked
back to her and ran his tongue down the side of her face. His rancid breath
made her stomach heave. ‘Your pretty boy princes won’t come for you, as Greg
assured me that you broke their trust. So now I have no other use for you. However,
I don’t like to fuck what’s been touched by their tainted dicks, so I think I’ll
let the pack have you.’

Maggie felt repulsed at her fate.
‘I fucking hate you,’ she screamed. ‘You were never going to let me go, were
you?’ She ran and smashed her fists against his chest, but her human strength
was no match for his. He grabbed her throat and pulled her up in the air so her
feet were dangling off the ground. Her hand instinctively fought against his,
but she hoped he would end her life there and then rather than have to face what
was to come.

‘How dare you think you can touch
me?’ he snarled. ‘I ought to fucking snap your neck like I did your mother’s,
but that would be too easy for you. I kept you alive all these years, now you
will pay me the price.’ He let her drop to the floor, gasping for breath.

‘What have you done to Colt? He
is your own son.’ Maggie was rubbing her throat.

‘He was weak and chose his side
in this battle when he let that bitch of a daughter of mine go. I should have
killed him, but he may be of use to me yet if he survives the beating Greg gave
him.’

Marcus didn’t even look at his
son before he spun around and walked from the room. Greg scrambled to his feet
and just about made it before the door shut. She really didn’t want to be shut
in this tiny room with Greg, any more than she wanted to be let out of the room
to meet the pack.

This was her life again,
imprisoned and alone, with only thoughts of Brandon to keep her alive and a
dying Colt sharing this space. She thought back to Brandon’s words after they
had made love. She was a survivor and, if she ever got free, that was exactly
what she would do - survive the best she could and live on the memories she had
made with him. She listened at the door again and heard no sound, so she
decided to scan the room to see if there was any way they could be recording
her, but the dark, dank walls showed no signs of having been tampered with.

She moved towards Colt again as
best she could with her own wounds.

‘Colt, it’s Maggie,’ she said
quietly. ‘Can you hear me?’ She tried to turn him onto his back, but he was too
heavy for her to lift on her own. ‘I hope you can hear me, as I’m going to try
and clean you up. I need to see what those pricks have done to you. Okay?’

Her hands were trembling as she
moved the cloth over his damp face. Most of his blood had dried. She guessed he
had been down here a few days and taken more than one beating, and by more than
just a fist. If she ever set eyes on Greg again she would tell him exactly what
she thought of him. She had only the small slither of hope that Brandon would
come for her. However, if he didn’t, she was going to make sure either Greg or
Marcus killed her before anyone had the chance to rape her.

When the cloth reached his eye,
Colt let out a loud groan, causing Maggie to wince, feeling his pain.

‘I’m so sorry, Colt. What the
hell happened to you?’

‘Beat me…’ The words were faint,
but Maggie could hear them.

‘Colt? It’s okay, don’t talk. Let
me take care of you.’

‘Why?’

She was taken aback slightly by
his reply, but guessed he meant why was she willing to help him when he’d kept
her captive for so long. However, Maggie couldn’t just let him die. After all,
it was more his father’s doing and any contact she’d had with Colt had been
less intimidating than his father. Still, the man was big and, even in his
beaten state, she had to keep her wits about her.

Suddenly, Marcus’s words came
back to her. ‘
You let that daughter of mine go…’ . 
Trying to keep him
awake she decided to ask him about it.  

‘You have a sister? You really
saved your sister from that monster?’

‘Yes. Callie. Did she make it?’

‘Callie?’ Maggie was dumbfounded.
‘Do you mean Callie, who is mated to Logan of the Penn Lake pack? She’s your
sister
?’

For a moment Maggie was silent,
trying to take in this revelation. So, Callie was his sister. But why, after
all her years of captivity, had she only just learnt of this?

‘Callie's fine, Colt,’ she said
at last. ‘She’s happy there and she is so in love with Logan. You can feel it
when they are together.’ That thought made her smile. What she wouldn’t give to
spend one more day at Penn Lake Island with the first best friend she had ever
made.

‘Good.’ His words were getting stronger
and Maggie hoped his wolf would heal him quickly.

‘Colt?’

‘What?’ He was still lying on his
side with his eyes closed, not moving at all.

‘What can I do for you?’ she
asked. ‘Where do you hurt? I don’t have any training, but I can take a look and
see if I can do something... anything... Oh, shit, I’ve made a mess of
everything…’ The tears started falling, even though she didn’t think there were
any left to fall.

‘Not you,’ replied Colt. ‘Marcus
has. Help me sit up.’ He opened his eyes to look at her and smiled. Maggie had always
thought he was good-looking, even with the scar. She smiled back, hoping that,
once he was healed, he would help her get out of here. She came closer to his
side and placed her arms under his to steady him.

‘I don’t have much strength and
you’re a heavy man, Colt. So you are going to have to do the hard work, okay?’ She
pulled with everything she had to help him sit against the wall.

‘FUCK!’ His cry of pain echoed
around the small, bare room.

‘I’m sorry, Colt.’

‘It’s fine…’ he replied,
breathing heavily. Lifting his eyes, he noticed her face for the first time. ‘Who
hit you?’

‘Greg, your father’s new side
kick,’ replied Maggie. ‘He took me from Penn Lake and brought me back here. You
already know what your father intends for me. Will you help me?’

‘That little shit is going to get
his head ripped from his body if I catch him,’ said Colt angrily. ‘He drugged
me and brought me back to my father after I helped Callie escape. I didn’t know
who he was at the time, but now I do. He is a weak fucker for hitting you.’ Suddenly,
he hung his head down so far his chin touched his chest.

‘Colt, what’s wrong?’ Maggie
thought he had passed out from the pain caused by sitting up.

‘I’m so sorry about your life,
Maggie,’ he replied, his voice trembling slightly. ‘If I could take it back and
help you and your mother sooner I would have. I had no idea how sick my father
was. I mean, I knew he wasn’t right, but had no idea to what lengths he would
go. I couldn’t believe he would want to hurt his own daughter, Callie, or the plans
he had for her. I don’t know her, but she seems okay.’ Maggie smiled at Colt

‘She’s the best, Colt. I’m sure,
once we get out of here, you can come speak to her. I’m sure she would love to meet
you. I won’t be...’ With that, she snapped her mouth shut, but Colt saw the
tears in her eyes.

‘You won’t what, Maggie?’

‘Nothing. Now, let see if we can
look at your cuts. Some of them already seem to be healing fine.’ She didn’t attempt
to touch his face and Colt noticed she kept a safe distance away. That was okay.
He would have to earn her trust, if she was willing to give it after everything
he had put her through.

‘Maggie,’ he began, ‘I know we’re
not even close to friends, and I’m the last person you’d want to trust right
now. But I guarantee you I will get you out of here and away from my father. I
promise, if it’s the last thing I do.’

‘Thank you, Colt, that means a
lot to me,’ Maggie replied, smiling. ‘I don’t have any friends, so I would like
to trust you.’

‘I thought you would have made
friends at Penn Lake. You seem to know Callie well enough.’

‘That was before they found out I
had lied to them all,’ she replied sadly. ‘Family is everything to them. When
Brandon found out I had been working for Marcus he ordered me off the island. Greg
brought me here. I don’t know what’s worse for me. A life with this pack,
knowing that Penn Lake was a better pack by far, or living without Penn Lake at
all.’ She was rambling now and she was sure Colt didn’t want to hear her.

‘I promise, if we get out of this
alive, we will help each other out.’ Colt didn’t know why, but he felt
protective now of Maggie. Perhaps it was because he knew his father had hurt
more people than he ever realised.

‘Thanks, Colt.’ Maggie felt
slightly better. However, with a wounded Colt, she didn’t know how she was
going to get free of this room.