Authors: Emma Anderson
Chapter Three
“Does your sister suffer from
these fits often?” Judge asked as they made their way into the ER.
Before she could respond, she
heard Emily’s weakened voice calling her name. Rushing toward the gurney being
pushed by a paramedic, she grabbed the tiny hand that reached for her.
“How is she?” Judge asked from
behind her, his hand on her shoulder offering her comfort.
“From what we were told it was
quite a severe seizure. But I’m sure the doctors will be able to tell you more
once they have examined her,” came the paramedic’s reply.
While Charli listened to what
the paramedic said, she did her own visual assessment. Emily looked so tired.
Her face was pale grey, and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.
Charli had been expecting this hospital trip, though not this soon.
Emily’s visions were getting
stronger and seemed to be lasting longer each time. They were also coming more
frequently. Afterward her sleep was restless, often filled with nightmares. Her
lack of proper sleep would have been a contributing factor to today’s seizure.
“I’m tired,” Emily stated,
barely in a whisper.
“I know, honey,” Charli cooed
softly. “Mommy’s here. Everything’s going to be all right. The doctors just
want to make sure you’re okay.”
At the mention of the word
“mommy” she felt Judge stiffen behind her. He thought her to be Emily’s sister,
which she was. But on any official document, Charli Smythe was Emily’s mother.
Charli had set it up that way when she’d created their new lives. Anything to
keep her father’s associates from their doorstep.
“What have we got, Joe?” a soft,
feminine voice asked before a gasp sounded. “Charli, Judge, what’s happened?”
Looking up, Charli recognized
the nurse standing on the other side of the gurney. “Gabby, I didn’t know you
worked here.”
“Not for long.” Gabby smiled,
rubbing her stomach. “Now, what’s going on?”
“Charli’s daughter had a
seizure,” Judge replied, with a little emphasis on the word “daughter.”
Recognition lit Gabby’s eyes. It
would seem that Nikki’s best friend at least knew enough of Charli’s story not
to be surprised. “Okay, Joe, let’s get her into cubicle six and do hand over,”
she said before looking back up at Charli. “Do you remember the doctor that
treated her on her previous stay? I can look it up, but this way I can get him
down here quicker.”
Charli shared the information,
dreading what Emily was about to endure again. Her last stay saw her having
every test under the sun, most of them involving some sort of needle. The poor
thing looked like a pin cushion by the time she was discharged.
“What’s wrong?” Judge asked,
worry evident as they followed Emily into the cubicle. “If you don’t like that
doctor, I will find the best in his field for Emily and fly him here.”
At that declaration, Charli felt
tears swell in her eyes. He knew nothing of her or the girl he now thought of
as her daughter, and here he was willing to guarantee that Emily had the best
possible care. A sudden need to ease his worry had her sharing both her and her
sister’s story while they were alone with the sleeping Emily.
He sat there in silence,
listening to what she had to say. She explained that the doctor mattered little
because she knew the truth behind Emily’s seizures. She even went on to tell
him about her father’s misuse of her ability, as well as her concern for Emily
once her mother had been killed. She explained that her father was in jail but
neither she nor Emily were safe because of his boss’s cousin. He’d made a great
deal of money from her visions and wasn’t willing to give it up. Charli
confirmed that Emily was indeed her half sister, but everyone thought her to be
her daughter. It was safer that way because the men searching for them would be
looking for two sisters.
“I want that man’s name, mate,”
Judge demanded once she’d finished her short and condensed story.
It was not something she was
willing to give. She and Emily had remained very well hidden for the last two
years thanks to her handiwork on the computer. She didn’t want to draw the man
to Las Vegas by sharing his name with Judge, who would no doubt look into his
past. Didn’t he understand that the man probably would have had his own
computer guys flag his name to alert him as soon as someone entered his name
into any number of databases? It was too dangerous. And she told him so.
“I have no intentions of
allowing him anywhere near you or Emily,” Judge stated. “But I can’t protect
you blind.”
“We don’t need your protection,
Judge. We’ve been doing fine without you so far,” she retaliated while
maintaining a quiet voice.
“So you’re fine with the fact
that you’re constantly looking over your shoulder? And what about Emily? Do you
want her going the rest of her life too scared to trust anyone?”
“It’s worked fine for me so
far!”
“Really? You’re happy with your
lonely existence. I bet Nikki was the first person you let into your little
inner circle since this all happened,” he challenged sadly.
She refused to acknowledge the
truth in his words. Her loneliness was for their continued protection. If
Nikki’s life hadn’t been in danger, then she would have kept her secret from
her as well. But Charli couldn’t in good conscience let the nurse who had taken
such great care of Emily walk into a dangerous situation when she could protect
her. Nikki was a different case altogether, and Charli wouldn’t have done
anything different. But that didn’t mean she would threaten Emily’s continued
safety by selfishly opening their lives up to strangers just because she was
lonely.
“That’s not much of an existence
for either of you, kitten,” Judge continued, his voice and eyes softening
further. “Trust me, I’ve spent more years than I wish to admit watching Devil
do exactly the same thing. He shut himself off to everyone who entered his
life, just for a different reason. It took finding his mate in Gabby to draw
him out of his dismal existence. And now you have found your mate. I intend on
ensuring your safety, health, and happiness. I can guarantee it.”
Before she could respond, the
doctor entered. He looked over Emily’s charts before ordering a swab of tests.
Then he finally turned to Charli.
“I’m going to be running the
same tests I ran before. They will tell me whether this latest seizure has
caused any damage,” he explained. “Has anything happened that I need to know
about? Something that may have brought this on.”
“She hasn’t been sleeping too
well,” Charli explained, omitting the fact that her visions had been causing
her nightmares. “I slept on her floor the other night just to monitor her and
she was a little restless in her sleep, even sitting up and talking to me. I
asked her the next morning about it, but she didn’t remember our conversation.”
“How did she seem the next
morning?”
“Exhausted. I kept her home that
day from school. She rested on the couch, dozing on and off. Then that night
was a little quieter.”
“Okay, let me run these tests
and see if we can find some answers for you,” the elderly doctor said, patting
her shoulder as he exited the cubicle.
A soft hiss sounded from beside
her. She turned to look at Judge, unsure what had caused his reaction. “I don’t
like other men touching you.”
“Are you kidding me? That man’s
old enough to be my father.” Her response was met with a cringe from Judge.
“What?”
“Does age worry you when it
comes to men?”
“I don’t know. As you pointed
out earlier, I’ve let very few people into my life. That includes men,” she
said, shocked at her openness with this man.
Judge surprised her by leaning
forward and kissing her forehead. “Thank you, mate. You make me happy.” Before
she could respond to his outward display of arrogance, he asked, “If you know
what’s behind these seizures, why allow Emily to go through all these tests?
They can’t be pleasant for her.”
“She and I discussed it when the
seizures first brought her to the hospital. While she was at home, we could
deal with them ourselves. But as soon as she entered the school system that was
when we had some decisions to make. Her last stint in the hospital was the
worst. Just when we thought she could go home another seizure hit, forcing her
to remain in the hospital for another couple of days. I could have taken her
home, denying the doctors a chance to poke and jab her, but that would mean we
would have had to move on,” Charli explained. “We couldn’t have child
protection knocking on our door. Ultimately it was Emily’s decision.”
“But she’s only six.”
“Yes, a six-year-old who is
going to continually suffer from these seizures until she can gain control of
her visions. If we’d left the hospital, it would condemn us to a life of moving
because they will continue and only grow worse before they get better.”
“Are you sure she still sticks
with her decision now that she knows what is going to happen to her?”
“Yes, I asked her just over a
week ago, after she was released from the hospital. She hasn’t budged on her
decision. She claimed our destiny was here in Las Vegas and that we had to
stay.”
“Both of your futures are here
in Las Vegas, with me. But I loathe the idea of her suffering any further
pain.”
His reaction to Emily was
somewhat surprising. He hadn’t even been officially introduced to her, and yet
she was in his heart already. Charli knew it wasn’t because of her. Emily had
this way about her that had people immediately falling under her spell. Not
that she could blame them. Charli was guilty of it herself.
Emily had a way of building a
bond with people. Sometimes people she hadn’t even spoken to, like Judge. She
had experienced enough corruption in her short life to know that abusing such a
gift would be wrong. Charli was proud of her little sister for many reasons,
and her maturity to recognize the difference between right and wrong was just
one of them.
She was drawn from her
ponderings by a squeeze to her shoulder. Judge’s phone was in his hand while
his gaze was on her. “I’m sorry, kitten. I have to take this. I’ll make it
short. Will you be all right?” Her nod was met with a smile of thanks before he
swiped the phone and brought it to his ear. As he strode out of the cubicle, he
said gruffly, “This better be good, Andrew.”
Chapter Four
Judge had rejected Andrew’s
first nine calls over the last half an hour. Of course now his beta was playing
on the safety net they had put into place. No matter what, the tenth call had
to be answered, otherwise it would be assumed they were in danger.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Alpha.
Dad told me about your mate’s little sister, but I think this takes
precedence.”
“Nothing takes precedence over
my mate’s needs,” he hissed down the phone.
“I beg to differ,” came the
challenge.
“You’d better start explaining
yourself, Beta. Otherwise I’ll be finding myself a new second-in-command and
your family will be mourning your loss.”
“When some of the kids were
walking home after school, someone tried to grab them.”
“Please tell me you got the
fucker.” Silence. “Is anyone missing?”
“Katie.”
“How long ago?”
“Just over an hour,” Andrew
replied. “We’ve done the usual sweeps, but I think we need your nose to track
her down.”
Judge had never been asked to
choose between his commitments in the city and his pride. His brothers
understood and supported his need to be with the pride when duty called. Never
before had his obligations clashed. His mate needed his emotional support,
while his pride required his tracking skills.
Needing to be near his mate
again, he moved back toward the cubicle in which she still sat. Emily’s
sleeping form lay on the bed beside her. They had yet to take her for her
tests.
“I’ll call you back in five,” he
said to his beta before ending the call.
“Is everything all right?”
Charli asked, concern filling her eyes. He explained what he knew. “You have to
find her.”
“We will. I’m the best tracker
the pride has. It’s why Andrew, my beta, thought it urgent enough to disturb me
even when my mate needed me.”
“Her need is greater,” Charli
stated like any true alpha female would. “What’s her name?”
“Katie.”
“Katie,” Charli whispered right
before her eyes glazed over. Within seconds they cleared again. “She managed to
escape but she hurt herself in the process. She’s barely conscious.”
“Did you see where she was?”
“No.” Charli slumped. “She’s in
a cave but it all looks the same to me no matter which way I look. She needs
your tracking abilities.”
“I’m not happy about leaving
you, Charli.”
“You have little choice. Your
pride needs you. That little girl needs you.”
“And what about you, Charli? Is
there not a part of you that needs me too?”
“That’s neither here nor there.
My life and Emily’s life don’t hang in the balance. Katie’s does!”
She hadn’t admitted that she
needed him, but her lack of denying it eased his mountain lion enough for him
to make a decision. He would find Katie, but not before he placed a few
strategies in place to protect both Charli and Emily.
“I will go, but if you leave
this hospital before I get back, you will wait until Gabby’s finished work and
ride with her. Or wait until her guards return to the hospital. They’ll take
you wherever you want to go,” Judge said, crowding his mate’s body. “Yours and
Emily’s safety are paramount. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you
both or exact revenge on those who hurt you. Do you understand what I’m saying,
mate? No more hiding from me, for your safety and my sanity.”
He could sense her unease about
the restrictions he had placed on his leaving to save Katie. She had given him
an insight into her life with her father after her mother’s passing. He could
understand her reluctance to agree to his terms. Even though they weren’t
anything like the unreasonable limitations her father and his boss had placed
on her, they still hindered her freedom. But they were a necessity, especially
now that he knew someone was trying to remove her from his life. It was an
unacceptable outcome that he needed to protect both her and Emily from. Again
he pushed for her compliance, only this time, he used her own protective
emotions against her.
“Please, kitten,” he pleaded.
This was a Judge that no one had seen before, and no one would outside of the
woman in front of him. “If I know you two are safe, then I can concentrate my
whole energy on finding Katie. If there was even a hint that you were
unprotected, then my thoughts would be split, placing both myself and Katie in
more danger.”
She gasped. “No, that area is
full of menace. You have to be careful.”
“What do you mean by
menace
?” he asked, a little too
forcefully for his liking. But her statement had him concerned for his pride
and Katie.
“I don’t know. It’s a feeling I
get. Unfortunately the fates only allow me to see what they wish. I think it
also has to do with unmade decisions. If someone has yet to decide, then there
is nothing to show.”
“How about this?” he asked. He
was about to step into new territory and do something he had never done before,
compromise. “I will take precautions as long as you do the same by staying with
the men assigned to Gabby.”
He left out the fact that she
too would be gaining her own personal guards as soon as he returned. He had no
doubt that if she was aware of his plans she wouldn’t be nodding her head like
she was in response. His body relaxed slightly. One problem was solved. His
mate and her sister were protected. Now to turn his attention fully onto the
next one, Katie’s whereabouts.
Thirty minutes later, with many
speed restrictions broken, he was home on pride lands, listening to his beta
fill him in on what had been done so far to locate Katie. His lion was eager to
be on all fours with his nose to the ground. It pissed both of them off that
someone dared to try to take something from within his circle of protection.
Katie was a pride member and therefore the responsibility of her safety
ultimately lay at his feet. Failure to find her wasn’t an option.
Finally Andrew led him to the
spot where Katie had been pulled into the van. His lion jumped forward, rearing
to bring the young girl home. He took in the area and immediately conceded the
location would challenge his nose.
The road that separated pride
land and Lake Mead National Recreational Area was one that was well used. Even
as they stood at the edge of pride land several cars had passed them by. It was
going to be tough to distinguish which way the van that had grabbed Katie
traveled. But not impossible.
Releasing his lion and power all
at the same time, Judge transformed within seconds. The only member of his
pride near him was Andrew. Most of the other pride members had trouble
remaining within a few feet of him once his full power was released. They
tended to fall to the ground on their knees, bowing their heads. That wasn’t
what he wanted for his pride members, so he learned to hide his power. Thus
reducing the time his pride family spent on their knees and instead allowing
them to see him for who he was. He was not a leader who wished to be feared,
rather one who was open and approachable. With his power contained, he had
become both liked and respected.
In his mountain lion form
sounds, sights, scents, and tastes had become clearer. He could taste the gas
particles from the cars that traveled down the road. His eyes sensed movement
all around him, while his ears told him of the little creatures that were
scurrying for safety in his presence. The only sense he hadn’t allowed to
partake in the world around him was his sense of smell.
In an attempt to hold on to
Charli’s scent for as long as possible, he had been breathing through his mouth
since leaving the hospital. Now it was time to let it go. Katie’s safety
demanded it. Relishing his mate’s scent for one last second, he then forced it
out of his body and out of his mind. He needed to absorb the odors around him
in order to find Katie’s.
Taking in a large breath, his
mountain lion began to sift through all the scents available. Rejecting
anything that represented those around him, as well as anything remotely
connected to vehicles, Judge began to pick out the scents that he wanted—those
of the children. Searching through the familiar smells, he allocated a name to
each one. Finally he found hers.
Running over the uneven terrain,
confident that his mountain lion was camouflaged by the land around him, he
followed Katie’s scent. His beta ran on his heel, protecting his back. Judge’s
paws pounded along the ground, rocks and pebbles attempting to slow his
progress. They didn’t. More cars passed, but even they couldn’t break his
concentration. Now that Judge had his prey in sight nothing would stop him until
he found it.
Suddenly his movement ceased.
Something had changed in that spot. Here Katie’s blood began to flow. It was
where he suspected she had escaped her kidnappers. If he was reading the scents
correctly, she had jumped out of the moving vehicle. The van came to a halt
several meters away and two humans, men, he thought, had exited the car and
attempted to chase Katie on foot.
His nose told him that the
kidnappers returned to their car empty-handed. Now all he had to do was find
the one cave out of the many in the area that Charli had told him about and
pray he was able to do it in time.
Dashing across the road, Judge
continued to follow Katie’s scent. The clever girl had led her captives on a
wild goose chase, sending them in circles. With each circle the scent of her
blood became stronger, telling Judge that she was losing a lot of it. Finally,
Katie’s scent carried him deeper into Lake Mead territory. As her scent grew
stronger, the terrain grew rougher. The air felt cooler as the light faded.
Katie’s scent had become
overpowering—she was close. A large collection of boulders called to him,
inviting him to take shelter. As he moved around the immense form a shadow fell
over him, chilling the air even further. Still he moved around them, trusting
in Katie’s scent.
He stopped. Her scent was
weakening. He had somehow missed her as he passed by the boulders. Looking back
at Andrew in the hope that his beta had found something, he saw it. An opening
hidden in the shadows, only to be discovered by those looking closely enough.
Quickly changing forms, he moved
toward the tiny gap. Whispering Katie’s name, he was confident in the child’s
advanced hearing and sense of smell that she would know it was him. A moan was
all he got in reply.
It was settled. He would be
entering the cave. Praying the unmovable boulders that stood like sentinels at
the mouth of the cave would allow his entrance, Judge pushed his body between
the solid masses. The jagged surface took payment for his trespass, but it was
a small price to pay to ensure Katie would be sleeping under her parents’ roof
tonight.
“Alpha,” came the moan from
deeper in the cave.
“Yes, poppet. I’ve come to take
you home.”
“I’m tired.”
“I know, but I need you to stay
with me. Okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“That’s a good girl.”
Judge took in the young girl
lying on the ground. She was dirty, cold, and more importantly still bleeding.
Her injuries were extensive, then, not allowing her young shifter blood to heal
them fully.
Bringing his wrist up to his
mouth, he called his beast partly forward. Slicing his skin with his descended
fang, he brought it to Katie’s mouth. He pushed his blood as well as his power
past her lips.
“Come on, poppet. Drink for me,”
he urged.
What few people outside of the
shifter community knew about the power an alpha’s blood carried was that it had
the ability to heal. As a rule, alphas generally kept their blood for their
pride or pack members alone. Though few had the amount of power Judge held
within his blood. While some of it had come with age and experience, most had
been gifted to him by the Gods themselves. As Katie’s alpha, Judge knew that
his blood would heal her fully.
Soon enough, Katie was sitting.
With a little encouragement and a promise that it was safe, Katie was squeezing
her way out of the cave. Once again the boulders brandished their own form of
retribution, slicing into his skin, but his worry lay elsewhere. The now fully
healed six-year-old began to shake, likely going into shock from her ordeal.
Pulling her into his arms, he allowed
her to absorb his body heat. “Let’s get you home. Your mom and dad are so
worried about you.”
With a whimper, she snuggled
into his body, her arms clinging to his neck. Heading back to the road, he
thought about the motives behind the attempted kidnapping. He’d heard rumors
that young shifters had disappeared in California, but nothing this close to
home. Until now. His gut told him it had something to do with her immature
shifting ability.
“Andrew, I think it’s time to
call the alpha of the Yosemite bear clan who lost a couple of teenagers last
year,” Judge said as he continued his journey toward his awaiting pride.
“What’s his name again?”
“Damon Taylor. He has a
reputation. He’s a hard but fair alpha.” Andrew smiled. “You two should get on
well.”