Roxanne Desired (19 page)

The
hidden passageway veered off to the left, seemingly running in between the room that adjoined Dane’s. We had a little less than my arm’s length width to walk through, making it impossible for me to see which direction we were heading around the bodies of Collin and Ember, who were walking in front of me. The hall was dimly lit by tiny lights recessed up into the ceiling. An excess of light wasn’t needed for us to see, considering we all had our enhanced senses to rely on. Harper had decided to stay back at the entryway with Amos to help guard it, so it was just me, Ember, and Collin who were making this trip. The passageway didn’t continue on for very long; after about twenty feet and one more turn later, it opened up to a door. Collin reached over and flipped the panel next to the door jam. After pressing in a long numeric code, it made a beeping sound. After the beeping stopped, Ember grabbed the knob and turned it. She pushed the door openly slowly, as if she was scared of what she might find, or not find, behind it. As soon as the door was cracked, a low warning growl seeped out from inside the room. Ember jumped inside, Collin right on her heels. I stood in the archway and watched as Dane stopped growling as soon as he saw it was his parents entering the room. He transformed back into his human form and ran into the open arms of his family.

“Sh, sh,sh, everything is fine. You’re safe,” Ember cooed to the crying child.

Collin helped sooth their son by reaching over to rub the child’s back.

“Is Sadie okay?” Dane sniffled his question into Ember’s shoulder. “She told me to stay here and not say a word. I think she was scared of whoever was trying to get into my room.”

Ember looked up at Collin, then over at me. She pressed her child’s head into her chest and shook her head at us, tears streaming down her face. We had no clue what had happened to Sadie, but it would seem that she had saved Dane by hiding him in here.

Ember didn’t answer Dane’s question, just rocked him back and forth to sooth him some more. “We’re here now, love bug. Everything will be okay.”

Collin grabbed his two-way radio and spoke firmly into it. “Is the compound secure?”

Milo answered immediately. “Shit could be better. We are missing a van and two prisoners. Other than that, we are secure and I’ve given the orders for a complete lockdown.”

“Which prisoners are missing?” I asked.

Collin waited for Milo to finish his report and then asked, “Which prisoners have escaped?”

It took a moment for Milo to get back on the line this time, but when he did, it was with horrible news. “Tyson and the black wolf are gone. When we searched the holding cells, we found theirs empty.”

My heart fell to my stomach at the news. I hadn’t thought about David at all in the last couple days, but it seemed as though he was top priority now. And what in the world was he doing with Tyson?

“Gather everyone in the war room. We need to have an emergency meeting. The beta of the Prime wolves is missing, too.”

“Sadie has been taken?” Milo hissed through the airwaves.

He sounded like he was about to jump through the radio and strangle somebody.

“We will discuss this in the meeting. See you in ten.”

“I’ll be there,” Milo growled.

***

As Harper and I crossed the threshold into the war room, the sound of several voices being raised at once agitated my wolf. Declan was sitting off to the side of the room, looking a lot better than he did just hours ago when he was laid up in the infirmary half beaten to death. This was the second time in as many days that the compound’s security had been breached, so shit was very seriously hitting the fan.

Declan smiled at me and then gestured at me to join him. Looking around at the chaos in the room and not wanting to be a part of it, I walked over to him and took a seat. Harper ignored the both of us altogether and took her spot next to Ember who was in deep conversation with Paige, most likely about one of her wolves. As it turned out, it was her beta Sebastian that had gone missing as well as Ember’s Beta, Sadie. Everyone’s speculations starred him as the traitor.

“Isn’t it supposed to be your job to calm them down?” I asked, half jesting.

He chuckled and smiled a huge, toothy grin. Dimples popped out on both of his thin cheeks, highlighting the thin smatter of freckles that ran across the bridge of his nose and then burst out across his cheeks.

“Believe it or not, I am.” He ran his long fingers through his blonde hair, pulling it off his shoulders and flicking it back to fall down the small of his back. He had extremely long hair that fell to his waist, all of it one length.

“Where’s your mate?” Declan asked me. I noticed that even though he was speaking with me, he kept a really good eye on the other wolves in the room. I looked around and noticed for myself that everyone did seem to be calming down, finding a place to sit or stand in anticipation of the meeting.

“He took off right before shit went down. I’m surprised he isn’t back yet considering everything that’s happened.”

Declan paused, then looked toward the door. “Speak of the devil.”

“Wha…?” I turned my head toward the open doorway.

I just stared up from my seat as Collin came storming into the room with Nathan on his heels. Collin walked straight to Ember, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. After Nathan closed the door he hurried over to me, his eyes jumping over to Declan who just so happened to be sitting right up against me. Our close proximity was nobody’s fault; the chairs were placed very close together. Declan threw up his hands and laughed as he scooted to the next available seat. It seemed as though the tension in the room was getting to Nathan’s wolf as well. God, it may be petty, but my body responded immediately to his show of dominance and jealousy. My entire being heated up to almost an uncomfortable level. I swallowed hard and tried to calm myself down. Declan chuckled and when I looked over at the Omega, he gave me a knowing smile. My face flashed red in embarrassment.

“I am happy to see that you are safe,” Nathan said, putting his hand on my knee as he sat in the recently vacated chair next to me. “I should know by now that it’s not wise to leave you alone even if it was so I could get you this,” Nathan reached in his coat and pulled out a box. “I guess I will have to wait until later to give it to you.” He winked at me.

Nathan tucked the rectangular, black velvet box back into his pocket.

I settled my hand on his and leaned in close to his ear, making sure my lips grazed the curve of his jaw. After a small nuzzle, I said, “You’re such a tease.”

The soft, seductive tone of my voice brought his eyebrows up. He turned his head so he could capture my lips. They hovered over his smooth chin, only an inch from his, but instead of locking onto his sweet mouth I quickly turned away. Nathan groaned.

Two could play at that game.

“You’ll pay for that later,” He said with a low, sexy growl.

I was counting on it.

The Adelphi leader cleared his throat. All sound in the room extinguished. Collin walked over to the bank of monitors that lined the far left wall and pulled out a rolling chair. Gesturing to Ember, she walked over and took a seat in it. Collin was always the gentleman.

“As most of you already know, the compound suffered a massive security breach tonight.”

Everyone nodded. A few wolves let out whispered curses.

“My mate’s pack suffered a terrible blow because of this breach. Sadie, her second in command, was taken in what we believe was a failed attempt to kidnap our son.”

The roomed swelled with the sudden intake of breath. Milo slammed his fist into one of the lockers. Collin turned and pinned him with a heavy glare.

“Are you able to control yourself, soldier?” he asked the stricken wolf.

Milo leaned against the same locker he’d just beat the crap out of. After putting his head against his forearm he just nodded. The little white furball, Mojo, was also visibly stricken. She sat at Milo’s feet, leaning against his legs.

“Good. I can finish then,” Collin said, this time with a more compassionate tone.

I looked over at Milo. He was hiding his face in the crook of his arm, so upset. I wasn’t aware that Sadie and he had become close, but it was obvious something was going on between them. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Collin’s commanding voice.

“Because of this direct attack against the Adelphi, I have no other choice but to declare war on Tyson and his Gatherers. They are no longer protected under the laws of our world. They are to be put down on sight and we will take no prisoners this time. They have been tried and found guilty by myself and the power given to the Adelphi by the collective group of elders. ”

Collin’s words rang in everyone’s ears, as the meaning of what he declared sank in. It left us with nothing but a heavy silence that settled like dust on the ground.

“What does that mean?” I asked Nathan, trying to whisper low enough for only him to hear. Not easy to do in a room full of werewolves and a vampire.

“It means that a lot of people are about to have a very bad day,” he whispered back.

Nathan
pulled something from his pocket. When I looked, I saw that it was the black velvet box he had tucked away earlier. I watched on from our bed as his hand slightly shook when he opened it.

“This belonged to my great-grandmother,” He began to explain as he sat down next me. The mattress dipped against his weight, making our hips rub together.

“She left it to me with very strict instructions to place it around the neck of my truest love.”

My heart was thudding like a jackhammer as he pulled the necklace from its box. It swayed like a jeweled medallion between us as he unclasped it.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, reaching out to run a finger over the diamond and sapphires that adorned it.

The diamond was the size of a quarter; I had never seen anything like it before. The teardrop shaped gem was surrounded by several deep blue ones, and even in the dim light, the stones gave off a light show that could rival anything in Vegas.

He swept my hair to the side and circled his precious gift around my neck. My hand shot straight to it, not believing it was actually there. Nathan had just given me something that was extremely important to him, a gift straight from his heart. I squeezed the cool stone between my fingers. I would cherish this gift of love, his grandmother’s heirloom, for the rest of my life.

“Do you like it?” he asked nervously.

With tears in my eyes, I jumped him. We toppled off the bed, landing in a tangle on the ground. In silent answer to his question, my mouth searched out and found his. I kissed him with lust filled hope, desperate abandon, hard won trust; filled so fully was this kiss that it easily conveyed my intentions, it was an eternal promise of love.

Other Works by Gena D. Lutz

For Prime-Werewolf Ember Stilwell, life has been far from normal. Decades ago, a vengeful Witch cursed her Pack, leaving the women of her line incapable of feeling love. When an organized group of immortal killers begin to stalk and capture wolves from her pack, she sets out on a path fraught with danger. Just when it seems the world as she knows it will be changed forever, she meets Collin, an Alpha Werewolf with a body built for sin. As her heart begins to heal, she comes to find that the demons of her past are not nearly as dangerous as the nightmares she will be forced to face in her future. Can finding her true love conquer all? Or will the ability to feel for the first time be overshadowed by losing everything else she holds dear?

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