“Goddammit!” I yelled. Kami was only eighteen years old and a sweet girl. The thought of them raping and torturing her enraged the fuck out of me.
Bailey and Sebastian appeared at the door, concern etched on their faces. Once my mind cleared, she was able to hear what was going on. “They want you, Bailey. If we don’t go, they’ll kill an innocent girl. But if we do . . . I put your life in danger.”
She walked up to me, placing her hands on my face. “Then we go. We have to save her.”
With desperation in his voice, Tate replied, “These wolves are out for blood. I need you here, brother. I can’t do this alone.”
“You won’t be. We’ll be out there first thing.” I hung up the phone and threw it on the bed.
“What’s going on?” Sebastian demanded.
“The Yukon pack is desperate to find Bailey. They took a girl hostage, threatening to dismember her if they don’t get what they want. We’re heading back to Wyoming.”
He stalked into the room. “And what, hand Bailey over? Do you have any idea what they’ll do to her?”
“Not a goddamned thing. I’ll kill them all if I have to.”
“So will I,” Bailey added, glancing at me before settling her focus on him. “I can’t let them hurt an innocent girl because of me. You know I’m a good fighter.”
“Yeah, because I’m the one who taught you,” he grumbled.
“Then it’s all the more reason for me to go.”
Sighing, he headed for the door. “Fine, let’s go. I can’t have you fighting without me.”
As soon as he was down the stairs, I grabbed Bailey’s hand, pulling her to me. “This isn’t how I wanted the full moon to go down.”
She nodded. “I know, but we have to do this. There will be plenty of full moons.”
I kissed her long and hard. “And I’m sure as hell going to make sure of that.”
We were almost to Tate’s ranch, which was about three hours north of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where I lived. Everyone was on edge, including Cedric, who was still back in Jackson. “Are you sure you don’t want me there?” he asked.
“No, I need you with the pack.”
“What if they outnumber you?”
“Then I guess we’ll have our work cut out for us.”
“Stubborn son of a bitch. Don’t get yourself killed,” he snapped.
“Don’t plan on it. If everything goes the way we want, we’ll be fine.” I hung up and tossed my phone into the center console. “Okay, we’re almost there. We need to come up with a plan.”
“If your main objective is to save the girl, we need her scent,” Sebastian explained. “I can track her location and then someone can go after her.”
“Why can’t you track her and find her yourself?” I asked, glaring at him in the mirror.
“Because I’m not leaving Bailey’s side.”
“Are you always going to be up her ass?” I snapped.
Bailey slapped me on the shoulder. “That’s enough. Stop with the pissing contest.”
“She’s right. You’ll be thanking me once the night’s done,” he grumbled low.
When we got to Tate’s ranch, he was outside with five of his wolves. They tensed when Sebastian got out of the car. Tate walked up to me, but stopped cold, focusing on Bailey and Sebastian.
“Where are they?” I asked, referring to the Yukon wolves.
“Some of them are in town, but I still don’t know where they have Kami.” He nodded toward Bailey. “Is that your mate?”
I glanced back at Bailey and nodded. “That’s Bailey Storm and her protector, Sebastian Lyall. They’re part of the royal pack.”
Eyes wide, he stepped past me and bowed his head while the other wolves watched on with curiosity. “My name’s Tate Grayson. It’s nice to finally meet you. I didn’t know there were any living royals.”
Sebastian snorted. “That’s because we don’t pronounce it to the world. I’ve seen what happens when we do.”
Tate turned around, eyes wild. “You need to get the fuck out of here. If I’d known she was a royal, I never would’ve asked you to come. We can’t risk her. If they find out what she is, they’ll come after your pack next.”
“Not if we kill them first. Besides, they already know what she is. They knew when they stole her the first time.”
He threw his hands in the air. “Fuck me. What are we going to do?”
Bailey stepped forward, meeting each of their stares. “You aren’t going to do anything. Kami’s gone because of me. I’m going to make sure we get her back. First, we need to track her. Can someone produce something of hers?”
“I have one of her jackets inside. Come with me,” Tate insisted. We all followed him into the house and he brought me a thin, denim jacket. I breathed in her scent and so did Bailey and Sebastian.
Sebastian closed his eyes, clutching the jacket in his hands. “I’ve got a trail. When do we go?”
Bailey started for the door. “Now. We can’t waste any more time. If those cocksuckers said they’ll fuck with her, they will. I’m not taking any chances.”
I grabbed her arm before she could get outside. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I agree,” Sebastian cut in.
Tate joined us. “I’ll have my men go after her. Just point us in the right direction.”
Eyes wide, Bailey scoffed. “Are you kidding me? That’s your plan to get Kami out alive? Because that’s our goal here, to see her walk away from this mess. If you waltz in, those wolves will smell you from a mile away. At least, with me and Sebastian, we can mask our scent along with Ryker’s.” She opened the door and stepped out. “Now, let’s go. I, for one, know what it’s like to be tormented by those fuckwads.”
Clearing his throat, Tate slapped a hand on my shoulder. “She’s a pistol, Whitemore. Remind me never to get on her bad side.”
Sebastian snorted. “Tell me about it. She’s already threatened to kill me on at least three different occasions; not to mention how many times my balls have been on the line.”
He joined Bailey outside, but before I could go, Tate squeezed my shoulder. “I’m sorry, brother.”
“For what?”
“For putting your mate in danger. I love my sister. I couldn’t let them kill her.”
“And I would never expect you to. This is my fight, not yours. Besides, they wouldn’t have stopped at just Kami. I know those wolves. I used to be a part of their pack.”
“When they see you, it won’t be the end. They’ll hunt your people down.”
The thought of that made my blood boil. “They can try, but as you know, I have some of the fiercest warriors in my pack. We won’t stop until they’re all dead.”
Bailey
“How far away do you think? Four miles?” I asked, peering at Sebastian. Brows furrowed, he closed his eyes and breathed in.
“Roughly,” he replied with a nod.
Ryker put his arm around my waist, grabbing my attention. “Why don’t you stay as you are and we’ll shift? That way you can help Kami and get her out.”
“Good idea,” Sebastian agreed.
I couldn’t argue with them there. “Okay. Let’s do this.” I could always shift if I needed to, but they had a point. If I was her, I wouldn’t just trust any wolf, especially two, unmated males.
Ryker and Sebastian took off their clothes and left them on Tate’s back porch. They shifted into their wolves and we were on our way. We ran through the woods and I could smell Kami’s scent as if she was right beside me. I’d never tracked anyone before—never had the reason to. Sebastian took the lead and Ryker stayed by my side. Once Sebastian slowed his pace, I knew we were close.
Crouching down, I crept up beside him and focused on the camp in the distance. There were three tents and four wolves from what I could tell. “She’s in one of those tents,” I whispered. Sebastian nodded in agreement and padded off slowly.