Michael was warm, relaxed, a soft female beside him.
He reaches over, cups a soft breast, grabs a nipple, and twists.
A sharp intake of breath and brown eyes snap open. He puts his face to her dark hair. "Hands and knees, E."
Erica rolled and got up on her hands and knees, smiling. He was going to do it.
Michael slid his early morning erection into her well-fucked pussy and shoved her face into the bedcovers. He thrust roughly, hard, balls slapping against her sticky thighs. He digs into her hips, pounding to his own orgasm, howling when he ties with her and fills her, yet again. Her eyes open, he hadn't bitten her.
Michael pulls out, dripping onto the sheets as Erica turns to look at him, frustrated and surprised. "I thought you were gonna...?"
"Bite you? Mate you?" He snorts. "Got other plans, E. Wouldn't mind a mistress, though."
Erica lays there, stunned, as he wanders into the bathroom of the Alpha suite to shower. It had been a couple of days. Maybe he should drive over to take another look at his prize.
No. No. Stick to the plan. Best to stay away, just in case. He'd collect her just before he mated her.
Against all convention, Sampson had sought out and spoken to Calvin. None of the Omegas dared. Calvin had been resettled into a small room in the house.
He had been told he would be replaced in a couple of days by Michael's second, but hadn't been told who it was. How was he supposed to transfer the controls and information needed?
"You shouldn't be bringing me your concerns, Sam. You should speak to your Alpha."
"Cal, something's wrong. I can smell it."
"Do you have any evidence?"
"Purely circumstantial. Unresolved disputes. Pack members absent. Others upset. No evidence of any serious look into who crossed pack land with the Wyeth females. The Wyeth pack barred from performing their own investigation. There's no reason for most of this."
Calvin closes his eyes. "These are not decisions I would have made but Michael is Alpha now. It's up to him to learn his way. I can't help you."
Sampson sighs and clasps Calvin by the shoulder. "You wouldn't be helping me, Cal, but your pack."
Another pair of males drive out, searching for their stolen females.
Emmett, exhausted, finally falls asleep.
Joanna wakes, curled up behind her friend. She yawns, stretches, and looks around.
Nothing has changed in the Wyeth pack. Security was still increased although the perimeter sweeps had been stopped. Pack members were reminded to be wary.
The vehicular searches continue, three males now, in ever widening circles.
Randall, Ariel, Roland, Emmett, Erich, and Samuel were running on coffee and little sleep.
Nathan had requested a half day at work and was watching the slow crawl of the clock. He had a listing of half a dozen properties owned by the Ross pack that stood outside the compound. He was itching to check then out.
Thomas had settled himself outside the Ross den, watching the comings and goings.
The gathering of unmated, which was supposed to start that day, had been canceled, to the disappointment of all the attendees.
Joanna gets something to eat as her guard was changing again. They were laughing hysterically over the portrayal of the werewolf in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.
She sits next to Lyssa, stroking her fur lightly and trying to untangle her dark hair.
Lyssa wakes this time to pain.
There was a searing pain in her arm. But, she wasn't supposed to move. She wasn't sure why.
She tries to keep her breathing even and not to move. She feels awful, smelly.
[Jo?], very quiet.
[Lyssa? Oh, Luna, are you alright?]
[Joanna. Try not to react. Where are we?]
[I don't know. Basement of some house.]
[How many are there?]
[Three males now. Unless Michael comes back.]
[Ross?]
[Yes. He said he'd kill you unless I came. He's gonna make me mate with him.]
Lyssa is quiet for a bit, thinking, or trying to. Her head was fuzzy and she was so tired. It takes a bit for her to understand what it all means.
[Lyssa?]
"She should be coming to again sometime soon."
"Don't know what the big deal is."
"Just keep an eye on her, you nitwit."
[What day is it?]
[Monday.]
Monday. She'd been knocked out for a couple of days. Joanna's birthday was Wednesday. [Do you have clothes?]
[Sort of.]
[Is it day or night?]
[Day, about noon.]
[Can you shield from me?]
[Lyssa, I can't get you out of here.]
[Yes or no, Jo?]
[OK. Yeah.]
[Listen to me very carefully, Joanna. They're looking for us. You know they haven't stopped. I'm going to ask you to do something very... difficult.]
[OK.] Lyssa hears the fear and uncertainty.
[Promise me. It's the only way to save us.]
[But...]
[Promise!]
[OK.], a small, quiet acquiescence.
[When I tell you to, block me. I'll move, get their attention, and hit them with everything I have. Run. Get as far away as you can. Stay on the road.]
[But, he'll kill you if I leave.]
[He'll kill me anyway when he's got you. You have to get help. You have to leave me.]
A pause. Joanna stares at the wall, biting her lip and trying not to cry.
Lyssa says a quick prayer and, before she can change her mind, says [OK, here we go, block me.] Lyssa whines and moves.
"There!" Alan snatches a syringe off the table and approaches her.
[BASTARDS!!!]
It's as if a small bomb goes off in each of their brains.
Alan topples onto her like a fallen tree, senseless.
Jason and Gerry wince and crumple.
Joanna stumbles, bolts for the door, wrenches it open, and shoots up the stairs. She dives through an open window, rolls on the porch, and heads for the road. The driveway isn't particularly short, but fear of being caught spurs her.
Just as she turns the corner and starts running down the road she hears a pained yell. "Come back here, you little bitch, or she's dead!"
All of the Ross pack, the Gates pack, and the Wyeth pack hear Lyssa's send. Even a couple of sensitive humans pick up on it and wonder.
However, while all of them may have heard it, only the Wyeth pack and a few in Ross understand who and what it was.
"What the hell was that?"
"Where did it come from?"
"It sounded female."
"Selene. What power."
Everyone stops to speculate.
Michael continues his conversation with Sampson for a bit, checks his watch, and says, "I have an appointment. We'll continue this later."
"Of course, Alpha."
Emmett races from a self-imposed perimeter sweep to the house. She was alive. And near enough to be heard.
Ariel clutches Randall's hand. [Lyssa! She's alive. Do you think Jo is with her?]
[Let's pray that was a diversion.]
Lunch dissolves into chaos as the males head for Randall, expecting orders.
Samuel and Thomas were out, driving around, looking for Joanna and Lyssa.
Thomas continued doing near sweeps of the area where the trail had been lost. He had a feeling they'd be close by.
He heard the call, loud, very loud, and clear. He jammed on the brakes. They were close.
Ruth was on the way to the hairdresser. Her daughter complained that it was a waste of money, since she rarely went anywhere, but she felt so much better with her hair done.
She sees a young woman running down the road, barefoot, in a dress two sizes too big for her. She's waving her arms. A man appeared to be chasing her.
A car! Oh, Luna, she had to get it to stop.
She stands in the middle of the road, waving her arms.
The car stops. "Help me! Please!"
The woman inside rolls down the window; Jason is closing.
"Please. I need to get home."
"C'mon, dear." Joanna jumps in the car.
"Lock the doors. Please, drive away."
Jason stands in the middle of the road and she slows. "No. Go around him. He'll hurt us."
"I don't want to hit him."
Jason smiles and stalks toward them. His voice drips sugar. "Jo. Sweetie. I'm not gonna hurt you."
He looks at Ruth. "Sorry, ma'am, she's gone off her medication again."
Joanna clutches at her arm. "No. He's lying. Please, we have to go."
Jason stands in front of the car, looking surprisingly normal. Ruth looks into his eyes, and shudders. Something in her recognizes the predator.
She tries to keep her voice from shaking. "All right, young man. I tell you what. I'm gonna take her to the police station. You can sort it out from there."
Jason's expression turns hard. "She belongs to me. Come out, Jo."
Ruth is almost paralyzed, looking at him through the windshield.
Joanna slams the car into reverse and shoves the accelerator down.
The tires squeal as the car reverses quickly.
Jason curses, then runs back for the garage and the truck.
"Stop! Stop!" Ruth is yelling and clutching her chest. Joanna is breathing hard.
She pulls her foot off the accelerator and the car slows, coming to rest sideways in the road.
"Please. Can we just turn around and get away from him? He's going to come after us."
Ruth, shaky, looks at her. "What's going on?"
"Can we just go to the police station, like you said?"
Ruth closes her eyes and tries to stop her heart from pounding. "I think that would be best."
She puts the car in drive and begins to turn around. "Oh. Thank you. Thank you."
Joanna turns back towards the house and sees a vehicle pulling out of the driveway. "Oh, no."
"What?"
"He's coming after us."
Nathan barely kept the bike upright when the scream hit him. "What in Luna's name?"
He had no idea what was said, what it meant, or where it came from, but someone sounded like they needed help.
He stopped for a couple of minutes to clear his mind and then decided to run around the block to see if he could find them.
It was a powerful send but it could have been either Joanna or the Beta female. And, since he had heard it, they couldn't be too far away.
Lyssa was unconscious again. When Alan had dropped onto her, he had knocked the breath out of her and fallen on her arm. The pain had caused her to black out.
Gerry crawls over, his head pounding, and shakes Alan. "Alan. Alan. Wake up. We're in deep shit. Alan!"
Alan groans and rolls over. "Luna. My head. What happened?"
"I dunno, man. But the girl is gone."
Alan comes bolt upright. "Luna! He's gonna kill us. What do we do?"
"We gotta run."
"What about Tracy, my boy? I can't just leave them."
