Page 43 of Cruel Revenge
“Teagan?”
“It’s me,” Hasan said. “You can’t come here. No matter what. We will meet you at Jacky’s house.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We found Jacky, and that’s all you need to know,” Hasan growled. “You will do what you must in the city, and we will meet you back at Jacky’s home.”
“No Carey?” Heath asked. “Any werewolves?”
“Only Jacky. She’s the only one here,” Hasan said, knowing he just crushed the wolf’s heart into pieces. He felt no satisfaction from it. He would have destroyed Heath for loving Jacky. Hasan never would have wanted him to lose Carey, though. Never would have wished that on the man. He had once said he would kill Heath to give Carey to Jacky. The distinction was important.
“Thank you for letting me know,” Heath said simply, devoid of emotion, even his general friendlier professional persona that was naturally there. “We’ll see you back there when we can.”
Heath hung up on them.
“You can’t hide it from him,” Teagan said softly.
“So you noticed,” Hasan said, a light growl in his words.
“I have a better nose than you. Of course?—”
“Not now, you two,” Subira snapped, ending the conversation. “It will be discussed at home.”
A mother’s words, but from Subira—one of the most powerful women, one of the oldest women, from the cradle of humanity itself—everyone listened.
It was slow work, but thankfully, no one found them off the road. Some slowed down because of the truck, but no one stopped. Human agents didn’t arrive. Once both spikes were gone, Hasan released Jacky’s head, gently putting it down into the grass. Subira quickly lifted their little girl and started moving with her.
Hasan stood there for a moment, looking at the removed spikes as Teagan lifted Olivia and bridal carried her toward the truck. Hasan picked up a spike, covered in his daughter’s blood, something about the magic scent lingering on it making him think he recognized it. Then he dropped it, knowing he had something more pressing to deal with.
“Subira, let me,” he said, catching up with his mate. Subira could very easily carry the over five-hundred-pound werecat, but Jacky’s paws were dragging on the ground. Subira could lift it, but she wasn’t tall enough to keep their daughter from dragging. “Can you collect the spikes?”
“Of course.” The pass off was as easy as a bag of groceries. Hasan lifted Jacky higher, saving her paws from the dirt. He loaded her into the bed of the truck, Subira right behind him with the spikes now. She jumped into the back with Teagan once again, and Hasan got back into the driver’s seat.
“Thank you,” he said to the now very tired witch beside him. The words were not easy for him, but they came out. Twice now, this witch had stepped up and helped this wild and misfortunate daughter of his. Twice now, he had her to thank for keeping his Jacky alive.
“It’s no trouble,” she said, smiling weakly. “She’s a good person, Jacky. A good friend.”
“She is,” he agreed, and began the drive to take his daughter home.
17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HEATH
“Landon, I want you to be Changed by the time we get there,” Heath ordered as he kept his foot hard on the gas.
“Yes, sir!” Landon yelled over the wind. Shamus opened the window and grabbed Landon’s clothing as his son stripped outside in the bed of the truck moving at high speed. Once all his clothing was in, the window was shut once again. Dirk would be there, making sure Landon could Change fully without getting tossed out during the turns. Heath counted on that. Landon wasn’t going to have control over his body to hold on to himself.
“Alpha… why didn’t I know Stacy and Kody would be out of the territory tonight?” Shamus asked softly.
Alpha. Not Heath. Just Alpha.
Something was going to break tonight between them if one of Shamus’s children was hurt. Something that could be impossible to fix.
Rightfully so. There was always an inherent danger in all of this.
“Because it was just supposed to be dinner. Carey’s biological mother reached out…” Heath’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. It threatened to bend. “I approved the security plan.”
