8
DAYNE
They'd made the drive from Hardin down to their rented house on the edge of Dawley National Forest in half the time it'd taken Dayne to drive Talis from Dawley weeks before.
It had helped that they'd left early and hadn't had to deal with any traffic for the most part.
So, after jotting down a quick note Dayne had pressed into Marshall's hands and told him to get it delivered as soon as possible, they'd hopped into his truck, Dean's car, and Luka's car, and were on their way.
Jenna had surprised him with her determination to join them, but after the package they'd just received, there was no way he was letting his submissive anywhere near Glynn Merrick.
The agent who'd met them had been at pains to tell them the home was one of the nicer ones in the area. Closer to a mansion with its nine bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, and multiple reception rooms.
They were, he was eager to point out, extremely lucky to be staying in a property that backed up to the National Forest.
Dayne couldn't give a shit about the natural wildlife in and around Dawley. He was here for one reason, and one reason only, to get Talis.
In the end, he'd had to walk away and leave Luka to talk with the man since he could feel his rage creeping up on him again.
Much later, Luka found him leaning on the wall beside the back door, arms crossed as he stared out into the darkness, knowing Talis couldn't be more than an hour away.
"We move tomorrow night," he said after Luka had stepped out and closed the door behind him.
Although Luka was silent, Dayne could practically feel his beta's disapproval. No doubt he thought Dayne was rushing things.
But after what they'd all seen him do to the tree back in Hardin, he didn't blame his beta for keeping his mouth shut.
"The Merrick lands are vast," Luka said, after a long moment.
"They are," he agreed. "But I've been there before."
Actually, he'd been there twice.
Once to meet with Glynn after he'd made his interest known in mating with Talis, and the second time a few days later to have the moon-blessing ceremony.
Dayne was sure Glynn would have Talis in the house, probably in a basement or attic. Likely behind a locked door. And if there wasn't one, then he'd have someone watching her.
Probably several someones given right now Talis was a valuable hostage worth something in the region of a million dollars.
"There's every chance he could hurt her before we get to her in time." Luka's tone was mild as he tiptoed around the problems he saw with Dayne's decision.
"Which is why we're going to have to move quietly, and quickly."
"And the note you had Marshall send?"
Dayne let out a breath and rested his head on the wooden wall behind him. The note had been a mistake, and it was one he was deeply regretting now.
He'd let fury be his guiding hand when he'd penned the note Marshall would've delivered hours ago. Now, Glynn Merrick would know his goal in scaring Dayne into doing what he wanted hadn't worked. And not only that, but that it never would.
"Probably wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made," he admitted quietly. "But it's done now and there's no undoing it."
They were silent for a long moment in the darkness. Luka with his back pressed against the wall on one side of the door, and Dayne on the other.
"You think she's all right?" Luka asked.
Dayne sighed. "I don't know. I keep thinking about her wolf. She seemed not to be able to control her ability to shift, which leaves her even more vulnerable. I should have pushed her to talk about it. Maybe we could've figured out what was causing the disconnect and fixed it before all this happened."
"They need to learn to work together. Listen to each other," Luka said. "I don't think there's anything you could have said or done to fix that. This is something only she and her wolf can figure out."
"Well, if she didn't want to before, she's got no choice but to do it now."
They fell into another long silence as cicadas, or perhaps they were crickets, buzzed around them.
"The baby," Luka murmured, and Dayne felt his beta's eyes on him. "How do you feel about that?"
Dayne straightened from the wall and deliberately forced his mind not to go there because if it did, his thoughts would turn to his slain family at the hands of their previous alpha.
He'd lost all of his family. No. His family had been taken from him in one fell swoop. All except Savannah.
The thought of losing Talis and their baby as well was something he couldn't bear thinking about. Not if he wanted to maintain any sort of control.
"We should do some reconnaissance tomorrow," Dayne said instead.
Luka knew him well enough to know not to push. And Dayne knew his beta wouldn't bring up the topic again.
"And if we're scented?"
"We'll stay in the car, and not all of us will go. Just us two," Dayne said.
He'd also make sure they washed thoroughly with unscented soaps and used some of the scent-eliminating sprays they'd picked up from a hunting shop on the drive down.
It was there they'd caught Glynn and Abel's scent, and Dayne had confirmed it was how they'd been hiding their scent from them.
When they'd crept into the house, all Dayne had been able to tell was there was a stranger in the house, and someone who smelled like the hunters did.
Abel and Glynn must have been wearing some of the many scent inhibiting items the shop sold, such as the sprays, the unscented soaps, and maybe even the hunting jackets and pants made with a scent blocker.
None of it was a hundred percent effective, since when he'd gotten close enough to Glynn, he'd realized who he was, but by then it'd been too late. Abel had been waiting until all of his attention had been on Glynn, and the next thing he'd known, it was hours later, and they'd taken Talis.
"What are we looking for?" Luka asked as they turned to re-enter the house.
It was late. Nearly eleven and they'd have an early start the next day, so it would be best to hit the sack now and be fresh tomorrow.
Not that Dayne saw himself getting any more than a few hours of sleep. Not after what Glynn had done to Talis. And especially not with her being so close that his wolf was snarling at him to go and get her. Now.
"One of the Merrick pack. Someone who will tell us exactly where they're keeping her. And no matter what we have to do, they'll tell us. They'll tell us everything."