Chapter 20: Twenty

Fitz stared at the shattered glass scattered on the ground, several shards covered in blood, Kinsey’s blood. He never should have left his mates alone. Now, one was in the hands of his enemies, and the other on her way to join the first. How could his father always be one step ahead of him?

Fitz remained there, squatting, staring at the ruins of Kinsey’s window. He couldn’t blame Mandy for racing off after Kinsey. His panther urged him to do the same, and it took everything he had not to give in to those urges. He couldn’t respond with rash behavior, however, as much as he wanted nothing more than to race off and devour those who hurt his family. He needed to think this through, needed to figure out the best way to save his mates. He needed… Fitz sighed. He needed to get off his ass and take his father out.

“The magic twists Kinsey’s trail,” Adira said to those gathered around. “But it doesn’t twist Eve or Mandy’s. Follow their scents, and you’ll make better time than trying to follow the blood trail.” She knelt down and slipped a cell phone into a leather pouch that dangled around Dimitri’s panther’s neck. “Call me when you find them, and I’ll be right there with Chet.”

Fitz looked up and around at the area surrounding the cabin. When Dimitri said he was calling in the troops, he meant it. The yard around the cabin was covered with tigers, bears, wolves, and panthers. The only one missing was Lainie, and Fitz assumed it was because she was with the sheriff. This is how a pack or tribe should act, standing for the protection of the individual, instead of forcing the individual to kowtow to the whims of the alpha. Dimitri had created an amazing group in Bull Creek, and Fitz knew his brother didn’t get the example from their father. No, Daniel Everest ruled with manipulation and threats.

Pushing himself to a standing position, Fitz walked over to Dimitri as he started to unbutton his shirt. “When we get there, Dad is mine. We’ll find the ladies first, but before we leave, our father will be made to realize he went too far.”

Dimitri looked up at his brother, his panther’s eyes wide. Let’s get the ladies safe. Then you can do whatever you need to do with Dad. Jeremiah Prescott is mine, however.

Fitz nodded as he slid out of his pants and started to shift. It was time to get his mates back.

The sweltering day made the rush to wherever Jeremiah took Kinsey even worse, the animals’ tongues hanging out as they panted and ran. The shade from the overhanging branches did nothing to ease the tense heat, but Fitz couldn’t care less. He picked up on Mandy’s scent and led the charge through the woods. He wasn’t sure how long they tracked the panther and tiger when they heard a small plane to the south of them and then a gunshot rent the silence of the day.

The animals stopped, heads jerked up in the direction of the gunshot, and then everyone broke into a panicked dash, heedless now of fallen branches or coming out too soon into the open. The gunshot could only mean Mandy and Eve had been discovered, or Jeremiah carried out Fitz’s father’s wishes and killed Kinsey. Either way, Fitz knew Dimitri just lost his opportunity at Jeremiah Prescott because Fitz would kill the man as soon as he saw him.

They hit the edge of the airfield without stopping, the time for caution over. Stay as hidden as you can until the last minute, Dimitri yelled out. Catch them off guard and try not to hurt them too badly.

The animals split up, sticking to pairs as they attacked the men with the guns. More gunfire rang out, but the animals moved too fast for the men to get a bead on them, dodging around stacked boxes and oil drums, discarded and rusted airplane parts. Off to the south, a small plane eased down the runway to the warehouses, but Fitz had no time to figure out why a plane was arriving. Instead, Fitz frantically searched for Mandy, her scent now lost due to the commotion around him churning up the ground.

Fitz! Mandy’s scream reached his ears as he leaped on top of an oil drum, jerking his attention around until he saw her racing toward the warehouse closest to the airstrip. Kinsey’s in there!

Eve! Fitz heard Arlin scream out as another tiger lunged out of the woods to tackle one of the men aiming at Alanna’s wolf as she took down one of the gunmen. The guards Jeremiah hired didn’t know what to do with so many animals busting out of the woods, hellbent on taking them down. They were accustomed to fighting humans, not ferocious, pissed off animals. They fired haphazardly, not taking the time to aim in their panic, which only hurt them and saved Dimitri and his friends. The bears barreled through a small group of men rushing them, knocking over a stack of oil drums in the process and sending them rolling toward the men.

Fitz saw Dimitri duck behind a truck and shift, snatching up his cell phone as soon as he had hands that could grab and fingers to dial. Adira and the sheriffs would soon be there to help. They just had to keep Jeremiah’s men occupied until then.

Fitz turned back to where he last saw Mandy racing toward the warehouse. She had almost reached the warehouse. He leaped off the oil drum, his massive legs shoving it over onto its side as he darted toward Mandy. Wait for me! But he doubted she would listen this time, either. He knew she felt the same panic he felt, their mate bond trumping their need for caution.

He watched as she neared the main doors to the warehouse. Just as she prepared to leap into the air, throwing her weight on the doors in an attempt to break through, the warehouse doors opened, and Jeremiah Prescott and his witch stood in the doorway.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Seems like someone’s found our little hideaway,” Jeremiah said as he glanced back at Daniel who still stood in front of Kinsey’s cage. He then glanced at Enoch. “I’m guessing you’re not as good of a witch as Stella believes.”

He should never underestimate the power of the mate bond, Kinsey said as she glanced at Daniel. Nor should you. It’s a powerful magic all to its own.

“I doubt it’s more powerful than his men’s bullets,” Daniel sneered.

Jeremiah grew impatient as he reached out, snatching Enoch’s arm and shoving him toward the warehouse doors. “Get out there and fix your screw up. I need you to give me enough time to get this beast onto that plane. Now, move!”

Daniel, you need to stop this before someone gets killed, Kinsey said, hoping Daniel wouldn’t risk his children’s lives over his play for power. They could be shooting at Mandy or Fitz. Josiah’s not going to like it if you get his daughter shot, not to mention killed.

Daniel spun on her, his eyes narrow slits as he glared at her. “My son needs to know where his place on the food chain is,” he spat. “He wants to play with the big dogs, then he needs to realize how sharp their teeth truly are. I can handle Josiah, and this will handle Fitz.”

And what if they’re shooting at Fitz? She couldn’t believe how desperate Daniel behaved. How far had he really gone over in that deep end of insanity that he would risk his own son’s life? If they kill Fitz, then what the hell was all this for? Your legacy will be gone, your protege dead. Will it be worth it then?

“My son never should have turned against me,” Daniel snarled. “We all do what we must for the family. I did it when I was his age. Now, it’s Fitz’s turn. This is your fault! Yours! You couldn’t just disappear, could you? Couldn’t pick some other place to go cry your pathetic eyes out? You had to pick a place you knew Fitz would find you. Just had to manipulate my son against me, filling his head with this destined mates bullshit! I gave you all a chance to do the right thing, gave Fitz a chance to be the obedient son he’s always been, to be the obedient son I was.” Daniel’s eyes were wide now as he ranted, spit spewing from his lips as he gushed his vile venom at Kinsey. “But no, he needed to pretend he had a backbone in front of the piece of ass he couldn’t live without, even convincing his wife to bring you into their marriage bed. How disgusting is that? How pathetic on your part? Couldn’t get a man of your own, so you stole Mandy’s, twisting Fitz’s devotion of the past for your disgusting future.” He leaned closer to the bars, his lips twisted into a disgusted snarl. “What kind of whore are you?”

Kinsey’s panther hurled herself at the bars, the pain wracking through her body as she bounced back. She did it again and again and again, the cage tipping more each time she hit the bars, the pain screaming through her shoulders and side. Still, she didn’t quit, her anger erupting inside of her, blinding her to the pain or the impossibility of her predicament.

Daniel stood there laughing as Jeremiah followed Enoch toward the main doors. “You’re trapped, you pathetic tramp,” Daniel spit. “And soon you’ll be flying away from here to a man who knows exactly how to treat a whore like you.”

Kinsey hit the cage one more time, this time her prison toppling over on its side as she sprawled against the bars, pain blinding her for a moment and sucking the air out of her. Daniel screamed, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jeremiah turn around a moment to see what happened, but Kinsey didn’t wait to see what their reaction was after that. She leaped to her paws and slung herself against the bottom of the cage, the wood already weakened. Wood splintered in all directions as she fell through the flooring and onto her side, sliding on the concrete flooring of the warehouse. She shoved the pain out of her mind, forcing herself to push through it as she scrambled to her feet and turned to face Daniel, bloodlust filling her eyes as she hissed at him.

Daniel just stood there, laughing. Jeremiah had opened the warehouse door but stopped when he heard the cage crash onto the floor, the iron bars ringing out against the walls. As soon as he turned, Enoch screamed, and a panther leaped through the open door, tackling Jeremiah and bearing him to the ground. Sirens could be heard outside, but Kinsey ignored them all. Daniel was hers, and she went for him.

She paced toward him, slow, steady, her head lowered, her fangs out. I am far from a whore, you piece of shit. You’re the one who whored out your son for a contract; you’re the one who whored out my mates, so you could make some money. What the three of us have is far bigger than you or Everest Paper or any scheme you concocted with the Order of Wardens. She moved closer with each word, and Daniel backed slowly away from her, his gaze fixed, focused, without a trace of fear in his eyes. The fighting could be heard outside, now sounding like distant back noise to the drama unfolding inside the warehouse. Tires screeched on the gravel, skidding to a halt outside, the gunfire suddenly ceasing. The plane could be heard again, this time sounding more like it was taking off rather than landing. Smart move on the pilot’s part.

“What you have is a perversion of the worst kind,” Daniel sneered. “I won’t allow it.”

Just like Jeremiah won’t allow paranormals to live? She shook her head, blowing disgust out her nostrils. None of you have the right to judge anyone else. You’re pathetic little men scampering to stay important, threatened by anything you think might mean you’re inferior to anyone else. You’re sad. She stopped walking, staring at him, her hackles raised as she fought the urge to leap at him and rip his throat out. Your time is over, Daniel. You lost. You should just give up now before it gets worse.

“Give up?” He laughed, his head tilted back a moment before he faced her again, his eyes still wide with his crazed notions. “Give up? Are you kidding? I run this family!” He hit his chest as he said that last sentence. “Me! I’m the alpha of this family!”

I think it’s time that changed.

Everyone turned as Fitz stood in the doorway, hissing.