Chapter 24

Her head was pounding. Had she taken a hit? She didn’t remember fighting. Why did it feel like she was sleeping in a moving car? She never slept in a vehicle, too many things could go wrong if you weren’t alert all the time. Stretching her arm, she froze when it touched cold metal. Opening her eyes, she blinked, it was pitch black. She squeezed them shut again so she could tap into her cat and use her vision in the dark. “What the—” She turned her head to see Griffin beside her, almost on top of her, and he was out cold.

He had fallen on the ground… “Shit.” Someone had gotten the drop on them. Her, mostly her. It was her job to keep him safe, and she’d failed. She reached over and checked his pulse. It was strong enough. “Griffin.” She shook his shoulder. “Come on, fight through it.” How did tranqs affect half-breeds? His bear should be burning it off fast like her cat was. She closed her eyes to check on her animal. Oh yeah, she was there and very much looking forward to finding the soon-to-be-dead person that had tranq’d her. Blaise checked and confirmed that her guns and knives were gone. “Shit.”

“Blaise? She should be awake by now.”

They hadn’t taken her comm. Probably thought they were just out for a stroll. Alliance teams were always on guard. Pushing the comm, she swallowed the bile down. “I’m here.”

“Took you long enough.” It was Tripp Carson. “We’re following the tracks.”

We? “The prince?”

“Is back at the hotel with Blair and two others.”

“Kay.” Her mouth was so dry.

Griffin jolted awake and tried to sit up. Whatever they had them in wasn’t big enough for much movement. He dropped back down and held his hand over his forehead. “Where are we?” He groaned.

“Metal can.” She had no answers for him other than that.

“We’re moving.”

“Tripp is tracking us.”

“Good. Tell him to hurry. As soon as I don’t want to puke, I’m going to freak out. I don’t do small, dark spaces.”

“Talk to your bear, Griffin. Shifting could crush Blaise.”

He lowered his hand. “How do I—” he pointed to his ear.

“They can hear you through mine because we’re mushed in here so close.”

“I don’t know how to talk to my bear, Noah, or I’d already have communicated that we need to get out of here.”

“Just breathe through any thought of rage,” Noah advised.

“Yeah,” Griffin didn’t sound pleased, “I’ll work on that.”

“We’ve stopped.” Blaise put her hand against the metal to check for vibrations. There weren’t any.

“We’re still miles behind you. It took us a few to scramble to come after you.”

Blaise grimaced at that news. “Move fast if they—”

“Shh, I’m trying to hear.”

She looked at Griffin. “Shifter hearing is good, but—”

“I know. I’ve always had it.” Was his response.

Blaise closed her eyes and held her breath, trying to see if she could hear anything. She couldn’t. “I don’t—”

“Tripp, can you hear me?” Griffin glared at her as he spoke.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Okay.” He turned his head, “so she can as well.”

Someone chuckled into the comms.

“There’s nothing to hear.” She seriously doubted he could hear something if she couldn’t. All she could hear was their breathing.

“As much as I love your voice, you need to refrain from using it for a moment. They’re talking about whether to leave us until the others arrive or let us out, and I’d like to know the outcome of the discussion.”

Blaise frowned and looked at him. Did all bear clans have hearing like this? Who did she know that was one? She had questions.

“Best refrain, Blaise.” Tripp sounded too amused. Being mated had given him a sick sense of humor or something.

“They’re leaving us in here.” Griffin’s voice was much deeper than it had been. “How much room do you have?”

“Uh,” she attempted to turn and couldn’t, “I’m almost curled into a ball.”

“Make yourself as compact as possible. I am not staying in this.” There was a low growl in his voice.

She pulled her legs up and watched him run his hands along the corner of the box. Shifting he pulled off his boot and then awkwardly reached the other and took it off too. With each movement, she felt like she was pinned against the cold surface.

“Griffin…”

“I have to get out of here.” He growled. “I can’t deal with small spaces. Darkness closes in on me, and then the memories swamp me. And every time I breathe you in, I want to slay dragons and kill something.”

Blaise was stunned, she had no words. It may have been the nicest and most bizarre thing anyone had said to her.

“Would you slay dragons for me?” A female’s voice came through the comms.

“Unicorns too, babe, but focus on driving, we need to get there, or we’ll miss the bloody parts,” Tripp answered. The woman had to be Amari.

Griffin’s breathing became louder, and then she heard the metal creaking against the pressure from his legs.

She pressed her back into the metal, giving him more room to move. She wasn’t sure if he was able to do it. Her cat sure as hell couldn’t get them out of this, but from the sounds of the box, his bear was determined.

“I can hear what he’s doing to the metal from here. Go team bear.” Tripp said, “Give it all you’ve got before they hear you.”

A low growl came from Griffin, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. A shiver went through her and Blaise realized it was her cat responding to his bear. How messed up was her world?

A snapping sound told her that the seams of the crate had given way to his brute strength. He slid out of the box so fast, she was crushed into the side of it in the process. A large hand reached in and grabbed her ankle and pulled her free of the cold box.

Squinting, she tried to adjust the bright light. A movement out of the corner of her eye, had her grab for a gun that wasn’t there. “Watch out.” She slid off the truck to the ground, ready to take on the man that was rushing at them.

Griffin spun around and caught the assailant by the throat as he launched himself at them.

Blaise paused and noticed that he was much larger, even more so than when they had been at Raquel’s when he’d gotten upset.

The man struggled against the hold, then dangled in mid-air, his body swinging like a ragdoll as Griffin walked toward a tree. When he reached it, he slammed the guy back against it, once, twice, and then released him. The man dropped to the ground and didn’t move.

“One down,” she reported.

“Good work,” Tripp answered.

“Save some for us, please,” Amari pleaded.

“I didn’t do it. Griffin just beat him against a tree.” She smirked. It was entertaining and beyond what she could ever hope to do.

“Griffin, keep the bear in check. We don’t have time for a run through the bush to find you.” Noah’s tone was emotionless.

“Mmm,” was the only reply Griffin gave.

Blaise looked around. “Small cabin, no other cars,” she reported. “I don’t know how many more there are.”

“Two,” Griffin growled and then started walking toward the cabin.

“Well, shit,” Blaise took off after him. He wasn’t even wearing his boots. “Uh, we’re going in the cabin after the other two.” She looked around as she went for anything she could use as a weapon. If he burst in and they tranq’d him, she’d be on her own against the other two.

“Drop me here, and I’ll keep watch for company,” Noah said.

That meant they had to be close. If they got her too, at least Tripp and his mate would storm in and save them both from being dragged off—again.

Griffin ripped the door right off the cabin and went inside.

As she reached it, she heard a large crash and darted into the building ready to fight. Griffin stood holding a wooden table in two hands and the men lay on the floor unconscious.

“That’s one way to do it.” She hurried over. “Go grab the other one; we’ll tie them up. Tripp, find out what we’re doing with them.”

He chortled. “Standing order is to put them down if they’re a threat.”

Blaise grabbed the curtain; maybe she could tie them up with it. “they’re not much of a threat right now. We should tag this location, so Illias can find out who it belongs to.”

“We can do that.” Tripp told her.

“We don’t want to know how they knew where we were?” She had no qualms about putting them down for good, but she wanted answers too.

“Same rats that have been betraying us all along, I imagine.” Amari said in a venomous tone.

Blaise paused to check out the one’s face. It was swollen and bleeding. All of it. “I think you smashed this one’s face in, Griffin.”

“What did he hit him with?” Tripp sounded like he was running now.

Blaise glanced at the table on the floor on its side. “A table.”

“Oh damn.”

Griffin came through the door dragging the other one by the back of his jacket and dropped him beside the other two.

Blaise lifted coats to see if any of them wore a belt. “I think we need to take one back and find out how they found us.”

“Since when are you the voice of reason? How are we looking, Noah?”

“All clear so far.” Noah replied. “What if they have trackers in them?”

Blaise looked to see Griffin standing looking out the door. He still hadn’t grabbed his boots. He was going to want them once his anger settled and his animal wasn’t pumping out the heat. “They tranq’d me, I want to know.” She answered.

“Well, you are much bigger than the last we saw you. Love the white streaks, they’re a statement.”

Blaise looked up at Amari’s words, then moved over to the window to see Tripp and Amari standing outside the cabin, both with guns in their hands but not pointed at Griffin. Yet.

She hurried over and skirted around his large frame to look up at him. “They’re on the same side you’re on now, Griffin.”

“We’re the good guys.” Tripp said with a smirk.

“Breathe through it, Griffin. They got you out of Aiden’s prison.” Noah reminded.

Blaise put her hand on his chest and patted it a few times. “Why don’t you go find your boots and look in the truck for my stuff.”

His chest rose and fell a few more times before he finally nodded and stepped around her.

Amari and Tripp stepped back and turned their whole bodies to follow the direction he went, guns still in their hands.

When he was far enough away, Blaise pointed to her ear and then pressed the comm button, so anything she said wouldn’t be broadcasted to the others. Griffin could probably hear them, but she was sure he knew a lot more than he’d ever share.

Tripp and Amari both turned off the mic on their comms.

“Damn.” Tripp gave her a gobsmacked look, then glanced in the direction that Griffin had gone. “What did you feed him?”

Blaise rolled her eyes at that. “They had him taking meds to suppress his animal all these years.”

“Does he shift?” Amari scanned the treeline, moving just her eyes.

“Does he need to? He just took out two guys with a dining room table. I don’t think I want to see his bear if the man is that size.” Tripp checked all around them.

“Devin says tag it, grab ID and phones, and put them down. Disable the truck, then get back to the hotel; we’re moving out.” Noah stated over the comms.

Amari grinned and walked toward the cabin. “I got this.”

Tripp had the expression of a besotted idiot on his face as he watched her walk away.

“What did you guys drive here? Will all of us fit?” She had no problem shifting and running all the way back.

Tripped jerked his head to look back at her, “Just as long as the bear doesn’t get any ideas, we will fit.”

“The bear has a lot of ideas.” Griffin said in a more normal voice as he walked toward them, his boots in his hand. He wasn’t as large now, but the expression on his face said he was barely containing the need to go inside and tear those men into tiny bite-size pieces.

“As long as they’re for our side, have at it.” Tripp saluted him and then went into the cabin.

“Thanks for getting us out of there.” Blaise had no problem thanking a person when they saved her hide.

Griffin shrugged. “Apparently, my bear is part Superman.” He smirked briefly and then looked down at his boots. “I need bigger boots.”