Seventeen

Wes stood beside Dimitri and Alanna just inside the woods that surrounded a ranch-style house on the edge of Holopaw near Harmony, staring at the quiet home as they debated what they needed to do next. Not want, because what Wes wanted was to storm in there and take Jeremiah Prescott and his grandson in his hands and string them up. However, while that might solve the immediate problem, it wouldn’t go far with the long-term issue of the Order of Wardens, and the Order needed to be dealt with. Lainie had called Wes earlier to inform him that Isaac Prescott and his friend were out on bail, the sheriff’s department never being able to find the third boy, and that Wes needed to be careful.

While the three of them huddled in the woods debating amongst themselves, Jake and Noel were moving Wes and Noel’s personal possessions into Jake’s cabin with Noel’s mother, Marge, acting as supervisor. The older woman refused to leave her daughter’s side with the recent activities, and Wes was more than eager to get out of the smaller cabin and away from the woman’s constant sarcastic snapping.

“The traces from Everglades led straight here,” Alanna said. “That Isaac kid for sure and his smaller friend. I couldn’t tell about the third kid though.”

Wes stared at the house for a couple of moments before he glanced at Dimitri, knowing the decision truly belonged to the alpha of Bull Creek. “I can’t believe the man already bought a house here,” he muttered. “A sure sign that he doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. So, how do you want to do this?”

Dimitri stared at the house. “Good question. Chet’s problem is that he doesn’t have any real evidence that they actually did anything, so he can’t really arrest them for the attack on the bar. The arson charge will be about all that will stick, but that won’t put the old man behind bars. The fact that Jeremiah’s the one who made the threats against Everglades and you doesn’t matter.”

Alanna glanced over at them. “Jeremiah isn’t of the paranormal world, either, so really, this doesn’t fall under shifter justice. So, what’re our options?”

Wes turned his focus back to the house, mulling over the next course of action. He knew in his gut that Jeremiah Prescott was responsible for the attack on Everglades as well as his cabin. His appearance at the same time as the assaults to Wes’ home and bar were too much of a coincidence. Yet, Dimitri was right; there was no real proof that would put the Prescott patriarch in jail with his grandson. “Maybe we break into the house and find some?” he suggested weakly.

“Break in?” Alanna repeated. “Then we’re as bad as they are.” She shook her head. “We have to do this right or nothing will stick.”

They all stared at the house, their minds churning trying to come up with something to make the Prescotts go away.

The sound of tires on gravel caught their attention, making them turn their gazes to the front of the property just as a dark sedan pulled off the gravel road and onto the asphalt driveway. The windows were darkly tinted, so they were unable to glimpse who rode inside as the vehicle made its way down the long drive to the curve in front of the main doors of the house. Wes narrowed his eyes as he studied the vehicle, trying to make out who was arriving and if they were part of the problem he now faced.

When the car stopped, two men, whom Wes had never seen before, got out. Each went to a side door, opening it, and reaching inside to haul someone out. Whoever was inside didn’t appear to want to cooperate too much as the men literally had to lean into the car halfway to grab hold of them. A female screeching, demanding that they leave her alone, reached Wes’ ears, making his eyes pop open wide. Noel?

The next thing he knew, one of the men pulled Noel’s blond head roughly out of the car, her arms wailing at him as she was forced out of the vehicle, while on the other side, the other man dragged Marge out, her arms swinging as she tried to hit the bulk of the man who had her in his grips. But where’s Jake? What happened to Jake? Wes’ bear growled within, and Wes had to clamp down before the transformation took hold. He needed more facts first, then he’d rip the men apart.

For their part, the women gave the men quite a struggle, twisting in their grasps, jerking their arms loose and swinging with their fists. The men, however, were tougher and stronger, jerking the women around and doing their best to keep them off-balance. That still didn’t tell Wes where Jake was though.

Two more men came out of the house, going to the trunk of the car. Wes’ heart sunk as he watched them pull Jake’s unconscious form out of the car, one man grabbing his legs, while the other held Jake under the arms. Jake’s head just lolled to the side, his eyes closed.

Noel stripped her arm out of her captor’s grasp and ran to Jake, screaming out his name as she tried to reach him. The thug who held her, however, grabbed her again just before she reached Jake’s limp body.

“I’d say we have our proof,” Alanna said.

Wes growled. “This is now a shifter matter.” He turned to the others. “Jeremiah Prescott fears paranormals, so I say we give him good cause to be scared. You two can sit this out if you want, but I’m going in there and getting my mates back.”

Dimitri nodded. “I say it’s time to call in the troops.” He slid his cell phone out of his back pocket and dialed Adira.

Wes nodded once. “But I’m not waiting. I don’t know what happened to Jake or if he’s even alive. I do know that Noel is in there, along with her mother, and I’m not trusting their safety in these assholes’ hands one more minute.”

When Adira answered the phone, Dimitri told her everything they just witnessed, but Wes didn’t wait for the call to end. He started making his way around the property line to the back of the house where the trees grew closest to the house. It appeared to be the best approach for any semblance of an element of surprise. He heard Alanna right behind him, as Dimitri told Adira, “Just let them know that we’ll probably already be inside. You might want to give Lainie and Chet a heads up as well.”

Wes led the way around the perimeter of the ranch house until he was even with the back door. Jeremiah Prescott must have thought himself pretty safe since he had not posted sentries anywhere or set any alarms that Wes could see. The path remained clear. Now, he just needed to get inside. Glancing over at the other two, he asked, “So, how do we go about getting in there?”

Dimitri turned to the house, his brows pinched with concentration. “It’d be nice if we knew how many were in there,” he said. “We’ve seen four men already. We have to assume Jeremiah is in there along with his son and the other two kids. That makes at least seven, but there could be more. I say we try to peek in a couple of windows before we…”

Noel’s scream ripped the still air around them, snapping their attention back to the house. Wes roared as he sprang from where he knelt and ran for the house, his bear already shifting as he took off. His clothes shredded as arms and legs grew thicker, the coarse reddish-brown fur of his bear slipping from his skin, and his already thick body shifting into the hulk of his bear. If anyone watched, he’d probably never make it to the house, but the decision was no longer his, taken from him by his bear’s need to protect his mate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The man who held Noel’s arms shoved her through the front door and into the house, making her stumble on the throw rug at the entrance. She fell with a hard thud, her elbows taking the brunt of her fall.

Marge screamed out Noel’s name, but the other man told the older woman to shut the hell up.

Noel remained on the floor for a moment, doing her best to take in her surroundings. When she turned to the door, she saw the two men carrying Jake’s limp form, and she sprang back to her feet in an attempt to get to him. The man that had brought her inside, however, stopped her, backhanding her and sending her flailing to the floor again. She glared up at him, a growl forming in the pit of her stomach, which scared her still for a moment, her eyes wide. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm whatever was happening inside of her, turning her focus to the men holding Jake. “If you’ve killed him, you’re going to die,” she snarled. “And it won’t be an easy way to go.”

Her captor squatted down so he could look her in the eyes, sneering at her. “They’re all going to die, sweetheart,” he spat. “Along with the humans who aid them.” He hitched a thumb in Jake’s direction. “Your boyfriend there is just the first. Sickening, really. Humans fucking with creatures who aren’t all human. You’re some kind of twisted, aren’t you?” Then he backhanded her again.

“Noel!” Marge screamed again, trying to shove her way to her daughter. “Hey, tough shit. Does it make you feel good to hit a woman?”

Noel’s captor just glanced back at Noel’s mother, laughing. “Anything that sleeps with these animals isn’t really a woman.” He then glanced at the others. “Take them into the living room. We’ll hold them there until Jeremiah returns.”

A shuffling off to the side caught Noel’s attention, and she turned in time to see some shaggy looking kid walk through the doorway to the left of the front door. In his right hand, he kept spinning a butterfly knife, twisting it so that it made an eerie snapping sound. She remembered him all too well from the night of the fire. “I see you brought them,” Isaac Prescott sneered. “Did they give you any trouble?” Two more kids stood behind him.

“Nah,” Noel’s captor said as he stood to his feet. “They were too focused on moving their shit to notice us sneaking up on them.” He gestured to Jake. “Once we knocked him out, the women were easy.”

Isaac pointed to the scratch marks on the man’s face. “Doesn’t look like they were too easy.”

The man turned and glared at Noel. “This one doesn’t cut her nails, it seems.” He backhanded Noel again, shaking his hand afterward.

“I wouldn’t beat her too much,” Isaac said as he walked over to where Jake hung between the other two men. “Grandpa isn’t going to like her too bruised before he gets his hands on her.” He bowed down, studying Jake’s limp body. “Do you think we can make him shift before we kill him? A bear rug would look nice on our wall.” He ran the edge of his knife over Jake’s chin without cutting him.

“You son of a bitch,” Noel screamed as she tried to stand again, only to be knocked back down by the man beside her. Another growl formed deep inside of her, scaring her a little. What the hell? She turned back to Isaac. “You know you’ll never get away with this, right?”

“I’m kind of thinking we already did,” Isaac said with a chuckle. “Take them to the living room.”

The man reached down, grabbed Noel’s arm, and started dragging her to her feet, shoving her toward the main room. She heard the others following. She tried to turn around and check on Jake and her mother, but the man guiding her just jerked her back around, forcing her forward.

When they reached the living room, the men shoved Noel and Marge into chairs while the ones holding Jake just dropped him on the floor, his head snapping hard against the wood. A painful moan slid out of Jake’s mouth as he moved his arm slightly. Noel’s eyes went wide, willing Jake to remain still, but thankful that he was at least alive. Wes, I need you. Where the hell are you?

Isaac walked over to where Jake lay on the floor, squatting down to hover over him. “So, he is alive.” He glanced over at Noel with an evil grin. “For now, anyway.”

Noel glared at him, ready to say something threatening, when Jake snatched out and grabbed the punk’s head and flipped him over onto the floor. The motion came faster than anyone could predict, catching the men off guard. Jake flipped over so that he straddled Isaac, his hands going to the kid’s throat, just as the men snapped to attention and rushed to Isaac’s aid. The other two kids arrived first, grabbing Jake by the arms in an attempt to drag him off their friend. As soon as they had Jake’s hands away from Isaac’s throat, the youngest Prescott growled and thrust his knife into Jake’s side.

Noel screamed, and then the growl within her took over, her body snapping as bones shifted and a reddish-brown fur started to slide from her skin. She screamed again at the pain, but more in desperation to get to Jake and his attackers. Collapsing to the floor, she jerked her gaze up to Jake, his eyes widening as he watched her transform, another scream ripping from her throat.