Romeo Alpha Blood Lines Romance Series - Books 1 to 5

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Sarina woke to the cold and reached for Brody, only to realize he wasn’t there and she wasn’t home. The events of the last twenty-four hours came back to her as her heart sank into despair. She laid a protective hand over her swollen belly, wondering if she’d even be able to deliver her twins in the comfort of family. Stiffening her spine, she refused the tears that threatened to let loose a tidal wave. She was a Traverse and a Duscene, even if she and Brody weren’t legally wed yet. He was her mate and for her, that was enough. It disgusted her to think that Brandt had been able to get past her defenses. The mere thought that the babies she carried could be his made her want to vomit all over again. Needing answers, Sarina dressed as best she could and stepped into unfamiliar territory. She found several corridors that led to who knew where. She moved quickly back to Brandt’s quarters and tried to calm herself. What would her mother do if this was happening to her? With a small smile, Sarina knew her mother would simply cause a rock pile to close off all the hallways except the one that led outside.

Sarina took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She sat on the bed and thought about Brody, about how much she loved him and their children. She made rhythmic circles on her belly trying to reach out to him. “Do you hear me?” she called in her mind. “I’m here, please find me.”

Sarina got a flash in her mind, a moment of sight. It was her parents and siblings all spread out, searching for her. Encouraged, she reached out to them as well, begging someone she loved to hear her, to find her. “Mama!” she screamed in her mind. Pain radiated through her head as another flash came to her. This one was of Brody, his face illuminated just long enough for Sarina to see the determined anger there. The next flash showed him sitting with a dark haired woman, his mouth sliding warmly over her tight n****e. Sucking in a breath, Sarina knew it wasn’t real. If it was, it wasn’t her Brody.

The flashes started to come faster as the pain began to subside. Her parents and Brody talking, planning. Her siblings waiting impatiently with her grandfather. All of them spread out, searching. Would they even think to look this deep into the woods? Would any of them think to use their wolves to help? She knew that only her father and perhaps Brody were capable of changing into their wolves without the full moon, but she was doubtless that it’d be enough to see her freed from this hell hole.

“I trust you’re doing well,” came a slimy voice that made Sarina cringe. Looking up she saw an old man who looked as if he had one foot in the grave and the other just waiting to push off the edge.

“Actually, doing well would imply that I’m happy and healthy. Since I’m about to burst with these twins and I’m definitely not happy, you should trust that I am doing anything but well.”

“You’ve got a temper like your da,” the old man said, his Irish accent coming out in his speech. “Rumor has it, he can be quite demonstrative when he wants to show his status or needs to remind someone of their place in the pack.”

“A good leader doesn’t have to resort to violence to remind his wolves where and what their place is,” retorted Sarina.

“No,” he agreed. “But every once in a while it gets the point across much clearer than the more menial ways. I’ve been around long enough to know a thing or two about being an alpha. From where I’m sitting, even your da has a few things to learn.”

“And you think you’re going to teach him those lessons, do you?” Sarina couldn’t keep the sneer off her face, nor the laughter from her voice.

“You little witch,” Fenris said. His hand cracked hard against her cheek, sending a shockwave of pain through her whole face.

“You’ll live to regret that action,” Sarina said, her whole body going light as a feather. She felt heat radiate through her body as if she’d been dunked in lava. It swam through her veins, causing her arms to lift up and outward, much like an old zombie walk from Night of the Living Dead. As her anger boiled inside, bolts of white hot fire shot from the tips of her fingers, relieving her body of the heat. Fenris, though old, managed to change in a matter of seconds and yelped as a bolt hit his tail, singing the hair.

Once he was gone, Sarina dropped back down onto Brandt’s bed. Gone was any excess energy she’d felt in that moment of awakening. Now her body felt exhausted, the twins battering her insides as they continued their crazy, exponential growth. She still didn’t know how her mother had endured her and her brother, Jason, pounding around like this.

>>

“I can’t find her,” Amanda said, her voice wavering with concern. “Wherever they have her, it’s either too far away, or sheltered. I can’t see anything.”

“Can you sense anything?” Romeo asked, his own resolve stretching thin. “Any sort of darkness in the air?”

“The woods are always a dark place beyond our borders. I never know if it’s just because the area isn’t ours to rule, or if it’s because something more sinister roams out there.”

Turning, Amanda found herself surrounded by Penelope, Elijah, Briana, and Lucia. “You should be resting,” she said to Penelope.

“My niece, who happens to be pregnant, is missing. I’m rested enough for now.”

“I couldn’t begin to talk her into staying home,” Elijah said.

“And you all came,” she said, tears flowing freely now as they all took a turn hugging her.

“She’s our family,” Briana said simply. “Not to mention, I was the one to tell her she was carrying twins. How could I not come when someone’s taken her?”

“Just so everyone’s on the same page,” Romeo called out loudly, “We believe that Sarina was kidnapped by someone she thought she knew, someone impersonating Brody or someone else perhaps. We don’t have proof of this, but somehow someone got close enough to take her. Amanda is almost certain that she’s beyond the borders of our pack, which means we’ll be dealing with whoever rules the wooded areas and beyond. We stay in groups of four or more at all times. Those of us who can, need the powers we have, so stick close by. If you see anything out of the ordinary, or sense anything off, tell one of the leaders immediately so we can alert everyone. It’s not our goal to lose anyone during this search, so be mindful of where you are at all times. Brody will be leading the Eastern border, Amanda and I will take the Western edge and everyone else will fill out between us. We’ll move forward slowly, because while we want to find Sarina as quickly as possible, we don’t want to miss any clues by moving forward too fast. Are there any questions?”

“Why does he get to lead?” a grumpy man asked. Romeo rolled his eyes in irritation.

“Because Sarina is his mate and unless you can make the change as quickly as he can, he leads.”

Brody didn’t need to be told to make the change in order for him to understand. Within a minute, he sported the dark coat of his wolf, his eyes sharp, focused. He sat down next to Romeo, a show of submission. He panted quietly while Romeo lifted a hand to pet his head. “Brody Duscene brought his pack to join ours and has shown a submissive attitude since then. He’s worked hard to integrate his pack comfortably into ours and I won’t stifle that by putting one of mine in the place that should be his. If it wasn’t Sarina we were looking for, I might make a different call. As it is, Brody has the right to lead, wolf or man. If there’s no other necessary questions, we need to split up and get started.”

Brody took the Eastern section and stalked up and down the pathways that led deeper into the dark, wooded area outside the borders of the Delta pack. His ears picked up every nuance from the crickets that were just starting their songs to owls and other night creatures. His nose was to the ground even as the man inside scrambled to think of where someone would have taken her, who she’d let get close enough. His mind rewound to the conversation they’d had the night of the full moon.

“Hey baby,” Brody said when she entered their room. “I missed you today.”

“Seeing me this afternoon wasn’t enough, huh?”

“What?” Brody asked. Sarina watched him pick through the closet, trying to find something to wear that wouldn’t mind getting shredded tonight. “I didn’t see you this afternoon.”

“You don’t remember stopping me out by the Schultz’s and kissing me brainless?”

“Hon, I’d damn well remember if my lips had touched yours this afternoon,” Brody smiled. Turning, he came toward her in a way that always made Sarina’s heart jump. She’d never met a man who could master the prowler stance as fluidly in his male form as he did in his wolf form, until Brody that is. The man exuded confidence as if he was born with a natural well of it inside himself. It was a major turn-on for her.

“I’m telling you, babe. You were wearing jeans and a t-shirt and your hair was all messy. Then you pulled me close and kissed me as if I was your last breath. Hot as hell if you ask me.”

“Sorry I missed it,” Brody grinned. “But I’m telling you, doll, that I was with your dad up until about an hour and a half ago... well past the time you’re saying you saw me. Not that I’m not obliged now to make it up to you. I don’t want you getting disappointed and letting strange men take liberties with you.”

It came to him then, like a flash of hair scorching lightning. Sarina wasn’t the type to let anyone close, unless she knew them. What if she had seen him that afternoon just as she’d said? Sitting on his haunches, Brody gave an ear piercing howl that echoed through the woods. Penelope was there within seconds. “You found something?”

“I think I may have figured out who took her,” Brody said, pulling on jeans as he spoke. “Sarina wasn’t one to let anyone close she didn’t know. The fact that I was even on her radar was astounding once I started thinking about it. Whoever has her, looks and smells and acts like me. He’s not me, but he did at least a convincing enough job to have Sarina going with him somewhere. If that’s the case, she wouldn’t have been able to know and that’s why she told me she saw me the other afternoon. She did, except it wasn’t me she saw. Romeo’s right. Our pack has been infiltrated by whomever took Sarina.”

“I’ll let them know. Call again if you find anything else.”

“Will do,” Brody agreed. Standing behind a tree, he stripped down and became his wolf again, leaving his clothes for another pack member to grab. Brody continued his search, knowing that every mile they checked brought him closer to finding Sarina and his twins. He heard a long, loud howl that ripped through the air and made the hair on his neck and back stand straight up.

Penelope showed up again, her pretty eyes serious. “Romeo found a trail of Sarina’s hair,” she said.

“Where?”

“About a mile west of your current location,” she said.

“Tell him we’re on our way.”

“I’ll let him know,” she said, hope illuminating her eyes. Brody watched her closely. Just as she’d come both times, she was gone with a huge gust of wind. Of all the Radiants, Penelope and Amanda were Sarina’s family and although he knew she loved Briana and Lucia like aunts as well, he found Penelope and Amanda’s powers to be the most helpful, especially right now.

Brody fought the urge to run ahead. A leader never left his people behind and he wasn’t about to start now. He had his clothes put down and quickly made the change to a human again. As he pulled on a t-shirt, stretching the fabric over lean abdominal muscles, someone brought him food he could scarf down on the run. Already having changed four times, his metabolism had easily burned through thousands of calories that would leave him weak and unprepared if he didn’t tank up on the way.

Twenty minutes later, Brody arrived with his entire squad of pack members. The man who’d questioned his leadership stepped up to him before he could address Romeo. “I just wanted to say that I judged you wrong. I’m glad to have you in our pack and on our side.”

Brody shook the man’s hand before turning to Sarina’s father. “You found her?”

“Not yet,” he said, but added a grin. “But my girl’s got brains. Risky or not, she left a trail of her hair for us to follow. My nose found it, but I’m not sure it’s as sensitive as it used to be. Do you want to try and track it?”

Brody changed instantly, forgetting to save his clothes. His wolf would have to do and anyone who saw him change back would have to excuse him. Sticking his nose in Romeo’s hand, he picked up Sarina’s scent and howled as he set off down the path, sniffing the ground here and there as he went. Every so often he’d howl, letting everyone else know where he was and which way the trail led.

>>

Brandt returned to his pack’s base as the sun was just coming up. He’d spent the early morning hours with Carly, making love in a way he’d never imagined could turn him on. He’d always been one for rough, mind-blowing s*x. Then Carly had straddled him that morning and taken him slowly. Her need superseded his urge to drive her fast to c****x and Brandt found a way of doing the deed that left a drop of sweetness afterward.

Still, he knew he had to deal harshly with his ward, or face the consequences Fenris would surely dole out to him if he didn’t. “Get up!” he shouted, obviously startling Romeo’s daughter from her sleep.

“I’m awake,” she replied.

“I said to get up,” he growled. “I’ve heard that you tried to set Fenris on fire. That, my darling, was a very big mistake on your part.”

“Screw you,” Sarina spat. Brandt hit her so hard across her cheek that she yelped in pain and fell against his bed.

“Don’t you dare backtalk me, girl. You’ll remember your place.”

“My place is by my mate’s side, welcoming our children into the world, enjoying time with my family. The longer you rob me of that, the worse your punishment will be. I can guarantee you that.”

“And you think just because you’re carrying those rats that it’ll spare you from my punishment?”

Brandt grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the room. Down one long corridor, he shoved her into a room where the only decoration was a long mirrored wall. Soon the lights went out and Sarina was blinded by a spotlight. “Sarina, this is Dankar. Dankar, this is Sarina, the Delta pack’s alpha’s eldest daughter. Dankar is the man responsible for making me into your mate, or at least the vision and musky scent of him. Dankar is a wizard with black magic and he’s gladly agreed to demonstrate some for you. Hold onto your panties, because your worst nightmares are about to become reality.”

Brandt, confident that Sarina would be well taken care of and knocked down a few pegs, left her in Dankar’s care with explicit instructions to keep him posted should anything develop from the treatment he’d use on her. He wasn’t above hurting her to keep her in her place, but he’d prefer to keep the babies right where they were at the moment. Once she was back with her family, she could deliver twenty babies if she wanted for all he cared. He’d gladly give up his parental rights if either twin turned out to be his, which he sincerely hoped they weren’t, even if it would help Fenris get the war he wanted.