Please, Grayson, if anything happens to either Carlos or myself, take the kids and go to this man. Keep the kids safe, let them know how much Carlos and I loved them both. I love you, brother.
Your loving sister, Megan
"What does it say?" Apollo asked, his face flushing almost immediately after he spoke. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business."
"No." Grayson shook his head. "It just says that Megan had gone to the council and filed the information about Molly shifting." Grayson's hands tightened on the letter. "She also suspected someone was watching her the minute she left the council. She has confidence that I'll be a great parent to the kids." Grayson left out a good portion, but his throat was so tight with grief that he couldn't continue. "She suspected that the attack was going to happen."
"But how?" Apollo asked.
"I don't-"
Grayson and Apollo swung around when they heard a howl rent the air. Chills spread from the inside out as Grayson spotted several wolves coming out of the woods, snarling and growling, snapping their jaws.
"Did Brandon get off okay? Do you think they saw him leave?" Grayson remembered how badly abused his pack mate had been the last time they were attacked. He didn't want to see it again. He might have healed from his physical injuries, but Brandon was in no condition to fight.
Grayson, however, had enough rage inside of him that he could take on an entire unit of soldiers and wipe the floor with them. Especially since he knew Apollo would back him in whatever he did.
"Yes, there's no sign of them. Apollo said. "Meti and Nomti will keep him safe." "Then it's just you and me and the assholes trying to piss me off."
Apollo's wide grin was probably out of place, but it warmed Grayson's heart. "Let's take care of these guys and then get home to our pups."
Grayson liked the way Apollo thought.
Ten minutes later, Grayson was starting to think they had bit off more than they could chew. The battle had been vicious and bloody from the very beginning, Grayson and Apollo fighting back to back as they fought to take down anyone that came within biting distance of either of them.
That worked until they were rushed by several wolves, the enemy coming in from every direction. Grayson howled as he watched his mate get taken down, blood dripping from several wounds along Apollo's black fur.
"Shift or I'll put a bullet in his furry little head!" a man he had never seen shouted as he held a gun to Apollo's head.
Grayson shifted, kneeling there on the ground just a few feet from his mate. Fear wrapped around him like a cloak as he watched Apollo's chest rise and fall with his rapid breathing.
Apollo was alive. As long as he knew that, he could figure a way out of this mess. And it was a mess. He had been so angry, so enraged at the people attacking them that he hadn't seen the danger he was putting his mate into until it was too late.
But the fact remained, he was alive and so was his mate. As long as they had that, there was always a chance that they could escape. Granted, it wasn't very big chance, but it was still a chance.
"Well, well, well," the man with the gun said in a voice that was way too chipper. "I never thought I'd see the day I had one of Alpha Khenti's elite enforcers on his knees."
Grayson blinked. Had this man lost his mind? He wasn't an elite enforcer. He barely qualified as an enforcer, and then only due to his size.
The man's eyes narrowed. "Do you know who I am?"
"Not really." Grayson grunted as one of the men standing on either side of him smashed a fist into his jaw. He reached up and rubbed the bruised skin, popping his jaw back and forth to make sure it wasn't broken.
"I am Alpha Chad Kohl."
And?
"Alpha Khenti and his pack stole my pet from me after killing my father. They bribed the council to take my pack from me." An insane light sparkled in the man's eyes. "But I have a new pack now and a new pet. I want him."
A cold apprehension passed through Grayson. "Him?"
"Brandon."
Chapter 11
Grayson got a sick feeling deep down inside his gut as he realized that the council might not have been responsible for the massacre of his pack. "You killed them, didn't you?"
The man tossed his head back and laughed, not even trying to deny what he had done. He spread his arms wide as he looked back at Grayson. "We're isolated here, no other packs close enough to be a danger. Enough buildings for a growing pack. This is the perfect setup."
"It also doesn't belong to you."
"It does now." Chad laughed again, the sound chilling. "Once I explained to the council that this land was unoccupied due to the sudden departure of its previous pack, they gave me the entire territory as compensation for the death of my father." The man's malicious grin grew. "They even gave me Brandon."
"They who?"
"Does it matter?" Chad asked. "This is my land, my pack, and my territory, and you are here without my permission. That means I can kill you and there is nothing anyone can do about it."
"You're insane."
"So the fuck what?" Chad snorted. "I'm still the alpha here."
Grayson growled, his muscles tensing. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
"You don't." Chad spoke so casually, so nonchalantly, that Grayson knew he was insane. It was like Chad didn't even realize what a dangerous situation he was in. Grayson wouldn't be surprised at all if the man suddenly invited him to tea or something.
The guy was just nuts.
And Grayson wasn't sure how to deal with nuts.
"Why don't you just let us go?" he asked. "If the council gave you these lands, then obviously you were meant to have them. Apollo and I can just leave."
Chad's lips twisted for just a moment, almost as if the man was considering it. He even rubbed his chin as he paced back and forth in front of Grayson. When he finally stopped and shook his head, Grayson tensed again.
"No, that just doesn't work for me," Chad said. "If I let you leave, then I have no leverage over Alpha Khenti. He'll never bring me Brandon, and I need Brandon. I saw him when I went to speak to the council. At the time, I was there about Simon, but that didn't work out. Simon couldn't remain faithful. I think it was good that I found that out before I took him as my pet. But Brandon, he will make a good pet. I'll make sure of it."
"I can't help you. I don't know where Brandon is." Grayson looked the crazy man straight in the eyes when he spoke. He was telling the truth, and he knew his honesty would be reflected in his face. He really didn't have any idea where Brandon was at the moment.
And even if he did, he would never tell.
"No, you may not know where my pet is now, but you know how to find him." Chad glanced at the gold watch on his wrist then pointed his gun at Apollo's head again. "You have one hour to bring Brandon to me or I put another hole in his head. Try anything, and I will also put a hole in his head."
Grayson gulped. "I understand."
He understood perfectly. They didn't know Brandon had just been here. And he had one hour to figure out how to save his mate before Chad followed through with his threat and killed him.
"Good." Chad grinned like they were old friends having a conversation, tucking his gun into the waistband of his slacks. He nodded to a couple of his goons, who lifted Apollo up. "We'll be waiting in my new house."
Grayson ground his teeth together as Chad turned toward the home his sister and her mate used to occupy before they were killed. He'd burn the damn thing to the ground before he allowed Chad to live there.
"Oh." Chad paused and glanced over his shoulder. "My boys are going to make sure that you do exactly what you're supposed to do. No funny business."
Damn.
Grayson's mind raced as he watched his mate being carried into the alpha house. There was only one shot at this. If he fucked up, Apollo was dead. If he didn't figure out a plan to rescue his mate, Apollo was dead. If he didn't rescue his mate in time, Apollo was dead.
There were so many ways that Apollo could die and only one way to keep him alive. Except Grayson couldn't do it. Turning Brandon over to an insane alpha just wasn't going to happen. Grayson would rather die than betray one of his pack members. He knew Apollo felt the same.
Grayson pushed himself to his feet, smirking when the guards on either side of him tensed. If they were worried about him merely standing up, they were going to shit purple kittens when Grayson attacked them.
And that was exactly what he was going to do just as soon as they got out of sight of the alpha house. Grayson turned in a circle, searching the ground for his shredded clothes. He needed his cell phone and the small heart-shaped locket Megan had left in the tree.
He spotted them by the tree he had found the locket in. Grayson clenched his jaw when the two guards flanked him as he started for his clothes. "I'm just going for my cell phone, guys. I have to make a few phone calls so I can find Brandon."