“I see.” Even though her father wasn’t right there with her, Katherine could practically see the wheels turning in his head. He was calmly, methodically making plans.
“You need to be way more freaked out about this!” Katherine yelled. “There are freaking werewolves, and crazy soldiers kidnapping them, and they still have Roxanne’s baby!”
“What good would it do for me to get hysterical? I believe you’ve got that covered for both of us,” he pointed out. She hated it when her father acted all reasonable. “We need to find out where these soldiers are stationed. If they’ve been having meetings with the chief near town, then they can’t be too far.”
“Roxanne said that she remembered being held in some old mine.”
“Well, nobody knows the mines like the Gunds,” her father said. “I’m going to call them right now. If Chief Fennell really is in on this, I don’t want you coming anywhere near town. I’m going to start driving towards you so we can meet up halfway. Just tell me where you’re headed.”
Katherine had always known her temperament came from her mother’s side of the family. She wanted to scream and jump up and down and throw things. Unfortunately, she had to drive, and her father, as usual, was right. Having a hysterical meltdown wouldn’t help Roxanne get her baby back. It sure would feel good though.
“Hello,” Roxanne spoke up. “Are we making any progress towards finding Clara?”
Katherine felt her throat clenching with panic. “Who is Clara? You said your baby’s name is Flint.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say my baby?” Roxanne stared at her in bewilderment. “I’ve never, you know, been with a guy in that way. I couldn’t possibly have a baby.”
“Dad!” Katherine wailed into the phone. “Roxanne’s forgetting things like every five minutes. What do I do? Apparently some of the werewolves can erase memories, but they can supposedly also bring the memories back. Do the Gunds have someone like that?”
“I’ll ask them when I call them,” her father said. “Now, we need to decide on a rendezvous point.”
* * *
The world was fuzzy and blurry. There was an annoying ringing sound in Steele’s ears, and the ground was hard, and he needed to wake up because there was some emergency, but he couldn’t remember what it was.
The baby!
Steele sat bolt upright, panic shooting through him. Roxanne had been kidnapped. His baby was missing. Roxanne was the only person who could help them find the baby, and she was gone, and he had no idea where those people were taking her. How long had he been under? Would he have time to catch up with them?
His cell phone was ringing. Without thinking, he fumbled for it. It lay on the floor next to him.
“Hello?” He pulled himself to his feet. A wave of dizziness rolled over him, but he fought it off.
“Jeez, it is about freaking time!” Isadora yelled at him. “Get in your car and start heading north. I’ve still got them in my sights.”
“Who?” He had a metallic taste in his mouth, but the dizziness was abating.
“The humans who kidnapped Roxanne! I haven’t called anyone else yet, because you told me you were going to leave town forever and I thought that maybe the wardens had some kind of kill on sight order out on you. What the hell is going on?”
“I’m getting dressed while I’m talking,” Steele said, stumbling through the living room towards his bedroom. “How did you know about the humans?”
“I saw their car pass me while I was leaving, and I was like, what the heck are those people doing here in Timber Valley? So I doubled back and followed them and I saw them pull up in front of your house,” Isadora said. Steele, still woozy headed, pulled on jeans and a shirt as Isadora talked.
“I parked by the side of the road and shifted so I could get closer, and I could smell that one of them was human and one was a wolf, which is weird as hell. I saw them shoot you with that tranquilizer gun. When they left, I ran over and pulled the dart out, but I couldn’t wake you up, so I ran back to my car and started following them,” Isadora said. “Also I put the phone by your head and I kept trying to call you. Jeez, you took forever to wake up, you lazy bastard.”
“Isadora, I take back everything bad I ever said about you,” Steele said.
“Nah, it’s all true, and then there’s all the stuff that you don’t know about,” Isadora said cheerfully. “Okay, I’m going to give you directions, and you should be able to catch up to me pretty easily. Whee! Road trip! If only you were more fun, this would be a really good time.”
Chapter Fourteen
“My legs are stiff, and I need to pee,” Isadora said crabbily.
“Suck it up, buttercup,” Steele replied, shutting his car door. They’d been following Roxanne and her merry band of kidnappers due north for seven hours straight, until they finally pulled in to a rest stop. She and Steele had briefly pulled over in a convenience store parking lot so she could get in his car, and he’d filled her in on everything as they drove, including the fact that Roxanne had given birth to his child and might know where all the missing shifters were.
“Thanks. Next time you get shot with a trank gun, see if I save your ass,” Isadora said loftily. “I am going to do like lynxes do and pee in the woods.” She dodged into a stand of bushes.
Steele glanced around cautiously, but the woods were fairly thick and she should be safe. It was night time, and while parts of the parking lot were bathed in pools of light from lamp posts, they were in one of the darkened areas.
Still, he didn’t like anyone to shift when humans were around. It was always risky.
The rest stop was fairly busy. There were long lines of trucks parked at the far end of the parking lot, with truckers resting up or walking around, and a gas station, restaurant and convenience store. Steele and Isadora had parked closer to the other end, where Roxanne and her friends were standing next to an empty picnic table.
Roxanne was pacing back and forth, near her redheaded friend, and a group of people were walking towards them.
One of them was a redheaded man, who looked like the father of the redheaded girl. He was tall and rangy, same body type, same facial features, and he hugged the girl in greeting. The people with him…Steele stared. It couldn’t be. There was a scent drifting his way…
“Oh my freaking God,” Isadora said, trotting over to him. “Those humans are hanging out with wolf shifters.”
“Yes, they are. Hopefully that means they won’t shoot us if we go talk to them,” Steele said, and began walking towards them.
“How confident are we of this theory?” Isabel scampered after him.
“Hey! You two!” Dash stepped out from behind a parked SUV. He was in uniform. He’d driven his SUV there, but it was unmarked.
“What are you doing here?” Steele demanded, shocked.
“I could ask you the same question,” Dash said. “Isn’t that your human over there?”
“She’s not my – okay, yes she is.” She was his if she wanted him, anyway.
“Why is she here? Is she talking to a bunch of shifters?” Dash stared in amazement. “I thought you were holding her at your house so her memory could be wiped. She knows about our existence, and she’s walking around free?”
“How did you find us?” Isadora demanded, hands on her hips.
“I saw you speeding out of town, and I was going to pull you over, but then I saw Steele catching up to you, so I just hung back and followed you. And followed you. I thought we were never going to stop.” Dash looked uneasy, as if there was something that he wasn’t saying.
“Why are you continually hanging around trying to find dumb excuses to bust my furry ass?” Isadora glowered at him.
“If your furry ass would stop speeding through town, you wouldn’t have anything to worry about, would you?” Dash glared right back at her.
Steele looked at Dash, narrow eyed. Dash looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t flinch.
“Dash. You’ve been in touch with the Wardens while you followed me, haven’t you?” Steele asked.
“Could be.” Dash met his gaze with a cold stare.
“Excuse me, what?” Isadora stared at him, appalled.
Steele folded his arms across his chest and scowled at him. “How far behind us are they?”
“Not far. I can’t let you or the human leave.” Dash shook his head. “I’m sorry, Steele, but with everything that’s been happening, with shifters being kidnapped, with the risk of exposure to our race – my loyalties have to lie with shifters. Where do yours lie?” He raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Roxanne and the group of humans and shifters.
Steele let out a low, angry snarl.
“Watch how you to talk to your Alpha,” he rumbled.
“Sir, with you allowing a human to leave our territory while she was aware of our existence, I can no longer consider you my Alpha. You’re not even my boss any more. The Wardens have relieved you of your command, as is their legal right.”
“You backstabbing bastard!” Isadora hissed. “All he was doing is trying to stop them from scrambling his girlfriend’s brain! And she’s the mother of his baby! Did you know that?”