"Where the hell is Soleil?" Griffin shouted, as if he were trying to shout over the voice in his head. Some people could hear it, but most of the room carried on as if nothing was wrong. Danielle screamed angrily. There weren't even words, just rage-filled cries. Chase calmed himself and reached for her.
"Lovely, where are you? Why are you crying?" She didn't answer at first, but she sent visual hints. Was it a locker room? There were other people with her. A shadowed man held a woman around the neck. He couldn't see the man's face, but everything else was clear. Chase didn't recognize the woman.
This place is like a maze. I'm not sure how I got here. I think we may have passed underground into another building. I don't know where I am, but I can't fight them. They have my mother, Chase. Tell Griffin they have Mom. She projected so loudly that Griffin, Mason, and Kayden all heard her. Griffin went stiff, and Mason looked ill.
We're coming. Try to hold them off. Chase would sniff her out. He ran to the hall and followed his nose like a bloodhound. A wave of anger crashed over him, as Darren was revealed to be the traitor who'd handed her over to the rogue. Darren thought he could force his Lovely into being his mate! A sound of helpless rage ripped from Chase's throat. The four men tracked Danielle like prey. It seemed as if Darren had led her around in circles to confuse her, and anyone who followed them. Chase continued talking to her, until he lost her to blood loss and the pain the rogue had inflicted. The last thing she said was, I love you, Chase.
Those words echoed through his head, and he held on to them like a life raft. It took forever, but finally the trail ended at a locker room door. Chase burst through the door, and the scene they found was a nightmare he would never forget.
Darren had done it. He'd allowed the rogue to drain her nearly to death, and then he'd stolen Danielle's blood and forced his own blood down her throat to save her life. They were a mass of tangled limbs on the floor. It was disgusting how much they looked like lovers, so entwined with each other. She sprawled across his chest with her purple gown tangled around her knees. Darren was very pale, but he held her tightly to his chest.
"Go after the rogue!" Chase shouted at the warriors who filed in behind him. "That way!" He pointed toward a dark corridor leading away from the locker area.
Rage like nothing he'd ever know pumped through Chase. "I need a gun!" He pulled Danielle out of Darren's arms and held her limp body to his chest. She was still alive, but her heart beat erratically. "Somebody get me a damn gun, now!" he bellowed.
"You can't have a gun, man. He's a vampire." One of the warriors tried to calm Chase, but he was far beyond reasonable now. At that moment he didn't give a shit about the law. Darren had betrayed Danielle's trust and used her love for him to lure her away.
He heard Kayden go down on his knees behind him. "I'm going to be sick. Losing her to you was one thing. She loves you." Kayden paused. They both realized the love Danielle had for Chase would have been killed, murdered by her bond with the warrior-thief. Her freedom to choose her one true mate had been stolen from her.
"She loved you." Kayden's use of the past tense stabbed at Chase's heart.
There was nothing he could do about his broken heart or the loss of his one true mate. But he could give Darren a taste of what it felt like to be helpless and have someone take advantage of that weakness. Chase handed Danielle over to Kayden and proceeded to kick the shit out of Darren. Chase beat him until he was sure Darren would feel every injury the rogue had dealt Danielle, tenfold. Chase was panting and practically frothing at the mouth when the warriors finally dragged him away.
"Tessa, baby, wake up." Griffin shook her and lightly slapped her face. The rogue must have had a very strong telepath in his ranks. Griffin had tried many times in the past to enthrall Tessa, but her mind was too strong for him to control. Mason hadn't been able to breech Tessa's mental barriers, either. It would have taken an extremely high-level telepath to take her down. "Tessa, can you hear me? You need to wake up now. Our baby needs you." He shook her again. His hands burned where he touched her. Griffin's mind was scattered, but his body wanted to acknowledge the woman it had craved for so many years.
Tessa's eyes fluttered open, and the slow smile she greeted him with melted his heart. She looked the same as she had all those years ago, and watching her wake with a relaxed, languid smile reminded him of what life had been like when he was in love with his enchantress of a mate who could see the future in her dreams. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known, and she still had the ability to crush him with the simplest of gestures, even a smile or the brush of her hand on his face. She touched him in a way that made him long to keep her, to make her his, all over again.
"I've missed you so much, Griffin. I wish you were here with me. My dreams always end too soon, and I have to mourn you again each day." She snuggled against his chest and pulled him down to brush her lips over his mouth sensually. "Don't leave me yet. You feel so real."
It was more than he could have ever wished for. Not only did she still live and breathe, but she loved him and longed for his touch the same way he longed for hers. As wonderful as it was, he had to wake her fully, so they could tend to Soleil.
"Tessa, I am here, and you need to wake up now. Soleil is hurt." That did the trick. Her eyes snapped open. Griffin jumped to his feet with Tessa still wrapped in his arms, and carried her to Danielle's side.
"How did I get here? What happened to my baby?" Tessa asked Chase.
He didn't get a chance to answer before Darren came to life. Weak from blood loss, and battered from meeting the wrong side of Chase Deidrick. His swollen eyes shot around the room, searching for his mate. When he found her in Chase's arms, a growl erupted from him.
"Take your hands off my mate, Deidrick. Or I will kill you!" He struggled to stand and stumbled in Chase's direction. "Give her to me now!"
"She's not yours! You betrayed her with the monster who wanted her dead. Am I supposed to just hand her over? Hell no! I won't give you another chance to destroy her." Chase got to his feet with Danielle in his arms, and Kayden stood between Darren and Chase.
"We won't hand her over to you, traitor," Kayden snarled.
"Tell us who the rogue is, Darren. Tell us now and maybe we'll let you live." Griffin demanded.
"I have no idea what you're taking about, Councilman." Darren smirked through blood-covered lips. "I saved her life. You should be thanking me. It's just too bad she didn't have protection to get to her sooner."
"I saw what you did, you lying sack of shit. I know you brought him here. Danielle told me everything. You let him in and if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to make you suffer." Chase was ready to go at the traitor again. It would be more satisfying now that Darren was on his feet.
"I did no such thing, and you can't prove it either way. I saved her life here and that's the truth! You will give her to me, or I will see you judged by the council. Whether you like it or not, I have committed no crime. She is my mate, and council law says I have the right to speak for her when she cannot speak for herself. You may not come between bonded mates, ever. Now give me my new mate, or I will have Gage haul your ass to the Enclave in chains!"
Mason was in a rage and being held back by Griffin. His eyes black with anger, he flashed his fangs. "Don't threaten my boy! Trust me. The council will be the least of your worries!"
Finally, Gage and several other warriors arrived to diffuse the situation. "Arrest him, Gage," Chase demanded. "He lured Danielle to the rogue, so he could drain her for her powers in exchange for the chance to force a blood bond." Chase tried to remain calm, but his heart was breaking. When Dani woke, Darren would be all she wanted in the world. It was unlikely that she would turn on her mate, even if he'd betrayed her.
"Is this true, Darren?" Gage looked incredulous.
"I did no such thing. I got a call from the perimeter guard that we had a breach. I tried to get her to safety, but we were captured. I saved her life. She is my mate, and I want her now, Gage. Do your job and make them hand her over." Darren was practically frothing at the continued sight of his mate in the arms of another man.
"Unfortunately, Darren is correct. Our laws do not cover this situation, because Dani is alive. We have no right to keep her away from him, and he can have you jailed for attempting to do so. We don't have many laws, but the ones we do have are very clear, and coming between bonded mates is a major violation." Gage delivered the facts with his usual stony expression, but every muscle in his body was tense and his hand continually tightened on the butt of the pistol at his waist.