"Like to the bathroom?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Umm, he lowers a bucket sometimes. It'll be more inconvenient now that you're down here, too. Though, he won't feed us enough that we'll have to do much more than pee." The boy's face turned red. Taylor couldn't tell if it was from anger or humiliation. Probably a bit of both.
"Great. Nothing like having to ask permission to take a shit." He kicked the dirt wall. A curse followed. It was as hard as rock.
Mason chuckled a little, his hand in a fist over his mouth. "I think that's the least of our concerns."
"Okay, we have plenty of time together here. While I try to figure out how to escape, explain to me everything you know about werewolves or lycans. Whatever you are."
For hours, Mason told stories about his people's history, how things worked in the present, heroic lycans and pack leaders, and answered Taylor's questions to the best of his ability.
Taylor tested the entire pit for weaknesses or a place to get a grip and climb out. He tried digging a diagonal tunnel. At first, the approach worked. In a short time, he'd managed a golf ball size hole. Then he hit rock. A dead end.
"Here," an altered voice called out. A basket that looked like one people would take on a picnic date was lowered down. Inside, there was a meager amount of food. Bread and water. The prison weight loss diet. Guaranteed to shed pounds in a matter of hours. Free to captives of all ages.
Taylor rose to his feet when the strange voice drifted down and the masked man peered into the pit. "Let us go, you bastard. One on one, me and you. I'll take you out. Wait. Forget that, you can keep me. Just let the boy go." His own words surprised him. He'd never been particularly self-sacrificing.
"Do either of you need to use the bucket? Say so now or hold it."
Mason nodded without speaking and the bucket was lowered. It was secured by a thick wire, not a rope Taylor could untie to keep the bucket for a digging tool. Defeated once more.
The man sat on the edge of the pit as the prisoners ate what little food they had. Both captives faced away when they went about their personal business. Even the kidnapper moved from view. Then the bucket was lifted, followed by the empty basket.
Taylor tried his best to catch a glimpse, see some mannerism to alert him to which wolf was the culprit. He knew it had to be one of them. No one else would have been able to carry him out into the middle of the woods without one of the others catching up. Even though Taylor was lean, he had heavy muscle. Besides, he was tall.
A flicker of reflection caught his eye coming from the man's hand. He wore a ring. A simple golden wedding band.
"Be glad I placed that tarp to keep the rain from flooding the hole," he said before walking away.
Neither Taylor or Mason knew when their next meal would be. The bread and water had only made them both hungrier.
"Mason, do you know which wolf wears a ring on his left hand? One that's married?"
This had Mason on his feet. "He wasn't wearing gloves today? A ring … but that's impossible."
Taylor's eyes changed to angry little slits, but he also grinned when the boy told him which wolf was married as well as bonded. "Now that we know who it is, we have to figure out a way to leave warning should we not survive."
Mason looked nervous, but agreed. "Let's carve it into the wall. I don't care if my fingers bleed. He needs to be caught before he hurts someone else."
"You're a brave kid." Taylor patted him on the back and corrected himself. "A brave man."
The young wolf smiled proudly, walked up to the wall, and began the carving the first letter of the traitor's name.
~*~
"Mara!" Brynn called out, running to catch up.
"Hi, Brynn." She smiled.
"Hey, I was on my way to work, but I wanted to check on Taylor." The girl blushed. It knocked the smile right off Marala's face.
"Taylor is … ." She tried to find a delicate way to break it to the girl who obviously had a case of crush at first sight.
Brynnara held her breath. "They killed him?"
"God, no!" Marala's loud tone caused Brynnara to jump back. "Sorry, no, but he's missing like Mason."
"This can't be happening."
"Sit down for a minute." She took the girl's arm and led her over to the porch, making her take a seat on the steps.
"Is this my fault?" she asked.
"How would this possibly be your fault?"
Brynnara winced up at Mara and bit on her thumbnail nervously. "I had a crush on Mason and then I kind of liked Taylor, now they're both gone."
"I regret the coincidence, but it's not your fault. I'm sure you have lots of crushes."
"I hope you're right. Did you like a lot of guys?"
Marala blinked. "No, but I was an exception. Kaden was my world from my earliest memories."
"Right, I forgot. Stupid of me."
"Maybe work will take your mind off all this. Trust in the men. They'll find them." Marala shifted a bit. Today was full of her giving advice. Ironic since she barely knew what she was doing herself.
"Yeah. Thanks. I have a lot on my mind with my own bonding ceremony in a couple of months. Wish I didn't have to do it."
"Then don't."
The teenager scoffed. "My brothers' insist. It's my … " She held up her fingers and made quotation marks with them, "duty."
"Hmm. This is a modern time. You're not going to be forced into the role." Marala thought for a moment. "When things settle down, I'll talk to your brothers. I'll be alpha female by then and I'm sure I can convince Kaden to help me out."
Brynnara jumped to her feet and hugged Marala. All this affection was uncomfortable. She didn't normal let people in her bubble.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best pack mother in the world!"
"We'll see about that. Don't say anything for now."
"Cross my heart!" Her mood sank again as suddenly as it had lifted. "Finding Taylor and Mason is priority." She gave a nod to affirm it. "Going to work. See you later."
"Bye." Mara lifted her hand and waved.
~*~
From behind Marala came a growl, not the wolf type, but the pissed off lover kind. Kaden had asked her to remain indoors and where did he find her? Standing outside in front of his house. Unprotected!
"Did you forget already that you said you'd stay inside? Are you so fickle?" He crossed his arms.
"Don't be like that. I am going to stay inside, but I needed to go speak to Josie. It … ." She sighed, apparently unsure how to continue.
"Seemed like the right thing to do?" he finished.
"Yes."
As quickly as his anger had boiled up, it melted away. "I understand, but I need you safe so I can find the lost ones. I can't be worrying about you when I'm out there."
"You're right. Any luck?"
"Some." He didn't continue.
"Care to elaborate? I need to be included," she said.
Kaden glanced around then tilted his head toward the house. "Inside. Too many ears out here."
Marala led the way, Kaden close behind. When the door was closed and locked, he rested a hand on her hip and pulled her into a long kiss. His lips lingered, as if the couple had been apart for ages and not hours. Then again, he had lost her for what felt like forever.
She smiled sweetly. "I missed you, too."
"What did you do to my house?" He looked around and ran his finger over the furniture. Not a speck of dust. The place hadn't been clean in forever.
Marala headed into the bedroom. She returned empty handed, leaving the item she had been carrying behind. "It's called sweeping, dusting, and mopping. I'll have to explain how they work sometime."
"Funny." He surveyed the job further, surprised and unsure if he liked it. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. It is our home now, right?"
Kaden's hard expression changed and he nodded, smiling. "Yes, she-wolf."
"So, tell me what you found out." She leaned against the wall.
He handed her a wallet, watching as she examined the contents.
"This is Taylor's," she stated.
"Found it near the road leading down to the city."
"You think he returned to New York?"
Kaden debated on how much to tell Marala. But she was his mate, and for a true bonding wolves needed trust. "Someone wants us to think he did."
"What now?"
"We watch and we hunt. The bastard doing this will slip up eventually."
"And he'll be killed," Mara said without doubt.
13
Marala really wanted a shot of any kind of alcohol she could get her hands on and a cigarette or ten. Unfortunately for her, Jak had made her promise to get rid of them and Kaden had poured what was left of the whiskey down the drain when he'd found her passed out in his recliner a couple of weeks earlier.