Vivian Arend - Moon Shine

The little guy worked to untangle the tape from one wrist. “He’s not my daddy.”

The kid might be scared to death, but that statement at least came out loud and clear.

Amy agreed with him. “No, he’s not. He’s a bad man who needs to be taught a lesson. I think someone will be here soon to help us, but until then we have to work together. If that door opens I want you to hide.” She looked around the room trying to spot a suitable place to hide an eight-year-old.

“I can’t shift yet,” Dexter warned.

“That’s okay. There are lots of places for you as a human.”

This room had more possibilities than the first one she had been stuck in, but it still wasn’t a solution. Wolves would sniff Dexter out no matter where she tucked him.

As soon as Dexter got her right hand loose, she went to work on the left. “I think I see something that will help. Let me get my feet free, and I’ll get you set up.”

“Is my mommy okay?”

Amy nodded. “But she’s going to be very happy to see you once we get out of here.”

It was a matter of timing. Out in the hotel, there was a group of wolves she needed to stay away from. She had Dexter, and she needed to get him to safety.

And somewhere out there was Evan who she was certain was doing everything he could to get to her. If she could wait long enough for him to show up, that would make all the difference.

But until he showed up, she would just have to prove she was a worthy leader for the joint packs.

It took Evan five minutes flat to discover Amy was nowhere in her house. He paced the living room, following her most recent tracks, and ended up on the back porch, totally confused.

There was another scent along with hers. Something must have happened.

His phone rang, and he slapped it on.

“I’m so sorry, I had no choice.”

The voice was somewhat familiar, and Evan struggled to place it. “Laney?”

“My ex showed up. He made me grab her, and now I think it’s a trap for you.” Laney’s words increased in speed as her terror became more apparent. “Sam and Dexter are somewhere in the Moonshine Inn. Mike said he’s taking over the pack here in Whitehorse. He said he’s heard you’d lost control. Someone from your pack was helping him, and I’m so sorry.”

Dammit. Evan was back in his truck and headed for the inn. “Don’t panic, just tell me again what happened.”

“We went to the inn. He said he would let Dexter go, but when we got there, they grabbed Sam, and tried to grab me as well. I got away. I think they didn’t expect me to—” her voice broke before she forced herself on, “—they didn’t expect me to leave Dex. But I had to. It was my only choice, and now they have my son, and they have Sam.”

He should have expected something like this to happen. “Laney, I need you to do something. Contact everyone you know in Canyon. Whatever they can do to help, tell them to do it. I’m going to the inn, and I’m going to get your son. But I need backup. Can you do that for me?”

“You would save Dexter for me?”

“You’re pack. Amy and I promised to take care of all of you, and that’s what we’re going to do. I bet right now Amy is looking after Dexter. I want you to remember that.”

Wavering sniffles came over the phone.

“But you have to be brave and help as well. Contact Canyon.”

“I will. Please, save my son.”

Evan hung up and hurriedly made another call. “They’ve made their move,” he told Shaun. “I bet it’s Lance and Toby, but they’ve hooked up with some troublemaker out of Dawson City. I’m headed to the Moonshine Inn. Meet me there, and be ready with emergency services.”

“Do you want me to call them in already?” All Shaun’s usual joking had vanished.

“It’s pack related, so we need to make sure this stays secret, at least for now. But let’s not take chances.” Evan pulled to a stop around the corner from the hotel. “I’m there. Don’t let me down.”

He jammed his phone into his pocket and headed to one of the service entrances. He paused, reconsidered and instead found a fire exit ladder, jumping up and grabbing the bottom rung so he could quickly ascend to the roof.

Stealing into his own hotel. He always figured it would come to this, but he never thought it would be Amy’s life on the line as well. Someone kidnapping her and making a challenge for pack—this was more than discontented rumbles. This was going to end in blood.

Now he had to make sure it wasn’t his or his mate’s.

He eased open a ceiling vent. Sneaking in would be slower than rushing down hallways, but less risky in terms of running into any bad guys. He lowered himself into the dark space and closed the vent to hide his presence.

And then he forced himself to slow down. To sense where he was so he could reach out with the other part of him. The strong mental link between him and Amy had to make a difference. Somehow, he needed to be able to contact her, even from here.

He kicked himself that he’d mucked up so much in the first place that they’d never made it to the point of marking each other. This entire rescue would have been a lot easier if they already had that connection.

There was only so much that he could go on, but somewhere in the building below him she was waiting. A sense of peace came unexpectedly, even in the midst of his blind fury. She was smart, very smart, and he remembered something she’d mentioned about discovering everything there was to know about the inn and the pack house during her recon days. That gave him the first inkling of which direction to look for her.

Evan stole his way to the service elevator, using the cables and sidewall to travel. He had to force his way past the actual elevator, grasping hold of the cables with a set of gloves he found tucked into a service box. The heavy leather protected him as he slid downward at a rapid pace.

He reached the bottom floor and pried the door open an inch, freezing as a wolf paced past farther down the hallway. Low conversation carried from beside the elevator before moving farther away.

Evan followed silently, thankful for the lack of air currents that kept his scent from those he was tracking. As soon as he made the main hallway, one deep breath was the only clue he needed, and after a cautious wait he took the first door.

Amy whirled silently to face him, hands up and ready for attack before she straightened and smiled. Fingers going to her lips as he stepped toward her.

He caught her in his arms and squeezed briefly, needing a moment of physical touch to anchor him.

She returned his hug then moved back, gesturing with her head toward an open duct. Dexter stared from the metal boxlike opening, surprise and hope in his eyes.

Amy squatted and pushed the little boy’s bangs from his eyes. “This is my mate, Evan. Do you remember him?” she whispered.

Dexter nodded.

She turned, slipping a hand around the back of Evan’s neck to draw him closer so she could speak quietly. “I need you to get Dexter out of here.”

“We can all get out of here.” Evan motioned toward the door.

Amy shook her head. “You have a better chance if it’s just the two of you. Plus, if I can get to the main panel, I can lock the hotel down and trap them. If we all take off, they might burn the inn then hide. We don’t want them to show up again later and keep tormenting us.”

“You’re not going to go wandering around the inn when they could kill you.”

Her expression sharpened. “Dexter can’t escape by himself, and you can’t talk to the computer, can you? I know it’s asking a lot, but this is my pack as well. I need to defend it, and this is the best way I know how.”

Evan’s heart fell as the seriousness of what she was asking hit.