Page 20 of In The Shadow of The Wolf

“I think I’ll go to my room and lie down for a while.” Ronan began to head inside when Dean reached out and gently took him by the upper arm. Ronan turned and looked up and the large man.

“It’s okay, nothing to worry about.” He assured his deep blue eyes analyzing and assessing.

“Sure.”

Ronan went straight to his room and closed and locked the door before sitting down on the edge of his bed. Several deep breaths and a few shallow ones, and he started to overcome the panic. He was feeling trapped and powerless. The victim mentality that he had managed to push away was coming back with force. This morning with Lance, he felt protected and safe, but this afternoon the feeling shifted to ‘prisoner,’ isolated and controlled, and it was terrifying him.

He was deep in the wallow of what-ifs when the cell phone that he and Molly used rang. She had apparently left it for him on the bedside table. He rose and tentatively picked it up and checked the caller ID. It read, Henry Grange. It looked like he’d missed several calls from the same number. Believing that it was Molly calling to check in on him, he answered with a jovial tone. He did not want to upset her until he had more facts.

“Hey, having a good time?” He asked

“Oh, thank God, Roe, I am so sorry.” Molly pleaded.

“Why, what. . .” Ronan began as fear coursed through him, but he was cut off by Molly’s frantic need to explain.

“Just listen to me. Don’t respond or say anything because they may be listening. Their hearing is phenomenal so stay quiet and just listen.” She paused as if waiting for Ronan to say something which he didn’t. “Good, don’t say anything. I overheard Aaron talking to Lance on his cell phone. He thought I had left with Henry, but I was still in the kitchen, and I heard him discuss with Lance that Jordan Randall had entered the city and was at the police station. Lance was going to meet with him as soon as he dropped you off at the Manor.” Her voice kept getting higher and higher as she tried to warn him.

“You have to get out, Roe, and run, get away from there. Try to make it to the same gas station where we escaped from Terry and Henry, and I will meet you there. I will be there as quickly as I can. Henry and I left a couple hours ago, so we shouldn’t be long. Aaron thinks we’re in town shopping. Call me when you get to where you can talk freely. I am so sorry. Love you, Ronan.” With that, she hung up, and Ronan froze in place as everything she said processed.

He dropped the phone into his pocket and took a quick look out of the window to see if escape through the backyard was possible. Several men were there walking and talking together, looking as if they were guarding the area.

He left his bedroom and went towards the front of the house. Better to look casual and act like I just wanted some fresh air. Just walk right out the front door, and no one would be the wiser, he hoped. Dean met up with him near the kitchen and fell into step with him. This was going to be tricky.

He’d discovered over the last couple of days that wolves were very astute, and Dean definitely was nobody’s fool. Ronan feigned his best casual need to stretch and get some air appearance as he glanced over his shoulder at Dean. “Just going for a walk; I need some air and a little solitude.”

“I am responsible for your welfare, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to accompany you.” Dean moved to walk beside him after they had left the house and were going towards the front yard to the left of the driveway.

Ronan stopped and turned to look at Dean directly and hoped that his fear was not showing. “I just want some time by myself. I won’t go very far, and really where would I go?” Ronan gestured to his feet, showing that he was wearing flip-flops. “Not exactly hiking boots . . . please . . . I just want to think and relax before dinner. Lance has shared a lot with me these last two days, and I would like the opportunity to think by myself.”

Dean stared at him for several long minutes before he relented. “Okay, but don’t go far and be back before Lance returns. If he comes back and you’re not here, he will be pissed.”

Ronan wanted to say, I’m sure he will be pissed when he and Jordan arrive and he discovers that I figured him out and took a fast train out of here. But instead of the disappointment and disgust he was feeling, he managed to fake a smile and said, “Sure, no problem, I will be back in plenty of time. Thanks.”

He casually continued to walk the edge of the grounds toward the forest. Thank God he had a good sense of direction. He could feel Dean still watching from a distance as he continued down the edge of the drive adjacent to the forest. Slow and steady, he kept mumbling softly, forcing himself not to break and run.

…

Lance had parked his car and was on his way to the Police station to meet with Jordan Randall. Terry had called and alerted him that Randall was there and demanded that Ronan James be remanded to his custody. Lance planned on making life as it was now very clear to Jordan Randall. He would make sure that Randall never bothered Ronan or Molly ever again and that he cleared their names so that they could both live their lives in peace here in Lonepine. Before reaching the station, his phone rang, and noticing that it was his Beta Aaron, he answered.

“Hello.”

“Molly’s gone, and so is Henry. I think they are on their way to save Ronan from Randall and . . . you.” Lance stopped dead in his tracks. Aaron was near breathless with alarm as he tried to make himself and the situation understood. “She must have overheard me speaking to you earlier because they disappeared right after. I can just imagine what she’s thinking, and I’m certain she’s already alerted, Ronan.” That statement caught Lance like a knife in his heart. “My guess is that they are on their way to Lonepine to rescue him.”

“How could things go so fucking wrong so fucking fast?” Lance snapped. He’d left Ronan back at the Manor under the protection of his enforcer Dean without an explanation, so naturally, he would be thinking the worse. “Keep me posted and get back here as soon as possible.” Lance snapped his phone shut and ran back to his vehicle. Once in his car, he used the satellite phone to contact Dean.

“Keep an eye on Ronan. A misunderstanding may cause him to bolt. Also, watch for any sign of his sister Molly and Cousin Henry.” Lance ordered as he floored the vehicle in an effort to get home as fast as possible.

“What does Henry look like?” Dean asked

“Aaron said he’s a little man with black hair and glasses.”

“Will do.”

Lance hung up and hoped that he would be able to make Ronan understand. He wasn’t planning on turning him over to Randall. His intent was to settle the matter, and to do so required getting Randall to Lonepine. Everything had been going so well. He should have explained it all to Ronan from the beginning.

Ronan accepted his wolf and accepted the Pack, and now he probably believed he was set up. He probably believed that everything, including the sex, was just a ruse to keep him here until Randall arrived. Lance ran his hand roughly through his hair and then proceeded to pound the steering wheel several times in his frustration over the sudden turn of events. His phone rang, breaking into his frenetic thoughts.

“I lost him, Alpha,” Dean stated breathlessly.

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