Page 9 of My Pucking Family

I take off my clothes and throw them in the back of Benny's truck without a second thought, my men following my lead.

We're surrounded with the sounds of bones crunching and snarls as we give our wolves control of our bodies.

Benny's wolf is ready first. He’s all cinnamon-red fur and muscles, as he nods to me with a snarl.

The twins’ wolves are next, in their matching forms. They're both leaner than Benny and I, but it works to help them slink about when needed. They're both solid gray with the exception of their tails; that’s the only way you can tell them apart in wolf form. Eris has a black tip on the end of his tail, while the tip of Dolos’ tail is white.

Andrei comes snarling up to the group in his large brindled wolf form, as Slate casually approaches still in human form, checking his laptop one last time before exploding into a solid onyx-black wolf, pawing at the ground.

In an instant, we're sprinting through the development, trusting my wolf to lead us to our mate. Her scent is slowly getting stronger, but so is that of the other unknown wolves.

When I'm certain we're about to approach the house where they must be keeping her, I hear the skip of a rock on the pavement to my right.Hold it, men; we've got company.With my men to my left, I whip my body to the right and capture the man, who is still in human form, by the throat and rip it out, hopefully preventing him from alerting anyone of our arrival. Benny's huff in approval is all it takes for us to continue our pursuit.

Judging by the scents in the air, we have one or two more men to take care of before we can safely get Leera out of here. Swinging my head in either direction, I send my men to circle the house and take care of any others as I approach the nearly finished home in front of me.

I shift back into my human form to comfortably fit inside the house and survey my surroundings as Eris calls out through our mind link,Got one,while Dolos bitches that he wanted him.

The house is massive. Open concept like our townhouse, but it hasn't been painted yet. The drywall on the walls is still covered in spots from the builders using mud to cover the screws and divots. There is a pile of cabinets sitting in what I assume will be the kitchen, waiting to be installed. Just on the other side of the kitchen area is an empty chair next to a door, where the last guard must have been sitting.

I think she's being kept in the basement. I'm going down.

Heard.

I slowly turn the knob on the door, and it doesn't creak or squeak, and I'm thankful for the new building. There's a light on at the bottom of the stairs, and in that moment, I know she's here. But so is someone else. No longer caring for discretion, I throw my body down the stairs as fast as my legs can go.

The greasy slime ball of a man rounds the stairs just as I reach the bottom. My wolf wants to rip his head from his body, but we need answers, so I settle for kicking his right knee backwards, listening for the sound of the bones snapping as he wails. The bones will heal fast, so I kick him in the chest, knocking the wind from his body as Benny catches up to us. He grabs the man from behind and holds onto him as the twins approach, ready to carry him out of here. He's thrashing andgrowling and likely about to shift, so Slate punches him right behind the ear and knocks him out to save us the trouble.

It only takes a second to find her; she’s laying on her back at the far side of the basement in the dark. She's barely breathing. Checking for her pulse, she doesn't even stir. Her pulse is incredibly low as well. They must have been keeping her drugged.

I kneel and lay my body over hers and take a moment to treasure the feel of her living body under mine. The moment is reminiscent of finding Imogen, but I made it this time. I made it toherin time.

We don't have time for me to give in to my emotions, so I hold them back as I scoop her tiny body into my arms. I stand and turn to find Andrei waiting for me. His eyes glaze over when he sees her limp body in my arms as we climb the stairs.

As soon as the twins give the all clear, we sprint out of this house and away from the neighborhood.

Slate's waiting in the driver's seat of the SUV, the truck already having left with the twins, Benny, and the man we found. I climb into the back seat with her in my lap as Andrei throws me my clothes before slamming the door and catapulting himself into the passenger seat. Slate peels out onto the road to take us home. I set Leera on the seat next to me only long enough to slide my pants on before I'm scooping her back up and plastering our bodies together, whispering everything I wanted to say to her that I held back. Whispering everything I wish I could have said to Imogen had I found her in time. Promising that this will never happen again. Promising her the world.

8

Mhmmm…I'm warm as my consciousness tries to remind me something is wrong, but I can't be bothered to care. My body is warm and content. There's a purring sound rumbling within me, matched by a deeper purring rumble underneath my face, and I'm smothered with the intoxicating scent of cherries and leather.

Wait…that's not right…I remind myself that I should be terrified, but I can't seem to remember why…why can't I remember wha…

My thoughts trail off as my eyes fly open, and I throw my body into the seated position, causing me to sway with lightheadedness. The late morning light streaming through the curtains blinds me for a moment.

The room immediately erupts into complete disarray at my unexpected movement, and I find myself panting and trying to avoid passing out from hyperventilating as it all comes flooding back to me.

I was kidnapped…and drugged.

I was lying on a cold, concrete floor, trying to find a way out.

Needed to find a way back to…

“Roman,” I sob as I fling myself into his unexpecting form. His hands, previously scrubbing his scalp with worry, immediately capture my body without hesitance.

I'm pretty sure we're both crying now as I cling to him. I was scared for me, but my soul was tortured for what Roman was going through in my absence.

Our bodies fit together like pieces of a puzzle as he holds me. Each dip and curve of his body is filled with mine. No amount of air or light could come between us right now.

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