Page 35 of Alpha Scorned

“It’s okay, Dev. I won’t let the monsters hurt you or Mummy. Can you tell me where the monsters are?”

Devon shook his head. “No, it's dark and smells bad.”

“You can smell things, too, when you’re there?”

Devon nodded. “Shane sees…” He shook his head. “Saw me, Momma. He tell me to go home.”

Owen cuddled him close. “You’re so brave, Dev. Can you tell me anything else about the monsters, or where Shane is?”

“They have red eyes, and long teeth…” He curled even tighter into Owen and my chest went tight at the scent of his fear. “And they run fast.” My son was scared, and I had never seen him like that before.

“Sweetheart, how often have you seen the monsters?” My heart was in my mouth. Had they been in the town, the daycare centre? I clenched my fists, but tried to hide my worry. Deep inside, my wolf stirred.

“Every sleep,” he whispered. “I tell them Owen coming and they leave me ‘lone after. But they make Shane yell. They hurt him.”

“How long has it been since you saw Shane in your dreams?”

Devon bit his bottom lip, thinking. “Not last night, a fore that.”

Saliva filled my mouth and I swallowed it down fast. Two days and Shane had been missing for almost two weeks. The thought of my friend and Alpha suffering torture again, after everything that had happened to him in the prison was sickening. “We have to find him,” I whispered to Owen.

His face was grim. “We do. We still have nothing to tell us where he is, but at least we know he’s alive. We also know we are dealing with supernaturals, ones that have chosen to target an isolated shifter community. That means they have a plan.”

I looked down at the cartoon image of a vampire boy, cold seeping into my veins. “They know you are here now. Do you think that makes any difference?”

Owen’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “They do. And I have no idea.”

“Are the bad monsters going to hurt us, Momma?”

“No, sweetheart, we won’t let them.”

“You find Shane?” Devon asked, looking up at Owen with wide adoring eyes.

Owen picked him up higher and cuddled him close. “I will. And I know some people who might be able to help us.” He stood, still holding Devon tightly as he reached down to help me up. “Come on, you two need to eat. I’m going to make some calls, and talk to my King and my brothers. Could you pass me that?” He pointed at the paper with the black stain on it. It stank of rotten flesh and the underlying coppery smell of blood.

We went back into the kitchen and he sat Devon on a chair. My son sat quietly and watched us with large eyes.

I followed Owen to the door. Shane had deliberately left a message for Owen and me by giving Devon that book, a message that he had wanted to keep quiet from anyone else. I grabbed Owen’s hand just as he was about to leave. “Hey, don’t you think it’s odd that Shane didn’t tell Robin about that piece of paper?”

“I do. Maybe he only shared his suspicions with the alphas that went with him, or he didn’t really have proof of his suspicions, so kept them quiet.”

“Yeah, maybe. But he knew he might not come back, and that if he didn’t Connor would send you here.” My brow creased at that thought.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “It seems that way. But try not to worry. Lock the door behind me, and don’t go out again. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I nodded. “I will.” I pressed my palm against his flat stomach, worried that he’d not had time for food. “You’ve not eaten, though.” I reached up and curled my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down as I leaned up and kissed him. “Come back to me tonight. Please? I’ll make sure you have a meal waiting. You need to eat.”

Heat flared in his eyes and his hand speared my hair before he kissed me ravenously. We shared a frustrated groan as we broke the kiss, neither wanting it to end. “I’ll definitely need to eat when I get back,” he said, his voice a deep bass. “And I will. Every single inch of this beautiful body, over and over, until you're hoarse from screaming my name.”

Well, okay then. “That wasn’t what I meant,” I admonished breathlessly, grinning at him like a fool.

He shrugged, a devious grin stretching his mouth. “Oh, I know what you meant, and you know what I meant, too.” He was distracting me from what we’d found out, and what he was about to do. I appreciated it, but even I knew that we were all in danger. And calling in his King and his brothers was an indication of how much.

On impulse, I moved away from him and rifled through a nearby drawer. “Here,” I said and pressed a spare key into his palm. “You might need this. I’m going to stay with Devon for a while tonight. I want to make sure he’s okay. No bad dreams, you know? Come and get me when you’re home.”

He cocked his head, his expression scorching. “Oh, I will.” And he gently kissed my forehead before he left.

Chapter 12

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