Page 121 of Chasing Savannah
Chapter 39
Dusk was steadily darkening the day, making everyone in the penthouse more anxious as each minute went by. His mate whimpered and paced back to the window. She’d steadily withdrew into herself using no more than one or two words to answer his questions. He was worried about the missing cubs, yes, but Savannah’s silence scared him on a whole different level.
An hour ago, Simon had come in and told them that he’d dug into Ryan’s past and found a tentative familial connection to a prowl in the area. A small prowl, one that even Jeremiah had a hard time placing. They’d sent another wave of enforcers there and re-routed Charlotte and Brielle. He gave Charlotte credit though, because she was only a few miles away, having traced the scent damn near to the location.
Carlos’ phone rang and vibrated across the dining room table. He picked it up and everyone held their breath.
“We found them, Alpha.” Charlotte’s voice was barely a whisper.
Carlos looked at him with grim satisfaction. “What do we have?”
Charlotte went through her report, giving them coordinates to where she and Brielle waited and watched the small prowl.
“Any sign of the boys, Char?” Savannah asked.
“I haven’t seen them with my eyes, Savi, but there are six enforcers guarding this house, and that’s a lot considering the size of their prowl.” Charlotte answered.
Savannah covered her mouth and turned her back to them. Carlos handed him the phone and went to soothe their mate. He had Charlotte walk them through how she approached the land. He would direct the enforcers he brought with him to follow the same path. It took them only twenty minutes to coordinate. He hung up with her and called the enforcers closer.
He and Simon pulled together a plan of attack, gearing up as they spoke. They were getting ready to leave when he noticed his mate walking with them. Carlos put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m going.” She lifted her chin.
“Savi, it could be dangerous.” Derrick pleaded.
Laura walked over and put her hands on Savannah’s shoulders. “I’m going with the Fela.”
Theo growled, but said nothing.
Carlos sighed. “You’ll follow instructions.”
Both women nodded. He stared at his co-mate. Carlos shrugged and he swallowed his own growl. It would take more time to argue so he said nothing, simply following the Alpha to the elevator. He wanted their son back and splitting his attention was dangerous, but, he’d trust his mate. She wouldn’t do anything to endanger herself, or Jamie. They took fifteen enforcers with them. According to Charlotte, the kidnappers only had twenty members in the whole prowl. What made them think they could take on a prowl the size of theirs? He didn’t care, they would pay for the mistake. What would happen to the small prowl, to the innocent members? He squashed some guilt at the thought.
They piled into two vans, tense silence blanketing the vehicle while they rode. Soon they pulled off the road, into a dark forest. They killed the lights the moment the left the highway, slowing to a stop once the forest became too dense. He spotted the marker Brielle said she used to signal where they’d entered the prowl’s territory.
They filed out of the car and Carlos stood, holding his hand up for silence. He gave a quiet whistle that was returned a moment before Brielle came out of the shadows.
She inclined her head and the enforcers in her unit filed in formation. Carlos led one flank while Derrick led a third one. Savannah looked back at him put her hand over her heart. Derrick nodded, understanding her message. He prayed Carlos kept their mate safe, but put it out of his head as he lead his team towards the east to approach the property from another direction.
Carlos kept a tight grip on his panther, his footsteps silent through the brush as he let him out just enough to move unseen through the forest. His mate was surprisingly quiet at his back and he could only be thankful. She followed him closely, not saying a word as they moved through the forest approaching the house where they were holding their cubs. A lake sat to the west side of the property where the house faced. The exterior of the house was worn, a mix of grime and algae covering most of the windows. The back door and a garage on the north side of the house were potential escape paths, Carlos signaled for half of his team to approach cautiously.
The south east edge of the property was fenced off with a hedge wall along the neighboring land that Brielle’s unit was using it for covering as they awaited Carlos’ signal. Derrick’s power pushed through the bond link indicating that all the units were in place and ready to move.
He held up his fist and everyone behind him paused. He pointed the enforcers into their respective positions and they melted into the shadows, moving into place. He pointed to the ground and his mate nodded, kneeling next to him.
Her fear was moving down their mating bond, but no trace of it showed on her face or in her manner. They watched quietly as the other prowl’s enforcers circled the house, and some the yard. Two lean young men walked with weapons out, monitoring the clearing around them. They were alert, he had to give them that. They didn’t know what was coming, and that would prove a fatal mistake for them. He heard two short whistles and he answered back. As one, his prowl moved out of the woods and attacked. He ached to join the fight, but no way was he leaving his mate unprotected.
As synchronized units, the teams moved to block the obvious escape paths as they approached the house. Brielle’s team stalked in silently behind the kidnapper’s patrol group, just passing the covered area into the moonlight of the clearing. Derrick’s anxiety ramped slightly as the sounds of a scuffle off to the left of them sounded.
Quick footsteps sounded behind him and before he could tell his mate to duck she was rolling out of the way. A panther jumped at him, claws out, raking at the spot where Carlos’ head had only been moments before. Swiftly rolling away from Savannah and his attacker, he reached into his boot strap and pulled a heavy blade, crouching into a ball as the attacking panther landed and turned to continue its assault. The massive cat reared back and pounced. This time its eyes on Savannah, reaching to slash at her. Carlos standing ready, grabbed it by the throat mid-flight, fury strengthening him as he turned the cat mid-air and slammed it to the ground. He stomped, but the cat rolled out of the way, coming back up to its feet. He dove at Carlos again, his mouth open. Carlos ducked, and the panther sailed over him. He turned and grabbed the back of its scruff and wrestled with the panther for long moments as it tried to escape. He tightened his grip and twisted, breaking the panther’s neck, tossing it to the side.
“I have what you came for, Alpha.” A voice called out into the now silent night.
Savannah gasped. “No.”
Carlos looked away from the dead panther and saw why Savannah had frozen in fear. The small prowl’s Alpha had both cubs standing next to him, his claws at their throats. She moved to rush forward and he caught her around the waist.
“Not yet, baby. Just a moment, let our enforcers get in place.”
