JACKSON'S POV
I feel cold, frozen, without her in my arms. The rage is unbearable. But I need to think. Think.
"No sign of her at Croan either," Ivan says, putting down his phone.
There were traces of blood at the guesthouse. Chloe's phone was missing.
Hermann tricked Leah into coming there and then took her.
Other than the blood there were no signs of struggle. The bastard hurt her in his wolf form. She couldn't have put up a fight.
My palms fist. Where could he have taken her?
I look at Chloe. "Where is it? The cave where the rogues took Hermann?"
Chloe looks surprised for a moment and then gives the location.
Rick and I drive to the cave.
Inside, we find blood again at the floor, but much little, and shreds of bandages nearby. Leah was treated.
I kick the mound of ashes at the center. He moved her somewhere else.
"Jackson," Rick says. When I look at him he's pointing at a stone.
On the stone there's a name written in blood. "Sarah."
"Leah must've written it," Rick says.
I call Ivan.
Ivan says, "Did you find her?"
"She was here, but they are gone now. She left a name behind. Sarah. Do you know who that is?"
"Sarah is a tech in our pack."
"Bring Sarah in. I'm coming back."
When I reach Fault Lake, I see Sarah tied to a chair with a bloody face. She must be a traitor, I could tell.
"Sarah is the one who let Hermann into our borders," Ivan says, "She betrayed us for money. She also hid explosives around the packland, enough to destroy everything."
"What about Hermann?"
"All she knows is he was planning to leave the town with Leah. She don't know where," Ivan says.
That's another dead end. I start to pace.
Hermann maybe is mentally disturbed, but he had planned everything out. He bought himself a traitor, rigged bombs to kill everyone. He knew we'll check that cave.
"He's smart and thorough," I say, "He's not going to hole up somewhere where we can find him." I turn to Wren, "Send our men to keep an eye on all the airports, ports, and bus terminals for Leah and Hermann. Call grandpa, ask him to talk to his friends at the law enforcement so they can put up checkpoints on roads."
After Wren leaves I turn back to Ivan, "Is there any place around here we might have missed? He won't hide inside a packland or somewhere too remote like a cave. Anywhere else?"
Ivan shakes his head. "Everyone around here stay within a packland for safety. There is rarely any building outside—" His eyes become wide and looks at Chloe. "The reservation," he says.
"What's that?" I say.
"The crocodile reservation. Two towns out West from here. It's a closed reservation. There's a small building the caretakers use."
"Send me the location," I say and turn to leave with Rick when Chloe says, "I'm coming with you."
"It's best you don't. The less of us go the less chance of him seeing us," I say.
"But," Chloe says and breaks down. Ivan hurries to her side. "She wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me," Chloe says, "It's because she saved me he's after her."
"You know what she said to me when she told me what happened that day Hermann was hurt? Leah said even if she would go to hell for it she'll choose you over him to save anytime. That's how much you guys and the pack mean to her. She did what she had to do, and she did the right thing. The best thing you can do for her is to stay strong now," I say.
Rick and I leave for the location Ivan sent us. We stop the car before we reach the reservation and walk the rest of the way. When we see the building, I can sense she's in there. It's a faint feeling, but it's her. I nod at Rick. He transforms and leaves to go around the building and enter it from the opposite side.
I go ahead and carefully open the door and step inside.
Right away, I see her, lied down at the table.
"Leah!" I say and run to her, but Hermann appears with a gun. I stop. He's pointing it at me.
"Leah!" I shout at her, but there's no movement.
"She's fine. Just a little tired," Hermann says.
"She's not the one who hurt you, Hermann," I say through my teeth. Although my instinct tells me to rip his head from his body, if there's any hope he can change his mind and give Leah some peace of mind then I want that for her. "The men who hurt you, they are the ones who deserve it," I tell him.
"She told you?" Hermann says, "Guess you're her mate after all. I took care of those men a long time ago. And I'm not going to hurt her. I'm gonna take care of her. Really good care of her. Better than you ever can."
"How can you say that when she's there bleeding on the table?"
"That's your fault. It's because you won't leave her alone," he says and raises his gun to point at my head, "Now, I know you can heal pretty fast. But I wonder if you can still heal if I put a bullet through your head. Then again, I better not risk it." He points the gun at Leah. "I know she can't come back from that. So why don't you ask your wolf friend to join us here?"
My blood boils as I watch him pointing the gun at her. Rick comes out of the shadows and stands by my side.
"Better," Hermann says, "If you want her to live, Jackson, you'll have to give your life in return. Choose your pick. Let your friend there kill you or jump into the pond of crocodiles out there. Whatever shreds you to pieces works for me."
Rick growls at the threat. "Rick," I say, "Stand down." I can feel Leah's heartbeat. It's weak. One bullet through her, and I'll lose her forever. Neither Rick nor I can reach Hermann fast enough before he could pull the trigger.
"Hermann," I hear Leah's weak voice, "We're sorry," she says as a stream of tear appears at the corner of her eye. She turns her head and looks at him. "You've suffered enough," she says, "Goodbye."
A gunshot is fired.
Hermann falls to the ground.
From the door, Chloe walks in and continues to fire at Hermann's body.
"Chloe," I say, "that's enough." She stops. Leah must've known Chloe was there. Rick goes over to the body to check.
I hurry over to Leah. Her hand is cold.
She says, "I become your Luna and the first thing I experience is a severe blood loss. This is not good for our relationship."
I smile as tears escape my eyes, "Well, the first thing I experience is my heart getting ripped out seeing you weren't in my arms."
"Alright," Leah breathes out, "You win."
We take her back home to get her treated.
End of chapter
