Hunted

Chapter 19 - Loss and rage

I must have fallen asleep again because when I woke there was a bright light was in my eyes. It was sunlight, I realised, just a brief shaft of cold light before the moving clouds went to cover it up again. The clock beside me said it was well past lunch. Lunch?

I sat up to find Reece gone and Jeremy at the desk with the laptop. He was working quietly but a slight shift in his posture, so that his side was pointed in my direction more, showed he knew I'd woken up and moved.

"What's going on?" I muttered, voice foggy with sleep, trying to slide one leg out of bed. The house was suddenly very quiet compared to earlier. "Where is everyone?"

"Off doing tasks I asked them to do. Jamie's taken the kids to town to see a movie with Elena. Pav was awake a while but she's gone back to bed. She's getting strong now but I'm making her take a sleep in the afternoon for a while yet. I haven't been able to ask her about where they took her. I'm here with you." Jeremy shut the laptop and moved to lie on the bed where Reece had been. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." I yawned, exhaustion in every limb, in my head, in my chest, so much that I wondered why. It was a little like I'd been drugged, except that was very unlikely. Or was it unlikely? I probably should have asked what that pill was. "What was that pill?"

"Mild sleeping pill. Nothing strong- just to help you relax without any more dreams. You might need a little more sleep."

I might have been angry any other time but I was too tired. So I yawned and shrugged. Worse things had happened and to be honest, I was glad, because the last thing I needed was more dreams right now. "Is Nick okay?"

"He's a little upset with himself but he's got Clayton to keep him in reality. Anne, this might be hard for you to hear, but you deserve to hear it." Jeremy moved closer. He kept his eyes on me. "What they did with you was purely about dominance. We think that they may have seen the two of you together beforehand and decided that was how you got chosen."

"To get Nick angry?"

"More than that. They called themselves a pack." Jeremy sighed. "What most mutts want is territory. Clayton's reputation as our Protector keeps them from coming into New York state and we watch them across America to ensure that no mutt is causing too much trouble in one area."

"These ones were around though in New York."

"Yes and they did it without a single incident that stood out." Jeremy shifted onto his elbow as he got into a better position to keep an eye on me. "Antonio's father and grandfather were the Alpha before me and most mutts remember it, or some part of it. Nick generally gers respect just for that. We think that they may have chosen women who had connections to a pack werewolf. Not just American- Pav's wife was a distant relation of the Russian alpha. It's possible that their behaviour, including wanting to capture Elena and her daughter, suggests that they're not just looking for women. They're looking for something much bigger than that."

"They want to insult everyone here?" My jaw was open slightly. I wasn't sure if I was pleased or not about what I was hearing. Some part of me was glad, maybe, but it made me sound like I was just some pawn in a werewolf's pissing contest.

"No, I don't think so. They didn't intend on letting you or Pav escape so it wasn't about boasting about what they'd done. That was just an extra thrill, something that appealed to the nature of a werewolf. Taking the  territory of another. They would have kept quiet for a while longer. At least-" Jeremy's frown increased "-not till they achieved something else first. They're unusually well organised and self-controlled for a group of mutts. Unusually well funded. I would recommend that you hide this if you leave the house again." He reached over to take my hand, tapping where the silver ring was still sitting.