The Half-Breed Who Found His Other Half (12 page)

All of a sudden, Isaac heard the warlock summon a group of guards. “I think we’re done here. Take him and dump him outside, then torch the place. We need to get going. Their reinforcements are probably on their way as we speak.”

“What of the others, Lord?” a man asked.

“Knock them out and leave them where they are. Do the same with Whitaker. He’s served his purpose.” Isaac could practically hear the smile in Tyrell’s voice. “I want them to feel the flames as they are killed and to know that soon, all their loved ones will follow.”

Isaac couldn’t let his brother and friends die. He needed to do something. But alas, he was completely powerless. He was slowly regaining his ability to think, but even as he tried to break free from the trance holding him, the invisible chains around him seemed to tighten, cutting his breathing.

“Now, now, be a good…whatever you are.” Tyrell tsked. “Like I said, you’re going to live through this. Just be patient until we get you out.”

Isaac had no choice but to comply, or rather, remain motionless.

They carried him outside, although Isaac only registered the change because of the distinctive shift in the air. Whereas in the cell, it had been barely breathable, outside, the scent of pine and the cool softness of the breeze were a balm for Isaac’s soul. And yet, they could not overcome the fear that, in spite of himself, Isaac experienced.

They dumped him on the grass, and through cracked eyelids, Isaac watched the rush of activity around him. It seemed obvious that the coven was relocating and preparing to wipe away all tracks, including the intruders who’d dared to come here.

And then, the air filled with the scent of smoke, and Isaac saw the house in front of him go up in flames. He knew his friends had
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remained trapped inside, but they seemed so far away.
“Please,”
he sent to whoever could hear him.
“Please, help them.”

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Elder Kevin Wade led his group of shifters through the forest, urgency increasing inside him with every step he took. Ever since he’d been told the expedition to save Rhys Whitaker had been ambushed by a far larger force than expected, he’d been torn apart by concern, anger, and self-loathing. He should have known something like this was going to happen. He should have made sure his sons were better equipped, better prepared. He’d sent them to their deaths.

“Don’t say that,”
his mate’s voice whispered in his mind.

“They’re still alive. My heart tells me so.”

Annabelle was another person he had failed. In his desperate urge to control his sons, he’d pushed Isaac into going on this expedition, thinking nothing could happen to Isaac at Brody’s side. But he’d been so horribly wrong, and now, his sons would pay for it.

As they got closer to their destination, Kevin noticed smoke rising in the distance. Almost at the same time, Annabelle’s panic skyrocketed.
“Oh, God, Kevin. Brody, Liam, all the others. Reed
thinks they might be dead.”

Kevin used his connection with his mate to listen in on the conversation. Reed was talking to Annabelle, explaining that all of a sudden, Carson and Shiloh had sensed something very wrong with their respective mates, so much so that they had gone into their animal forms. According to Chantay, Isaac was still alive, but honestly, Kevin didn’t know how much value he should put in that little whore’s words.

He shook himself, casting aside the thought. It wasn’t Chantay’s fault for this, any of this. It was Kevin’s. True, his sources had told
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him that Chantay was likely to hurt Isaac, to deceive him into believing they were mates. He’d had numerous reports of Chantay’s promiscuity. But his son believed the half fae to be a pure angel, and trying to break them apart had only made Isaac rebel. In the end, it had been Kevin who’d committed the worst mistake. Isaac would have been better off home, even if lying in bed with a treacherous whore. At least then, he wouldn’t be in mortal peril.

But Kevin didn’t allow himself to fall into despair. He ordered his men to push forward faster and ran through the forest, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Every second stretched into a lifetime, and it seemed to take forever until they at last reached the burning house. Somewhere inside there were his sons, and Kevin intended to get them out, no matter what.

But before he could lunge forward, one of his men stopped him.

“What’s that?”

A wolf pointed to the body of an animal crawling on the ground in front of the house. It seemed to be a cross between a sheep and wolf.

It—he—had fleece like a sheep, but had a wolf snout and tail. He seemed to have hooves, but they were clawed somehow, making it difficult for the being to walk. Even his eyes weren’t right, the animal’s face not the right size for its snout. It was disgusting, but within that vile, twisted shape, Elder Wade recognized his son.

“Isaac,” he whispered under his breath. “Oh, God.”

He rushed to his youngest child’s side and knelt in the grass, not knowing what or where to touch. He was distantly aware of his men staring at him in shock, but right then and there, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Oh, Isaac. What did they do to you?”

Even in his condition, Isaac seemed to recognize his father. He swept his clawed hooves at Kevin’s chest angrily, his eyes accusing and furious. Anyone else might have mistaken it for pure, instinctual violence, but Kevin sensed the truth. Isaac had realized the real reason why he’d been sent on this expedition.

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It was Kevin’s fault. He was the one who’d ordered the go-ahead of the operation, in spite of his fallout with Soren. He was the one who’d believed the warlocks wouldn’t be warned or prepared beforehand. Most importantly, he was the one who’d put his own foolishness above his son’s safety.

Kevin’s soldiers, however, didn’t know this. “Holy shit,” one of the men cursed. “Kill it. Shoot it.”

“No!” Kevin set himself between his men and his son. “Don’t harm him.” He directed his attention toward his boy, the child born out of his true mating. “If you can understand me, Isaac, please, stand down. We need to get your brother and the others out of the house.”

Isaac let himself fall back on the ground, seemingly exhausted.

Kevin would have preferred to remain by his side, but his other son needed his help as well. “Hurry,” he told his men. “Brody and his crew are in there.”

It was easier said than done. By the time Kevin and his men had arrived here, all the witches were gone and the house was almost completely consumed by flames. A shape-shifter Kevin might be, but he couldn’t fight that sort of blaze. Not even the Sidhe who’d accompanied them could do such a thing.

And then, much to his surprise, Kevin heard a voice in his mind.

“If you want to save your son, come into the house now.”

Kevin barely managed to suppress a gasp.
“What the fuck…?”
he asked.
“Who are you? What do you want?”

“There’s no time to explain. Come inside,”
the voice repeated.
“I
can’t hold the fire back for long.”

“Kevin, don’t,”
Annabelle shouted in his mind.
“It’s a trap.”

Kevin knew his mate might be right, but the voice was showing him a way to save his son and his people. Without allowing himself to hesitate, he followed his instinct and the guidance the mysterious presence offered. He suddenly spotted an area the inferno of flames hadn’t consumed yet. Taking it as a good sign, Kevin drudged forward, entering the burning house.

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Behind him, he heard people calling out. A couple followed, probably intending to drag him away if need be. But it wasn’t necessary. The corridor Kevin had been led into was hot as the darkest depths of hell, but the actual flames seemed to be kept away by some force.

“Hurry,”
the voice insisted.
“It’s too powerful. I can’t hold it.”

Kevin rushed forward, his men behind him. They found a staircase that led downstairs, and as they reached the basement, Kevin was instantly struck by the putrid scent of fear, blood, and death.

“In here,” the voice guided him.

Kevin realized that unlike before, the words were said out loud.

He followed it to one of the cells, and what he found in there horrified him beyond words.

Brody was lying in a pool of his own blood, motionless and pale.

Silver cuffs bound him against the floor, the poison of the metal having obviously prevented him from healing. On the wall opposite to Brody, Anson lay dangling from a chain, his back completely torn apart.

At first, Kevin was so fixed on the sight that he completely missed the other man present. He was snapped out of his trance when the now-familiar voice spoke. “They’re still alive, just barely. You need to make haste.”

Kevin turned and spotted a man sitting cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed. He looked pale and lines of tension strained the corner of his mouth and eyes. Rhys Whitaker lay against him, seemingly in deep concentration and holding his hand. Whoever the guy was, it seemed clear that he was, at least temporarily, on their side and a friend of Rhys’s.

Since Kevin didn’t have time to ask questions, he rushed to undo his son from the shackles. He hissed as his unprotected hands made contact with the metal but ignored the pain, tearing them out of the wall by sheer will. With a great measure of relief, he realized Brody
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was still breathing. “Go,” he shouted at his companions. “Find everyone else. We need to get out before this whole place collapses.”

His men scattered around, opening cell doors and retrieving all the prisoners. One of the men freed Anson while Kevin draped his son’s motionless body over his shoulder. Realizing that their unexpected ally couldn’t walk out of there by himself, Kevin gestured for two of his soldiers to grab the man as well as the incubus they’d come here to save.

“Keep me close to Rhys.” The strange man’s lips barely moved as he talked. “His power is feeding mine. And hurry.”

Kevin gestured for his soldiers to follow the man’s instructions to the letter, guessing that this guy might be the only thing keeping them all from finding premature, fiery deaths. Organized in a group, they left the basement, went up the staircase, and finally ran outside.

By the time Kevin reached a safe distance from the house, his skin felt like it was peeling off, prickling with heat and something else, a peculiar force he reluctantly identified as magic. Either way, this magic had saved his ass. True enough, warlocks had been the ones who’d nearly killed his sons in the first place, but Kevin wouldn’t think about that now. He just needed to make sure both Isaac and Brody were safe.

The house crashed just moments after Kevin set Brody down next to Isaac. Kevin struggled not to think about the fact that his son could have easily been in there and looked toward the Sidhe he’d brought along with them. “Can you heal them?”

“Let’s hope so,” the Sidhe said as he knelt next to the injured men.

“I’m not sure what to do about…” He pointed toward Isaac’s form.

“Him.”

Thankfully, the healer didn’t show any disgust, only pity. Had the man made any derogatory comment, Kevin thought he would lose it entirely. “We’ll bring him home,” he said to no one in particular.

“Prince Winter might be able to do something about it.”

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Or so Kevin hoped. Because if he couldn’t save his sons from this, he’d never forgive himself.

* * * *

Fidgeting nervously, Chantay watched Annabelle Wade as she mind talked to her husband. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be in deep concentration. She also looked pale, something Chantay didn’t find very promising.

He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to go after his mate, save Isaac from the danger the half wolf was in. But unlike him, Annabelle could still keep track of what had happened through her mate bond.

She could tell him what he needed to know.

After what seemed like forever, Annabelle finally opened her eyes. “They’re coming back,” she said with a smile that looked nothing but genuine. “They got Brody and the others out. They’re still alive.”

An expression of relief crossed Reed’s face. “Everyone?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Annabelle replied. “They received terrible injuries, and the Sidhe in the group are treating them now.”

All of a sudden, Carson and Shiloh, who’d been waiting behind Reed in shifted form, turned back into their legged shapes. “Brody’s going to be fine,” Carson said, his voice trembling. “I can feel him in my mind again.”

Chantay was happy for them, but Annabelle hadn’t said anything about his own mate. “What of Isaac? How is he?”

Acute pain emanated from Annabelle at his question. Chantay could only imagine what she was hiding. He knew Isaac wasn’t dead, but that didn’t mean the half wolf couldn’t have suffered terrible injuries.

“What happened to him?” he asked, unable to keep the tremor from his voice. “Please, tell me.”

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“They…They tortured him.” Annabelle paused, as if she were having trouble speaking. “I think maybe you should go back to your own kind, Chantay. He’s not the man he used to be anymore.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Chantay shouted. “Why are you stubbornly insisting to separate us? This would have never happened in the first place had your husband not fooled Isaac into going on this expedition.”

“Kevin did what he had to do to protect Isaac,” Annabelle shot back.

“He did it because he is an arrogant fool and he wanted to part me and Isaac. And you’re even more foolish than him if you don’t realize that.”

Annabelle looked like she had another scathing retort ready, but she didn’t say it. Instead, she gave Chantay a piercing look. “Very well, stay. But if you decide Isaac is not your mate after you see him, I want you out of his presence as soon as possible. Deal?”