She pressed a hand to her head. “Tell me you didn’t kill him.”
“I didn’t. He wasn’t worth it,” Drake said. “Why did you choose him?”
“We just dated for a short time,” she admitted, her mind spinning. “I mistook boredom for peace.” While Sam wasn’t peaceful, she felt peace with him—and she was never bored.
Drake drove faster. “You could find a good life with a Kurjan soldier.”
She swallowed. “I want a life with Sam.”
“Sorry. Sam is not supposed to be the Keeper, and we can’t leave that much power in the Kyllwood family. He will die, and you’ll be alone anyway. Let me help you.” Drake slowed down and turned again, driving to a small parking area next to a shiny black helicopter.
She tried to glide inside his head.
He turned to face her. “Stop it,” he growled.
“No.” She tried again.
He shut down fast, expelling her abruptly. She cried out, her head jerking, her temples pounding. Her eyelids closed, and she struggled to keep her lunch in her stomach.
When she opened her eyes, he was watching her. “You shouldn’t try to invade people’s minds,” he said.
She tried to swallow over the lump in her throat. The kid had some serious power. “You shouldn’t kidnap people.”
“Fair enough.” He didn’t smile. “Just a word of warning. Our people are different from the bear shifters. Our females don’t have the freedom, nor do they want it, that you’ve enjoyed. Be careful. I could’ve hurt you just now, but I chose not to do so. The next soldier won’t be as nice.”
With that, he jumped out of the truck and signaled a pilot in the helicopter.
The blades started to turn.
* * * *
Sam stretched awake and winced as his barely healed ribs clacked together. He opened his eyes, feeling an empty place next to him. Where was Honor? He sat up, his instincts humming. Sending healing cells in every direction, he swung from the bed and dragged jeans on, huffing in pain as he did so.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it. His boots felt too small for his feet, and his arms protested when he pulled a shirt over his head, but he kept moving toward the door and shoved it open, revealing a gaping hole where his deck used to be.
Garrett barreled out of the trees.
Sam jumped down. “Where is she?” The air felt quiet and lonely around him. No sense of her.
Garrett’s eyes were more onyx than metallic gray. “Nessa is trying to track her via satellite on the one system that wasn’t damaged the other day. We just discovered that both Honor and Claws are missing.”
Sam burst into a jog, turning for the headquarters area. “Claws?”
Garrett kept pace. “The Kurjans must’ve gotten to her. I’m sorry.”
Sam didn’t have time for sorry. “How long has she been gone?” He’d been sound asleep while his mate had been taken?
“About an hour—maybe more. We’ll know when Nessa gets a bead on her.” Garrett’s boots crunched the leaves around them. “Honor is mated. She’ll be protected until we get there.”
Sam’s ears heated. “She’s a smart-ass and a fighter. No way will she wait meekly for rescue.” His temper awoke, and he shoved it down with a cold ball of ice. He had to think rather than feel right now. “She doesn’t know that they’ll hurt her without an ounce of remorse.”
“She’s smart, Sam. We’ll get to her in time.”
They reached the clearing by the garage just as Bear and Flynn emerged, Bear fully armed and Flynn loading weapons as fast as he could.
Bear tossed him a gun. “Load up. Nessa found the trail and will send coordinates to us on the road. They headed north in a truck and just parked near a helicopter in Binbly’s Forest. It’s too late for us to blow it without harming Honor, so we have to let her on.”
Flynn tore off his shirt and pants and kicked his boots to the side. “I’ll get a closer visual and trail her.” His eyes morphed to an elliptical green, and he turned, running full throttle down the road. His legs elongated, a tail emerged, he jumped forward. The air sparked all around him, and a fully grown black dragon flew into the sky.
“Holy shit,” Garrett said, looking up.
Sam stalked into the armory and suited up, choosing more blades than guns. He was taking off heads today. When he walked out, a silver helicopter was landing where the bikes usually rested. “Whose?”
“Ours,” Bear said, nodding at the pilot. “Bought it a couple of years ago and have had it locked down farther in territory just in case. Let’s go.” He tossed earbuds at them. “I can only afford to have the four of us away from the territory right now since most of our sensors are down. Can’t risk another attack.”
Sam shoved an earbud in, his chest feeling heated as he jumped in the back. “Nessa?”
“Yes,” Nessa answered, and the sound of typing came over the line. “I have her. Helicopter headed north, but I don’t know the destination yet. They may cross into Canadian airspace. I have Flynn, and he’s almost there. He can mask himself from human detectors…ours too. But he’s staying visible for me.”
Good. Flynn was close. He’d make sure nothing happened to Honor.
Nessa cried out.
“What?” Bear bellowed, jumping into the helicopter.
“They just shot Flynn,” she whispered. “Armed helicopter, and they must have sensors we don’t know about. Nobody has sensors for dragons. God.”
Bear paled but motioned for the pilot to take off. “Is he okay?”
“I can’t tell. He dropped into forested land, and it’s too thick to see.” Tears clogged Nessa’s voice. “He’s a dragon and he’s tough, but he wasn’t expecting to be shot. How did they see him?”
The helicopter rose rapidly into the sky. “One thing at a time, Ness,” Bear said, his voice low with command. “Send a couple of the shifters out. They can get to him quickly in bear form.”
“Already did,” Nessa said, sniffing. “I’ll report to you as soon as I know. For now, keep heading north.”
Sam leaned his head back and pushed more healing cells to the still injured parts of his body. “They’ll be waiting for us,” he muttered.
“They always are,” Bear growled.
Sam opened his eyes. “Yeah. I have an idea.”