Two.
I feel everything in me tighten when I see Raven’s clothes. Leaving her was the hardest thing I have ever done. Hands down, the hardest! I know those fuckers captured her. I didn’t have to see it to know it. I could hear their catcalls. Their elation at nabbing their prize.
For a moment, I was frozen. I even turned and started heading back. How could I not go back? I mean, fuck! They had my Raven. For a short while there, she felt like mine. I want so badly for that to be the case, even though I know it can’t be. I can get her out of there and safe. All I know in this moment is that I will save her or die trying!
I turned back for her on instinct. They spotted me. I heard the warning screech. I knew I had been busted. Turning away was the toughest thing I have ever done. It still doesn’t sit right with me. The need to protect rose up in me with such a startling ferocity I could barely breathe. It was that same need to protect that drove me to fly away. To get away at all costs. Leaving is how I will get her back.
Beating those fuckers wasn’t easy, but I did it. I’m a dragon demigod! My strength and my speed supersede any straight shifter by a mile. Those dickheads fought a losing battle when it came to keeping up with me. They tried…they tried harder than I thought they would, but in the end, they failed.
I dress quickly and then pick up Raven’s clothes. I sprint to my vehicle. The keys are in the ignition. My Jeep was safe on shifter soil. My phone is on the center console. It’s down to six percent battery. I have fifty-eight missed calls. We haven’t even been missing for twenty-four hours yet. It feels like much longer.
I plug my phone into the charger and start up my car. I dial my brother as I reverse, leaving dirt tracks in the grass. He answers on the second ring. “Where the fuck are you?” he growls. “Your note said you were going flying with Raven. How fucking long did you need to go on a flight for? We’re going out of our minds with worry here. What the fuck, Stephan?”
“Is Raven with him?” I hear someone ask. By the growl in his voice, I think it might be West.
“Let me speak to her,” another voice says. “Right now!” Maddox, it’s definitely him.
“Where are you?” I ask Jarrod, frowning.
“We’re all at your place. We were about to go to the police,” Jarrod says. “You’re so fucking irresponsible.”
“They have Raven.”
“What? Who? What happened?” Jarrod sounds confused.
“What’s going on?” Maddox snarls.
“Make sure that everyone is at my house. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Raven’s weyr have her. We need to rescue her. I’ll fill you in when I get there.” I put the phone down. I need to concentrate on driving.
My phone rings a few times, but I ignore it. I push the boundaries without being reckless. I go faster than the speed limit at times and drive through red lights, as long as it’s safe to do so. The last thing I want is to cause an accident. I arrive at my property eight minutes after my call to Jarrod. I don’t bother with parking in the garage. I pull up in front of my front door and leap out.
“How did they get to her? What happened?” Maddox comes at me. His hands are fists at his sides.
I put up my own hands hoping he calms down. “I don’t know how they found us.”
I see more of the group spill out of the house. West is at the forefront. “You prick!” he snarls at me, that finger coming up.
Barrett and Zale grab him by the arms. West tries to break free. “Where is she?’ he shouts.
“Your weyr found us.” I stand my ground. “They took her.”
“I told her not to go flying with you. Not to take unnecessary risks.” Maddox hits his hand on his jean-clad thigh. There’s a loud slapping noise. “You should not have gone out in the middle of the fucking night,” he snarls at me.
“We were on shifter territory. Our weyr’s territory. We should have been safe.”
“Well, my weyr doesn’t follow your rules. They broke away from the main weyr many years ago. They don’t adhere to territories or anything else…they follow their own rules.”
“I realize that now,” I say. “I met Tarek. Raven and I were both taken in and locked up. Your leader spoke with Raven. I was in bad shape. I don’t recall very much about my time there.”
“What exactly happened?” Maddox urges me on. I can see that he has calmed down some.
“This Tarek asshole told Raven that someone in the weyr has agreed to mate with her. That she was still a part of the weyr. He seemed happy that she had returned. Like being captured and dragged back was the same as her returning of her own free will.”
“Tarek is a piece of work.” Maddox is glowering. “Who did she say this guy was?”
I shake my head. “He wouldn’t say.” I pull in a breath. “Star helped us escape.”
“Star!” Maddox frowns. “Where is Raven now, if you escaped?”
I explain the rest of what happened and how we got away. I tell them about having to hide and the patrols. How dangerous it was. “I cannot believe you got Raven into this mess.” West pulls free and is on me in a second. He punches me square in the jaw.
I hurtle backwards. I almost land hard on my ass. I’m still weak after everything that went down, especially after flying for my life. As it is, I stagger backward.
I think that part of the reason I don’t fall is that West grabs a handful of my shirt. I see him pull his fist back, ready to clock me again. His eyes are filled with rage. His whole face is scrunched up. There are veins popping up on his forehead. His face is red.
I will my own arms to go up to defend myself, but I’m slow. The adrenaline that was pumping through my veins even five minutes ago has dissipated. I feel like my knees are going to give in.
Maddox and Barrett grab hold of West. “Stop!” Maddox yells.
West’s chest is rising and falling in quickly. “I’m fine. I’m sorry…okay? I’m fine.” I notice that he isn’t saying sorry to me, but to Maddox.
“Why are you acting like this?” Maddox asks. “You didn’t fly off the handle when you first found out about Raven’s disappearance earlier when Stephan called.”
“He’s the reason!” West glowers at me. “This is all his damned fault.” He takes a step or two away from me, even though I’m sure he’d prefer to tear into me. “Everything is on him! I can’t stand the sight of his face,” he adds. West just stands there for a few moments, his breathing hard. His eyes on me and blazing. “I’m okay now.” He nods.
I ignore the outbursts and the insults. Quite frankly there are things that are far more important right now. Once I see that West is under control, I tell them about our plan. How Raven used herself as bait so that I could get away.
“You agreed to that?” West snarls.
“There was no other option that didn’t involve us both getting caught,” I say.
“There are always other options!” West yells.
“Not in this case.” I go through what happened. I tell them about the patrols. “Our choices were to try and sit tight, hike out of there, or make a run for it. I can tell you that if we’d tried to run together, both of us would have been captured.”