Alpha Omega 02 - Hunting Ground

remembered was leaning down to taste the skin of his belly. Mustn’t show the enemy weakness. So pick her question carefully.
    â€œWho hired you?”
    The woman smiled displaying a set of fangs. “Not my part of the show,” she said. “All I know is the job. We’re to box you up and ship you across the shining sea on an airplane. No harm to you if you don’t give us any trouble.”
    Her smile got bigger. “Of course, if you do give us trouble, we get to hurt you. Fun, fun, fun.”
    Across the sea sounded like Europe to her, Anna thought. One of the wolves kidnapping her? Did they think that Charles couldn’t find her out of the country? If so, then they were wrong. Still, it would be easier on everyone if she didn’t go in the first place.
    She jerked up, using the big muscles of her back and thighs for strength. The metal handcuffs cut into her skin, but she ignored the pain. Whatever her hands were chained to was tough, but the eye hook attached to her feet began to bend, the floor beneath it pulling up.
    â€œShit!” The man who’d been sitting by her feet looked to the front of the car. “I told you that there was no good place to attach the chains in this stinking rental.”
    â€œShoot her,” said the driver.
    She couldn’t get her head up and around enough to see who was driving, but she was betting on the man she’d seen at the warehouse. A shotgun flew back, thrown by someone in the front passenger seat. The male vampire she could see caught it and fired it from three feet away, hitting her in the shoulder.
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    CHARLES sat up and grabbed his aching head. It took him a moment to catch Brother Wolf’s frantic message. She’s gone. They have her. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t stop them. Couldn’t wake you up. Wake up!
    Anna?
    She was gone—unarguably. There was no one beside him in the bed.
    The room smelled of vampires and night air, both scents coming from the broken window. He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. He grabbed shoes and socks because not ripping up his feet might let him catch up with them faster.
    Seventh floor would have been impossible, but the second room he’d gotten them had been on the fifth. He jumped out the broken window, landed on his feet, and rolled to soften the fall. He got to his feet, shoulders and knees aching but functional.
    He might be able to track them, even in the city—but there was a better way. He recklessly threw open the bond between him and Anna.
    The first thing he discovered was that she was not far away, but she was moving fast. And she was hurt—likely her getting hurt was what had allowed him to break whatever spell it was that had put him unconscious. He felt the last trickles of it still trying to hold him—awake and aware he was able to burn away the magic. The spell was pure witchcraft. While the rest of him was focused on finding Anna, a small part noticed that the vampires seemed to have some way of accessing a lot of magic: wolf and witch.
    He closed down the bond with his mate until he couldn’t feel her pain, until all he had was a direction. Otherwise, distracted by worry and things he couldn’t influence until he got there, he wouldn’t be able to function effectively. First, find them.
    He ran.
    The trouble with big cities—especially Seattle with the waterways all over the place—was that he didn’t just have to know where she was, but where they were taking her.
    South, he thought, sprinting recklessly down the hill. What lay to the south? Beacon Hill, West Seattle, Kent, Renton, Tacoma. Most of the wolves were staying near Downtown, but he thought that the Italians might be staying somewhere in West Seattle.
    Airport. Brother Wolf was quite clear and positive. Maybe he’d picked up something from Anna that Charles had missed.
    Sea-Tac, he thought—about fifteen miles from the hotel. He could run faster in wolf form, but he’d lose time, and someone might see them on the highway. But if they made it that far, even Brother Wolf couldn’t keep up. He’d have to steal a car—which he would do. That would leave Anna in their hands for longer. So he chose to try to catch them now.
    Even in this form he ran faster than the car could go on the city streets. The vampires wouldn’t want to attract the attention of the police, not with an injured woman in their vehicle. They’d obey