“Wow, you’d better eat some food to balance out that caffeine,” I tease. She laughs. Loudly. I glance over at her.
When she looks at me again, her eyes are bright. “Why don’t we come here more often, Riley? It’s really good, and their coffee is the best.” She takes another long swig.
I glance over at the kitchen and then back at my mom and frown. “I wonder why we haven’t been waited on yet; they’re not that busy. Maybe I’ll just check with Stacey.”
“No. Sit down. Let’s just enjoy this time together.”
I flinch at my mom’s voice; it’s much too loud. I frown. “Mom?” She looks at me, and I don’t like the look in her eyes. Her eyes are too bright, almost feverish-looking. A feeling comes over me, and I look around the restaurant once again. I clock the few faces in the booths. Nobody’s eating. They all have plates in front of them, but nobody’s eating. A cold sweat gathers on my back, and my breathing starts to speed up. My mom picks up her coffee again, but I put my hand on it, stopping her.
She looks over at me. “Riley, why won’t you let me drink my coffee?” Her voice is once again too loud, and I feel my body tense. There’s something very wrong about this entire situation.
Reid.I reach out for our connection, but there’s nothing there.Reid?Panic builds in my chest and I try the pack link.Dad? Zane?There’s nothing. My heartbeat speeds up, and I keep my gaze on my mom even while I clock how many people are in the restaurant. I loosen my muscles in preparation to shift and fight, but when I reach out to my wolf, she’s unreachable, just like the rest of my pack. This time I can’t stop the panicthat races through me. I see someone exit the kitchen out of the corner of my eye. “Mom,” I whisper frantically. “Mom.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I want to cry at the feverish look in them. She looks like she’s high or something, and I realize that whatever happens next, it’s on me to get us out of here safely...and alive. Somebody stops at our table, and I look up. A man I’ve never seen before stands next to us. I refuse to react to the darkness in his eyes, and I channel my father. “Hi,” I smile brightly. “My mom and I changed our minds. We’re going to get going now. I’ll leave money for the coffee on the table.” I stand, or at least I try to, but the room around me spins, and I end up sitting back down.
“You sure about that?” he asks with a cold sneer.
I try to get the room to stop spinning, but now that it’s started, it won’t stop. “Oh,” my mom says, like she just realized the guy was standing there. “We’re ready to order. I would like a meeeeaaloversomlit.” Her words are all slurred together, and my fear ratchets up another notch. Whatever they gave us is working against us overtime. I try to stand again, but the man just shoves me back into the bench. “Hey,” my mom says with a frown.
“Mom, it’s okay.” I don’t want her to get hurt.
I face the guy. He seems to have grown a second head in the last few seconds. I squeeze my eyes tightly and then try again. This time, there’s a third head. I hear my mom groan, and I try to look over at her; but the entire room is spinning. I hear a thud and look over to see my mom’s head is down on the table. “Mom,” I cry in panic; but my voice is weak. I reach out once again to Reid and my pack. I try desperately to reach anyone, but it’s like the connections are severed. Then there are voices, and more bodies. I try to eye them, but they all blur together. My panic grows when they tie my mom up and take her away from me. I try to follow, but I can’t move. My entire body seems to be shutting down. Strong arms grab me and hoist me up against astrong chest, but the smell is all wrong. It’s not the scent I know and love. It smells like fear and pain and death. I close my eyes as we move and hope I don’t throw up. I’m aware when they throw us in the back of a van or some kind of vehicle and start driving.
I’m not sure how long we drive. I keep coming in and out of it, but I feel like it’s been a good amount of time. Every time I open my eyes, I look for my mom. She’s always just a few feet away from me, but I can’t get to her. I can’t move my body. I want to move, but my arms and legs won’t listen to me. There’s a breakdown somewhere. I reach out every time I’m awake and try to get anybody from our pack, but there’s nothing but static. I wonder how long it will take them to figure out we’re gone. In one of my more alert moments, I wonder if the enforcers who were with us are okay; I hope so.
Finally, the van stops. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, but I’m going to err on the side that it’s bad, really bad.
Chapter 42
Reid
I watch as Riley climbs into the car with her mom. I’ve been out here all night, making sure she’s safe. But I don’t let her see me, nor do I get too close for her to scent me. I want her to have this time with her mom, and her mom is too sweet not to invite me. So instead, I head back to the house to catch a few hours of sleep. Thankfully, it’s blissfully quiet when I enter the house. I make my way to my room and kick off my shoes before collapsing on the bed. It still smells like Riley, so I take a deep lungful and carry her scent with me into sleep.
Reid.
My alpha’s voice in my head was not exactly how I planned on waking up, but I’m quick to respond.Yes, Alpha.
Is Riley with you?
I sit up, instantly awake.No, she’s at breakfast. Why?Now that I’m fully awake, I can feel his panic; it makes my own start to grow. He doesn’t send anything for a moment, and I throw on clothes. I’m just about to reach out to Zane, but before I can there’s an explosion of Alpha’s wrath through the pack link. The force of it nearly drives me to my knees.
I reach out through our bond.Riley.There’s nothing on the other side, and fear like I have never known pours through every fiber of my being.Riley!
When Alpha speaks again, he speaks to the entire pack.I’ve got four dead enforcers, and my mate and daughter are gone.He sends the address for the restaurant.
Joe immediately jumps in and starts shouting orders to the enforcers; I ignore it. I can feel the confusion and panic from our pack as I race towards the door.Zane, what’s going on?
He responds instantly.I don’t know. Get there now.
I resist the urge to shift and race to my car and throw it in reverse as soon as it turns on. I roar out of the driveway. I reach out again, forcing power through our bond.Riley!There’s nothing on the other end but static. I curse and slam my fist against the steering wheel. I race across town, uncaring about speed, stop lights, or anything else. My tires squeal as I drive into the parking lot and shove the gear into park. I’m out the door and running towards the entrance before the car’s even fully stopped. I run past two cars with our downed pack mates and push aside the sorrow of those losses; I’ll have to process them at a later date. I throw open the door to the restaurant, slamming it into the wall and nearly tearing it off its hinges. Two things hit me instantly when I enter the restaurant—my mate’s scent and the wrath of my alpha. It nearly brings me to my knees, but I push forward. It feels like walking through quicksand. I walk over to where he and Joe stand beside a table. The scent of my mate hits me the strongest here, and I know this is where she was. The door crashes into the wall once again, and Zane enters, bringing with him another blast of alpha power. “What happened?” His voice is guttural, his wolf fully in charge.
Alpha turns towards us, and I can see and feel the wrath coming off him. “You in control?” he grunts out.
I nod, not trusting my voice right now. My wolf is roaring his rage inside me, but I have him locked down...for now. “What happened?” It’s hard to form the words around my canines.
“Something in the coffee; that’s all we’ve determined so far. Whatever it is, it cut off their connection to the pack and to us. I didn’t feel it.” His words are barely audible. “Do you haveanything from Riley?” His words are almost desperate, and I clench my jaw.
“No.”
