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“I’m forwarding everything to him. It might give his parents comfort to know about it, but it could onlycause them more pain. Hard to say. ” Marco turned around to face his mate. “Well, I guess I better go see Evan. You’re coming with me, right?”
“Oh, of course. It will be hard for him to feed from someone else this first time. I want to be there for him. ” Nicky sat down in Marco’s lap and kissed the side of his neck. “Thanks for doing this for Evan. Rory offered too, but I don’t think Casey really liked the idea much—jealous pig that he is. ”
Marco smiled. “I don’t mind, sweetheart. I just wish we’d hear something from Brett. I’m worried about him. Tomorrow will be two weeks since anyone has seen or heard from him, and it’s just not like him. When I sentenced him to thirty days in jail, I never thought he’d just take off like that. Brett’s the kind of man who makes mistakes, yes, but faces up to them. This behavior is unlike him, but then I’ve never seen him so distraught and upset. ”
“Evan’s a wreck. He won’t admit it but he is. He’s scared to death that Brett will never come back, or that something has happened to him. We’d have heard if Winters got him, wouldn’t we?”
Marco nodded. “Yes, I’ve alerted all out contacts, even got word to Dr. Cornsilk. No one has seen any sign of him. ”
“Stupid, stubborn wolf! Why would he just run away like that?”
“Well, from what Brett told me, Evanreally didn’t give Brett much hope he’d forgive him. Brett said he was going to reject him as his mate. ”
Nicky blew out a skeptical breath. “Like he cared. Evan said he hardly even said he was sorry, and then only after he prompted him to. I wonder if he even cared about what he did to him. ”
“You didn’t see him after their talk, Nick
y. I did. He was practically destroyed. He cared deeply, believe me. I think his heart was broken, and I’m afraid something may have happened to him. ”
A little gasping sound by the door made them both look up to see Evan standing just inside the door. He’d overheard what Marco said. His face registered a direct hit, and he swayed on his feet. Nicky jumped up to put a hand on his shoulder and guide him into the room. “It’s okay, Evan. He’s coming back, I’m sure of it. ”
“What if he doesn’t, Nicky? I was so damn mad at him when he came to see me, I couldn’t even stand for him to touch me. I was awful to him—really hateful. He thinks I hate him now, so there’s no reason for him to come back. ”
“You were just giving him some tough love, and it’s what he needed. He had to realize how serious it was and how much he hurt you emotionally. It was the only way for the two of you to ever make it work between you. You remember what I told you the first day I met you?He’s a wolf, and wolves mate for life. They have all these stupid wolf laws, but that’s one I always liked. That’s one I could always get behind. ”
Evan gave Nicky a shaky little smile. “I hope you’re right. ”
Nicky smiled at him encouragingly. “Come on over here now and you can feed from Marco. It won’t taste as good to you as Brett’s does, but it will nourish you. ”
A knock on the door interrupted them, and Nicky went over to open it. It was Ian, and he looked serious and a little grim. He glanced over at Evan and then back at Marco. “It’s Brett, Marco. Dr. Cornsilk has gotten word to us. The Hunters have had him for over a week and the doctor just discovered it and has managed to get in and see him. They’ve been experimenting on him, Marco. Dr. Cornsilk says he’s afraid they’ve completely destroyed his mind. ”
“We have to move quickly if this is going to work. The doctor said the Hunters think Brett has outlived his usefulness now,and they’re ready to execute him. ‘Put him out of his misery,’ as they put it. ” Casey slammed his hand down on the table in front of him, contempt for the Hunters and their cruelty twisting his lips.
“We still have to be smart about it. ” Marco stood up and paced around the council room that was packed, not only with all of his advisors, but all of Zack’s advisors as well. Zack and his entire clan had come to help as soon as they learned of Marco’s plan.
Marco had declared an all-out war on the Hunters, and further declared that it was time to end this thing once and for all. His desire for peace and need for privacy all these years to escape detection by the outside world had forced his clan to simply defend themselves from the Hunters’ increasingly vicious attacks. Elias Winters and his psychotic behavior had finally driven him too far. They would attack the complex and destroy it, along with Winters and anyone else in his command who resisted. If any of the Hunters wished to put down their arms, and becomeWerekin, they’d be spared. Otherwise, the wolves would take no prisoners. They hadn’t started this war, but they could no longer stand by and allow their families to be in danger. The wolves had had enough.
Deciding against the safe rooms in the basement, Marco had moved all of the older pets and the children to Zack’s lodge, along with some of the older men and teenaged boys to act as protection. Everyone else would be in on the fight—even the pets who wanted to help. This last provision had been hard won for Logan and Nicky and the others, but an impassioned plea by Evan had finally turned the tide in their favor. It was his mate who had been injured, he argued, and he was going in after him, regardless of what anybody thought. When Logan, Nicky, Gabe and all the other human pets backed him, the wolves had finally given in.
“Like I said, we have to be smart about this thing. They have plenty of firepower so we’re not going to rush in, guns blasting. ”
“We have a plan,” Casey said confidently. “We’ve had this in mind for a long time, but we were hoping we wouldn’t have to use it. We still want to avoid exposure, so we’re going to have to make this look good to any outsiders. That’s one reason we’ll take no prisoners. Each person who surrenders must become Werekin. All the feral soldiers will be given blood as well. It looks like our community is about to experience a huge growth spurt. ”
“What’s the plan, Casey?” Evan asked quietly. He was standing between Logan and Nicky and this was one of the first days he’d wanted to be around other people. The thought of what Brett was going through, and not knowing if he were alive or dead had taken its toll on him, and he was pale and had lost a lot of weight, even though both Ian and Marco had been feeding him as often as he would allow.
Casey turned toward him. “We’re going to use the tunnel that Ian, Rory, Nicky and Logan used the night they helped Ian escape from the complex. ”
Logan frowned. “Surely they would have destroyed that tunnel by now. ”
“No, they didn’t,” Casey replied. “According to our sources, they did seal it off with a heavily locked and bolted steel door at the end that comes out on the mountainside, and they have it guarded now, but they kept it as an escape route for themselves if their compound walls are ever breached. ”
“So how can we get inside if it’s so secured?” Logan asked.
“Simple. Our guys on the inside. When we send the signal, they’ll overpower the guards and open the door. We’ll be there to waltz right in,” Casey said.
Meanwhile, to keep their attention focused somewhere else, Zack and I will take a small group of four and come in the front gate,” Marco said. “We’ll be hiding in Dr. Cornsilk’s car and come in right under their noses. When he lets us out, two of us will go immediately to Elias Winter’s quarters and take him prisoner. If he resists, we’ll kill him. Another two will go to the other general’s quarters and secure that area. We’ll cut off the head of the snake right away and hope the body flounders. Our boys will be coming in the tunnel and going from building to building. We’ll go in quietly and have the element of surprise on our side. It’ll be just like the Trojan horse. ” Casey turned to Rory. “Rory, I’d like you to lead a small group to the prison cells and find Brett, and anyone else they may be holding. ” He cast a quick glance at Evan. “From what I understand about his condition, you may have to subdue him, because I don’t think he’ll know you. Take at least two more wolves with you in case he puts up a fight. ” He turned to Evan and smiled at him. “Yes, I know,Evan, you’ll want to be with them too. Of course, and you can take Nicky with you. ”
Nicky frowned. “But I thought I could go with Marco. . . ”
