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As I was leaving my room, I saw Sondra in the hallway, and she looked guilty.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her.
She smiled at me suggestively. “Do you want to have some fun together, Patrick? I hear you are quite the catch in bed, that you know how to use your mouth. Is that true?”
Her question came out of the blue for me. I just kind of looked at her for a moment. “Really? What did you want, Sondra?”
She moved closer, putting her hand on my collar, and then wrapped her arms around my neck. “I just want to say hi. That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Why?”
I scoffed. Did she forget that she was soon to be mated to my alpha? “I don’t want to play any games with you, Sondra. I am not in the mood. I have things to do.”
“I know what you’re up to, and you should know that I am going to tell Amos about it.”
“Whatever you think is going on, I can assure you that it’s not.”
She sighed. “Amos has been feeling her lately, a lot. I think she has found another mate and we need her back to break the bonds. Doesn’t she want that as well?”
“I have no idea.”
She eyeballed me for a minute, pouting her red lips, then walked away.
* * *
Amos had called a meeting,about attacking the Dark Riders. Sondra must have overheard my conversation with Eliza and gone straight to Amos about it. Amos said the attack was necessary because of the bond between him and Eliza. There was also bad blood between the two packs, and Amos knew he could use it against them.
They planned to not only get Eliza and break the bond, but to attack the Night Rider ranches one by one. I knew that more territory was what Amos really wanted. It was all he talked about, and he saw ending his bond as the perfect opportunity to get it. It was going to be pure mayhem.
Getting to Eliza was going to be harder than I’d thought, but I had to get there first.
Doing something against the Bransom Country clan would be against everything I believed in. But Eliza was alone, and if I didn’t help her, no one else was going to.
I was glad the pack was waiting for the cover of darkness to make their move. It meant that I might be able to get there in enough time to warn everyone and get Eliza out.
Life was never going to be the same again. I would never be able to go home. I would be a lone wolf like Eliza. It was not what any shifter wanted; we all wanted to belong with our people. I could already feel the hole in my heart where my people had once been. I had to save Eliza, though, that’s all that mattered.
As I got closer to Mystic Falls Ranch, my Jeep started to sputter and then stopped. I cursed. I was going to have to walk the rest of the way, but I would do whatever it took.
11
CALVIN
Eliza didn’t show up for our date, so I called Eddie to see if he had seen her. When he said that he hadn’t, I got worried. When I went to the bunkhouse, all of her stuff was gone. Naturally, I thought the worst. That maybe someone had taken her away. But how could that be true if her clothes were gone too? I doubted someone took the time to let her pack. I had to find her. I was sure she would have said something if she had a chance. Maybe she had to run off for something.
I called her phone several times but didn’t get an answer. Finally, I went to look around the ranch. There had to be a clue as to where she had taken off to. I talked to the other workers, but no one had seen her. I was really starting to get worried. I had finally fallen for a woman, and I wasn’t ready to give her up. Where had she gone all of a sudden? Why would she leave in the first place?
I made my way to the local gas station to get some beers. When I asked the cashier if he’d seen Eliza, and he said she was here earlier and that she was still around somewhere. That was music to my ears.
I called Eddie and asked if he had seen her yet, but he hadn’t. A few minutes later, I he called and told me there was a Jeep parked by the bunkhouse that he hadn’t seen before. I couldn’t imagine who that was, but I was hoping it was Eliza or someone who knew where she was. Eliza was too important for her to just walk out of our lives. I wasn’t going to let that happen, I couldn’t.
When I got back, I saw the plates and knew whoever was in the car was from the Bransom Country area. It was becoming clear that someone was here for Eliza. I would be damned if I was going to let any harm come to her. I would find whoever it was and make sure they never came back. Eliza deserved to live in peace. They couldn’t have her. I wouldn’t let her go.
I went to my house on the edge of the ranch and got my shotgun and some shells. While it would be better to go into my wolf form, I wanted the gun so I could take out more than one intruder if needed. Since I didn’t know how many people could be on the property, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. When I got back to the bunkhouse, I heard something not too far away and shot before I asked any questions.
I walked over to where I heard a groan and found a man down on the ground. I’d only gotten his leg so far, right above the knee. It didn’t look like he was going anywhere.
