AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He drove to Mal’s house, his mind spinning with what he needed to accomplish before he could return to Mia. Aside from the re-tattooing, which would take hours, he needed to check in with his teammates. It was possible that the higher-ups in the hunters’ organization were hunting forhim, and he would need to dole out some damage control to make sure he didn’t wind up behind bars.
When he arrived at Mal’s, it was just after five a.m. Mia was still sound asleep, occasionally letting out a soft growling snore that he thought was adorable. The house was dark, but Lucian knew that his best friend was up already. Mal was the definition of an early bird, while Lucian had always leaned a little bit more toward being a night owl.
Lucian texted Mal that he needed him to come outside. When Lucian saw the front light turn on, he got out of his car and met Mal on the sidewalk.
“What’s wrong?” Mal asked.
“First, I want you to know that Mia is safe.”
“What?” Mal shouted the word, his face paling. “What happened?”
Lucian put his hands on Mal’s shoulders and said, “She was kidnapped last night by a group of raven shifters.”
His mouth fell open. “Raven shifters? Why would they take her?”
“It was my fault. My team put away their leader, and they followed us to find weaknesses. When I came here for dinner, they were following me and saw Mia confront me outside. She was their leverage.”
He stopped talking for a moment, and then pushed on. “They gave her a drug to force her into a mating heat.”
“How long did they have her?”
“She was in their lab for a little over four hours by the time I got to her. She’s out of the heat now, and sleeping. They terrorized her, but they didn’t actually hurt her. She has wounds on her wrists and ankles from the bindings. I thought that Doc could look her over and make sure she’s okay.”
Mal didn’t say anything for a long moment, and then he balled up his fist and punched Lucian square in the face. Pain exploded behind his eyes, and the sick twisting sound of cartilage breaking made him grunt. He was fast enough to have ducked the swing, and his beast didn’t particularly like being punched, but he knew that Mal was just being a protective older brother.
Mal shouldered past Lucian and stalked to the car with a growl. He lifted Mia into his arms, and she didn’t stir as he carried her past him and into the house. Mal stopped at the open door.
“Get the fuck out of here, Luc. We’re done. I’ll buy you out of the business, and we won’t have any further contact.”
Now the beast was mad.
“I’m coming back for Mia.”
“The fuck you are. You show up here again and I’ll kill you.”
“She’s my mate.”
“You nearly got her killed! I told you to stay away from her. Leave, or I’ll call the pack.”
“I’m coming back, Mal. You can’t stop me.”
Mal stepped into the house and kicked the door shut. Lucian heard the deadbolt slide into place. Not that he wasn’t strong enough to break the door down, deadbolt or not, but that wouldn’t do anything but terrify Nila and Jack, which he absolutely wouldn’t do.
At least Mia was safe with her brother and would be seen by the pack doctor. Lucian would be back when his beast was firmly caged by magic once more. However the hell long it took, hewouldcome back for her. There was no other option.
* * *
Lucian pushed the buzzer for the tattoo shop and rubbed his eyes. He was fucking tired as hell, and although his broken nose had healed, the area still ached. There was a crackling sound as the intercom turned on.
“Lucian?” Talitha, a witch and tattoo artist, yawned and then said, “Why are you here?”
He looked down at himself and then up at the security camera over the door. “I need my tatts redone.”
“You don’t have an appointment.”
“It’s an emergency.”
She sighed. “It’ll cost you.”
