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All hell was erupting around her as she fought to breathe, to make sense of the screams echoing through the air. She looked around then, gasping, as her heart thumped in fear. The guards were unconscious or dead—she wasn’t certain which—and moving in carefully were three large males, their scent unfamiliar, their faces hard, intent.
“Nikki!” she yelled as she backed away from them, glancing behind her desperately then coming to a stop once again.
Nikki was dazed but standing, held upright by two other men, their shadowed faces determined.
“Come with us, and you won’t be harmed. ” She turned quickly as the obvious leader spoke up. “No, Ms. Dunmore. Don’t make me force you. ”
She would have fought, but there were five and Charity knew there wasn’t a chance she would escape unharmed.
“You’ll kill us anyway,” she screamed as another explosion rocked the ground. Then she gasped in horror as he smiled. The canines were curved, gleaming, proof that the Coyotes had finally found her.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I must,” he snarled. “Believe what you will for now, but you will come with us. ”
Gloved fingers gripped her arm, pulling her to the hole that had been blasted into the compound wall. Fear snaked through her belly as her body protested the touch, sending flares of pain radiating through her. Thankfully, as he pushed her forward, he released the grip he had on her. Charity prayed that somewhere, somehow Aiden was close by. Prayed he was safe. She could feel her cheeks, damp with tears, with desperation, as she glanced back at Nikki, hearing the other woman’s vicious curses. She was frightened. Nikki rarely cursed unless the fear overcame her natural restraint. That fear increasedher own .
They were rushed through the break in the wall before being pushed quickly into a waiting jeep. Within seconds the vehicle was tearing away from the compound beneath the cover of the thickly growing pines as the helicopter swooped in for another pass at the compound.
“I hope you all fry in hell,” Nikki cursed them as they bounced over a particularly rough piece of ground.
“I hope Wolfe and Aiden castrate you all. ”
No answer was forthcoming. The sound of battle receded as Charity fought the rage crawling through her system. Coyotes. They were no more than the Council’s lapdogs. How would Aiden find her now, even if he had managed to survive the attack? He wouldn’t know what had happened to her. Would he believe she had been in the cabin when it exploded? Of course he would.
She crossed her arms over her chest, fighting the desperation she could feel weakening her. She had to find a way free of this.
“Wolfe will pay you more than the Council ever can,” she bit out, knowing the mercenary hearts of the mongrels who had taken them. The Coyotes were known to betray their masters often. If the price was right. “You’re making a mistake taking us back. ”
The driver glanced back, his surprisingly light blue eyes gleaming with disgust. “The Council doesn’t own us, Ms. Dunmore, and we have no intention of taking you to them. You’ll be returned to your mate as soon as you have accomplished something for us. Now sit back and relax. You’ll understand in due time. ”
Shock left her gasping for breath. He was Coyote. She could see in the curved canines as he snarled, but she couldn’t smell the rancid scent that normally emanated from the soulless Breed. She glanced at Nikki, seeing her eyes narrow, her expression harden as she turned her gaze back to the men in front of the jeep.
“The Council has puppets in many places,” she said.
Charity held her breath. The words were simple, but the meaning behind them she well knew. The passenger turned back to her slowly, his gaze narrowed, intent.
“Puppets have masters. Men play the fools. Breed Law will still yet survive. ”
And the answer was given. An answer only a handful of men and women could know. An answer that shocked Charity to the core of her being. Breed Law was barely formed. A code of honor so strict, so tightly enforced, that if a member broke it, be he Wolf, Feline or human, then instant death resulted.
“YourPack?” Nikki questioned. “You aren’t Wolf. You’re Coyote. Who controls you?”
The smile she received in return was hard, mocking in its savagery. “No one or nothing controls us, doctor, save the code we follow. ”
“That attack broke the code,” she informed him furiously. “You know the price to be paid. ”
“The attack was not ours,” he growled. “Settle back and be patient. Your questions will be answered soon. And hopefully, ours will as well. ”
“It doesn’t matter who attacked, Aiden will kill you before you get a chance to explain,” Charity informed him furiously. “You’ve made a mistake, Coyote. ”
Broad shoulders shrugged negligently as he turned back to face forward. Nothing else was said. The jeep increased speed as it broke the tree line and bumped onto the main road. The engine whined as gears shifted and the distance between herself and Aiden increased. Charity rubbed her arms and turned to Nikki, questioning their options silently. The other woman sighed and shook her head. Like Charity, she knew they could only wait and see what the end of the journey brought .
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aiden stared at the hole in the compound wall, the letter he had found tacked to it. Breed Law dictated I make contact. I did so. Many times. Now, the ball is in your court. Though, my friend, I have what I needed. Do you?Del-Rey.
Del-Rey. Aiden had heard the name several times by the spies within the intricate network of information he had built over the years. Del-Rey, the light-haired Coyote who had broken away from the Council years before and disappeared from sight. His pack numbered at several dozen, and all hand picked and trained by him years before.
There was a rumor that unlike the Council Coyotes, Del-Rey and his men had adopted an honor system more brutal than even that of the Breeds.
