Bailey Bradford
(Labeled now so y'all can find the first parts if needed)
Part 4
Zane
couldn’t sleep. He rolled over and poked Aidan on the arm. “Hey.”
Aidan
snorted as he woke up. He opened one eye and looked at Zane. “Uh.”
“I think
we need to go back and see if we can find anything else out about Arturo’s
pack. The fact that none of the pack has said anything or tried to send for
help really disturbs me. It’s not right. They can’t all hate Marcus, and if
they’re being held captive, or being killed, or—“
“Gods,
let me wake up.” Aidan sat up and wiped at his mouth. He then rubbed his eyes
and huffed. “You aren’t going to sleep, are you? Not even after I fucked you
into the mattress.”
“Twice,”
Zane added, “And no. I can’t, Aidan. This is…it’s like an itch I
can’t scratch. Something is really wrong there and I can’t help but think
people are dying even as we’re in this nice hotel room.”
Aidan,
smart man that he was, didn’t question Zane’s instinct. “Let’s go then. I’ll
text Marcus once we’re almost there, otherwise he’ll have too much time to go
ballistic on me.”
Zane
almost swayed with relief. He gave Aidan a quick kiss on the cheek then bounded
from the bed. “I just keep thinking, they know we were there. Someone knows we
got away. They have to expect us to be back with lots of help. If they don’t
all flee, then they’ll probably want to kill off anyone who opposes them. Or
they’ll have too much time to plan a much worse attack. I should have thought
of all of this sooner.”
“Cut
yourself some slack,” Aidan said firmly. “And me some, too.”
Zane
nodded. “Yeah, I wasn’t criticizing you.”
Aidan
came to him and cupped his chin. Zane could lose himself in his mate’s dark
gaze in a heartbeat. “No, you’re just blaming yourself, and you need to stop
it. We don’t know who took over the pack, and retreat was the best thing we
could do after being ambushed. We weren’t prepared and we needed to let Marcus
know what was happening.”
Zane
opened his mouth to agree even if he wasn’t sure he did, but found himself
being kissed so thoroughly he couldn’t think.
Aidan
eased back and touched Zane’s lips. “No more blaming yourself. You didn’t kill
Arturo and turn on Marcus. Whoever did is who’s to blame.”
Zane
knew that logically, but he still felt as if he’d failed Marcus in the first
place even though he couldn’t have stopped the coup as he’d not known anything
about it. “It’s worrisome that we never heard a hint of gossip about someone in
this area having it out for Arturo or Marcus.”
“Yeah,
so maybe it wasn’t someone from this area,” Aidan said.
Zane
froze in the middle of putting on his pants. “That makes sense. So who do we
know of that could have done this?”
“That’s
what we’ll work on figuring out.” Aidan patted him on the butt. “Commando, hm?”
“You
know I don’t have any underwear left.” Zane tugged up his pants then fastened
them. He slid his leather belt on then buckled it before hunting down his socks
and boots.
Aidan
tossed him a black shirt to match his cargo pants and boots. Zane’s dark hair
didn’t need covering, but Aidan’s pale blond locks stood out starkly against
the black clothing, and would be easily spotted elsewhere.
To
that end, Aidan put on a black skullcap. “Let’s go.”
Zane
made sure he had a key card for the room then they left. During the drive, they
discussed possible scenarios and people who could be responsible for what was
happening. “Honestly, I’d thought the worst of the lot were put in their
places, but there’s no telling how many renegade shifters there might be out
there.”
“Yeah,”
Aidan mused, “It’s not like we can do a census. We don’t even have a clear
picture on how many of us there are, just a guesstimate. There are very likely
pockets of shifters that follow no one and live in secrecy as much as possible.”
Zane
nodded. “Right. If I were going to have to pick a known possible threat, I’d
say it would be the Edgars, but I’ve had them under observation. Well, Keegan
has had them under observation—“
“At
your suggestion,” Aidan said.
Zane
shrugged. “Keegan would have done it anyway. I just heard about them first. They
were still in Pennsylvania when we left on this assignment, so it can’t be
them.”
“Could
be some of their relatives or followers. Goes right back to us not knowing for
sure who and where all the shifters are.”
Aidan’s
point was valid.
“Right,
but if there was any unusual behavior by them, I’d think the guards watching
them would let Keegan or me know. Then again, the Edgars could be smart enough
to play it cool. They aren’t stupid, more the pity. Stupid traitors are so much
easier to catch.” Zane rubbed his temples, trying to come up with other
possibilities. The Edgars siblings were smart and vocal about their dislike of
Marcus and his mate. They believed him to be too soft of an Alpha Anax, and
claimed the shifters needed a heavier hand and less freedom, or else they’d be
exposed and it’d be Marcus’ fault for not being a true dictator.
They
weren’t Marcus’ only detractors. “The Kendricks’ brothers in Kentucky,” Zane
muttered. “Then there’s the Yardley Osham in North Carolina, and Valeria De
Hoya in Florida, and…” He named off every one of
the people, families, and packs on the watch list. None of them felt right, but
Zane knew that could be because he didn’t have enough information about them.
“Whoever
it is, an individual or a group—and I’m leaning with the latter,” Aidan added,
“They’re deadly, and they had no qualms coming after us. I’m going to have to
believe they knew who we are, although I suppose it’s possible they didn’t.”
“What
it comes down to is, we don’t have a clue who it is,” Aidan surmised as he
turned off the highway. “And we’re going in to do some recognizance, not take
on anyone.”
Unless
they had to. Zane knew it went unsaid, but was true.
Aidan
parked at a truck stop. “I think we should shift.”
“We
got all dressed up for nothing,” Zane joked.
“Yeah
well, I wasn’t awake enough to function,” Aidan retorted with a wink. “There’s
no way the engine wouldn’t be heard if we drove to the pack. Add to that,
there’s bound to be shifters acting as look-outs, and they might be miles away
from the pack itself. They’d hear us coming.”
“Right.”
Zane hadn’t thought of that. He’d been too busy feeling like bad shit would
happen if they didn’t get there.
He and
Aidan got out of the Hummer. Zane dug out a can of powdered charcoal. They’d
need it to cover Aidan’s white fur once he shifted. The man did stand out in
either of his forms.
“Gotta
text Marcus real quick.” Aidan frowned while he typed the message. “Good thing
I’m not afraid of his temper.” He hit send and less then two seconds later his
phone rang. “Here we go.”
Aidan
wandered off into the darker area of the parking lot, leading to the unmowed
field beside it. Zane followed him, listening as Aidan and Marcus argued.
Despite
that, Aidan remained calm. He simply refused to wait like Marcus was demanding
he do.
Zane
could hear the Alpha Anax loud and clear. Marcus wasn’t happy with either of
them. When Marcus shouted about Zane swearing fealty to him, Zane held his hand
out for the phone.
Aidan
growled but handed it over.
“Marcus…Marcus!”
Zane snapped, unable to wait for him to finish ranting. “I’m sorry for
snapping, but you need to listen.”
“And you need to not do this, Zane,” Marcus
rumbled angrily. “You and Aidan aren’t prepared to take this on alone.”
“We’re
not taking anything on, just observing.” It felt dishonest to say that. The
same itch that had been telling him they needed to be here was lending itself
to the idea that a confrontation was coming. “Unless we have to.”
“You’ll
have to and you damn well know it. You are acting against my direct orders, is
that what you meant when you swore to honor me as Alpha Anax?”
Zane’s
gut clenched and for a moment, he ground his teeth until his jaw ached. “No,”
he got out, “I didn’t and you know it. But you also know you’re throwing your
weight around and even as Alpha Anax, you’ve never talked to me or Aidan like
this.”
“Because
I’m afraid you’ll both be killed!” Marcus bellowed. “Zane, don’t do this,” he
plead in a softer tone.
Zane looked
at Aidan. “We have to, Marcus. That vow to honor you included protecting you,
and whatever’s going on here is deadly.”
“Which
is why you need to wait. I told Aidan, the guards I sent should be there in an
hour and a half. Keegan and his mate will arrive in the morning. Just, wait.“
“I
promise, all we’re intending to do is observe. I can’t ignore this feeling,
Marcus. It’s…it’s like something cold and dark, something
evil, is trying to turn me inside out.” Zane huffed in exasperation. “I can’t
explain it any better than that. My instincts say this is where I have to be,
for your sake and maybe ours, too. I’m sorry that’s not what you want, but it’s
what has to happen.”
Marcus
was silent for a minute during which Zane wondered if the call had been dropped.
It was only Nathan’s voice in the background the let him know the line was
still open.
Finally
Marcus spoke. “Okay, I’m not happy about this. I’m not going to add to your
worries by making threats or arguing. Just, be safe, Zane. Take care of
yourself, and Aidan. Don’t…don’t let anything happen to
either of you. I couldn’t bear it if I lost y’all.”
It was
as close to permission was they’d get. “Thank you. We’ll be safe. We’re just
going to see if we can find out who’s involved.” Even as he said it, he couldn’t
help but feel it’d be more than that. But it wasn’t his intention to anything other than spy on the pack.
Even
so, Zane knew that good intentions often led to bad endings. He just wasn’t
going to let that be the case for him and Aidan.
Copyright: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_ximagination'>ximagination / 123RF Stock Photo</a>
10 comments:
thats all?? man I need more.... I'm whining, I know. sorry but I want more.
Loved it Bailey....now I'm really curious to find out who is behind everything. Can't wait until the next installment.
Grrrr this is going to be a long wait between installments.Loved it Bailey thank you.
Great story so far. Want more though lol.
Love the story so far! Thanks for another great installment.
Uh, I want more. You left me wondering.
WHAT!!! MY ZANE!!!!! Bailey!!!!!!
I miss these guys....good one Bailey!
Love Zane and Aidan.
Your killing me Bailey!! Oh my goshness I want more!! ~Crystal Marie
Post a Comment