Captured And Claimed (Wayward Mates Series Book 8) Page 15

  “Where is he?” asked James.

  “In Niagara Falls. Why, you ask? Because my beloved convinced our pilot that I wanted her and her companions brought to join us there. Once there, someone hit him over the head and tied him up. He just now managed to get himself freed. He says he has more than enough fuel so will be with us and have us back in Niagara Falls in an hour or less.”

  “Any idea where they’ve gone from there?” asked Oliver.

  “Jackson had a chance to talk to the airstrip personnel. Apparently, a Hispanic-looking man arrived and got out of his limo. As soon as he spotted the girls he jumped back in and sped off... our mates on his tail. Jackson got the license on the limo. He got that information to Peter who is our techie and will have the destination for the limo before he can get up here and get us back.”

  “Isn’t there a quicker way to get there? Is there another plane here we can rent?” asked James, clearly distressed.

  “I asked, mon ami. There is nothing. Our best bet is to wait for my plane. At most we will be two hours behind them and Jackson will have a destination. We can call in route and have ground transport waiting for us.”

  The men leaned against the SUV. Within short order they looked up to see the Gautier jet on its final approach to the airport.

  “Your pilot made good time.”

  “He’s a most excellent pilot,” said Jean-Michel.

  The plane taxied to a halt and the stairwell was let down.

  “Quick,” called Jackson. “I want to be out of here before they really realize I’ve landed.”

  The men jogged to the plane and quickly boarded. They were back in the air within minutes of its landing.

  Jean-Michel spoke briefly with his pilot before rejoining the group. “As I expected, my people have been able to ascertain that deMoncada’s limo driver is a bit out of sorts. He reported to his company that they had some difficulty with an aggressively driven vehicle. His passenger had instructed him to take him to Niagara Falls National Park, which he has done. The driver wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw the vehicle that had been chasing them enter the park as well. Jackson said there will be a vehicle to take us to the park waiting when we touch down.”

  * * *

  Roz drove to the spot they had seen deMoncada get out of the car.

  “You guys try to find him. I’ll go find a good strategic parking spot in case we need to make a quick escape. I’ll find you as soon as I do.”

  Shannon looked at her as she got out of the car. “Do I want to know where you acquired all of these interesting skills?”

  Roz laughed. “Hmm... probably not.”

  Shannon laughed. “I’ll take your word for it. But when this settles down, I’d like to have a long chat.”

  The other women used their heightened sense of smell to detect the direction in which deMoncada had gone. Once they had left the main, paved walkways at the park, it became a bit trickier to track him. But Darby had done some tracking and hunting as a youth and called on her memories of doing so to methodically track what she believed were deMoncada’s footprints. She used both her observational skills and her heightened sense of smell.

  It didn’t take long for Roz to find a suitable spot to park and she rejoined them within short order. She carried an empty backpack with her. “Clothes,” she answered to the unasked question.

  “Roz!” called a tall female ranger as she approached them.

  “Heidi! It’s been years. So good to see you. Do you have a minute?”

  The ranger nodded and looked at the group of women. “I do. Is there trouble?”

  “I’m afraid so. You’ve heard about the kidnapped women?” Heidi nodded again. “The man behind the whole thing is here. We want to get him onto Goat Island and take him into custody.”

  “Custody?” Heidi asked, her tone clearly indicating she doubted the veracity of Roz’s comment.

  “For the record and so that you can tell anyone should it come up.”

  “What can I do? That bastard needs to pay.”

  “We’re going to try to maneuver him onto Goat Island. If we can get him at one end, we can take care of him and get out of here without a lot of fuss.”

  “How can I help?” asked Heidi.

  “We’re going to start talking loudly about wolves. Once we get him onto the island, a couple of us will shift and drive him to the far western end. If you could kind of shepherd people away from the island, while you get some rangers to check it out, that would be very helpful. It shouldn’t take us long.”

  “I can do that. Who should I be looking for?”

  “A tall, well-dressed Spaniard.”

  “Give me your cell number and if I see him, I’ll try to head him your way and let you know.”

  “Thanks, Heidi. I really appreciate your help.”

  The pack of she-wolves continued to track their quarry and began to talk loudly amongst themselves about hearing of wolves being spotted on the islands. Several ordinary tourists stopped them to ask about what they’d seen.

  “So, you saw actual wolves, like canines?” asked a chubby man in Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian shirt, and baseball cap.

  “Yes, rather large ones. But not to worry, we’ve told the rangers and they’re getting people off the islands until they can check it out and contain the wolves,” answered Roz.

  “But they won’t hurt the wolves, will they?” asked a teenage girl dressed in all black and goth-type makeup.

  “Oh, no. They assured us they wouldn’t. Strictly catch and release,” assured Catherine with her most soothing voice.

  Shannon went very still. The women with her could sense both her distress and her laser-like focus. As they followed her gaze, they spotted him... deMoncada. They began to spread out so they could drive him toward the pedestrian bridge onto Goat Island. By the time he realized they had him within their sights, they had begun to close in and his only escape route was the one directly in front of him... the walkway to Goat Island.

  “Nice and slow, ladies. He may be armed and we don’t want anyone else hurt or involved,” said Catherine in a low growl.

  “Roz, Darby—the two of you need to shift as soon as you’re able and begin herding him to the western end. Catherine, Shannon, and I will split up and stay visible as humans as we move him to where we want him,” said Skylar.

  It was not hard for Shannon to fall in behind Skylar’s lead. Skylar had the most experience at this sort of thing and she knew that Skylar had led Darby, Roz, and Catherine into battle before.

  DeMoncada hurried across the bridge, checking over his shoulder. Roz and Darby broke off from the others and made a beeline for the wooded area where they could shift in relative safety and obscurity.

  The three women who were to remain human fanned out and continued to move deMoncada forward. Shannon reached down and grabbed the backpack. She trotted to the edge of the woods to grab the clothing of those who had shifted.

  DeMoncada had also headed into the woods. They could hear the sounds of angry growls before the wolf they were certain was deMoncada came scurrying out of the brush.

  Shannon started to surge forward. Skylar laid her hand on her arm.

  “Easy, we need to get him away from people and where we want him...”

  “I don’t care if I have to go to prison for killing him,” said Shannon.

  “I do,” said Catherine. “Let’s follow the plan. If we do this right, he dies and we all go home. You’ll love Italy.”

  “I’m not sure I want to go.”

  “I promise you. You’ll love Italy. You’ll adore having an older brother who is alpha to one of the most amazing packs on the face of the earth. Besides which you love great wine and balsamic vinegar dressings... we make both. We’ll lie in the sun out by the pool and do nothing.”

  Shannon smiled and sighed. “You do make that sound very inviting.”

  Once again, they began to stalk deMoncada. Several groups of tourists were heading off the island and suggested tha
t they do the same. They all agreed and said they needed to get a friend. DeMoncada continued to head westward. Every so often he would glance back over his shoulder and see that the women were still hunting him—slowly, stealthily, and relentlessly.

  Quietly two wolves came out of the clearing close to deMoncada. It was Roz and Darby. He picked up his pace and began to jog. They trotted after him, heads down and tails stiffly wagging—predators after their prey.

  As they got to the end of Goat Island closest to the falls, and no other tourists could be detected, Skylar, Shannon, and Catherine shifted as well. Skylar waited until the others had discarded their clothes and put them in the backpack. Removing her own, she added them, shifted into her wolf form with the backpack in her teeth, and loped up to join her comrades.

  DeMoncada, sensing he was being driven into a trap, shifted as well and tried to make a run for it. His plan to get to the woods was cut short by Darby and Roz growling and snapping. DeMoncada spun and headed back toward the end of the island. He reached the small fence that was perhaps three feet tall and realized how very close he was to the falls. He whirled around and shifted again. He was the embodiment of the old saying, ‘clothes make the man.’ Naked and alone, he was a larger man, but not well-muscled like most alphas. His cock hanging limply between his legs was rather pathetic.

  “That’s enough. You she-wolves need to back off. I am Ramon deMoncada. I know who most of you are and those I don’t know by sight, I know by reputation. Your mates will be glad that I spared you.”

  One by one the women shifted back. DeMoncada’s body responded to the surge of adrenaline combined with arousal to see five women glorious in their nudity standing before him proud and unafraid.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The alphas had arrived at the national park and left their vehicle. Repeatedly they heard tales of wolves having been spotted in the park. They smiled grimly at one another before fanning out to try to get to their mates.

  * * *

  Shannon watched with a kind of detached fascination as deMoncada’s limp prick began to stiffen. Even fully erect, it wasn’t much to look at.

  “Funny,” she said as she started to approach him, “that thing felt a lot bigger when you had me pinned down on your lap beating my ass. But seeing it like this, I wonder what it was I was afraid of.”

  DeMoncada’s eyes blazed with fury. “How dare you speak to me that way. You are nothing but a turned human with no pack, no mate, nothing to call your own.”

  “You couldn’t be more wrong,” said Catherine in a menacing growl. “I am Catherine DeMedici, Madonna of the DeMedici pack. That is my little sister, you bastard. She has pack that is willing to kill for her both here and in Italy. In case you missed it, the women who now stand with us were once Bae Diogel and their record for dealing with wolves of no honor is well documented.”

  “He’s mine, Catherine,” warned Shannon.

  Darby fished around in the pack and pulled out her scimitar dagger. She looked at Shannon. “I’m more than happy to slit his throat. You don’t have to sully your hands with his death. I have killed before and I have no problem ending this bastard’s life. What he did to you, he did to all of us. You had to endure the physicality of what he did, but what was done has left none of us untouched.”

  “No,” said Shannon. “I need to do this. I need to see him die by my hand. I have the greatest claim on his life.”

  “You cannot do this,” cried deMoncada. “Both the laws of humans and of our kind will not treat you kindly.”

  “I would rather sleep peacefully for a very short time knowing you are dead, than to close my eyes even once more knowing you still breathe.”

  Darby walked toward her. As she passed Skylar, Skylar reached out as if to stop her.

  “No, Sky. She’s the one who endured. She’s the one who survived. He is hers to kill.”

  Darby brushed past the others and was almost to Shannon when Catherine’s hand snaked out and deftly removed the knife that Darby had flipped as she was offering the hilt to Shannon. As she did so and without a word being spoken, all of the women, save the two women once known as the Livingston sisters, shifted into their wolf form to ensure deMoncada would never escape.

  “No.” Catherine shook her head. “You almost destroyed her, but you never touched her soul. I will not allow you to do so now.” She turned to her sister. “You are my blood, my pack, and I am Madonna. I will avenge what he did to you and to all of our kind.”

  “No,” whispered deMoncada as he backed away, convinced that the powerful mate to the alpha of the DeMedici could and would end his miserable life.

  “Yes, you bastard. You will die. You will die at the hand of a woman and you will die naked, afraid, and alone. Perhaps I’ll ask Marco to annex your territory and gift it to my sister.”

  “No, Cat. I’ll never go there again. But I would see that those women who have been held there against their will are freed.”

  Catherine advanced on deMoncada. Several times he tried to dart past her, but she never relented, never lost sight of her goal. The others kept him from getting away and closed in on him with Shannon and Catherine.

  DeMoncada backed away until the fence was at the back of his thighs.

  “Please, no. Have mercy on me. I will go back to Spain and never trouble any of you again. Madonna, my lands are fertile and could be turned into a great vineyard. I would sign them over to your mate and leave. You’d never see or hear from me again.”

  “I’ll never see or hear from you again when I slit your throat, watch you bleed out, and toss you off this rock and over the falls.” Catherine spoke in a quiet but deadly tone.

  DeMoncada dropped to his knees. “Please, Madonna, I beg you.”

  “You pathetic worm,” she said as she grasped his hair and tilted his head back, exposing his jugular.

  Catherine drew her hand back in order to make the mortal strike. As she brought it down, her hand was stayed by her sister.

  “No, Cat. You’re right. He’s a piece of shit not worthy of you or of you bloodying Darby’s dagger.” Shannon lowered Catherine’s hand and then turned with focused, icy rage to the man who had tortured her for more than a year. “Get up. You aren’t worth another thought. I’ll let Marco decide what’s to be done with you and your land. From what I understand, my brother-in-law is not a forgiving man when one of his own has been harmed. We’re going to walk away and leave you naked here at the falls. After that, I will never think or speak of you again. I will encourage those who survived to do the same, and I will never rest until all of those who are still bound within the chains you set them are free.”

  Catherine released deMoncada but didn’t take her eyes off of him. She backed away with her arm around her sister and handed Darby her dagger.

  “You sure you don’t want him dead?” the beautiful blonde mistress of the New Orleans pack asked. “I really don’t mind killing him.”

  Shannon smiled as tears formed in her eyes. “No. He isn’t worth the trouble.”

  As she was standing closest to Skylar, who was one of the first dressed, Darby handed her the dagger for safekeeping. The remaining women put their clothes back on. Skylar kept the dagger at the ready and deMoncada at bay.

  Skylar nodded her head back toward the bridge off the island. “The rest of you head on back. Get the car and let me know when you’re back at the bridge. I’ll come join you and keep our friend here from trying to do something stupid.”

  The women all turned to leave.

  DeMoncada’s sense of self-preservation and safety had started to reassert itself as Skylar approached him.

  “You may not be worth any of the rest of them getting your blood on their hands or taking a chunk out of their soul to kill you in cold blood, but some day, someone is going to kill you. I figure it might as well be me.”

  Without another word, Skylar shoved deMoncada in the solar plexus with tremendous strength, and he staggered back. The small fence at the end of the i
sland hit him in just the right spot at the back of his thighs, causing him to topple over backwards.

  DeMoncada screamed as he fell the short distance to the churning waters below, was dragged under the rapids and swept over the falls. Skylar was quite certain he could not have survived but meant to keep close watch on the news to hear if a body had been found downstream from the falls where they usually surfaced. Her sense of irony had her thinking that most likely his corpse would be found at Devil’s Hole several miles from the falls.

  Skylar whirled around as she heard a twig snap, dagger at the ready. She smiled as she saw Roz standing there with a twig in her hand.

  “I figured snapping it back here out of your strike zone was the safest option,” Roz said with a smile.

  “You knew I wouldn’t let him live.”

  “I thought it highly unlikely. You’ve spent your entire life protecting women, ensuring our species survived with only the best to lead us. There was no way you were going to let him live. Not just for what he did to Shannon, but for what he did to all of us... even those he never laid a hand on.”

  Skylar nodded. “I didn’t want Catherine or Shannon to do it. They aren’t blooded warriors. The rest of you didn’t need to be touched by his evil.”

  “As I saw it, my dear friend, it wasn’t his evil that touched you. It was your righteous justice that saw him to his death over the falls. Besides,” Roz continued in a conversational tone, “so much easier to explain a dead body that somehow fell over the fence than someone with a slit throat.”

  Skylar made a macabre laughing sound. “Ever the practical Roz.”

  Roz grinned at her. “I try. Someone has to go around after the rest of you picking up the pieces. Besides it keeps them on their toes when those of us who were Bae Diogel don’t give into our volatile and rebellious natures.”