Her Mortal Mate

Chapter Seventeen: The Warehouse

Jadea

“He’s alive, Jadea. We got to him in time,” Garret announced in my mind. “They diluted demon’s blood and were using an IV drip to slowly poison him. I’ve given him the antidote. He’s been beaten up pretty badly. From my initial assessment, there aren’t any broken bones or severe lacerations. We’ve transferred him to the vehicle and we are safely on the road. He’s passed out and I doubt he will wake up for hours.”

“Thank you Garret!” I couldn’t explain the relief that washed over me at this news. With him safe, I could now focus entirely on taking out the enemy.

“There weren’t any guards, even when Allen first got there. At least none that we were aware of. Which seems kind of odd. I don’t think they were ever intending to keep him alive. Where he had been placed, he wouldn’t have been found for a long time.”

I was glad I’d asked Nikolai for help. Otherwise we might not have found Adam in time. We would have walked into whatever trap was set and wouldn’t have been given an opportunity to save him.

Thinking of Allen, I had to wonder how he had avoided the trap and hadn’t tipped the enemy off to his presence.

“I don’t ever ask,” Nikolai said, answering my question. I forgot I had opened my mind up to him and Lance—the two alphas—as we assessed the building we presumed was where the traps were set.

Allen, as he had tracked down Adam, had let Nikolai know where he presumed the enemy was waiting. It was a warehouse away from most civilization. At least in the sense it wasn’t in a residential area. It was surrounded more by large factories. It wasn’t far away from the shipyard where Adam was found.

“They could have a boat waiting,” Lance stated. “For a get away.”

It made sense. If they captured me and my pack, taking us out on the water would make it harder for us to escape. It would keep us confined in a small space. It also worked with Adam being in one of the containers. It was a place they could leave him for a time and come back and deal with the body later, giving them time to focus on my pack and I.

“Get him safely to Lance’s.” I told Garret.

“I’m headed back your way, Jadea,” Garret rebuffed. “Caden and the others have him and that’s where they are headed. He’s safe, Jadea. They are all safe.”

Yes. He was safe. Aidan and Anika were safely headed to my father’s residence where his pack would ensure their safety. I could finally breathe again. But in the aftermath of the relief came a surging rage I hadn’t experienced before.

It was time to teach some werewolves a lesson.

It was probably a good thing Garret was on his way back. There were more wolves than we had expected. Even with all our packs combined, I was certain we would be evenly matched. I was glad Briar and Derrick had made it down in time too.

All of their minds responded to my thoughts. Our minds were melded together so we could easily work as a team. It was one of the ways we had perfected the hunt and had become so good at what we did.

We were under the cover of darkness, which would help keep us hidden from any scouts eyes from the warehouse. Blade had taken it upon himself to shift and sneak onto the premises to try and get a better head count and idea of what awaited inside. He’d just settled himself next to one of the small windows near the top of the building they were in. By the time he’d assessed the situation and reported back, Garret would be here.

“There’s a film over the window. I can’t see inside. But the window is loose. I can sneak in.”

I didn’t like the idea of him going in alone when we weren’t close enough to help him if trouble were to arise.

“Is there a way to open the window just far enough to peek inside?” Lance asked.

We all waited with baited breath as Blade pushed the window open just a sliver. “There’s no one nearby. And there’s rafters I can lay on just under the window.”

“Ok. Go ahead and try to sneak inside. I want you to stay near the window just in case they spot you. And if you believe you have been made, get out of there!” I really wanted to know what we were heading into, that way we wouldn’t be entirely surprised, but not at the expense of one of my own.

“Jay…”

I refocused on Blade, my hackles raising just by his tone alone. I forced myself to see what he was seeing, to look through his own eyes and I saw a literal maze our enemy had set up. The pathways were just wide enough for one wolf to fit with several dead ends where there wasn’t room to turn. The enemy could separate and corner us and kill us, or incapacitate us. There were hidden passages where the enemy could pop in and out of the maze at will. Places that weren’t accessible from the main entrance of the maze.

But there were no wolves in sight. Where were they? Were they hiding just out of sight under the ledge that overlooked the warehouse? The balcony and walkway were to Blades left. It wasn’t entirely visible and there could be wolves hiding there too.

“I can be your eyes in the sky,” Blade offered.

“Can you see a way around the maze? Because if we dive straight in, we are all going to be caught.”

“I don’t see any way around. But I can lead you to the exact openings that the enemy would come and go from.”

“That would work,” Nikolai said thoughtfully. “Break into three separate groups and follow each other to the escape windows.”

Yes, that’s what I had been thinking of suggesting too. It made the most sense. “We’ll need a distraction so we aren’t slaughtered in the process.”

“I’ve got you covered,” Nikolai stated. “I’ll take a group of five up to the window. And we can attack them from behind once they show their faces.”

“We will wait for Garret to arrive. He has the antidotes in his pack if they use any poisons.”

“Good idea!” Lance announced.

We figured out who would go with Nikolai and they followed Blade’s scent. Once they were all in place, Garret’s wolf joined me to my right. We nodded at each other and then I reached out to the others. It was time to avenge my mate. I could feel the anger settling into my bones, the adrenaline starting to seep into my veins. They weren’t going to make this easy, but I wasn’t about to let them get away with their acts of violence and misconduct.

“Is everyone ready?” I asked, my tone dark and deadly.

“Hell yeah! Let’s go kick some werewolf butt!” Lance growled excitedly.