“Where is Jess, mom?” She reaches out and places her small hand on my arm, tears fill her eyes, and my heart begins to pound inside me. Fear starts to choke me from the inside, I start to shake my head then a sob breaks free from my mom. I stumble back a step, Cairo dashes in front of me and grips my mom by her shoulders.
“Meg, where is my sister?”
“She was taken.” I snap my gaze to Davina. “Caleb brought Harlem to me, so I called for Meg and went back to your house. Your mate wasn’t there, I have sent out an alert to check for any boats missing.”
“I was just with her, she said she was taking him for a nap.” I can hear the devastation in my mom’s voice but none of their words are registering. I don’t hear or even notice as two men enter the gate and move toward Davina, one whispers something in her ear and then her gaze snaps to mine.
“One of the boats is missing and someone has taken the keys to the others. One of the men at the dock saw your mate being carried aboard a boat.” My knees give out, I drop to the ground with my son clutched to my chest, my heart aches. Corbin is going nuts inside me; I throw my head back and release the most gut-wrenching howl.
Chapter
Twenty Four
Jessica
I open my eyes, but everything is fuzzy, I try to push myself up when I feel a sting in my neck, and everything goes dark again.
Chapter
Twenty Five
Credence
2 days!
2 fucking days since Jess was taken!
I am holding onto my sanity by a thread, Corbin has broken free so many times and hunted the whole fucking island. He even tried to swim! We tried to hot wire the boats and that’s when we realized that the fuckers had not only taken the keys but cut the fuel lines to ensure we don’t follow. Cairo and Zeke swam out to the cargo ship to see if we could use that instead, it’ll be slower, but at least it’s a start instead of sitting around doing fuck all. The bastards had broken the propellers and cut the wiring for the engines; we’re stuck on this fucking island! I haven’t been able to focus on anything aside from getting Jess back, when I find out who fucking took her, I will kill them. The tension between the vamps and shifters has risen, vamps deny it was them and the shifters swear they never did it either but someone did, and I’ll find out eventually who it was. It’s so fucking hard to track her over the scent of rotting flesh, fucking vamp stench. I tug on the strands of my hair and growl. I won’t fucking lose her, not again.
Davina has tried to say Jess left willingly, I leapt across the table and nearly tore her fucking throat out for that comment. I would have if it wasn’t for my mom stepping in front of her, Jess wouldn’t leave me. I know shit has been hard between us, but I just know with every fiber of my being that Jess wouldn’t walk away from me this time, and there is no way she would leave our son. Harlem has been searching for her and it breaks my heart when he screams for his mother. We have done everything we can to distract him, he has never been without her before. I hate that I have to rely on the twins, Cairo, Sky and even Zeke to know what my son wants. They know how to comfort him, they know what he likes and doesn’t like, I fucking hate that I’m in the dark with this shit!
“Vince thinks he is able to get the boats up and running by the morning. If he succeeds then, we leave for the mainland.” I shake my head to snap me out of my thoughts and focus on the discussion happening around me. Cairo, Vince, Davina, Dad, Callie, Zeke, Cole, Sky, Mom, Shelley, Dela and some other vamps I don’t know decided it was better to hold this meeting in the hall. I look over at my mom and watch the way she gently rocks and taps my sons bum to soothe him. Since Jess has been gone, he won’t sleep unless he’s in the arms of someone. I haven’t slept a wink.
“And go where Ro? We have no idea where the hell they would have taken her!” I know Cole is only lashing out because he is angry that Jess is missing. I have taken my anger out on everyone and anything I can hit.
“We go to Rosewood.” All eyes turn to me, my voice is hoarse from lack of use. I haven’t spoken much these past 2 days, every time I try to talk, I just snap, so it’s better not to talk at all.
“Why the hell would we go there?” I turn toward my brother and meet his gaze as I answer.
“Because that’s where Jacob will kill her.” Everyone begins to yell and scream over the top of each other. Harlem startles and begins to scream for his mother, hearing him cry for his mother is what makes me snap. I slam my fist down on top of the wooden table and hear it splinter. Everyone goes dead silent, Cairo has a death glare directed at me and I relish in the challenge in his eyes.
“The fuck do you mean kill her?” He sounds more wolf than man, and right now Corbin will take any excuse he can get to release his pent-up anger. If Cairo so much as hints at a challenge Corbin won’t hesitate to shift and take him down. You see with a wolf we are all about pack, fucking and fighting. Those three things are the most important things to any wolf.
“He will take her to the summit where she killed Josh, if my count is correct, we have 7 days till the six-year anniversary of his son’s death. He will do it then; they will know we are coming so we don’t have the element of surprise. They also know we have the backup of the vampires and will expect them to come with us.”
“But they need Jess––“I shake my head and cut my sister off, I dart my gaze to my sniffling son and my anger subsides when his eyes meet mine.
“Not anymore, whoever took her knows she has a son. The council will come for Harlem but not Jacob, all he wants now is revenge for his son’s death.”
“What are you saying Creed?” I pry my eyes from Harlem and turn to my father.
“The council has someone watching us, as soon as we leave, they will come for my son and Davina. They only allowed Jacob to take Jess to distract us.” I see the moment my words register; dad looks to Davina, then my mom and I growl. “You are more fucking worried about yourdeadwife than you are about your own fucking mate?” Dad doesn’t even flinch at my outburst.
“Don’t you dare judge me; I did what I had to––.”
“Fuck off Dad, you hid the fact that your cheating wife was alive and to top it off you lied to my fucking mate.” That last part has his brow furrowing in confusion.
“I’ve never lied to Jess––“