The Lost Mate

Max

It had been nearly impossible to control my wolf since I spoke to Lillian and found out we had a child. Learning how bad their situation was only made it more difficult.

It also was made more difficult because I was out of practice keeping my instincts in check. I was used to my wolf’s depressed moping dragging my moods down, not this active aggression. He was ready to kill, and since deep down I wanted to let him, it made him even harder to control. But I held him back by a thin tether.

My quest to find my mate and the son—although I still had trouble even wrapping my mind around the new reality of his existence—had transformed into a full on rescue operation, with so many moving parts that could go awry it put me into a cold sweat whenever I thought about the potential ways it could backfire.

I’d contacted Nathaniel again and given him the information I had on illegal vampire activity after being promised that they would do nothing to jeopardize my mate and son, and father-in-law as an afterthought. The queen had given her word via proxy, happy to agree, because apparently the unlawful vampires were a real headache for those who were trying to impose order, keep the humans oblivious, and the hunters off their backs all at the same time.

I had my part to play in the rescue, as well. Thanks he says since I had seen Lillian had felt as long as our years apart, but it was finally time to make our move. It was nearly dawn, and everyone was in position.

Seneca’s impressive ability at cloaking meant that he could sneak not only me, but also Nathaniel, another vampire, and Nash into the castle. I didn’t know why Nash had volunteered to come, but my instincts told me that more fighters would be better, and whatever Nash had or hadn’t done, it would be good to have a pack member at my back. Humphrey also decided to assist and was able to cloak herself.

Will, on the other hand, had spent the days while we prepared perfecting his newest transformation. My friend stood there, shamelessly naked and facing away from us, and taking slow deep breaths. He was nervous and I could tell he was trying to force himself to begin the transition.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said to him. We could probably manage without, and he had more than enough magic to cloak himself like Humphrey if he wanted.

He shook his head. “I’ll be fine. This way is better.”

“Unless you die,” Humphrey said pointedly, her hands on her hips, lips pursed, vibrant hair askew. “It’s too risky.”

“I’m not going to die,” Will said stubbornly. “I’m going to shift into an eagle, and I am going to fly.”

“Maybe you should reconsider,” Seneca said. He was watching with his usual nervous energy.

Will growled. “No. I’m going to do this. I was going to do it either way, and I owe Max.”

“You don’t owe me.”

“I do. My sister would have died without you. I’ll protect your kid. I learned magic to protect the pack, and Jonas is pack, even without the actual connection. I’m going to do it.”

Then with a groan, his body started to reshape itself. From a young age, parents taught their pups not to gawk while shifting was happening, but I couldn’t help but look at my friend as his skin slowly sprouted feathers and his torso and legs shrank while his arms grew in proportion. It seemed unnatural and surreal, and I wondered if that reaction was what non-shifters felt when they saw werewolves shift.

Then after worryingly long moments, Will was a golden eagle, sharp eyes and tawny feathers. He turned to look us and shot us a gaze that said ‘I told you so’, and then he stretched his wings and began to flap them. His flight up to above the trees was nerve wracking for the observer, full of jerking motions and slight drops, but then once he got high enough he caught an updraft and soared experimentally.

“His head is going to be so swelled after this,” Humphrey commented. She couldn’t have known him that long, but apparently she already had figured my friend out. She flew up after him, cloaking herself as she went, leaving the four of us behind on the ground.

We wasted no more time, pushing forward, the same way we had gone when it had been just Seneca and me sneaking in. Even though he now knew what to watch for, we were all aware that if we alerted the vampires to what was happening with one mistake, the whole plan would be in shambles, so our progress remained painstakingly slow.

While we walked, Nathaniel periodically broke the silence with low terse words hissed into the com device on his ear. Nash strode forward, his movements less jerky than they usually were. I couldn’t help but wonder how he was more comfortable possibly going to his death in a battle with vampires than spending time socializing in a pack. In spite of everything, he was still connected to me by the pack bond, and I didn’t have attention to spare to figure out what he was thinking. Every moment my attention wasn’t directly on the mission, I was thinking about my mate and our child.

Once we were in the wards, I tried calling out to Lillian through our link, but I received no response. She could be sleeping, but I feared it was something worse.

For the first time in my life, I felt torn in two directions. I wanted to go to her as much as I wanted to go to him. And I’d had to make the painful choice.

Once inside the wards, we snuck into the opulent structure without being detected by the few human slaves who were going about their labours. Nathaniel and the other vampire split off from us to locate the ringleader. I barely noticed their actions as my nose picked up the faint scent of my mate and instantly brought my wolf to the fore as he tried to pull me towards her.

I gritted my teeth and stuck to the plan. We moved onwards, and then we reached a hallway with a guard at the end of it. I didn’t care that he was unaware, because there was only one thing on my mind. Using every ounce of strength my wolf possessed, I slammed a stake into his heart, and Nash broke his neck for good measure. Seneca winced but didn’t complain.

The door was quickly unlocked, and I moved in quickly. The large open living space was deserted, but there were scent traces of many young creatures in the area which confirmed that we were in the right place, if the scribbled art on the walls and toys and books weren’t enough evidence.

We surged forward down a hall, and I almost attacked Will as he stepped out of a room with a blanket wrapped around his torso.

“Seriously, man, I could have killed you,” I said, heart pounding.

He raised an eyebrow as if in denial of my ability to do so, but my mind was already on what was next. “Where’s Jonas?”

“He’s back here with all the kids. There’re more than we expected.”

I followed him back into one of the bedrooms, and glanced around. Almost two dozen children were huddled around in the corners or sitting on the beds, and looking at the boys, it took me only a moment to figure out which one belonged to me. He looked like me, but with traces of his beautiful mother, and my heart halted at the reality before me. This living, breathing child was the product of my bond with Lillian.

He was sitting in front of an unconscious adult female, who I realized with horror was a vampire. He and some of the other children scowled as he looked between me and Will.

“Why do you have a vampire in here?” I snapped to my friend. The plan had been to take out all the vampires in our path. A few of the kids whimpered, and I regretted my abrupt tone.

Will gave me a critical scowl. “She was trying to save them. I couldn’t just kill her. And Jonas is...protective. Did you want me to traumatize your kid?” Will took a step forward and knelt down in front of my son. I was irrationally jealous. “Hey, Jonas, do you know who this man is?”

Jonas narrowed his eyes and growled at Will. In spite of the severity of what we were doing, I smiled with pride at the tiny wolf’s bravery.

I motioned for Will to get out of the way, and moved forward and got down in front of him so I was at his level, meeting his wary eyes. I just wanted to drag him to myself to confirm that he was real, but he was too mistrustful.

“Jonas? I’m your daddy, and I’m sorry I haven’t met you before. I’ve been looking for your mommy for a long time, and you too, even though I didn’t know it. But I’m here now, and it’s my job to protect you both. And, if this vampire is someone good and special to you, I’d never hurt her.”

He stared at me, light brown eyes boring into my own steadily, and my pride surged even higher. My mate had done an amazing job with him on her own. He stepped forward, and I held out my arms, seeing if he would come to me.

And then he did, throwing himself at me and wrapping his little arms around my neck. His scent was unfamiliar underneath the traces of Lillian’s, but my wolf was instantly attached. I would die for this child if it came to it.

But I wasn’t going to let it come to that. I was going to get him out of here, and then his mother. And then I’d spend the rest of my life showing her how grateful I was for everything she had ever done. I’d make up for the torment they had both gone through. “Jonas, I’m going to get you out of here, and then we’re going to meet up with your mommy, and we’re going to live somewhere far away from here together, okay?”

His soft breath tickled my ear. “My friends?”

“Daddy’s got a lot of friends here, too, and they’re going to help your friends get out of this place, too. Now, you ready to go?”

He nodded against me, clinging to me like a life preserver. Or maybe it was me who couldn’t let go of him.

I walked towards the door, and my blood ran cold to find Humphrey talking in low tones with Seneca, with no sign of my mate anywhere nearby. My heart lurched. This was not the plan. Humphrey was supposed to find Lillian and wait for the signal.

I tried mind linking her again, and there was no response.

I didn’t want to upset Jonas, so I took a deep steadying breath and kept my voice steady. “Where is she?”

Humphrey’s eyes were wide and worried. “I couldn’t find her. She wasn’t in her rooms, or any of the places you said she would probably be.”

Fear stabbed me. I tried calling out to her throughout our connection again, but she still didn’t respond. I turned to Will. “If you carry Jonas, can you hide him along with yourself and get him to Glenshadow?”

Will nodded. “I can.”

I met the understanding eyes of my best friend. “I’m trusting you with my child. Lillian’s child.”

Then I pried Jonas off of me far enough I could meet his eyes. “Jonas, I need to you to be very quiet and go with Will. He’s my best friend, and he’s going to get you somewhere safe, so I can find Mommy and bring her to you. Understand?”

He nodded, tears welling up and running down his cheeks.

I inhaled his scent one more time, carving it into my soul, and I forced myself to hand him over to Will.

“If we don’t... Take care of him.”

Will nodded, and he carried the part of me I barely knew away from me.

Then I looked at Seneca. “Get as many of the children out of here as possible.” Humphrey was next. “And can you protect the kids who are left and their vampire until they get out?”

They both agreed, as I had known they would. The human and fae were both good people.

“Nash?”

He nodded, understanding me without the need for words, and two of us ventured out into the castle without any cover of magic.