Hearts of Warriors Ch. 16

"That's beside the point, Kallum. Something is wrong. Don't ask me what it is because I couldn't tell you. I just know that something is wrong in connection with Liliana and not one person here knows where the fuck she is! Forgive me for being a bit pissed about that but the last time I looked, weren't we all supposed to be protecting her and making sure nothing happened to her?"

Kallum frowned and looked at Liam. Mac's concern was starting to ratchet up his own. "I'm sorry to ask but could you check...?" He left the rest unsaid, knowing what it would cost his friend and wishing he didn't have to ask.

Liam gazed at him intently for a moment and then nodded. He slowly released his tight control on his mental shields and reached out for Lily. Because of his enhanced empathy he was able to track his friend despite her muting her bonds right down. He sighed with relief when he found her.

He smiled. "She's just taking a walk. Her mental tone is good."

Mac was alert, watching him with a fixed stare. "Can you tell which direction she headed in?" His feet were already heading out of the living room.

"Due East, I think, though she's a bit of a distance aw..." Liam suddenly stiffened and groaned deeply, anguish crossing his face. "Lily!"

Mac's heart thundered in his chest as he spun round. The expression on Liam's face gave him the chills. A second later he felt a wave of pain roll through his mate bond. "Lily!"

Everyone stiffened in the room though it was Mac, Liam and Kal whose faces suddenly beaded with sweat as they felt Lily's pain down their bonds. A moment later that pain was gone, cut off ruthlessly.

"What the fuck..?" Karn ground out already moving out of the room, pushing passed a semi-stunned Mac. "Due East!" he roared at the top of his lungs, Praetorians and wolves appearing from nowhere as he ran outside.

Mac streaked passed him, Liam and Kallum hot on his heals as they vanished into the trees in the direction Lily had taken. Mac knew he was no match for the speed of the Vârcolac but Lily was out there and in danger. Nothing would prevent him from getting to her.

He ran as if all the shades from hell were behind him, memories of the past in his head spurring him on. No way in hell would he lose what he loved again. No one was ever going to take Lily from him. He would never survive it.

"Lily!" he yelled as he ran, able to make out Kal and Liam ahead of him. It crossed his mind that he shouldn't be able to see them. Their speed far exceeded his and yet he was only a few steps behind. His terror at losing Lily was making him run faster through the trees than he'd ever run in his life.

The trio dodged in and out of the trees, avoiding branches by a whisker as they raced towards the last known place Lily had been.

'Please be all right, Lily," Mac whispered to his mate. "I'll do anything, be anything you want as long as you keep yourself safe!" The memories of his past were nothing compared to the fear in his heart. The thought of losing Lily...he just couldn't go there. She had to be safe! Anything else was just unthinkable.

Mac burst into the clearing a few steps behind the Vârcolac and stopped just short of barrelling into Liam's broad back. Both males were staring down at the forest floor and he had to walk around them to see what they were looking at. His heart banged hard in his chest as he looked down expecting to see the worst.

His puzzled eyes turned to the other men. "I don't understand."

"Lily was sick," Kal answered pointing at the evidence. "She hasn't been sick since she was a child."

Mac's heart plummeted again and fear seeped through his bones. Lily was ill? He hadn't thought the Vârcolac could get sick. Immediately he thought of the poison threat and his fear increased. Was she out there somewhere, alone and hurt? His black gaze scanned the area frantically looking for some sign of his mate.

"I can't feel her any more, Kal." Liam's frightened words cut through Mac's panic and he turned his head to look at them again.

"She is not dead!" He yelled his denial at them, refusing to even countenance the possibility.

Kallum shook his head slowly, letting his eyes travel up the mountain range. "No, she isn't," he agreed. "It feels like it did when she vanished to join the Praetorians. She's alive, I know she is, but she's sick and hurting somewhere."

Liam shifted to wolf form and streaked quickly around the area before returning and changing back. "There's no sign of any scents other than Lily's. Whatever is wrong with her isn't due to a third party hurting her. Though what would make her sick I have no idea."

"Mom, Dad, Lily's sick and has taken off," Kallum sent to his parents. "She vomited in the forest and hasn't returned to the Compound. We don't scent anyone in the area apart from Lily."

"Rafe's just been to the house furious. She's masked all her bonds again. Whatever's wrong with Lily has upset her to the point of not thinking clearly. I've tried contacting her as has your mother but we're not getting through," Andrei responded, concern clearly in his tone as well as a touch of irritation that his daughter was being so foolhardy again.

Kallum spoke the words out loud for the benefit of Mac who couldn't hear the telepathic communication.

"Why would she vomit?" he asked. "We usually follow our vampire heritage in that respect with the exception of that one time Lily ate something when she was younger. It doesn't make sense."

"It would in one circumstance," Loretta said, entering the conversation. "Remember when I fell pregnant with her, Andrei? It happened so quickly and neither of us knew it was possible. Lily could be pregnant."

The colour drained out of Mac's face as Kallum relayed Loretta's words. It couldn't be possible! He hadn't touched Lily apart from their mating night and that had only been a couple of days ago. She couldn't be pregnant. She just couldn't!

"Kallum, I want you to relay this word for word to Mac for me. Don't ask any questions."Andrei's tone held a core of steel to it.

"Mac, I don't give a fuck about the past or how you feel. You will go out there and find my baby and bring her home safely. Come back with anything less and I swear I will rip you from limb to limb."

For once Loretta didn't interject to soothe her mate. She didn't know what was going on but something told her that Mackenzie was the reason her daughter was running scared. She wanted Lily home safely and if Andrei threatening Mac was the only way to achieve that then she wasn't going to get in the way of it.

Mac was standing stunned, lost in the memory of the day Sophia was born. It had been a long hard birth and Maria had been exhausted at the end of it but so proud of their beautiful daughter. It'd been the happiest day of his life and the joy he'd felt that day sprang up inside him.

Lily was pregnant!?

He could hear Kallum repeating Andrei's threat but wasn't listening to it. Instead he couldn't stop reliving Sophia's birth and how he'd felt that day. Tears sprang to his eyes as he realised that he'd had a memory of his baby girl that didn't involve her death. It was the first such memory in such a long time.

He looked at Liam; saw the big man watching him intently. "You can dare to dream," the Vârcolac said quietly.

Mac shook his head, afraid to believe and yet knowing he had to make a decision. Lily had run from him because she was pregnant. He had told her in no uncertain terms that he never wanted another child. Now she was out there alone, pregnant and afraid to come home and tell him because of what his reaction would be.

Did she think he'd reject her, turn her away because of the baby? He hung his head as a tear slipped free and coursed down his cheek. What else was there for her to think? He'd been so intent on making sure his mate knew what his limits were that he hadn't stopped to consider the full impact of how badly that would hurt her.

Yes, he'd known that she'd be hurt but in his arrogance he'd believed she would adapt willingly because he was her mate. And she would have if they hadn't already had created a child together.

Another thought came to him and he stifled down a groan. Did Lily think he'd forced her to choose between him and the baby? Did she believe he would do that to her to protect himself?

Mac cursed himself, hating the fucked up mess he'd made that had put his mate and their child in danger. There was only one person who could fix this and that was him.

"Liam, Kallum, return to the compound. I'll go on alone from here."

He expected Kallum to argue but he merely watched him speculatively for a moment before nodding his agreement. "Take care of them, Mackenzie."

Mac was grateful he didn't argue with him. He was holding onto his emotions by a hairsbreadth and didn't have time to argue with anyone. Lily needed him. He'd let her down so badly that he didn't deserve forgiveness but she was his life and he would have to do his damnedest to earn it.

"Tell the others to get back to the compound and to stay close. Just in case this is something untoward rather than me fucking up," he ordered.

Mac turned and searched the area, surprised when he found Lily's scent. Surely she must have shadowed to escape being seen by everyone. He shouldn't be able to pick up her scent. Deciding not to question this new skill, he took off into the trees, following his heart and praying that when he found her she would listen to what he had to say.

"I'm sorry, Lily. Please forgive me."

*****

Reasa chose to follow the blond, male wolf she'd discovered protecting the vampires' house. It was a calculated risk but one she was willing to take. The wolf had still been protecting the house when she'd returned though the vampires she'd detected in the area had long gone.

There was no way in hell she could go up against an Ancient so she chose the weaker of the two. She had no idea if the wolf belonged to the pack that protected the abominations but he was obviously 'in' with them if he was on guard duty.

It turned out her instincts had served her well. The wolf was too relaxed and not as vigilant as he should have been so she was able to track him back to his lair without being detected. Obviously, his pack was not the one that contained the hybrids but they were clearly linked to them in some way.

He paused beside some trees and shifted from wolf to human form, exposing a well-honed body. He reached behind a tree and pulled out a bundle of clothes, which he quickly donned before moving further into the forest.

Another golden wolf appeared and quickly shifted into human form.

"Brody, Jared expected you back hours ago."

The male stopped and pulled off his T-shirt He tossed it to the young woman standing naked before him.

"Something didn't feel right," he answered as he watched the woman slip the oversized T over her naked form. "I thought I scented something close to Demetri's house but couldn't find what it was. Thought there was no harm in hanging around a bit longer just in case."

The woman scanned the area quickly and looked back at him. "Jared's antsy. He called some of us in for a quick meeting. He's talking about sending a few of us up to Armand-Hanlon pack as an added precaution."

"And why would he call you into a meeting, Willow? You're hardly a Beta, little sister." Brody wrapped an arm around her shoulder to take the sting out of his words. His sister was a bit on the flaky side at the best of times and could become wounded at the simplest of things.

She shrugged and gave him a quick squeeze. "He wanted someone to let you know what was happening and didn't want any of the Betas being side-tracked, I guess. I'm good enough for carrying messages." There was a hint of pique in her tone.

"You're good for lots of things, honey, and don't you forget that." Brody couldn't help feeling the need to reassure her. He adored his little sister and didn't like to see her bouts of insecurity when they rose.

Willow shrugged again and gave him a quick smile before she turned serious. She lowered her voice and glanced round one more before speaking. "Jared wants you to head up to the Praetorian Compound and supplement the wolves up there. It's just up past Freya and Dayton's place. Lacey's there with some of the younger pack members but Rafe asked if Jared could send someone with a bit more experience."

Brody nodded running a hand through his unruly locks. He'd been looking forward to some sleep but if his Alpha needed him then who was he to argue. "Okay, I'll head up there now. Hope they have clothes for me."

He stripped off his jeans and handed them to his sister. The air shimmered momentarily and the man vanished to become the large golden wolf Reasa had seen before.

"I'll stash your clothes in the usual place," Willow said ruffling the fur at the back of the wolf's neck before turning and heading back into the trees and out of sight.

The wolf watched her go, then turned, and ran off in the opposite direction.

From her perch high in the trees, Reasa waited for the count of ten and then took off after the wolf. They really were such stupid animals, never deigning to look up. Her heart began to beat fast as her quarry took her closer and closer to the place where she would find her targets.

She glided effortlessly through the trees always ensuring she was far enough behind that the wolf wouldn't detect her presence. A short time later thick leaves shrouded her as she watched the area around a secluded house high in the mountaintops.

The air was rife with the scent of vampires and wolves. Reasa had to remain totally still so as not to give away her hiding spot as she watched the heightened activity around the house. All it took was for one person to look up and she was dead before she'd be able to even try and flee. She had no doubt about that.

Something caught her attention and her eyes tracked to the left. She had to fight the need to hiss as a huge male appeared in her line of sight. Instantly she knew he was what she had been seeking. His scent was like nothing she'd ever experienced, a mixture of both wolf and vampire.

The tall redheaded male turned his gaze into the trees, his head cocking to the side as he perused the area. He appeared to be looking for something or someone, scenting the air like a wolf.

For a moment she was afraid to breathe, certain if she did the abomination would somehow hear her. But then the male scanned the other direction before heading back inside the house.

Reasa breathed out slowly and tried to relax her knotted muscles. She was gripping the branches in front of her so hard it was a wonder they hadn't snapped from the force, alerting everyone to her position.

She had just seen one of her targets. Now she had to work out how to get close to him. Checking to ensure she had her weapon with the poisoned bullets safely at her side, Reasa positioned herself as comfortably as she could in the trees.

She would have to out wait her prey. If she stayed there long enough maybe he would come to her and when he did...well if she was only able to take out one of the abominations before she died at least she'd make sure it was a big one. The redheaded male was hers and the one she would die for to ensure she terminated.

*****

Liam rested his back against the door, an itch in the back of his head that he couldn't quite place. He was worried for Lily and searched for her with his mind but she was keeping him out and there was no way to detect her when she didn't want to be found.

But as he'd searched outside just now, he'd thought he'd detected something else...someone else, but it was so faint that when he reached with his mind to quantify the other mental touch, he was unable to find it. It had been there one second and gone the next.

Maybe he'd imagined it? He considered mentioning it to Karn but decided against it. Everyone's emotions were heightened at the moment. They were all starting to react unpredictably and his feeling was most likely a reaction to that heightened emotion.

So why did his scalp itch? What was it that made him want to head out into the woods to try and track down something that probably wasn't even there? He was tempted to do just that but Mac had ordered them to stay close to the compound.

For now he'd hold his peace, wait, and see if the feeling went away or became worse. If it didn't subside then he'd mention it to Karn and Kal and get their thoughts on it.

To be continued...