SLOAN
The video zoomed in on Myraâs midsection, and Sloan saw the steady rise and fall of her chest.
Soon she started to move, trying to sit up but rolling onto her back instead. The position looked uncomfortable. Even though it was a video file, he could sense her anxiety and panic.
âWhy isnât she shifting?â another alpha questioned when a man entered the room she was being kept in. He grabbed her upper arm, pulling her up to her bound feet, and sucker-punched her in the stomach.
Myra collapsed heavily to her knees, and her body shuddered as if she was coughing. The man turned toward the camera and saluted.
Sloanâs blood boiled as he heard the desk crumble under his fist. He hadnât realized he was gripping the defenseless desk so tightly.
The audio for the man was distorted, almost inaudible at times, but they could hear him telling Myra that her death wouldnât be by his hands. Then he laughed and pulled the hood off her head and snapped his fingers in her face.
Two other men walked into the room, carrying a laptop. They quickly set it up, and soon erotic pants and groans echoed throughout the room and filtered through the chamberâs sound system.
Sloanâs eyes widened. He knew those sounds intimately, because they were an addictive drug that he craved daily.
The manâs next words caused Sloan to see red. The abductors had been spying on their intimate moments and using them as pornographic material for their sick enjoyment.
Myra tried talking, but it earned her a slap. Then the man screamed in her face, telling her she wasnât the omega, but a whore and a lab rat.
âLab rat? What the hell are these bastards up to now?â an elder asked no one in particular.
âThatâs why she canât shift. They gave her the blocker that the coroner recently found.â Declan summarized what Sloan already suspected.
The man grumbled again that her death was for someone else, but he planned to play with her first. He then proceeded to punch her hard in the face.
The punch immediately knocked her unconscious, but it didnât stop him from beating her mercilessly.
Sloan gestured to Tristan to kill the video. Heâd seen enough.
However, no one realized the internal conflict Sloan was experiencing with his wolf as the beast fought him for control. It, like him, didnât like what was being displayed on the screen.
Their angel was at the mercy of those bastards. So too was their pup. The danger was too real and the possible result unimaginable.
Even though they knew in their heart that she was still pregnant, she needed to return to him safe and sound. His beast roared in his head at the image paused on the screen. It was Myra about to be kicked in the stomach.
âI want every available body analyzing that video. I want to know where theyâre keeping the omega, which may be their base of operations,â Elder Reagan ordered.
âFrom first glance, that room is either a cellar or basement, about late nineteenth century in design. So look for any abandoned historical buildings in the northern end of the city.â
People nodded and started carrying out the orders set out by the elder.
âDeclan, Tristan, get Sloan home. Sianâs already worried sick about Myraâs abduction. Iâve also asked some trusted ranked members to round up Myraâs family and Megan.
âThey should be at the pack house now, under lock and key,â Theo stated. âGo, son. Everyoneâs working on this. We ~will~ find her.â
***
Over the next two days, a dark cloud descended over Sloan, and it refused to lift.
He was an empty shell of his former self. Heâd been operating on autopilot, moving through the motions of everyday life like a zombie.
Heâd eat without tasting what was prepared and sleep only restlessly and briefly, as his overactive, worried mind was on high alert.
Furthermore, he hadnât spoken to anyone after the phone conversation and video event back in the eldersâ inner chamber.
Sadly, every square inch of the pack house reminded him of what had been snatched away from him. He tried escaping the tormenting memories by locking himself away in the den, but he didnât get any relief there either.
He glanced at the reading nook in the corner of the room where Myra would curl up with a book and keep him company while he worked.
He swore he could see his angel sitting with her mass of curls tumbling down her shoulders and a frown on her brow as she read, or even her unconscious nibbles on her thumb as she read a steamy part of the book.
He missed that unique vanilla scent of her arousal that would awaken his hunger for her and their tireless hours of passionate lovemaking.
He growled in frustration.
The longer she was missing, the angrier he felt. However, this anger felt different. Sloan was approaching the point of surrendering all control to his wolf. Fighting with the beast was proving to be useless and exhausting.
~âThen give me control,â~ a deep, dark voice echoed in Sloanâs mind.
It was strange. No one, besides his father, as the retired alpha, could freely link with him.
~âGive me control, and I will find our female.â~
Sloan frowned when he realized that no one was linking with him. For the first time in his life, Sloan heard his wolf speaking to him.
~âIf I canât find her, how can you?â~
The voice chuckled darkly. ~âGive me control, and watch.â~
Before Sloan could make up his mind, someone knocked on the door. Meganâs spicy scent billowed from behind it.
âSloan?â she called out, confirming it was her.
~âThat is just a taste of what I can do. Give me control and let me help.â~
Sloan closed his eyes and willingly surrendered to the darkness that was consuming him.
âSloan?â Megan called again.
He stood up, cracked his neck, and walked over to the door, opening it quickly. Megan stood there, eyes red-rimmed, makeup absent, and her hair tied into a messy bun on top of her head.
Once they knew Myra was missing, Declan had moved her family into the pack house, which was still on lockdown, and Sian oversaw their settling in.
âIâm going crazy. How hard is it to find them?â Megan croaked as her voice broke, and she started crying once again.
Sloan pulled her into his arms and simply held her sobbing body.
~âWe will find her and massacre all who stand in our way,â~ he growled, louder than expected.
Megan pushed out of his arms and stared at Sloan in shock. âWhat the fuck happened to your voice, Sloan?â
Due to the advancement in his biology, Alpha heard a chair leg scrape across the hardwood floor and two pairs of running footsteps thundering through the house.
Theyâd have company soon, so best he start explaining before they arrived.
~âItâs rare for a human host to surrender control to their animal spirit, but Sloanâs pain is too great for me to sit by idly while he self-destructs.â~ He shrugged.
Soon, both Declan and Tristan came running around the corner, and Alpha smiled. Declan wrapped his arm around Megan and pulled her behind him.
But one glance at Alphaâs imposing figure standing in the denâs doorway caused them to drop to their knees, bowing to him.
âWhatâs happening?â Megan stammered, looking down at the two warrior shifters submitting to Sloan.
âWe are in the presence of Sloanâs wolf,â Declan answered, not looking up out of respect.
~âMaybe I should clear up a common misconception, because Iâm not some ordinary wolf. Not anymore, that is. Iâm faster, more evolved, and stronger than any mere wolf,â~ he explained.
~âIâm the first lycan in centuries to be fully synthesized into existence.â~