WARNING: LANGUAGE

Chapter 43

Lily was trying to fall asleep when the memory hit her. Alpha Michael always called him "the shadow." What was his real name? I know this…

Then it hit her like a bolt of lightning: Valdis Cessair. He was the one who always took only certain individuals for experimentation. She kept searching her mind; she saw it in one of the ledgers. It was so frustrating to have it on the tip of her tongue.

She decided to take a long, warm shower; sometimes it helped to relax her body and mind. She let the water fall on her as she took deep, cleansing breaths. She was just staring at the water when it hit her.

"Octo Corp.," that is where he sold them. She got out of the shower and went to get dressed in a hurry. She had to get the message to the King so he could tell Alpha Duncan and Luna Adira so they could finish cleaning up this mess.

She wasn’t sure why it was so important that she relay this information; she just felt it was important and urgent. She ran faster to the King’s chambers, hoping that he was there and that he would receive her at this late hour.

Marnie and Adira were both awake, the drugs finally wearing off. They were in the back of a grey van, and they were still tied up. Instead, though, their hands were in front of them, and their feet were tied together, so neither Adira nor Marnie could run off.

There were two males in the back with them; there was a driver as well, but they couldn't see him. Adira had a very ominous feeling as to where they were going and what they planned to do with them. If she had to guess, it had to do with money.

She remembered hearing rumors about some of their pack members being sold for science. She just assumed that it was like organ donor stuff for when you die. Still, not too many of her pack just dropped dead.

She did have other things on her mind, though, like working on escaping. She hoped that they were not selling them for science.

She tried to move, and so did Marnie. The two guards moved closer to them. “You two are going to have to stay quiet, or we will drug you again. It would be fine for this one," as he touched Marnie’s face. "However, I don’t think you will want too many more doses in your condition.”

Adira did the only thing she could: glared at him. After they went back to their side of the van, Adira tried to contact Artemis again. She could hear a little this time, but it was as if she was far, far away. Taking a deep breath, she tried to mind-link Marnie.

"Success! Are you alright, Marnie?" "Yeah, a few bruises and an ass-kicking to my pride, but I will be fine. Can’t say the same for these jokers, though, once Duncan catches up to them.” “Are you okay, Adira? Is the pup alright?” “We are doing alright. I don’t want any more drugs, though. I don’t know what they will do to him.” “We need to figure out where we are, so when the drugs finally leave our system, we can tell Duncan where to find us. I just don’t think we are going to see much till this van stops. So, when it does and they take us out, look for anything at all that can tell us our location.” “Also, a while ago, when we were still at the castle, Duncan insisted that I carry pepper spray that works on weres. They didn’t search us all that well because I can feel it still strapped to my leg.” “I think I can feel my knife on the inside of my boot as well, Adira, so we are not completely out of resources. That is unless they try to make us strip off our clothes or do a more extensive search.” “Marnie, can you mind-link Duncan at all?” “No, it is like my wolf, or anyone in the pack, are very far away. I think it has to do with the drugs they gave us. Also, it could be a combination of distance and the drug as well.” “If distance becomes a problem for me, it won’t for you because your link with Duncan is much stronger than mine, Adira. Once the meds wear off, you should try again.” “Either way, Adira, I am not going to dance to their tune. I would rather die.” “You will if you have to, Marnie. Trust me, when it comes down to survival, you will dance. Just remember that it isn’t you that they are attacking. Keep yourself with your wolf. They can’t touch you that way." “We will get through this; they won’t touch my pup. If that happens, Artemis might go crazy on their asses, and I will let her have full control. We can’t shift into Artemis’s full form, but we can switch to the Lycan form without hurting our pup.” “For now, Marnie, we wait and we watch. Take note of everything and anything. Never let them see that you know or are planning. It is always best when the enemy thinks you’re stupid.”

With that, they both went quiet and waited.

Duncan and Apollo were keeping themselves in check; it wasn’t an easy thing. Finally, Marco mind-linked him that they had all the guards that were assigned to the Luna, all but two. They each had a cell in the dungeon waiting on the Alpha’s pleasure. Duncan decided to let Jack and his friend Archer talk to them first; they can weed out the good, and then he will deal with the bad. If he went down there right now, he would kill them all just for failing to keep the Luna safe.

Marco came back up to be with Duncan; he was just as agitated as Duncan, only he was keeping his cool for now.

“Don’t worry, Duncan, we will find them. They will be alright. Soon we will have them within our borders again. Unfortunately, we probably won’t ever allow them to leave again, but that is a fight for another day. We will find them and bring them home.”

There was a knock at the door, and in walked Archer. He looked at them for a minute. He was a strange kinda guy, very quiet, but Duncan had a feeling that if he was provoked, he would be a force to be reckoned with.

“Alpha Duncan, my two brothers are following a van at the moment. They are unsure if it is your Luna and sister, but they do know that two females are in the van. They are going to see if they can’t get a closer look to see if it is them." "They will link with me when they know more. I told them if it is the Luna and your sister, then they are to stay with them and report their final destination to us and if they can, rescue them.”

Duncan, for the first time since all this started, felt hope take over him. He prayed that those two had found Adira and Marnie.

August and Ashton were in their Lion forms following a grey van. They were going the speed limit, which wasn’t all that hard to keep up with. They stayed within the tree line so they wouldn’t know they were there.

Both of them could smell the females; they weren’t sure yet if it was the Luna and the sister, but they were going to find out. Either way, they were taken against their will, and they were going to take them back.

Wherever they were going, it was way off the beaten path; they kept on going down a long gravel road. They were now, by guess, at least 300 miles away from the town. They only stopped twice: once for gas and then food. They never left the van unattended.

The driver of the van looked like he was the one giving orders. He must be the leader. That meant they had to take out the guards first, so the slimy bastard doesn’t use them for protection or distraction.

They hoped that they would stop for good soon, or at least for the night; they were getting a little tired. Still, though, they were determined. On they ran silently through the forest with nothing but the stars as witnesses.

Valdis wasn’t the type of guy to lose control.

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