Page 71 of His Fate
I glare and lean heavily on Andrej, my body aching in so many places. "Ivan of the Molnarva Clan. Cyril's cousin and his right hand. He has my mate, is holding her prisoner somewhere in the forest, using my beloved as fucking bait to draw me out."
Andrej curses and pulls his phone from his pocket then looks at me.
I nod. "Call Henrich and have him and Milos put the house in lockdown. If Karel has yet to arrive, have Henrich stay with the females while Milos checks the property. If Karel is there, have him meet us at the edge of the forest." As Andrej starts to dial, I turn to Hank. "You and your mate need to get to the mansion immediately and get inside. That is the safest place in all of Ashland right now and my Josephine will kill me if I allow anything to happen to you."
"And what will you be doing, exactly?" Hank asks while gripping the handles of his walker tight.
"Looking for my mate."
Hank shakes his head. "Sorry but that is not happening. It's my fault Posey left and did it without the knowledge to stay safe. I'm going with you."
"No. You are too weak still, there is no way you could fight, no way you could even get through the woods quick enough to keep up with us."
"But I can drive a goddamn car. And I know this land, that forest better than any of you. I'm going with you and that's final."
I glare and pull a stunt even my father despised. "As your king I command it."
Hank bows in submission but fires back, "And as Josephine's father, I don't give a fuck. I'm going with you and there is not a damn thing you can do to stop me."
It is clearer now than it ever has been that my mate inherited her stubborn streak and colorful language from Hank.
And since I am too fearful, too exhausted and riddled with pain, I lose my will to argue. "Fine. But you get us there, you wait in my truck, and you do not move until we return with Posey."
He nods and turns to Janet., "You know what to do, honey pie. Go to the mansion, help Henrich put it in lockdown. You and Gracie each take one side of the house, help him keep watch and stay on high alert. If Milos runs into trouble you do not leave that building. You let Henrich help his brother but you and Gracie stay inside and protect Casey, you stay safe."
Janet rolls her eyes and gives him a kiss. "You stay safe, you old grump. Grace and I will be just fine and so will Henrich and Milos. You just keep your grouchy butt in Kai's truck so you can bring our girl back home."
"Spoken like a true soldier and fated mate." I smirk, then ask, "Janet, when you get home I'd like for you to contact the others. Start with Will and Harold then Kady, Bill. Let the others know of the immediate danger we are facing and have them move to their secondary homes closer to the mansion. I want everyone close and on guard. We are stronger that way. Have Grace help you make calls and make sure everyone understands this is not to be taken lightly. I do not want any females left unaccompanied and I want Mary Caldwell to take all five of her pups as well as Josh's cubs to the carriage house over the garage. They will be very comfortable there and safest that close to the mansion."
It turned out the Jenkins' place was the central location for shifters in Ashland. Each of the others already had secondary homes built on the Jenkins’ property years ago, totally by coincidence but it has become a rather vital part in our current circumstances because it essentially consolidates my new kingdom within acres of the mansion. It allows me to keep everyone close and we can use that to keep all of us safe.
Janet nods with a smile but I stop her just as she grabs her keys. "Make sure everyone understands I do not want them assisting Andrej and I. Karel is one thing but the rest, the Johnson's, Josh, the Higgins', Ron Caldwell, Colt, Kady and Jack, the White's, everyone's sole purpose right now is to move themselves and their loved ones to safety. Once they are settled the males can assist Milos with making sure the property is secure but that is it." I swallow hard. "And please make sure Henrich preps medical supplies, an area where he can heal properly."
Janet's eyes go wide and Hank pales. "Why? What is wrong with my baby girl?"
"I cannot say for sure but I feel her pain. There is much of it, in multiple locations and even with my venom and her genetics Posey is not healing as quickly as she should."
Janet nods again, gives Hank one more kiss then flies out the door. I close my eyes and reach out to my mate again, trying to see if her thoughts are any clearer.
Posey, my beloved, can you tell me where you are?
Her response chills me to the bone.
Gone...
Then nothing.
My eyes pop open and connect with Hank's. "She is somewhere in the forest. A treehouse or shack of some kind. Up high. Very secluded."
He zips up his black sweatshirt and shuffles over to his shoes. "The old hunting blind. Of course, I should have known that's where she'd be." He shoves the walker aside and holds out his hand for my keys. "I have taken Posey there since we moved to Ashland, taught her to shoot any kind of weapon I could get my hands on. We'd take a picnic and I'd set up targets all throughout the surrounding area for her to practice on. It became her safe place after a while, somewhere she'd take off to whenever she wanted to clear her head or needed space."
We follow him to the truck, Andrej basically lifting me into the passenger seat then essentially doing the same for Hank.
He throws my truck in reverse the second Andrej is in and for a split second I fear we may die before we find my mate.
"When was the last time you drove?"
He chuckles. "Almost twenty-one years now."
