Lexi didn't doubt he would go through with his threat. Unable to get free, she could do nothing as he dragged her out of the flat and down to the street below. The street was empty with no one around to respond to her pleas for help as he pulled her behind the building and shoved her into the driver's side of a beat-up sedan before he followed her in. She crawled onto the passenger side and made a grab for the door handle, but he painfully took hold of her other wrist.
He cast her an evil grin and started the car. "There will be no escape for you."
She watched his other hand pull back just before his fist slammed into her jaw.
As she slumped in the passenger seat, her world went black.
Raed woke to find the spot next to him on the bed empty. Figuring Lexi had to be somewhere downstairs, he took his time in the shower. After he pulled on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, he headed down to look for her.
He found Algar, Dolf, Garrick and Wulfric eating in the kitchen. No sign of Lexi.
"Have you guys seen Lexi this morning?"
Wulfric shook his head. "Nope, but I haven't been up for very long. Brand probably has. He's already been up for a while and eaten."
Raed looked at the others; they shook their heads, indicating they hadn't seen her either. "Thanks."
He headed for the living room where he could hear the television. Brand sat on a couch, remote in hand, flipping through the channels. He turned his head to Raed and said, "If you're looking for Lexi, she went out."
"What do you mean, she went out?"
"She said she wanted to do some sightseeing."
"Didn't you try to stop her?"
"Yes, but she didn't listen. You never said she wasn't allowed out on her own."
Raed sighed. It was true. He hadn't told his men to make sure Lexi didn't go out by herself, but that didn't stop the sense of unease shooting through him at the mention of her out sightseeing. "Did she at least say where she would be?"
"She went to the cathedral."
Raed left Brand and headed upstairs to grab his car keys. He only took the time to tell the others where he would be before he went outside to the garage. As he drove toward the cathedral, he hoped Lexi would still be there and not off somewhere else. He couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.
He arrived at the cathedral, parked his car and started to look for Lexi. He did a thorough search inside the building without finding any sign of her, though he could detect her scent. He then went and did a systematic search of the grounds outside. Still no sign of her. There weren't many tourists around for Lexi to become lost in the crowd so he hadn't missed seeing her.
His sense of unease increasing by the minute, Raed got back in his car and headed for the only other place Lexi could most likely be—her flat.
As soon as he stepped into the stairway leading up to the door, Raed picked up the fairly fresh scent of a werewolf. Nerves jangling, he burst into the flat through the still-open door, instantly realizing something had to be wrong. Not only did the door stand wide open, but he saw a book lying face down with the pages bent underneath it as if someone had thrown it.
He took a deep breath. The smell of the werewolf, mingled with Lexi's scent, hung in the air. Hers held the unmistakable tang of fear. Resisting the urge to throw back his head and howl, Raed pulled out his cell phone and dialed the manor. He agitatedly paced the floor as he waited for someone to pick up on the other end.
Dolf answered after the fourth ring.
"It's Raed. Please tell me Lexi has come back."
"I was about to call you. We have a bit of a situation. You need to haul ass and get back here. Now."
"What about Lexi?"
"She's part of the situation." Dolf paused. "Raed, she's being held by a couple of werewolves."
Raed snapped his cell phone closed and took off at a run. He felt his eyes go wolf and his claws push through his skin as he thought of Lexi in the hands of his prey. Not caring if any mortals saw him, he put on a burst of preternatural speed when he hit the street and ran to his car.
As he sped toward the manor, Raed sent up a silent prayer to Tiw that nothing would happen to Lexi before he could get to her. He couldn't lose her now. He'd just found her. The worry made his chest ache. She'd made him feel more alive than he had felt in centuries. Even though they had only known each other for such a short period of time, Raed felt as if she had always been a part of his life. She made him whole. She filled a space inside him he hadn't even known needed to be filled. He loved her. Raed blinked in surprise. He really did love Lexi. He felt like kicking himself in the ass. With her in danger, he now could admit how much she really meant to him. As he turned sharply onto the manor's long drive, Raed decided when he fixed the werewolf situation she had found herself in, he would get down on his knees, tell her he loved her, then beg her to stay with him if he had to.
He ran into the manor as he bellowed his men's names. Garrick strode into the foyer and motioned for Raed to follow him. Garrick led him to the kitchen and out the back door. The others were standing by the stand of trees at the back of the property.
As he and Garrick ran across the back garden, Raed asked, "Is Lexi hurt?"
"Other than a bruise on one side of her jaw, she looks unharmed."
Raed growled with rage. They would pay for harming the woman he loved. "Did they just show up and wait for one of us to find them?" He could now make out the two werewolves who stood on either side of Lexi as the rest of his men faced them down.
"Pretty much, the arrogant bastards. Wulfric and Brand found them when they decided to do a sweep of the grounds. Brand and the big one have been sizing each other up."
As Garrick and he drew almost even with the others, Raed could see why Brand had singled out the larger of the two werewolves. He looked to be almost as big as Brand, and had a mean look about him. A cruel intelligence seemed to lurk behind his eyes. This was no ordinary werewolf, that only lived to maim and kill.
Raed's gaze locked with Lexi's. He could smell her fear, but she had done a remarkable job of hiding her emotions. He took a step closer, but froze in place when Lexi's eyes widened and she whimpered in pain as the smaller werewolf cruelly twisted her arm high behind her back.
"That will be far enough, Raed," the werewolf who held Lexi said.
Raed curled his upper lip and growled. He had no idea how this werewolf knew his name. "Let her go."
The werewolf shook his head. "I'm not ready to do that just yet."
"What do you want?"
"Hmm, what do I want? What I would really like is for all of you warriors to drop dead, but I know that won't happen any time soon. So for now, I'll settle for giving you a warning."
"Don't threaten me, werewolf. You won't like the consequences."
The beast chuckled and shook his head. "Such idle threats, Raed. As long as I have your woman, your mate, I hold all the power here. And since I already know you, I might as well introduce myself. I'm Nathan, the pack leader."
"Who gives a shit," Raed snarled.
"You should," Nathan said with all humor gone from his voice. "You and your men's days are numbered. Under my leadership, the werewolves sired by Fenris will reach their full potential. And once I have eliminated you, there will be nobody to stop us."
"Stop you from doing what? Turning every mortal into what you are?"
"Only those I deem worthy. I'm going to free Fenris, of course."
"You would bring about Ragnarok? It would destroy life as we know it."
"A small price to pay. With Fenris freed, werewolves will rule."
"Even if you manage to take out all of us, Tiw will never allow you to free Fenris."
Nathan snorted. "What is one puny god compared to an army of werewolves? I don't fear your god."