Children of the Moon: Book Three Read online

  When Imogen was captured, she had been smart enough to leave a trail with her socks and parts of her t-shirt for them to track but she knew her captor wasn’t that stupid. She felt helpless, she was completely at his mercy and knew that he would try and touch her again every chance he got, she could sense his arousal when he was trying to kiss her. He disgusted her and was going to die before she allowed him to violate her again.

  “We will sleep in the car tonight. I know the pack has resources to track us. Tomorrow when we cross the border into Canada we will check into a hotel and you can get a hot shower and a change of clothes. I will buy you anything you need when we get there, we are heading west so we will be traveling for another few days after that, it’s a long journey,” he said.

  She kept silent and continued along the road, keeping just under the speed limit. She knew if Liam was following them, he would be breaking every rule in the book to catch up, but he had no way of tracking them that she could see. Think Kandis, think!

  They drove in silence for the next hour and she was trying hard not to look in the rear-view mirror every few seconds.

  “Pull into the gas station up ahead,” he said and she indicated and turned off the road.

  “I will shoot you and her if you try anything stupid.” he indicated the young woman sitting behind the partition.

  They got out of the car and went inside with Kandis in front and he filled a basket with snacks and drinks and waited outside the door while she used the bathroom. She searched her pockets for anything she could leave behind as a clue but all she had was a tube of lip salve, he had already taken everything else from her.

  She knew he wouldn’t use the bathroom because he wouldn’t risk her running while he was inside. She wiped the mirror and wrote across it

  ‘Liam - Canada’ and prayed that they would come this way.

  She washed and dried her hands and went back inside to the store. He took her arm and steered her toward the register. She knew the gun was in his pocket and she could probably get away if she was quick, but she believed him when he said he would shoot the clerk.

  The gum-chewing teenager with the curly brown hair barely glanced at her as she rang up their purchases, she only had eyes for her captor who was smiling and charming her. She had to force her to look her way so that she would remember her.

  “I’ll take a packet of those wet wipes too.” she indicated the stack on the other side of the counter and she looked at her long enough for her face to register. Kandis opened the packet and wiped her face and neck as he paid and they walked back to the car.

  “I’ll drive, you must be tired,” he said and she climbed into the passenger seat and rolled down her window while he stashed the bag of snacks in the back seat. She tore the wipe in half and dropped a piece out of the window, she doubted that her scent would linger too long among the scented paper, but it was worth a try.

  He went into the trunk and came back with a blanket and handed it to her,

  “Try and get a little sleep,” he said and fired up the engine to continue their journey.

  She waited until they were back on the road and covertly dropped the other half of the wipe before closing the window and settling down in her seat to sleep.

  ‘Liam, please find me,’ she thought as a lone tear slipped unchecked down her cheek.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Liam

  They had been on the road for almost two hours and still no sign of her. Liam was unbelievably frustrated as they didn’t even know if they were going the right way. They had stopped at three gas stations along the way but so far no-one had seen them.

  Seann’s phone rang and he answered. His tone softened and Liam knew he was talking to Imogen. Her and Bree had taken Kandis’s car back to the compound leaving India and Garrett with Seann and Liam. India was an awesome tracker and if there was anything to find on the road they were travelling, she would find it.

  Liam looked at him expectantly, but he shook his head, they still had nothing to go on.

  “Pull in over here,” Garrett said looking at his phone, “According to the GPS it’s the last gas station on this road for the next forty miles.”

  Seann pulled over and he and India went inside to question the girl on duty. People were more inclined to open-up to a couple. She pulled up the photograph of Kandis on her phone and asked if she had seen her.

  “Yeah, they came through here maybe an hour ago, her and a tall, dark-haired man,” she said and India felt her senses tingle. Taking a deep breath, she got a hint of Kandis and the wolf but there had been other people here since and their smell was fading, at least they were on the right track.

  “When you see her tell her that stuff won’t be easy to clean off,” she grumbled, “It’s not my job to clean up after people, I should send her the bill.”

  “What stuff?”

  “In the restroom, go see for yourself.”

  India hurried to the restroom at the back as Garrett picked up some soda and chips, wolves always needed food and they were running low.

  She opened the door and saw the greasy marks still on the mirror and thanked the fates that the girl on the register was too lazy to clean it off. She snapped a photo with her phone.

  “We need to go,” she said as she grabbed one of the bags from the counter and they hurried out to the car.

  Now that she was tuned into it, Kandis’s scent was much stronger out here and she picked up the discarded wipe from the forecourt and sniffed it.

  She was leaving them crumbs.

  “They are going north west,” she said, getting into the truck as Seann pulled out of the gas station. “To Canada.” she handed Liam the phone and he passed it around to let them see the photo. “She also left this wipe with her scent all over it and has probably left more but I need to shift to do this properly.”

  Liam felt a glimmer of hope for the first time tonight and Seann pulled off the road into a dirt track so that India and Garrett could strip off and shift. There were trees on both sides of the road so they had plenty of cover if a car happened to come along and they would hear it long before it reached them, India’s senses were second to none.

  “We will follow closely behind, good luck,” Seann said and waited until the two wolves were well in front of them before they followed.

  India found the second wipe and sniffed deeply, they were definitely on the right road and if they were going to Canada, this was the quickest route.

  They ran for twenty miles or so, but she didn’t find any more clues, she knew in her gut though that they were on the right track and forged ahead for another few miles. Garrett ran beside her and she was ready to go back to the others to report in when they heard Seann call for them.

  They were a mile or two behind them, but her hearing could pick up a lot further than that and they turned around and ran back to the truck. She shifted quickly and Garrett followed suit and they got dressed as Seann brought them up to speed.

  “Imogen called, she had a vision, she saw them parked up in a barn. They were both asleep so let’s hope that it’s real-time and we can take them by surprise. Now we just need to find the farm.”

  “There are about a dozen or so along the length of this road before we hit the next town and then there are several more after that. That is if they stayed on the path we are on and didn’t take another road out of here.” Liam raked his hand through his hair in frustration,

  “We’ll find her, Liam,” India said, putting a hand on his arm and he knew she meant well but he was frantic inside.

  “I need to run.” he announced and Seann opened his mouth to refuse but then closed it again and nodded. He knew how wound he was and a run would clear his head.

  “I’ll go too, Garrett and India can follow in the truck. You two check out the next farm, we will run ahead to the one after that and check back. If you suspect they are inside somewhere, wait for us. We may need the four of us to overpower him if he is armed.”

  They lef
t their clothes in the truck and they watched them run into the cover of the trees to shift and Garrett got in behind the wheel with India beside him.

  Liam needed to burn off some energy and ran full speed, but it wasn’t difficult for Seann to keep up with him. He could outrun most wolves apart from his own mate.

  They covered the five or six miles very quickly and by the time he slowed down to take a look around the next farm his head was in a better place. Kandis was as smart as anyone he knew and she could look after herself, she had proved that time and time again.

  The farmhouse was well lit and there were several vehicles parked in the courtyard, they wouldn’t come here, too many people around. Garrett and India would check out the third if the first one didn’t pan out and he and Seann would run on to the fourth.

  He was beginning to wonder about Imogen’s vision after the next few had been a bust too when they came across a small farm just off the beaten track. It looked as if no one had lived here for years and Liam had a feeling in his gut that they had hit pay dirt with this one.

  He pulled up and Seann did the same and they circled back to get the others. He could smell gasoline in the air which meant a vehicle had been here recently, but the farm was clearly deserted.

  Garrett pulled the car over and they saw the two wolves running toward them full speed, they had found something.

  Seann shifted back and explained quickly that they believed they had found the right place and told them to drive the truck a little closer and then join them before they went in. They ran back to the farm and waited for the other two to catch up.

  The four wolves crept silently through the farmyard while India tried to pick up her scent. Liam indicated the barn off to the left of the courtyard and India padded softly to the door and breathed deeply.

  She could smell them and she could hear their breathing. One of them was awake though and she had no way of knowing which one it was. She padded back to the others out of earshot of the two people in the barn and shifted.

  She quickly explained what she heard and Seann shifted back and told the others to do the same.

  “We need to get inside and surround the vehicle before he realizes we are there. There is a small door on the side, he has probably locked the larger doors from inside, I would if I knew people were looking for me. Liam, just focus on getting Kandis out of the car, Garrett and I will take care of him. India, I need you to be watchful and warn us of any surprises. It would be easier if we knew he was asleep.”

  “Maybe I will sense it when we are closer to them,” she said.

  They went around the side of the building and Liam held his breath as he silently opened the small door and they crept in, crouching down to approach the vehicle from all sides.

  India was at the passenger side door with Liam and closed her eyes focusing on the two occupants. Kandis was the one who was still awake, but she was pretending to be asleep. He would never go to sleep if he knew she wasn’t and run the risk that she would take off. She held up her hand to Liam in warning.

  Kandis opened her eyes and met India’s through the glass. She nodded recognition and held up her hands slowly to show them and Liam’s heart sank, they were cable tied together which meant her ankles probably were too. Liam would have to open the door and pull her out before the wolf had a chance to react. India confirmed that he was sleeping but they still had only a few seconds at most.

  Garrett and India put their hands on the door handles at the same time, ready to yank them open as Liam and Seann got ready to grab the occupants. Liam held up his hand and counted down with his fingers, 3,2,1…

  India yanked open the door and Liam grabbed Kandis and rolled her onto the floor of the barn and out of harm's way as Seann grabbed the wolf as he went for the gun. He pulled him free of the car, shoved him hard onto the ground and planted him face down. He grabbed his hands and held them tightly behind his back before the wolf had a chance to react.

  “There should be some cable ties here somewhere,” he said as the wolf growled and he shut his fist and hit him hard on the side of the face, knocking him out cold.

  Liam wanted to do that so badly but first he had to make sure Kandis was okay and secure the wolf for interrogation. Who was he and why had he targeted Kandis?

  The pack of cable ties was in the trunk and a rope and he used several to tie his hands behind him and then secured him to a chair Garrett found in the abandoned farmhouse. In this position a wolf couldn’t shift without dislocating his shoulders. Seann had found other things in the trunk that disturbed him, but he didn’t want Liam or Kandis to see them. He knew Garrett saw some of the photographs, but he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut.

  Liam untied Kandis and rubbed her wrists and ankles to get the circulation going again and she threw her arms around him and let him hold her for a moment before they joined the others as they waited for the wolf to wake.

  “Do you know who he is?” she asked them as she stared at him in disgust, “He is one of Kellas’s buddies who raped me when I was a kid, the other one is dead. He was taking me to a house somewhere remote in the north west of Canada where I suspect I would have been a slave to his depravity once again.

  “Kandis, you don’t need to be here, we will take care of this.” Liam came up beside her, but she was shaking her head.

  “No, Liam, you won’t. I am going to kill the son of a bitch for the hell he put me through and the nightmares I lived with for the last ten years. This is something I have to do.”

  Seann met his eyes and Liam stood back.

  India came up beside her and took her hand and she surprised her by clinging to her. This was immensely painful and difficult for Kandis and India was impressed by her strength and bravery.

  The wolf started to wake and the men surrounded him but at a distance and Kandis let go of India’s hand, she wanted to face him alone.

  His face was swollen on one side by the sheer force of the punch Seann had bestowed on him, so when he smiled it was a little lopsided. Liam wanted to wipe the smug smirk from the bastard's face, but he had to let Kandis lead this.

  “I guess this means our little trip is off,” he tried to joke and she closed her fist and smashed it right into his face and he howled as his nose fractured and she was sprayed with his blood.

  “I am going to kill you for the things you did to me, for the childhood you stole from me and to protect the world from the sick, perverted, fucking weirdo that you are.” She hit him again and he growled in anger. His wolf was trying desperately to come through to protect himself, but she would never allow it to see the light of day again.

  “You enjoyed every fucking minute of it, I watched you for days before we took you and you were walking around asking for it, begging for it. I just gave you what you were craving, baby and even now I can see you still want me. No-one is going to kill me, it’s against everything your alpha believes in to kill an unarmed man. I demand to be taken back to my pack, it’s their decision, not yours what happens to me.

  “All of that is true but since I don’t consider you a man, so I guess it is up to Kandis after all.” Seann shrugged and a frisson of fear shifted across the wolf’s bloodied face as he realized how much he had miscalculated them.

  “Kandis, you will obey me!” he screeched.

  The look on Kandis’s face chilled Liam to the bone as he came up behind her and watched silently as she stripped off, crouched down and shifted.

  He wanted to wrap her in his arms and stop her from doing this, but he knew she needed to if she was ever going to exorcise the ghosts of her past.

  She advanced on her prey slowly, savoring the taste of his terror and he could have sworn that her wolf was grinning. She snarled and went straight for his throat. Her growls of satisfaction almost drowned out the sound of his screams.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Kandis

  Seann was driving and Kandis was tucked into Liam’s side with a blanket around them and she felt oddly at peace. Not
what she would have expected after tearing out another wolves throat and snuffing out his life, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about his miserable existence, she only cared about the people who would be spared now because he was gone.

  Garrett and India had stayed behind to clean up the mess and she knew she was once again in debt to the feisty little red head who was the closest thing she ever had to a best friend. Ironic really since she had tried to kill her sister and harm her in the process. That seemed a light year away now and so did the girl that Kandis once was.

  Both India and Imogen had given her an idea of who she might have been if not for her traumatic past and who she might be in the future. She also needed to ask Seann what the wolf had in the trunk of his car that caused Garrett to wince, she guessed it wasn’t pleasant, but it would keep for now. All she wanted was a hot bath and a drink.

  Seann dropped them off at her cabin. She assumed Liam would come with her and he didn’t disappoint. He ran her bath, adding plenty of salts and made her drink some hot tea while she soaked in the bubbles.

  She closed her eyes and went over the events of the evening waiting on the pang of remorse or guilt at taking another life, even a pedophile’s life, but it never came and she was satisfied she had been justified in what she did. He had already threatened little Sophia and she would never have that on her conscience, the girl was like a little sister to her.

  She climbed in between the cool sheets and when her head hit the soft pillow, she knew sleep would claim her quickly. Liam sat on the edge of the bed and she moved over to make room for him to lie beside her. He slipped his arm beneath her shoulders and held her close as she drifted toward slumber. He was fully clothed and as her heavy lids gave into the force of gravity, Kandis wondered what it would feel like to lie beside him skin to skin.

  She woke early and stretched her limbs as she yawned. It was still dark outside, but she could hear Liam moving about in the other room. She padded to the living room door and watched him as he was putting logs on the fire and it reminded her of when they were in the mountain cabin. The sound of the torrential rain beating down on the roof drowned out her approach and she watched him unaware for several minutes.