rescuing Brynley, but he’d been unable to move.
He turned away, and one of the monitors caught his attention. Nate Carson was sitting up in bed, drinking a bottle of blood. His sire, Zoltan, was standing nearby, talking to him. Nate’s bare chest looked completely healed.
“We have a new Vamp,” Phineas murmured.
“Yeah.” Freemont walked over to stand next to Phineas. “I heard your wolfie-girl is missing. I’m sorry.”
His heart squeezed painfully. “It was my fault.”
“I think it was mine.” Jack walked in, a bottle of blood in his hand. “I should have managed to escape. I felt so damned helpless, lying there on the floor, unable to move and worried that you and Brynley might return at any minute.”
“Well, we have good news from the school.” Freemont gave them an encouraging grin. “Caitlyn had her twins this morning. A boy and a girl. No fur, but healthy lungs.”
“That is good news,” Phineas agreed.
Jack nodded. “I should go pick up Lara.”
“Whoa!” Freemont pointed at a monitor. “Angus and the guys just teleported in.”
They stepped into the hall as Angus and ten of his employees entered the side entrance. Angus lifted a hand in greeting. “Phineas, Jack, how are you? I heard ye were drugged last night.”
“We’re fine, sir,” Jack said. “Did you hear the good news? Caitlyn had the twins, both healthy.”
Emma clasped her hands together, grinning. “That’s fabulous! Oh, I’d love to see the babies.”
Angus chuckled. “Go ahead and go. I’ll take care of things here.”
She kissed his cheek, then teleported away.
Angus motioned toward the conference room. “Let’s get started. I want to hear everything that’s happened.”
Everyone filed into the room and took a seat around the conference table.
Phineas was too anxious to sit, so he paced toward Angus at the head of the table. “We need to rescue Brynley. She’s been taken to her father’s house, and they’ll force her to marry—”
“Lad.” Angus stood and rested a hand on his shoulder. “The sun is still up in Wyoming. We have two hours before we can teleport there.”
Phineas took a deep breath. “You’re right.” He should have known that. He wasn’t thinking properly.
“Doona fash,” Ian told him. “We’ll get her back.”
“Who took her?” Phil demanded.
“A nasty werewolf named Rhett Bleddyn,” Jack said.
Howard Barr stiffened. A low growl vibrated in his chest.
Rajiv, who was sitting next to him, gave him a worried look. “You all right, Pooh Bear? We could go to cafeteria and get you donuts.”
“I’m not hungry,” Howard gritted out.
Howard not hungry? Phineas turned to look at him and noticed everyone else was staring, too.
“Do you know Rhett Bleddyn?” Austin asked.
Howard shimmered for a second, then resumed his usual large human form.
Rajiv moved back. Phineas could never recall a time when Howard had struggled to control the Kodiak bear within him.
“If we go to battle with him,” Howard growled, “then I will be the one to kill him.”
Chapter Twenty-one
“Would ye care to elaborate, Howard?” Angus asked.
“No.”
Everyone exchanged glances. As far as Phineas knew, Howard had grown up in Alaska, and since Bleddyn was also from Alaska, there was obviously something that connected the two shifters. Something bad.
Phineas took a seat at the table. “Bleddyn is allied with Corky. She’s the one who drugged Jack and me.”
Angus motioned to Jack. “Tell us what happened.”
“I was at the cabin when an SUV pulled up,” Jack began. “Tinted windows. I could only see the front seat. Bleddyn and Kyle got out and asked to see Brynley. I said she wasn’t there and they should leave. That’s when I heard shots. I whirled around and spotted Corky and Dimitri just as the darts hit. They must have been in the back of the SUV, and they teleported behind me to attack.”
“They shot you with Nightshade?” Mikhail asked.
“Yes. I fell down, and they dragged me into the cabin.” Jack made a face. “I couldn’t warn Phineas to stay away.”
“At least we now have proof that Corky is there,” J. L. Wang said.
“She claims to have a lot more Nightshade,” Phineas said. “We’ll have to careful capturing her.”
Angus nodded. “And you believe she’s hiding at Bleddyn’s ranch?”
“Yes,” Phineas replied. “She and Dimitri. After she shot me, they teleported Brynley and Bleddyn to her father’s ranch. Bleddyn left Kyle behind—”
“Who exactly is Kyle?” Angus asked.
“My brother,” a voice said from the doorway.
Everyone turned. Nate Carson stood there with John, Zoltan, and Gregori.
Zoltan stepped into the room. “Allow me to introduce the newest members of our community, Nate Carson and his mortal guard, John Brighton.”
Phineas rose to his feet. “Dude, you’re standing.”
Nate smiled sadly as he walked into the room. “I have my legs back. But I’ve lost my brother.”
Phineas glanced at Gregori, who remained in the doorway, a pained expression on his face.
“Welcome.” Angus shook hands with Nate and John. Then everyone walked over to the new guys and introduced themselves.
Phil shook Nate’s hand. “Thank you for always being there for Brynley. She’s my sister.”
Nate’s eyes widened. “Then you’re a werewolf, too?”
“Yes.” Phil nodded. “My father banished me from the pack years ago. Best thing that ever happened to me, actually. These are good people here.”
“Great to see you walking, dude.” Phineas slapped Nate on the shoulder. “How do you like being Undead?”
Nate’s mouth quirked. “It’s strange. A few days ago, I didn’t even know vampires existed, and now I am one.” He glanced around the crowded room. “Everyone seems very supportive. I didn’t expect that.”
“Yeah, it’s cool.” Phineas winced. “I’m really sorry about your brother. If I had been able to talk—”
“It probably wouldn’t have changed anything,” Nate interrupted him. “I’ve known for months that Kyle was hanging around a bad crowd. I tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen. He—he helped Bleddyn attack me. I don’t know what hurts the most. That he’s gone, or that he turned on me.”
Phineas patted his shoulder. “He was messed up, dude. I think he was on steroids.”
Nate sighed. “He was certainly too aggressive. Zoltan told me he was trying to bite you all. You had no choice but to shoot him.”
“It was me.” Gregori approached them. “I pulled the trigger. I’m sorry.”
A pained look crossed Nate’s face. “I understand. In war, we have to make tough decisions.”
“And live with them,” Gregori muttered.
“Let’s get back to business,” Angus announced, and everyone took a seat. Angus looked at Nate. “My condolences on your brother. Zoltan just explained the situation to me.”
Nate nodded.
“As soon as the sun sets in Wyoming,” Angus continued, “we can teleport you and John back home with a supply of synthetic blood. We’ll do whatever we can to help you with your transition.”
