“The pups?” Her mother managed to say.
Her sister swallowed audibly. “Alessandro was already safe at home, but Kier and Evan were still at John’s. They went straight to his apartment and took the two boys … I’m going to tear those bastards apart with my bare hands,” Julianna roared. The fury of her wolf was evident as her eyes glowed.
As a cry escaped Isabelle’s mouth, Frankie embraced her. “Oh, baby, don’t worry, we’ll find them. We’ll get them back.”
But even her mother’s comforting arms and words didn’t stop the sick dread creeping into her stomach. This was every mother’s worst nightmare, to have her child kidnapped. And she was living it.
Julianna snarled. “We’ll get them back. I swear to you, Belle.”
“What happened?” Frankie asked. “How could the mages have gotten into The Enclave? We have protections against the mages.”
“I don’t know the details yet.” Julianna shook with fury. “But when I get my hands on them—”
“I want to help.”
All eyes turned to Ransom. Isabelle had been so sick with worry for Evan she’d forgotten about him. The dread in her chest grew even more. “This is clan business,” she said. “You don’t have to get involved.”
“Belle!” Julianna admonished. “We could use all the help we can get. We’re talking about Kier and Evan here.”
She bit her lip. “I—”
“We’re wasting time,” Ransom said. “The kidnappers could be long gone by now.”
“Right,” Julianna agreed. “Come on, Cross’ll be here any minute. He’ll take us to HQ and we can regroup.”
Ransom glanced at Isabelle before he left, the look on his face inscrutable. But she couldn’t think about him now. Her baby was in the hands of their enemies, and who knew what they were planning.
“Isabelle, honey, let’s go home,” Frankie said.
“But I want—”
“Your brother will send us news as soon as he can.”
“Oh, Mama.” God, please, she thought as she sobbed in her mother’s arms. Don’t let them hurt my baby.
Chapter Ten
Ransom followed Julianna as they headed out of the storage room, though he didn’t want to leave Isabelle, not after what they did, and certainly not now while she was in such distress. His wolf didn’t either, but it seemed to understand that they were going to help her.
Coming here tonight had been impulsive, but he figured this was the best place to see her, short of storming her front door. Following her when she left the dining room … well he didn’t know if that had been stupid or smart, but at least he confirmed one thing: Isabelle still wanted him. All the months and months of dreaming about her lips and her sweet little body … none of it compared to the real thing. Her lips, her curves, her scent … it was too bad they’d been interrupted.
She was angry and hurt, as she should be. He was the one who’d walked out on her, said all those terrible things to push her away. Sure, she didn’t know he did it for her own good, and he would do it again to keep her safe. He would have died for her that night, too, and he nearly did. But he would make it up to her, and he would start by saving her beloved nephews.
“How long ago did they take the pups?” he asked Julianna.
“Not long. I went to find Isabelle and Mama as soon as we got the call.”
The dining room was empty, save for Lucas, Duncan, and Cross. The two fathers looked like they could tear the room apart with their bare hands.
“We’ll find them, darlin’,” Duncan said to his wife. “I swear to you, we’ll get them back.”
“Ransom? What are you doing here?” Lucas asked, looking flabbergasted.
“He was in the pantry with Mom, Gio, and—” Julianna leaned forward and sniffed at him, then her eyes narrowed. “What were you doing in there?”
He cleared his throat. Isabelle’s scent was probably all over him. “We don’t have much time. The kidnappers could be long gone by now. We’ll have to move now to get your sons back.”
Julianna’s nose wrinkled. “Sons? Evan isn’t—”
Cross cleared his throat. “Ransom’s right. The clock is ticking.”
“What do we know?” Lucas said. “How did they infiltrate The Enclave?”
“I thought we had magical protections,” Julianna said. “To keep out the mages. And that we extended that to a one-mile radius around the perimeter?”
“But not their human army. They used sheer brute-force,” Cross said. “A bunch of them stormed the front entrance and killed the doorman. We can worry about the details later. Lizzie’s working on tracking down their vehicle via traffic cams and CCTVs around the city.”
“I can follow them on bike. It’ll be faster, and we won’t draw as much attention.” Ransom offered. “I’m parked outside.”
“I’ll go with you, but I need to grab a couple of things from HQ,” Cross said. “But I’ll meet you out there in a second.” With that, the hybrid disappeared.
“Thank you again, Ransom,” Lucas said.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said grimly before turning toward the door. But he was determined to get the pups back, because as long as he was alive, Isabelle would have no reason to feel sad ever again.
As promised, Cross was already outside standing by his bike. The hybrid tossed him something gold and shiny, which he caught in the air. It was a gold coin of some sort with a wolf’s head stamped on the face. “What’s this?”
“A medallion that will allow me to track you if we get separated, and if you hold it and call my name, I’ll know you need me,” he explained, then handed him something from the palm of his hand. “This is a communication device so we can keep in touch with HQ. Lizzie said they’re about to enter the Bronx and heading north. FDR
