“Do you think it was easy for me to conceal what you did to your contact in New York? If they find out you killed one of them, we’d face a fate worse than death, but I did it anyway because I love you, and you’re my son.” Her face twisted with hate and fury. “Yet you betrayed me by spawning with his whore daughter!”
“Stop the dramatics, woman!” The head mage said. “And bring me the child.”
Isabelle screamed. “No! Don’t take him, please!” Her wolf snarled, pushing at her skin, begging to be let out so it could rescue their pup.
Ransom surged forward, but it was too late. Joanie crossed through the gate and reached out to the mage. Ransom was thrown back by a powerful sonic wave that also sent Isabelle flying a few feet into the air. She landed on the ground with a hard thud, the back of her head bouncing off the gravel. “Evan!” She struggled to get up. “Oh God …” A hand curled around her wrist and pulled her to her feet. “I—” When she realized who it was, she slapped him away. “Get away from me!”
“Isabelle—”
“You did this!” she screamed at Ransom. “You were in on it all along!” Her wolf snapped its gigantic teeth, claws ripping out.
“I wasn’t! I didn’t know she was working with the mages.”
“I don’t believe you, you bastard!” Tears pooled in her eyes, but she was too angry to stop them. “You wanted revenge on my father? Is that why you went after me? Was screwing his daughter part of your plot?” Oh God, she felt disgusting and dirty. She let him—
“No! Isabelle, please, listen to me!” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t even know who they were, only that my mother had found them somehow and wanted revenge on Grant Anderson as much as I did.” He sucked in a deep breath. “You have to believe me. I love—”
“Don’t! Don’t you dare say those words.” Lies. All lies. And she had been a fool to believe them. Well, no more. “I hate you, and I never want to see you again. I hope you rot in hell!”
“Isabelle? Ransom? What happened? Sabrina called and said you might need my help.”
Whirling around, she saw Cross had appeared a few feet behind her. “Cross!” She ran to him and clung to his arm. “Get me out of here, please!”
“What happened?”
“They took Evan.” She swallowed gulps of air. “The mages.” She turned hateful eyes at Ransom. “And he was in on it, all this time. Working with them.”
“No,” Ransom denied. “Cross, you have to believe me—”
“I saw it with my own eyes!” she cried. “They came and took Evan. His mother helped. Please, Cross,” she begged. “Let’s go back to New York now. Lucas will find a way to get him back.”
Cross’s blue-green eyes turned stormy. “I’ll deal with you later,” he growled at Ransom.
As a cold sensation wrapped around her, she tucked her face into Cross’s side. She thought she heard Ransom scream her name, but it faded away as she felt the ground under her feet disappear. Moments later, they landed on solid footing. Looking up, she saw they were back in the lodge’s lobby.
“Sabrina!” Cross barked. “We have to go now.”
She was standing by the front desk with Silke and Arlene. “What? What’s happening?”
Cross disappeared and popped up beside her. “We need to leave.”
“What’s going on?” Silke asked. “Where’s Ransom?”
The hybrid gripped Sabrina’s waist. Isabelle was already running toward them, her arm stretched out to Cross’s offered hand. As soon as their fingers touched, that coldness wrapped around her again. She allowed her mind to get lost, in that brief moment when she was between time and space, because reality would soon hit her hard
Chapter Twenty
“Fuck!” Ransom slammed his fist into the side of his truck, the metal denting under his fists. What a fucking mess. No, it was more than that. His whole world was flushed down the shitter. “Goddammit!” He punched the door with his other hand, the pain brief but soothing. He deserved it. No, he deserved more than that.
Isabelle’s look of betrayal and hate made his stomach curdle. And he couldn’t blame her. Keeping her in the dark about his past and the plan against her father had been for her own good. But deep inside, he knew he had been selfish, not wanting to lose her if she found out. And now, he had anyway.
Yanking the door open, he got back into his truck and started the engine. He had to get his son back from those bastards. Those mages were going to regret taking what belonged to him.
The plan formed in his head as he drove back to the lodge. Maybe it wasn’t a well-thought-out plan, and he could end up getting himself killed, but he didn’t care. His life was worthless without Isabelle and Evan. But before he could put his plan into motion, there was one thing he needed to do.
As soon as he reached the lodge, he stopped his truck in the driveway and headed into the lobby. Aside from Silke and Arlene, Bo, Hardy, Axle, and Snake were also gathered around the front desk. When he met his sister’s gaze, she sprang forward.
“Ransom!” Silke crashed into him with such force he nearly fell over. “What in heaven’s name happened?” Her nails dug into his forearms. “Cross came here with Isabelle, grabbed Sabrina, then they all took off without an explanation. Isabelle wouldn’t even look at me.”
Worry crossed his sister’s face. She always did have a good instinct.
“I need to tell you something.” There wasn’t much time, but he owed her the truth. Lying was what got him here in the first place.
“What
