Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (21 page)

Alana peeked through her lashes to keep an eye out for her
captors. She let her power, anger and fear feed the clouds overhead. She couldn’t
see the sky outside the van. It looked like they were inside a garage. Even
without the visual proof, she could feel the gathering storm.

Clenching her hands and tensing her legs, she focused on
getting some movement back to limbs that felt heavy and numb. She tried to get
as ready as she could be to move fast. The men were arguing again. Luckily, they’d
gotten out of the van to do it this time. She could hear them clearly and
guessed they’d left one of the windows down, because the sound wasn’t muffled.

They hadn’t checked her since she’d woken. They must have
faith in their drugs. The men miscalculated how fast a shifter, especially
Familiar shifters, metabolized medication. The fact that she was still alive excluded
the more fanatical humans, but it worried her that they knew the drugs that
worked.

“We have to get her off this mountain and down to the
meeting place,” one voice said.

“You heard the radio. They’re out looking for her. We have
to wait and hide until later tonight when we have a chance of evading the
patrols.” Another voice carried a distinct rumble of frustration.

“What about her? Is she going to wake up on us before we get
her down the mountain?” The first man seemed to gesture to the back of the van.

“We gave her enough drugs to put a buffalo down. She shouldn’t.
If she stirs, we’ll give her another dose.” The second man didn’t sound worried.
“We’ll keep listening to the police chatter. If we get a call from our contact
here with more information on a way out, we’ll move before that.”

She needed the extra time. Her arms felt like lead and
forcing even the smallest movement took immense concentration. Her hands were
tied behind her, but she wasn’t worried about that part. It was rope. Once she
managed to get voluntary movement back to her limbs, she’d break free of it.

“I don’t trust anyone who’d turn on their own people.” The
other humphed and opened the passenger door.

“This one’s a shifter not a witch, but I get you. We’re just
using them.” The man sounded so casual about it.

Hell, whoever was involved with them had a surprise coming
if these humans weren’t caught soon. That kind of karmic justice wasn’t very
probable. The human fanatics would be caught and some of the more aggressive
witches. Even if there wasn’t solid proof, they wouldn’t be able to live in
Devoe any longer.

The passenger door closed. She assumed the other man was going
around the van to get in the driver’s seat. She didn’t try to look and see if
he actually was walking around the vehicle. The chance of alerting the man in
the van by moving even a little bit seemed too great.

Whatever was in that drug cocktail, it had a lingering
effect. Her muscles still felt sluggish and unresponsive. The driver’s side
door opened and the vehicle dipped a little when the man got into the vehicle.
Those two seats at front were the only seats in the van. The back seats had
been stripped out at some point. A small, oval bare spot was right in front of
her and she could see some type of u-shaped bolt in the depression.

She kept it subtle, but she tried to work her muscles. She
had to be ready. If a chance didn’t come, she’d have to make one. Rain began to
fall. She heard it hitting the glass of a window, but it wasn’t on the van. The
storm was building on its own now. That would make it easier for her to draw
lightning if she needed it.

When they were talking and seemed focused on their discussion,
she chanced opening her eyes wider for a short time. She studied the men so she
could help identify them at some point. Right now, all she could see was the
backs of their heads, but it was a start. The man in the driver’s seat had
black hair and brown skin. His hair was cut so close to his scalp that it was
little more than a dark shadow on his head other than the one circular bald
patch on the back of his head. The other man had brown hair that curled at the
edge of his shirt.

Time seemed to drag. The men fell silent so she didn’t learn
anything more about their motives. Chatter came from the scanner they had tuned
to the police band. She listened, but since she didn’t know where they were,
she had no idea if the police were close to them.

While she wanted help, she knew those men wouldn’t hesitate
to hold her hostage or kill her in an effort to get away. When one of their
phones burbled out a tune, she almost turned her head to look for it. The
driver answered immediately and spoke only a few words.

“We’ve got a chance. Our contact has spotted a gap.” The man
laughed.

The van started. She heard a mechanical sound and guessed
they’d been parked in a garage somewhere. That explained how they’d remained
unseen while people were looking for any strangers. She wasn’t afraid they
would manage to get her down the mountain. The Witch Council’s spell was still
in effect. They wouldn’t get any further than she had on that first morning
after she’d returned to Devoe.

She trained her eyes on the windows and tried to catch a
glimpse of a sign or some structure that would tell her where they were and
which way they were headed. She saw mountain and trees. From her position on
the floor in the back of the van, she couldn’t see anything useful. She wished
she could sit up for only a moment. That was all it would take. A little
glimpse and she’d probably know exactly where she was.

Her gut tightened and frustration crawled over her skin. She
ached to move. She could rip through the ties binding her and grab for the door,
but they’d probably hear her before she reached it. She didn’t know if they had
the tranq gun ready and loaded or what other weapon they might have handy.
Taking a breath, she sought for patience. She’d get a chance when they were
stopped by the spell going down the mountain.

Alana focused on her breathing, keeping it smooth and slow.
She knew the vehicle wouldn’t dramatically jerk to a halt from the first time
she’d been stopped at the spell. They’d be traveling one moment and still the
next. She waited, prepared and revved the storm up just a bit. She was so
concentrated on planning what to do that she almost missed the feeling of the van
being brought to a stop. The engine revved, but the car didn’t even roll
forward.

“What the hell?” A hand slapped on something hard.

“Do you think those witches double crossed us? You said what
we got is a shifter so she can’t be doing this. It has to be someone who knew
we were coming this way.” The man in the passenger seat sounded spooked.

A surge of satisfaction pulsed through her. If Alana had any
say in it, they’d be more than spooked. Seeing them singed and bleeding would
satisfy her lust for revenge, but getting away came first. Although she wanted
to hurt them and stop them herself, she had to get free of them.

“She’s a shifter, but I wouldn’t put a double cross past
those witches if they thought it would save their asses from their own people.
Let me get out and see if it’s us or just the vehicle. They might be trying to
stop anyone from leaving.” The first man opened the door and got out. He left it
wide.

Alana tightened her arms. The time approached when she’d
need to act. He wouldn’t have any trouble walking down the road. From what they’d
said, they’d assume it was a spell set to stop anyone from leaving. She didn’t
know what they’d do, but there were options. They weren’t going to simply call
this off though. She had to be ready to move.

The black-haired man came back. “I’m going to call for
someone to come up to get us. We’ll push the van back and off the road. Not
sure how long it will take. Why don’t you prepare another dose for the shifter
and inject her before she wakes enough to fight again.”

“Will do. Definitely don’t want her to wake up here. She’s
going to be pissed.” The brown-haired man began moving around in the front
seat.

A solid thunk reached her and she realized the black-haired
man must have shut his door. While the brown-haired man was focused on rifling
around up there, she snapped the rope on her arms. They hadn’t tied her feet. Alana
guessed they trusted the drug. She put her hands back in position and waited
unmoving. Worried that he’d lean over the seat to try to jab her, she focused
on his movements. She heard a door open and felt the dip of the van before the
heavy panel slammed.

Alana tensed her muscles and kept her eyes barely open,
careful to keep them shielded with her lashes. She heard him grab the handle to
the van’s sliding door. It opened. The brown-haired man leaned inside.
Lightning flashed down. His head turned a bit when the light flared,
brightening the almost complete darkness.

When she kicked out, her tennis shoe struck his wrist and
the needle went flying. His head snapped back around to face her, his eyes
widened and he cried out. Even as he grabbed for her, she lunged. Her hands
flattened against his chest and she shoved. As he stumbled back and fell to the
ground, she leaped out of the van and ran for the forest on the side of the
road. She heard a crack and felt searing pain in her leg. Her leg buckled, but
she caught herself with one hand on the asphalt. A stabbing ache tore through
her thigh with each step, but she knew she had to put more distance between her
and those two men. She pulled lightning down behind her, hoping they wouldn’t
want to risk following her when the storm was raging.

She ran as fast as she safely could. Even with her feline
eyesight, the uneven terrain was treacherous. Rocks and holes hid among the
pine needles, leaves and grass. She didn’t have a clue where she was at the
moment. She’d only gotten a glimpse of the road they’d been using. It had been
narrow, but paved. It could be any of the side roads that led in and out of
Devoe. She was certain she’d come upon something that would give her a clue
where she was.

Rain poured down, soaking her clothes quickly. Cold began to
seep into her skin as the deluge continued. Alana strained to hear any sign of
her pursuers. Not a single crack of a twig beneath a shoe or a footstep reached
her ears. She couldn’t stop yet to change. Even though she didn’t think they’d
follow for long, she should put more distance between her and them.

While she kept moving, she assessed her physical and mental
state. Her legs still felt as if they were weighted. Overall, she felt a little
numb and out of it. She realized she couldn’t risk changing into her leopard.
Her cat might go back to exact a little revenge. With the pain and the effect
of the drugs, she wasn’t sure she could control the animal instincts.

As she ran, she heard running water over the patter of rain over
the leaves. The river. Relief washed through her. She wasn’t too far from the
city and houses. The river meandered around one side of the Devoe and there
were houses and business on both sides of it.

Alana was almost certain of her location now. If she was
right, she should hit a road and then a park before she came to the houses. The
pain in her thigh ripped at her with each step. She wanted to scream, but held
back. She couldn’t be sure that she was safe yet.

The pain wasn’t her only concern about the wound though.
Even with the rain plastering her clothes to her body and chilling her, she
could feel warmth on her thigh.

She chanced a glance over a shoulder. She hadn’t heard any
pursuit since she’d escaped into the trees. She had to risk stopping for a
moment to see how bad the wound was. Even with her shifter healing ability, if
the injury was bad, she could easily lose too much blood before she found help.

Alana leaned on the tree and bent a little to get a good
look at her leg. A darker patch colored part of the fabric. The hole wasn’t
large and didn’t let her see enough to assess the damage. She had to tear the fabric
open a little to get a better look at the injury. It was already discoloring,
but she was relieved to see it wasn’t bleeding too badly. The only problem was
that there wasn’t an exit wound. She untucked her shirt and ripped away the
bottom to tie around her thigh, so she could apply a little pressure there.

When she’d secured the makeshift bandage, she began moving
again. It felt as if hours passed, but it probably wasn’t even fifteen minutes
before she neared the edge of the woods. She saw the grass and flowers beyond
the thick trees and then the slight rise to the road. Bursting from the thick
foliage, she felt a rush of exhilaration. She paused at the edge of the street
to make sure no one was coming. The last thing she wanted was to get free from those
men only to be hit by a car. Streetlights provided sporadic patches of light
and she could move faster now. She ran into the park and toward the first house
she saw.

The two-story yellow house was surrounded by a large,
well-groomed yard. A bike leaned against the side of the house and a car sat in
the driveway. Hopefully, someone was home. She hit the sidewalk and ran for the
door. She rang the doorbell and then knocked on the door. She heard someone
moving inside the house and heaved a sigh of relief.

She heard someone stop at the door and then the lock turned.
The door opened and Alana saw a blonde young woman staring at her. She was a
wolf shifter. Alana could tell by smell, but didn’t recognize her.

“Hi, can I help you?” The woman frowned as she stood in the
doorway.

“Could you call the police for me? And ask for an ambulance
as well.” Alana took a slow deep breath. Now that the adrenaline and rush of
emotions were fading, her leg throbbed worse than before.

“An ambulance?” The woman sniffed. “You’re bleeding!”

“It’s not too bad, but I will need to have it seen. I’d
never hear the end of it from Kane and Michael if I didn’t.” Alana grimaced.
The last she added more to herself. She had no idea if the woman even knew
them.