The Scent of Seduction (25 page)

"Yes?"

"Jaryn?"

He stiffened at the sound of the stressed voice.

"What's wrong, Mom?"

"Charlie's missing."

He let out a relieved sigh. “I'm sure he just went off with friends and forgot to tell you. You know him."

"No, I called them all. Nobody's seen him all day. His comm-unit isn't responding. Charlie's young and impetuous, but he's never been irresponsible. You know that."

"Yeah, I know,” he whispered.

"Jaryn? Jaryn are you there?"

He cleared his throat. “I'm here. I'll contact Shaun and Cooper. They'll send out a pack instant message. Every available wolf in town will be on the lookout. We'll call together a search team to meet at the lodge so we can section off areas of the pack lands. We'll find him, Mom, I promise."

Nicole brought over his jeans and Jaryn quickly slipped them on. “I gotta go, Mom, if you want me to get the ball rolling. Why don't you and Dad come over here and stay with Nicole and the boys?"

"We'll be there as soon as we can."

He disconnected the call then opened up his mail system. He noticed he had a new message waiting, but clicked compose before opening the link. With a few taps to the laser keyboard, an emergency message went out to all pack members comm-units and their home lines would ring with an automated message telling them the details of the situation.

Where could Charlie have gone? Stonepass was a relatively small town, but the surrounding countryside and mountains stretched for hundreds of miles. What if he'd gone for a run and got lost? Or what if he was lying in the forest, hurt?

He looked up at his mate. “Tell me we're going to find him."

Nicole wrapped her arms around Jaryn's shoulders. “You'll find him. Charlie may seem flighty, but he's very intelligent and stronger than I think you all give him credit for."

Jaryn rubbed his eyes. “If he's goofing off and forgot to check in, I'll kill him."

"If that is the case, I have a feeling you'll have to get in line, but if it's not..."

"If it's not?"

"Then I know he has faith that his big brother will be there to save him. And I know that his big brother will move heaven and earth till the job is done."

Jaryn nodded. His eyes drifted back towards the wall where his E-sphere's projector showed the communications programme running. The new message was from an unknown contact. He sighed and clicked the link. There was no message, but there was a video file. Jaryn ran a scan on the file for any viruses using the specialised tracer he had access to within the defence department. When it came up clean, he opened the file.

The white background disappeared and Jaryn tilted his head as the image of a bare concrete wall came into focus. For several seconds nothing happened, and he sighed. He didn't have time for this crap, he had to find his brother. His hand moved to stop the video when a familiar deep voice rumbled from the speakers installed in the walls of the room.

"You stole everything from me. First you took my woman, then you took my home, but you couldn't take me. And now, I shall do the same to you. I will kill every man, woman, and child you hold dear. Starting with—"

The image moved and Jaryn sucked in a breath at the sight of Charlie tied to a chair and beaten. His head hung low against his chest and already bruises mottled his body.

"Lift your head, pup, and say goodbye to your big brother. This will be your last chance to do so."

Charlie's head lifted and the camera zoomed in on his face. Charlie's silver eyes, identical to all the Chaunterel men, shone with pain and sadness. His little brother looked so lost and scared. Jaryn's fists clenched as a rage boiled in his blood.

"I love you, Jaryn. Tell Mom, Dad, Nic, Kaden and Gavin the same."

"Very good, pup. Don't be expecting a ransom note, Chaunterel. I don't need or want your money. I'm simply out for blood."

The camera hadn't moved off Charlie's face, and Jaryn saw his eyes fill with hatred. “Listen up, Jaryn. Whatever happens to me...” Charlie swallowed hard. “I fully expect you to kill this son-of-a-bitch."

Broyles’ laughter echoed from the walls, and Jaryn felt Nicole trembling next to him. He pulled her into his lap and held her as memories of her time under this psycho's control no doubt raced through her.

"I like the runt, Jaryn. He's got spunk. Should make this so much more enjoyable. Unlike that bitch you're now undoubtedly coddling right now. She just rolled over and took it."

Nicole's spine stiffened under his palm and she growled.

The camera zoomed out and Broyles stepped into view. He walked over to where Charlie was tied up and stood behind him. He held up a syringe and petted Charlie's head.

"This is a little something I came up with down in my labs. One of my little pet projects, if you will. I'm sure you remember what CRS-264 felt like coursing through your veins. It's too bad the runt doesn't have access to the antidote like you managed to find. It should only take a few seconds before little Chaunterel will know exactly what it feels like to have his wolf ripped from his soul. I've improved the formula, so before it's all over, he'll be begging me to die."

Charlie struggled. His thin body twisted and turned to get away from his captor. Broyles’ fingers clenched in Charlie's hair and pulled his head back at an acute angle. Charlie hissed, but stopped moving.

The needle plunged into Charlie's neck and both Jaryn and Nicole cried out. Broyles pressed down on the plunger and Charlie screamed. The sound was so filled with agony that Jaryn's wolf howled. Charlie's head lolled and Broyles shoved his chair over, making Charlie fall out of sight.

"One down, seven to go. Who do you think I'm coming after next?"

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If you look up the word conundrum in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Trina Lane. Her personality is so multifaceted that her friends have spent countless hours scratching their heads in wonder. A scientist with a passion for history, music and photography, she loves to travel and experience new places but is terminally shy around people she doesn't know.

Trina has been devouring romance novels since her tender teenage years, although only began writing a few years ago. When her debut novel was met with resounding success, she said “Hey I can do that again". The rest, as they say, is history.

Her choices in reading and writing material are as diverse as her iTunes library, which contains music from Mozart to Metallica. Her one concession is all stories must have a happily ever after ending—did we mention she's incurably romantic?

She lives in Missouri with her loving and indulgent husband, and orange tabby cat—affectionately referred to as ‘Houdini’ for his stealthy escape attempts.

Email: [email protected]

Trina Lane loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at www.total-e-bound.com

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