Pack Gems by Kuro Kusai, WhiteWolf Aura (free ereaders TXT) 📖

not for information.He owed Kaden one. He just hoped they got there fast enough so he could get a chance to repay it.

Taylor gave another murmur, breaking his thought process completely. He focused on her lips and his wolf howled in agony at being so close but so far from its goal.

Before he could stop himself, he tightened his hold around her middle and dragged her up across his chest until she rested beneath his chin. Her scent permeated his nose, calming him a degree.

It said how exhausted she was with today's events that she didn't wake up with that one action.He thanked his lucky stars.

Now if only Kaden could be this lucky.

The thought darkened his mood a degree.

Taylor snuggled deeper against him making his heart hammer in its rib cage. Her movements were restless as she sought to his body for purchase, wrapping her own arms around him tightly.

"We'll get her back...I swear it." Mason whispered against her hair.

And he knew if he didn't, it would break Taylor down so badly she'd never be the same again.

Chapter 15: Distractions and Deathtraps

.::. Kaden's POV .::.

She was numb.

Numb and in pain....was that possible?

Flashes of light danced before her closed eyes as she replayed the scene of her kidnapping. How everything had went wrong in that one moment...

**** Kaden, at the time, had been trying in vain to put the random pieces of memory together that floated around in the corners of her mind, but no matter how hard she tried to make sense of them, she couldn't piece the puzzle together.

She saw faces, but couldn't remember who they were--except one, she was able to place one.

A black man with dreadlocks whom Axel had slain. She'd seen him before, but before she could get a grip on where she had seen him, movement in the house had caught her attention.

She had gotten up, opened her bedroom door and stalked into the hallway to the kitchen to grab a weapon. There had been a little bit of light coming from the kitchen window as the sun tried to burst through heavy gray clouds.

Kaden made her way to the knife holder and had proceeded to grab a carving knife. She had felt a twinge of warning, there was someone else in the kitchen with her-- right behind her. She had thrown an elbow that connected with a solar plexus, the assailant falling in a heap at her feet. She remember peering down at him but didn't recognize him.

Her heart raced, as she realized who they were.

This couldn't be good.

They had to be the rival pack, here to take her back.

She started to make her way into the living room, knife held out in front of her. Just as she had rounded the corner and the doorway came into view, two wolves rcame around the corner she had been about to pass by.

Kaden had lunged at one with the blonde hair, stabbing him in the left shoulder blade. She still remember his feral growl as in anger, he threw her into the opposite wall, shattering the mirror adorning it.

She had cried out, as the impact sent a jolt of pain thorugh her damaged shoulder.

With much effort, Kaden had gotten up and started searching for the carving knife, but just as had she spotted it a few feet away, the other man was coming at her. Kaden had tackled him to the ground and threw a punch right at his throat.

Kaden glanced down at her attacker, choking on his blood. The jab had cause his esophagus to collapse, as a result he would suffocate to death in due time.

The thought had brought a smile to her face at the time.

It was then Kaden had picked her abused body up, ready for the next attacker but he was nowhere to be found.

Kaden recalled the room, it had been an utter disaster. Chairs were flipped, mirrors was broken and blood everywhere, most mixed in with the scattered shards.

Mason was so going to give her hell for that one. That thought made her smile faintly through her current pain. She redoubled her efforts to distract herself and proceeded to dig up details from her memory that might be useful later...if she got out of this mess.

Kaden then had headed for the front door but had to stop because she grew lightheaded. She had realized then that there was something warm running down her back. She had brought a hand up to touch the back of her head and realized she had been bleeding profusely, the floor slippery from the blood.

Great.

She had thought in discust. Like she didn't have enough memories missing, she didn't need anymore hits to the head.

Kaden had then tried, stubbornly, to take another step, but her vision was double. Just in time, she had spotted another Were rounding the corner right next to her.

She hadn't had any hesitation at the time as she went for him, her hands clenching around his neck before she realized that he had brought backup. And the backup had guns.

Kaden had tried to retreated and run in the opposite direction, but she was dissortiented, wounded, and had lost a lot of blood.

"Don't let her get the hell away!" She had heard a new voice yell. She paused her memory for a moment to replay the voice.It sounded familiar....

She filed the thought away in important details for later and resumed her reflection.

She ran down a corridor that ended in a restroom. Getting in, she locked the door and was down on all fours Changing before they had even got there. Her body tingled as it remembered her forced Change. It had hurt worse than usual because of her wounds, but as a wolf she had thought she would've had a better chance of getting away...if only she knew then what she knew now. They had taken the door down easily, but by that time she had been ready to roll.

Kaden proceeded to pounce on the nearest person, which happened to be the guy she'd stabbed earlier and had his throat all over the floor before the rest knew what had happened.

She huffed with exertion, taking in the scents and realized there were at least a dozen new wolf scents, making her heart and chances to get away unscathed, sink.

She had bolted down the hallway to get away from the raining bullets but before she reached the nearest window, someone had hit her right hind leg. It was then her mind had registered that the bullets she had been hit with had silver in them.The same silver that was still coursing through her body even now...where ever she was.

It was easy to recall the rage she had felt, the bastards had wanted her weak, but alive.

Before she knew what was happening, Kaden was lying on the floor snarling and barking in pain as the silver from the bullets burned through her body making her welcome the numb comforting darkness.

That all had happened mere hours ago by her estimation. She had to guess at the time because where ever her captors had stashed her, they hadn't felt she needed a clock on the wall. Not that she really wanted to open her eyes.

How the hell was she going to get out of this? Damn it! This was the third time she'd need rescuing and this damsel in distress did not like her role.

~Taylor's POV~

What was that sound?

"Uhmm..." Taylor snuggled deeper into her warm pillow.

"..et...p..."

There was that faint echo again.

What was that?

She wished it would just shut up already.

"Get up."

"Mmmhr..." she tried to mentally block the idiot trying to bug her.

"Get up, little wild one." someone whispered into her ear.

She jerked with a start, raising her face to meet Mason's amused eyes.

"You-!"

"Me. Don't you remember last night?"

Taylor was aghast to find herself snuggled against Mason tightly; her arms wrapped around his middle, her head had been nestled into the crook of his neck.

Her face flamed, "Don't say it like that! People will get the wrong idea."

Taylor released him immediately, her body missing his warmth already.Flinging herself out of bed, she turned to stare down at his lazying form.

With a grin he replied, "What? We slept together."

"Don't say that!" she buried her face in her hands.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." he purred, rising out of the bed as well.

"So, no one has come to you with any new news?" She ignored him, any humor that showed in her face moments ago now fled as she got down to buisness.

"Yes. Actually." Mason rubbed his face in a tired manner.

"What?"

"We're heading to Fresno. I've booked us all tickets."

"Fine. It's...what six-thirty and we fly out at eight? I'm going to go take a shower quick."

"We don't have time for that, go get packed and then we head out."

"It'll only take a sec," Taylor informed him, her hand resting on the doorknob "I just need to get this gross scent off me."

"Why did you get blood on you last ni-" he cut himself off as he finally got the joke "Oh, ha, ha. Fine. Make it quick."

An hour and thirty minutes and two hastily eaten poptarts later they were through the airport security checkpoint.

"Grr."

"Taylor."

"Grrrr."

"Taylor!"

"Huh? Oh yes?"

"Stop messing with the drug sniffing dogs and take your ticket." Mason held out her ticket while making sure the policemen weren't witnessing their dogs being harassed. Thankfully they were too preoccupied with the luggage going through x-rays.

"Fine, fine.........grr!" She lightly growled one last time at the two German Shepards to watch them flinch.

What could she say? She was simple to entertain.And she needed anything and everything to distract her from her growing feeling of dread.

Roughly five hours and the 'Dani California' playing on infinite loop in her iPod, they arrived at Fresno International Airport.It was only 11:33 thanks to the time change.

"Caliiii-fornia~ rest in peeeace! Simultaneous release~" Taylor sung the lyrics out loud, as long as she sang religiously she didn't think about the plane.She hated to fly but for Kaden she could manage the flying metal deathtrap for a few hours.

And the song seemed appropriate, actually being in California.

"Oh for the love of god! That's it. Give me it, give it here!" Mason dove for her iPod.

"She's a lover baby and a fighter, Shoulda seen it coming when it got a little brighter. With a name like Dani California, The day was gonna come when I was gonna mourn ya---YAH! Hey!!!" Taylor's headphones were ripped from her ears violently.

Mason stuffed the bunched up cord into his front pocket.

"Oh that wasn't necessary," she frowned.

The others wolves Mason had brought along, Akira and Daren chuckled; even though she didn't know them very well she stuck her tongue out at them.

"You drive me crazy." Mason ran his fingers through his hair in aggravation.

I bet Kaden was driving her captors nuts....

The thought sobered her a little.Kaden could hold her own for a while and Taylor knew they wouldn't kill a female...at least she hoped they weren't that psychotic.

Still, whatever they were doing to her; it couldn't be all sunshine and rainbows...

Taylor gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on her only bag, a small grey carry-on backpack that was slung over her left shoulder; determined to find her friend before the day was through.