Page 25 of Daddy Wolf’s Secret Baby (Fated To The Wolf #10)

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Josiah

J osiah and Zac talked about the vampire attacks once they got back to the ceremonial hall and settled into Zac’s office.

After Zac sent a message to Matthias and Lucious, explaining the situation with Jeff, Zac sighed. “They’re becoming increasingly bolder. They are attacking before dark or right at dusk in businesses where they could potentially be seen.”

“I think it’s a challenge, just like serial killers and other people involved with extreme activities. The challenges have to become harder and harder for it to be fun. Jeff might have been the first easy target they ran into.” Josiah sighed. “If someone else had been in the office with him, they might have left.”

Zac nodded. “I notice that we don’t find more than one victim at a time. These vampires might have a pack mentality. They like to hunt in packs.”

“I’ve heard that, actually.”

Zac’s phone rang. “Matthias, you’re on speaker with Josiah.”

“A bear shifter came in this morning. He was attacked by a vampire near the old barn southeast of town. He said it was a single vampire. Jackson said he was in bear form so the vamp knew he was a shifter. Jackson said that he was able to fight off the vampire and managed to get away, however,”

“Is he hurt?”

“He has a couple of scratches and maybe a bite. I’m not sure. I took the liberty of calling Conner first to see if Beth would mind helping. She’s coming here. Conner said he would meet you out there. I’ll send a couple of shifters that way, too.”

“Josiah and I will head out that way.”

They arrived at the same time that Conner did. The three of them decided not to wait for the bear shifters and surveyed the scene first.

Loud noises were shaking the walls of the old barn. Men were shouting and a scuffle was definitely taking place.

Josiah grimaced. “I think we found them.”

They stripped quickly and shifted, and they burst into the barn. A fight was in full swing. Three men were trying to hold their own against eight vampires. The wolf shifters knew the three men were hunters, but decided to help them out. The vampires were the bigger threat.

Josiah didn’t have time to think or feel anything. He jumped on one of the vampires who had just attacked a hunter. Josiah bit the vampire by the back of his neck and pulled. The vampire fell back. He jumped to his feet, and hissed at Josiah, showing his fangs. “I love the taste of wolf.”

Lowering his head, Josiah ran as fast as he could into the vampire, knocking him to the ground. The hunter, who Josiah had helped, stabbed the vampire in the heart with the stake. The wolf and hunter nodded at each other.

Two vampires had jumped on Zac’s back. One of them was trying to get his teeth lodged into his neck. Josiah leaped and knocked the vampire off balance. The tall, thin vamp staggered, whirled around, and flew at Josiah. The wolf shifter stepped to the side and the vamp landed off balance. The bloodsucker leaped again and landed on Josiah’s back. He bared his teeth and tried to bite Josiah’s neck. The wolf dropped to the ground and rolled. Before the vampire could get up, a hunter with a machete lopped off his neck.

Soon, all of the vampires either had stakes in their chests or had lost their heads.

Zac, Josiah, and Conner shifted back to human form and stared at the three hunters.

One of them stepped forward and offered his hand to Zac. “We haven’t formally met. I’m Leon, and these are my merry men, Seth and Duncan. You’re Zac, the Alpha of the Nightshade Wolf Shifter Pack.”

Not sure whether he could trust Leon, Zac slowly shook his hand, watching for any sign of betrayal.

Leon smiled. “Don’t worry. We aren’t the kind of hunters who kill anyone and anything just because they’re different. We only hurt rogue supernatural killers who hurt others, like were-creatures or these rogue vampires. My wife was killed by a rogue shifter. Duncan’s whole family was killed by a witch, and Seth’s parents were killed by vampires.”

“We appreciate that,” Zac said. “We also appreciate your help. We made quite a team. You’re welcome to stay and have dinner with us.”

Leon shook his head. “We appreciate the offer, but we’re off to Cheyenne, Wyoming. There’s a dark witch there who’s been killing people with spells and other dark magic.

The three shifters looked at each other. That sounded a lot like Beth’s mother. Although Beth and Taryn were good witches with pure hearts, Beth’s mother was about as dark as a witch could get. She had tried to kill Conner a few times.

“Good luck,” Zac said.

The bear shifters showed up as Zac, Conner, and Josiah were getting dressed.

“Sorry, guys, you missed all the fun. We and the hunters worked together to kill eight of those bloodsucking bastards.”

Matthias asked, “Where are the hunters now?”

“They were good guys. They only hunt the supernatural folks who harm others. They’re off chasing a dark witch.”

After a brief discussion, they decided the best course of action was to burn the barn down with the vampire bodies inside.

Zac called Lucious and told him what happened. Lucious landed next to Zac ten minutes later. He shifted and walked into the barn to inspect the bodies.

“Good work, guys.”

He shifted back into dragon form and blew a stream of fire all around the barn until it was completely engulfed. Everyone stood around, watching it burn, making sure there was nothing left and the last ashes were out.

“The last thing we need is to start some kind of forest fire,” Zac said dryly.

“I’m going back to get dressed. Let’s meet at Howlers’ . I’ll buy,” Lucious said.

Josiah grinned. “You should, since Zac, Conner, and I did all the hard work.”

Smiling as he jumped into Zac’s truck, he felt a euphoric high. They had managed to get rid of two problems all at once. The vampires were gone and the hunters, who were never a threat, were also leaving town. That just left one to deal with – Elias.

As though he read Josiah’s mind, Zac asked, “Has Zahra heard from Elias?”

“Not to my knowledge, but I’m sure that he’s still around. He is the kind of person who would stay around and cause trouble simply because he didn’t get what he wanted. The second that Zahra told him ‘no’ she became a challenge.”

“I hate to take out another Alpha, but it might have to be done.”

“It just might, if he refuses to get the hint. I’m going to stop by the jeweler’s this afternoon and get a ring. I’ve known for a long time that she’s my fated mate. I was scared to ask her to go through the mating ceremony with her, I guess because that’s such a final step. I know that I love her and Jace, and I’m ready for us to be a real family.”

“That’s good. She’s loved you for a long time.”

Josiah sighed. “I guess I’ve known that, but had simply brushed it off as a little girl crush. Don’t say anything to her, please.”

“Of course not. I would never ruin your proposal. I will be excited to officiate it, though.”

They had just about gotten to the bar when Josiah heard Zahra’s panicked voice in the back of his mind.

Elias has Jace and me. Please help us.

“Turn around. Get to Zahra’s house. Now. Step on it.”

Zac made a U-turn in the middle of the road, causing several vehicles to slam on their breaks. Horns were honking, people were screaming, and middle fingers were flying.

“What’s up?”

“I just got a message from Zahra. She said that Elias has her and Jace.”

His heart thudded in his chest as fear gripped his soul. He tried dialing her number, but it just rang until it went to voice mail.

Zac screeched into her driveway. They could see that her front door had been busted down. They cautiously went inside.

There had obviously been a fight. Her couch was overturned and the television was shattered into a million pieces. Lamps and nicknacks were broken.

Callie landed in the yard and Sebastian’s truck skidded to a stop in front of the house a minute later.

They raced inside.

Sebastian looked around. “Her alarm went off. I got in my truck as soon as I found out.”

Callie shifted and went from room to room. “No one is here.”

She knelt. “There’s blood on the floor.”

Sebastian looked at the camera footage and saw the entire struggle.

“She put up a hell of a fight,” Zac muttered. “Good for you, Sis.”

“The good thing is that we know exactly where he’s taking her. The bad thing is that he’s got a head start.”

“Not much of one,” Sebastian said.

Zac called Conner and then his father, who would be pissed if he was left out of the rescue mission. He also called Sean.

“It will be the six of us against the whole pack,” Zac said. “It would take time to rally more people, and we might not have that much time.”

“Not six,” Callie said. “At least seven, and I bet that Julian would love to be in on this, too. There’s nothing that he enjoys more than roasting bad guys. I’m going home to get dressed. Come pick me up at my house.”

Josiah was anxious to get on the road. He pictured how he would delight in ripping Elias to pieces, bit by bit. If either Jace or Zahra were hurt, he would take immense pleasure in making sure that Elias felt incredible agony for days.

John arrived, ready to go, and Conner showed up a minute later.

“I’m going to pick up Callie and Julian from her place and pick up Sean from Howlers’. We’ll be right behind you.”

“We were supposed to meet Lucious and Matthias for drinks,” Conner said. “Someone should explain why they were stood up.”

“I’m sure Sean did,” Zac said.

Josiah, Zac, Conner, and John jumped into Zac’s truck and they hit the highway. Zac kept the gas pedal pressed to the floor the entire trip. They stopped once for gas. Josiah chomped at the bit because the pump seemed to be slower than Mississippi molasses in an Alaskan January.

Zac could feel the stress radiating off of Josiah like a physical wave he could see. “I can’t make it pump any faster. We’ll get there. They’ll be fine. Zahra is smart, and she knows that we’re all coming to rain down hell on Elias and his crew.”

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pump clicked off, signaling that the tank was full. They jumped back into the truck and flew toward St. Theresa.

Everyone was mostly silent during the ride and the tension was so thick that it was hard to breathe. Josiah knew that Zac was driving so quickly that he’d end up in jail if he was stopped, but it still felt as though they were crawling.

Finally, they saw the signs for St. Theresa, Missouri. The trip would normally take a lot longer, driving five miles over the speed limit. Zac got them there in eight hours. Sebastian had caught up to them and was on their tail the entire trip.

It didn’t take long for them to find out where the ceremonial hall was. They burst inside. The mating ceremony was already taking place. Elias was at the altar. Two men were standing on either side of Zahra, holding her arms in a tight grip. Jace was sitting in the front row, looking as though he was trying to be as tiny as he possibly could.

“If they have already gone through the ceremony, she’s about to become a widow,” Josiah growled.