Free Return to Kadenburg by T. E. Ridener Page A

wouldn’t give to be able
to read minds.
    Dimitri had gone from angry and ready to kill him, to
broken and devastated within seconds; how was he supposed to deal with that?
Furthermore, how was he supposed to bring up the subject of Liam again if it
was going to cause meltdowns like this?
    Hell, it would probably cause him plenty of meltdowns in
the future, truth be told. The wound was still fresh in his soul over the news
of his best friend’s death. If Dimitri was still suffering so badly after
nearly a month, what hope did Rutley have?
    He was jarred from his thoughts when he realized
Dimitri was grabbing him up from the floor, hoisting him into the air and
pushing him aside. He stumbled backwards.
    “Hey, wait…what do you think you’re doing?”
    Dimitri grabbed the door knob, but stopped long enough
to gaze at him. “I have to go back for Lorcan and Presley,” he stated softly.
“I can’t leave them there.”
    “Leave them where?” Rutley asked, following after him
as the wolf stalked outside. “Where are they?”
    “He’s going to kill them,” Dimitri called over his
shoulder as he walked briskly across the parking lot. “I have to stop him.”
    “Who?!” Rutley called after him, muttering beneath his
breath. “Hold on just a damn second, dude. I’m coming with you!”

 
    Eight
     
    S he had made many mistakes in her life, but now
was not the time to have regrets. Tonight was the night she would finally make
everything right, and she would start by ensuring her niece’s safety.
    Natalie Carroll had a long list of sins she’d committed
against her family. She was a traitor to her kind, and she was more than aware
that she would never be welcomed back into Kadenburg with open arms. Arnold
Goult would rather have her executed before Urseth than be involved in
Presley’s life. She would just have to make sure Presley had a life to live,
even if she couldn’t be in it.
    As she carefully pulled the door to a close and made
her way down the hallway, she tried to prepare herself for how the rest of the
evening would play out. Lorcan would take Presley back to Arnold, and then
Breslin would eventually realize his prized possession was gone. He would
question her first, of course; she was the one in charge of keeping them
drugged, after all.
    As messed up as it sounded, she’d agreed to keep her
niece, Lorcan, and Dimitri doped up for as long as it took for Breslin’s plan
to come into play; but that was before she’d heard the additional heartbeat.
    “I’ve got a surprise for you,” Breslin grinned as he
entered the long since abandoned hospital that had once thrived with doctors
and nurses. He sauntered up behind her, his hands falling to her waist as he
kissed her jaw. “I think you’re going to like it.”
    “So you’ve finally got what you wanted,”
Natalie speculated, turning in his arms to gaze up at him. “I got the drugs
you asked for.”
    His large, warm palms cupped her cheeks as
he smirked. “And that’s why you’re my only favorable ursi-shit, Honeycomb,” he
mumbled, his lips gently touching hers.
    Natalie’s eyes closed as she returned his
kiss, losing herself in the moment. Breslin was the only family she’d had
since that fateful night many years ago. It was kill or be killed, and she
wasn’t a fan of dying. Her brother made the wrong choice; she wouldn’t make
the same mistake.
    Living among the werewolves wasn’t entirely
bad. Sometimes it was a lot of fun. It was very easy to be seduced by the
lifestyle of a lycanthrope; to be drawn into the allure of sex and animalistic
urges. There weren’t any laws to honor, or rules to abide by. Werewolves had
it made.
    Breslin’s lips traced over her neck,
nipping at her sensitive flesh as his hands roamed beneath her shirt.
    “I did find what I was looking for,” he
whispered huskily, lifting her onto the old receptionist’s desk before he
pulled her shirt upwards. “She is very pretty.”
    “Mmm,” Natalie laughed