Hidden Destiny (Redwood Pack) Read online

  He kissed her again, ran a hand over Parker’s head, and then left the room, ready to carry out the next part of his mission. He couldn’t stand by and let those who wanted to hurt his family continue to act as if they had not a care in the world. He’d waited for a plan, a way to make what needed to be done easier, but he knew it would take more than blind luck for fate to run its course. His mate was with her son, and would hopefully find her wolf and live a long life.

  Now it was North’s turn to take another step on fate’s path and kill the man who’d taken so much from them all, from his family, from him.

  Yes, this would be personal… beyond personal.

  He would find Corbin and kill him. The prophecy that they all believed in foretold he’d be the one to kill the Alpha of the Central Pack, and now it would be up to North to ensure that would happen.

  As his brothers had pointed out, there hadn’t been any mention that North would live through the process. That didn’t matter though, not as much as the lives of his family and Pack. He’d already had to stand by and watch the Centrals kill Adam’s first mate, attack and torture Willow, kidnap Reed and Hannah, make Josh a hybrid, including a piece he had only a semblance of control over, take Adam’s leg, take Bay’s pride…and so much more.

  Year by year, his family had stood strong for their Pack, and North had lost nothing but his hopes.

  Now he would fight for them, fight for his mate, fight for himself.

  “Where are you going?”

  North stood by his front door, his hand frozen on the doorknob. “You know where I’m going, Maddox.” His twin had been tortured and scarred because Corbin had thought Maddox was North. North would have done anything to have taken his brother’s place.

  “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  “Then I’ll take the bastard down with me.”

  “North, think about what you’re doing.”

  North spun on his heel, his wolf on edge. “I have been, Maddox. Ever since you told us what Corbin told you all those years ago, I have been. It’s been on my mind every day, every second. I can’t let him come here and hurt my family. I’m going to take him out.”

  “Then you’re a fool.”

  North raised his chin. “Then I am. But I have to try. I can’t sit back and wait for him to come to me.”

  “Then don’t go alone.”

  Both Maddox and North turned to Logan, who walked into the living room, a frown on his face.

  “This is none of your concern,” North growled.

  “Isn’t it? You’re my brother-in-law, my Pack mate, and hopefully, one day, my friend. I don’t have a mate bond like the rest of your brothers, so if I die beside you today, then I won’t hurt another.” His mouth set in a grim line, and North had to hold himself back from mentioning their sisters.

  If they died today, both men knew Lexi and Cailin would find a way to kill them both again in the next life. .

  “Lexi can’t lose both of us,” North countered.

  “Then let’s make sure we don’t get killed, shall we?”

  “You’re both idiots. However, I’ll stay here with Lexi to make sure she’s safe.” Maddox gave both men a quick slap on the back then hugged North hard. “Don’t get dead.”

  North sucked in a breath, gave Logan a nod, and then went outside. They climbed into his Jeep and made their way through the den in silence.

  It would take almost an hour to get to the Centrals’ den, but North wasn’t going to go directly there. No, he wanted to go only part way and see if he could find any of Corbin’s enforcers around. The bastard had a way of knowing where people were going at all times—thanks to his dark magic.

  “So, got a plan? Or we just winging it?” Logan asked.

  “Go to the halfway point. Find an enforcer. Kill him. Wait for Corbin to find out I’m there, which should take, oh, ten minutes, then kill the bastard. If we aren’t inside the den, we have a better shot. And, this way, we’re less likely to get any other Redwoods killed.”

  Logan was silent for a moment before he whistled softly. “Getting Packmates killed sounds like something Corbin would do, so you’re banking good there, but going out without knowing exactly how we’re going to come back whole and not knowing even if Corbin will come like we hope? Sounds risky as all hell. Why didn’t you do this earlier if you could just do it like this?”

  North gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. “Because I didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life, and I was scared, okay? I’m not looking to die.”

  “Doesn’t sound like it from your plan so far.”

  “Fuck you. I’m supposed to kill him.”

  “Yeah, did they say when? Because right now doesn’t seem like the best time. Not when your mate is lying in a bed after almost dying.”

  “She’ll be okay.” She had to be okay. “We’ll live through this. I don’t have a death wish. I just want her free of Corbin so we can move on.”

  “I was waiting for that.”

  “What?”

  “You’re allowed to be selfish here. You’re allowed to want to feel that mating bond. I can’t wait until I fucking feel that.” He held up a hand. “No, don’t ask. I’m not going to talk about my mating. However, we can talk about yours. You want to kill Corbin so you can mate with Lexi in truth and have all those babies you Jamensons seem to like making, and as a bonus, get one step closer to having the Centrals taken down? Sounds like a plan to me. Just be honest with yourself about your intentions. Okay?”

  “Just don’t die on me.”

  “Ditto.”

  North pulled the Jeep off to the side of the road. They were still in the middle of the forest and would be for a while yet. The three Packs of the Pacific Northwest were all bunched up together with neutral territory between them. The Redwoods, Centrals, and Talons had generally been at least friendly to one another, if not having outright alliances. The Centrals, though, had always wanted more, and since they were between the Redwoods and Talons, they fought with whichever group they could. The Talons had been far enough away from the Redwoods that it wasn’t until the modern age that communication had been more than a passing glance through Mediators—wolves that went between the Packs to negotiate treaties.

  North had chosen to come to the neutral territory where he’d known the Centrals had put enforcers, breaking their treaties. However, since the Centrals invaded and killed when they wanted, the neutral territories were a small matter.

  No, nothing to the Redwoods was small. If his family could, they would find a way to take out the whole Pack, but in doing so, they would kill what they stood for their honor, their peace, their magic. Since they were also not using the dark magic the Centrals were, they might even kill themselves as well.

  There wasn’t a way out of this situation. Not with the demon amongst the Central’s ranks.

  He punched his steering wheel and cursed.

  “Let the rage settle right beneath your skin,” Logan said smoothly. “I can smell the enforcers.” He took a deep breath. “Can’t you?”

  North growled then nodded. Yes, he could smell the bastards prowling around them, thinking they had the upper hand. They weren’t as stealthy as they thought.

  With one look and a nod toward Logan, they both got out of the Jeep, claws bared.

  Four Central enforcers came out from behind the tree line on North’s side and pounced. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another four wolves attack Logan.

  Eight on two, not a bad deal.

  They were fighting as men since it would take too long to shift. However most of them held the power to be able to use their claws and fangs while in human form.

  Logan was strong enough to stand on his own and fight, so North focused on his own battle. He clawed at the wolf closest to him, getting the bastard in the neck. The tips of his claws sank into flesh, tearing it as he pulled away. The man screamed, clutching his neck as he tried to turn into his wolf form. He wouldn’t make it, not wi
th the wound North had delivered. The man would be dead before he hit the ground.

  Two other wolves came at his side, and he twisted, letting them go past him. One clawed along his side, but it was a necessary wound so he could get to the fourth wolf. He lowered his body and rammed his shoulder into the man’s gut. The other man let out a grunt as North slammed him into the ground. He stepped on the other man’s neck, holding him down as he turned to grip one of the other wolves by the neck. He squeezed hard, feeling the wolf’s spine crack under the pressure. The dead wolf went limp in his hands, and he threw him down. North stepped harder on the wolf on the ground and twisted his foot, killing the wolf instantly.

  Finally, the last wolf came at him, and he punched out, digging his claws into the enforcer’s belly. The other man screamed, and North pulled away, his hand and forearm covered with blood.

  The wolf blinked, looked down at himself, and fell to his knees.

  “You made quick work of them,” Logan said as he walked toward North, a spray of blood on his shirt, but otherwise he looked like he was on an afternoon stroll.

  However the gold gleam in his eyes of a wolf on the hunt told another story.

  “You were quicker.” North looked down at his side and winced as his body started to heal the light claw marks. “And didn’t get hurt.”

  “Mine didn’t use their claws as much. Idiots.” He looked over his shoulder then turned in a circle around them. “So, where’s Corbin?”

  “He’ll be here.” North rolled his shoulders then looked at the dead at their feet. “Let’s pile them up and put them in the forest. The Centrals aren’t stupid enough to let humans know about wolves, but leaving eight dead bodies around isn’t smart.”

  “No, it isn’t smart,” Corbin called out. “I suppose we’ll just have to leave two dead bodies instead.”

  North and Logan both pivoted toward the Central Alpha, who stood about twenty yards from them. He looked the same as always, dirty and oily, with a sneer on his face. North’s wolf clawed at him, wanting to kill the bastard now for ever laying a hand on Lexi, but he held him back. This wasn’t the time, not yet. Not when he didn’t know his surroundings or whether the demon was with the bastard.

  Corbin alone North could take. Add in the demon and there was a problem.

  “I see you got our message,” North said, his voice oddly calm.

  Corbin snorted. “I knew the minute you stepped off Redwood Pack land. You think my demon doesn’t know all? Fuck you.”

  Interesting that the bastard called Caym his demon, yet it sounded to North as though the demon was the one that held all the power.

  “Are you ready for this?” North asked, beyond ready. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another four enforcers come through the trees. He didn’t tense up, though he’d have liked to. Logan gave a small nod, and North gave one back. Logan would have his back like they’d planned.

  North would have to take Corbin…finally.

  “I suppose it’s time to see if fate’s right…or just a cruel liar,” Corbin sneered.

  North growled and charged, Logan coming up behind him. Acting as his defense, Logan took down the enforcers one by one, staying behind to kill them. North had eyes only for Corbin, who stood still, grinning like a fucking idiot.

  Corbin pivoted at the last second, but North was faster. He gripped the bastard’s arm and wrenched it. Corbin let out a scream and tried to get away, but North held tight. The two clawed at each other, and North took him down, punching and kicking while Corbin tried to get away.

  The details from where Lexi’s brother fought, trickled in like bursts of images from a movie while his attention was somewhere else. Logan growled, the sound a menacing tear along the eerily quiet of the rest of the forest. The animals in the area had long since run for cover, knowing the wolves were the predators to fear. Logan moved to claw at one wolf, his shrieking cry broken off abruptly as it died. With the grace of a wolf much smaller than he was, the Anderson wolf turned and kicked out, catching another wolf in the side. That enemy wolf went down hard, but still fighting. Logan sank his claws into its neck, killing it instantly.

  Logan jumped while North ran, ramming two more wolves together, blood pouring from his side as another wolf clawed at him. North could hear the other wolves dying around him as Logan won his own battles, but he kept his focus on Corbin. He had to. If he looked away for too long, or lost his concentration for even a moment, Corbin would run. The bastard always ran.

  Corbin had relied on others for too long. He wasn’t the wolf he thought he was.

  North wrapped his hands around Corbin’s neck and squeezed. “Fuck you,” he whispered.

  The Alpha gurgled below him, his eyes bulged, the scent of death surrounding him.

  “I think not, young Redwood,” a voice said from behind him before red-hot fire scorched over his body.

  The blast threw North in the air, his body twisting and turning at odd angles, and bones broke, muscles rending. He screamed, the agony forcing bile up his throat. Below him, Logan lay prone on the ground, blood pooling around his too-still body.

  Caym stood by Corbin, laughing with that twisted sneer on his sharply angled face.

  The demon snapped his fingers, and North slammed into the ground, the impact shocking his body. The darkness slid over him, and he knew he’d lost.

  He’d lost it all…and for nothing.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “He went where?” Lexi screamed as she scrambled out of bed. That damn wolf. How could he even think of doing this? And her brother? Oh, she’d kick both their asses when they got back. And they would get back because if they didn’t, she’d find them and kick their asses even harder.

  She choked on a sob then cursed at herself. Really? Crying? This wasn’t the time to cry; this was the time to be pissed. The man she loved and her brother had taken it into their own hands to try to end the war. How idiotic could they get?

  “Lexi, you should be resting,” Maddox said.

  “Fuck resting,” she rumbled, and she put on her jeans in jagged movements.

  “Mom!” Parker whispered, and Lexi shut her eyes, counting to ten. Freaking out and cursing were the appropriate actions when male wolves acted as though they knew better when, really, they only had death wishes. But she wouldn’t do either in front of her eight-year-old son.

  Ellie, Maddox’s mate, walked into the room then with Charlotte, her newly adopted daughter, by her side with their hands clasped together. Technically, Charlotte was Ellie’s sister; therefore, both of them were Parker’s aunts. The weirdness of all the family trees made Lexi’s head hurt.

  “Okay, Parker. Come with me so your mom can worry about North and Logan. Okay?”

  Parker gave her a hug then went with Ellie. He stopped at the doorway, though, and turned to Lexi. “Make sure Cailin is safe. She’d go after Logan if she thought no one was looking.” With that, her too-wise son left with the sister of the man Lexi hated more than anything, and Lexi fell back to the bed, needing to breathe.

  “I don’t know how much more of this I can take, Maddox,” she said, rubbing a hand over her face. She was still weak from the attempt to bring out her wolf, but with each passing hour, she was almost back to full strength. She couldn’t feel or hear her wolf yet, but she’d never thought that would be a possibility at this point. She’d have to wait for the full moon for that to happen.

  “I could have held him back, Lexi, but he’d have found another way to go. North’s determined like that.”

  Lexi narrowed her eyes. “All you men are the same way. Add a little dominant wolf and you go freaking crazy. How long have they been gone?”

  Maddox looked at the clock on the nightstand. “Four hours. The family and our enforcers know what happened. We’re looking for them now.”

  “They were stupid.” Her gaze left his. She knew she might have been spitting angry, but it only covered the worry and panic that her mate could be out there dying and she wouldn’t know.r />
  She didn’t have the mating bond.

  She couldn’t feel him…not even to know if he was alive.

  The shaky breath that left her lungs echoed in the room.

  “Yes, and they’ll be reprimanded for that.”

  Lexi growled. “Well, they better get their butts back here so they can actually be reprimanded.”

  She heard the front door open, scented the husky scent of her mate and the coppery tang of blood, and ran.

  “Need some help over here,” Logan grunted, limping into the room, covered with blood and holding an unconscious North in a fireman’s carry.

  “Give him to me and follow us to the clinic,” Maddox ordered, taking his twin. He didn’t struggle under the weight, but carried his brother as if he were precious crystal.

  Lexi followed them to the clinic, picking up the phone on the way. She called Pat to tell her what she knew so far and that they needed Hannah right away. North’s mother would know what to do from there.

  “What happened?” she asked through her tears. Damn those tears. She couldn’t fall apart, not now, not when she didn’t know what the future held.

  Maddox had North on the table, her mate’s body a ravaged semblance of broken bones, odd angles, torn skin, blood, and dirt. Logan sat on a chair beside the table, his hand clutching his side, his face pale.

  “We almost had him,” Logan rasped out, his voice sounding as if his lungs were full of fluid. From the way he was breathing, Lexi wouldn’t have been surprised if that were true. “We only got away because Corbin left us. Don’t know why. The fucking wolf mumbled something about Caym saying it wasn’t the right time. I don’t even know anymore.” He let out a shaky breath and widened his eyes like he was trying figure out how to use his lungs again.

  She would worry about exactly what Corbin meant later. The implications of the Central Alpha letting the one fated to kill him go meant something. She just didn’t know what. Either Corbin had a plan that was more involved than she thought, or Caym did.

  Knowing both of them, she was afraid what that plan could be.