Thirty minutes later, Brynley was dressed in a midnight-blue gown, and her sister had pulled her thick hair back into a loose French braid. The guards escorted them down the staircase.
A few dozen guests were lingering in the great hall, sipping wine and chatting. They looked so posh and elegant. No one would ever suspect that in a few hours, they would be furry and ripping into dead animals to feast on bloody entrails.
“Do you see the mural?” Glynis whispered. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Brynley spotted the artwork through the crowd. It showed a pack of wolves moving through a forest. “It’s beautiful.”
Glynis grinned, then stiffened. “He’s coming for you.”
“Who?” Brynley groaned as Rhett moved to the base of the stairs, where he waited for them. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, his shoulder-length dark hair slicked back, his dark eyes watching her intently.
“Good evening, ladies.”
His voice did nothing for her. God, how she missed Phineas.
When she remained silent, Glynis quickly spoke up. “It’s lovely to see you again, Rhett. Thank you for the roses.”
“My pleasure.” He lifted a hand to Brynley. “Would you take a walk with me outside?”
“Oh yes, Brynley, you should.” Glynis begged her with her eyes. “The garden is lovely this time of year.”
The guards crowded around her, so she had nowhere to flee. The guests stopped their chatting to watch. Rhett grabbed her hand and tucked it into his elbow.
“Come.” He led her to the front door.
One of the guards opened it.
“I wish to be alone with her,” Rhett murmured to the guard, then escorted her onto the porch.
“You must at least pretend to like me.” He squeezed her hand tightly till it hurt. “I will not be embarrassed in front of others.”
“Then you should marry someone who is willing.”
He led her down the steps to the flagstone path that would take them to the garden on the side of the house. “You are my choice.”
“Why?”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “You don’t believe you’re worthy of me?”
She snorted. “I’m not going to be cooperative.”
“Not a problem.” He squeezed her hand painfully again. “I’ll enjoy forcing you to submit.”
Pig. Alpha pig. She pulled her hand from his grip. Her inner wolf growled.
A door slammed in the driveway, and a young male werewolf ran toward them. “Master! I need a word with you.” He glanced at Brynley. “In private.”
Rhett frowned at him. “It had better be important.”
“I’ll go back inside,” Brynley offered, and hurried back up the steps and into the house before Rhett could object.
She weaved through the guests in the great hall and eased into the parlor. More people mingled there, but she ignored them and rushed across the room, peering out the windows till she could see Rhett and his minion where they’d moved farther down the flagstone path. She raised the window an inch and squatted next to it. Even with her extra-sharp hearing, she had trouble hearing their conversation over the voices in the parlor until Rhett suddenly shouted.
“Kyle is dead?” he bellowed.
“Yes, sir. Three shots to his chest.”
“And the vampires?”
“Gone, sir. The cabin was empty.”
Brynley’s breath caught. Yes! Phineas and Jack were all right! They’d escaped. And they would come looking for her.
The minion kept talking. “We took Kyle’s body back to your ranch. What do you want us to do with it?”
Rhett scoffed. “Dump it back at his brother’s house.”
The window suddenly clicked shut. “What are you doing?” Her father’s clipped voice sounded annoyed.
Brynley straightened. “Enjoying some fresh air.”
“I doubt it.” Caddoc Jones glanced out the window. “Come. The buffet has started.” He took her elbow and steered her toward the dining room. “You defied me when you ran away. Have you ever known me not to punish a member of my pack for disobedience?”
She swallowed hard.
His grip tightened on her arm. “I will forgo punishment this time under one condition. You will go through with the wedding and marry Rhett Bleddyn.”
The prison walls were closing in. “May I join the Hunt tonight?” If she shifted, she could run like hell. The thought of her father’s wolves chasing her down was terrifying, but she was getting desperate enough to take the chance.
“You will remain indoors.” He handed her a plate. “Enjoy your evening.” He turned on his heel and left.
She set the plate back in the stack. She couldn’t eat when she was suffocating. She pivoted, feeling entirely hemmed in by her father’s well-dressed, happy minions.
She spotted one who looked uncomfortable. He was standing in the corner, quietly eating. Thomas, Trudy’s husband. She’d mentioned he would be here.
She eased over in his direction. “Hey, Thomas.”
He inclined his head. “Miss Jones. I didn’t know you had returned.”
“It was . . . unplanned.” She lowered her voice. “Corey’s doing great at school.”
Thomas exhaled with relief, and a brief smile flitted over his face before his guarded expression returned. “You shouldn’t say his name here.”
“Do you have a cell phone on you?”
He gave her a wary look.
She shrugged. “I can’t seem to find a single phone in this entire house. Crazy, isn’t it?”
“Miss Jones, I suggest you do whatever your father tells you to. Excuse me.” He strode from the dining room.
With a groan, she leaned against the wall. What was she doing? Thomas and Trudy were good people. She shouldn’t get them into trouble. She was just so damned frustrated!
“Oh, there you are!” Glynis rushed toward her, grinning. “Guess what? Dad made special plans for us. He ordered all the latest movie releases. We get to have an all-night marathon in the media room!”
With a dozen guards outside the door, no doubt. Phineas, please hurry.
The wedding was in two nights.
Chapter Twenty-two
“This is where you and Brynley grew up?” Phineas asked as he scanned the enormous house. He was with Zoltan and Phil, hidden in the woods behind Caddoc Jones’s ranch house.
They’d arrived ten minutes earlier, a half hour after sunset. Phil had recalled the number for an old phone in the stable. The elderly werewolf who had answered it had been stunned when they teleported in, but Phineas had quickly erased his memory while Zoltan had communicated with the horses to keep them calm.
“This is the main residence,” Phil answered quietly. “There are two more, one in Idaho and one in Wyoming.”
“When do they start shifting?” Zoltan asked.
Phil glanced up at the full moon. “Soon.” He motioned for them to follow. “They’ll shift in the backyard and head straight into these woods. We need to move.”
They kept to the forest, circling around the north side of the house.
So far, Phineas had seen only one guard, and he was relaxing in a lawn chair on the back porch. “They don’t seem too concerned about security.”
Phil snorted. “Who in their right mind would attack a house full of a hundred werewolves? Most of the guards are inside, making sure the guests don’t attack each other. And they’re probably watching Brynley’s every move.”
“If you spot her, even in wolf form, let me know,” Phineas said. “I’ll teleport straight to her and get her out of here.”
Phil shook his head. “I doubt my father will allow her to participate in the Hunt. She’d probably try to run away.”
“Or she might get hunted down and assaulted,” Phineas muttered.
Phil stopped with a jerk. “What are you saying? Did that happen to her?”
“You wouldn’t know, would you? You weren’t here for her.”
“She never answered my letters,” Phil insisted. “Never agreed to escape with me. I thought she must be happy here.”
“You thought wrong!”
“Enough,” Zoltan growled. “Keep your voices down or the guards will hear us.”
Phineas took a deep breath. He was having a hard time dealing with the abuse Brynley had suffered. It was wrong of him, but he was taking it out on her brother.
“Look at it,” Phil whispered, pointing at the huge mansion. “I didn’t think she’d be willing to leave that behind. I left here with nothing but the clothes on my back. I nearly starved before I ended up a poor college student, living in the basement of Roman’s townhouse and working during the day as a security guard. I asked Brynley to come away with me, but I didn’t push it. I didn’t think I had much to offer.”
Phineas swallowed hard. He knew that feeling. It was hard to believe Brynley would choose him, a poor Undead guy from the Bronx with an outstanding warrant for his arrest, when she could have luxury and security.
He followed Phil and Zoltan toward the front of the house. They came to the edge of an asphalt road that led to the circular driveway.
“We’ll teleport across.” Zoltan pointed to a wooded area. “Land over there.” He grabbed hold of Phil and vanished.
Phineas joined them. They were a far distance in front of the house now, but with their superior vision they could still see. However, much of their view was blocked by the SUVs, pickups, and campers parked in the driveway.
Phineas pointed up. “Let’s get a better view.”
“Good idea.” Phil walked over to a thick pine with sturdy branches. “I used to climb this as a kid.” He leaped and caught hold of the lowest branch. With a grunt, he swung a leg over the branch and straddled it. Holding on to the trunk, he stood, then reached for the next branch.
Phineas levitated and hovered close by. “Going up?”
Phil gave him a wry look. “Show-off.”
Phineas offered him a hand. “Come on.” When Phil looped an arm around his shoulders, he continued levitating to the top branches of the tree.
“Slowpokes,” Zoltan murmured from the top of a neighboring tree. He must have teleported.
Phineas landed on a sturdy branch and surveyed the house and grounds. One guard stood by the front door. The house sprawled along the top of long hill. On the south side, a garden had been planted where the land sloped down to a flat meadow. Beyond that, there were some pens and then the stable.
“I was wrong,” Phil whispered from a nearby branch. “I should have come here to make sure she was all right. I should have known she couldn’t bear it here any more than I could.”
“Not your fault,” Phineas mumbled. “You didn’t know.”
Phil leaned against the trunk, gazing at the house. “It’s hard to explain what the Lycan world is like to an outsider. On the surface, it all seems perfect. Big ranches, beautiful country, strong families, a really close and supportive community. If one of the men in the pack dies, his widow and children are automatically taken care of. If someone’s house or barn burns down, the pack gathers to rebuild it. There’s a strong sense of pride and security—”
“But no freedom,” Phineas muttered.
Phil sighed. “For me, the cost of staying was too high.”
“It’s too high for Brynley, too. They’ll force her to marry Bleddyn.” Phineas’s fingers dug into the pine bark. “I saw him slap her in the cabin, and I just lay there, unable to help her.”
“Bastard,” Phil snarled. “I should kick his ass.”
“I’d like a swing at him, too, but it looks like Howard wants the honor.” Phineas paused a moment, wondering what the story was there.
“What are your intentions toward my sister?” Phil asked.
That took him by surprise. “I guess it’s obvious I have feelings for her.” He took a deep breath. “I want to be with her if she’ll have me. I’d like to spend my life with her.”
Phil turned to him with wry look. “You sure you can handle her?”
Phineas smiled. “It would be one hell of a thrill ride finding that out.” He motioned toward the house. “Do you know which window is her bedroom?”
“You’re thinking about teleporting in?” Phil asked.
“If I can find her, I’ll teleport her straight to Romatech, and you two guys can follow.”
“She’s probably being guarded,” Phil warned him.
“I’ll go with you,” Zoltan told him. “If you find her, teleport out. I shall return here for Phil.”
Phil pointed. “Second window from the right, upstairs. The curtains are shut.”
A second later, Phineas materialized in a large, dark bedroom. He pivoted, scanning the room. No one there.
Zoltan appeared beside him. After a quick look around, he opened a door. “Bathroom,” he whispered, and went inside.
Phineas zipped over to another door and peered inside. A walk-in closet. Mostly empty, except for a row of pretty dresses and some high-heeled shoes. Brynley had obviously taken her casual clothes with her when she’d run away. Something long and white caught his eye, and he ventured closer. Shit. It was a wedding dress in a clear plastic bag. Lots of lace and beads and crap. A lot more expensive than he could ever afford.
He closed the closet door and surveyed the room. The wrought-iron bed was neatly made up with a blue and green quilt. It didn’t look like it had been slept in. A white box underneath the bed drew his attention. What would she hide beneath her bed? Old photos of her mom or Phil? Memorabilia from happier days?
