Spirit Wolves - 21. Chapter 21

Reilly glanced sideways at his mate as the big truck throttled down the road. They were nearly at Zev and Ben’s Airbnb. It was an easy drive from the motel they stayed at off I-90, not too far from the Idaho border.

Yesterday they’d followed Wayne as far as they dared, stopping when Sebastian and Hunter had felt relatively safe, still within Caleb’s territory. Nevertheless, uneasiness settled over the four as they watched Wayne’s truck disappear down the highway. A feeling that hadn’t disappeared, but rather morphed into an unsettled apprehension, slowly gnawing at their psyche.

‘Turn left in four hundred feet. Your destination will be on the right.’ A minute later, after making the turn the GPS announced, ‘You have arrived.’

Sebastian turned to meet Reilly’s gaze. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Reilly asked, puzzled by the unexpected pleasantry.

“Just for being you.”

“Get a room!” Hunter teased from the back as he opened his door to get out.

Reilly rolled his eyes and pulled on the door handle, sliding to the ground in one smooth movement. Sebastian merely stepped out of the elevated cab, his long legs reaching the ground easily.

The truck doors closed with a resounding ‘thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk’. Before they reached the porch, the front door of the house opened and Zev and Ben stepped out of the house. They watched their friends with worried expressions, both glad everyone was there but anxious to get things moving for Elijah’s sake. Everyone shuffled inside, causing a bottleneck in the entry as the men toed off their boots and shed the jackets.

It was early afternoon and the tantalizing smell of meat, spices, and yeasty biscuits hit them full on as they went into the kitchen.

“One of our housekeepers used to make a big pot of chili for me when she knew I was stressed, especially around exam time in high school. So, of course I started craving it. The biscuits should still be warm. Help yourselves,” Ben told them as he pointed to the stock pot on the stove, a slight blush of embarrassment tinging his cheeks and neck. In addition to the chili and biscuits there were several toppings waiting to be added.

Reilly followed Sebastian and grabbed a bowl, scooping out a generous portion of the bubbling mixture of beef, beans and spices. Even though his stomach had been in knots since getting the news, his mouth watered at the tantalizing aroma.

"Thank you, Ben. It was thoughtful of you to fix us lunch," Sebastian said as he added cheese and sour cream to his bowl.

With food in hand, they got down to business. Ben and Zev caught them up on what they had seen the past couple of hours. As soon as Sebastian had gotten the call from Wayne that Elijah had been taken, he’d tapped into Elijah’s GPS location. The transmitter showed he was still in Nichols’ compound and from the looks of it was actually being held in Nichol’s house. Pretty damn ballsy of him.

“So what’s next?” Reilly asked.

“We wait.”

That wasn’t the answer they had expected or wanted. Immediate deployment would have been more satisfying.

“Let me be clear. We know where Elijah is. We don’t wait and do nothing. We wait, we plan, we gather information, we make sure we’re ready to move out in a heartbeat. We need to find out as much as we can about the inside of that mine facility. We need to know if they have their own surveillance in the area, how often their security patrols are. We also need to try and get ahold of some blueprints, but as you can imagine, finding shit like that is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Those things aren’t stored online, if they still exist. The only ray of hope I have is the fact that it’s only been thirty years since anything has been done to the place. I’m really hoping that the county property appraiser might have a copy stored from when the investors were looking into converting it into a spa or whatever.”

“Won’t that raise suspicion though? If we do a public request?” asked Hunter.

“Of course, that’s why you and Kellan are going to break in. The Assessor’s office is on the other side of the next town over. I doubt if Nichols has any manpower stationed there, there’s no reason to. It’s barely in his territory. You can get in and out quickly and no one should be the wiser.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Reilly gasped, surprised that Sebastian was willing to risk two of them.

“Not as much as you’re thinking. They won’t be noticed if their wolves get them there. As long as they are fast, they shouldn’t raise any alarms. Getting in the building is easy, they still use keys to open the doors,” Sebastian looked pointedly at Hunter, who grinned broadly.

“Yesssss!” he exclaimed. “I love picking locks!”

Kellan gaped at him.

“What? I’m really good at it.”

“That he is,” Sebastian agreed. “And that is why I’m sending both of you. Hunter needs another set of eyes to keep watch. I’ve had a couple of our pack security team scope things out for us and the office is in a small building, there are about a dozen suites all together, most of the businesses are local retailers. None of them have monitored security and there are only two cameras which can easily be shut off by cutting the power, which I can take care of remotely.”

This time it was Reilly who gaped at his mate.

“Hacking is part of security,” Sebastian reminded him, shrugging his broad shoulders.

“So when do we do this little break in?” Hunter asked.

“There’s no time like the present. The office closes at three, and it’ll be dark by four-thirty. If you hit it around five, well, most folks will be home for dinner by then. I'll attach a phone to a collar before you leave so you can take pictures.”

“A collar?” Hunter whined.

Sebastian shot him a look. “It’s either that or a fanny pack,” he said dryly.

Reilly stifled a giggle as Kellan gave Hunter a light kick on the side of his leg.

Hunter sighed in resignation.

“While you guys are busy being burglars, I’m going to get the drone back up and take advantage of the cover of darkness to get it in as close as I can. Ben and Zev will monitor the surveillance cameras. If Nichols is smart, he’ll get Elijah into that mine tonight,” Sebastian said.

Reilly shook his head. “I never thought I’d ever hear my father mentioned in the same sentence that included the word ‘smart’.

“Devious minds are a special brand of smart, but at the same time they’re also a special brand of stupid. He’s going to make a mistake. They always do. That’s why we need to be ready,”

They finished up their lunch and cleaned up. Sebastian brought three monitors and it didn’t take them long to get everything connected and the live images from the mine entrance streamed through the screens.

“What if there’s another entrance we don’t know about?” Reilly asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. That’s why those blueprints are so important. They should show us all the access points. In the meantime, I’ll fly the drone over the general area while we still have some daylight. It might pick something up,” Sebastian answered. “Besides, if we get a ping on Elijah’s GPS signal we can track it, see where it goes.”

Reilly followed Sebastian outside, watching as he opened the drone’s case and got the machine up in the air and brought up the images on his laptop. Reilly’s eyes were glued to the screen as the landscape zipped by from a bird’s eye view.

Sebastian steered clear of the mine, instead, he flew the drone in a back and forth pattern, looking for an old entrance, or any signs of a security patrol. It wasn’t long before a pair of men on snowmobiles appeared below the drone. Sebastian followed them as they patrolled the perimeter of the mine’s property.

Looking at the map on the split screen, Reilly realized that the two security guards were headed straight for the ridge where their security cameras were set up. He held his breath, watching the blip get closer and closer. Relief flooded him when both sleds turned at a big spruce tree and headed down the slope to the parking area.

They lucked out with the topography and Nichols’ territory markers. Most of the ridge was within the asshole’s region, but for whatever reason, the end of the ridge where Zev and Ben had placed the cameras, was outside of the boundary. It was hard to believe that Nichols wasn’t aware of the oversight.

“Shit,” Sebastian cursed as he came to the same realization that Reilly just reached.

“Let’s hope nothing happens to those cameras. We can’t risk going back there. I sure as hell hope it was an amazing stroke of luck that Zev and Ben were up there when the patrol was nowhere near,” Sebastian frowned.

The daylight was fading fast. Sebastian guided the drone back and Reilly helped him put it away. At the very least, they confirmed that the area was being patrolled regularly. It would make things more difficult, but not impossible.

Warm air welcomed them back inside.

Zev, Ben, Hunter and Kellan were diligently watching the screens, currently showing a boring monotony of barely changing scenery, broken only by the occasional squirrel or deer crossing in front of a camera.

Reilly glanced at the clock on the wall. Four o’clock. It was time.

At Sebastian’s nod, Hunter and Kellan strippped off their clothes and shifted, mahogany and silver wolves standing proudly, reverse images of each other. Sebastian fastened a nylon collar with a pouch holding Hunter’s cellphone around his multi-hued neck and then ran his hand along the silvery back in a comforting gesture.

Once outside, the two wolves yipped and took off at a steady jog toward the northeast. At the pace they set it wouldn’t take them more than a half hour to reach their destination so they looped around a few times. Criss-crossing their paths in case they got noticed, even though it was unlikely.

Reilly felt like he was on pins and needles for the next couple of hours. Even Sebastian’s close proximity while he flew the drone closer to the mine, did little to assuage his anxiety, especially when there was no activity. Neither of them felt any distress from either Hunter or Kellan, which was the only thing keeping Reilly from a full blown panic attack.

Elijah’s blip on the monitor pinged at nearly the same time Sebastian’s phone beeped with a text notification. Hunter and Kellan were on their way back. They found the blueprints.

Reilly kept an eye on the screen showing Elijah’s position. It stayed stationary for a few minutes, then started moving at a steady pace along the familiar road leading out of his old hometown

Sebastian checked the cameras aimed at the mine to make sure the images were as clear as they could be. A few minor adjustments and the night vision mode became crisp and clear. It was easy to see why his reputation as a leading security provider was unrefuted. He certainly didn’t cut any corners.

Hunter and Kellan made it back in less than a half hour, a cardboard tube attached to Hunter’s torso by a makeshift harness fashioned out of twisted duct tape. Only a few tufts of fur were sacrificed when Reilly cut the tube free with a pair of scissors. Once that was done, Hunter shifted back and took the pair of sweatpants that Kellan handed him.

“Before you say anything, there were three copies of the blueprints so we figured it was quicker to swipe one set. They were in a storage closet that looked like no one had been in there in years, so they won’t be missed any time soon. We got lucky, whoever organized the closet had everything labeled by year and tucked away nice and neat. Even the shelves were labeled, a little dusty, but talk about OCD,” Hunter chortled.

“As much as I hope everything else is just as easy, I have a feeling we won’t be so lucky next time,” Sebastian commented.

“Hey! Elijah is getting close to the mine. It looks like they’re heading to the main entrance,” Zev said, drawing their attention to the three monitors they were using to stream the surveillance cameras.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the monitor as Elijah’s GPS position wound its way along the rural road leading to the mine, snaking around the curves in the terrain. As it approached the area covered by the cameras, their gazes shifted to the other monitors.

It was a large SUV, its color camouflaged by the green hue of the night vision. It was impossible to see how many people were in the vehicle. The SUV finally pulled into the parking lot and stopped near the front entrance. It was only a minute or two before the driver’s door opened and a tall, muscular man got out. Reilly squinted and looked closer.

“That’s Danny, my middle brother. Damn, he’s bulked up since I last saw him,” he remarked.

The passenger door opened and Reilly identified the second man as Derek. He and Danny went around to the back gate and lifted it up. Danny hefted a prone form over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. From what they could tell, Elijah was out cold.

A low growl came from Sebastian. Reilly leaned against his mate, somewhat calming his wolf.

“Well at least we know for sure it’s the right location,” Hunter said, as they watched the three disappear through the door and out of sight..

Sebastian went into action. “Reilly, text Wayne’s burner and leave the message. Do the same for Caleb. Zev, call Donovan and have him join us, please. The rest of us will start making headway with these blueprints.”

Sebastian unrolled the large sheets onto the table, spreading them out as best he could. There were eight pages altogether. It seemed like the interior spanned four levels down into the bowels of the mountain.

Sebastian stepped aside to make a phone call, when he came back, he was grinning. “Good news, a colleague of mine is bringing us a scanner to use. She’s got a program that will convert the blueprints to a 3-D image. She’s outside of Seattle right now. It’ll take her six or seven hours to get here. She promised to be here by breakfast.”

Reilly did as he was asked, sending a vague text to Wayne. ‘Hey Bro! Miss you guys… Ellie says hello’. The message was code, letting them know Elijah had been moved to the facility.

Moments later an answering text came through. Reilly read it to the others. ‘Miss you too. Call ya when we’re settled.’ That was Wayne’s code that he and Sandi were okay, but being watched.

Reilly sighed. “I wish there was more we could do for Wayne and Sandi.”

Zev came over and stood in front of him, placing his hands on his shoulders reassuringly, but keeping some physical distance between them so as not to provoke Sebastian’s protective wolf. “Hey, I’ve known those two all my life. They’ll be fine. Wayne may look more like a big ol’ teddy bear, but trust me, his wolf is fierce when needed. Sandi too. Beneath all that sugar and spicy niceness is a fighter. I’ve seen it firsthand. They’ll take care of each other.”

Reilly nodded, thankful for the reassurance.

They monitored the screens for another couple of hours without any activity. At eleven o’clock, Sebastian called it a night. As hard as it would be, everyone needed sleep. He activated the settings on the cameras to send a notification to his phone if there was any activity during the night.

Reilly followed Sebastian into one of the guest rooms. Ben and Zev had offered to vacate the large master bedroom, but Sebastian assured them they would be fine in the guest room. All of the rooms had king size beds, another reason why he had chosen the house.

Reilly closed the door and when he turned around Sebastian had just peeled his shirt off, revealing the expanse of hard lines, and sharp curves of muscle. His breath hitched, and his brain function stuttered at the sight.

Sebastian caught him staring, “See something you like?” His big hands moved to the button of his jeans and stopped, waiting for an answer.

“Everything,” Reilly replied, his gaze riveted on Sebastian’s crotch.

Their lives had been in such a turmoil since they met, they really hadn’t had much time to connect the way newly mated shifters should. Blow jobs, frotting and hand jobs would only satisfy both their wolves for so long. Until this was over, they would have to make do with stolen moments such as this, and Reilly knew he and Sebastian needed more than the hasty sex that they had been able to squeeze in lately.

They took their time, exploring each other, giving and taking. Reilly discovered a ticklish spot by accident when he nipped at the one soft spot on Sebastian’s side, just where the bend of his waist sat, right above his hip bone. Sebastian’s burst of laughter was a pleasant surprise, considering the turmoil their world had descended into.

Their lovemaking was intense, a much needed connection, allowing them to channel all of the tumultuous feelings that coursed through them. They purged the anxiety, apprehension and stress, at least temporarily. They strengthened their bonds of love, trust and affection.

Reilly not only opened his body, but truly opened his heart for Sebastian. In turn, Sebastian did the same, cherishing the bond that was now sealed forever between them. They reached the pinnacle, both physically and emotionally at the same time.

If there was such a thing as an orgasm of emotions, Reilly was certain they had just achieved it. His body was sated and his mind calm. Only his breathing was labored, his chest heaving with the residual intensity of their mutual climax.

After a few moments of recovery, Sebastian rolled to the side, gently pulling Reilly up against him, kissing his temple as they waited to recoup enough energy to move.

Reilly caressed the soft patch of chest hair, still needing the sensory touch of his mate. “That was awesome. I can’t wait to do that to you one of these days,” he said, tentatively broaching the subject. They hadn’t had time to discuss it further after the initial conversation they had at the very start of their relationship. He had no idea if Sebastian would still be onboard with the possibility of being on the receiving end.

“Mmmm, I think once all this shit we’re dealing with is over, I’d like to explore that idea. Every time my wolf gets that kind of reaction out of you, he gets curious. So do I.”

Reilly smiled, liking that answer. “Tell you what, next time I blow you, I’ll add a little stimulation, take it slow so your wolf doesn’t get freaked out. Honestly, you have no idea how incredible it feels. I really want to share that with you.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Sebastian said with a leer.

Reilly tried to laugh, but it got crossed with a yawn, prompting Sebastian to swing his legs over the bed and extend his hand.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and back into bed. Morning will be here before we both know it and we've got quite the job ahead of us.”

Reilly took his hand and allowed himself to be led into the bathroom. After a quick shower, they brushed their teeth, emptied their bladders and Sebastian tucked Reilly tight up against him until the world slipped away for a few hours into dark nothingness.

The nothingness was abruptly brought into somethingness when the harsh beeping of Sebastian’s phone alert broke apart their slumber. Sebastian grabbed his phone, turned off the annoying beeping and scrubbed his hands over his face, the rough calluses rasping audibly against his stubble.

Reilly stretched, got up and peed, then shuffled off into the kitchen to make coffee. It was five-thirty, still dark and silent all around them. Sebastian headed straight for the monitors and backtracked the footage. They watched Derek come out of the facility by himself and drive off in the SUV.

“Well, Elijah’s still in there and apparently not going anywhere. Let’s get breakfast started and I’ll text Lisa and see where she’s at.”

Sebastian shot off a quick text to his colleague and Reilly opened the fridge, grabbing a carton of eggs, some spinach, onion, sausage and carrots. In no time the big frying pan was sauteeing the sausage and vegetables, the aroma rousing the other four. Sebastian told them that Derek had departed, but Elijah and Danny were still there. Lisa had finally responded and said she was about two hours or so away.

Zev took over cracking the eggs into a bowl and Ben put his short order cooking skills to use and soon had a batch of pancakes sizzling on the large griddle they had found in a cabinet.

Reilly added the beaten eggs Zev handed him to the skillet and scrambled the whole thing together. Hunter and Kellan set the table and soon they all sat and helped themselves.

Conversation was nearly non-existent as they ate, each man lost in his own thoughts, until the silence was broken by the sound of wheels crunching on the snow packed driveway. Puzzled, Sebastian got up to look out the window.

Reilly Let out a sigh of relief when Sebastian announced, “It’s Donovan.

Sebastian went to the front door to let him in. “Damn, did you drive all night?” he asked.

“No, I was actually halfway here when Zev called me. Caleb said he had a funny feeling that something was going to happen. I learned long ago to listen when someone says they have a hunch, so I figured I could get as far as the state line and wait. That way I’d be that much closer. It just so happened to work out right. I’d just checked into a motel so I figured I’d sleep for a bit, then get up early and finish the drive. Are those pancakes I smell? Donovan asked, sniffing the air.

Sebastian chuckled. “Take your boots off and hang up your coat, we’ll fix you a plate.”

Donovan did as he was asked and followed Sebastian into the kitchen, greeting the rest of the guys, sitting down as Reilly set a plate of pancakes and scrambled eggs in front of him. While he ate, Sebastian got him up to speed as to what had happened.

“So Elijah was out cold you said?”

“Yeah, it looked that way, his body was pretty limp. We couldn’t see his face though, they had a hood over him,” Sebastian said. “Why?”

“Well, Elijah assured me that he could stay in his shift while he was sleeping. His ability allows him to shut down most of his brain to sleep, but he can keep part of it awake to monitor his functions, sort of like how a dolphin can put half its brain to sleep and still be able to swim. But I don’t know if that also applies to being involuntarily rendered unconscious,” Donovan stated, his brow wrinkling with concern.

“Well fuck, we didn’t think of that. I sure as hell hope he’s okay.”

Reilly moved closer to Sebastian, wishing he could alleviate the worry that was now palpable. He glanced at the monitors, noting that all seemed calm at the moment. Surely if Elijah had been discovered, there’d be some sort of commotion, right?

There was nothing they could do about it at this point so they finished their breakfast and got everything cleaned up.

Kellan and Hunter wanted to go up to the ridge to do some scouting of their own. Sebastian declared it was too dangerous, they had no idea what the patrol schedule was like and they didn’t have the time, nor the manpower, to monitor it.

After some cajoling, Sebastian finally agreed to let them get the drone back up in the air and see what more they could find out about the security patrol’s schedule, if they had one. Security firms that knew what the hell they were doing wouldn’t allow a set schedule that could be monitored. Sebastian was sure even Nichols was aware of that. But still, knowing what kind of sleds they rode and mapping the trials the skids made could come in hand later.

Sebastian sent Hunter and Kellan outside with the drone as much to get some more information as to give his Beta something to occupy his time. Hunter never did have much patience.

They’d just stepped outside when they heard the sound of an engine approaching the house. A blue sedan parked behind Donovan’s vehicle and a pretty woman with long, golden brown hair hanging in loose waves down her back got out. It was Sebastian’s friend and colleague, Lisa.

Sebastian greeted her with a hug and a small flare of jealousy flashed through Reilly which was immediately extinguished when Sebastian introduced them.

“Lisa, this gorgeous man is my mate, Reilly.” There was no refuting the possessive, but loving look that Sebastian gave him.

Lisa scored extra points when she replied, “Sebastian, you’re a lucky man. Reilly, it’s wonderful to meet you, ‘bout time someone tamed the beast.”

‘Beast in bed,’ Reilly thought, smiling to himself.

“It’s good to meet you too, come on in. We have leftovers we can heat up if you’re hungry,” he offered.

“Oh, thanks, but I’m good. I stopped a couple of hours ago for coffee and a bagel,” she replied, following them into the house.

Donovan greeted her with a hug too, they were well acquainted if the look that passed between them was any indicator.

Lisa wasted no time in unpacking her laptop and scanner. The scanner looked like half of a flat iron that people used on their hair, only longer. It didn’t take long before they had all of the blueprints unrolled and laid out as flat as they could get them on the floor. Lisa logged into the secure wi-fi that Sebastian had set up and got busy getting everything ready to go. She methodically scanned every inch of each page of the blueprints and her fingers flew over her keyboard when she was done. When her fingers stopped, she leaned back and told them, “It should only take a few minutes for the program to run and then we’ll be able to see the 3D version.

Sure enough, a little more than five minutes later her laptop dinged and the screen showed what must have been the front entryway. Reilly watched in fascination as the computer took them through a three-dimensional virtual tour.

The ground level had been the main offices for the original mine. Past the main reception area the facility branched off into two hallways, one on each side. Each was lined with rooms on each side of the hall. The individual offices were small, most only ten feet by ten feet. At the end of both hallways were two larger rooms, which must have been for the high ups in the company.

There were stairs and two elevators which gave access to the lower levels. The two bottom floors must have been temporary housing for the mine workers. Small bedrooms, most with bunk beds and a double wardrobe closet were spaced close together, broken up by a small bathroom shared by every two rooms. The second level had a kitchen, large common room and lo and behold, medical facilities.

It was to be expected that someone working in a mine would most certainly end up with an injury or two at some point. Back in the day, it was easier for mining companies to set up their own medical facility to treat most everything except the worst trauma. A miner could gash his arm open, get stitched up and be back to work in less than an hour. There was no safety protocol to follow, no OSHA or other government entity involved, and production could carry on.

Lisa was an architect and she helped them scrutinize the floor plans, trying to figure out if there was a way to get in there undetected. No matter which way they approached things it was highly unlikely that it was possible. Trying to access the facility through the old mine would be too dangerous, even if they could get inside. There was just no way to tell if the old tunnels were still intact. Figuring it out would take up time that they didn’t have.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the front door. Hunter and Kellan stormed into the entryway, heedless of the snow and mud they tracked in.

“SEBASTIAN!!!!” Hunter hollered, the panic in his voice barely controlled.

“Hunter, settle down! What’s the matter?” Sebastian demanded.

Reilly could feel his wolf bristling at the sudden sense of danger.

“Have you been monitoring the entrance?”

Sebastian shook his head. They had been too focused on the schematics that Lisa had created.

Hunter ran to the table and opened Sebastian’s laptop, furiously pounding the keyboard. He backtracked one of the cameras and enlarged the image. They watched as Derek drove up in the big SUV. The other three doors opened. Harold Alberts got out from the passenger side and Oswald Belland stepped out of the back. It was the third man who got their attention.

“What the fuck?! Is that who I think it is?” Sebastian exclaimed.

Reilly looked closer in disbelief.

It was Caleb.

‘What the fuck’ was an understatement.