The Last Shewolf Ch. 70-76

Abaddon's POV

I was in the shower when I felt it. Something was torn from my soul, the pain knocked me to my knees. My wolf was howling, something was wrong.

"Gabriel, what's happening?" I got no response, and even worse I felt no tie to him. I tried linking the others, trying to call the entire Pack, but I got a whole lot of nothing back. It wasn't possible, the entire Pack couldn't be killed at once, right?

Well, unless it was an explosion or something. I quickly rinsed and dried, pulling on my clean jeans and opening the door to a surprised Meghan. I was pulling my shirt on as I walked over to her. "Something's wrong, really wrong, Meghan." She had showered first so she was already dressed. "I felt the link break, I can't feel or contact anyone in the Pack. No Gabriel, no Michael, no one."

"How is that even possible?" She'd been among wolves long enough to know how this all worked.

"I don't know, but I need to find out what's going on."

"I'll go with you," she said. We grabbed our jackets and quickly packed, we didn't know if we would return here for another night. We loaded up my saddlebags and her backpack, and put our helmets on before climbing on my Harley. "Where are we headed," she asked over the intercom link my bike had.

"The Knights are supposed to be protecting Eve while they are on their Pack Run, but Gabriel would have left a few people at Adam's house to protect him until they mate," I said. "We'll go there first, if I don't find them..."

"Then you shift and run, and I'll stay with Adam and his family," she said. "That's fine, I should check how Adam is healing."

I pushed through the gears, riding the near-empty roads as fast as I could safely go. All kinds of scenarios were going through my head, none of them good. My wolf was uncomfortable, he hadn't been without a Pack bond for two decades. It wasn't natural, wolves were social creatures who craved that structure. Meghan's arms around my waist helped a lot; it wasn't like that of a mate, not like the tingles I felt when I first met mine all those years ago, but it was close enough. I dropped my left hand down, placing it over her hands and squeezing gently. "Whatever we find, Meghan, we'll get through together."

"I'm sure there's an explanation," she said. "A whole Pack doesn't just disappear, especially when they aren't all in the same place."

"We'll find out soon," I said. A phone call interrupted my thoughts as I drove at over a hundred miles an hour down the two-lane highway. "Abaddon," I said.

"Abaddon, it's Snake. I got a call from Donuts. He went to Mitchell's apartment this morning, everything is gone including him."

"Good for him, we don't have to kill him now."

"Maybe not," Snake replied. "He found and tossed the tracking device we placed, and Donuts let slip that Adam Johnson was her mate. If he is still obsessed with her, he might head back that way to try and get her back."

"Fuck me sideways, this day is going to shit really fast." I slowed down, we were getting close to their driveway. "I'm almost to the Johnson's house, can you get up here?"

"I can, but it will be a bit, I'm still in Duluth."

"Get going then, I have a feeling you'll be needed." I cut the call and filled Meghan in on what was going on as I moved slowly along the rutted tracks that led to Alan and Alice's home. "You have your pistol," I asked Meghan.

"Always," she said.

"Follow my lead," I said. We reached the clearing where their house was, and my heart sank as I saw Mitchell's Harley parked in front.

"STOP RIGHT THERE," a voice yelled. I stopped my Harley, putting down the kickstand as I watched Mitchell come out of the house. In front of him, their hands cuffed behind them, were a frightened Alan and Alice.

We got off the bike, hands up. "Mitchell, it doesn't have to go this way. No one needs to get hurt."

"SHUT UP!! Toss your pistols into the woods." I pulled my Glock our, tossing it into the brush, and Meghan did the same. "Don't try anything." He pushed the two down the porch stairs. Without hands to balance them Alan fell heavily onto the sidewalk, Alice on top of him. "WHERE IS MY EVE?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I can't contact the others, I came here looking for them."

"Well, you better find them quick," he said. "It's simple. I take Eve with me and these two live. Doc, come over here and join them."

I didn't want her to, but we had no choice. She shook loose of my hand. "I love you, Steven. Go find your Pack and bring them." She walked towards him, and he quickly produced another pair of handcuffs and made her sit with the others.

"Shift and go. If Eve isn't here in an hour, I'm going to shoot one of them."

"I'll get her, Mitchell. It may take a while, I don't know where they are!" I started pulling off my clothes to shift.

"Then you better hope I don't pick Doc here as my first victim." I swore to myself, shifting into my big wolf I ran into the woods. I had to find them and NOW.

Gabriel's POV

I didn't want to interrupt the newly mated couple, but we had no choice. Without a Pack link, I couldn't coordinate their protection unless they were in view. I howled a note that summoned everyone to me, and a few minutes later they were all gathered around and shifted so we could talk. Every one of us had lost the Pack link. "What's going on, Boss?"

"I don't know," I said. "Can anyone link anybody?"

Adriel and Kushiel stepped forward. "Alpha, our sibling link still works, but we're not feeling the Pack link. Even now with you in front of us, that Alpha presence is missing. It's like my wolf doesn't recognize you, not just as my Alpha, but as anything different than any other wolf. No offense."

"It's true," Michael said. "It's like we aren't a Pack anymore. I don't understand how, I didn't shift allegiances and you are still alive."

"All right, priorities first. Kushiel, since you and Adriel can still talk, you take two men with you and run back to Adam's house. Use the phone, try to get ahold of Abaddon and tell him to meet us there. Stay there until we get back." He nodded, picked two and ran off.

"What are we going to do," Michael asked.

"Follow me. We're going to tell Adam and Eve that something is wrong and we need to get them back to his house." We moved slowly through the woods towards the point, the smell of sex and blood heavy in the light breeze. I told the others to wait as I walked into the opening towards them. Adam was growling, his need to protect his mate from others was strong, but he was in no position to do so while he was still tied to her in wolf form. She whined in pain as he tried to move, the knot pulling her insides. "Stop moving, you're hurting her," I said. "I just need to tell you a few things."

I knelt down so I wouldn't be as threatening, and he calmed down and stopped trying to pull her around with his dick. I told them about what had happened with the Pack Link; when I asked Eve If she could talk to anyone, she shook her head before looking at Adam and licking him. "You can only speak through the link to him?" She nodded.

"All right, we're going to stay back until you disengage. As soon as you shift back, yell for us and we'll talk." I walked back to my men, it could take an hour or two for his knot to subside, more if he started to make love to her again. New mates were just like that.

Ch. 75

Gabriel's POV

Kushiel and the other two had only been gone ten minutes, it would take them thirty to get back to the house from where we were. I was sitting with my men, far enough into the woods to give the two some privacy but close enough to protect them. "How long do you think they'll be, boss?"

I just laughed. "It all depends on how good Adam is at doing math problems or sports scores in his head," I said. "The knot works just like the erection, if you can keep your mind off it for a while it might go down. The problem is, they're newly mated, and I can tell you that the sensation of being inside your mate is damn hard to resist. That's why most new mates take days in the bedroom or the woods when they first come together, your instinct is to keep making love to her. All it takes is one move and it starts over."

The mood of the guys was mixed; I could tell they were happy that the two had mated, but there were three questions we all were thinking but didn't have the answers for. Why did our Pack link and bond dissolve? What do we do now? And will any of us ever have a chance to experience what Adam and Eve are having right now?

There was nothing to do but wait.

Meghan's POV

I watched Abaddon disappear into the woods as I dropped to my knees, my hands handcuffed behind me. I was worried, I'd be a fool not to be; Mitchell had gone over the edge of madness. His obsession with Eve had gone from creepy to unhealth, then passing quickly through self-destructive to rest solely in insanity. What the hell did he think would happen? Eve didn't want him, she'd told him that. She was a werewolf, she was mated now, no human could compete with that.

I know I couldn't. If there was another werewolf out there waiting for Abaddon, he'd Abandon me in a heartbeat. It's the way they are wired, the way their instincts make them. I knew that, but I also knew I had no worries there. Eve was the only shewolf left, and she had found her mate. Abaddon knew it wasn't him because he'd already found his true mate decades ago and lost her.

Mitchell was walking back and forth behind us, muttering and talking to himself. I moved a little closer to Alice, who was shivering and crying. "It's going to be all right," I whispered to her. "They won't let him hurt us, I promise."

She started to cry harder, and I sandwiched her between my side and Alan's as he tried to calm her down. I focused on Mitchell, trying to figure out what he was saying to himself. It was weird, it reminded me of someone who was schizophrenic. I hadn't spent much time in my psych rotation, just the minimum, but he seemed unbalanced and on the verge of a breakdown. "Mitchell," I asked softly, "are you feeling all right?"

"BE QUIET BITCH!" He pointed the gun at me, his hands were shaking. He was sweating profusely, and his eyes were dilated.

"Mitchell, I'm a doctor. I can help you."

"YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY THE PAIN," he shouted as his hands went to the side of his head. He closed his eyes, I could see the strain on his face. "Only Eve can take away the pain. She's the only one who can save me."

I looked at his face, blood was starting to leak from his nose. "You're bleeding, Mitchell. Did you take anything? Are you on any drugs?"

He dropped to his knees, his hands still on the sides of his head. "I take it, but it doesn't WORK. It hasn't worked for weeks."

"What did you take?"

"Five Percoset." His hand holding the gun fell to his side. "I didn't feel any different, it still hurts."

"Take these off, Mitchell, let me examine you. I can help you, you shouldn't have to feel like this."

He looked at me, seeming to think about it, then his face changed suddenly to blind rage. "NO! YOU LIE!" He charged towards me, swinging his hand. The pistol caught me in the right cheek, I saw stars as the pain exploded. My hands bound, I couldn't stay on my knees and I fell heavily to the ground. My shoulder hit hard, then my head. "I SHOULD KILL YOU!"

I looked up, I saw two of him as he stood over me, waving his pistol.

"Mitchell, that won't help anything. She's trying to help you. We'd all help you if you'd just ask." Alan was talking softly, like he would to a scared animal, while I tried to get my brain under control again. "You have friends? Fellow Marines? What would they think of you right now."

"THEY ABANDONED ME!" He moved away from me, kicking Alan in the stomach before standing over him. "I NEEDED THEM, AND THEY KICKED ME OUT!"

"Who? Who kicked you out?" Alice was brave enough to talk while her husband tried to catch his breath.

"Donuts. He was supposed to get me into the club, find a place I belonged. They don't understand about me and Eve. She is the one who takes the pain away, I NEED her, and they hid her from me!" He sat down, tears streaming down his face. "They never understood that she is special, she is mine. That's why we had to run, that's why I need to take her now."

My head had cleared up, and I could see the blood was flowing faster out of his nose. I saw him looking at the woods. "Where is she? She needs to be here..." I saw his eyes roll back, and he fell to the side.

"SHIT!" I rolled over onto my stomach, squirming around until I could get my knees under me. I shuffled over to where he way lying down. He was breathing, barely, and his pulse was fading. I was still handcuffed, I couldn't do anything. I listened to his heart as it stopped, helpless to intervene.

When I knew he wasn't coming back, I sat up, tears in my eyes. "He's gone," I said.

Alan had moved over next to me, he had pushed the gun away with his leg. "We need the handcuff key," he said.

"I'll try." I turned and got up next to his body, leaning back I tried to work a hand into his pocket. It wasn't easy, it took a couple minutes, but my fingers wrapped around the keychain and I pulled it out. I couldn't see anything. "Can you see? Is it on there?"

"Yes, go clockwise." I rotated the ring slowly, finally feeling the key in my fingers. I moved it around, finally finding the opening in my handcuffs. I heard a click, and I was able to pull my hand free. I quickly uncuffed my other hand, then freed Alan and Alice. They held each other tightly, she was in his lap, his arms holding her tight.

I reached into my Northwoods Riders cut, my phone was still in the inside pocket. I dialed the three numbers. "911 Dispatch, what is your emergency?"

"This is Doctor Meghan Jenkins, I am reporting a fatality," and I gave them Alan's address. "Based on the symptoms, it appears to be a brain aneurism. Subject was unable to be revived at the scene." The dispatcher promised a deputy would be dispatched along with the County Coroner. "They should be here in ten minutes," I told them. "We don't need to attract any attention. Mitchell was a friend to the Club, he came here to visit with us and he had a sudden attack. There was nothing we could do. Understand?"

"Your friend came, he had an attack, there was nothing we could do," Alan repeated.

"Perfect. Hide the gun. Go inside and get cleaned up."

"You too, Doc, your face is bleeding."

"I will, I need to bring the motorcycle up and bring Abaddon's clothes inside. I don't want to explain why his clothes are strewn by the forest." I walked over and picked them up, putting them in the saddlebags along with our two pistols we had tossed. The key was still in his Harley, so I started it up and drove it to the front of the house, backing it in before shutting it down. I went inside, going to the bathroom and washing the blood off my cheek. It would bruise, so I went to the kitchen looking for an ice pack.

"How are you going to explain that on your face?" Alice was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in hand.

"When people seize, their hands often move without control. As I was going to help him, I got smacked in the face," I said. "The EMT's will check it but I'll be fine."

"Abaddon is going to freak, though." She looked at me with a smile. "You can't fool me, he looks at you like Alan looks at me."

I blushed a little. "I've known him my whole life, we just confessed our feelings for each other a short time ago. It's weird, but a good weird. I love him, I think I always have."

"If you have love, you can make it through anything." She took my hand, I could hear the siren approaching.

The three of us got up and went out to the porch as the Deputy arrived, parking between the house and Mitchell's body. We greeted the young Deputy, I introduced myself and showed him my identification, and briefly explained what had happened. As long as a whole bunch of wolves didn't come storming into the yard and shifting to big naked men, we'd get out of this without suspicion.

It took another hour for the Coroner to pack him up and leave with him. I left him my contact information, asking for the autopsy results. I had a good idea what to expect, the head pain and the ineffective painkillers were key indicators. He must have been suffering a lot, at least his end was quick. Donuts told us he had been a good Marine, a good man once. He deserved to be buried that way.

Snake's POV

I tried to tell Mouse that she needed to rest, that she should stay in the hotel room, but she's as stubborn as I am. When she found out my daughter was in danger, she was up and grabbing her riding gear. "Are you sure? It's a ninety-minute drive."

"I'll be fine, I'm sore, not broken," she said. "I just got you, no way I'm letting you go by yourself. You know how hard it is to find a man like you?" I shook my head. "Trust me, I'm a lucky little Mouse. Now don't forget your pistol, and let's get out of here." We didn't have much to pack up, so I called the front desk and told them to check us out, then between the saddlebags and her backpack we had it all. Fifteen minutes after I had taken the call, we were on the road.

The drive was frustrating, I wanted to go fast but Highway 61 was busy with tourists. We worked our way to open road when we could, opening up the throttle when we got past traffic. I talked to Mouse the whole way, catching her up on my life and Eve. I couldn't trust her to know of the werewolf side yet, just that she had turned eighteen and was up here with her boyfriend. Mitchell was an older biker who had seen her and became obsessed with her, even after she told him she wasn't interested in him anymore.

We reached the turnoff, but there was a Sheriff's cruiser in the road, getting ready to turn right. I waited as he pulled out, I waved at him, and the next vehicle made my blood run cold.

A coroner's van.

As soon as it was out of the way, I turned into the driveway and drove faster than I should have towards the house. I could hear Mouse's groans of pain, but she didn't tell me to slow down. I was scared to death, and I needed answers.

Ch. 76

Abaddon's POV

My head was spinning with everything that was going on. A few hours ago, I would have just sent a warning over the link and the whole Pack would have converged on us. Now? I didn't even know where they were. Gabriel said they were going on a Pack run, we were near the Superior National Forest, there were hundreds of square miles around they could be in.

I picked up the stale scents and headed northwest. I got to the top of a rise, pausing to lift my head and send out a distress howl. It was old fashioned, really something you learned because you might need to communicate between Packs. I listened for a bit and heard nothing in response. I kept running.

I stopped again after another five miles of hard running and howled. This time, I got a response and headed that way. A few minutes later, I could see them, and I just about collapsed in relief. I shifted as Kushiel, Phanuel and Puriel ran up and shifted. "I need help, guys. Mitch is back at Adam's house, he's got Alan, Alice and Meghan hostage. He said he's going to kill them if we don't give him Eve."

"Fuck," Kushiel said. His eyes unfocused, he was linking.

"I lost the Pack link," I said.

"We all did," Phanuel said. "Alpha influence is gone, there aren't Alpha commands on our wolves anymore. It's like the Pack just disappeared and made us all lone wolves." I looked at Kushiel. "He still has the sibling link with his brother, we left him back with Gabriel and the rest."

"How did it happen?"