Chapter 103

Sabrina POV

I was sitting with my mother in the small, cramped back bedroom where we’d stashed Andy when I realized he was waking up.

So I watched him swim to the surface, the drugs I’d used on him making it a slow and sluggish process.

“What - where am I?” he said eventually. He was still just confused, not yet scared.

I could take care of that.

I smiled brightly. “Hello, Andy. You’re somewhere your daddy and precious mommy can’t find you. Isn’t that fun??”

And I watched as concern began to creep into his face. A look of fear was growing in his eyes.

It was a lovely thing to watch.

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” he demanded. Then the fear got the best of him, and tears began to gather in his eyes. “I want to go home!”

I laughed. “Oh, darling. That’s not going to happen.”

Walking closer, I leaned down over the bed. “You’re never going home again. Not ever.”

He stared up at me, eyes wide as my words began to sink in. Then he shook his head and shoved me away.

Foolish little pup, as if he had the strength to actually push me.

But I stepped back, curious to see what he’d do next.

He leapt out of the bed and ran across the room.

Or rather, he tried to.

His body was still struggling with the after effects of the drugs. He could only stumble toward the door, looking like he was completely drunk.

Mom and I laughed as he grabbed at the door handle, missing on his first few attempts. He actually fell backwards once, crying out in pain, then scrambling back up to his feet.

It was such a good show!

I thought of all the hours I’d suffered, playing with him back in Silverfang territory. Pretending like I was having the best time in the world, while inside I was absolutely dying of boredom.

Now, watching him struggle, I thought, Who knew the brat could be so entertaining?

But when he managed to grab and actually turn the door handle, I had to jump up out of my chair and hurry to catch him before he took off down the hallway.

Swearing, I yanked him back into the room, then backhanded him across the face, sending him sprawling to the floor.

“Stupid brat!” I said, adding in a kick. He curled up, crying.

I looked up at Mom with a grin. My hand hurt, but that still felt amazing.

“I’ve wanted to do that for months.”

Mom smiled and shook her head. “Alright, you’ve had your fun now. Stop playing with the child, Sabrina, and just tie him up.

“We still have things to talk about.”

Knowing she had a point, I hauled Andy up and dumped him on the bed again. This time I used the rope I’d brought upstairs with me, tying his hands and ankles together tightly.

Then I tied a bit of cloth around his mouth as a gag, for good measure.

I didn’t need him whining and interrupting our conversation.

Mom nodded with approval as I sat back down beside her.

“Now, tell me more about the next steps you worked out with Soren.”

I told her about the “exchange” we had planned, which was actually just going to be an ambush.

There was no way I was going to let Andy survive, to some day come back and try to avenge his parents’ deaths.

“Excellent, Sabrina,” Mom said. “It always pays to plan well ahead into the future.”

I paused. “Actually, thinking ahead is what has me worried about something.”

She tilted her head. “Do you think Nathan or Claire might somehow avoid your trap?”

I shook my head and waved that thought away. “No, I’m convinced that will go perfectly. It’s…well, it’s about Soren.

“I think he’s planning on double crossing me.”

This was something I’d been wanting to bring up to my mother for a while, something I’d been about to discuss with her when I learned that Soren was actually her nephew.

And that had worried me.

If she had any attachments or loyalties to Soren, then she wouldn’t be willing to help me take care of him if and when the time came to get him out of the picture.

But her next words put me at ease immediately.

“Oh don’t worry about that, darling. If your cousin proves to be too much of a problem, we’ll simply…take care of him.”

“We will??” I grinned, relieved that Mom was still on my side, and wouldn’t end up siding with Soren.

“Oh yes,” she assured me. “We’ll take care of him, together.”

Nathan POV

Within an hour of learning where Sabrina was possibly hiding with our son, I gathered with Claire and a group of special enforcers just outside the boundary of Martha’s estate.

Our group was a mix of Royal and Alpha bodyguards, all highly trained and extremely loyal.

While I wished for more time to plan this confrontation, I was satisfied that I had some of the best of the best at my side.

But I would have gone in unarmed and completely alone if I had to. If that was the only option I had to get my son back, I’d run in willingly.

We gathered at the edge of the woods, using binoculars to study the estate and its grounds, discussing and revising our plan of attack.

“Look at all the people she has out patrolling the grounds,” one of the enforcers said. “It looks like she has an entire security force in place. How’d she get that?”

We were all silent for a moment as we studied the men and women patrolling the estate grounds. They moved with a stealthy ease that spoke of a lot of training and experience.

“Those are Bloodclaw,” someone murmured. “I’d bet money on it.”

I swore.

The plan just got a little more difficult than I’d hoped it would need to be.

Bloodclaw warriors were notorious among all the warriors of the realm. They were ferocious in battle, and often fought as if they didn’t care whether they lived or died.

Even I would hesitate before going up against them in an all-out fight. My warriors were skilled and experienced, and I knew the Royal guards had just spent weeks battling the rogues attacking their pack.

Their skills had been honed in war. They had survived brutal combat.

And still, the idea of going up against Bloodclaw enforcers gave me pause.

I could tell I wasn’t the only one. Judging by the looks being exchanged there at the edge of the woods, most of the guards here now knew that we were in for a much more difficult fight than we’d hoped.

But it didn’t matter.

I shook my head. “The plan is still the plan: Get Andy back.

“We’ll sneak in as close as we can get before sounding the alarm, but when push comes to shove, we push back. Hard.”

Looking around one final time, I got nods from everyone gathered.

It didn’t matter how hard the fight might be.

We weren’t backing down.

“Alright. Let’s go!”