The four men moved through the thick trees with deadly precision. Each were consumed with thoughts of their own, and the jungle fell silent as they methodically ate up the terrain. Jaxon could feel Libby’s emotions all around him. They were in each breath he took. They ran the gamut from pain, anger, and a touch of hope as well, and surrounded him as if they were hung from the branches of the low lying canopy. Everything that she felt pummeled him with an intensity that left no doubt she belonged to him body and soul.
His long frame hummed with a hunger that ate at him, pushing him forward at a relentless pace.
Julian fell into step beside him, and Jaxon felt grateful for the presence of his brother, although that brought to mind the missing Jagger. He grimaced at the thought and shook his head; one more thing to file away and deal with later. All that he could think about right now was finding Libby and getting the hell out this jungle.
“We have a plan?”
Jaxon stole a glance to his brother and snorted. “We’re going to go in with everything we’ve got, and I’m going to personally rip that fucking bastard to pieces.”
Julian nodded. “Not if I get to him first.”
“Hey, he’s my piece-of-shit father,” Declan put in. “If anyone has the right to send him to hell, it’s me.” He grinned as he pulled up alongside the two brothers. “It’s about time we started a pissing contest.” He looked back to Cracker. “You in?”
“You young pups are all insane. Cormac O’Hara is one crazy son of a bitch, and he’s not going down without a fight.” The older man’s words sobered them a bit. “Declan, you’d better make sure you’re on top of your game, and don’t let him mess with your head, or we’re all dead.”
“Christ, you know how to close a party down but good. Don’t worry, Cracker, my old man is in for the surprise of his life.” Declan’s demeanor changed sharply, and Jaxon looked at him intently. The sorcerer’s body crackled with power, and sparks flew from his fingers as he clenched his hands.
Rage, anger, and vengeance were strong emotions indeed. They could prove deadly when mixed with the kind of power Declan possessed. They could also corrupt and eat away at a person until all that was left was poison.
Jaxon forged ahead, filing away that knowledge and knowing he’d have to keep a close eye on his friend.
They hiked through streams, cut their way through verdant greenery, all the while on a direct course toward the Mayan ruins in Caracol.
The thick jungle finally gave way to a vast area that had been cleared. It was early afternoon and they’d been hiking for hours. Jaxon could feel Libby much stronger now, her scent everywhere. It tore at him and he began to breathe hard.
He quickly got hold of his emotions and called for the calm, calculating soldier that was so much a part of him. His eyes scanned the area directly in front of him, but the site was massive, spreading out over thirty square miles into the jungle. He could see humans milling about, but dismissed them as either tourists or members of the archeological team that was slowly rescuing Caracol from the jungle that had laid claim to it centuries before.
The focal point was the large temple that rose well over 140 feet. It was one of the largest Mayan structures ever unearthed, and the largest one in Belize. His eyes narrowed as another flash of anxiety rushed through him.
His body trembled as the cat shimmered and burned beneath his skin. Libby was there. Somewhere deep inside the temple.
He snarled and took off at a run, and the three men followed suit. Declan began to chant a protection ward, his long legs keeping him abreast of the Castille brothers and Cracker as he did so.
They skirted the perimeter of the ruins and slithered into the thick Chiquibul forest that surrounded the area. By the time they reached the back of the stone structure, it seemed that every cell in Jaxon’s body was on fire with the need to get to his mate.
A thick ball of dread punched at his gut as a wave of intense fear rolled over hi
m in waves. Libby was in trouble and he knew he didn’t have much time. There was a crude opening, and he headed for it, his senses soaring out, trying to locate her exact location.
What he found stopped him cold, and the pain in his gut threatened to bring him to his knees.
Declan nearly crashed into him, and Julian narrowly avoided a collision as well.
“What the fuck?” Declan’s eyes were almost feverish as power swelled from deep within his body. “Jax, what’s wrong?”
Jaxon couldn’t speak at first, and he struggled to clamp down at the beast that was suddenly howling in anguish. “She was right.” He shook his head, turning pained eyes to the three men, who stood beside him, their chests heaving from exertion. “Cormac has my son.”
Deep inside the belly of the temple, Libby faced her enemy, trying to put on a brave face, but fearing her weakness was pinned to her chest like a large neon button.
About an hour earlier, she and Skye had finally found the temple. Libby had led the way, feeling like a puppet pulled by invisible strings. That weird and creepy sensation had been her constant companion all morning, but though she knew she wasn’t in control, she hadn’t cared. She knew it was Cormac reeling her in, but that also meant she was on the right path. And that was all that mattered. It was the path to her son, and now as she stood here, facing this demon from her past, she knew it was worth it. All of it.
Because she could feel him. Logan. He was here, of that she was sure. She could feel his emotions battering at her brain with a feverish force.
She had no clue whatsoever how she could feel the things that she was feeling. She just did. She knew that her son was scared and hungry. She ached at the very thought, but had to trust that Skye had her back and they would get Logan to safety.
“Libby, how nice to see you again, and just in time for a family reunion.”
The tall man smiled down at her from twenty feet above, his voice echoing eerily against the stone walls. She stood still, not saying a word, biding her time. Her violet eyes had darkened and now seemed to shimmer with a fire of vengeance that fueled her body with a flood of strength.