"Yum," Meryn said ogling the warriors.
"Meryn, stop looking!" Aiden barked.
"No."
"No?" he asked incredulously.
"No. Because I have to focus on something or I am going to get real upset, real fast about someone breaking into our house again to kidnap my big sister-cousin!" Meryn roared back at her mate.
"Aiden..." Colton began looking anxious.
Aiden turned to John Younger. "Can you lead half of these men to the clinic and escort Rheia and my brother to the city?" John nodded and led half the fae out the door.
"Aiden, they should come here," Colton protested.
"They should, but they won't. You know as well as I that they will insist on going where they are needed, at least this way they'll be protected," Aiden countered.
Aiden turned to Oron. "Go with them and catch up with Gamma in the city."
Oron shook his head. "No."
Aiden threw up his hands. "Why is everyone telling me no?"
Oron checked the clip in his gun and holstered it. "Normally, I would obey any command you gave, but I'm going with my brother to get my sister back." Oron's tone booked no argument.
"Fine! Darian, do you have a direction yet?" Aiden asked.
"East. We head east," Darian replied.
"Okay men, move out!" Aiden yelled.
Hold on my love, I'm coming!
*****
Amelia blinked as she slowly came to; she had no idea how long she had been unconscious. Every time she had tried to wake up it had felt like she was trying to climb a slippery slope. Each time she thought she could open her eyes, she slipped back down and lost track of time. When she was finally able to open her eyes and keep them open, panic-induced adrenaline burned away any lingering traces of sluggishness.
"Ah. She's awake." A male voice said to her right.
She looked around and couldn't see anyone. She tried to move and realized she was strapped against a steel plate. Metal cuffs secured her in place around her neck, waist, wrists, thighs, and ankles. She twisted and pulled, but it was no use. She was trapped.
"I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. The metal edges on those cuffs can be sharp." The disembodied voice cautioned.
"Who are you? Where are you?" she called out.
"No need to shout, dear. Look to your right. Do you see a small box?"
She nodded.
"Good. That speaker is projecting my voice. If you look up and over the doorway, you'll see a camera. That is how I can see you."
She looked up and saw a white camera mounted to the wall over the door.
"Why am I here?" She wanted to keep him talking while she summoned her magic. With any luck, she could call some vines from the earth to break her free.
"You're here because you're valuable. Moreover, if you're thinking of using your magic to break free, I feel like it's my duty to tell you it won't do any good. In fact, it will help me enormously. I would say look above your head, but, well, you can't." There was light male laughter. "What you can't see is that you are strapped into a metal tube. There's a large crystal above your head that collects and stores magic. In less than an hour, it will be ready to suck you dry. By that time, your mate and his fellow unit members should be here to rescue you."
"Is that why you brought me here, to get the Alpha Unit? Because that was the dumbest thing you could have done. They are going to kick your ass!"
"Tsk, tsk dear, language. It will be very hard for them to kick my ass when I'm not even in the vicinity. The entire complex you're in has been abandoned for the sole purpose of destroying the Alpha Unit.
"As for why we brought you here, let's just say, you were always going to end up here. In fact, we had a team ready to run your car off the road just outside of Lycaonia."
"Why? There's no way you could have known my mate was in the Alpha Unit."
"We didn't bring you here to get the Alpha Unit. They're just the icing on the cake."
Amelia swallowed hard. "Who did you bring me here for?"
There was more laughter. "Your brothers dear, all six of them. There isn't anything they wouldn't do for their little sister."
"You sonofabitch! You leave them alone!" she screamed.
"I'm afraid that just isn't an option. We've made huge strides refining our techniques. Your brothers represent a very valuable resource, one we simply cannot do without. It makes perfect sense to cull the decedents of the two strongest remaining witch families. When your mate gets here, we'll detonate a spell that will rip the souls from the bodies of any living person in the facility. We'll swing by, collect them, and be on our merry way. The Alpha Unit will be no more. The remaining units will be without a commander. The shifter Elder will be grieving the loss of a son, and I will have gained the perfect bargaining chip to negotiate with your brothers."
"But you said that spell will rip the soul out of everyone in this facility, how can you negotiate with my brothers then?"
"Because they will be negotiating for your soul. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a hostage? Souls are much easier to work with. Now, you'll soon feel a slight pinch before pain will explode through your entire body, I personally haven't experienced what you're about to, but previous witches screamed a great deal so I imagine it's very painful. Goodbye, my dear."
"Wait! Wait!" She struggled against the metal as she heard the machine over her begin to power up.