“All right. There are a few reasons. First, they could be beating her repeatedly every time she heals. Each successive time it will take her longer to heal because she’ll be weaker than the last. Or, and this is a favorite of Pellini’s, he’s using silver on her. Not enough to kill her, most likely a hugely diluted injection right into the break. It won’t heal that way. It’ll keep her hobbled though.” Jack’s delivery was flat but Ben noted the man’s knuckles were white from how tight he held onto the steering wheel.

“Will she heal ever?”

“She’ll need to change but she’ll be very weakened. Weakened enough to need her wolf lured up by someone else.”

“What does that mean?” Nina asked.

“I’ll have to force the change on her. It won’t be pretty and it will hurt her. A lot. But it takes a wolf near the top or at the top of Pack hierarchy to do it. I’m hoping I’ll be enough as Second at National. If not, we’ll have to get Maxwell to do it. He’s the Alpha of Great Lakes.” Jack kept his eyes on the road and Ben wanted to do something to get there faster.

“I’ll call him, Ben. We’ll have him meet us when we start tracking. I think Jack will actually have a stronger wolf, but Maxwell is very powerful too. He’d do anything he could to help and his Second is missing too.” Lex grabbed his phone and began dialing.

They’d gotten a call sometime after midnight, right after they’d returned from a wooded area outside the city where Ben had made his first transformation. He’d then wept for the first time in years as he lay in bed, alone, knowing Tegan was out there, scared and hurt and he’d changed for the first time without her.

The caller had been very brief, stated a zip code and hung up. They’d waited in the hotel room until Templeton called them about two hours later and told them Jack was on his way. Pellini had checked in, told Templeton he’d gone to Chicago to hole up. So it was to Chicago they’d head.

The zip code encompassed a large area of Chicago but as Nina began researching, they saw a lot of that part of the city had no buildings or houses. They’d have to track once they arrived but it was closer than they’d been just a few precious minutes prior.

Jack arrived, they’d stopped at a drive through on the way out of town, and drove west. They would have flown but Lex’s plane had some mechanical problems and Templeton’s was in use and by the time it reached them, they’d be nearly to Chicago anyway.

Ben tried to sleep on and off, they stopped to get gas while someone ran in, stocked up on food and they hit the road again. A normally fifteen hour drive would take them just around ten with the way Jack had pushed the SUV the whole time.

“Wake her up.”

Tegan heard the order, knew the wolf who’d been helping her would have to obey.

She steeled herself, knowing once she fully surfaced to consciousness, the pain of her broken bones would slam back into her.

At the same time, she felt Ben. His consciousness brushed against hers and she reached out with all the energy she had. He was nearer than the last time, some hours ago, when she’d become conscious last. He was coming to her. She had to hold on. She would.

The hands on her were gentle enough but it still hurt when whatever he’d injected her with pulled her from that quiet place she’d been resting in. Her wolf was far, far down in her consciousness, so far down Tegan knew she wouldn’t come even though Tegan had been calling her. She needed to change to heal.

Facing the music, she opened her eyes and stared into Warren Pellini’s face.

“Look who we have. Not so tough now, are you, Warden bitch?” He jammed a knuckle into her femur where it had been broken and she barely bit back a whimper of pain.

Nervous laughter erupted from the wolves behind him. Wolves whose hearts she’d eat when she got hold of their worthless carcasses. They were werewolves, noble, strong creatures but she scented their addictions even in her own addled state. Junkie werewolves. She shuddered.

“Got anything to say?”

She held her tongue. Ben would come for her. She had to be alive and right then, she was in no condition to fight with anything more than her wits.

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know where your friend is?” Pellini pulled a chair near and sat. She knew from the look on his face and the way the other wolf’s fingers tightened just momentarily on her ankle she had to play and she hated it.

“Is she all right?” Tegan’s voice was like sandpaper. At least her throat had begun to heal from where Pellini had nearly torn it out.

“She was quite feisty, that one. Gave my boys a good time.”

Revulsion settled in Tegan’s gut, even as guilt kept it company. She was glad if she couldn’t have helped, she didn’t hear it. It might have made her a coward but it was there nonetheless.

“Will you grieve for her? A female you barely knew? You gave your life, or you would have given your life for her. Why?” Pellini had no idea but he expected to be answered. He was not an Alpha though, she had no compulsion, other than wanting to survive long enough to kill him, to obey him.

“I will grieve, yes. She died with honor like a wolf of her station should.” Like he wouldn’tbut she didn’t add that.

“Why give your life for her? Your mate was there in the room. You abandoned him.”

She hadn’t! He was safe, she’d made sure of it. “He was safe and it’s my job. My position. To not have tried to help would have shamed me and my Pack.” Tegan burned with the effort to keep her voice as emotionless as she could. She knew she had to answer his questions to a certain extent, and keeping him talking meant they weren’t doing to her what they did to Gina, and also gave Ben time to find her. She had nothing to send him but her presence. She hadn’t been conscious when they’d arrived so she knew nothing more than Chicago and it wasn’t like she could send an address through their link. All Tegan could hope was he’d feel her, know he was moving in the right direction.