pacifier. Mei pulled it out of his mouth. It was sticky, covered with some kind of syrup and it had a strong medicinal odor.
Alex whimpered, a small, thin wail so unlike his usual rowdy cry. Mei set the pacifier on the table beside Alex’s crib and raced across the hall to Lily’s room.
If one intruder had gotten past her, there might have been another.
Anton’s daughter slept on, unaware of the drama playing out around her. Mei ran back to Alex and carefully lifted him out of his crib. Silently she cried out again to Anton, to Stefan and Oliver, sending her mental voice in a commanding shout.
Within seconds she heard the sound of nails scrabbling on wood as three wolves raced up the stairs to the deck. The noise changed to pounding feet, and she knew they had shifted to get through the front door.
Mei held Alex’s warm little body against her shoulder with one arm and ran back into Lily’s room. Anton’s baby girl slept on, but her sleep was the typical relaxed sleep of a tired baby. Alex, though, felt limp and unresponsive.
He had to have been drugged.
Mei glanced up as Stefan raced toward Alex’s room. Anton and Oliver reached Lily’s room at the same time. Oliver followed Anton through the open doorway. Anton went directly to Lily’s crib. The light went on across the hall. Mei called out, “Stefan! Over here. I’m in Lily’s room. I’ve got Alex.”
Oliver stopped beside Mei and put his arm protectively around her waist. Before she could explain what had happened, Stefan called out her name.
“Mei?” Stefan burst through the door. He sounded frantic and she knew he’d seen the body of the dead intruder beside his son’s crib. “Where’s Alex? What the fuck happened?”
“I’ve got him.” Mei carefully handed the baby over to his father.
“Thank the Goddess.” Stefan let out a relieved sigh, cuddled Alex against his bare chest and gently rocked the sleepy infant in his arms. Tears rolled silently down Stefan’s cheeks as he murmured quiet words of encouragement, as much to himself as his son.
“I think he’s okay,” Mei said, peeking around Stefan’s shoulder, “but he’s really groggy. The guy in there stuck a pacifier in his mouth to keep him quiet. It’s sticky and smells familiar, like it had cough syrup on it. Something to keep him quiet, I guess. I don’t think it was poison, but he’s awfully sleepy.”
“I’ll go call the doctor.” Anton took one last glance at Lily and raced back out the door.
Oliver slipped away from Mei and went into Alex’s room, but returned to her within seconds. He put his arm around her waist again and held her close. She turned and wrapped both her arms around his neck and burst into tears.
Oliver held her tightly and soothed her with soft words of encouragement. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You did great. He’s dead. Neck’s broken and he won’t hurt anyone again. The babies are fine. Alex will be fine. Don’t cry.”
Oliver brushed Mei’s tangled hair back from her eyes and held her tightly against his chest. He looked over Mei’s shoulder and caught Stefan’s eyes. “How’s the baby?”
“I think he’ll be okay. He’s beginning to stir, so he’s not completely knocked out. His breathing sounds normal. I wish Xandi was here. She always knows what to do.”
“Can you reach her?” Mei raised her head from Oliver’s shoulder and sniffed. “Does she know someone tried to kidnap your son?”
Stefan nodded. “She knows. She and Keisha should be here any minute.”
Anton stepped back into the room. He’d slipped a pair of flannel pants on but his chest was still bare. “Here. Give this to him if he’ll take it. It’s Xandi’s breast milk, some she had in the freezer. I nuked it in the microwave. It should be warm enough.” He handed a small baby bottle to Stefan. “The doctor said to wake him up and watch him, make sure he’s just sleepy and not acting sluggish or getting worse. Get some fluids into him to dilute whatever he was given. This should work until Xandi gets back.”
Stefan took the bottle from Anton and placed the soft nipple against the baby’s lips. Alex opened his eyes and stared at his father. Finally he sucked on the rubber nipple. From the indignant look on his face, it was obvious he knew this was not Mom, but he was hungry enough not to fight it.
He was also completely awake now, and definitely more alert.
“He’s taking it,” Stefan said. He glanced sideways at Anton, who now held Lily in his arms. “Thank you. Mei, Oliver, I can’t thank you two enough. If anything happened to this little guy…”
“The same from me.” Anton raised his head, but his eyes were on Stefan. “I never realized…”
“How vulnerable they would make us?” Stefan smiled and shook his head. “My, how things change.”
Mei hung her head. Shame engulfed her. Tears flowed without any control. “I’m so sorry. He never should have gotten in the house. I failed you, all of you. I…”
“No you didn’t, Mei. We owe you more than we can ever repay. You did exactly as you should have.” Anton’s warm words were heartfelt. He sounded as if he meant exactly what he said.
Without meaning to, Mei searched his thoughts and found nothing but appreciation, and a sense of compassion for a young woman forced to kill. She sniffed and took the tissue Oliver offered her.
She still couldn’t meet Anton’s eyes. He had no idea she saw his thoughts so clearly.
Oliver squeezed her waist. Then he tilted his head and gazed steadily at his packmates. “Does either one of you have any idea what the hell is going on?”
Anton shook his head. When he spoke, his voice vibrated with a depth of anger Mei’d never heard from him before. He was usually so calm, so unaffected by the world around him. Unless, of course, it had something to do with his mate…or his child.
“Not yet,” he said. “But don’t worry. We will. Stefan, can you give Alex to Mei?” Anton carefully put his sleeping daughter back in her crib and led the others out into the hallway. He stood for a moment, staring at the floor as if gathering his thoughts.
When he raised his head, his amber eyes glowed. Anger created an almost palpable aura around him. “We have a busy night ahead of us. There are four more bodies to dispose of. We need to figure out who the hell these bastards are, and why they’re after us. And then we have to notify the other packs.”
He took a deep breath and let it out, as if forcing himself to remain calm. “Until we know more, we have to assume this isn’t merely an attack against our group. It might be aimed at all of us.”
Chapter 3
San Francisco, California
Tianna Mason walked slowly between Eve Reynolds and Lisa Quinn, her arms filled with a lavish bouquet of red and white roses, her amber eyes filled with tears. Tala Quinn followed behind, her head bowed.
Lisa, both packmate and lover, slipped an arm around Tia’s waist in silent support. Eve glanced at Lisa and frowned. She and Adam had met most
