Jaded Hearts
Chapter 21

Matt

“What are you saying? Was the building set on fire, or their apartment specifically?” I asked while standing from the bed. Morgan quickly took my place and climbed in behind Taylor, wrapping her in her arms in a small attempt to offer some comfort.

“It was started in their kitchen, but it’s spread to the entire building now. It burned hot and fast.”

I looked back to see both the ladies quietly sobbing, thinking of all the things they had worked so hard for that had simply gone up in smoke. Morgan had put their foreheads together and was whispering to Taylor, trying to calm her down.

Kade, we need to talk outside. They don’t need to hear the details right now.

Yeah, that’s probably best. Just give me a minute with Morgan.

“Tesoro? I’m going to step outside for just a minute. I need to replace out what’s going on.”

She grabbed my hand and squeezed as tight as she could with her body being wracked with fever. “Please stay. I can’t do this without you.”

I leaned down and kissed her face. “I’m right outside, baby. You and Morgan were targeted, and we need to figure this out. I swear if you call me, I’ll be here in less than a second.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I looked over to see Kade wiping tears from Morgan’s cheeks before he stood and walked out the door as well. As soon as the door shut behind me, I spun to Kade.

“Where the f**k is Drew? I know he did this.”

“We don’t know. A neighbor said they saw a man run from the apartment as smoke started to pour out, but it hasn’t been confirmed to be him.”

“Who else would it be? Taylor and Morgan are good girls; they don’t have enemies like this.”

“I’ll go and see. I’m taking some of the warriors with me to check it out. If it was Drew, he’s now got both of us to deal with.” I could see the passion in his eyes as he spoke. Whoever had done this hadn’t only hurt my mate; they’d hurt his too.

And the only thing worse than one pissed off wolf protecting their mate is two.

“Let me know what you—”

“Matt!! Get in here now!” Morgan screamed from the room. I burst in to replace her struggling to cradle Taylor’s head. A violent seizure was tearing through her body.

“s**t! Kade, get the doctor in here!” I rushed to the bed and rolled Taylor on her side. Thick green foam spilled from the corner of her mouth, and her eyes rolled back in her head.

“Oh my god, is she dying? What’s happening to her?!” Morgan cried out, eyes wide with fear.

I wanted to snap at her to cool it so that I could concentrate, but I knew she was scared. “She’s not dying. The venom’s attacking her human cells and changing them to werewolf cells. This is just one of the possible reactions.”

What I had said was complete and utter bullshit. I had no idea if Taylor was dying or not, but I needed Morgan calm, at least until Kade came back with the doctor.

It seemed like hours, but soon, Dr. Bennett rushed into the room and took my place by Taylor’s head. Morgan rushed into Kade’s arms, and for the first time since I’d known him, I watched him gently try to soothe and comfort her.

“Calm down, honey. She’s alright. You know how strong she is. She’s not going to die on us.” I hoped and prayed he was right.

I looked down and watched the doctor inject a needle into Taylor’s arm, and it almost immediately stopped the seizing. I heard her m**n and whimper, so I rushed over to take her hand.

“Hey, tesoro. You scared the s**t out of me, baby, but you’re alright now. Just close your eyes. I’m right here.”

She didn’t fight me. She allowed her lids to fall, and I felt her hand go limp in mine. “What was that? Is she alright?”

“Yes, Gamma, she’s fine now. It was a reaction to the venom. It’s moving quickly and has entered her brain stem. My guess is her body short-circuited when the beginnings of her wolf were implanted, causing her to seize.”

“You said it’s moving quickly? How can you tell?”

“The brain is usually the final step, as it’s the toughest to transform. If her brain has already begun to make the change, I’d say she only has maybe six more hours to go.”

This made no sense to me. I was a Gamma; how could I change a human to a wolf in under eight hours? “How?”

“I do not know, Gamma. Either your bloodline’s more powerful than you originally thought, or your mate’s body is better able to handle the change. It could be both. I couldn’t say without running tests on both of you.”

I thanked her, then sat by Taylor’s bed, wiping her face and neck clean. Once she was looking a little better, I went and got her fresh pillows to replace the old dirty ones.

“Matt, I’ve got to go check the apartment. If we wait too long, we may lose the scent,” Kade stepped up and told me.

“Alright. Let me know what you replace out. I’ll keep Morgan safe until you get back.”

Kade walked over to Morgan and whispered something to her. She smiled through her still-flowing tears and leaned forward to give him a k**s. I turned my back to allow them some privacy. I felt Taylor’s hand brush against mine, and when I looked down, she was trying to open her eyes.

“Hey, beautiful, you’re doing so good, baby. It’s almost over.”

“Really? But we just started.”

“Yeah, but you’re a rockstar. Your wolf is already beginning to form.”

“That’s probably why my head feels like it’s about to split in two. I’m sorry I scared you, Matt. I didn’t mean to.”

“Taylor, don’t apologize for something you have no control over. Things are just moving quicker than I thought they would.”

“Matt, what happened to my apartment?”

Before I could answer, she started to shiver and shake. A second later, she leaned over and threw up everything in her stomach. I just rubbed her back and waited for it to pass. When her stomach had finally calmed down, I helped her get cleaned up and placed a heated blanket on her to fight the chills.

“My phone, could you get it?”

“What do you need your phone for? You need to rest.”

“We have cameras in the apartment. If someone broke in, I can see who it was. It’s saved to the cloud.”

I grabbed her face and kissed her hard in the mouth. “Gross, Matt. At least let me brush my teeth first.”

“We left her phone upstairs in your room. I can go get it if that’s alright with you,” Morgan offered.

“Please. Thank you so much, Morgan.”

She rushed from the room, and I sent Kade a quick link.

Kade, our girls are f*****g geniuses. They had cameras in their apartment.

Please tell me you got the tapes.

Morgan’s going to get Taylor’s phone now. We should have some answers in a few minutes.

I’m coming back now. The place is in ashes anyway. Hopefully, the cameras caught everything.

Morgan and Kade came back in the room at the same time, and she quickly handed me the phone. I entered Taylor’s passcode and scrolled to the security app as Kade stood over my shoulder. Then I saw a familiar face.

“Gotcha, motherfucker …”

* * *

Kade took the phone from my hand and emailed the video clips to both of us. “I need to get this to Xander. Dark Woods has some serious f*****g explaining to do, and Drew.”

The two of us watched the video over and over of him walking in like he was invited, then disappearing into Taylor’s bedroom. Ten minutes later, he came out and went right to the kitchen, quickly setting it on fire. There was no doubt now. The video was crystal clear.

Before Kade could leave to go replace him, Xander came down to us. “Guess who I just got off the phone with?”

“No time for guesses, we’ve got some serious s**t going on here,” Kade replied.

“So does the Dark Woods pack. Seems that Colton Witt suspects that his little brother may have been busy this evening.”

“How does he know?” I asked.

“He just came home covered in soot and ash and reeking of smoke. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

“So what now? When do I get to rip his f*****g head off?”

“Not if I get my hands on him first,” Kade argued.

Xander looked at both of us. “Well, that’s where we have a problem. Drew’s gone.”

“Gone where, Xander? How could they just let him leave?”

“From what Colton’s saying, he was discussing his suspicions with the Alpha and Drew snuck out the back. Now he’s in the wind, and we’re on the hunt.