BK 3 - Chapter 29 - The Twins
"Your parents are going into the warehouse as we speak. Cole Reynell is there, and they said he was doing some horrific things to a woman." Wesley said to Melanie and Saxon while glancing over at the cubs. Lisa was glaring at him again, and he didn't know what he's done, but he was sure she was going to tell him.
"We saw lots of bad things, so you can tell us to. We're not babies." Lisa went back to looking at the pictures with Alex. Wesley shook his head. She might have more attitude than the other females in the family, and she'd only been with them for a week.
"He injected something into a female that made her panther separate from her human and shift inside her tearing her apart." Wesley glanced at the cubs, who didn't look horrified; they were actually nodding like they'd heard that before.
"He said he was going to do that to us," Alex said quietly. Melanie and Saxon's hearts broke for the cubs. They had seen too many terrors in their first five years.
"Are they going to try to rescue anyone else being held there?" Saxon asked while looking at the people on the bidding website. It made him sick that all those shifters were being held somewhere like animals.
"Yeah, that's their plan. I told them they can do whatever they want with the men there." He answered while sitting in a chair at the table, looking at the two laptops.
"Look, I found a secret link hidden in one of the pictures. It takes you to the 'coming soon' section. This is a list of people they plan to kidnap," Melanie said in disbelief.
Wesley began taking pictures with his phone of each person. He sent these to his team, hoping they could locate the shifters before they became victims.
"Nooooo," Melanie screamed, making everyone look over her shoulder. She began shaking as Saxon took her in his arms.
"Is that your brother and sister?" Wesley asked, seeing an image of a teenage boy and girl who looked familiar, but he hadn't seen them in a while. The caption read fraternal twin werelions.
"Yes, they stayed behind to help at the group homes. Wesley, you have to send people there now to get them before someone else does." Melanie looked up at him, and he was already on the phone. She tried Jelena and Grant on their phones, but they didn't answer. That wasn't unusual for them; they weren't typical teenagers. They rarely had their phones on them.
"There's a team already nearby; they're headed there now. I had put them in the area as soon as I learned Raul was after your entire family. They had just arrived and hadn't even had time to set up near the houses. Is there anyone with them that you can call?" Wesley asked in a rush.
"I'll call Valerie and Roger; they should be with them." Melanie tried each of their phones, and they both went to voicemail.
"Neither of them answered. I have to call my parents." She called her mom and dad's phones, but there was no answer. She remembered Emily went with their group, so she called her.
"Melanie?" Her sister answered. Melanie could hear screaming in the background.
"You guys need to get back now. The twins are in danger." She said quickly.
"We know. Mom was on the phone with Valerie telling her to get the twins and all the kids out of there. The phone went dead right after there was a loud bang." Emily was sobbing into the phone as Melanies tears began to fall.
"How long ago was that? Wesley sent a team to the house that was nearby. Hopefully, they're still at the house when they get there." Saxon put Melanie on his lap and held her. Lisa and Alex stood beside her, rubbing her back as she cried.
"That was just before you called. We're headed back to the cars with the people we rescued. Everyone in the warehouse is dead." Emily answered. Melanie looked up when Wesley's phone began ringing.
"Hang on, Emily; Wesley's getting a call."
"Hello?" He answered on the first ring putting the phone on speaker.
"We got here just in time. A group of men had broken through the front and back doors. We pulled up as they were going into the house, but we didn't really need to be here. By the time we got inside, the two lions had already shifted and had the men backed into a corner, pissing themselves. I just sent you a picture." Wesley held the phone out for Melanie and Saxon to see. Jelena and Grant's lions were growling at the men, who they could tell were shaking even in the picture. Melanie laughed as she put her phone back to her ear.
"Emily, they're fine. Apparently, Jelena and Grant don't need us. They stopped the men before Wesley's team got inside. Can I talk to mom?" Melanie asked. When her mom answered, her voice was scratchy.
"Emily told us they're okay," Cat said, still trying to calm down.
"I'm going to send you a picture of them," Melanie glanced at Wesley, who forwarded the picture to Emily's phone. Cat started laughing as soon as she saw it.
"Thank you. I needed to see that. I still think they should get out of there. Can Wesley help with moving them and the kids? Luckily we don't have many kids in the group homes right now." Cat took a couple of deep breaths as her heart began to beat normally again. Thinking that someone had her babies was a pain like no other. It was bad enough when they had Melanie, but the twins were young and not fighters. At least, she hadn't thought they were.
"Wesley, can your men take everyone somewhere to keep them safe?" Melanie asked.
"Already on it. They're taking them to a safe house once the police arrest the men who broke in. My team will keep the whole lion thing quiet. I'm sure the men will, too, otherwise they'll have a lot of explaining to do. From the looks of it, the twins will be protecting everyone else." Wesley said as he turned around to continue his phone call. Cat heard what he said and started laughing on the other phone.
"He's right. I never should have underestimated Jelena and Grant. At least we know they're safe, so we can finish what we need to do here. We're on our way back to the hotel. I'm glad Wesley had arranged for us to bring SUV's rather than cars because we're bringing nine more people. We'll see you soon." Cat hung up, and Melanie sighed in relief. That was an intense few minutes. She was still sitting on Saxon't lap and noticed the cubs were rubbing her back. This was her family. Melanie turned to pull the cubs in front of her so she could hug them.
"I love you guys." She said as they shared a group hug.
"We love you too, Lanie," Saxon said, kissing her forehead.
Once they got word that the intruders were arrested and the twins, Roger, Valerie, and the kids had been moved to a safe house, they returned to work. Wesley continued to send pictures of the 'coming soon' shifters to his team so they could try and locate them. The cubs finished sorting the photos, and Wesley ordered everyone lunch just as those from the warehouse showed up. Wesley got the newly rescued shifters all settled into rooms with food. Everyone else ate in the conference room.
"Have you heard from the other groups?" Trey asked.
"I received a text from Theo that they're laying low and watching for movement at their location. I also received one from Daniella saying pretty much the same thing. So far, it looks like those places are quiet." Wesley answered, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Grandma Cat, I think you need to have another talk with Wesley. He didn't respect me and treated me and Alex like we were babies," Lisa said nonchalantly while taking a drink of her lemonade. Everyone burst out in laughter as Cat glanced at Wesley, whose face was bright red.
"Really? Well, maybe we need to show him how lionesses are when they get disrespected," Cat winked at Wesley while Lisa nodded.
"Yep. I told him I was going to tell my Grandma Cat to have another talk with him. He didn't learn his lesson. I think we can forgive him, though, because he saved the twins," Lisa didn't even know the twins, but she had picked up on everything that had happened. Cat hugged the little girl with a smile.
"I think you're right." Lisa beamed as Cat kissed the top of her head. Everyone's hearts melted over how sweet the little cub was. Even Wesley, who seemed to be her biggest target, wanted to scoop her up. When his phone began ringing, everyone waited with an uneasy feeling.
"Theo, what's going on?" Wesley asked, putting his phone on speaker.
"I need you here now. They just brought a busload of people to the house you had us watching. They're all blindfolded and chained. Men with guns are guarding them." Theo said into the phone quietly, not wanting his voice to carry. Everyone jumped up from the table, but Wesley looked at Saxon and Melanie, shaking his head.
"We're on our way, Theo," Wesley said before addressing Saxon and Melanie. "I need you to continue with the online search. That's our best chance of getting ahead of them."
"Okay, we'll stay here." Melanie saw Lisa and Alex relax. If nothing else, she'd stay for them. As the room cleared out, Janel walked over to the cubs.
"Elicia wants to go with us this time. Can you watch Jade for me? She's sleeping, so she should be okay for a while." Janel glanced at Melanie, who nodded that she would ensure the little vampire was okay. Lisa and Alex's faces lit up.
"Yes, we'll take care of her," Lisa answered. They both sat on the floor next to the baby carrier. Elicia had ordered several things to be delivered to the hotel while she was babysitting. Janel was grateful to have what they needed to care for the little one.
"Thank you. We'll be back soon." Janel kissed the three little ones before racing out. Melanie and Saxon smiled at the cubs, who were happy to just watch the baby sleep. They both were thinking the same thing. When the time came, Alex and Lisa would make excellent siblings.
