The Travelers: Book Two by Sennah Tate

her tight against him. There was no doubting how much he wanted her and Izzy smiled with a satisfied feminine purr as she snuggled into him.
    “Izzy! Aaron!”
    She realized that maybe it wasn’t his snoring that had woken her.
    “Aaron,” she whispered, trying to wake him.
    He groaned and tightened his grip around her waist. Izzy was tempted to slip back into her mercifully dreamless sleep, but a frantic knock on the door kept her from relaxing.
    “Please,” Gemma pleaded from the other side.
    Izzy didn’t hesitate another moment; she popped out of bed and slipped into Aaron’s discarded t-shirt before opening the door a crack.
    “What’s up Gem?” she asked with a yawn, wondering how long they’d been asleep.
    “He’s gone,” Gemma said, hysteria creeping into her voice.
     
    <<<>>>
     
    A few hours earlier…
    Carson watched the life drain from Reddy’s eyes for what felt like the hundredth time. There was nothing here. Nothing that could give him any more information about what Preston was doing or how he was holding these women. As much as Carson wanted to save them all, if he didn’t know Preston’s end game they were just going to keep running around in circles.
    The wolf inside him protested against being stationary. It was his obligation to save these women; he was the one with the powers and the knowledge.
    He restarted the video.
    Immediately the wolf bristled at the sight of Preston Waters. The more intense his anger grew the harder it was to control the ferocious beast inside of him. It didn’t help that he was itching for a rematch with the enormous lion. No part of Carson was accustomed to coming in second.
    He knew when to admit defeat, though. By himself, he couldn’t find anything in the video that was helpful. All he had was a taunt — Preston Waters was worried about him, that was at least something in his favor. He knew it was time to throw in the towel.
    The shadows wrapped around Reddy’s pale bruised flesh and drained her little by little. He saw the teeming mass just behind Preston and it seemed to be growing.
    That’s when he saw it — it was tiny, no doubt, but it was there — fear. Preston wasn’t in complete control of those shadows; it was only for a split second, the maniacal gleam in his eyes faded, gave way to something new and frightened. If he’d blinked, Carson would have missed it, for in the next instant, Preston’s facade was back in place as if it had never left.
    The thought of Preston Waters controlling the terrible shadow creatures was horrific enough, but to know that they were getting stronger — too strong for him to handle — that only made the situation more dire.
    There was no time to waste. If the shadows over-powered Preston or broke free of whatever hold he had on them, the women he held captive wouldn’t stand a chance.
     
    <<<>>>
     
    “What? Who’s gone?” asked Aaron, sitting up in bed, his chiseled chest exposed and silvery scars clearly visible in the dim light.
    “Carson,” Gemma sobbed, “He’s gone… left… I told him… gone…” she muttered over and over incoherently.
    Izzy tossed a questioning look back to Aaron who was already dressing himself.
    “Slow down. Just tell us what happened,” she said.
    By then, others started to hear the commotion. For the time being, they were all staying in the clubhouse; they all agreed that sticking together was the best idea both for general safety and for quick response times if something happened.
    Trick stumbled into the hallway, rubbing at his bleary eyes.
    “What’s all the blubbering for?” he mumbled.
    Ty peered around the corner of his make-shift bedroom door. He squinted before sliding his glasses on.
    “Is everything all right?” He asked.
    Izzy could see that Gemma was already getting overwhelmed with the attention and magnitude of the situation. She rested a hand on Gemma’s back and led her to the main living area of the upper floor.
    “Okay, so tell us what’s