Alpha King’s Secret Baby (The Runaway Mate #1)

Chapter 24

Bastien

Rage swept through me like a wildfire. My pack had taken Theo, and nothing happened in the Moon Edge pack without Kildaire’s approval. He’d murdered my parents, and now, he’d kidnapped Casey’s son.

I knew his fucked up reason for killing my parents, but why he’d gone after Theo was a mystery.

“I don’t understand why they kidnapped the half-human child of a non-pack member,” I said, more to myself than others. I hadn’t been in contact with the pack in weeks. If they came to town, it would have made more sense for them to go after me—or Frankie, their original target.

Casey avoided my gaze, her face pale.

“Do you know why?” I asked. The answer could be the key to getting Theo back or, at least, figuring out what happened.

She exchanged a glance with Vivian, who nodded encouragingly. Casey took a deep, halting breath.

“Yes, I do,” Casey admitted, still unable to meet my eyes. “Because Theo isn’t half-human. He’s your son.”

I should have been numb to any emotion apart from anxiety and fear, but shock hit me like a bolt of lightning.

“My—” I couldn’t get the word out.

“I’m so sorry for lying to you,” she said, wringing her hands. “I kept it a secret because I was afraid your pack would take Theo for themselves.”

I couldn’t be angry with her. Not when she was right. My presence had put Casey and Theo in danger. My whole life, I’d refused to have a relationship because I dreaded how my death might affect my partner and children. I never considered they could be the ones in danger.

“We’ll get Theo back,” I promised Casey. I would have moved heaven and earth to save Theo even before I knew he was my son. But this was personal. Kildaire wouldn’t get away with this.

Casey retrieved the pendant and held it close to her chest.

“We should go,” she said, already walking toward the street. “They can’t have been gone long. We can catch up to them.”

“Hold up. As much as I want to get to Theo immediately, we need to be smart about this. They have a head start, and we don’t know how many there are. When we get Theo, we need to do it right.”

“I can’t just let them take him,” she said, fists clenched and eyes wide with fear.

I couldn’t imagine what Casey was going through. I’d known Theo for a matter of weeks—and only just found out he was my son—but the desperation to find him nearly knocked me sideways. I was shocked she was still standing.

“We’re not going to, but we need a plan.” I put my hand on her shoulder, and she let me. “The pack protectors are highly trained. Some of them are intelligent, but I know all their tricks. I also have allies in the pack. If we go off half-cocked right now, we risk putting Theo in even more danger. Kildaire will keep Theo alive to integrate him into the pack and use his strength. He did the same with me after he killed my parents. That means we have time to make sure we do this right.”

“All right, but I need that plan quick because I’m not letting my son spend any more time with those monsters than he has to,” Casey said, embodying the protective mother she-wolf she was. I’d never doubted her strength, but in that moment, I saw just how dangerous she could be. She was a force to be reckoned with, and they weren’t ready for her fury—or mine.

“Let’s get back to the shop,” Vivian suggested. “I’ll report this to the authorities once we have a plan. If we call the cops now, they’ll hold us up, and the shop has Casey’s protection on it.”

“Not that my magic did much to protect Theo,” Casey muttered. “It hid him from psychic vision while it was around his neck, but I should have also found a way to mask his scent so he couldn’t be tracked.”

“Hey, you know if they meant to harm Theo physically, they wouldn’t have been able to touch him,” Vivian said, attempting to console her. “They left his pendant behind because your magic was working.”

It seemed like cold comfort for Casey, but she nodded.

I waited until we were back in the shop—with the door closed and locked—before I pulled out my phone. I didn’t want to risk being overheard by passersby. They might be alarmed to see someone making plans for a rescue operation a few feet away from a dead body. Casey’s gaze followed me as I went to Vivian’s back room. If I failed to amass allies, I didn’t want her watching from the front row.

I called Jules, knowing I could rely on him no matter what. If there was anyone in the pack I could trust, it was him. I wasn’t sure who else would join us; maybe some of the other protectors who weren’t happy with Duncan’s new regime or the restrictiveness of the pack. But chafing at the bit was one thing, and rebelling was another.

“Bastien, where have you been?” Jules answered in a harsh whisper. “Kildaire had been going crazy since you missed your check-in.”

“A lot of shit has gone down. I’ll explain in more detail later, but I don’t have much time,” I replied. I felt guilty for not contacting my friend—my brother, really—before now, but it was too late for regrets. “Long story short, I found Casey, and it turns out—” I took a deep breath. Saying it aloud for the first time would make it real. “Casey had a son. My son.”

“What?” Jules said, his shock clear in his voice. “And she didn’t try to contact you?”

“She had good reasons to stay away, and it’s not like she had my number,” I said, defending my mate. I didn’t blame her, and what I’d done in rejecting her was far worse. “But that’s not why I called. Theo, my son, was taken by members of the pack. I know Kildaire is behind this. Theo is the offspring of second-generation fated mates.”

“He’ll want Theo to strengthen the pack,” Jules said, understanding the situation immediately. “That explains why Tobias pulled Kildaire out of a meeting with Duncan yesterday, reeking of herbs. He must have had a vision about it. Kildaire sent Duncan and a few other guys on a mission last night, but I wasn’t told where.”

“How many?” I asked, wondering if we could intercept them before they returned to Moon Edge.

“Four,” Jules reported. “Plus Duncan.”

I didn’t like those odds, especially with Theo in the mix. “Fuck,” I muttered. Once they took Theo back to the pack, there would be even more people to fight, but it would be harder to keep Theo contained. But we’d need help, just like I suspected. “Can I count on you to lend a hand?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” he asked, offended. “Of course.”

“I know, I know.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “But you understand what this means, right? Kildaire won’t be merciful if we fail.”

“We aren’t going to,” he said with the confidence I needed.

“If we succeed, you’ll have to leave the pack,” I pointed out. I needed to ensure Jules was in this for the long haul. He’d be giving up a lot to side with me.

“I’m with you to the end,” he said. “A lot of us haven’t been happy with the pack for a while, but we were too scared to say anything.”

“Do you think you can find some people you trust to join us?” I felt my blood pressure rising as I prepared for battle. “We can’t risk this getting out. We need the element of surprise on our side.”

“I’ll make sure the guys I talk to are trustworthy,” he assured me. “James is at the top of my list.”

“Yeah. Besides you, James was the first one I thought of.” But even with Jules and James on our side, we were heavily outnumbered. “I’m thinking of bringing in some outside help.”

“What do you mean?” I heard the frown in his voice.

“I met some people here who might be of assistance,” I said. “A mountain lion shifter and the ex-pack member I was sent to retrieve.”

“Dude, what the hell?”

There was a lot I needed to catch Jules up on, but there wasn’t time.

“I’ll explain later, but if they agree, you have to make sure the guys you bring in are okay working with other shifters,” I said. The last thing we needed was infighting.

“They’ll be cool. I’ll make sure of it,” he promised. Now, I just had to see if I could get Oscar and Frankie on our side.

“I’ll be in touch when we leave. Will you let me know if anything changes in the commune?” I asked. “Or if you see Theo arrive. He looks a lot like Casey but has blue eyes like me.”

“Of course,” he said.

“Thanks, see you soon.”

I ended the call and took a moment to collect myself before dialing Oscar. I had no clue if he’d agree to help, and I knew he was done fighting for territory, but I had to try. Casey and Theo depended on me. I rang his number.

“Hey, Bastien. How are you doing?” he answered cheerfully. “I haven’t heard from you since you spoke with Frankie.”

He was politely avoiding the subject of my parents’ murder.

“I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll make this quick,” I said, getting straight to the point. “My pack just kidnapped my son, and I’m going after them. Some of my pack members are siding with me, but we need more allies. I know you got out of the game, and I understand if you don’t want to help, but I trust you and know we’d benefit from having you on our side.”

I’d seen Oscar fight the day I rescued Casey. He was tough, and he knew what he was doing.

“Shit,” he said.

“I know. And as I said, I don’t expect you to put your life on the line. And if you could get in touch with Frankie and see if he’ll complete the work he started with my parents all those years ago, that would be great.”

I was itching to get on the road, even though I’d advised Casey to slow down and let me plan. Every minute Theo spent in the hands of Duncan and his cronies was a minute too long.

“I’ll join you,” he said. “I think Frankie will, too, but I can’t speak for him.”

Relief eased some of the tension in my shoulders.

“Thanks, man,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I’m going to get on the road as soon as possible. I’ll message you with a meeting place outside pack territory.”

“No problem. This is worth fighting for,” Oscar said, his voice steady. “I’ll let you know if Frankie agrees.”

“Great, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“See you.”

I ended the call and pushed down any doubts that threatened to surface. Failure wasn’t an option.