Salvation (Wild Heat)

Chapter 29 – D E N V E R

“We still haven’t foundBrooklyn, but we’re on her trail.”

“Are you sure?” Roger Castle’s voice is fuzzy through the half busted radio I spent hours attempting to repair, but the eagerness in his voice is clear. Once, I might have thought it was a father’s excitement at the prospect of finally being reunited with his missing daughter.

Now, I know better.

The Castles have always known Brooklyn was alive because of the bond between her and Grayson. Once he felt the bond starting to fade, Roger started to get desperate. If it faded completely, he might never track her down. The Omega he thought was perfectly caged and under his control would be free.

“It’s definitely Brooklyn that we’re tracking,” I say. “We got a view of her through the scope. It matches the photos you gave us.”

“Does she realize who you are? Does she know you just want to take her home?” Castle asks. Smart—he wants to make sure that we haven’t spoken with Brooklyn. That she hasn’t told us why she ran in the first place.

“She’s been running from us. We think she’s afraid because we’re Alphas. She doesn’t realize that you’re the one who sent us.”

“You’re telling me that my 18-year-old daughter, malnourished from a year in the wilderness, managed to outmaneuver three professional Alphas?” Castle’s facade is slipping. His words are cruel and cutting, giving me a glimpse of the conniving monster underneath the surface. He’s worried—worried that Brooklyn will slip away, out of his control forever.

“Extenuating circumstances,” I say. “The storm got between us, but we’ll find her. We have an expert tracker on the team for a reason.”

“You’ll find her now,” Castle demands. “No excuses. I expect a radio by the end of the day telling me you’re on your way back here with my daughter in hand, or I will be very unhappy.”

He leaves the words hanging. Letting me know that Castle will use all the resources at his disposal to make my life hell if I mess this mission up. If I know what’s good with me, I better deliver Brooklyn to him immediately.

Over my dead fucking body.

It takes every ounce of my willpower not to tell the asshole exactly how I’d make him bleed if he touched her again.

“Don’t worry,” I tell him. “We’ll take care of everything.”

I close the connection before he drives me to say something I shouldn’t. After putting the radio back in its case, I join Cam, who’s packing up camp. He disassembled the tents and packed most of our supplies.

“Did he buy it?” Camden asks.

“I think so.”

I run a hand through my hair, a nervous tic of mine. I need to think about something other than the slimy motherfucker I was just talking to. There are more important things to focus on.

“Where did Brooklyn run off to?” I ask.

“Memphis took her to forage for berries,” Camden says. “She didn’t want to hear Castle’s voice, and she wants to teach him the difference between huckleberries and nightshade.”

“Let’s finish packing, then. I want to get moving as soon as they get back.”

This morning, Camden and Brooklyn pored over his maps, pinpointing the Omega body’s location as best they could. We should be able to reach it by the afternoon.

After a few minutes, Memphis and Brooklyn emerge from the trees. She’s smiling, looking freer and more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her. She’s been lighter since the moment she told us she was ours.

She’s mine.

“Find any berries?” I ask.

She reaches in the small bag she’s carrying and opens her palm to show me wild blackberries, lush and glistening. I can’t help it—I grab her wrist, pulling it toward my mouth so I can eat the berries right out of her hand. She blushes a gorgeous pink, which grows even deeper when I lick across the pulse point at her wrist.

Memphis crosses his arms, glaring at me. “If you want her to hand feed you, we’ll be here all day.”

“Don’t get jealous,” Camden says, patting Memphis’s shoulder. “If Brooklyn’s occupied, I’ll feed you.”

I’m surprised to see Memphis’s cheeks turn pink, too. I’ve been so focused on Brooklyn, I hadn’t noticed the connection building between the two of them.

“We should get walking,” I say, breaking the tension.

Camden and Brooklyn lead the group. Occasionally, she scoffs at the misrepresentation of the land on his map. She knows the forest better than any cartographer by now. The trees along the way are spaced far enough apart that I can walk alongside Memphis behind them.

“What are we going to do when we find her?” Memphis asks me. “How do we pass her off for Brooklyn?”

In front of us, I see Brooklyn slow her pace. I know the conversation is going to upset her—strong as she is, she has a big heart and feels deeply.

“We can talk about this without you, princess,” I say, as kindly as I can. “You don’t have to do this part if you don’t want to.”

“No,” she frowns. “I should be a part of it. I’m part of the team now. I don’t want to be left out, ever.”

“It’s okay,” Camden says, sensing that I’m holding back. “She can handle it.”

Memphis grunts. “So how do we pass off the body as Brooklyn?”

“There are a few things that can identify a body,” I say. “We won’t have to worry about fingerprints or hair if we’re smart. But there’s dental records. We’ll have to take out her teeth.”

Brooklyn bites her lip—she’s clearly uncomfortable. But I force myself to remember that she wanted to be a part of this, and I have to respect what she wants.

“What about medical records?” Camden suggests. “I remember reading about a body that was identified because she had surgery after a broken leg.”

“I’ve never broken a bone,” Brooklyn says, clearly determined to contribute something.

“There could be other things, though, ones we don’t have the medical knowledge to see,” says Memphis. “It’s safest if we do something to alter the body, something that could explain any discrepancies.”

“A forest fire,” I say. “A controlled one. If the body’s burned enough, it should be unrecognizable. They’ll be able to see it’s an Omega, but they won’t be able to tell how long it’s been out there.”

“No. We can’t do that to her,” Brooklyn objects. “She was a person. An Omega, just like me, taken advantage of by the worst kind of Alpha. We can’t mutilate her like that.”

“If that was your body,” I say, “wouldn’t you want it used to save someone’s life? To make sure those evil fucking Alphas don’t win?”

I already know the answer. We all do—brave, strong Brooklyn would absolutely give an Omega in trouble her own body. She looks down, and it breaks my heart that she’s better at grieving other people’s pain than her own. “It’s not right,” she says quietly.

“I know it’s not right,” I say. “But we’ll give her a proper funeral first. A ceremony, with words of remembrance. We’ll give her flowers.”

“I’ll build her a pyre,” Memphis volunteers.

“We’re not seriously starting a forest fire, are we?” Camden says. “What if we can’t contain it? We all saw the damage from the last fire. It could get out of control, fast.”

“We won’t let that happen,” I say, getting impatient.

Cam shakes his head. “How are we going to stop it? With what fire hose? There are too many variables. It’s going to go wrong.”

“I don’t give a shit,” I growl. “I’d burn this whole damn park to the ground if it meant keeping her safe. If that makes me a villain then fine, I’ll be the villain. I’d rather her be alive and able to hate me than six feet under, wouldn’t you?”

Camden raises his hands in defeat. Memphis nods in approval, and Brooklyn—the look on her face is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s full of wonder, joy, and affection.

Maybe I’m being too hopeful, but I think it could be love.

—----------

We find the Omega’s body in the mid-afternoon. She’s partially covered in debris, in the leaves which blew to cover her. It’s a small comfort that she hasn’t been left exposed and vulnerable.

I examine the body as quickly as I can. I can tell that it’s upsetting Brooklyn to be near it, and I can understand why—if she hadn’t run from the Castles when she had, it could have been her body out here. Grayson is sick enough that he probably would have let his Alpha friends have their fun with her, then drag her body out where no one would ever find it. Just thinking about it makes my stomach turn.

“As far as I can tell, she’ll pass for Brooklyn,” I say, standing. “I’m no expert on anatomy, but she’s the right height and no obvious bone breaks.”

Brooklyn looks pale, but before I can worry about her, Memphis puts his arm around her. Holding her up.

“We’ll send her off right,” Camden says. “Flowers, ceremony, everything.”

“We should check the area before we start the fire,” Memphis says. “Make sure there aren’t any animals with dens nearby, or especially dry kindling.”

“We don’t do it tonight,” I say. “For this to work, we have to be absolutely sure that Brooklyn’s bond has fully faded.” I’m careful not to mention Grayson’s name, in case it upsets her. I’m guessing she realizes that because she shoots me a look of thankfulness.

“How do we know when it’s faded?” Cam asks.

“Brooklyn, you should be able to tell that, right?”

She nods. “I feel it most strongly when he’s angry or upset, which happens fairly often. It’s been a few days since I felt anything, but there are still some traces.”

“Is there anything we can do to speed the process up?” Memphis growls. I can practically feel his anger—of course, territorial Memphis hates the idea of Castle having any part of her.

Brooklyn takes his hand in her small one, reassuring him. “Just being around you helps. All of you. Forming…connections with you has seemed to make the bond weaker.”

I suspected as much. Being around Alphas after so long away from anyone would mess with Brooklyn’s biology, which would include her body and her mind. And we’ve been close to Brooklyn in every possible way.

“If we’re not doing the fire tonight,” Camden says, “I’d like to build a coffin for her. So she has someplace to rest until it’s time.”

Brooklyn’s eyes shine with gratitude. “Thank you, Camden,” she murmurs.

“How about you and Memphis get camp set up?” I say. “Camden and I will work on chopping wood for it.”

Everyone gets to work. Memphis promises to come back when they’ve found the ideal place to settle in, and Camden tells me the right kind of tree to look for. I’ll tag them with the yellow rope, then he’ll take his ax to them.

While I search for trees with thick, low-hanging branches, I think about Brooklyn’s bond. I suspect we could speed things along significantly if we bonded with her ourselves. Our bonds would be strong and fresh, driven by true connection between souls and minds. They could be much more powerful, to the point that they’d override Grayson’s faded bond to the point that it vanished completely.

The idea of bonding Brooklyn right now makes my cock harden. I’m dying to sink my teeth into her gorgeous neck and mark her as mine, permanently.

But it’s not the right time.

Strong bursts of emotion travel through bonds. There’s a chance that the moment we claim her, Grayson will sense it. Then he’ll know exactly what we’re doing, and our whole plan is moot. It’s too big of a risk to take.

Brooklyn told us that she wanted to be a part of every conversation about what we do next, but I’m wary of even mentioning the idea to her. She had a bond forced on her once, and it practically destroyed her. I don’t want her to feel pressured to do it ever again, even if it’s for her own good.

No. When Brooklyn bonds with me, it’ll be because she wants me. Because she plans to be part of my pack forever.

I won’t let anything compromise that choice.