Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Caleb is bringing a unit of soldiers with us to Toronto. He doesn’t expect failure, but he refuses to be caught unprepared again.
Maverick already has several units of shifters monitoring the area, but Caleb isn’t leaving anything up to chance. He doesn’t like the idea of me, him, Maverick, and Sash all being in the same location, especially so close to the border. He’s not looking for a repeat of the meeting with the alphas.
It doesn’t help that Adam has also decided to come. There’s no talking him out of it.
Caleb tried.
He’s traveling with the others. They’re shifting into their animal form and running, which will get them there in about half the amount of time it will take me. With the shifters, driving is almost always the slowest option.
“Are you sure you don’t want to run there with your men?” I ask Caleb.
He throws our bag of clothing into the trunk of his car. “I’m certain.” He climbs into the driver’s seat. “Besides, I can use this time to make calls.”
He’s not joking. We drive through the night, and Caleb spends the entire time taking back-to-back phone calls, discussing strategy with the other alphas.
Maverick is forthcoming with information. King is, too, even if he’s distracted by the deaths of his pack members.
Everett continues to be an asshole.
When Adam and the others finally reach the border, Caleb begins receiving updates from them.
I sit quietly in the passenger seat, tracking every word of Caleb’s calls in a desperate attempt to learn. I want to understand how he runs his pack.
Eventually, sometime in the dead of night, I fall asleep. My forehead rests against the window, my mouth slightly agape. I’m not sure how much time has passed when I jolt awake, but the sun is beginning to rise, casting the sky in a beautiful shade of pink.
“The Americans have noticed the uptick of shifters at the borders.” Maverick’s rough voice travels through the car speaker. “They’re sending in troops of their own, and it’s clear they’re on edge. We’re expecting them to take action soon.”
Caleb frowns. “Okay. Keep me updated.”
The call ends, and Caleb lays on the gas. We’re the only vehicle on the road, and Caleb has been choosing the speed limit based solely on his internal tolerance for safety. Despite how protective Caleb is of me, he sure fucking speeds.
The past few days have been warm, allowing the worst of the snow and ice to melt. It’s a small reprieve.
“We’re almost there,” Caleb says. “About an hour away.”
He’s on edge. I’m on edge, too. There’s no telling what HPAW will do when they realize we’ve taken the humans and are bringing them to shifter lands. It’s going to be a mess.
Every shifter at the border has been briefed on HPAW’s new auditory weapons, but Caleb says there’s no way to prepare for the pain. He described it as his head being split open, and it made it damn near impossible to shift into his animal form.
My nerves are tight, coiled and waiting.
Caleb reaches over the center console, grabbing my hand as we near our destination. He’s not taking me directly to Toronto. That was a non-negotiable, but he’s bringing me to a small town about forty-five minutes away.
It’s the closest he’s allowing me to get to the border. It’s also being used as an impromptu headquarters for this section of the pack. I can tell the second we reach it.
The area has become chaotic. There’s not a child, teenager, or woman in sight. Only warriors, and they’re damned terrifying.
Half of them are in their animal forms, and those in human form are in varying stages of undress. A man in black slacks and a tucked-in shirt walks alongside an entirely naked man. They’re fully engrossed in conversation as they round a large, regal-looking brick building.
It’s well-kept, maybe once a city hall, and it’s where most of the activity is happening. Dozens of men are hurrying across the expansive stone steps leading to a pair of open double doors. Some are coming in, but most are heading out.
Sash should have arrived here earlier today. Maverick and Adam should be here, too.
Logan was ordered to remain behind and oversee the day-to-day pack business. I suspect he’s not pleased to be separated from Sash, but she’s a capable woman. She’s a shifter, too, so there’s less concern regarding her safety.
I make eye contact with a warrior through the car window. He’s not wearing a shred of clothing, and I clear my throat as I turn away, breaking eye contact.
“Where are all the women and children?” I ask.
“They’ve been taken up north for the time being,” Caleb says. “Some have chosen to stay behind and fight, but most have relocated to a safer location.”
Caleb parks in front of the crowded brick building. A few wolves look in our direction, but they don’t linger. They’re too busy to stop and gawk.
“How many of these shifters are from your pack?” I ask.
“It’s a healthy mix,” Caleb says. “King has deployed a few troops, but most of the men here are from either my pack or Maverick’s pack.”
Good to know. I step out of the car. Caleb is upon me within seconds, his arm around my waist as he leads me up the steps. I suspect he’s going to insist on keeping physical contact with me. Truthfully, I appreciate it.
I haven’t yet forgotten my time in that cell.
When we enter the building, we’re greeted by a young shifter male. He must be about twenty, and he’s wearing only a pair of loosely-fitting pants. They hang off his waist. I suspect they don’t belong to him.
Beside the doors is a bin of clothing. Two naked shifters stand beside it. They reach in and grab bottoms, hardly sparing the fabric a second glance as they yank them up their legs and continue on their way.
“Alphas,” the young shifter before us says. He’s holding two tablets, and his throat bobs as he awkwardly extends them toward Caleb and me. “These are for you.”
His hands are trembling. Caleb surely notices, but he says nothing. This man—a boy, really—is terrified. Was he ordered to be here? Is he a volunteer? I suspect the latter.
He’s holding himself together by sheer will.
Caleb takes the tablets. “Thank you.” His expression softens as he looks down at the boy. “Take a break. Eat some food. Take a nap if you need to. Don’t come back until your head is cleared.”
The boy’s voice is quiet when he next speaks. “Yes, Alpha.” He hangs his head, then leaves.
Caleb waits until he’s out of sight before speaking. “He’s not a warrior,” he explains. “I meet with every shifter upon graduation, and I’ve never seen him. Maverick doesn’t deploy men that young, either. He must be a volunteer.” Caleb presses his lips together. “Brave.”
He shifts the tablets into his right hand and returns his other hand to my waist. Then he’s leading me through the building.
This place is swarming with shifters, so many that I have no choice but to brush shoulders as we make our way down narrow hallway after narrow hallway. We head up a flight of stairs and through a heavy oak door. Caleb pushes it open with ease.
Maverick is standing in the center of the room. He looks over, his head snapping toward the door, but he wordlessly resumes his conversation with Adam when he realizes it’s just Caleb and me.
Caleb shuts the door behind us.
“HPAW has locked down all their facilities,” Adam says the moment the door latches. He’s sitting in the far corner of the room with three laptops and two monitors in front of him. “Everett’s men have been spotted, of fucking course.”
Caleb curses, releasing me and approaching Adam. “Has anybody spoken to Everett within the past hour?”
Sash is in the corner of the room on her computer, not paying attention to this conversation.
“I just got off the phone with him,” Adam says. “Baby Alpha is clearly panicked, and he’s afraid to speak to you or Maverick. It seems he genuinely believed he’d be able to keep his men disguised until you gave him the ‘all clear.’”
Maverick slams his fist against the table. “Fucking idiot.” He turns to Caleb. “You good to take over? We don’t both need to be here.”
Caleb nods. “Yeah. I’m good. You can go.” He turns toward Adam. “Where are we on Florida?”
“We’re inside,” Adam says. “Our men got in just before Everett’s were spotted, but they’ve gone dark.
We don’t know what’s happening.” Adam blows out a breath.
“You should come with me to the border. The men are agitated, and I suspect things are only going to worsen over the next twenty-four hours.”
Caleb gives a rough shake of his head. “I can’t. I’m staying here with Evelyn.”
The thought of Caleb getting hurt is terrifying—so fucking terrifying, it twists my insides into a tangled knot. I imagine that’s how Caleb feels about me. Still, now isn’t the time to be operating out of fear. That’s exactly what HPAW wants.
“You don’t need to stay for me,” I tell Caleb. “You’re more useful out there.”
Caleb snaps his jaw shut with an audible click, his gaze flickering between his sister and me. It’s obvious by his furrowed brow and pursed lips that he isn’t a fan of this idea.
Sash looks up from her computer. “I won’t let her out of my sight,” she promises. “I’ll keep your mate safe.”
Caleb doesn’t waver.
I push aside my nerves as I approach Caleb. He didn’t want to bring me here in the first place, and I forced his hand. I’m certain he won’t let me do so again.
I take a different approach.
I grab his hand, running my thumb along his knuckles. His marking continues to lighten, the change incredible. It’s now a rosy pink, so close to the white it once was.
“You’re the most feared alpha,” I say. “HPAW built entire strategies around you. And right now, they think you’re dead.
If they see you and realize you’re alive, they’ll hesitate.
They don’t want to start a war with you, and it might be enough for them to let your men and the humans return safely into the shifter lands.
Caleb grunts. “Our men.”
“Okay.” I crack a smile. “It might be enough for them to let our men and the humans return safely into the shifter lands.”
“She makes a good point,” Adam chimes in. “HPAW still thinks you're dead. We can use that to our advantage.”
Caleb blows out a long, pained breath.
He clasps my marked hand within his. I refuse to look at my scarred skin, even as he brings it to his mouth and kisses the still-healing flesh. “You’ll stay with Sash, yeah? And you won’t leave this building.”
I nod. “I won’t leave her side. We’ll wait here for you.”
Caleb kisses my mark again. “I’ll be checking in frequently, and if I get even an inkling that something is wrong, Sash will be removing you from the area. With force, if needed.”
I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.