Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
Kade
"What the hell am I looking at here?"
Silas scoots toward me in the back of our borrowed van. There's a concerning amount of weapons and medical supplies, but I wouldn't expect anything less from some of our morally questionable friends.
It was a stroke of luck that we ended up so close to Trent's town. Definitely the break we needed, even if I have no idea what exactly he and his men are going to do here. My only focus is Vivian.
Jarek was the one who suggested we might need some medical supplies and more space than our F-150 could provide. He was a little cagey and nondescript about what he was thinking, but I could tell there was more to it than just needing space for Vivie to lie down.
"This is the mansion," Silas explains, pointing at a spot on the screen. "And these are the cabins I think they hold people in. Or something. I don't know, but Jarek says Vivian's at this back corner. Furthest from us."
With a deep breath, I remind myself I can trust my pack.
If I could feel as much as Jay does, I wouldn't be hesitant.
But I'm pack lead; I should be the one with all the answers.
Silas would kick my ass if he knew I felt that way.
I told him less than two hours ago that he needed to trust Jarek, and here I am questioning everything.
My emotions and pent-up aggression boils over in a shout that makes my beta cringe away from me. "What sick fuck lives in luxury while people are being tortured in their backyard?!"
Jarek grunts, tying his shoes for the fifth fucking time. We can't do anything until the sun sets, so with the help of Trent's technology we're scoping out the best way to get to Vivian.
"Trent's wondering if we need to chat before heading in," Silas announces, typing on his phone. "I told him yes."
"She's our omega!" I snarl and immediately suck in a cleansing breath. Fucking hell, I need her back before I lose my mind for good. "Damn it..."
"Yeah..." Silas drawls, eyeing me like I'm a ticking time bomb. "I know she's ours. But we're also not cut out for this, Kade. Trent and his people are. I think we need to follow their lead."
"Let them do whatever they need to do. We just get our mate to safety," Jarek murmurs, still staring down at his shoes.
"Dude, are you okay?" Silas kneels in front of Jay, who looks like he's in a different universe right now.
"Fine," Jarek grunts, hardly moving. "How long?"
He could look for himself, yet he seems like he's about to pass the fuck out. "Thirty-seven minutes until sundown," I reply, watching him closely. "Are you going to be able to help?"
That gets his attention. His head whips up, teeth bared, ready to go toe to toe with me. "Of fucking course I can. I'm preserving energy. Does anyone else feel like they're being drained?"
"Yeah, even I noticed it. But if Vivie has somehow figured out how to channel us, she can have it all," Silas replies, rubbing his chest absently.
It's hard to like Amaya, Vivie's friend, when she's the one who taught her how to block us in the bond, but I'm grateful she shared with Vivian how to use our extra energy.
I hate when Silas says stuff that undermines his importance. Towering over his still crouched form, I wrap my hand around the front of his throat and pull him back to look up at me. "Not even you. Being a beta doesn't mean she doesn't feel you as clearly in the bond as she does us."
"Yeah but I don't have all the feral energy you alphas do. That's all. And I can't access the bonds as deeply as you guys can." He shakes his head as my eyes narrow. "Doesn't matter right now."
"You always matter," Jarek growls, grabbing his jaw and standing over him too. Our scents mingle and mix, a perfect combination to ensure our beta feels thoroughly owned by his alphas.
"When we get home, nobody is leaving the nest for a fucking month. I need—I fucking need all of you," I choke out, struggling past the emotion building in my throat.
"Yes, Alpha," Silas whispers, still bent back and looking up at me with so much love. A breeze of sorrow flits through the bond between the three of us, his words reminding us of our omega.
With our mate on his knees between us, Jarek and I lock eyes. The love I have for this man. "Jarek..." I swallow. "I don't know how to express how much I appreciate you working so tirelessly to get through to Vivie. Fuck I don't—"
Jay's free hand wraps around the back of my neck and pulls me forward until our foreheads are pressed together. "I'll do anything for this pack, Alpha. Thank you for pushing me to figure out how strong I can be for us."
Guilt has been festering in my gut since Vivian went missing and it's only grown.
Watching Jarek turn himself inside out to reach our mate has been horrific.
I don't want to even imagine what he's experienced.
He's thrown up, had multiple panic attacks, zoned out for minutes at a time.
I don't want to know and that makes me selfish.
I should be the one suffering. Not Jarek, not Vivian. "If I could have—"
"You would have," Jarek and Silas say at the same time.
We glance down at Silas and I swear we both soften. Unable to hold myself up anymore, I kneel behind Silas and wrap my arms around him. Jarek follows suit and wraps both of us in a hug. Silas buries his face in Jay's throat, taking big inhales just like I'm doing with him.
"Thank you for being our rock, my love," I murmur into Silas' neck and press a lingering kiss there. "I love you both so fucking much."
Oh fuck. I can't cry right now. We have a battle ahead of us to rescue our omega. We might not be qualified to do any damage, but nothing will stand in the way of us and Vivie. I'll rip my own arm off and throw it at a threat if I must.
"I can't lose you," Jarek croaks, strong arms tightening around us.
Silas nods in understanding. "We stick together. Vivian will need all three of us. No running off and doing reckless shit."
That promise will be the hardest for me to uphold but I must. I have to stick to it.
Nothing is worse than losing a bonded mate.
It has taken everything for the three of us not to shatter, and that's only because we know she's alive.
If one of us were to die tonight, the rest are at risk of serious repercussions.
The death of a bond is a pain nobody has been able to describe due to its immense ability to tear the living to shreds and tarnish their will to live.
"Together," I agree, kissing Silas' temple then pressing my lips to Jarek's.
"Together," my alpha agrees with our beta too.
This is it. We're doing this together.