Callum
Lynx checks the time on his phone. “He should be telling him about now.”
“Yep.”
Morgan left about half an hour ago to meet Ash at work. Turns out avoiding Morgan wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be.
I glance at Lynx, where he sits next to me on the front steps. Hair mussed, lips kiss-red. Relaxed in a way that tells me exactly how he kept Morgan occupied for the last few hours. That doesn’t mean he’d been happy about keeping the truth from him, though. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me, Cal.”
“I know but—”
“You didn’t ask me to lie to him.” He nudges my shoulder. “And you were right. He did ask the same of you, so fair’s fair.”
“Did he know you were hiding something?” Their bond is considerably stronger than ours. I doubt Lynx could successfully hide anything from him, even if he wanted to. I’m proved right when Lynx laughs.
“He did. I told him I couldn’t tell him yet. But he’d know soon enough.”
“And he was okay with that?”
“Fuck no.”
“So what happened?” Because I know Lynx didn’t tell him.
He raises an eyebrow. “You really want to know ?”
It takes a second for my mind to catch up and I quickly shake my head. “Nope.”
Lynx laughs again, but it trails off, and I can almost feel the shift from best friend to alpha and president. “There’ll need to be rules, Cal. Measures put in place to keep him safe. Keep both of you safe.”
“I know.”
“He’s not going to like being told what to do.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “No, he really isn’t.” I can already picture the stubborn set to his shoulders and his scowl.
“You need to bring him here so we can talk. Introduce him to everyone so he knows what’s at stake. Why we need to put restrictions in place to keep him safe.”
I sigh, running a hand over my jaw, hoping our bond is enough for Ash to accept the concessions we’re going to have to make. Because Lynx is right. Being bonded to me is as good as painting a target on his back.
Ash is human.
As strong as he is, he’s still my weakness.
“Have you thought about turning him?”
My eyes snap to his, lip curled back in a snarl.
“Whoa.” Lynx’s hands shoot up in surrender. “It’s a question, not a suggestion. Calm the fuck down.”
“Shit. Sorry.”
“Sore point?”
“No. We’ve not really discussed it.” Not unless you count the rushed promise I made him before I bit him. “I have no idea why I reacted like that.”
Lynx sits forward, elbows resting on his knees. He’s not looking at me when he asks, “Do you think he’d want it?”
“No.” It’s a knee-jerk response, but I know deep down that it’s the truth. “You saw the way he reacted to finding out about us. There’s no way he wants to be part of that.”
“But he is,” Lynx says softly, an edge to his voice. “And like it or not, him being human puts you at risk too.”
“I’m not going to guilt him into becoming a shifter.”
“I don’t want that either. He has every right to say no, and we’ll protect him like one of our own. But I think he deserves to have all the information before he decides.”
He makes a good point, but I don’t think either of us is ready for that conversation just yet. “We’ve not even been bonded twenty-four hours yet. I think that conversation can wait a bit.”
He claps me on the shoulder. “Fair enough. But don’t leave it too long.” His voice softens. “We need to know if he’d want it as a last resort.”
If he was dying.
Even thinking about it makes my jaw ache and the tips of my fingers itch with the promise of claws. I hate the fact that he’s right about that too, but with ex-hunters and Birch still out there, it’s not something I can put off. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Good.” He stands as my phone rings.
Nerves kick in, knowing it’s going to be Ash. Except when I look down at my phone, it’s Morgan’s name flashing on the screen. I tap Lynx’s thigh to get his attention and put the call on speaker. “Morgan?”
“They took him.”
My heart stops.
Those three words clamp around my heart like a vice, and I can’t think around the rage bubbling to the surface.
Lynx grabs my phone. “What happened?”
“When I got here, Tim said Ash went out to get some air but never came back in. They assumed he’d just gone home early. But I can fucking smell Wilson and Stokes all over the shop and the car park.”
“Have you called him?”
“Twice. No answer. Not replying to texts either, and when I trace his phone, it’s somewhere along the main road out of town. Not moving.”
“They tossed it.” I jump to my feet, energy crackling through me. The need to move, to do something pushes back the rage enough for me to focus.
“Probably.” The sound of a bike engine starting up rumbles down the phone. “I’m headed there now to see—”
“No,” Lynx barks, low and rough, alpha power singeing the air.
I hear Morgan’s sharp inhale because Lynx rarely uses it on him.
“Ren’s with me. I won’t be on my own,” Morgan snaps back. “I’m going to get his phone, nothing more.”
I can smell the conflict, the indecision.
The need for Lynx to protect his mate warring with the rational side that knows he wouldn’t object if it were anyone else.
I want to tell him to let Morgan go, but it’s not my decision.
For Lynx’s sake, I hope he makes the right one, because Morgan will resent him for it if he doesn’t.
Lynx pinches the bridge of his nose as his shoulders sag. “Just be careful. Please.”
“I will. Thank you,” he says so softly, I turn away to give them some privacy.
As soon as Lynx hangs up and hands me my phone, I head for my bike.
“Hey, where the fuck are you going?” Lynx grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop.
“To look for Ash.”
“Where?” He holds his hands out. “We have no fucking idea where they’ve taken him. Riding around aimlessly isn’t gonna help anyone.”
“I can’t stay here and do nothing!”
“Of course you can’t, but we need a plan.”
It goes against every instinct I have to turn away from my bike and follow Lynx inside. But I do it because he’s right. I can’t help Ash on my own.
I need my brothers.