Chapter 17
Carter
The road stretched out ahead of us in a gray ribbon, dust rising in lazy curls behind the SUV. I sat in the back seat, phone in one hand, mind already on the upcoming meeting with Ashridge pack.
Territorial disputes. Patrol borders. More damn politics.
At least I had two of my better enforcers with me. Alex who was driving, steady and sharp-eyed, and Nolan in the passenger seat, quiet but quick when he needed to be.
They were good wolves. Reliable. The kind who didn’t test my patience the way Eli and Jeremy did. I was about to check the notes I’d scribbled down when my phone buzzed.
Rose’s name flashed on the screen. For a second, I thought about ignoring it.
She’d been clinging tight lately, anxious about the clinic and Devon leaving, coming to me every other day with questions I didn’t have answers for yet.
But I’d promised myself I’d always be accessible, that no pack member would ever feel like they were shouting into a void like under Adrian’s reign. So I answered.
“Rose,” I said.
Her voice came through high and thin, breathless with panic. “Alpha! Alpha, it’s bad. It’s really bad.”
Immediately my wolf surged, claws scraping just beneath the surface of my skin. I sat straighter, pulse pounding.
“Slow down,” I ordered, my voice hard, rough with the edge of my wolf. “Tell me what happened.”
“I…” She gasped like she was choking on air. “They took him. Jeremy and Eli. They took Devon. I was so scared. I knew I was no match for them so I could only watch while they—”
The rest of her words blurred into a rush of static as fury detonated inside me. My claws punched through, sharp tips curving from my fingers before I could stop it.
A growl rumbled out of my chest, low and dangerous, enough to make Alex glance at me in the rearview mirror, eyes wide.
Devon. They dared to touch him. To take him.
My vision went red at the edges, my wolf clawing for release. Images flooded my head.
Devon cornered, Devon hurt, Devon terrified. My possessiveness roared to life, scorching hot and absolute.
Devon was mine. My wolf howled it with every beat of my heart. Not officially, not claimed, but mine all the same.
How dare they. How dare those two reckless bastards lay a hand on him.
I forced breath into my lungs, forced my voice steady enough to end the call. “You did good, Rose. Stay put. I’ll handle this,” I told her.
I hung up before she could spiral again, my claws still digging crescent cuts into my palms.
“Turn around,” I snarled at Alex. “Back to the compound. Now.”
The tires squealed as Alex jerked the wheel, pulling us into a tight U-turn. Dust sprayed up against the windows, and the engine growled under the sudden strain.
“What about Ashridge?” Nolan asked carefully.
Ashridge. The meeting. Borders. Politics. None of it mattered.
Not when my wolf was pacing the cage of my ribs, frothing at the thought of Eli and Jeremy dragging Devon gods-knew-where.
Not when every instinct I had screamed to rip them apart for daring to take what was mine.
“Forget Ashridge,” I growled, voice deeper now, half-shifted. “Call them. Reschedule. Tell them something came up.”
Nolan pulled out his phone immediately, quick to obey. He knew better than to push me when my wolf was like this. My claws dug deeper, a sharp sting of blood scenting the air.
I flexed my hands, trying to retract them, but my wolf wasn’t having it. It wanted out. It wanted vengeance.
I’d given Eli and Jeremy too many damn chances. Too many warnings.
I’d told myself they just needed time, that they were salvageable, that I could undo what Adrian had twisted in them.
But this? This crossed a line I couldn’t forgive.
Devon wasn’t just any wolf. He was a healer. My healer. A man whose presence had steadied my pack, softened edges I hadn’t even realized were jagged.
The man whose laugh had gutted me, whose touch calmed my wolf in ways nothing else ever had. The man I couldn’t stop thinking about, couldn’t stop wanting.
If anything happened to him and if they hurt him…
I squeezed my eyes shut, jaw clenched until my teeth ached. No. I couldn’t think like that. Not unless I wanted to snap right here in the backseat and tear apart the first thing within reach.
“I’ll kill them,” I muttered, the words slipping past before I could stop them. My wolf agreed wholeheartedly, pacing harder. “If they laid a single hand on him, I swear—”
“Alpha.” Alex’s voice cut in, calm but firm. “We’ll get him back.”
I opened my eyes, met his in the mirror. He didn’t flinch, but I could see the awareness there, the way he was keeping himself steady in the face of my fury.
I forced a breath out, slow, shaky. My claws retracted halfway, not fully, but enough that I could curl my hands into fists without tearing more skin.
“We’re not letting this slide,” I said, voice low. “No more chances for those two. No more excuses.”
Nolan glanced back after ending his call.
“Ashridge agreed to reschedule. They weren’t happy, but they’ll wait,” Nolan reported.
“Good,” I said, though my focus was already back on Devon, on where he might be, what he might be enduring.
My wolf pressed against me, restless, protective to the point of violence.
The SUV sped down the road, every second dragging like a lifetime. My mind replayed Rose’s voice, panicked and afraid.
The thought of her watching Eli and Jeremy drag Devon away made my rage spike again, sharp and uncontrollable.
They thought they could undermine me. They thought they could use Devon to test me, to prove I was weak, that Thornebane was still Adrian’s pack at its rotten core.
They were about to learn just how wrong they were.
I let my claws out again, let my wolf snarl low in my throat, because I wasn’t done holding back. Devon was mine. And gods help anyone who tried to take him from me.
The moment the SUV rolled into the compound yard, I was already out of the back seat before the tires finished crunching against gravel.
“Alpha!”
Rose sprinted toward me, her hair a wild tangle, her eyes wide with panic. Her hands clutched something. I recognized it instantly. Devon’s phone.
My chest tightened.
“I tried,” she gasped, breath hitching. “I tried following them, but I couldn’t keep up with the truck. They—” Her voice cracked, and she held the phone out like it was proof, like I wouldn’t believe her otherwise. “They drove deeper into the woods.”
I took the phone from her, my claws threatening to punch through again as my thumb brushed the cracked case.
Devon’s. Cold without his touch, and that fact alone made my wolf writhe with rage.
“Deeper into the woods?” Nolan asked sharply, stepping up beside me. “Eli’s family. They’ve got an old cabin out that way. Haven’t used it in years, but it’s still standing.”
Alex’s brows furrowed, voice dark. “Why the hell would they take him there? Do they realize what they’ve done? If Cooper hears about this, if Pecan Pines finds out—”
“Enough.” My growl cut him off, sharp and final. My wolf’s edge was bleeding into every syllable. “We’ll figure out why later. Right now, there’s only one priority.”
Alex and Nolan straightened instantly, the same thought written all over their faces.
Devon.
I turned back to Rose, put a steadying hand on her shoulder even though my wolf was raging to be moving already.
“You did well. Go back inside. Stay safe. I’ll bring him back,” I told her.
Her lips trembled, but she nodded, relief flickering in her eyes before she turned and hurried off toward the pack house.
I didn’t waste another second. “Truck. Now.”
We piled back into the SUV, Alex slamming the gears into reverse before my door was fully shut.
The forest roads swallowed us quick, dirt tracks barely wide enough for the tires, branches scraping the paint as we barreled through.
My pulse thundered with each jolt of the suspension.
Too slow. Every second was too slow. Finally, the road ended, overgrown brush blocking the way forward.
“We’re on foot from here,” Nolan said, already unbuckling.
Good. I wanted blood on my claws.
I stripped fast, tossing my clothes into the back seat. Alex and Nolan followed suit, but I was already shifting before they’d kicked their boots off.
Bones cracked, fur tore through my skin, my wolf shoving forward in a frenzy of rage and purpose. The world sharpened instantly, every scent and every sound.
Devon’s trail was faint but there. His blood, his fear. It drove me like a blade to the gut.
I didn’t wait for the others. My paws hit the ground running, claws tearing into soil as I pushed through undergrowth. The trees blurred past.
Somewhere behind me, Nolan and Alex followed, but they were distant shadows to the storm of fury that carried me.
Then I saw the cabin. Weather-worn wood, roof sagging, smoke stains long since faded. Squatting at the edge of a clearing like a forgotten secret. And behind it—
A sound. A yell. Devon’s voice.
I nearly lost it. My wolf surged, hot and brutal, demanding I rip the place apart piece by piece until he was safe. But I forced myself to pause, crouching low in the brush.
Patience. I had to be patient, had to be smart. Devon needed me sharp, not reckless.
I crept closer, paws silent against damp earth, until the scent hit me like a fist. Blood, sweat, fear, and beneath it, Devon.
Through the half-open back door, I saw him.
Devon sat tied to a chair in the kitchen, ropes biting into his arms. Blood trickled from a cut on his head, matting his hair, but he held himself steady.
Eli stood over him, sneer twisting his mouth. “Since Carter’s too chicken to claim you, I’ll do it myself.”
My entire body went still, murder tightening every muscle.
“If I’m mated to a healer, I’ll get the respect I deserve,” Eli spat, eyes glinting with mania. “Hell, I might even wrestle Carter’s crown from him.”
That was it. That was all I needed to hear.
A howl ripped from my throat, fury raw and uncontained. The forest echoed with it. Both of them whipped around, eyes wide.
Jeremy reacted first, dropping into his shift, bones snapping and fur bursting through skin. He lunged at me the moment I charged through the door.
I didn’t slow. I met him head-on, my weight slamming into his smaller frame. My jaws clamped down on his shoulder, bone crunching under my bite.
He yelped, struggled, claws raking at me, but it was nothing.
I tore him down like paper, ripping through fur and flesh until his movements stuttered and slowed.
Eli shifted next, snarling, larger than his brother but not by much. He came at me with reckless speed, claws swiping for my throat.
I twisted, his strike grazing my shoulder, and slammed into him. We tangled in a blur of fur and fury, his teeth snapping inches from my face.
He was strong, desperate. but his strength was nothing compared to the possessive, vicious need that drove me.
My wolf wasn’t fighting for dominance. It was fighting for Devon.
Eli lunged again, his jaws clamping down on my flank, tearing fur and skin. Pain flared hot, but I used it, twisting, grabbing his neck in my jaws.
I bit down hard, crushing cartilage, hot blood flooding my mouth. He thrashed, claws digging into my ribs, but I held.
I shook him like a ragdoll until the fight bled out of him and he went limp.
I dropped him, his body hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Behind me, Nolan and Alex had caught up, their wolves finishing off Jeremy, ensuring he wouldn’t rise again.
The fight was over. My chest heaved, blood dripping from my muzzle, but all I saw and all I smelled was Devon.
I shifted back, forcing my wolf down despite its urge to tear the cabin apart in lingering rage. Naked, trembling with adrenaline, I stumbled to Devon’s side.
My hands fumbled at the knots, the silver biting into my skin, leaving angry red marks, but I ignored it, pulling the ropes until his arms slipped free.
“Devon.” My voice cracked, raw with relief and fury. I pulled him into my arms, crushing him against me. “Are you okay?”
Devon sagged against me, his face pressed to my shoulder, his arms tight around my waist.
“Carter.” His voice shook, but not with fear. With relief. “I’m fine. I swear. Just my head.”
I leaned back, cupping his face, scanning him like I could heal him by looking hard enough. Blood trickled from the gash, but his eyes were steady, clear. Alive. Thank the goodness.
“I thought, ” My words broke, fury tangling with fear. “If they’d hurt you—”
“I’m okay,” Devon said firmly, his hand sliding down to catch mine. “Sit down before you fall down. You’re bleeding.”
“I don’t care.” My wolf snarled at the thought of caring about anything other than him. “I just need—”
But Devon was already tugging me toward a chair, gentle but insistent. “Please, Carter. Let me take care of you,” Devon said, voice firm.
My throat tightened. Even now, after everything, he wanted to heal me.
I sat, because he asked, because I couldn’t deny him anything.
He pulled a rag from the counter, pressing it to the wound at my side, his hands steady despite the blood still on his temple.
I caught his wrist, holding him still, my thumb brushing over his pulse.
“They’ll never touch you again. I swear it. You’re safe now,” I promised him.
His gaze met mine, something unspoken burning there. “I know.”
My wolf settled at last, possessiveness curling not like fire now, but like something quieter. Warmer. He was mine, whether he admitted it yet or not. I would never, ever let him go.