16. Oscar
Oscar
B y the time we manage to do more than suck in a breath, she’s already halfway up the street, heading for the trees.
I bellow her name, fully aware that she’ll only ignore it anyway as my chest thumps in agitation. “Kennedy!”
Max and Jake take off immediately, racing after her.
Theo moves to follow, but I grab his shoulder. “Absolutely fucking not. Go home, Theo.”
He only twists, staring after her. “What the fuck did I do?”
She refused an alpha bark. I didn’t even know it was possible. And it made her nose bleed from the strain of it.
We made our mate bleed.
And her knees. Her hands.
My growl ripples. “Do not go after her.”
Theo flinches. “Is that an order?”
“ Yes .”
It settles, that knowing between us. That uncomfortable back-and-forth we’ve been tossing around for more than six months, since Brett died and left our hierarchy in a mess.
I take a breath. “I claim it. And as your pack leader, I am telling you to go home. We’ll find her.”
He swallows. And then his eyes drop, lowering. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, Oz.”
If my suspicions are right, it’s going to kill him.
If I’m right.
My instincts push me to follow, to hunt her down, but I stay where I am for a few moments longer.
“You should go,” he says hoarsely. “She needs you.”
“Max and Jake are looking. They’ll be fine for a few minutes. You need me too.” And I have to fix this. Try to grab the broken, snapped threads of this fucked up family and draw them together. “I don’t think she’s the one you’re angry at. Not really.”
He draws in a breath. “God. I wanted to blame someone. And that voicemail .”
His voice shakes. “She held it in rather than tell me. She’d rather bleed out than tell me the truth. What did he do , Oz?”
“We’ll find out.” He looks… shattered. I glance over at his ruined truck. “We can fix this, you know. We just need time.”
He laughs brokenly. “You really think so?”
I nod. “But I don’t think we can cut her off. She’s our mate, Theo. Be honest. Do you think you can?”
Kennedy Traylor was made for us. And I refuse to believe that fate would give us a match that was destined to fail.
“No,” he says finally. Heavily. “But I’m scared I’m going to tear her apart searching for an answer.”
“Then be more fucking careful.”
He rocks back at my sharp words and rubs the back of his neck. His snort is wry. “You’ll be a good pack leader, I think. Probably better than me.”
I shrug. “We’re all a work-in-progress. We’re dealing with more shit than most packs will see in a lifetime, and we’re barely into our majority. We have a lot of growing up to do, Theo. Give yourself some grace. And you could try talking to her, like a mate, instead of snarling at her like she’s your enemy. She’s not your enemy.”
His lips twist. “Go and help them find her. Please.”
Nodding, I glance back to the forest. There’s no sign of any of them, but if there’s one thing I can do, it’s run. “We’ll bring her back with us, if she’ll come.”
It’s past time we sat down and talked this out like a pack.
If we can actually find her.
I run into Max and Jake an hour later, the three of us reaching her clearing from different directions.
“She’s not here.” Max stares at the darkened windows. “Where the hell is she?”
The forest around here is endless. “We’ll keep looking. I’ll head back down to town and circle around.”
“I’m done,” Jake says sharply as I turn around. “I don’t want to fight this, Oscar. I don’t want to reject her. We need to work through it. I can’t watch her like this.”
“Agreed.” I almost smile at the surprised look on his face. “And Theo will agree too.”
If we can find her.
I forgot how long the walk to town is from her trailer. Worry etches lines in my forehead as I approach the high street.
She’s been alone for too long. Alone, and isolated.
No more. It ends today.
“Kennedy!” I shout her name again, for the hundredth time, not caring about the hour. “Kenny!”
Looping around, I start jogging back up to the forest entrance. The diner is coming up on my right as I pass Brett’s ridiculous fucking statue.
And I stop. “Kenny?”
She doesn’t turn around. She stays where she is, staring up at the carved golden face with her back to me. “Seventeen.”
I don’t move. Something is off about her voice. And her scent… I can taste it again. Sour cherries, something wrong, and twisted.
“He asked me seventeen times,” she whispers. It carries on the breeze, wrapping around me as I listen.
She doesn’t say anything else, and I take a cautious step. “Ken. Baby. Your feet.”
It slips out so naturally. Her sneakers have vanished, her feet pressing into the sharp rocks at the base of the statue. She doesn’t move. “I said no, but he didn’t like it.”
My stomach turns to ice. “What do you mean?”
She shuffles around to face me. Her eyes are bright, her face flushed. “I called for you. But you didn’t come. None of you came.”
It feels as though a fist grips my heart, ripping it out through my ribcage.
None of you came. “I’m here now. Let’s go home, okay?”
She looks through me as I reach her. Her skin scalds my hand. “Jesus. You’re burning up, Kenny.”
“Don’t touch me,” she murmurs, and I yank my hand back, curling it into a fist. “You can’t touch me. Did you come home from college?”
God . “I need to touch you. I’m going to carry you, okay? I won’t do anything else. I’m just going to take you home.”
“Home.” She swallows. “I always wanted a home. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
My eyes burn. “Then I’ll build you one, okay? I’m going to build you the best home, Kenny. We’re going to make this right. I’ll do better, I promise.”
She’s killing me. I can’t breathe.
She barely stirs as I lift her. Her head balances against my shoulder, her hand curled limply against my chest. A low mumble comes from her as I begin walking. Slowly, assessing my balance. And then faster. “Don’t touch me, Brett.”
Shit.
“Kenny?” She doesn’t answer. I glance down. Her eyes are closed, soft breathing against my chest.
Carefully, I pull her closer and pick up my pace. “I’ve got you.”
And I have no intention of letting her go again.