Chapter 8
8
Hazel
Rhett led the way out of the woods and back to a path I didn’t recognize, but it led back to the clearing. Muscles tense and gun drawn, he moved through the bushes and trees like a ninja.
Honestly, it was sexy as hell.
As we made our way down the path, my grip on Jude tightened. Fear coiled in my stomach, and I wanted to bury my face against his neck and hide.
But there was no need.
Unlike earlier when people had been working, the place was now abandoned. The truck sat unmanned, crates loaded into the bed and more waiting on the ground. The wash had been left, a yellow dress floating in the large metal basin.
It was like everyone had simply disappeared, and the silence was chilling.
“Where is everyone?” I whispered, my muscles tightening as an eerie feeling settled around us.
Rhett glanced back. “There’s a main building down that way.” He motioned straight ahead with his weapon. “We have all the survivors gathered there.”
Survivors .
That meant there were people who hadn’t survived, and I couldn’t bring myself to really give a damn.
Rhett turned and faced me. “Love, we can get you out of here now?—”
“Take me to Crew,” I demanded even as my hands shook.
Rhett nodded and Jude pressed a kiss to my cheek before murmuring, “That’s our girl.”
Those three words thawed some of the icy slush in my veins, and this time when I shivered, it wasn’t because of the cold.
Rhett picked the path ahead of us, and we were once again enveloped in a wash of browns and greens. But after a few moments, I heard sounds.
A few soft sobs.
Angry voices.
And one serious pissed off alpha roar.
I wiggled in Jude’s hold. “Put me down.”
“Baby—”
“Down, Jude,” I snapped, glaring at him until he released me.
Rhett spun. “I need you to stay behind me, love. Crew isn’t himself right now.”
“He won’t hurt me.” I knew it the same way I knew the sun rose in the east and set in the west. Feral or sane, Crew Dutton would never hurt me.
“She’s right,” Jude agreed. “He’s losing it because…” He trailed off and looked away, a muscle in his jaw popping.
“Because why ?” I asked, looking between Rhett and Jude.
Rhett sighed and reached for me, sliding a hand along my cheek to cup my face. “We split up when we made it inside. There was a small shack in the zone Crew and his team searched.”
Unease prickled up my spine.
“He found your clothes inside, shredded. And the smells…” Rhett grimaced as his eyes went cold.
I didn’t need to guess which shack Crew had found, and I knew exactly what it looked like had happened there. If I’d stumbled on the same thing looking for one of my guys, I’d have lost it, too.
Straightening my shoulders, I walked down the last few yards of the path until it opened up again into a larger clearing.
Unlike the other one, there was a large, two-story building here that looked like a hastily constructed house. In front of it were two lines of men kneeling, their arms bound behind their backs. A line of men dressed in black tactical gear with large guns hovered around them.
To the right were six women sitting in the crushed leaves, including Miriam and Willa. None of the women were bound except for Miriam. The other five looked utterly terrified of the men with guns.
Except Willa. Willa’s glassy-eyed gaze was still fixed on some spot in the distance, but at least someone had wrapped a blanket around her.
The coppery tang of blood filled the air, and I looked to the left where several bodies lay. My breath caught when I saw Daryl and Donovan amongst the dead, each with a bullet hole to the head.
I turned away and looked at the spectacle in the middle of the clearing. Crew was pacing, his steps clearly agitated, and he was snarling and snapping anytime one of his friends got close. It definitely didn’t help that he had a gun in his hand and was throwing off some serious alpha pheromones.
Oakley and Silas stood a few feet away, watching warily as Kellan tried to talk some sense into Crew.
“Crew, you need to calm down,” Kellan was saying slowly, his hands held out in supplication and his back to me.
Oakley’s dark eyes cut across the space to me, and I was shocked to see his shoulders visibly slump in relief when he saw I was here.
Crew let out a snarl that stopped me cold. My chest ached as I watched him struggle to control his nature. He was wild, untamed, and feral. And so freaking gorgeous.
Mine .
I moved away from Rhett and Jude before taking a deep breath. “Crew?”
Crew and Kellan spun to face me, the former going deathly still while the latter forgot he was supposed to be calming a feral pack member.
Kellan started to move for me, but Crew’s warning growl stopped him in his tracks. Grimacing, Kellan shot me a rueful look. “Hey, sugar.”
“Hey,” I whispered back, my gaze fixed on Crew’s bright blue eyes. I knew there would be plenty of time to cuddle with Kellan, but right now, Crew needed me. “Give us some space, Kell.”
Kellan made an unhappy noise in his throat but took a few begrudging steps away. His gaze swung from me to Crew and back to me.
I slowly approached Crew, my feet padding across the ground.
He blinked several times, his nostrils flaring. “Omega.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s me, Crew.”
His gaze dropped down to my bare feet. “Hurt.”
“Only a little,” I replied, pausing when I was less than a foot away.
He sniffed deeply, and then a warning growl rumbled in his chest. “Smells wrong.” He watched me for a heavy moment before tucking his gun into the back of his pants.
I sighed, trying to keep my tone calm. “I definitely need a shower, but I need you to come with me.” I reached a hand out, my palm up and fingers stretched toward him. “I really want to go home, Crew.”
“Home.” His fists opened and closed at his sides.
“Let’s go home, okay?” I whispered, taking another step closer. I licked my lips as a wall of his citrus and leather scent barreled into me. There was no stopping the sharp whine that ricocheted from my chest. I was an omega and one of my alphas was upset.
With another growl, Crew closed the distance between us and grabbed me, picking me up into his arms. My legs squeezed around his torso, and luckily Rhett’s jacket was long enough that it tucked under my ass.
Burying his face against my neck, Crew growled again, probably not liking the scent of other alphas on me.
I wound my arms around Crew’s neck, hugging him with everything I had.
“She needs a doctor,” Rhett was saying to Kellan, who had retreated to stand with Rhett and Jude.
“We have a doctor on standby,” Silas said, his tone uncertain as he watched me from where he stood beside Oak. They were dressed in all black tactical gear, too, and just as armed as Rhett and Jude had been.
I peeked around Crew’s wide shoulder. My gaze wandered across the clearing, clocking all the other men dressed the same. Looking at the survivors and the guilty. My heart stuttered as I glanced at the dead.
And then I realized I didn’t see someone.
“Where’s Hayden?” I asked, my voice coming out like a timid whisper. Daryl and Donovan were easy to spot, and the other Shepherds from the van were lined up and already handcuffed.
But Hayden wasn’t among any of them.
“Who?” Kellan demanded, taking a big step toward us.
Crew glared at his pack mate and his hold tightened on me, crushing me to his front.
“He’s Donovan’s brother,” I replied.
“Did anyone get away?” Rhett asked, looking at Oakley.
Oak shook his head. “No.” He pointed skyward. “And our eye in the sky hasn’t seen anyone break the perimeter we set up.”
“He was here,” I insisted, panic welling as it hit me that he’d escaped.
Again .
I dropped my face to nuzzle Crew’s neck. He was still tense, and it was making me stressed. The urge to soothe him was overpowering and consuming.
A soft rumble built in my chest, my purr a rattling sound that eventually evened out into something soothing.
Crew’s muscles relaxed a fraction and his own purr started, harmonizing with mine in some weird alpha-omega duet.
I had no clue what I was doing, but the more Crew responded, the more I leaned into it. His hands, so possessive and firm on my body, started to move—one sweeping up my spine to tangle in my hair, the other squeezing my ass.
Crew let out a heavy breath, seeming to shake away the last feral urges. “I’m sorry, little one.”
“None of this is your fault,” I assured him, my voice low and intimate.
He lifted his head, his blue eyes shadowed and distraught. “It is. I’m your alpha, and I failed you. I’m so sorry, sweet girl.”
“Can we go home now?” I begged again, feeling exposed and raw. The adrenaline from earlier had burned away and I was cold and wanted to cry. My insides had been scooped out, leaving me a hollow shell, drained and empty.
“Take your girl,” Oakley spoke up. “We’ll handle things here.”
Crew turned. “You’re sure?”
Oak nodded. “Absolutely. We’ll catch up tomorrow or the next day.”
“Sounds good.” Crew glanced around, his gaze catching on the pile of dead men. His lip curled. “Fucking assholes.”
I touched his jaw, dragging his attention back to me. “Home. Please.” Tears blurred my vision, turning the world around us into a messy watercolor landscape.
“Crew.” Kellan came up to us, looking ready to rip me out of Crew’s hold. “Let’s get our girl out of here. We still have a lot to go over, and a long trip ahead of us. Hazel needs to rest.”
Crew looked at Oakley once more. “Thanks, man. For everything.”
“It’s what we do, brother,” Oak replied. “We’ll see you back in California.”
“California?” I echoed.
Crew pulled back to look me in the eyes. “Is that okay with you, little one? Calla and my parents are waiting for us.”
I nodded. “Yes.” As much as I liked the house in Montana, my home would always be California. I wanted the sun, the warmth, and to finally feel like I could breathe.
“Let’s get our girl out of here,” Kellan added, laying a hand on my back.
I arched into his touch, feeling myself starting to fade under the weight of the past twenty-four hours.
Crew pressed a kiss to the underside of my jaw. “Okay, sweet girl. Let’s take you home.”