Chapter 51
“Id-don’t understand.” Glade was in shock as she got to her feet, staring at me across the stage.
“He’s not here.”
I took a step toward her, but she stumbled away from me, eyes wide, hands up. Her cream cardamom scent was edged with a panic I recognised. “H-he left a card. He knew where we were.”
I took another step and she edged back again. But I’d seen enough of my Omega protecting us.
Never again.
“Stay.”My Alpha bark was softer than most, but enough to still her as she teetered on the edge of feral.
I closed the distance before she could fight it, holding her terrified eyes the whole time.
“You’re safe,” I said, drawing her into my arms. “I promise, Glade, he will never come for you again.”
She crumpled against me, her small frame trembling. I picked her up, letting her wind her arms around my neck and draw me tightly as I carried her back to the car.
She’d left the keys in the ignition, and it pained me to pry her from my arms long enough to drive us to the location Kyan had set up. It was Dezhurov’s territory—one of Kyan’s contacts—and he knew we would be waiting here. We would be safe until I got the call I needed.
Kyan had filled us in on everything the day before. Just in time for us to keep up.
And while I hated it when he kept things from us, this time… This time, he’d come with a solution to everything.
Finally, a way to take control back.
Glade still hadn’t spoken, and I glanced at her as I pulled the car to a stop behind a huge building. She was seated with her hands clasped in her lap, her glossy black hair tumbled in loose waves to her thighs, swaying with the braking of the car, even when her eyes were fixed, staring at the dash.
She was in shock.
I’d read the letter, found it left on the seat of the car after she’d abandoned it. Perhaps she’d written it in the faint hope that, if we read it, we might be able to let her go.
Never.
I climbed over the centre console, and drew her into my arms once more, hating how much she was still shivering. Hating any moment the world made her seem so small.
“All those years ago, I promised you a choice,” I breathed. “And then I left you behind. We’re never going to do that again. Fuck the letter,” I whispered. “We’re going to give you everything. It is your turn for justice, Glade.”
It took hours to ensure everything was contained enough for us to meet up with Glade and Zed. While Kyan and I dragged Ace back to the warehouse, it wasn’t safe for her yet.
First things first, we chained an unconscious Ace in the cell and slammed the door shut.
I was still fucking reeling.
Yesterday, Kyan had briefed us, giving just enough time to pivot.
My job was to be his backup. Since the theatre incident, Kyan paid guys to install heat sensors around every building he knew of that Ace owned. It was a quick, barely detectable job, and while not a guarantee, it let us know Glade was safe and if Kyan would need backup.
The hardest part was the price she had to pay. If Ace had found our safe house, we had to assume he was monitoring it too. Kyan made sure the car had no bugs, but Glade had to leave. Kyan had dared to slip out earlier, but we couldn’t risk the whole pack missing in case it would draw too much suspicion.
So, Zed and I were forced to wait and pretend to be asleep before leaving to catch up with her. We didn’t believe—if Ace was still watching our house at that point—he would notice Kyan’s absence.
Then Zed went to her, while I arrived at Kyan’s location in time to be his backup if needed.
Kyan’s last trick had been screwing with the quality of Ace’s security cameras enough that he wouldn’t notice anything amiss about the hooded figure who entered the building Glade was supposed to arrive at. We didn’t need much, just enough to blur the image so it could be mistaken as her.
Then he’d wandered right on in, dropping pressurised canisters rigged to puncture at the push of a button.
Kyan may not have known Glade was being blackmailed into choosing Ace, but it was still pretty fucking clear he’d been fantasising about killing the Alpha who’d taken his mate for a long time, regardless of whether he intended to respect her autonomy.
While he pulled out his laptop and executed his long-awaited plan with intensity, there wasn’t much for me to do but wait. Of course, like the mad fucking genius he was, he’d planned everything, right down to doorstep deliveries. So I was able to spend my time putting together the brand-new pack bed he’d ordered, while he updated me with things like: “Jesse tapped into some of their communications. Whole lot of them are scrambling.” or “Henderson warehouse is dead already, my eyes are saying they’re jumping ship.”
And finally, the best news of all: “The whole Brotherhood is cracking way faster than I planned for. I think they were way more shaky since Ace lost his pack.”
“Good.”
Un-fucking-surprising, really.
Ace ran the Brotherhood on threats and fear. There was no loyalty left, and as fast as it had risen, it had fallen, ready to crack at the slightest pressure.
All we needed to know was that there wasn’t anyone with a vendetta that a few of Kyan’s connections couldn’t handle. For a few weeks, he’d organise around the clock eyes on the warehouse. Even then, it was unlikely—his biggest concerns had been Ace’s pack mates, but Zed had already handled them.
Finally, when the sun was rising, Kyan got the all clear, and the others were safe to return.
The bed, by now, was sorted, as was the sea of pillows Kyan had slowly been accumulating since we’d first kidnapped her. I’d set it all up in the main living room. We would figure out a proper nest for later—for now, with her hormones, we needed it ready.
I wished Lucy was here, too, but Lev was having a pretty busy evening, so I hadn’t pushed that one.
And finally, after a strained few hours, Glade entered the warehouse with Zed at her side. She was tense, as if on high alert, and it broke my heart, seeing her like that.
That last part—the trauma we couldn’t save her from, had taken its toll. Her eyes were still blank with shock as she watched us approach.
I reached her and drew her into a hug. She clutched me, far too fragile.
How afraid had she been?
Kyan was next, and he held her in his arms for a long time. He might be feral about catching Ace, but letting her believe, even for a moment, that we’d failed her, had broken him, too.
“I have a gift for you,” Kyan told her, when he drew back.
She just stared at him, but didn’t argue when he led her through to the living room.
He opened the cell door, and she froze.
His scent of roses and redwoods was impossible to miss.
Kyan didn’t push her, and it took a long time before she stepped into that doorway.
She vanished in the bond when she caught sight of him, just… slipped away for a moment.
A long, long time passed, and then finally, she looked up at Kyan.
“It’s over?” she asked.
“It’s over, Oasis. He’s never going to hurt you again.”