Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
I’d fallen asleep. There was a knock on the door, and I turned, peeling my eyes open. Mike stepped in quietly, closing the door behind him. My arms reached out, and Mike immediately climbed into bed with me.
I curled up into his front, and he held me. His hands ran through my hair as he hushed me. Crying into him, I grabbed the front of his shirt, trying to pull him closer. Mike let out his scent, smothering me in the scent of sage. It was so familiar that I wanted it to drown me.
“It’s okay, Colt. I’m here. You’re not alone.”
“Why does it feel like I am? I know…I know they are here, but…”
Mike pressed his nose into my hair. “We aren’t your mate. I know. I’m sorry. You’re being so strong, even when you don’t want to. Rin and I are so proud of you, Colt. You have no idea.”
The words felt hollow. I knew he meant it, but they couldn’t find their way into my heart. They didn’t soothe the crack in my soul.
“What happened? Tell me what happened to him?”
He let out a long sigh. “A couple of days after you showed up at the Archives, something happened. Marcus broke through the poison. He…he burned down the house.”
My eyes widened. “He burned it all?”
“All of it. It’s all in cinders. The flames destroyed everything. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “I don’t care about anything in there. Everything I cared about is already gone in the other house. Did you…did Marcus…?”
“Ebony subdued him, eventually. The pack showed up and got him down. He’s…disappeared. We can’t find him anywhere. I tried tracing their vans from the cameras, but I couldn’t find them. Alpha Genesis was covering their tracks. I’m sorry, Colt.”
Sobs tore through me as I buried my face in chest. Mike held me tight and I finally let out a scream.
We failed. We failed, and I made the wrong decision.
I shouldn’t have left. I should never have left Marcus on his own.
He had still been fighting, and I was sitting halfway across the world doing nothing.
Now he was gone. He was alive; that much I knew. The mark was still there, and it still reacted to my touch. I just couldn’t feel him. Worse, this gave them more time to figure out the serum. My mate was gone. He was gone.
“Colt, breathe, please.” Mike’s voice was soft, and he pressed his hand against my back.
“I…I…I…” My chest wouldn’t expand, and I felt myself sinking.
Mike pushed me back a little, looking me in the eye. “Look at me. We will find him. No matter what, I will fucking find that bastard. I will drag him back by his tail for you. Do you understand?”
I felt myself break. I’d kept myself together.
Dealt with everything thrown at me. I took it step by step.
Now, though, everything was falling apart.
Including me. My hope crumbled, the one thing I had been clinging to all this time.
The plans, the knowledge that we could save my mate, were gone.
Shattering me as I curled up as tightly as I could.
“You’re not allowed to give up, Colt. None of us have. Do you understand me? This is only a setback. Marcus wouldn’t give in easily. Neither will we.”
My hands gripped his shirt tightly. I couldn’t speak. All I wanted to do was give up. How long did I need to hang on? Until I felt the mate bond break? Until I had our little girl? How fucking long did I need to be stronger than any shifter everyone had seen? When was I allowed to give up?
“Do you trust me?”
I looked up at Mike, his face soft but serious. Nodding to him, he shook his head, holding my chin. He smiled softly.
“Words, Colt. Do you trust me?”
“I do.”
Mike’s eyes filled with tears. “Do you trust me to tell you when you can let go?”
My eyes widened, tears dropping. We kept each other’s gaze, and his didn’t waver.
Mike was taking on more than he ever should.
He wasn’t the type of person to say something like that lightly.
He also wasn’t the type of person to lie to and try to save me for longer.
As much as he would want to, if he was asking me to trust him with this, it meant so much more.
“I-I d-do.”
He nodded, brushing some tears from my cheeks. “Then hold on a little longer. It’s not time yet. I’m not done.”
“How long…?”
“When I’ve exhausted everything in my arsenal and have no contacts left.
When I have depleted all my resources. It might take a few months.
At the earliest, it will be after your little girl is born.
” His hand settled on my bump. “There will be some contacts that I have to pull out of the weeds, and it could take a while to get ahold of them. I will do everything I can for you. Do you understand?”
I nodded this time. “Why?”
“Because I love you, Colton Reinhardt Alford. I have always loved you. If this is your happiness, if he is your happiness, then I will make it happen. I will go to the ends of this earth for you, just as I would do for Rin. She, at least, somehow finds her happiness in me. Something I can give her easily.”
Snorting, I raised my eyebrow at him. Mike smirked, shaking his head. He flicked my forehead, and I gasped, rubbing it with my fingers.
“It wasn’t easy at first, but it is now. I’m happy. Rin and I are happy. I refuse to allow you to fall apart if I have the ability to fix it. Do you understand?”
I pressed my forehead into his chest. “I trust you.”
“Good.” His hands wrapped around me. “Thank you.”
For him, I could keep it together. For my little girl, I could keep it together.
For hope I could try to keep it together.
Mike going full tilt into this would be enough to keep me standing.
It would keep me surviving. He could topple governments.
Finding Marcus wouldn’t be easy, but I trusted Mike to tell me the truth.
“Did you eat?”
Snorting, I rolled my eyes. “Candice and Eva came over. They stuffed me full of chicken and some bread. Why am I back to unseasoned food? I hate it.”
His chest rumbled as Mike laughed. “Well, maybe if you kept things down, you wouldn’t be having this problem again.”
I growled at him, but we just stayed together, Mike holding me tight. His scent filled the room and fell like a blanket on me. The door opened after a while; I leaned back to look at Laila. She wore jeans and a shirt. I motioned her over.
Sitting on the other side of the bed, she put her hands on my legs. “We will be here for you, Colt. Through all of this. I’ll make sure you are good.”
“Lai, that would be reassuring if you could take care of yourself.”
Mike snorted, but Laila let her mouth hang open in mock shock. “How dare you. What did you say the other day? It’s easier to take care of someone else than it is yourself?”
“This is not what I said.”
“Close enough.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Mike, don’t leave me with these dragons. They are crazy.”
He hummed. “I mean, if you come with me, Rin will…”
“You know what. Never mind. I’ll take the dragons.”
Mike burst out laughing, holding me closer as he laughed. “Damn right. She’s been insufferable lately. With you down, she’s been everywhere. After she found out that the house had burned down, Rin’s been working with Lauren, Beau, and Candice on getting you set up at the house.”
“Wait, getting me step up? What do you mean?”
“Like…your nursery and a room.” Laila answered my question. “Did you think you were going to stay here at the Archives the whole time?”
My mouth opened slightly, looking back at Laila. “I…well…yeah?”
“No, Colt. You’re not staying here. You might love history, but you are not having your hatchling here.
” Mike shook his head like I was being ridiculous.
“This room had to be flown in. How are you supposed to do anything? Plus, this is technically a public space. Tyson has made sure that the Red Forest pack and the Dark Night pack can’t enter, but others can.
You will be safer at the house. Both of you will be. ”
“I…but…”
Laila poked my back. “No buts. You need to have a home, Colt. No matter what, that will be your temporary home. It’s safe.
Not only is it on the territory for the flight, but it’s in its own bubble.
A bubble that only the head of the household can adjust. Keith might be Alpha of the flight, but Tyson is head of the family still.
They have done a lot to make sure you’re safe and you have a place that will be comfortable. ”
Mike turned my head back to him. “Take it for now. Accept it, and we will work on your dream home. How about that?”
My eyes widened. “Wait…what?”
“I’m going to have the survey done of Bridgett’s land. If we start building it now, we might get it done sooner. You will have a home to move into when Marcus comes back. Grow your family and everything.”
“I’ll need to pull the original plans…”
He snorted. “I’ve got them, Colt. Don’t worry. We’ll talk about it later. When you’re stronger. It’s going to take a while to get the land surveyed and then prepped for anything. I’ve seen some of it, and it’s out of the way.”
“Alright. Fine.” My head fell onto the pillow. “Why is everything based on the fact that I need to be stronger?”
Laila poked my back. “Because you almost died, you stupid pup. Gods. You are insufferable sometimes.”
“The pot calling the kettle black, Lai.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m not the one currently in a hospital bed, with an IV coming out of my arm, hooked up to a monitor. How about you walk around a bit and then come talk to us about taking on other things?”
I smiled. “I hate you both.”
“You love us.” Laila winked and smiled at Mike.
“It’s true. You do.” Mike nodded in agreement. “I have something for you, though. To at least keep you occupied in bed.”
Moving away a little, Mike slipped off the bed and grabbed a bag that I hadn’t seen him come with in. He pulled out a new laptop and handed it to me. I ran my hands over the lid and smiled.
“You have missed two weeks of class.”
The color drained from my face. “Wait…no…shit. I’m going to fail. They are going to kick me out!”
“They aren’t. We submitted your hospital admittance form. They know you’ve been ‘admitted’. All the homework and lessons you missed are already on there. So when you’re feeling up to it…”
I opened the laptop, but Mike slammed it shut before I could fully get it up.
“Colton. Listen to me. When you are feeling up to it, you can jump in. I’ve got all the lessons already set up for you. You can work on them this weekend. I want you to be able to walk from here to the front door of the Archives without help before you start them. Do you understand?”
My nose wrinkled. “No.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No.”
“Colt.”
“No!”
“Yes. End of story.”
My lips pursed and I let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. I hate you.”
“I love you too, you stubborn wolf.”