Chapter 42
Chapter
Forty-Two
ZANDER
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes against the bright overhead lights as the call connected. I dreaded the upcoming conversation but there was no avoiding it.
“Zander?” Reid’s voice was small and tired, although clearer than it had been earlier. Perhaps he was beginning to recover from his overuse of magic.
“I have an update.” My gut tangled in knots. Every instinct I had was blaring at me to bundle Reid in a blanket, lock him in a cozy bedroom, and not let him out until this whole situation was dealt with.
“What is it?” he asked, his tone growing sharper.
I rubbed my eye with the heel of my palm. “One of the locations you found is a holding site for trafficked omegas.”
There was a quick intake of breath, then, “Will you be going in to rescue them?”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “Tonight. We don’t have clearance from the PBI because the proper approvals haven’t gone through yet and they have other priorities, but Hawk reports that they’re preparing to move the omegas so we need to act soon.
Hopefully I’ll have good news for you later tonight or perhaps tomorrow morning. ”
“I want to know when it’s done.”
“I’ll get in touch as soon as I can. I promise.” That was much easier than I’d expected. Perhaps the consequences of overextending himself had hit harder than I thought.
“Thank you.” He hesitated, then added, “Come back to me safely, okay? I… I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
My heart warmed at the care in his tone. “I will, sweetheart. Stay with Milo and Danny. I’ll have Momma come over so you can keep her company, too. She worries when Dad’s away.”
“I’ll need a bigger room soon.”
I laughed and said goodbye. I was heading out of my office to coordinate with the others when Nell came rushing down the corridor.
“Sheriff,” she called, waving frantically. “Melinda just called. She was driving down the main street when she saw two warlocks. One of them smelled of that High Priest you kicked out of town. It wasn’t him, but they’d been in contact recently.”
My breathing stuttered. Damn, that was bad. “Does she have eyes on them?”
“Not any more. She’s circling back around, but she said they were on the move.”
Raised voices approached from the other direction.
“Warlocks are in town.” Nathaniel moved toward me far more quickly than I’d seen before. “I sensed their magic. At least three.”
Shit, that meant that the two Momma had seen weren’t the only ones here. Perhaps Hephaestes was too.
I cursed internally. How was I supposed to leave on a rescue mission when my own omega’s worst nightmare was practically knocking on his door?
“Do you think they’re here for Reid?” I asked Nathaniel.
He nodded, his expression grim. “I can’t think of any other reason they’d be here.
My guess is they’ve been keeping an eye on things and saw that we’re all distracted by the two wolves and the trouble they brought to town.
They probably think it’s the perfect time to try and snatch him while we’re not paying attention.
I’d say that’s why they only sent a few.
They want to be in and out before anyone notices them. ”
“But they underestimated Momma’s nose, and didn’t account for you,” I concluded. Thank Gods. “Reid will be safe in Omega House though, won’t he? You’ve warded it.”
Nathaniel grimaced. “I’ve warded it well, but I’m only one warlock. If a group of them works together, they could probably break through. It might take a couple of hours, but if we leave town, they’ll have that and more.”
“Fuck.” I couldn’t leave when Reid was in danger, but if we didn’t go, then who knew how many other omegas would be sold into a fate worse than death? I motioned down the corridor. “Come on.”
We strode down to the bullpen, where the others were waiting. I explained the situation as briefly as possible.
“Should we split forces?” I asked Dad, because that was the best option I could think of. Some of the clan’s warriors could stay to protect Reid while the rest went after the traffickers.
But Dad shook his head.
“We don’t know how much firepower the traffickers have,” he said, his mouth twisted and his expression dark. “If we halve our force, it could be a suicide mission. I can’t justify sending people to their deaths, can you?”
I deflated. “No.” The last thing I wanted was to endanger my friends and family. “Can we chase the warlocks out of town again?”
Nathaniel grimaced. “If you did, they’d only come back as soon as we left again.”
I dug my fingers into my hair and tugged at the roots. Fuck, there had to be an answer that wouldn’t result in anyone being killed or sold into sex slavery.
“What if we take Reid with us?” Bea suggested.
I stiffened and rounded on her. “Did I hear that right? You want to take my pregnant mate into danger?”
Her eyes widened but she stood her ground. “Forgive me for saying so, sir, but if we aren’t willing to leave the trafficked omegas to the PBI to deal with, then it seems like the only solution.”
“I will not—”
“Hold on.” Dad raised his hand. “Hear her out. Go on, Bea.”
Bea darted a glance at Dad, ducked her head, and continued.
“If he stays and we go, then the warlocks will probably be able to overcome the ward eventually. They might not if Nathaniel stays, but I’m of the understanding that we need his magic to help us infiltrate the compound, so we can’t leave him behind. ”
Reluctantly, I nodded. We were relying on his stealth spells to sneak in undetected.
“If half our team stays, then both halves are weakened and everyone is at risk.” She swallowed, her slender throat bobbing.
“But Nathaniel can ward things other than houses, right? If we take Reid with us, Nathaniel can ward the vehicle, and he’ll be just as protected by the ward as he currently is at the Omega House, but he’d also have us nearby for backup.
Someone could stay with him as another layer of protection, and it would also remove the threat to the other omegas at Omega House. ”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “Reid isn’t the only omega there. Others live there, and Milo and Danny are with him too. If the wards come down, all of them are at risk, not just Reid. The warlocks might be angry at us for keeping Reid from them, and they might take that out on our omegas.”
My stomach tangled in knots. Much as I hated to admit it, she did have a point.
“She’s right,” Dad said, and the knots pulled tighter. “Nathaniel, will you be able to ward the vehicle as she’s suggested?”
“I can.” Nathaniel looked torn. “It isn’t foolproof.
I like the idea of extra backup from a predatory shifter.
Another point you might not have considered is that if he comes with us, he’s within my shielding spell, and he’ll be more difficult for them to track.
Right now, they probably know exactly where he is. ”
Dread curled down my spine. I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing. I really, really didn’t like the sound of this.
“Then we’ll bring him with us,” Dad said.
And then it was final.