Chapter 67 Nico #2
“Sweet lord. Okay. Be careful, son. See you soon.”
Hanging up, I stood to greet the doctor. “How is he?”
The doctor nodded and glanced at his chart.
“Your friend is very lucky. The knife penetrated the abdominal cavity but missed the major arteries and organs. However, the spleen was perforated. We had to remove that, but he should be fine. Prognosis after splenectomy is better for shifters anyway. We aren’t at risk of disease like humans are.
We stitched up the fascia and closed the wound.
We’ll want to keep him for a couple of days. ”
“When can he fly home? We… uh… we’re from Florida. We need to get back home.”
The doctor nodded. “A human would need to wait at least a week. He’s already healing pretty well. I’d say two days. As soon as he’s discharged, he can head home.”
Diego nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll stay with him. I’ll make sure he gets home safe. You get home.”
“Okay. Thanks, Doc.”
I wanted to go and say goodbye to Felipe, but every second mattered.
I had to get home and regroup. I jogged out the door and got into my rental car.
On the way to the airport, I called the other teams and updated them on the situation.
They took the news almost as poorly as I had.
The other teams hadn’t had to make detours to the hospital and were already boarding jets to get back home.
My knuckles were white as I drove. I pushed my car as fast as it would go.
Checking the car back in and getting through security was like walking through mud.
Nothing could have felt slower than this.
Then I had to wait over an hour for the next flight.
All the while, my wolf was raging inside me, desperate to lash out.
I was right there with him. I would give anything to go on a run and slam my teeth into the neck of a deer—or even better, the throat of an enemy.
The actual flight wasn’t much better. Thankfully, due to the late departure, the flight was nearly deserted.
The last thing I wanted was to try and survive two and a half hours of small talk.
My feet and hands fidgeted the whole flight.
My body was wound tight with anxiety, anger, and worry.
A thousand thoughts burned through my mind as we flew.
Had the royals already bled Maddy out? No, that wouldn't happen yet. They’d wait until the full moon.
We still had time. But they could have hurt her.
If they so much as laid a finger on her, I’d rip their guts out.
I fantasized about leaving Viola’s bloody body broken and torn on the ground.
Daydreams were the only catharsis I had at the moment.
By the time I burst through my front door a few hours later, I felt like a balloon on the verge of popping.
Mom and Dad and my brothers ran to me. I took a moment to hug them all, thanking God that fate let them live, even if it chose to take Maddy.
There was only so much loss I could take.
At least with them, I’d have the support I needed to get her back.
“Where is everyone?” I asked Rafael.
“Maddy’s parents and Abi are upstairs with Doc. We had him come over to check them all out. They were drugged with something. It’s been hours since we got them, but they’re still pretty loopy,” Rafael said.
“What about you guys? How do you feel?” I asked, turning to Mom and Dad.
“We’re fine. It’s okay. We have more to worry about than us,” Mom said, waving me off.
“Do they know she’s been taken?” I said, gesturing upstairs toward Maddy’s parents and Abi.
They all shook their heads. Dad put an arm around my shoulders. “We didn’t tell them. Didn’t want to worry them while they recovered. Doc agreed it was for the best.”
My wolf was snarling in rage, and I clenched and unclenched my hands.
It was like I was ready to burst. My mind raced to come up with a plan, a solution, anything to make this right.
We weren’t sure where the vial was, we didn’t know where they’d taken Maddy, and there were only a few days until the super moon.
I paced across the kitchen and slammed my fists onto the counter, then lowered my head.
Desperation was fighting with hopelessness in my mind. Anger and fear warred in my chest.
I threw my head back and roared in rage.
The sound exploded through the house. Everyone else froze where they were.
The release of energy felt good, but I knew I had to stay calm.
I was the alpha. If I lost it, then the whole pack would be in trouble, not just Maddy.
I had too many responsibilities to let myself fall apart.
Sebastian walked up and put a firm hand on my back, and leaned in close. “We’ll get her back, Nico. I know we will.”
I couldn’t even muster a nod for him. His confidence was a much-needed presence, but I couldn’t match it. How could we get her back when we had zero idea where she was?
“I need to see them,” I said, heading toward the stairs.
Before I climbed one step, a quiet voice spoke from the top of the stairs. “Nico?”
I glanced up and saw Abi standing there.
“Abi? Shit, I thought you were still in bed.” My gaze traveled over her body, inspecting the wounds—mostly bruises and small cuts.
She also looked like she’d lost about ten pounds.
She’d been petite to begin with, and the weight loss made her look almost emaciated.
I climbed the steps until I was by her side and put a supportive arm around her. “You need to rest. You look terrible.”
Abi shrugged my arm away. “No. Where’s Maddy? Where is she?”
My throat tightened, and my lungs seized up. I didn’t want them to know, but there was no way to keep this secret. They were her family just as much as I was. “She, oh god, Maddy was taken. They have her. They came and got her while we were rescuing you guys.”
Abi’s hands shot out and clamped on my arms, one on each bicep. Even in her weakened and exhausted state, her fingers felt like steel bands, cutting off my circulation. “Where? We have to get her, Nico. Where did they take her?”
I looked into her fierce eyes and, for the first time, felt myself start to bend. My resolve weakened, and my will began to crack. I shook my head wordlessly. My mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
The door to the right opened, and Maddy’s father stepped out.
He looked equally as exhausted but had much worse wounds.
His left eye was swollen shut, and his lip was split.
There were bruises all along his jaw. Even in his weakened and injured state, he looked pissed, and why wouldn’t he?
I’d be furious if I’d been through what he had.
He took two heavy steps toward us. “Do you know where she is? Maddy, I mean?”
He’d heard us talking then. He knew she was missing. I shook my head. “No, Mr. Sutton. We don’t.”
He gave one angry shake of his head. “Call me Anthony. And I think I know where she is.”
Abi and I both stared at him dumbly for half a second before I leaped at the news. I stepped up to him and put a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Mr… er… Anthony? You know where she is? How?”
I couldn't think of a single reason why this man would know more than we did, but I was happy to hear any news. Even a sliver of information was better than floating in the unknown. The longer we sat here doing nothing, the more impotent I’d begin to feel.
Anthony nodded and put a hand on the wall. He looked a little woozy. Once he’d recovered from his dizzy spell, he looked me dead in the eyes and said, “I heard some of the men talking. My guards. They were going to take us all to a place they kept calling ‘The castle.’”
“Wait,” I said. “Come downstairs. Everyone needs to hear this. The more minds working on this, the better.”
Once we were downstairs, I sat Anthony and Abi down on the couch. The rest of us settled in around them. Anthony told us again what he’d heard. I looked around at them. “Anyone have any clue where this castle might be?’
Luis was the first to speak. “I might have an idea.”
“Out with it!” I snapped.
“Okay, okay. There’s a castle in Germany that the royals are known to frequent.
It was part of Kenneth’s research. They owned multiple residences.
Villas, penthouses, and mansions, but the only castles they owned were the Edemas ruins and a castle in Germany.
That’s where the royals migrated to after the fall of Edemas’s family.
It’s used as a sort of tourist destination at the moment.
The front half is the museum and sightseeing venture.
The remaining half and the rest of the estate is still used as a residence. That could be it.”
“Okay, okay, maybe,” I said. “Does that mean that’s where the vault is? I don’t want to plan a whole other rescue across the world just to get there and find they’ve moved her again.”
Luis winced and shook his head. “Like I said, I’m pretty sure the vault was in the tombs near the Edemas estate.
We never figured out if it was moveable, though.
The treasure, due to its size, is probably still there, yes.
The vial of blood? Who knows? Maybe the vault is a stone chest or something.
So, yes, it could have been brought to the castle.
We have no way to be sure.” Luis looked at me with a sorrowful expression.
“I’m sorry, that’s all I know. It’s the best I can come up with. ”
Everyone fell silent. Each eye in the room was looking down at the floor.
We all looked like we’d been defeated. I forced my eyes to stay up and stared out the window at the bright blue morning sky outside.
I refused to give up. Maddy was worth going to the end of the world.
To the very gates of Hell if need be. I wouldn’t stop.
My lip curled back, and I growled low in my throat.