Chapter 39
Jackson
Garrett’s words ring through my mind and seem to find purchase.
I’ve never wanted a pack because of how corrupted the pack that Ransom, Lucien, and I escaped from was.
But I know Garrett isn’t that way. His pack members are happy; the females are precious and protected at all cost. I can see that firsthand.
Kayla squeezes my hand. “I have to go to the bathroom,” she says quietly. “I’ll be right back.”
I watch her go, lost in thought. “Are there more to your pack?” Garrett asks.
I force myself not to correct him; it’s habit when someone calls them pack to correct them. I refrain for now. “They all came. There are twenty-four of us in total.”
He takes that in. “Do you see it growing?”
If he would have asked me a few months ago, I would have said no. But we seem to be attracting rogue wolves, even though we’re not trying to. Last month alone, three rogue wolves joined our group. “Maybe,” I finally settle on.
Somebody knocks on the door. I sniff the air and know it’s the beta, Liam. “It’s Liam,” Garrett says for Emma’s benefit.
“I’ll grab it,” she says when I make a move to go open the door.
I’m not watching her, so when Garrett lunges forward, I’m surprised. I look over to see Emma stumble a moment. Garret’s there a moment later. “Hey.” His tone is so different than what he uses when he’s speaking to literally anyone else but her.
“Sorry. I just got dizzy a moment. I’m good.” He stares down at her in concern but lets her go. He’s right behind her when she opens the door to the beta.
Liam gives them both an easy smile before he looks over at me. He steps inside and closes the door behind him. “Heard you needed some convincing.”
I resist the urge to growl. Garrett’s phone rings, and he pulls it out. “Give me a second,” he says and steps over to the window.
“Emma, you okay?” I hear Liam’s voice and turn around in time to see her just drop. One second she’s standing there, the next she collapses. Liam catches her, and Garrett’s there a second later. He sweeps her up into his arms.
“Emma?” I hear the worry in his voice and step back; now’s not the time to draw his attention. “Get Paul,” he orders. I look over to the sofa bed to check on Noah and see him lying down, still.
“Noah.” My heart’s in my throat as I close the distance to the sofa bed and drop next to him and listen to his heartbeat.
He’s breathing, but he’s out cold. I look over at the bathroom, and my heart climbs into my throat.
I’m at the door a heartbeat later. “Kayla?” No answer.
“Kayla?” Nothing. I open the door, and a growl rips from my chest at the sight of my mate lying on the floor.
I pick her up and carry her out of the bathroom. “Get out of the building!” Garrett orders and disappears out the door, carrying Emma.
Ransom, I need you in my room. Now. Kayla and Noah are both unconscious. The alpha’s mate is as well.
On my way.
I look down at Kayla and listen to her breathing.
Her face is so pale; it terrifies me. “Hang on, Baby.” I sniff the air, but I don’t smell anything out of the ordinary.
Precious seconds later, the door opens, and Ransom strides inside.
He takes one look at Kayla and then runs for Noah.
“We’re getting out of the building,” I tell him, knowing he’ll be right behind me.
My heart races as I try to figure out what I missed.
I sniff the air repeatedly as we race down the stairs and out the side door.
I see the alpha and head that way. Dread pools in my stomach when I see the beta carrying his pregnant wife.
But it drops to my toes when I see Max and Paul are both carrying their mates as well.
“What the—” Ransom starts.
Lucien appears out of nowhere. “The humans are all dropping.”
“What?” I growl.
“Any humans in the building are out cold.”
Icy tendrils work their way up my spine. “What are we dealing with?” My voice is mostly a growl.
“I don’t know; I don’t smell anything,” Lucien says in response.
Martin falls into step with us. “What’s happening?”
“All the humans are down,” Lucien says.
I reach the area where the other males are standing. “All the humans are down in the building,” I interrupt their heated conversation.
“I don’t know what it is,” Paul says from the grass where he leans over his mate, checking all her vitals.
“Be alert,” Max growls. “They got us out of the building.”
I turn to Martin. “Get everybody over here.” He’s gone a second later.
“Put the females in the middle,” Paul says. More than one growl meets his words. “I need to check them,” he growls right back. “We also need to form a circle around them.”
That gets all of us moving. It’s harder to let Kayla go than I thought it would be.
But I force myself to lay her down on the grass and then stand; I need to be able to see what’s coming.
And more importantly, I need to be able to fight what’s coming.
Ransom lays Noah next to Kayla. “Can you check him too?” I ask Paul.
Paul moves right to him. I stand in front of Kayla and Noah, and Ransom stands shoulder to shoulder with me.
“Vampires?” he asks quietly.
“I don’t know.” But even as I say the words, I think it through. They got us all out here. I feel something in the air, a subtle shifting in the air.
“Vamps incoming,” Liam shouts a warning.
“Only way to truly kill them is to rip their heads from their bodies,” Garrett says to our group that’s growing by the second.
“Make a circle around the humans,” I tell my guys and I brace for what’s coming.
“Aw, look at this,” a voice says, and my eyes shoot to Alicia.
“Don’t move,” Garrett says in a low voice. “Nobody shifts, not yet.”
I almost defy his order, but I hold still.
“Isn’t this sweet?” she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Now, before one of you gets any ideas, let me just say first that all these women are going to die.” An explosion of growls so fierce sound, that the ground literally trembles beneath us.
She rolls her eyes. “Always so dramatic. Let me finish, will you? If you kill me, they die.” Any plan I had on attacking her dies a swift death.
“Aw, that got in, didn’t it. Good. I hope you all have your wolves under control.
Because if something happens to me; they’ll all be dead in twenty-four hours. ”
I don’t move. I know I can’t attack her, but I memorize every detail of her scent, how fast her heart is beating, where her blood pumps through her body.
She’s dead; she just doesn’t know it yet.
I am a very patient man. It may not be today, but she will die for what she’s done to my mate and to the others.
More vampires show up and surround her. Nobody makes a move, but the air is thick with so much tension, I wonder which side will crack first. “Do not make a move,” I say, letting my voice carry.
I can’t afford for one of my wolves to do something to risk the lives of these females and Noah.
“Nobody shifts until I say.” I don’t trust one of the younger ones to not shift because their wolf forces them to.
“Here’s the plan,” Alicia says, without coming any closer. “The females come with us.” I hear several growls, but there’s a rumbling sound that doesn’t cut off. It only takes me a second to locate it. Max. I will him to stay in control.
“That’s not going to happen,” Garret says in a low rumble.
Alicia laughs. “Oh, Alpha, but it is. Because if not,” her voice sharpens. “They’re all dead.”
“How about we just kill you then?” Liam says easily. “Problem solved.”
She laughs again, but it’s cold and bitter.
“Do that and say goodbye. And before you get any ideas, I should probably tell you that if your mates die, you will still survive.” It’s absolutely silent.
“That’s a surprise, right? Especially to you strong, dominant wolves.
Yeah, we’ve found a way to sever the connection.
It’s a tricky thing.” She speaks easily, as if she’s simply discussing the weather.
“It has to be done at the exact right time, just as they’re passing into the next realm.
Too early or too late, it doesn’t work and the mate dies with.
But if you do it at just the right time,” she pauses and smiles.
“It severs the bond. That means, they will die, and you will live.” It’s hard for me to even process her words right now.
“So, back to my original explanation. You will let the females come with me. I have the antidote. But it’s not on me; it’s at the facility.
We have to get them to the facility in less than,” she checks her watch.
“Twenty-three hours and about five minutes, give or take. To be on the safe side, we should probably administer it sooner than that anyway...just in case.”
“You’re a monster.” The words are ripped from my throat.
She rolls her eyes. “And you’re dramatic. So, do we have a deal?”
“No,” I bite out at the same time Garrett and Max do. “Of course, we don’t have a deal.” I want to keep her talking while I try to figure this out, figure out if there’s a way to kill her and still keep our mates alive.
“You are not taking our females anywhere,” Garrett says, taking a single step forward.
Her eyes flash. “Then say goodbye to them.”
“No,” Paul says, entering the negotiation. I eye him and wonder if he can figure out how to treat the females if we kill her. He turns to me and meets my eyes and gives me the slightest head shake. Dread runs through me.
There has to be some other way, right? Ransom says through our bond.
Alicia steps back. “I’ll give you time to discuss it. But remember, the clock is ticking. Tick tock, tick tock.”
I growl and want nothing more than to tear her head from her body. I turn to Paul. “Can you figure it out?”
“Yes.” Relief flows through me, but it’s a moment too soon. “But in time? I don’t know.”
“Just kill her, and we’ll deal with the aftermath. We’ll figure it out,” Max adds.
“Oh, one more thing to think about,” Alicia says, and several loud growls sound around me. She laughs in delight. “You probably shouldn't kill me.”
“Why not?” Liam bites out.
“Because if you do, I take Kayla with me.”
I whirl around, and Alicia’s eyes meet mine.
“That was the serum I gave her. It ties her life to mine. It’s fascinating really what they’re whipping up at these vampire compounds.
This new concoction acts just as if I sired her; her life is tied to mine.
If I die, she dies.” She stares me down. “Insurance, you know?”
My heart thunders in my chest, and I don’t think I can breathe. “Nobody touches the vampire,” I thunder into the group. I know my eyes are wild, but I make sure everybody hears me loud and clear. “If anybody touches the vampire, I’ll kill your mate myself.” Harsh growls sound.
“Jackson!” Ransom hisses, but I ignore it.
“I’m serious.” And I’ve never been more serious in my entire life. I eye my own wolves. “If any of you touches Alicia, I will end you myself.”
Martin meets my eyes, and I see the sorrow there. I ball my hands into fists. “We won’t,” Martin says quietly.