CHAPTER 20
Rhys“I don’t like leaving Rue without one of us there.” I frown, leaning between the driver and passenger seat so I can see Caylix and Kathan better. They can hear me fine from back here, but my alpha tendencies chafe at both being in front of me, even if I’m third in command. All shifters have a tripack hierarchy within their own bonded packs, but not all of them will have an alpha or a beta. It’s entirely up to fate.
Caylix grips the steering wheel tighter. “Me either bro, but you know as well as I do, she’ll be fine with Arya. She might talk Rue’s ear off, but she won’t be alone. Plus, we gave her explicit instructions to keep her inside and safe.”
“Besides, we can’t continue shirking our duties,” Kathan starts. “People will start to suspect something is going on with her and we don’t need the scrutiny. I trust our pack, but I also know shit happens.”
“Oh, don’t act like you wouldn’t throw her to the wolves if you got the chance. Or should I say witches? I’m sure you’re itching to send her back.” I’m being completely unfair because Kathan has a right to be cautious, but I can’t seem to keep the venom off my tongue. There’s a phantom echo from Rue in my chest, tugging me in her direction, and I can’t focus on anything but it. I know he feels it as well, even if he won’t admit it yet. Caylix too. I’m beginning to doubt it’s residual from saving her and hoping it’s truly a mate bond. There’s more to this than meets the eye, and personally, I’d be elated to have her as a mate.
Kathan sighs, wiping the grumpiness from his face for a moment. “I’ll admit, my reaction to her wasn’t the greatest. Maybe I was wrong about her being a spy.”
I shoot him a look like you think? It doesn’t take a genius to see that Rue is genuine. He’s right about it being rare for a witch, but it doesn’t make it untrue. There’s something about her with those pouty lips and deep blue eyes…
The small taste I had of her wasn’t enough. I won’t be satisfied until I’m covered in her delicious strawberry honey scent and she’s dripping with mine every single day for as long as she’ll have me.
I’ve always known I’d share my future with my bonded brothers but seeing it in action is an entirely different thing. As soon as Caylix started watching, Rue was practically gushing. Thinking about it has me as hard as a fucking rock. And even though Kathan kept his composure, I know he caught my scent on her. I think that’s another reason his panties are in a knot over the whole thing.
“Shit, hold on,” Caylix calls out, so lost in thought he almost missed the turn in for our base of operations. He swerves into the driveway, throwing us sideways, and comes to a grinding stop before the gate, brakes screaming in protest.
There’s a vampire guarding the gate that shoots him a dark glare for spinning the gravel, but he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he inclines his head a fraction, the custom greeting to an alpha shifter. “Hello, sir,” he says when Caylix rolls down the window.
“Report,” Caylix responds.
The vampire seems wary, his fingers shifting toward the stake on his utility belt and his eyes scanning the swamps. “The ferals are really moving today. We’ve never seen this much activity before, especially with the day’s light still shining.” His statement is troublesome. Sunlight won’t kill a vampire, not even a feral, but it does weaken them, so normally the ferals will hole up somewhere until dark. “They’re waiting for you inside.”
“Thank you.” After the vampire backs away to open the gate, Caylix glances at us, a line in his brow, clearly picking up on the strangeness of the situation like I did. “I have a feeling we need to bring in reinforcements. Call Slade,” he says, and motions for the vampire to open the gate. Kathan pulls out his phone and we fly down the small driveway, screeching to a halt outside the building. Wolves patrol the perimeter, keeping a close eye on our property and anything unwanted out.
Immediately two of our top enforcers stride outside to greet us, not a single wrinkle in their tactical gear. “Alphas,” they say in unison, tipping their heads in a show of deference. They’ve been on our force for a while, and I’d trust either with my life, but I don’t know about Rue’s, which is why we’re trying to keep her true presence in our lives under wraps. If there’s anything we’ve learned, everyone has a price.
Kathan ends the call and slips his phone back in his pocket. “He’s on his way.”
It shouldn’t make me angry—we all agreed to teaming up with Slade—but after seeing the way Rue and him were together, a dark part of me, mostly the possessive wolf part, wants to rip his smug fucking head off. The other part knows we need him or else the ferals will take over. No one has ever seen this volume of them turning before. They’re stronger in feral form, more deadly, so it’s extremely concerning because it’s happening faster than we can hunt.
We lead the way inside, the two enforcers following closely after us, debriefing us on the current situation. “The wards on the outside perimeters of The Growl picked up at least six feral signatures according to this report,” one of them states, handing us a piece of paper. The wards act as a seismograph of sorts, but instead of earthquakes, this one detects feral vampire activity. Sure enough, there’s about six spikes in the normally flat line. “And four more across town,” the other enforcer continues, extending another report.
“What the hell? Ten feral fuckers so close together?” I ask, mostly to myself. Ferals usually hunt alone, not in packs, so for them to be gathering, it’s not only strange, it’s disconcerting.
Caylix turns to the enforcer whose patrol route normally involves The Growl. “Any idea on where they might be headed?”
Before he can respond, a voice interrupts. “I think I can help with that,” Ian—one of Arya’s bonded—says. He joined our pack shortly after he found out Arya is their tripack’s mate. Caylix’s sister sure gave them a run for their money, though.
Normally, Ian is upbeat and positive—he’s a suave kind of guy and we hit it off instantly, but right now his brow is furrowed, and he seems as worried as the rest of us. “I don’t want to jump to anything drastic,” he starts and stops.
“Speak your mind,” Kathan tells him.
“Well, it seems like they’re mobilizing,” he states, and the room erupts into chaos. Everyone tries to talk over the other, mostly to deny the possibility of the mindless fuckers even being able to form groups. They’ve never shown any sort of intelligence before.
Somehow, I know this isn’t a coincidence with Rue’s timing and her blood… Fuck. This could end up being disastrous. We’ve been putting out feelers with the rest of the shifter packs in the United States and Europe to see if they’ve experienced anything like Rue, and nothing. We can’t outright say anything without bringing a whole heap of trouble down on us either and it’s maddening. The thought of her getting hurt because of this makes my heart twist with fear, so sharply it’s like a hot poker through my ribcage. If that doesn’t confirm she’s my mate, I don’t know what would. It’s something we need to talk about.
Ian hands Caylix the report he’s holding and his face drains of color. “Fucking shit, fuck,” he curses and yanks his cellphone out of his pocket, practically running out of the building like there’s hellhounds chasing him. Caylix has never lost his shit like that, ever. He’s always calm, cool, and collected in most situations so for him to act out of character like that, something must be really wrong. We follow him outside where he’s holding his phone up in the air like that will actually give him a better signal.
“What the fuck is going on?” Kathan demands and Caylix thrusts Ian’s report at him.
An even more colorful string of curses erupts from Kathan’s mouth, and he too takes his phone out, dialing Slade. “Change of plans. Meet us at the cabin now.”
“Does someone want to explain?” I growl, my wolf rising to the surface, but I’m ignored. Everyone’s too focused on what they’re doing.
I’m about ready to yank the report from Kathan’s hand when Caylix’s phone rings, but it goes to voicemail before he can answer it, and a flood of notifications come through, making him almost drop the device because of it. My apprehension grows with each passing second, and I want to smack the construction crew who thought a metal roof was a good idea for this place. It always gives us trouble with cell reception and even though we weren’t inside long, it was long enough apparently.
But it’s Caylix’s expression as he holds the phone up to his ear again that has my heart stuttering in my chest. “It’s Rue,” he says, nodding his head toward the enforcers watching and I get the hint. He’s trying not to alert them about Rue. “It might be nothing but—” he trails off when his sister answers, a flurry of panicked words coming out of her mouth. I can’t make anything out. “Arya. Slow down and report,” he barks, his alpha instinct to protect riding him hard.
Mine is too and a howl escapes me before I can stop it. Of course, they’re after her. It makes so much sense. We’ve never seen ferals come together, but we’ve also never seen a fucking cure, and after that one escaped Kathan… fuck.
My heart pounds in my chest and the urge to act hits me hard. Everything outside has happened in less than two minutes, but it’s two minutes wasted getting to Rue.
“Arya, no. Stay on the line with me, okay? We’re ten minutes out. Do not go outside for any reason, you hear me?” Caylix barks, every bit of the alpha he is in his tone.
Kathan and I are already racing toward the SUV before Caylix can say anything to us and after hearing Arya’s name, Ian is hot on our heels. He’s a beta, albeit a strong one, but right now with the set of his jaw, he looks like an alpha. Thankfully, he’s smart enough not to question anything in front of the other two enforcers, who are also following. Seeing us react like this when we’re normally cool as cucumbers, likely has them spooked.
“Ian, you’re with us,” Kathan orders before climbing into our SUV. “You two grab one of the spare vehicles and meet us at our honeymoon cabin.” One of them raises an eyebrow, but they do as they’re told and veer off toward the small garage.
“Does someone want to explain what the hell has you three so on edge? Who’s Rue and why’s she with Arya?” Ian demands. He’s in the back with me and is thrown against the side as Caylix does a donut and shoots out of the gate onto the road. He’s too absorbed in listening to Arya and Rue to respond.
“No, no. Fuck. Put me on speaker,” he demands. “Rue. Rue!”
The echo of her racing heart in my chest makes mine stutter to a stop. The bond disappears entirely from my chest, and I automatically assume the worst. The pain is unreal, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. My brothers feel it too and the three of us let out haunting howls.