Callum
“Stay out of sight and just watch for now.” Lynx growls down the phone.
Jet growls back. Not happy with the idea of waiting. “But if he’s in there—”
“Then we’ll all go get him. We’re leaving now, Jet. Don’t do anything stupid. They might be ex-hunters, but we have no idea what kind of weapons they’re armed with.”
I’m torn.
If Ash’s in there, I want Jet to break the fucking door down. But he’ll be outnumbered with the possibility they’ve got aconite-laced weapons. As desperate as I am to get Ash back, I would never put Jet’s life at risk. It’s not like they’re going to murder a human in cold blood.
But they could hurt him, and that thought alone has me fighting back a half shift. Lynx shoots me a look, gaze dropping to my mouth. A quick swipe of my tongue reveals teeth longer and sharper than they should be. All things considered, I’ll take that.
“Hurry,” Jet snaps and ends the call.
I look around the table.
Mal, Flint, and Lynx all watch me like I’m a ticking bomb. They’re not far wrong.
“He’s got to be with them.” I pace the length of the room, tension coiling my muscles so tight they hurt.
They took Ash.
Right from under our fucking noses.
“I should’ve been watching him.” It doesn’t make a difference now, but tell that to the guilt threatening to take me under.
“Stop that.” Lynx snarls. “You can’t be fucking everywhere. Blaming yourself helps no one.”
“Well, who should we blame?” I snap back. “I told him we’d watch him, that we’d keep him safe, and look what fucking happened.”
Lynx grimaces, knowing I’m right. “It was a misunderstanding.”
“A what?”
“Ren got a text saying Morgan was taking over and to come back to the compound.”
“From who?”
“We don’t know.”
Who the fuck has that kind of access? “You think it was them? Wilson and Stokes?”
“I don’t know. Maybe? But it doesn’t fucking matter right now.”
He’s right.
What matters now is getting Ash back before anything—
I can’t even finish that sentence.
I have to stop and lean against the wall as a wave of raw energy ripples through my body. My wolf is restless, agitated. There’s a hollow ache behind my ribs created by the distance between us. A heavy reminder that he’s not here.
I flex my fingers, unable to stop the claws that slide out and welcoming the pain with open arms. I need it to keep me from giving in to the pull and shifting. If my wolf takes over, nothing will stop me from charging over there to rip them all to pieces.
How fucking dare they.
My low growl echoes around the room, getting louder and louder as I clench my fists and pace.
I’m going to kill each and every one of them.
Slowly.
Painfully.
My muscles bunch and contract, the tang of magic filling the air around us. I’m so close to shifting I feel it coiled beneath my skin, desperate to break free and—
“Stop!” Alpha power rings out around us, freezing me in place and dragging me away from an edge I’m not sure I could’ve come back from on my own. Lynx grabs my shoulders, his own claws digging into my skin as he holds me in place. “Do not shift.”
The effect it has on me is like a bucket of ice water.
One second, I’m right fucking there. The next, the tension floods out of me, leaving me a little shaky.
Lynx pulls me against him, holding me upright when my legs threaten to give out.
His warm, familiar scent fills my lungs, reminding me that I’m not alone here.
He smells like pack, like home, like the brothers I know all have my back no matter what.
Lynx’s hand finds the back of my neck and squeezes. “You good?”
It takes me a minute, but, “Yeah, thank you.”
His low chuckle vibrates against me. “Never have to thank me, brother.”
I disentangle myself from his hold as the door bursts open and Morgan storms in. He has Ash’s phone in his hand.
“Found it halfway down the fucking road. No sign of a struggle, so they obv tossed it out the window.” He tenses as he inhales, gaze snapping to me. “What the fuck?”
Lynx is quick to grab him and get in his face. “Not now.”
“But—”
“Cal and Ash bonded. It’s what he was going to tell you. We’ll explain everything later, I promise, but right now we have to focus on getting Ash back.”
Morgan’s nostrils flare, breath ragged as he struggles to rein in his wolf. Lynx doesn’t let go of him until he drags in a deep breath and nods. “I’m good. What do we know?”
I take over. “Wilson and Stokes just pulled up to your old house.”
His eyes flash but he swallows down whatever he’s feeling about me. “With Ash?”
“Jet couldn’t see him in the car,” Lynx cuts in. “But they pulled straight into the garage and closed the door.”
“So they probably have him in there, right?”
“That’s what we’re assuming.”
He scowls at the rest of us. “What the fuck are we waiting for?”
No one else is gonna say it, so I do. “For me to calm down enough to get on my bike.”
Understanding fills his eyes. “We’ll get him back.”
“I know.” Because there’s no other fucking option. I glance around the table. Flint and Mal both stand, ready. Then I look to Lynx: alpha, president, best friend. “Ready?”
He grins. “Let’s go.”
We pick Beth up on the way, and less than five minutes later, the six of us ride out. If they’ve hurt a single hair on his head, I’m going to kill them.
Slowly and painfully.
Fuck it. I might just do it anyway.