3. Chase
Chase
Ipace the kitchen, running my hand through my pink hair as I try to collect my thoughts.
Get to Cherry.
Kill the bad guys.
Watch for Finn and Philip.
Get to Cherry.
Grab the weapons.
Make sure Bain doesn’t fall into his own vomit.
Get to Cherry.
Check in on how Hunter’s feeling.
With the other three out, I need to take charge.
Fuck we’re screwed.
Make—
“Ah!” I scream, jumping backward when a hand lands on my shoulder. With my heart racing, I turn and see Hunter’s worried face.
“Sorry, I called your name like four times.”
“Fuck, sorry,” I say, pulling at my hair as I start to pace, and my to-do list starts to repeat again in my head.
“Chase!” I turn my eyes to Hunter, stopping mid-pace. “I said, you need to calm down a tad. It’s going to be okay.”
My arms drop to my side as I face him with a look of incredulity. “Are you kidding me? How is any of this okay?”
He steps forward, grabbing the tops of my arms as he stares at me with the same brown eyes I see every day in the mirror.
“Listen to me, Chase. We know she will come back. She probably already has. Philip is going to bring something to make the others feel better, then we’re going to follow the tracker to where they have her.
We’re going to kill every motherfucker in that place, then we’re going to bring her home.
Then you and I are going to cement the bond with her. ”
My claws lengthen at just the mere thought of ripping into those sons of bitches.
Hunter nods. “That’s right. You’ll get a chance to avenge her. We all will.”
“Even you?” I ask, knowing he doesn’t fight unless necessary.
“You may even need to hold me back this time,” he says with the barest hint of a smirk. But it’s not happiness poking through; it’s vengeance.
The sound of a car engine has both our heads turning to the front window.
“They’re here,” we say in unison. We both run to the front door and jog out as two cars pull up.
In the first one is Philip, and I’m extremely grateful when he wastes no time, jogging up to meet us at the front door.
“I’ve got the potion to help them,” he says, patting his bag.
“Follow me,” Hunter says, leading him inside as I head to the driveway to meet our other guests.
Finn gets out of the driver’s seat as he tells me, “I brought some backup.”
I’m surprised to see Cody step out of the passenger side. I’m even more surprised by the two lion shifters who step out of the back seats.
“This isn’t the facility,” one of the new men says.
They’re both large guys, bigger than me and almost as big as Bain.
The one who spoke has a mess of wild white-blond hair.
“You said I get to help kill bad guys,” he whines as he looks at the other man.
The second guy has dirty blond hair thrown up in a messy bun.
They both have trimmed beards and share facial features and body shape, but that’s where the similarities end.
The white-haired one looks like he’s bursting with energy, his eyes flying around everyone with keen excitement, while the other one has a similar stoic disposition to Bain.
“Finn already told you we have to meet up with the others first,” the stoic one tells him.
Cody makes his way over to me and I greet him. “Cody, thanks for coming,” I say, offering my hand as he comes to greet me behind where our SUV is parked.
“Finn told me what’s going on. I’ve been itching to take down one of those facilities ever since he told me about the one he was in.”
“Chase, this is my pack mate, Alaric,” Finn introduces, gesturing to the stoic one. “And that’s his cousin, Casper.”
“Pack mate?” I ask, nodding my greeting to Alaric.
“We share a mate.”
“That seems to be a common theme here,” I say, my eyes moving to Cody.
He throws up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m single and happy to keep it that way.”
Yeah right. I knew that was just a cover. He pretty much said as much when we saw him at the bar.
“I’m single too,” Casper says, rocking back on his heels as his gaze moves around the front of my home. “But hopefully I’ll find my mate soon.” Then his head whips to me as he asks, “You don’t know any unmated shifters by chance?”
“Uh…”
“She doesn’t even have to be a shifter!” he says quickly, his eyes wide like he said something wrong. “Whoever she is, just tell her I’ll be the most perfect mate ever!”
Finn groans, and I glance at him in confusion as he rubs his hand down his face. “Casper, stop asking everyone you meet if they know anyone.”
“Why? How else will I find a mate?” Casper asks as if it’s completely logical to set him up with a woman when we’re about to go rescue mine.
“Casper?” Alaric says, still looking at me and not his cousin.
“Yeah?” he asks eagerly.
“Shut up.”
“But—”
“Their mate has been kidnapped, and you’re standing here asking for a blind date.”
Casper’s eyes widen as his head whips to mine again. “Shit. You’re right!” He stands up tall, puffs his chest out, and salutes me. What the fuck is wrong with this guy? “Reporting for duty, Chance.”
“Chase,” Finn corrects.
“Right. Chase,” Casper says with a nod.
“I—” I’m cut off as a loud bang has our heads turning to the SUV. “What the hell?” I ask as I grab the handle and pull the back door open.
I bend down to get a look at the trunk. The door slowly rises, and my eyes widen at the surprise waiting for me.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” I ask, my need for vengeance suddenly bubbling to the surface.
“Do you usually keep humans tied up in your car?” Casper asks excitedly, as if this isn’t strange to him.
“Wait, how did he get through the barrier?” I ask in confusion.
“They can’t stumble through it,” Philip says, and I turn to find him exiting the house as he comes to stand beside me, crossing his arms as he glares at the tied-up doctor in my trunk. “But they can be brought through. Like this.”
“How are the others?” I ask, glancing back at the front door.
“Better. They’re all upright and walking now. They said they’ll be out in a minute.”
“Thanks, man.” I glance at the others before asking. “Do you guys need introductions?”
“No, we’re well acquainted,” Finn chuckles. “Our mates are practically best friends, what with being the only omegas in town.”
I look at him in surprise and he shrugs. “Don’t be mad. Erica and Lexi tell each other everything. Therefore, we also know that your mate is an omega.”
I glance at Cody, who shrugs. “I ain't gonna tell anyone.”
“Don’t worry,” Finn says, still staring at the doctor. “Cody is the best sheriff we’ve ever had.”
“Sheriff?!” I ask, my head reeling back in shock.
“Did I forget to mention that?” Cody asks, looking like he actually wants to know.
“Ah, yeah. You did.”
“My bad.”
Well, okay then. What sort of sheriff never wears a badge or uniform, hangs out in bars and diners, and also doesn’t seem to care that we have someone tied up in our trunk. Strange man. But I’m not about to start asking questions. We’ve got bigger things to worry about right now.
Casper pokes the tied-up doctor in the cheek, as if checking he’s real. “What about him?” I ask Finn. “Is he gonna tell anyone?”
“Who, me?” Casper asks as he looks over at me, his finger still pressed firmly into the man’s cheek.
Alaric grabs his shoulder and pulls him upright as he asks, “You’re not going to so much as mention the word omega to anyone outside the people here, and my pack. Right?”
“Oh!” Casper replies, his eyebrows shooting up. “Of course not!” He looks at me and shakes his head. “Don’t worry. I can keep a secret.” He mimics zipping his mouth shut, and Alaric lets him go as he juts his chin at the doctor.
“What are you going to do with him?”
“That depends,” Maddox says. I look up and relief fills me when I see him and Hunter stepping out of the house. Maddox looks tired, like he’s just gone hours with the punching bag, but at least he’s upright and not puking anymore.
“We didn’t have a chance to confirm his involvement other than that he is from another facility.”
“Another one?” Cody asks, his eyes sparking with excitement. “As in, not the one we’re about to go to?”
“That’s right,” Maddox says with a nod. “Dr. Jahan Jovanek,” he says, gesturing to the man watching us all with wide eyes, “works in North Carolina, but Cherry’s been taken to Georgia.”
“What do we do with him?” I ask as Bain and Gage exit the house, pulling the door shut behind them, each carrying two bags, their jaws clenched like they are in pain.
They are in pain. They just had their mate bond severed. I don’t know whether to be upset that I never got a chance to cement mine with Cherry or happy that I don’t have to go through what they’re going through right now.
“Can I have him?” Cody asks, sounding more excited than I’ve ever heard him.
“Oh, if you’re giving out humans, I want one too!” Casper says.
“What do you want him for, Cody?” Hunter asks, ignoring Casper’s comment.
Cody opens his mouth to respond, but stops when Alaric steps forward and punches the doc right across the face, knocking him unconscious.
I raise an eyebrow at him in question.
“We don’t want him to hear our plans,” he explains before crossing his arms over his chest.
“I want to interrogate him,” Cody tells us quickly. “I’ll lock him up at the station and extract the location of his facility.”
“That’s a good idea,” Gage says with a nod of his head as he tosses his bags into the trunk by the doctor’s feet. “The more of those fucking places we can take down, the better.”
“Perfect!” Cody says, happier than I’ve ever seen him. He steps up to the back of the SUV and grabs the doc’s body, throwing him over his shoulder like he weighs nothing, then turns and heads down the driveway, into the street.
“Wait! Where are you going?” I ask in confusion.
He turns, walking backward as he tells me, “You guys need the cars. I can carry him back.”
“Take my car,” Philip says, jogging down to pass him his keys. “I’m going with the others.”
“Thanks,” Cody says, opening the trunk of the car and tossing the body in. He waves goodbye and takes off, seeming more than happy with his prize.
“You’re coming?” Hunter asks Philip as he walks back up the driveway toward us.
“Yeah, I figured I can help in case there’s any magical defenses you need me to break through.”
“Thanks, man,” I say, meaning it. He’s putting his life on the line for our mate. I won’t forget that.
He shrugs. “If I’m being honest, it’s also because I have a personal vendetta against the facilities.”
“You were in one?” Hunter asks in surprise, but he shakes his head, looking sad.
“No, not me. My older brother, Edwin. He was taken to one of these facilities and died there.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” I say, grimacing. I try not to think about Cherry dying there, but at least she has the ability to come back. His brother obviously wasn’t so lucky.
After that, it doesn’t take us long to exchange phone numbers with our new travel buddies and get on the road. The four of them travel in Finn’s car, and the five of us in our pack take our SUV.
Hunter takes the wheel, and I sit beside him to navigate since we aren’t sure of the effects of the numbing potion, as Philip called it, on the other three.
I try to engage them in conversation, but it’s clear they don’t want to talk. I don’t blame them. Of course, it leaves my mind with the chance to spin scenarios of what could be happening to Cherry right now.
None of them are good.
“Chase? You okay?” Hunter asks, glancing at me out of the side of his eye.
I shake my head, knowing I can’t hide my fear from him. “No.”
His foot presses down a little harder as he nods. “Yeah. Me neither.”