21. Rikkart
RIKKART
“Ican’t believe I let you talk me into sailing to Greenland. This is worse than being in a fucking plane,” I grumbled as I shifted in the small bunk in the hull of the boat.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did you have a better idea to get us off the island full of people who wanted to kill us?” Darius barked back from underneath me.
We had been up all night watching, waiting, and keeping the boat on course.
There was no certainty that they would believe we’d died after getting chased off the cliff.
Granted, we had planned the whole thing and knew that we would be fine, but it still was the one of the most brutal experiences.
The Baltic Sea isn’t known for having calm, warm waters.
No, it was always choppy, cold, and angry to be trapped in between so many countries.
We’d had to swim through a cave system that connected to the one we found Vadik’s men using.
In fact, it was the very boat that they used to smuggle their way onto our island, so it was able to fit all of us, if not very comfortably.
“How did that plan go so wrong, and just how we planned it at the same time?” Bentley asked from here he was on the floor. “We knew they would be mad but that was far more volatile than it should have been.”
“Seems we underestimated how long people had been speaking in their ear. Everything that Sarma had done they turned on us— like how we knew that the internet was restricted. We figured it out and then decided to keep them in the dark so when we killed all the old leaders they wouldn’t know how much better the Collective was.
Funny how Vadik wanted them to be on his side, but The Collective seems to have won that campaign,” Darius sighed.
I rolled onto my side, smashing my shoulder into the ceiling of the boat. “For fuck’s sake. Bentley, get off the damn floor and switch with me, I can’t be trapped in this coffin-like bed.”
It took me a moment to wriggle my way out of the bunk but once I was free, I took a deep breath.
No one in their right mind should be okay with getting squashed into such a small space like that.
Knowing I wouldn’t be able to sleep, I headed back out onto the deck and looked up into the night sky.
It was almost a full moon, with a few more days left if the pacing of my wolf told me anything.
Unlike the myth and lore going around, we were not subject to the full moon.
Don’t get me wrong, our wolves loved it— craved it if you will, but if we were not in a place to be able to shift we could hold off.
Now we did get testier during the days leading up to the full moon, but it was just like a woman getting her period, our wolves knew it was the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next.
Many times, a female would go into heat close to the full moon or just after, so us male wolves tended to have high libidos in response.
Leaning on the railing, the cold wind bit against my face as the boat cut through the inky black water.
I’d been on boats before, but never for three days without the option of getting off.
We needed to meet the chartered plane in Greenland where there was a neutral pack who was willing to help us get to the States.
From there, we would fly to Wyoming and set up our base of operations and figure out a place to start.
“Can’t sleep?” Tristan asked as he joined me. “Like I could ever find rest in such a cramped space,” I grunted. “I think the only reason I did last night was pure exhaustion after that whole ordeal.”
Tristan just nodded his head, leaning his back against the railing and looking up at the clear sky.
“Back in my youth I had to travel by boat fairly often. It’s one of the easiest ways to get places without people being able to trace you.
Also, one of the reasons I’ve never left Europe before, this will be my first time flying out of the country. ”
Turning, I watched Tristan out of the corner of my eye.
There wasn’t a whole lot that we knew about him.
I mean, we all knew he might be the last Dire Wolf and if he touches you he can sense your intentions, but that didn’t really tell you who someone was.
Since Viv was taken from us, he’d been working closely with Darius, and I trusted him enough to tell me if there was something we needed to know about this guy.
“You know you could just ask me, instead of staring a hole into the side of my face,” Tristan offered now, meeting my gaze.
He was right...there had been something I’d always wondered about. “Alright, if you’ve been on the run your whole life, how the hell did the Collective get you trapped? They must have had some hold over you to make you come to Kursar and meet Viv.”
Tristan turned back to the night sky, but a smile was on his face.
“Afraid not my friend. When I heard what was going on and there was a new female alpha, I volunteered to be sent. As a lone alpha working in one of their offices, they didn’t know me from Adam.
Call me a romantic, but I thought if there was any hope in finding a mate for someone like me, it had to be with someone just as rare. ”
I let out a bark of laughter, knowing just how he felt. I too had dreamed of who my mate might be some day, hoping she would be just as perfect and lovely as my mother— and Viv is all of that.
“Are you telling me you didn’t get lost that night she knocked you over?”
Now it was Tristan’s turn to chuckle. “No, I was well and truly lost, but only because my wolf had been so drawn to her that I had to follow wherever he was leading me. Then she came crashing into my life, the second my wolf scented her he knew that she was it for us. I of course, being the insecure human, wondered how she could at all be interested in a guy like me. I’d been hiding from the world for so long I wasn’t sure I could be a part of the real society again.
Then Astrid came and found me, sent me to get cleaned up, and informed me that Viv had requested my help, personally, for the pack’s financial records. ”
“God, that woman might have been over three hundred years old, but her mind was sharp as any needle. She knew just how to work Viv and the stubborn streak in her without clipping her wings. Darius should have learned from her and wised up to his situation sooner,” I grinned, thinking of when Viv and Darius had their showdown.
We both fell into a comfortable silence, now that my wolf and I felt more at ease with the man standing next to us.
“You think she’s gonna make it through all this?
” Tristan ventured. “I mean, I know her life hasn’t been easy, but we have no clue what they are doing to her.
What if Orion was right about her being pregnant and something wrong with the baby?
Childbirth for a female werewolf is a risky experience no matter who you are. ”
I shifted so I was fully turned towards him. “You’re forgetting one thing... Viv was literally created to bear pups. Even if that wasn’t the case, Vivianna Beck is a fighter. She will not give up until she’s dead, and then she might come back to haunt those who’ve wronged her.”
“These are the moments that I envy you and the others who rescued her, you’ve all had more time to spend with her.
You’re right though, we did find ourselves one hell of a mate, and I will follow in your steps and trust she will hang on until we find her,” Tristan announced, clapping me on the shoulder and heading back to the control booth.
Finally, after nearly a week of traveling we settled into two connecting hotel suites in Idaho Falls, where we set up our new base of operations.
We had no troubles getting to Greenland and onto the plane that Darius had chartered for us.
The flight was long, but thankfully I was able to pass out for most of it, since the private jet had much more room to spread out.
It seemed like the journey was never going to end, seeing as we had to land in New York before we could get on another plane to fly all the way to Idaho.
Even though we didn’t think anyone was tracking our movements, we didn’t want to take any chances and the airport in Idaho was right near the border of Wyoming.
Seeing as we didn’t have a clear direction of where to go next, we felt like this was the best course of action.
“Alright...” Bentley said, hands on his hips looking at all of us. “We’re in America. Now what the hell do we do?”
“First off, I’m going to reach out to Christian and let him know where we are, so we know what packs to avoid and who are friendly,” Orion informed us as he snagged the laptop off the coffee table.
Yet again, it seemed that we had moved as far on this chess board from hell that we could, until the other player made their move.
Something needed to happen so we could use that information to narrow down where to even start looking.
This was a massive continent to be searching for one person who was being hidden away in a top secret criminal facility.
“We do still have the option if we need to reach out to Grayson Industries and let them know I’m in the area, see if we can get a meeting with them,” Darius offered.
Even as he spoke, I started shaking my head.
“No, that won’t work anymore if they believe we’re dead.
That wasn’t part of the original plan, but since they seem to have drawn that conclusion on their own, let it ride for as long as we can.
Being a ghost right now would be more helpful than anything. ”
“Rik makes a good point,” Tav interjected.
“Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.
If we can move about freely, then the less attention we draw to ourselves the better.
Darius got us all fake passports and IDs so we could use them here and not set off any alarms. Vadik has a half brother who most likely runs Grayson but we still don’t have a first name on who that is... right Tristan?”
“They have done a masterful job keeping the name of the true owner hidden. Given time I’m sure we could figure it out, but I don’t know if that should be our main focus as of this moment.
Finding Viv is our number one objective, anything else we learn along the way is helpful in the long run,” Tristan answered.
“I agree that Viv is the priority, but we also need to find these packs that aren’t under Grayson’s control.
Once we get Viv back they aren’t just going to let us walk out of the country with her.
If anything, she is the most important piece in this growing battle,” Tav countered as he tossed his hair up into a man bun and got up to pace the room.
Everyone fell into silence at his statement, we all knew it was true but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow.
“Guys,” Orion said looking up from the computer. “What do we do if she really is pregnant?”
I snarled at his words. “What the hell kind of question is that? Any child that Viv bares I will be a father to. I don’t give two shits whoever’s kid it is because it will be half her.”
Orion slammed down the laptop and shot to his feet, ending an inch away from my face, teeth bared. “That is not what I meant at all.”
“Then what did you mean? To me it sounded like you weren’t sure how you felt about her having kids,” I bit back.
“If you had given me the chance to finish what I was going to say before you assumed that kind of crap, you’d know,” Orion answered through gritted teeth.
I could see his eyes flickering trying to hold back Okami from coming out and sharing his thoughts on the matter. “Then spit it out already.”
“There are three scenarios here,” Orion started as he backed up, returning to his seat.
“One, is that we got her pregnant during her heat... we thought it was a slim chance, but Viv isn’t like other female werewolves with fertility issues.
Second option, is that crazy ass Faulk did something like what he did to create Viv, using her as a womb for the test tube baby. ”
“What’s the third option?” Koit demanded his face clouding with anger.
Orion looked at each of us a moment and licked his lips before he spoke. “She was forced by Vadik or his brother to bear their child.”
“Forced? What do you mean forced?” Koit pressed fist clenched.
“You know what I mean, do you really need me to spell it out for you?” Orion challenged.
“I just want to hear you say it, if you’re going to put that shit out into the world, then own it. Now what is the third option.”
“RAPE.” Orion bellowed, cracking the coffee table in two with how hard he gripped it. “Are you happy now? Glad to have that visual trapped in your mind forever, even if it never happened?.”
Now, it was Koit who was on his feet glaring at all of us.
“You all keep acting like we will find the same Viv who was taken from us seven months ago. Look at us, hmm— none of us are even close to who we were. Why should she be any different? Yes, they need Viv for reasons we know and others we don’t.
It’s time we face facts and understand that the woman we love might have gone through hell while we were looking for her. ”
This revelation stunned everyone into silence as we stared at his eyes wild with a mixture of fear and anger.
“As much as I hate to think of it, he’s right,” Darius said finally, breaking the tension. “I have no doubt that we will get Viv back, but none of us know what kind of shape she will be in when we find her— something for us all to keep in mind as we go.”
Pacified with this, Koit took his seat and dropped his head into his hands.
Moment’s later, the laptop dinged and Darius snatched it up. “Holy shit, you guys Doctor Faulk is dead. They found his dead body in a ranger’s cabin in the woods...you know what this means right?.”
I knew exactly what that meant— Viv had escaped but managed to take him out first.