Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
KAELEN
The coordinates on the navigation blinked ominously in the quiet of our car. My eyes trailed over the map while Torin drove through the abandoned warehouse complex, with another one of our SUVs following behind us.
According to Massimo, the safe house had minimal security since it had been out of commission for almost a decade. His father had, however, enlisted at least a dozen men to secure the property.
With that, I knew we had to be discreet. Along with Aidan and Torin, I brought another dozen men. While I wanted Liam and Patrick with me, they were otherwise occupied, dealing with the senator and securing Isabelle.
That left fifteen of us—split between two cars—to handle Vittorio and a dozen of his men. While I was confident every one of my men could handle two of his, I would have preferred to stack the odds more in our favor, but needed to avoid drawing attention.
We planned to silently invade the safe house and take out Vittorio’s men one by one. And then, I’d make my way to the basement where he kept Willow.
At least that was what Massimo conveyed. I still wasn’t certain if I believed him, but his story about his sister compelled me. I put a lot of stock in my ability to read people, and I knew Massimo wasn’t loyal to his father.
He loved his sister and would do anything to protect her.
For now, that had to be enough.
I had to get Willow before the bastard claimed her.
If I got there too late… I banished the image from my mind, refusing to let it fester. My alpha paced, a beast begging to be unleashed. And I would. I would let the most unhinged parts of me break free and tear Vittorio Rossi to shreds for daring to take what is mine.
He would understand why they called me The Butcher of Boston.
After taking a steadying breath, I closed my eyes. If I gave in to the rage, I might miss a crucial detail. I might get us all killed. And with that, damn Willow to a life bound to an alpha who would treat her no better than his dog.
My nostrils flared. Willow was a fucking queen, my queen, and nothing would stop me having her in my arms that night.
I scanned the faces of my men, all of them grim but determined. Aidan rested a hand on Torin’s thigh, squeezing lightly. Metal heated under my fingertips as I grazed them across the barrel of my pistol.
The warehouse complex loomed ahead, and I jerked my head at Torin. He nodded silently, turning off the headlights while the car behind us followed. Our vehicles pulled into an abandoned parking lot before we exited, moving like ghosts through the damp alleyways that led to our destination.
Shadows shifted in the darkness, and I raised my hand in quiet command. My men stilled, eyeing the building where Willow supposedly was.
And then, I smelled her.
It wasn’t the comforting scent of sweet summer rain and wildflowers.
No.
It was an explosion of heady, overwhelming honey and mist-soaked flowers. I clutched my chest, almost dropping to my knees with the force of it. I stifled my burning growl, not wanting to give us away. My vision blurred and my cock hardened.
My teeth ground together as I refused to give in to my rut. Into the primal haze to fuck my omega—to breed her and fill her. My omega, who was on the verge of heat. A sweet aroma that should have only ever been for me.
A hand landed on my shoulder—firm and grounding.
“Kaelen. Focus,” Aidan whispered, his tone cutting.
“She’s in heat,” I said, blood thundering in my ears.
“I know. But if you go in there like this, you’ll get yourself killed. He wants you to be reckless. Think, Kaelen. She needs you. Think of her.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach, the reality of his harsh words hitting hard. They broke through the haze of my rut. A tiny pinprick of sanity.
Aidan was right. I couldn’t bust in there. We had to be methodical. The need to save my wife, my omega, was the only thing more powerful than my instincts.
I was more than her alpha. I was her mate. Her husband.
My devotion to Willow ran deep, deeper than I ever thought possible. Because of that, I would leash my anger, harness it into something powerful. A weapon that I would use to sever the head off the serpent who threatened the woman I loved.
Love.
The clarity of that word curled around my thrumming heart, soothing it with the rightness of the meaning. I loved Willow Finnegan and would cherish and worship her until my dying breath.
My senses sharpened as my nostrils flared. Two of Rossi’s men flanked the entrance to the warehouse, automatic rifles resting in their meaty palms. I recalled the blueprints of the building—the ones I had spent the entire day memorizing.
Besides the main entrance, an old delivery tunnel remained hidden and in disrepair in the back.
“You two,” I said, nodding at the two men behind me.
“Go with Aidan and Torin and sneak in through the back tunnels. Dispatch any you come across silently. We need to avoid drawing attention and gun fire. Luke, you come with me. The rest of you wait here until my signal. Luke and I will take care of the guards at the front.”
Aidan moved with the others, quietly maneuvering to the back of the building while Luke and I removed our knives. I shared a look with Luke, and he nodded. With that, we slid along the cold stone walls buried beneath a layer of moss and grime.
The two men guarding the front door murmured, slurring words as they huffed at some obscene joke. If they were drunk, it would be much easier. They hadn’t heard or seen us approach.
“Now,” I whispered, in a harsh breath.
Luke moved with me, dragging his blade across one man’s throat while I did the same with the other.
Blood spilled from them, pooling on the ground in a puddle. Their eyes bulged, their mouths falling open in silent screams as their hands scrambled to cover their fatal wounds. With gurgling breaths, both men collapsed on the ground, dead without a sound.
I let out a whistle, signaling the rest of my men, who joined us. Crimson brushed along my fingers as I wiped the remnants of it off my blade, shucking it towards the ground with a flick.
The metal door groaned as I pushed it open, greeted by muted yellow lights.
Another wave of my omega’s scent stole the air from my lungs as I stepped inside, shocked by how potent it was. Fuck.
A thud echoed behind me, and I snapped my head in its direction. Surprised to see another one of Vittorio’s men falling to the ground at the hand of Eric.
Labyrinthine pathways of steel pillars and pallets snaked through the warehouse. We moved room by room, eliminating the few guards who wandered among the dimly lit corridors.
I still hadn’t seen Torin or the others when a muffled cry carried down a long, dark hallway. The sound set fire to the last vestiges of my control, burning it to ashes. I didn’t stop to think.
I ran.
A series of footsteps followed me, echoing ominously in the shadows. Another mountain of an alpha—almost as tall as me—stood like a sentry before a massive steel door.
Without thinking, I plunged my knife into his throat, slicing a gash across his artery. I wiped the blood from my face, drowning in the intoxicating scent of my omega nearing her heat.
I didn’t bother wasting time looking for a key, instead smashing into the door with my shoulder, ignoring the bite of pain with each thrust. On the third strike, the wood frame splintered, and the door flew open.
I almost fell to my knees at the heady scent, consuming me in the thick cloud of her heat. My alpha roared, demanding I tuck her away safely in her nest and tend to all her needs while filling her over and over until she was sated and my seed took.
A single bare bulb hung from the ceiling, casting a sickly glow across the concrete floor.
In the middle of the room, I saw them.
A contorted grimace twisted on Rossi’s face, creases tight around his mouth. A hand clutched his groin as he knelt on the ground, moaning a pathetic sound.
And standing over him, my beautiful mate.
Her lips trembled with short, stuttered breaths. Beads of sweat glistened on her pinkened skin. The scent of her heat hung heavily in the air, but beneath it, I scented her determination, her defiance. My brave girl.
In her hand, a silver knife glittered, the point of the blade barely pricking the skin of Vittorio’s jaw. A fire blazed in her blue eyes, illuminating them like brilliant sapphires.
Something cold sparked in her gaze. A ruthlessness that I had never seen from her before. A look that promised destruction.
Pride swelled in my chest as I stilled, watching the scene unfold. Her head snapped up, large doe-eyes finding me. A flash of pure relief appeared in her irises, but her hand never wavered. I saw the raw strength in her stance, the unshakeable resolve in her steady hand.
My omega. My wife hadn’t just survived. She fought.
And won.
The firestorm that had brewed in my chest settled into a rumbling snarl. My strong mate. She hadn’t needed saving. She saved herself.
“Alpha,” she breathed.
“I’m here, mo chroí.”