Chapter 32
Sylvan
I’m surrounded by pain.
Everything hurts. My throat is dry and it feels like an elephant is seated on my chest. My consciousness flickers in and out, and eventually, I try to open my eyes.
It hurts to see. I crack them for a fleeting second, close them again. Repeat the process until I can see the outline of the bedroom window. No light spills into the room. The moon is new and invisible to our eyes.
My breath pushes past my lips.
Fuck. I blink a few more times as I remember everything.
Kissing Morgan. Holding her against me and realizing I’d never kissed her unless we were in heat, unless I count the one time in the meadow the morning after the full moon.
But that was our first kiss outside of our cycles, and it was everything I knew it would be.
My eyes squeeze shut as tears blur my vision. My nose and throat sting as I try to hold myself together, but all of the seams are bursting as I run through what happened after.
The bedroom door refusing to open.
Forcing it anyway.
Verena standing on the other side.
Ready. She was waiting for us.
I wonder now if she wanted to take Morgan into town because it would have been easier to kidnap her. Maybe there are other people she’s working with.
I open my eyes as soft light bleeds through my vision. A lamp clicks on, and the walls shutter. The house is still alive, I see. That’s nice.
“Are you going to keep them out?” I croak.
The light flickers on and off.
I’ll take that as a yes.
I grit my teeth on a groan and try to sit up. My muscles are unmoving, but I have to get up. Now. I have to make myself move. For her.
Morgan.
Pain squeezes through me and I lift my head for just a moment. Just long enough to confirm I’m still in my room on the floor, and that I’m lying in a pool of red. My clothing has shredded and I’ve shifted into my wolfish form. Blood has dried on my fur.
How long have I been out?
“Fuck,” I rasp.
My head drops back down and I growl. I have to get up and go after her.
One job. I had one job, and I failed. I failed to protect Morgan.
For the last few months, I’ve been at her side every step of the way.
She’s become so ingrained into my life that I cannot imagine a single moment without her.
Not hearing her heartbeat right now feels wrong.
She should be here. I should be at her side, waiting to catch her if she falls. Waiting to hold her if she cries.
She needs me. She needs me and I’m not there for her.
I feel like I’ve been tossed into a pool of fire. I knew there was something off about Verena. I didn’t trust her. But instead of throwing her out on her ass, I let her into our home. Even the house knew she was bad. Tabby tried to warn us.
Exhaling slowly, I strain to sit up. I lost a lot of blood. Too much blood, actually. I should be dead.
Something silver glints in the red. I pick it up and then wince when it burns my fingertips. It’s another one of those cursed fucking bullets.
The darkness got to us. I should've known that at some point it would be here again. Well, I did know that, but I never would've guessed it would come from someone Morgan calls a friend.
My eyes roll back for a moment as I fight another wave of dizziness. It's hard to make my limbs move. Every muscle is lethargic.
Fuck. They took her.
I’ve failed, I’ve lost her, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK.
My breaths shorten as fear grips me in its claws.
Tears squeeze out of the corners of my eyes as I push my mind toward hers, but there’s no answer.
There’s nothing there. A void has opened in my chest, and I don’t let myself imagine the worst. My mate. I need my mate.
We’re still cursed. If she’s in pain, I will feel it. There’s nothing, and that means she’s alive. Right? Right?
I need to find my phone. I turned my head slowly, looking around until I catch a glimpse of the hard case on the floor a few feet away. With a grunt, I get to my feet, stumbling forward and landing back down on all fours.
My muscles feel like rubber bands. Last time I was shot by these cursed bullets, Morgan had to help me walk. There were three of them then, but Verena shot me right above my heart.
I should be dead.
Truly, I do not understand how I’m not. Morgan has to be the answer, but now she's not here. She's gone.
They took her.
I need to find my brother. Without a doubt, Verena is working for the people who take omegas. I don't know why, I don't know what their end goal is, but I do know that it involves these mountains.
They almost took Zach, but he escaped. Maybe Morgan will escape too.
I clutch my phone, shifting back into the form of a man. I shiver as I look down at my chest. There’s a silver circle-shaped scar right over my heart.
The bullet should not have come out. I don't remember exactly what happened, although I remember Morgan's voice in my mind. Screaming. There’d been light, bright and blinding. She must have pulled it out with her magic.
Once again, my little witch saved me.
My hands tremble as I pull up my contacts and call Catriona. She’s the only one I know who will help me immediately.
“What happened?” she answers.
“They took her,” I rasp. “I was shot by a silver bullet. And they took her.”
Cat curses on the other end and I hear a couple murmurs in the background. “Sylvan, are the two of you mated?”
“No,” I whisper. “No. I need help. Please. I will give you anything, Catriona, but I need help finding her. There are other things happening that I can’t explain over the phone, but—”
“You’re in one of the ridge territories, right? What town?”
“Hex Ridge,” I grunt.
“We’ll be there soon. But Sylvan, if you were shot with a silver bullet, how are you alive?”
“Morgan,” I say. “I think she saved me again.”
“Again?”
I wince. I haven’t told Cat about anything that has happened, and now I regret that.
“When I get there, we’re gonna have a little talk about how shitty of a friend you are,” she growls. “And how you need to learn to let people in.”
“I’m trying.” Pain rips through my stomach suddenly and my breath squeezes out. “Fuck.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
They’re hurting her. I look down at myself, but there’s nothing hurting me on the surface. The echoes of pain radiate head to toe, and I grit my teeth.
Morgan is alive.
But Morgan is in pain.
“Get here as soon as you can,” I say. “I have to go. I have to start looking.”
“Do not go by yourself,” Cat demands. “We will be there tonight. Stay there. Are you in the house?”
“Yes.”
“If someone took her, they could come back. Where can you go that is safe?”
“The house will keep me safe,” I say.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s . . . it’s complicated. I’m safe inside the house.”
“Then don’t fucking leave it. Don’t be an idiot. We’re going to get her back, but if you go after them alone while injured, you’re risking yourself and her. Okay? Stay put.”
“I can feel her pain, Cat.”
“Stay there,” she snarls. “And text me the address.”
“Okay,” I breathe out. “I will. But Cat . . . This is dangerous. Everyone will be at risk. You should leave your omega at home. It’s too dangerous.”
“She wouldn’t stay home even if we locked her up,” Cat said tightly. “I think you should know by now how hard-headed they are.”
I chuckle, but then fresh tears follow. I swallow them down, my throat burning. “I do,” I whisper.
“Then you know she’ll be with us. We’ll be there soon. Call anyone else you have, Sylvan. Ask them for help too.”
“You’re one of the only . . . friends I have.”
“You have more than you realize. You just are too fucking stubborn to accept that. I’ll be there soon.”
Cat hangs up abruptly. She’s pissed off, and she has every right to be.
She has no idea how much I’ve withheld from her.
But she’s right. I do have other people I can ask for help from, even though I hate it.
Being self-sufficient has been key to my survival for so long that asking someone else to help me rescue my mate makes the erratic part of my mind go haywire.
I hate asking for help. I hate the fact that I even need help. I should have been able to protect Morgan by myself, but . . .
I failed her.
I text Cat the address for Foxglove Manor. The sooner she can get here, the better. I know her mates will be with her and that’s three more people that can help me find Morgan.
But we need more.
I don’t really know how deep this organization goes. But if Verena is involved, it makes me question how much has really been happening. How many omegas have been taken in these mountains? And why?
I wish Zach would come here. I have so many questions for him, but I’m already running out of time.
All my reluctance to ask for help fades. I have to do whatever I can to rescue Morgan. I scroll through my contacts until I find Jarod’s name, and call him.
“Sylvan,” he grunts. “It’s three in the morning.”
“Someone took my mate,” I say. “The ones who take omegas. Do you know what I’m talking about?”
Jarod’s string of curses are brutal. He sounds like he was asleep, and he probably was. “Yes. Where are you again?”
Pain ripples through me again and I slump back against the floor. More lights flicker on in the room, and I fight to find the words.
“Sylvan? You there?”
“Yes.” Barely. “Sorry. I’m in Hex Ridge.”
“Your mate is the Foxglove witch then?”
“Yes. I need to find her. I need help. I will owe you.”
“No,” he growls. “No. These fuckers have taken other omegas too. Morgan is not the only one. We’ve been searching for them, but they’re tricky, Sylvan.
Whoever is running this operation has magic that’s difficult to sniff out.
But if they took Morgan and you’re this close to the Ridge, maybe she can lead us to where they’re keeping the others. ”
I stare at the ceiling, tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes. I’m sticky with my own blood.
I’m going to tear all of them apart. Every single one of these bastards. The moment I have Verena in my grip, I’m going to rip her fucking throat out.
“How many have there been? And why haven’t you talked to me about any of this?”
“It’s not like we call all the time, Sylvan. You keep your distance. This has been a pack and territory issue, and . . .”
“I never want to hear them. Got it.” I exhale slowly. “When this is over, I want to introduce you to Morgan.”
Jarod lets out a soft chuckle. “Never thought I’d hear you say that. We can have dinner with my mates.”
“I’ll bring an expensive wine or some shit as a thank you.”
He barks out a laugh. “Yeah, I think introducing me to your mate is more than enough. Save the wine. I don’t trust your taste in alcohol anyway.”
I smile despite the pain that spears my side. “If I don’t find her, I’m going to lose my mind.”
“You will,” he agrees. “We’ll help. We’ll find her.”
“I’ll send you the address for the manor,” I say. “I have others coming too.”
“You have other friends?”
I sigh and close my eyes. “I guess.”
“Shocking. The witch really has changed you, huh?”
“Shut up and just get here, Jarod.”
He snorts, but I hear shuffling in the background and a couple of voices. “No one ever speaks to me this way, you know. Just you. You’re still the wild brat we used to feed scraps to.”
“I am.”
“I’ll be there soon. Don’t do anything stupid.”
I grimace as he hangs up. I’ve already done the stupidest thing, which is not marking Morgan. If she carried my mated mark, I’d know exactly where she is. Or at least, I’d have an idea of where she is.
I push toward the bond again, feeling it flutter in my chest. Morgan. Morgan. Speak to me. I need to hear you, witch. Please.
For a split moment, I hear her voice. It’s ragged and breathless and fuck—
Reject our bond, Sylvan. Reject it so you can’t feel my pain.
Then she’s gone.
Silently, I make a vow to myself. I will not rest until she’s back in my arms. I will kill whoever I need to in order to save her.
They took the wrong omega.