Whiskey
Thane looks like someone ran him through a meat grinder and then squished the resulting hamburger back into a Thane shape.
His hair's a fucking wreck, his dark eyes have even darker bags under them, and his cup of black coffee is shaking slightly in his hand.
But he looks like happy as shit.
Like whatever fresh hell clearly went down in Cedarbrook, it was worth it.
"So," I say, dropping our luggage by the couch. "How'd your trip go?"
Thane takes a long sip of his coffee. Longer than necessary. Then he heaves a huge sigh. "We're alive and we're home, and that's what matters."
"Shit, that bad, huh?"
"You could say that."
I wait for him to elaborate, but he just stares into his coffee.
"Wraith okay?" I ask carefully, because Wraith is never okay after Cedarbrook trips.
"He will be." Thane's jaw tightens. "Eventually."
Fuck.
Whatever happened must've been bad if Thane's being this vague. One of the many names I've bestowed on our pack leader is Captain Overshare because he's always trying to make sure we're all on the same page, even it means talking about shit no one wants to hear.
I glance over at Plague, who's hovering nearby. His hair's still damp from the rain outside, and he's got that pinched look around his eyes that means he's stressed but trying to hide it.
"Can we..." I start, then stop. Clear my throat. "Can we go up and say hi? To Ivy?"
The words feel weird coming out. I don't like asking permission to see my own scent match. But I don't want to be an asshole about boundaries, and I don't know if whatever happened on the trip changed anything for the worse.
Even though every cell in my body is screaming at me to climb that fire escape right fucking now and make sure she's okay.
And check on Wraith. Because I'm worried about him too.
Thane nods, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "Yeah. She'd probably like that."
"Got it." I'm already moving toward the door that leads to the back of the house and the fire escape. "Thanks, man."
Plague follows without a word, which is typical Plague behavior. Silent as a fucking shadow until he decides to open his mouth and say something that makes you want to strangle him.
Or kiss him.
Fuck, I need to stop thinking about that.
The rain's coming down harder now, fat drops that soak through my shirt in about three seconds flat. The fire escape is slick as hell, and I have to grab the railing to keep from eating shit on the first step.
"Careful," Plague says from behind me, like I'm not already being careful.
"Thanks, Mom," I mutter, hauling myself up the ladder.
The metal rungs are freezing against my palms, and rain keeps getting in my eyes, making it hard to see where I'm going. By the time I reach the window to Wraith's loft, I'm soaked to the bone.
I tap on the glass. The curtain shifts, and then Ivy's face appears on the other side of the window. Those gorgeous eyes light up when she sees me and I can't help but grin back at her.
She's okay.
She's safe.
She's here.
She slides the window open. "Holy shit, it's really coming down, huh?" she asks, stepping back to give me space. Even through the window, I catch the scent of post-fucking alpha and omega pheromones.
Oh yeah. They were busy last night.
"Yep. Pouring cats and dogs out here," I reply, glancing warily at Wraith looming in the shadows behind Ivy, his blue eyes visible even in the darkness, like a wolf's eyes just beyond the light of a campfire.
Hope feral bro's just aura farming and not planning on kicking my fucking ass the moment I set foot in his territory.
"Ladies first?" I say to Plague, gesturing to the window with a flourish. My grin says, If Wraith Hulk-smashes you through the floor and into Valek's room, I'll back you up.
Plague looks at me like he's going to skin me alive and mutters something bitchy under his breath, but he slips in with his usual catlike grace, barely making a sound.
I haul my bulk through the window with a grunt and tumble forward into the loft like a sack of potatoes. My already aching shoulder slams into the floor hard enough to make my teeth rattle.
Worth it.
"Hi," Ivy says, grinning down at me where I'm sprawled on the floor like roadkill. "Nice entrance."
"Thanks," I grumble, pushing myself up. "Been practicing."
"I can tell." She laughs. It's the best fucking sound I've ever heard in my life.
I take a moment to really look at her while I'm pretending to brush water off my jeans.
She's wearing one of Wraith's sweatshirts that's way too big, hanging off one shoulder and going all the way down to her slightly scuffed-up knees like a dress.
Her hair's in a messy bun, and there are dark circles under her eyes, but she looks... happy.
The same way Thane looked downstairs.
"Good morning," Plague says to Ivy, stepping forward with that formal politeness he can't seem to shake even when he's soaking wet and dripping all over someone's floor. "How are you feeling?"
"Better now that you guys are back." Ivy moves closer, and I catch that honeysuckle scent that makes my hindbrain sit up and pay attention like a meerkat. "Valek didn't give you too much trouble, did he?"
I snort. "Define 'too much.'"
Her eyes widen. "Oh no. What happened?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle," Plague says smoothly, shooting me a warning look.
Which I ignore, because fuck that noise. "Knife psycho ran us off a mountain road and nearly killed us, but other than that, smooth sailing."
Ivy's mouth falls open. "He did what?"
"It wasn't that bad—" Plague starts.
"Dude, we rolled the car." I turn back to Ivy. "Like, full action movie shit. Upside down in a ditch. It was fucking epic."
"Epic isn't the word I'd use for that," she says with a dry laugh. "Are you guys okay?" She's looking between us now, frowning in genuine concern. "There's no way you guys can play next week if you were in a freaking car accident."
"We're fine," I reassure her, even though I kind of like being fussed over and my shoulder still hurts like a bitch. "Takes more than a car crash to put this Texas boy down."
"And you?" She turns to Plague. "You look sick."
Plague straightens immediately, offended. "I'm perfectly fine."
Ivy sighs and moves toward what looks like a mini kitchen area in the corner. Wraith follows her like a giant puppy. A giant puppy shadow. "Sit down, both of you. I'll make tea."
"You don't have to—" Plague starts, and I catch him feeling his own forehead with the back of his hand like he's checking for a fever. I grin at him and he cuts himself off, growling at me.
"I want to." She's already pulling out mugs, handing them to Wraith, who's more than happy to help. At least she was obviously in good hands while we were gone. "Besides, I need to hear this whole story about 'knife psycho' trying to murder you."
The couch creaks under my weight as I drop onto it, and Plague settles in beside me with that rigid posture he can't seem to shake even when he's exhausted.
Wraith takes up position near the kitchenette where Ivy's bustling around making tea, helping happily with whatever she lets him do, his massive frame blocking half the light from the single dim lamp.
The loft really is dark as fuck up here.
Makes sense for a guy who hates being seen, I guess.
"Okay," Ivy says, bringing over steaming mugs on a tray.
She hands one to me, one to Plague, keeps one for herself, and hands one to Wraith.
He sets it aside, clearly not about to drink in front of us, but his intense eyes soften at the gesture.
Ivy settles on the edge of the nest in the bed.
"Start from the beginning. How did you even find Valek? "
"Thanks," I say, taking a sip.
I'm not a tea drinker, especially not chamomile without milk and sugar, but the tea's not half bad.
Actually, scratch that.
It's fucking perfect, because Ivy made it, and I'd drink motor oil if she handed it to me with that adorable smile of hers.
"Okay, so we tracked Valek to the hospital first thing," I start, setting my mug on the coffee table so I can gesture properly.
"Fans had been posting his location all morning.
Thank fuck for thirsty hockey groupies, am I right?
Anyway, we're sitting in the parking lot like a couple of creeps, and—boom! There he is."
Ivy leans forward, eyes wide. "So he was going to the hospital?"
"Yep. With this baker dude who looked nothing like him. Caleb, his brother. Beta. Seemed nice, actually, which was surprising considering his brother's a literal psychopath."
"Alleged psychopath," Plague corrects from beside me.
"Nah, bro, we can drop the 'alleged' after what happened next." I grin at Ivy, warming to my tale. "So we're following them—super casual, totally not obvious—"
"We were extremely obvious," Plague mutters into his tea.
"—and Valek gets in this black sedan and starts driving," I continue, ignoring Plague. "We're keeping our distance, being all tactical about it, when suddenly he floors it. Like, zero to murder in about two seconds flat."
Ivy stares.
"Right? So we're chasing him through the city, running red lights, the whole Fast and Furious experience, and he leads us up into the mountains. The road gets narrow, super twisty, and this motherfucker is driving like he was born on a racetrack."
I pause for dramatic effect, taking another sip of tea.
"And then he stops. Just dead stops in the middle of the road, blocks the whole thing with his car. We're sliding to avoid hitting him, dirt flying everywhere, and before we can even process what's happening, he's getting out of his car with a fucking switchblade."
Wraith's threatening growl rumbles through the loft.
"Yeah, that was my reaction too, big guy," I tell him. "Anyway, knife psycho stabs the front tire. We go off the road, car flips, we're rolling down the mountainside like a godsdamn tumbleweed, Plague's screaming his head off—"
"I did not scream."
"Dude, you totally screamed."
"You screamed. That was you."