40. Forty
FORTY
J ax
Alicia and I race through the woods with the pack following close behind us. Ross takes up the back, making sure no one falls too far behind. I keep Alicia with me because she’s quick to pick up on any unknown scents that come within close proximity.
Hold up , Alicia snaps.
The pack slows at her sharp command that echoes through each of our minds. Mind-to-mind communication is something that only happens during a full moon. The only ones that have a closed end barrier are omegas. It puts Keeley at a disadvantage. She can hear, but she can’t talk.
I keep my eyes trained on Alicia as she sniffs the air. Her head tilts to the side, ears twitching at every minor sound. She looks over toward me, her amber eyes focusing on me in a way that has the fur on my back standing to attention.
An echoing scream comes from the distance. A scream that has my blood turning to ice in my veins. A scream that sends a jolt of crippling fear through my system.
Without a second thought, I sprint in the direction of the house. We’re roughly a mile out right now. Meaning I can get back in less than two minutes.
We’re with you, Jax, Quinton says.
Right behind you, man, Jace adds.
I know without a doubt they all have my back. Even Keeley will do everything in her power to help. But right now, Harley’s scream echoes in my mind, and all I can think is that I wasn’t there to protect her.
The house comes into view and the first thing I notice is the bedroom window open. How long has it been like that? My eyes scan the rest of the house, stopping on the patio door. The closer we come, the more evident it is that the glass was shattered.
We must have been miles away for Alicia not to pick up on it.
Jax, it’s hunters, Alicia says, catching up to me.
It’s her parents.
No. It’s not. They’d smell similar to Harley. It’s someone else, she tells me.
Glass crunches beneath the pads of my paws as I step up to the patio door. I sniff the air around the door, picking up a scent that’s familiar. I can’t place it though. Stepping over the threshold, I’m met with complete silence in the house.
I know without searching that she isn’t here. Her scent hangs in the air along with two others. Two male scents clinging to hers. My low growl rumbles through the empty house as I slowly make my way down the hall toward the stairs.
For the first time in my entire life, I move through my parents house in my wolf form. My mom would murder me for this if it were for any other reason. I keep my tail down with every step I take.
The front door was left wide open. The moon casts a soft glow over the door mat. Walking forward, I snarl at the jersey left folded perfectly just inside the door.
Leroy fucking Sanchez is a walking dead man.
I have her scent, Alicia says. We can track her.
Grabbing the jersey with my teeth, I throw it at her front paws. Take this scent, too.
She buries her snout into the jersey, snarling the second she realizes who it is. The rest of the pack crowds their way down the hall. We’re all too fucking big to be in this house as wolves.
Ross, I need you to stay here with Kee. When Keeley barks and growls her objection, I snap, I’m not arguing with you right now, Kee. Stay here with Ross. Justin, you can stay or you can come, but we can’t wait on you if you have to slow down.
I’ll stay back with Ross and Keeley, Justin tells me. You’ve gotta be fast. I know.
Dipping my head, I say, Alicia, Quin, Dec, I need you three especially. Jace you’re more than welcome to come. But I get it if you don’t want to go.
Jace paws at the floor without even realizing. Harley is one of us now. I’ll go.
Alicia, take the lead.
Without any hesitation, Alicia breaks into a sprint. The four of us are fast on her heels while the other three stay behind. Breaking up the pack on a full moon isn’t ideal, but neither is Harley being taken from me.
You realize this could be a trap, right? Quinton asks as we follow Alicia.
Trap or not, they have Harley, I bite out.
I know that. But we all need to go into this knowing that the outcome might not be great .
If you’re worried about it, turn around and go back to the mansion, Alicia hisses.
Quinton doesn’t say anything else after that. With each mile we run, his statement becomes more and more clear. We’re losing stamina and the moon is starting to slowly descend in the sky.
They took her to Bridgedom, Alicia says breathlessly.
They took her to her parent’s property, I state with finality.
Jax, Quin might be right. I think we’re walking into a trap. We need to make a plan, she says softly.
The plan is to kill first and ask questions later. Got it? I ask everyone.
Declan barks his agreement and Jace follows suit. Alicia just keeps running forward. She’s the one I can count on to make sure Harley makes it out of this situation alive.
I knew it, I admit softly, knowing that everyone in the pack can hear me. I knew something was going to happen .
You can’t blame yourself, Alicia says.
She told me nothing was going to happen, and I had this feeling that she was wrong.
You didn’t set this in motion, Jax , Jace replies.
But as we sprint the last several miles to her parent’s house, I can’t help but think that I did.