Chapter 99


    “You can’t, not yet.” Kade hissed, wrapping his arm around my waist to fasten me against his torso.


    This was the first I had felt from him since he was taken, and now the bond between us was pulling me


    forward.


    I only stopped squirming when I noticed Tori’s red face, and how she was currently backed up against


    Zayne Novak. The two of them were ttened against the house. I didn’t miss how his arm was


    wrapped around his waist, his fingers just an inch above her shirt line. His other hand still rested over


    her mouth, an attempt to silence her when the guard hade out to investigate. Her heart sounded


    like a distant helicopter, mirroring the sound of Zayne’s.


    “Are you alright?” I asked her, when both Kade and Zayne finally let us go.


    “I’m fine.” She huffed under her breath, which was a good enough answer for me at the moment.


    “Guys, I got the window open.” Ava’s sudden outburst made me jump, and instinctively ce a hand


    against my chest. Ava sauntered up to the four of us, seemingly clueless to what had just happened. “I


    got it open while you guys were–busy.”


    Zayne went through the window first, before helping Tori and I through. Ava was next, and then Kade.


    I was surprised that Zayne could actually get his hands d***y, but that in no way changed my opinion


    about the man. His styled hair and tailored suits made him seem neat and untouchable. This was the


    side of Zayne that little got to see, I suspected. The side that got his hands d***y–the side that had


    helped to free countless white wolves. Zayne Novak wasn’t ck or white, but various shades of grey.


    He helped the white wolves in his father’s clutches, the ones that would go unnoticed. He even helped


    Naveah and Isaac escape with their child, something Marcus was bound to notice. Yet, even with those


    good deeds, he remains at his father’s side. I’ll always be a bit biased though, considering he rejected


    my best-friend.


    The bathroom we currently stood in was small. It fit the five of us, but just barely. The tile on the floor


    was cracked, and the toilet stained from years of dust and grime.


    “There’s three in the living room.” Zayne murmured to us, wedging the door open just a millimeter.


    “You’ll have one chance before they rush you, Ava.”


    “I got this.” Ava nodded confidently, plucking the headphone from her ear to wrap the chord around her


    neck.


    Just as Ava maneuvered through the small bathroom to the door, Zayne leaned in close. It was


    impossible not to hear what he was telling her, though I knew the words weren’t meant for our ears.


    “Do not s***w up and leave me to tell your parents they lost another kid.” He said, his voice hard but not


    cruel.


    Ava gave him a long look before nodding. She then gripped the doorknob in her hand, her knuckles


    white around the tarnished metal. She inched the bathroom door open and slid outside. Melted into the


    hard nes of Kade’s torso, I peered through the slim crack in the door.


    The three men in the living room were sitting at a cheap foldout table. A deck of cards was scattered


    amongst numerous bottles of beer. There were a few stic tes with half-eaten pizza on them, all of


    which looked at least a day old. A small television in the corner of the room yed an old football rerun.


    All three of the men had thatrge build of most werewolves, even if they weren’t overtly muscr.


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    Ava stood just at the beginning of the hall, only feet away from where the men sat. The speaker


    chatting away on the tv was the only thing covering the sound of her beating heart.


    I could tell the moment the men registered her scent, and knew that someone had broken into the


    house. One by one, they all stiffened. They were trying to feign nonchnce, so Ava could continue


    believing she hadn’t yet been caught.


    Ava anticipated that, and flung her arms out at her sides.


    One of the men was just about to stand from his chair, but froze mid-way. Three thuds sounded as the


    two slumped from their chairs, and the third tumbled to the floor.


    “Did she k**l them?” I asked, wide-eyed.


    Even this far in the world of werewolves, violence still surprised me. I tried not to think of what I had


    done to Desmond, and instead forced myself to think about Alec.


    “No, she didn’t k**l them.” Zayne said tly, opening the door even though he hadn’t seen Ava


    I could see the challenge in Kade’s eyes, and knew that soon Kade wouldn’t hold back from getting his


    hands on Zayne. Zayne seemed to sense the same thing, but refused to back down. I’ve been


    beginning to call it an Alpha’s arrogance, but it seemed to be the one universal trait they all had in


    common.


    Zayne’s seafoam eyes darkened to that of stormy skies, where Kade’s hardened to onyx. Tori seemed


    to sense the same thing as I, even without the ability to feel emotions.


    “You two can finish thister, because right now is probably the worst moment for this conversation.” I


    snapped at the two of them, not bothering to tell either one to let it go. They were both too stubborn to


    drop their absolute hatred of one another. I turned and locked eyes with a seething Kade, which would


    have been terrifying if I knew he wouldn’t ever harm me. “We need to find your brother, and no matter


    how satisfying this fight would be, it’s not going to help us get Alec back.”


    Kade’s anger wasn’t easily extinguished. That fire simply retreated, still burning within the depths of


    him. For now, though, his focus was redirected.


    “Let’s go.” Kade grunted, cing a gentle hand at my back as we left Tori and Zayne, continuing down


    the hall.


    Kade shadowed Ava and I as we continued onward, still protecting her as Zayne would. We could hear


    the dull murmur of voices further down the hall and in one of the rooms. At one point, we had crouch


    low to avoid a gaping hole in the wall. Through there, I could make out at least four more men.


    We stopped just as the hallway ended in a right turn. At the end of that hallway was a door, with four


    men sitting around it. Another fold out stic table had been set up, with beer cans and fast-food


    wrappers scattered on top. These men were like the others, their guardpletely down.


    I could understand why they would believe we’d never find this ce. It technically existed under the


    name of Desmond Deville, who was rotting wherever Jaspar Fox had put him. The thought still churned


    my stomach, a side effect I wasn’t sure would ever fade. If it weren’t for Zayne’s information, would we


    ever have found this ce? Could Garrett, Julian, or the twin’s resources have discovered this?


    “Four?” Ava muttered under her breath, “Man, he needs to take me out for practice more. I’m never


    going to get stronger if I can’t flex my abilities a little.”


    She stepped out from behind the corner at the veryst moment, her arms stretched out at her sides.


    The men never even had time to nce her way before their eyes rolled and their bodies slumped to


    the floor.


    Ava swayed for a moment, but caught herself against the wall. She frowned and waved Kade away as


    he came over to help.


    “I’ll be fine. Just haven’t used my abilities on that many people before.” She huffed, straightening


    herself and smoothing out her skirt. “I’m going to knock thatst guy out, then fetch Zayne and Tori.”


    Ava stalked off down the hall, and I turned my attention on the door that sat ahead.


    My heart was thundering now, not from the adrenaline, but from the dull scent that still lingered in the


    hallway. I took deep breaths of it, my chest aching as I remembered the night he had been taken. I


    could feel the tether connecting the three of us, and right now it was guiding me forward. To the door at


    the end of the hall, where Alec’s scent was strongest.


    I would have stumbled forward if it weren’t for Kade’s reassuring arm around my waist, guiding me


    forward and over the unconscious guards.


    ‘Can you feel him?’ Kade asked, his voice unusually low.


    ‘I can.’ I nodded, without a single trace of doubt in my voice. ‘He might be unconscious, but he’s alive.’


    ‘I can feel him too.’ Kade admitted, just a glimmer of hope in his eyes.


    As Kade gripped the doorknob with steady fingers, I sucked in a harsh breath. The hinges creaked and


    groaned, rusted from being unused. The bedroom was clearly meant to be the master, and was free of


    all furniture apart from a bed.


    On that bed, with an IV in his arm, was Alec.


    Rage burned within me at the sight of him. He had clearly lost weight, and was being fed through some


    kind of tube. There were dark circles under his eyes, his hair messy and greasy, but he was alive. I


    could hear the strong thud of his heart, and knew it would y in my ears for a long time toe.


    I stood there for a few seconds, tracing my eyes over every inch of him. My finger’s twitched when I


    found the spot where his dimple was, a few inches from the corner of his lips. For once, I couldn’t focus


    on the emotions of the people around me. All I could feel was my endless guilt, smothering me like a


    thick quilt.


    We would get him out of here, and he would never look like this again. I reminded myself of this over


    and over again, until the pain lessened enough for me to breathe.


    “I can get these tubes out of him.” I could hear Tori’s voice from far away, drifting closer with each beat


    of Alec’s heart. Her nervous chuckle was close by, “Dad taught me something useful after all.”


    ‘Breathe, sweetheart.’ Kade’s thoughts trickled in with my own, pulling me from the abyss I had nearly


    fallen into. ‘I know what you’re thinking, and none of this is your fault. You couldn’t hide yourself from


    the world–it wouldn’t havested, and it wasn’t what was best for you. Eventually, Marcus would have


    found out about you. We were created for each other, because one mate isn’t enough to protect you.


    What Alec just went through–we would both endure it if it kept you safe.’