MADDOX

I’ve never seen Missy so mad. When she took off at a run, I felt something shift along our bond. She wasn’t just angry; she was hurting over this. I let her get a bit ahead of me then also started running. She was heading home.

I was still trying to process what I was just asked to do. The Alpha asked me specifically to take care of something so sensitive; if that wasn’t a sign of approval, I don’t know what was. I didn’t enjoy the interrogation of the two vampires, but I knew things wouldn’t always be pretty if I wanted to protect the people I love.

If I was being honest, I was nervous about the entire thing. I had no idea how exactly I would find Warwick and report back to Liam, but I knew it would be dangerous. At the same time, it felt like I needed to go.Belongs to - All rights reserved.

Tom was anxious. He was excited at the idea of chasing after the vermin responsible for keeping us from our mate before, but he also didn’t like how upset our mate was.

Missy wasn’t in the living room or kitchen when I stepped inside the house. I listened closely for a minute and heard shuffling upstairs. I waited until I could hear the bed creak under her weight before heading upstairs. The bedroom door was cracked; when I pushed it open, I saw Missy sitting on the bed, clutching a pillow to her face.

I stepped in quietly and shut the door behind me. I padded over to the bed and sat down in front of her. She didn’t move as I sat. I grabbed the pillow and pulled it away from her face gently. Her eyes were red-rimmed. “Hey,” I said softly.

“He can’t do this,” she said.

“Yes, he can. He is our Alpha,” I said.

“No, he’s Liam. He’s my dad, and you’re my mate. He can’t just do this. If I weren’t there, you would have instantly said yes!” she gushed.

“Would that be so bad? If I said yes?” I asked her. Her face took on a look of horror.

“You can’t go,” she whispered in disbelief.

“Is this because you are worried about Warwick?” I asked her.

“He just killed Azalea’s adopted father! Do you think he is going to blink about snapping you in two? Especially after you rescued me?”

I reached forward and took her face in my hands. “I know you are scared for me. I know this is scary but, Missy, I’m not afraid.” Her eyes started to water again as she shook her head. “Missy, all I want to do is make this world safe for you. We both know that as long as he is alive, you will be a target of Warwick’s only to make your dad suffer. How am I supposed to live with myself if I don’t do something in my power to stop him?”

I looked into her watery eyes. There was so much reluctance and fear in them. “You are right; if you weren’t there, I probably would have said yes without much hesitation. But that isn’t just because I don’t want to let your dad down. It’s also because I will do anything it takes to keep you and our pack safe. This is our home, and I want to live in it with you for a very long time. Warwick wants to take that away from me, and I just can’t accept that.”

Her l*p trembled as I spoke. She took a steadying breath before she replied. “Maddox, you can’t get hurt. We’re happy; we’re together…. I just… We…” She couldn’t find the words. Warm wetness hit my fingers.

“I will come back to you. I won’t let that vampire keep us apart again, darling.” Her eyes searched mine. I leaned in and kissed her lips softly before leaning my forehead against hers. “I need to do this.”

“If something happens to you, I will never forgive him,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to worry about that because it won’t. I will figure out where the bloodsucker is and what he is doing, and I will come right back here. I promise I won’t leave you,” I swore. She reached up, placing her hands on the back of my neck; she pulled me onto her lips and kissed me. I could feel her anxiety and apprehension. I kissed her back, trying to show her that everything would work out.

DAMIEN

It felt like I was just floating in nothing. I could barely feel my body. Nothing hurt, but I wasn’t in control of anything.

I tried to hold onto what I knew.

Liam and I fought Warwick.

Warwick was ready for us.

We subdued him enough that Liam had an opening to go after Azalea, and I could finish off Warwick.

Cage and I felt feral fighting Warwick after all the pain inflicted on my best friend and his family, my pack, and even my pups.

Warwick was bleeding. It was dark red; he was hurt.

He was gone. Where did he go?

Lots of pain.

What happened? Where was I, and why couldn’t I move? I didn’t want to be here anymore. I needed to get out, find Liam, go home to Lily.

Goddess, I wanted Lily. I wanted to hold her, breathe her in.

There was pressure pushing in around me. It was cold and heavy, pushing against me from every direction. I could feel it squeezing my body like it would make me burst. It was like ice.

Why was it so cold? Where was the warmth? Where was the light?

Then the pressure went away. I could breathe easier, and the piercing cold went away. And it was all back to nothingness. How did I get out of here? How did I even get here? Was I unconscious? Where was Cage? Why couldn’t I feel my wolf?

The pressure would come again for a short time, getting stronger. Then it would disperse and leave me in nothingness. It felt like there was something just out of sight, just out of reach. The pressure would come again, and I couldn’t help but feel like that something was causing it.

I didn’t like this at all. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t see. How could I fight something I couldn’t see? Where was my damn wolf? Why won’t this pressure stop coming and going? What was causing it? How did I make it stop?

I tried to clench my fist, but I couldn’t tell if my body was moving or not. I needed to get out of here. I needed to make sure Warwick was dead and that Liam got to Azalea and Missy. We had to save our Luna and Missy. I wouldn’t survive if Lily and Delilah were taken; Liam needed our help.

The pressure came back, stronger than ever. I couldn’t take much more of this. I felt like I would burst. But something was different. There was a faint glow just out of reach. A pink light, soft and small, but right there.

I felt drawn to the light, but the pressure kept me still. It painfully bore down on me, squeezing the air from my lungs. Its icy grip licked my skin. I wanted to reach out to the light. How did I get to it?

AZALEA

I felt particularly tired leaving the clinic. Every day seemed to be the same thing, with Lily looking just a bit less hopeful as I started and a bit more crushed as I stopped. I was so close; I could feel him right there. I was beginning to worry that I wasn’t strong enough to break this barrier between us.

There was a gentle breeze floating through the trees, cooling the arid day into a calm night. Langston had been by again today to talk with Liam. They needed to find out exactly where Warwick was before the packs were ready to move. What was an offensive force without a solid target?

I contemplated going back to my office to work for a bit longer tonight. School was set to start tomorrow, and I had stacks of waivers waiting to be gone through for all the 16- and 17-year-olds wishing to fight against Warwick. I worried about all these young kids wanting to risk their lives like that, but Azeron reminded me that it was not uncommon for our kind. Werewolves were proud and territorial. They stuck together and defended each other; they did not tolerate threats from outside themselves.

I wondered what Liam was up to. He never came down to dinner earlier. It took me so long after dinner to find someone to watch the boys so I could go to the clinic that I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. Missy and Maddox offered to watch a movie with them after dinner, but they never came to the packhouse. I texted Missy to check on her but never got a response. I would have to have the patrol check on her soon.

When I stepped into the packhouse, Langston was heading out. “Good evening, Azalea. How is Damien?” he asked.

“I wish I could say something had changed,” I sighed.

Langston patted my shoulder. “I have faith the Moon Goddess will bring him back,” he reassured with a smile. “I am going to head home. Emma is already going to wring my neck for being late.”

“Give her my love,” I said. He nodded and left the packhouse. I wandered to the kitchen to get something to drink before I looked for my mate. He was standing in the kitchen in front of the open fridge, to my surprise.

He looked up at me as I walked in, smiling gently. “There you are,” he said.

“Like you can’t find me,” I said, looking over my shoulder at Azeron. Liam chuckled.

“I got her. Thank you, Azeron. Have a good night,” Liam said.

“Thank you, Alpha, Luna,” Azeron said, nodding as he backed out of the kitchen. I walked over to my mate and wrapped my arm around his middle, looking at the open refrigerator.

“Are you hungry, My Alpha?” I asked.

Liam sighed. I could feel his guilt. “I don’t know,” he said.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. He looked at me guiltily; I raised an eyebrow.

“Missy is not very happy with me right now. I asked Maddox to search for Warwick,” he informed me.

“Oh no, Liam, you didn’t….” I gasped, stunned. He looked at me with guilt in his eyes.

“I wanted to speak to him alone about it; I intended to let him make the decision with her if he felt he needed to, but then she insisted on being in the room and even threw my rules right back at me-”

“Stop,” I said, cutting him off raising my hand. I let out a sharp breath. “Of course, she was going to be upset no matter how the delivery occurred. You want to send her mate after her kidnapper after we barely escaped. She was already upset about the vampire interrogation.”

“What?” he asked incredulously.

“Liam, that was hard on both of them. Open your eyes, Alpha. These kids weren’t raised for war. Missy was loved and nurtured as best we could. Yes, she had to face some things with her parents’ deaths, but then we were here to make everything as easy for her as possible. From what I know about Maddox, he was raised with a happy, loving family as well. He never wanted to fight anything until that was taken from him. Their entire lives have changed in such a short time. She is scared, Liam. She can control only one thing right now, and that is being with her mate. You just took that control away from her.”

“I had to send someone I trust, Little Luna. I can’t send Felix away with his mate so far along in pregnancy. I need Austin and Jacob to help me with things, and Sean is helping with all the training. With Damien unconscious, I am running out of people I can trust implicitly.”

I patted his chest. “I understand. And I don’t doubt that Maddox will find Warwick and all the information you need if he does go. But you have to understand why she is mad, and you should probably apologize to your little girl.”

I turned on my heel and headed out of the kitchen. “Make yourself a sandwich, My Alpha. You aren’t too bright on an empty stomach.”