Azalea

I rubbed my aching lower back as I paced the room slowly. This was the third night that we have been here, and my concern was starting to fester. I didn’t know Missy had also been taken until she was yelling at someone during that first morning. When I heard the muffled voices, I realized they were coming from the small vent opening in the wall, and our rooms must share this opening. I moved close enough to hear them more clearly. I couldn’t be 100% sure, but based on the voice, I guessed she was talking to Vlad.

After he left, I could hear her crying. I finally got her attention and was relieved to know she wasn’t hurt in any way. Neither of us went to sleep again. I did my best to tell her Liam was coming for us, but the longer we were here, the more scared she got.

Twice each day, our doors opened, and a tray with food and water was set inside before the door closed again. I am in no position to attack our captors, and Missy could never handle them all on her own. She tried to convince me that we could get out of here yesterday when she noticed there was only one person delivering the food, but I managed to talk her down. It was safest for us to wait for Liam and everyone else to get here.

Missy had been quiet for a while now, and I hoped she was sleeping. I slowly paced the small room, trying to keep everything together. I needed to stay strong for both of us. My body felt cold and weak; I idly wondered if I had developed a fever. My baby continued to move in my stomach, but there was far less activity than before. I tried not to worry, reassuring myself that Liam would find us before it was too late.

I lowered myself down against the wall carefully, pulling the dirty blanket over top of me again. My heart ached for my children and my mate. Leo and Junior were probably scared because their sister and I had been taken. They were safe with their grandparents, but that didn’t mean they weren’t scared or confused. Missy was doing her best, but I knew she was scared while also feeling betrayed. Vlad lied to her even if he was trying to keep her safe. And Liam. He was probably going out of his mind worried and angry. His mate, his daughter, and his unborn pup were taken from him. It all happened so fast; it was a well-calculated attack even if we were on the losing end. Warwick knew exactly how to get to him.

My body shivered as I tried to let myself relax a bit. If I did have a fever, I would try not to worry until tomorrow. I caressed the sides of my belly, imagining Liam’s soft touch. We could hold on. We could wait for him to come.

We would make it out of here.

Liam

Gavin had gone feral. His thoughts were no longer coherent, and they were all focused on Warwick, Azalea, and Missy. His never-ending rageful rants were making it difficult to concentrate. I can’t keep down food or fall asleep. I needed just a slight reprieve to focus and start connecting the clues we had.

I stared blankly down at the maps strewn across the conference room table. I was only vaguely listening to Damien and Langston talking around me.

“During the previous war, this is the area where Warwick directed his clan from. It took a long time to get someone in there,” Langston said.

“No pack currently holds claim to this part,” Damien pointed out.

“Yes,” Langston agreed. “No pack wanted to touch the lands after the war, having been under the vampire control for so long.”

“And in this area, we are seeing a surge in disappearances,” Damien commented.

“Not to mention the unexplained deaths and injuries. The hospital here has reported an increase in emergency patients coming in with inadequate b***d supplies accompanying flesh wounds that resemble bite marks,” Langston said. They were both hovering over a map at the other end of the conference table.

“If he has really been creating himself an army, then chances are he is back to his former bastion,” Damien said.

“We need to make some decisions about how we are going to approach this. I have put some calls into the other packs surrounding us, but we will need Liam to be a part of the conversation. It is his mate they have taken and his pack that is being targeted,” Langston said. I could feel their attention moving towards me.

Damien’s voice lowered, “I can’t get him to do much. This isn’t the first time she has been taken but the first she has been taken while pregnant.”

“I know that his bond is in turmoil, but he is an Alpha. He has a responsibility to lead his pack against this threat. We can’t get his mate back without his leadership.”

“Langston, it isn’t just his mate. His daughter and unborn pup are hanging in the balance. You haven’t seen how protective and attentive he has been during this pregnancy. We are lucky he hasn’t completely snapped yet.”

“Then maybe it’s time you talk to him about handing over the Alpha title temporarily,” Langston said. “We cannot go to war with a leader who cannot function.”

“I am not going to force him to give up his title,” Damien whisper yelled. “This pack respects him and follows him! Who else could possibly replace him?”

“You,” Langston said. “This pack holds just as much respect for you as their Beta as they do he as Alpha. Your father was a good man, but the pack did not have the same level of respect for Robert and Declan’s leadership. I am not talking about anything permanent. Convince him to give you the title until we get his mate back and his focus is not so obstructed.”

“Fine,” I said. They both looked at me as I raised my eyes to them. They clearly didn’t think I was listening to them. “I will give you the Alpha title on one condition.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Finally, Damien asked, “What is the condition?”

“Warwick is mine. However I see fit. You find him and point me in a direction; then you let me take care of him,” I demanded. His death was going to be slow and painful, and that was putting it nicely.

“Liam, are you sure about this?” Damien asked, hesitance ripe in his voice.

I nodded slowly. “I don’t care. I want Warwick. I want my family back and to punish the leech responsible for their pain.” Damien nodded before locking eyes with Langston.

“We can simply make Damien acting Alpha until you are prepared to resume your duties,” Langston said.

“Yes, do that,” I said, looking back down. I didn’t care about being Alpha and fighting a war. I wanted to rip Warwick to shreds over and over until he started to feel a fraction of the pain he has caused.

“We should make this official,” Langston said.Content rights belong to .

“How?” Damien asked.

“Bring in witnesses. The Gamma and Deltas. Azeron in Felix’s stead. Your mate,” Langston explained. “The wolves integral to the pack leadership so that everyone is collectively on the same page.”

“Do it now,” I ordered. I didn’t bother to look up, but I knew Damien wasn’t excited about this. He and Langston left the room, evidenced by the closing of the door.

“Why are you giving up our right?” Gavin growled, coherent for the first time since yesterday.

“I am not. I am handing over my responsibilities so I can focus on finding our mate,” I argued.

“And if your Beta does not give your title back?”

“This is not a formal ceremony. I am not losing my position as Alpha. He will act in my place. He can make the calls and deal with our pack matters while we find Azalea and Missy.”

“The connection is weak,” he growled.

“I know that. All we have are guesses right now.”

“Then find something solid!”

“Maybe if you would let me think for five minutes!” Gavin growled in response. We haven’t been at such odds since before Azalea. “I need to know what involvement Greyback had in the first war. My father was so insistent on getting me to speak to him.”

“He is not on the missing list?” Gavin asked, actually being helpful. I walked around the side of the table and pulled the list towards me. Around 50 of my pack members were missing after the attack. I scanned the list, reading the names this time. It had been pushed in front of me multiple times over the last two days, but I hadn’t retained anything from it.

“No, he is not. But I am not sure he was checked on. The patrols around the Inn have had their hands full enough,” I commented. My eyes continued to scan over the names on the list until one struck me.

“Why is his name on this list?” Gavin asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t recall seeing Abraham since that day either,” I said, my brows furrowed. Although I was still yearning for my mate, it finally felt like Gavin was ready to focus our effort.

“That boy wasn’t good for our pup. But she went to that cabin to meet him,” Gavin said.

Missy’s cellphone lay among the papers and maps in the conference room. It gradually became our war room over the last few days. I snatched the phone up and opened her messages. Damien had found the phone tossed aside while the area around the cabin was searched. It was the only clue left behind.

“Yes. He asked her to meet him at the cabin, but when we got there, neither of their scents were present.”

“Then if he is missing and she is missing, he has to have something to do with the attackers,” Gavin reasoned distastefully.

“While I do not like the kid, it is possible they knew he was close to her and used him to get to her.”

“Or he is working with them.”

“We won’t know until we find him.”

“If the vamps took him, then we may not find him until we find all of them.”

“But I have someone who will do anything to get my daughter back, just like I would.”

–

“You asked to see me, Alpha?” Maddox asked from the doorway. I motioned for him to come inside.

“Did you know that Vlad is missing?” I asked him. His face grew even darker; he looked a bit pale and weary. He found his mate and hasn’t been able to connect with her. I could commiserate. But where I was born of Alpha b***d and had some resiliency, Maddox did not.

“No, I didn’t, sir. I have wanted to seek him out, but Azeron and Sean have kept me busy,” he explained. I nodded. I was sure they were doing it to keep him from running off to find her like they were trying to do with me.

“I want you to look for him. It is possible the vampires took him, but I want every inch of the pack land scoured before we come to that conclusion.”

He paused for a second, mulling over what I asked of him. “Alpha, I will do anything to get my mate back, including this, but I have to ask, why are you only seeking out Vlad? Isn’t there a large number of missing pack members?”

“Because he and his father are the only ones that I have reliable knowledge of a connection to vampires,” I told him.

“What do you mean?”

“Vlad was bitten by a vampire before coming to our pack. His father was a special investigator previously that lost his mate working on a vampire-related case.” Maddox sucked in a sharp breath. I could see his mind beginning to connect some dots.

“Is Vlad a vampire?” he asked.

“No. My speculation is that Vlad has lost connection to his wolf, but he is not a vampire,” I told him. Maddox nodded. “If you can find him, we may have a stronger lead on Warwick’s plans and where he is keeping Missy and Azalea.”

“I’ll do my best, sir.”

“Report to me tomorrow night with what you have found so far,” I said, dismissing him. Gavin grunted in my head. “And make sure you eat something. Missy won’t be happy if you aren’t yourself when we find them.”

“Respectfully, you too, sir,” he said before turning on his heel and striding from the room.

Lacey

“I guess you can’t tell me where you are,” I said.

“No,” he replied.

“I miss you,” I told him.

“I miss you, too,” he replied. “What’s wrong?” So direct.

“How do you know something is wrong?” I asked him, deflecting. I waited for him to answer, but he said nothing. I sighed. “Do you remember talking about pups?” I could hear his breath hitch.

“Are you?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t taken the test.”

“Take it.”

“Right now?”

“Mmhmm,” he hummed.

“Okay. I wasn’t sure if I should wait for you or not….” He was silent on the other end of the phone. I got off the bed where I was laying in one of his t-shirts. I stepped into the bathroom, where the test box was still sitting on the counter. “Hold on; I am going to put you on hold for a second while I… you know….” I could hear him hum in agreement. I set the phone down, muting the sound on my end.

After completing the test, I placed the cap back on the stick and laid it on the countertop before grabbing the phone again. “Okay, now we wait 3 minutes,” I told Felix.

We both waited silently. A nervous shiver ran through me. Finally, the tiny screen began to change. My breath hitched as I read the result. “Felix, we’re going to be parents.”