Chapter 29

29

REMY

T he phone slipped from my fingers after I had hung up, clattering back into the cupholder. I wasn’t sure if I was pissed off or shocked as hell, but either way, the volatile cocktail of emotions simmered in my blood made me want to shift and run until my muscles gave out.

“Remy.” Katy gasped my name, her pale face wet with tears that ran unchecked down her cheeks. She blindly reached for me, her fingers curling into the cotton of my shirt.

“Breathe, Katy,” I said softly, turning in my seat and giving her my full attention. She was seconds away from a full blown panic attack. I could see her pulse fluttering in her throat. “Look at me. Katy!”

She jerked when I snapped her name, the wolf in her recognizing me as her Alpha. Her dark eyes, full of confusion and heartache, pierced mine.

“Breathe with me, Katy,” I went on, softening my tone. “You’re having a panic attack.”

It took us several minutes for Katy to get her breathing under control.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, her broken voice trembling as hard as she was. “I just... Maren...”

“I know,” I said, reaching over and pulling her into a hug. “I know.”

I smoothed a hand over her hair as she shuddered.

“Remy, we have to... we can’t...”

I pulled her away from me so I could see her eyes.

The raw, conflicted expression haunting her eyes was killing me.

“Katy.”

“You can’t do it,” she forced out between chattering teeth and thin lips.

I frowned. “What?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, twin tears slipping through before she opened her eyes once more. “I love Maren. Maren is my life.”

My heart twisted and writhed, a broken organ in my chest as all the air was punched from my lungs.

“But Maren would never want you to trade her for the pack,” Katy finished, burying her face in her hands. “I get it, okay? I get it. I was too reckless before, and I see that. We have to be smarter than him. We can’t give him the pack.”

“I’m not giving him shit, Katy,” I told her. “Except maybe a casket, and even then, I’m okay with just burying his body for the worms to feed on.”

She hiccuped a breath.

“But now we know where Maren is,” I added, fire igniting and burning in my chest. “He has her, probably in New York. That means when I beat him, we can go get her. We’re not leaving her. Maren’s one of us.”

She sucked in a deep breath and nodded, squaring her shoulders as she lifted her chin a notch.

It took everything in me to hide a smile as she pulled herself together.

Katy-fire, was what Mom had called it when we were kids. That look Katy would get when she was about to dig her heels in and push the boundaries of what being stubborn meant.

It became a running joke in the family that Katy-fire was about to come out.

Katy wasn’t the girl who recklessly ran into the woods and almost got herself kidnapped at gunpoint. She wasn’t my little sister who needed to be protected.

She was my friend, my ally.

This was the woman I picked to be part of my council.

“What now?” she asked, tossing her red hair over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in defiance of anything that would stand in our way.

“Now you and Ryder figure out how fast we can move people into these houses. I’m going home to tell Dante and Rhodes what’s going on. We need to alert the other packs that are with us that Norwood is gunning for them. Now we get ready for war.”

B y the time I finished my last phone call, the sun had set and night was creeping into the world. I glanced at the clock and winced.

I never made it back to the hospital, but I had talked to Mom and Dad a few times. I filled them in on Damien’s call, listened to Dad curse like a sailor on crack until Mom finally calmed him down. His first surgery was scheduled for two days from now. The doctor hoped that would give his arm enough time to heal along with the rest of his bruises and the concussion.

Rhodes stepped into the room, looking as exhausted as I felt. He dropped into one of the two chairs in front of the desk with a groan.

“I fucking hate people,” he muttered.

“That good, huh?” I tried not to smirk.

“Lowman is planning to ride this out. They think that since they’re so isolated in their tiny little Canadian territory that Norwood won’t care about them.”

I sighed. “They’re north of Windale, right?”

He nodded.

“I’ll ask Dante to call Griff. Worst case scenario maybe he can offer them a place if they can get out in time.”

“Speaking of Griff,” Dante said, walking in and sitting next to Rhodes. “He’s officially in. He can’t come out here in person since they’re surrounded by Norwood on all sides, but he’s announcing to his pack tonight that they’re formally joining Blackwater.”

“Thank fuck,” Rhodes mumbled, rubbing his temples.

“Is Michael still here?” Dante asked.

I shook my head. “Zoe was taking the evening shift at the cafe and Michael went to stay with her. He’s worried she’s doing too much since she’s so far along.”

Now that Zoe was in the last weeks of her pregnancy, Michael was becoming more and more protective of his mate, which I understood completely.

I had already made peace with the neanderthal in me that would have Skye wrapped in bubble wrap and doing nothing but relaxing when she had our kid. I would hire a dozen people to wait on her hand on foot for whenever I wasn’t there to pamper her myself.

And she would probably kick my ass for it.

“I talked to Tate earlier,” Dante added. His mouth flattened. “She’s thinking it would be best to cremate Luke. When all this is over, we’ll take him back to Brooks Ridge and spread his ashes. But we could still have a memorial service, if there’s time.”

“We’ll make time,” I said firmly. “Luke was our friend. More than our friend.”

Dante’s eyes dropped, and I knew he was struggling to reign in his feelings.

“We all need this,” I finished quietly.

Rhodes nodded, clapping a hand on Dante’s shoulder. “He’s right, man. And we’ll do whatever Tate wants. We’ve got her back.”

“I’m just waiting for her to get back,” Dante admitted. “Everything feels wrong without her here.”

“I know,” I murmured, rubbing my jaw.

He winced. “Shit. I’m sorry, bro.”

I waved it off, even though the reminder that Skye wasn’t here was like an unexpected gut punch. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you and Ryder have each other.”

“I’m just glad you and Ryder figured your shit out last year,” Rodes cracked with a grin.

Dante flipped him off, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Seriously,” Rhodes added. “If I had to watch you two dance around each other any longer, I would’ve helped Tate lock you in that damn room.”

I snorted.

“What the hell does that mean?” Dante demanded, eyebrows raised.

“He means Tate was about to lock you two into a room until you sorted out your shit,” I told him, laughing.

His eyes widened. “No way.”

Rhodes nodded gleefully. “Oh, hell yes. She actually recruited us to help. She had the lock to your bedroom door changed so it locked from the outside. She had a whole plan on how to get you two into the room and leave you there until you sorted it out.”

“But you two managed to do it yourself,” I added.

Dante sighed and shook his head. “It was me, you know? Not Ryder. Ryd’s been my best friend since we were kids. I didn’t want to fuck that up when things started to change, and I let expectations for being an Alpha get in my head.”

“I still don’t know how you can share your girl,” Rhodes admitted. “If Remy touched Lark, I’d rip his arms off.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Same, fucker.”

“I think it only works because I love Ryd as much as I love Tate,” Dante confessed. “Even when neither one of us wanted to admit it. “

“You know, everything’s different now,” I told him. “Once we stop Norwood, it’s a new world. You can go back to Brooks Ridge with Tate and Ryder. No one will judge you.”

He shook his head. “No. I mean, I appreciate it, but Brooks Ridge joining Blackwater was the best decision for the pack. We’ve been struggling for years. And honestly? Not having the responsibility is kind of a relief. I don’t know what will happen once Tate’s back and this is all over, but I like the idea of being able to make whatever life I want with the people I love. Zero expectations.”

I got that. Hell, I totally got that.

Barely a week into being Alpha and I already felt like I was drowning.

But part of me knew I wouldn’t have it any other way. I would never walk away from my pack and my family.

“You’ll always have a place here,” I said firmly, meeting his eyes.

“I appreciate that,” Dante said. He glanced down at his phone. “Ryd’s back. I’m going to go see him, unless you need me?”

I shook my head. “No. We’re done for tonight. I’ll call Griffin myself to work out the logistics.”

Rhodes stood up with Dante. “Yeah, I’ll see if Larkin needs help with dinner.”

I frowned. “We can order out or something. I don’t want Larkin to feel like she’s our personal chef.”

Rhodes shrugged. “You know Lark. She wants to help any way that she can. Besides, she likes cooking.”

“Still,” I said, “she has a fuck of a lot more value to us that just cooking. She needs to know that.”

Rhodes grinned and winked at me. “Oh, trust me. I remind her of her value every night. And morning. Several times a day, actually.”

I groaned. Larkin was like my sister and Rhodes was my brother. I didn’t need that image.

“Whatever,” I muttered.

“You coming?” he asked me, pausing in the doorway.

“I’m going to call Skye first. She should be waking up now,” I answered, my phone already out. I was becoming addicted to my phone in a way I never imagined.

But soon I would have her back and then I planned to hide my phone for a few days while I reacquainted myself with every part of my mate.

I was suddenly glad I was sitting behind the desk. Rhodes definitely didn’t need to see the semi currently pressing against my jeans.

“Cool. Tell Skye we miss her,” he said, tapping the wall as he and Dante left me alone and headed for the main floor level.

Gritting my teeth, I readjusted myself in the chair before calling her.

I almost had my body under control when she answered the video call, her face filling the screen.

“Hey,” she greeted warmly, her emerald eyes sparkling. “Hang on a sec, okay? I just got out of the shower.” She set the phone on a countertop for a second before picking it back up with a towel wrapped around her chest.

A fucking towel.

I stifled another groan. That imagery definitely wasn’t helping my situation.

“Are you okay?” Concern filled her voice as she looked at me.

“Do you have to be so damn gorgeous?” I asked before I could censor myself, the words rolling out of my mouth with a growl.

Her eyes flared wide, her cheeks pinking as she bit her lip.

“Sorry,” she apologized sweetly, shrugging. “I was going to call you when I was done getting ready. Nikolai wanted to show me around before we leave, so we’re meeting earlier than usual.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re just way too fucking tempting for my self conrol.”

“Oh, really?” She grinned at me. “I’ll be home soon.”

“I’m counting the hours, babe,” I assured her.

“How are things there? Everyone doing okay?”

“Dad woke up. He’s going to be okay,” I informed her.

Happy tears immediately filled her eyes, the phone wobbling as her hand shook. She released a hard breath. “Thank God. Does that mean he’s taking over the pack?”

I swallowed and shook my head. “No. He won’t be at full strength for a few more weeks. Maybe months.”

“Okay,” she said, taking the news in stride. “It’s fine, Rem. You’ve got this.”

“You know when you say it, I actually believe it,” I confessed softly. “God, I fucking miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” she whispered sadly. “But I’m getting on a plane in a few hours to come home to you.”

Sighing, I nodded.

“Anything else I need to know?” she asked gently. “You know I’m here. You can unload on me if you need to.”

“I know,” I replied. “Damien called me earlier. Tried to get me to join his pack peacefully.”

“What the hell?” she exploded. “He’s out of his damn mind.”

“Yeah. Well, he even tried making a deal. Said he would let me keep you and give Maren back to Katy.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “He has Maren.”

I nodded. “He all but openly admitted he kidnapped the girls from school a few months ago.”

“That asshole ,” she hissed, seething.

“Exactly.”

“I hope you told him where he could shove his offer,” she said coldly.

I smiled at her. I loved her spirit and her fight.

“Pretty much,” I admitted. “But now we know where Maren and the other girls are. When we stop Damien, we’ll get them back.”

“Damn right we will,” Skye said firmly, eyes blazing. “I can’t wait to watch him lose everything.”

I grinned. “Me, too, babe. Me, too.”