Chapter 43

43

SKYE

N ot much had changed in the six months since I had run away from Long Mesa. The land was still barren, the air was still stifling, and the sun was still blazing high in the sky, making the desolation and worn structures look all the more broken.

I was surprised we had made it this far in the cars without being stopped. It’s not like we could hide the caravan of eight black SUVs. It looked like we were on an FBI sting or some shit I had seen on TV.

I was in the middle of the caravan in a car with Remy, my parents, Lulu, Dimitri, and Alexei.

And a cooler that held my uncle’s head because my father hadn’t been kidding when he said we should bring it to show their Alpha was dead. When he pointed out that Zara had done half the work hacking his head off, I walked away.

It was weird as hell, and I had told Nikolai he was sitting in the backseat closest to the cooler.

Which he didn’t seem too disturbed by.

But Mom was plenty disturbed, and becoming increasingly agitated the closer we got to Long Mesa.

I could feel it, too. My wolf was frustrated by my human fear, and trying to reconcile the two was like waging a war in my soul.

I rolled my neck, trying to work out some of the strain pressing down on my shoulders. After a second of that, Remy’s hands came up and started kneading and massaging the knotted muscles.

We hit a pothole and Mom jumped, practically landing in Nikolai’s lap and scampering off just as fast with wide eyes, elbowing Lulu on her other side.

I turned and looked at her. “Mom, you can stay with the cars. We’re leaving people with them anyway—”

Her lips thinned. “No.”

Nikolai leaned towards her, his arm resting along the back of her seat. “Skye’s right. You can wait, love. There’s no need to torture yourself.”

“I need to—” Mom cut herself off, squeezing her eyes shut for a minute. “I need to see him dead with my own eyes.”

I reached over the seat and covered her hand with mine. “I know.”

Allan. We both needed to see him dead. He was the only one who would assume the Alpha role after Linden’s death or absence. He was probably already in charge.

I glanced at Remy, letting worry creep into the edges of my thoughts.

Allan was a brutal fighter. He went for cheap shots and didn’t play fair. I hated the idea of him hurting Remy.

“Don’t,” Remy told me softly, his gaze cutting to me.

I rolled my lower lip between my teeth. “I hate this. I hate that you’re here. That you have to deal with this because of me.”

“Stop,” he said sharply. “Skye, none of this is on you. Or your mom.” He glanced back pointedly at Addie.

“Your uncle, Allan, Damien... they all made their own choices. Long Mesa knew Stone Valley was part of our pack now. They did this intentionally, probably thinking we wouldn’t retaliate.” He huffed out a breath. “Babe, this is more about me than you. Damien’s pushing. He thinks I’m too young for this.”

“And are you?” Nikolai spoke up curiously.

Remy smirked and glanced over his shoulder. “Want to stop the cars and find out?”

“Perhaps another day,” Nikolai said dismissively, but there was no denying the tiny smile painted on his lips.

“We’re almost there,” Alexei called from the front seat.

My heart lodged in my throat as I looked around the plain, cinder block walls that surrounded the main part of Long Mesa. The main gate was around the next bend.

“Breathe, baby,” Remy told me softly, looking out the window. “Just keep breathing.”

Alexei turned the car, following the one in front and slowed to a stop. The first car was paused, idling outside the open gate.

I frowned and leaned forward between Dimitri and Alexei until Remy pulled me back.

“Those gates are never open,” Mom said quietly.

“They probably know we’re coming,” Lulu remarked, glancing around.

Remy’s sharp eyes darted around, looking for potential threats.

The radio chirped to life from the front seat.

“Looks like no one’s home,” Dante said, his voice crackling through the line. “What’s the plan?”

“Where would they go?” Dimitri murmured, also looking around.

“They’re cowards,” Alexei snarled. “Fucking pussies ran like puppies.”

“No,” Mom said, shaking her head. “They wouldn’t do that.”

“Then where would they go?” Nikolai asked her.

“In town,” I replied. “The fountain.”

A shudder rolled through me hard enough to rattle my teeth, and I wanted to be sick.

The fountain was in the center of the crumbling town, and it was where all challenges and punishments were met out. The fountain itself no longer worked, but it was heavy and cement, and shackles had been attached to it over the years.

I had seen people executed there. I had seen men and women held down and raped there. People had been chained to it for days, weeks, until their bodies gave out from exhaustion, thirst, or hunger.

Mom had been tied there once about three years earlier. One of Linden’s visiting friends said she was “less than hospitable” when he and his three friends visited her. Her punishment had been to be chained, naked, to that fountain for four days. A day for each man she hadn’t pleased.

During that time, anyone could do whatever they wanted to her. She’d barely survived. I tried to sneak out and get her food and water or break her chains, but Cassian, Preston, and Marc had guarded me the entire time. Anytime I tried to get to her, one of them was there, waiting.

My stomach rolled, my breakfast threatening to make a reappearance, as I remembered those four days. The first night I had managed to somehow fall asleep, but I woke up to Cassian’s hands prying my legs apart. His cruel hands stabbed, petted, and slapped at me until I thought for sure he would rape me in my own bed.

But he never did.

I wondered why he never actually took things that far. He could have, and probably no one would have cared. But he always seemed to stop before things went there. He even pulled Preston and Marc off of me a few times.

The only reason I could assume was that he loved keeping me in a constant state of fear. He got off on my tears and my begging; not the actual act.

I spent those four days that Mom was chained up in my own version of hell, terrified to sleep and hiding in a ball on the floor of our closet, listening to the sounds of Shane screaming and crying since he was the only omega in the house that could be used.

Once she’d been freed, I had carried her back to the house. It had taken some of her wounds a month to heal, and even then, she still bore many of those scars. But the worst part was that she stopped speaking for nearly two weeks. I had never felt more frustrated or helpless or alone then when I watched her simply stare blankly at the wall for those weeks.

“She’s right,” Mom replied, drawing in a trembling breath. “They’ll be at the fountain, waiting for us.”

I looked back and swallowed when I saw the same fear reflected in her eyes.

“What’s the fountain?” Nikolai growled, seeing the terror that was like a mask on both our faces.

I licked my lips slowly. “It’s where they punish people.”

Panic sliced through me so quickly I saw spots. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t go there. I couldn’t be back here . The weight of everything was crushing my chest, and I couldn’t suck in a breath. Black spots started dancing in my vision.

I was vaguely aware of my seatbelt being unclicked and then Remy was pulling me onto his lap. It took another minute for the soft words he was murmuring to break through the haze of my fear.

“You’re stronger than them, Skye. Don’t let them win. Come back to me, baby.” His hand stroked down my hair and back, his touch soothing and comforting. “Breathe, sweetheart.”

“I’m okay,” I whispered after a second, keeping my head tucked against his chest.

“We’re going back,” Remy said quietly. “Alexei—”

“No!” I sat up quickly, shaking my head. “No. You’re right, Remy. I am stronger than them. They don’t get to win.”

His dark eyes looked less than convinced. “Baby, I’m taking you home and then I’ll come back. You don’t need to be here for this.”

I steeled my spine, shoving away the last of my anxiety. “I’m an Alpha, too, right? I’m not running.”

Sighing, he rested his head against mine. “Skye, this is too much.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, “but all those women that are being held prisoner in New York don’t have a turn around and try again option. Long Mesa is one of Norwood’s strongest allies. We take them out and we hurt Norwood.”

He still didn’t look sure.

I turned my head. “The fountain is in the middle of town. Go straight and you can’t miss it, Alexei. Let’s go.”

His blue eyes met mine in the rearview mirror.

“Yes, printsessa ,” he replied, obeying my order.

A muscle in Remy’s jaw ticked as he realized Alexei would do what I said, even if it meant delivering me to the devil’s doorstep. If he wanted to control me, he should’ve put me in a car with Rhodes or Dante.

Dimitri lifted the radio to radio the first car. “Head straight through town. They’ll be meeting us by some fountain in the middle.”

“Copy,” Dante replied, and the first car started rolling forward.

I looked back at Remy. “Are you with me or not?”

“I’m always with you,” he replied. “That’s never even a question. But you don’t have to prove anything to us, Skye.”

A soft hand stroked through my hair.

“Are you sure, honey?” Mom asked.

I looked at her. “Are you ? We both know what happened there.”

She paused and then slowly, clumsily nodded. “I’m with you.”

Long Mesa’s town wasn’t huge and it only took a few minutes to make it to the fountain. Sure enough, about forty shifters stood at the center, Allan Loomis in the front. I swallowed, spotting Marc a few feet behind him.

“Let’s go,” I murmured, waiting for Remy to get out and then pull me down next to him. In front and behind us, shifters we had brought with us were exiting their cars.

I glanced around, comparing their numbers to ours. If it came down to a fight, I liked our odds.

Allan grinned as we approached, his eyes locked on my mom.

“Welcome home,” he greeted. A ripple of chuckles rose up behind him. A few men even licked their lips, salivating at her return.

“You attacked my pack,” Remy said, coming to a stop several yards away.

Allan glanced around. “ Your pack? We retaliated against a pack that has troubled us for years, little Alpha.”

Remy sighed, but didn’t rise to the insult. “Stand down and this ends now.”

Allan raised his brows. “What? No formal challenge? Afraid to take on our Alpha and claim the pack as your own?”

“Hard to challenge a dead man,” Remy answered.

If that wasn’t enough of a statement, Nikolai bent down into the cooler he had brought and lifted Linden’s head before casually tossing it at Allan like a baseball.

Allan jumped out of the way and the head landed with a squelch before rolling awkwardly to the side. Linden’s lifeless eyes stared at his pack.

I hid a smile at the sudden looks of unease on the faces of the men. Marc looked a little green, and he covered his mouth, twisting away from Linden’s head.

Allan moved forward, closing some of the distance. “And who said Linden Markham was our Alpha?”

Remy stepped forward, and I squashed the urge to keep myself glued to his side.

“So, that’s you, I take it? The man who molests a little girl after raping their mother?” Remy’s growl vibrated with rage. He turned his neck, cracking it. “I’m looking forward to kicking your ass.”

Allan’s lips curled into a grin as he rubbed his lips. “Nah. I’m not an Alpha, kid. But I hope you enjoy her hot little mouth as much as I did. It was fun being there first.”

I felt Nikolai and my mom move to stand on either side of me. Supporting me. But I didn’t need their support. All I felt was rage and fury as Allan callously reminded us all that he had been my first kiss.

I had been a freaking child and he had stolen that from me.

Allan was baiting Remy, trying to get a reaction, but Remy remained still as a statue as he brushed off Allan’s vile comment with his own barb.

“Well, she had fun being the first person to kill one of your kids.” Remy let a slow smile creep across his lips.

Allan’s face twisted.

“And I had a blast being the one who killed the second,” Remy added with a wink. “I’m wondering if you’ll cry like Preston did before I killed him.”

“I’m going to love watching you die,” Allan spat, his meaty fists balling.

“If you’re not the Alpha,” Remy said softly, his tone lethal, “I’m not sure why the fuck you’re still talking. Unless it’s to buy your Alpha time to run and hide like a little bitch.”

The laugh that cut through the air almost made my knees buckle, and I knew who it belonged to before I even looked.

Of course. Of fucking course.

Cassian stepped out from around the corner, looking whole and healthy except for the jagged scar running down his face.

Larkin and Tate sucked in sharp breaths behind me.

“Can’t this guy fucking die?” Rhodes hissed behind me.

I agreed. Part of me had known. The lack of a body after our fight at Granite Peak had left me wondering, waiting. At least now I knew that I wasn’t crazy for thinking about it all those months.

Cassian was like a cockroach; able to survive under the most unlikely of circumstances.

My eyes darted to Remy, watching as the muscles in his back bunched, his hands forming fists and then relaxing alternately as he watched Cassian approach.

“Guess I get my wish,” Remy murmured for my ears only. “I really wanted to kill this dickhead myself.”

I turned to him, gaping a little when I saw the glint of happiness in his dark eyes.

“You know, I’ve been looking forward to this moment,” Cassian said, walking towards Remy. “Our fight got cut off a little too fast last time.”

“You mean because my girl tackled you off a cliff like you were a pillow?” Remy smirked, but I could see his skin rippling as his wolf pushed for him to change. If he was shocked, he was hiding it well. His mask of calm seemed impenetrable.

Cassian grimaced. “It won’t be so easy this time.”

Nikolai moved to stand beside Remy before I could grab him. “So, this rancid little shit is the Alpha of this hellhole?”

Cassian grinned. “You must be Skye’s daddy. Thanks for bringing her home.”

Nikolai ignored him and turned to Remy. “He’s the Alpha?”

“Apparently,” Remy replied coolly.

Nikolai grinned, spreading his arms wide like he welcomed the news. “Wonderful.”

He lunged forward, kicking Allan’s knee with a crack. Allan staggered and went down with a bellow, but Nikolai’s hands were there to cradle his head a brief second before they twisted, wrenching his head to the side.

The second crack that split the air a second time was met with silence.

Allan fell forward limply, his neck broken. He was dead before his cheek hit the dirt.

“Sorry,” Nikolai apologized, almost congenial, before stepping back and away from the two Alphas. He gestured to the space separating them. “Carry on as you were.”

Cassian gaped down at where Allan was slumped.

Remy rubbed his jaw. “I guess now’s a good time to challenge you for your pack.”

Cassian’s head shot up, his eyes narrowing with hate. “Challenge fucking accepted.”

Remy grinned.