Chapter 12

12

L ooking out the window was pointless, but I couldn’t seem to stop doing it. The skies had long since melted into darkness with no word as to what was going on. I had shifted a few hours ago when I snuck upstairs, needing an update, but Remy had nothing to tell me.

With miles stretched between us, I had been able to pick up a few fragmented thoughts and a lot of frustration mixed with a healthy dose of fear.

There was no sign of Jayla. The small blood trail had stopped a few yards up one of the mountains, crossing over a sluggishly moving creek heavily laden with ice. The scent vanished in the water.

I had shifted back and told everyone what I had gathered from Remy, which wasn’t much. Ainsley had turned on a movie on the tv, the noise a buzzing, distant distraction for the younger girls, but no one was really paying attention. The frozen pizzas Larkin had made went untouched until I coerced the boys into coming inside.

They agreed it was just as easy to protect us inside where there was heat and food. After the food they had taken up positions in the living room on the couches and chairs. They had lasted until the early morning hours, one by one falling asleep.

Pale wisps of weak morning sunlight were turning the sky a mottled purple. I glanced at the microwave clock in the kitchen. It was just past seven in the morning.

They had been looking for Jayla for over fourteen hours. The more time slipped away, the heavier my heart got.

I exhaled, resting my forehead against the cold glass.

“I’m still mad at him,” Katy admitted, coming up behind me and leaning against the wall on the other side of the window.

My gaze went to her for a second. “I know.”

She looked out the window. “But if anyone can find her—can find them —it’s Remy. He won’t quit.”

The corner of my lips lifted. “He didn’t quit on me.”

“He loves you,” she replied easily. “But even if he didn’t, I know my brother. And he won’t stop. He’s kind of a badass that way.”

I arched a brow in surprise.

“Tell him I said that, and I’ll run your bras up the flagpole,” she added without heat, a tired smile soft on her mouth.

I hid a smile. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank God you two are speaking again,” Larkin muttered, coming up between us. She gave Katy a pointed look. “Did you grovel the way we talked about?”

Katy made a face before she tossed an amused look my way. “Not really. I mean, there were some tears. I admitted I was a bitch—”

“—which is nothing new,” Larkin added, snorting lightly.

She shrugged. “I mean, yeah. There was some minimal groveling.”

Larkin’s eyes narrowed. “There should have been a lot of groveling, Katherine.”

“You’ve been hanging out with Rhodes too much,” Katy retorted, shaking her head.

“And you need to not treat your friends like shit.” There was a subtle warning in Larkin’s tone, reminding me yet again that the meek girl I had met months ago was transitioning into a woman with a steel backbone.

“She apologized,” I told Larkin. “There were tears. Real ones.”

Larkin’s eyes rolled to the ceiling, a small smile on her lips. “So, we’re all good? Because I have a feeling a lot of things are going to change after this. I don’t like the idea of us being divided.”

Katy leaned her head on Larkin’s shoulder, reaching across her to grab my hand in hers. “We’re good.”

Unease twisted my stomach as I realized Larkin was right. Whatever was happening around here was getting worse, not better. Which meant things would change even more.

God, I was getting sick of change.

Movement out of the corner of my eye had me squinting into the shadows. “I think I saw something.”

Katy and Larkin straightened, looking out the window. The first rays of sunlight had barely touched the peaks of the mountains, but all the trees around us left the area around the cabin dark except for patches of yellow light from flood lights surrounding the cabin.

I glanced around the room and noted all of our guards were still asleep, as were the younger girls. Ainsley was still awake and playing a game on her phone as the credits of the movie started to roll.

“Stay here,” I said softly, moving away from the window as my wolf started to wake up.

“Skye—” Larkin started.

I held up a hand to silence her as I walked to the door quietly. My wolf was alert now, growling inside me and waiting for a fight. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, shaking off any exhaustion I had started to feel as the night dragged on.

My hand closed over the doorknob as someone knocked once. Twice.

“It’s Will,” a muffled voice called.

I jerked the door open, surprised to see Will standing there with several other pack members as Katy and Larkin joined me.

My heart surged into my throat. “Did they—”

He shook his head. “No trace of Jayla or whoever took her. There’s another storm coming in off the mountains. We had to come back before it hit and we got stuck out there.”

“Fuck,” Katy hissed, stalking away from the door to the kitchen. On the way by, she kicked one of the couches our guards slept on.

Martin jumped up, eyes wide and dark hair sticking up all over. His wide eyes landed squarely on me standing in front of the open door.

“You opened the door!” he shouted, waking up his friends.

“It’s Will.” I gestured to the shifter on the other side.

“But... how did you know?”

“Because I told her who I was,” Will said dryly, giving me a strange look.

I shrugged. “Martin and the guys were keeping us safe.”

“By sleeping on the couch?” Konnor snorted, pushing past Will to come inside. He nodded at me and pointedly ignored Larkin.

Apparently he still wasn’t over her picking Rhodes just yet.

“I wasn’t sleeping—” Martin started to protest, looking to his friends for support, but their eyes were firmly glued to the floor.

“Don’t worry,” Ainsley drawled from her couch. “If we were attacked by pillows, Martin had it handled.”

Martin flushed, embarrassed at being called out, especially in front of the older guys.

“Martin spent most of the night freezing his ass off with the other guys to keep us safe,” I reminded her, my voice sharp and hard.

Ainsley blinked and lowered her eyes. “You’re right. Sorry, Marty.”

“It’s Martin,” he huffed, ducking his head.

“Totally what I said.” Ainsley got off the couch and stood, stretching languidly. The younger girls were awake and watching everything with wide eyes, but so far they were quiet.

“Where’s Remy?” I demanded, giving Will my attention.

“With Rhodes. They called an emergency meeting. He said to tell you he’ll be back soon. We came to escort the others back to the dorms, but Remy said they’re free to stay here if they prefer.”

“Is it safe?” Bethany spoke up, swallowing visibly. “Shouldn’t we stay here again like last time?”

Will gave her a soft smile, nodding. “We’re setting up security on each floor and around the buildings. It will be the safest place on campus for all of you.”

“Okay,” she agreed in a tiny voice, kicking off the blanket she was huddled under and getting up. “Let’s go.”

The girls and Ainsley all pulled on their shoes and coats before tromping out into the cold with the others.

Katy came back towards us, her face a blank mask, but I could see a slight tremble in her fingers.

“Are you going?” I asked her.

She looked at me and then Larkin. “I think I’ll stay with you guys, if that’s okay.”

“Definitely okay,” I replied, reaching for her hand.

Martin hesitated as his friends followed the pack. “Maybe I should stay until Remy returns. To keep you safe.”

“I’m staying,” Will told him. “Remy asked the twins and I to stay until they get back.”

Martin looked at me, his eyes uncertain.

Smiling, I stepped forward. “You did good, Martin. Thanks for everything, but go make sure the others get back okay and get some sleep. We’ll probably need your help tomorrow, and you’re no good to us dead on your feet.”

“Yes, ma—”

I arched a brow. Were we doing that again?

“Skye,” he finished quickly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Nodding, I closed the door behind him, listening to the sounds of the pack walking away in the snow before turning back to the five other shifters in the room.

“I guess now we wait,” I murmured before heading to the couch and settling down to wait for Remy.

W e all looked up as one when Remy opened the front door and stepped inside with Rhodes, closing the door with a firm slam that rattled the wall. His expression immediately had me on edge as I got to my feet.

His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark sparking fire as his gaze swept over all of us.

He looked like he had been dragged through hell the last few days. Dark stubble shadowed his hard jaw and there was a heaviness surrounding him, weighing him down. He had been awake and searching in the snow for over twenty-four hours straight.

“We’re closing the school,” he said suddenly, his lips barely moving as he ground out the words.

“What?” Larkin gasped, scrambling up beside me. Will, Kyle, and Konnor got to their feet silently, all wearing stunned expressions.

“Three girls have gone missing from campus now,” he muttered, shaking his head as he started pulling off his coat. “We’re too exposed out here. All the packs want everyone back on their own territory before someone else goes missing.”

“So are you guys officially saying that whoever took the girls from campus also took Maren?” Will asked, his tone grave.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Rhodes replied with a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead. His eyes went to Katy. “I’m sorry, Kit-Kat. We searched everywhere. There’s no sign of her.”

“And what about the search parties?” Katy demanded, hugging a pillow to her front as she stared up at her brother.

“They’re going to keep searching, but they want all students home,” Remy answered, his tone gentle as he spoke to her directly for the first time in days.

Katy flinched, her hackles instantly up as she stubbornly declared, “No. I’m not leaving.”

Remy growled, and I could sense his frustration mounting, compounded by his exhaustion. “It’s not a choice, Katy.”

“I’m not leaving ,” she hissed, her eyes flashing as she challenged him. “Maren is still out there!”

“We don’t know where Maren is,” I said softly, stepping in before Remy snapped.

“She was last seen here ,” Katy argued. “Somewhere between here and the airport, her ride—”

“But she could be anywhere now,” I replied with a heavy sigh, sitting back down beside her. “The odds of whoever took Maren keeping her in the same vicinity she was taken from…”

Katy looked up at the ceiling, clearly trying to reign in her emotions. “But there might be a clue to who took her and where! If we leave now, we’ll never find her!”

Remy looked at her, exhaustion lining his face. “We’re still leaving people here to keep looking, Katy. But we need to make sure everyone else is safe.”

I touched her shoulder. “They’re not giving up.”

She glared at me. “Would you leave if Remy was missing?” She whirled to stare at Remy. “Would you leave Skye here?”

Remy and I exchanged glances.

No, neither of us would leave the other behind. Maybe that made us giant hypocrites—okay, it definitely made us hypocrites—but I wasn’t going to lie to her. I wouldn’t leave Remy, and he wouldn’t leave me. But Katy was going to have to leave Maren.

I felt like an asshole, but we couldn’t stay here and risk more people going missing or getting hurt.

“Not willingly,” I admitted carefully. “But it doesn’t sound like we’re being given much of a choice here, Katy. They’re closing the school down.”

“Then I’ll stay here and look for Maren on my own,” she snapped.

Larkin sat back down beside Katy, wrapping an arm around her shoulders supportively, but I noticed she wasn’t saying anything either.

“Do you honestly think Dad will just let you stay here?” Remy asked incredulously, staring down at his sister. “If I don’t drag you back home, he sure as hell will. This isn’t a negotiation, Katherine. Pack your stuff. They’re closing the campus by the end of the week. Most of the packs, including ours, are heading home tomorrow.”

I caught Rhodes wince behind Remy the same time Katy stiffened.

Katy’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. “Well, I have to stay here, remember? You alpha-bullied me into not being able to leave the damn property!”

Remy’s eyes flashed dangerously, a warning rumble vibrating in his chest. “Consider your ban lifted. Go pack your stuff and get ready to leave. This isn’t up for debate.”

“Rem—” I started, not wanting this to turn into another massive fight.

He held up a hand to cut me off, his expression furious as he glared at his sister. “I get you wanting to help, Katy, but this isn’t helping. You being here will be one more person for us to worry about. What happens if someone takes you ? Now instead of focusing on finding Maren, we’ll be focused on finding you. It will take more attention off looking for Maren and the other girls. Stop acting like a little kid, and grow the fuck up.”

Katy shot to her feet, shoving past me and thundering up the stairs. A second later a bedroom door slammed shut hard enough to rattle the walls.

A dull ache started behind my eyes. “Maybe there was a better way to say that?” I asked softly as I rubbed my forehead, shooting him an annoyed look.

“Maybe I’m tired of coddling her,” Remy returned darkly before stalking to his office and closing the doors with a sharp bang.

Larkin got up and walked around me, sliding her arms around Rhodes’ waist and leaning her head against his chest. She tipped her head up at him. “What can I do?”

His arms went around her and he kissed the tip of her nose. “I guess start packing. We don’t know when or if we’ll be coming back.”

She nodded with a sigh, looking at me. “You okay here if we head back to the dorms to start packing and get the others moving?”

I nodded, not exactly loving the idea of being stuck in a cabin with feuding Holt siblings. I waited until they gathered their things and headed out the door before taking a deep breath and looking around. The tension in this house was setting my wolf on edge.

This wasn’t normal pack discord; two people I loved were fighting, and the fact that one of them was my mate only made everything more intense. I shot a glance at the stairs, wondering if I should talk to Katy, but opted to talk to Remy first.

I didn’t bother knocking as I twisted open the knobs of the french doors to the study and stepped inside the room, closing the doors quietly behind me.

Of all the rooms in the cabin, this was one of my favorites. Remy had let me use it whenever I wanted, often curling up on the window seat with a book from his crazy packed shelves. I had only snuck in a few reading sessions with my Christmas ereader, and now I was sad I wouldn’t have more days here.

I went silently to Remy, who stood brooding in front of the large windows that faced the woods behind the house. The woods the pack had run in. The woods that led to the ridge where our bond snapped into place.

A sharp pang hit me at the thought of leaving here and not coming back. I’d had so many firsts here. More good memories than bad. Granite Peak had become my home. It was the first place I was ever really accepted.

I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, pressing my forehead to the center of his massive back, feeling the muscles ripple and rise as he simply breathed.

“It’s the right call,” I said softly, kissing one shoulder blade through the cotton of his Henley.

His hands came up and covered mine over his stomach. “I hate this,” he whispered fiercely. “I don’t want to leave here any more than Katy does, but it’s what’s safest for the packs. I know how she feels. Jesus, I thought I lost you for an afternoon. It’s been almost a week since Maren went missing.”

“We’ll get her back,” I swore.

“Will we?” He didn’t sound so convinced and that shook me. I had never seen Remy as anything but confident and strong. “Maren’s been missing for days, Skye. Kit’s been missing longer than that, and now Jayla? Jayla’s fourteen . What the fuck could they want with a kid?”

My arms tightened around him. I didn’t have the words to answer his questions. Those were my questions, too.

“We have no idea who’s behind this except that the Norwood and Long Mesa packs might be involved,” he seethed, words spilled out faster as his anger flared brighter. “I don’t want to leave either, but I can’t risk a member of our pack going missing next.”

His body gave a violent shudder, and I read his thoughts as easily as if we were in wolf form.

I can’t risk you.

“Hey,” I said softly, waiting until he turned in my arms and was looking down at me. I slid my hands up his chest, over his shoulders, until I was cupping his face. “You’re making the right call. All the packs are.”

I swallowed as I continued, the words hard to get out. “GPA isn’t safe anymore.”

He still looked frustrated as hell, his dark eyes full of fury and anguish. “Maybe I could convince my dad and the others to only send the females back. The rest of us can stay here—”

“Oh, no,” I said quickly, shaking my head hard. “Remember the last time you tried sending me away to protect me?”

I meant the comment to come across as half-teasing, hoping to earn a smile and relieve some of the tension, but his expression turned thunderous and he pulled out of my hold, stepping back. The physical distance was like a punch to the chest.

“Rem,” I tried softly, pleading, “I was kidding.”

“You almost died, Skye,” he replied quietly, his gaze never wavering. “I can’t go through that again. Not with you, not with my sister…”

I closed the distance between us. “I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean it like that. I just hate the idea of you being anywhere but with me. You know that. We’re stronger together.”

He lifted a hand to my face, sweeping a thumb across my cheekbone as I leaned into his touch. “I know, and you’re right. I just hate feeling helpless.”

“You’re not helpless,” I returned firmly, “and going back to our own territory isn’t running away. It’s being smart. Until we know who the threat is, we can’t know what they’ll do next.”

He dropped his forehead to mine, his minty breath fanning across my lips. “I love you.”

My lips curved into a smile as I wound my arms around his neck, arching my chest to his. “Good. I love you, too.”

His mouth found mine in a slow, lingering kiss that was as much about comfort as it was passion. His lips fit perfectly to mine as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine in a slow dance that made my blood heat.

After several long beats, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. “I need to go talk to Katy.”

“I know,” I said softly, running my hands through the short hair at the nape of his neck. “Go talk to her, and then we’ll start packing everything up.”

With a nod, he moved away from me, but stopped when he was at the door.

“I’m sorry.” The apology was so quiet, I almost missed it.

I was still in a daydream, my fingertips pressed to the swollen skin of my lips where his mouth had just been.

“What?” I asked absently, turning to look at him.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe here.”

I frowned, shaking my head slowly. Didn’t he get it? “Safe isn’t a place, Remy. It’s not this school, or in Blackwater, or any other place. Safe is you .”

His eyes did that melty thing I loved, going soft and warm as he studied me with a small smile that turned my knees to jelly before he ducked out of the room. I heard his feet on the stairs as he went upstairs, and I leaned back on the edge of his desk with a smile to myself.

A smile that quickly disappeared when I heard his heavy footfalls thumping violently back down the stairs.

I came out of his office and Remy nearly knocked me over, his dark eyes wild.

“What?” I demanded, grabbing his arm.

“She’s gone.”

“What?” I repeated, stunned. He couldn’t mean…

He slammed a fist into the wall, the drywall shattering under the force. Chunks exploded, a fine white dust filling the space between us. “Katy. She’s fucking gone .”