32. Drew

Chapter thirty-two

Drew

A couple of hours before sunrise, I snatch up my bag and creep towards Sam's bedroom door. The flat has been silent for a few hours.

I heard Kieran leave, of course. Heard the conversation they had before that. He told me when I arrived that he'd never believed what I said to him when he left our pack.

He's been lying to me the entire time, but can I blame him?

I've been lying to everyone, too.

Sam and Adam are still here, and when I tiptoe out into the living room, the sudden urge to drop my bag, to go into Kieran's room, and to crawl into bed with them seizes me. The worst part is that I think they'd let me. I think they'd forgive me, at least for a few hours, and the bond in my chest pulses with the possibility of it.

Except, I can't. Now that I know Adam's the one I've bonded with, I can't hurt them that way. They're still together. They still have each other.

They don't need me.

I order a taxi on my phone. Hale replied five minutes after I sent him a message earlier, telling me to meet him at the bus station.

Yeah, I doubt we're taking a bus back north. He's far too snobby for that. I pull on my shoes and slip out of the flat as silently as I'm able.

No, he doesn't want anyone to follow. Not that it'll be difficult for them all to work out where I've gone, but once I'm back in the pack, there's nothing to be done about it.

Unless someone challenges Dad.

But who's going to do that?

I wait just inside the wards as the taxi draws near. Crossing them will probably wake Sam, so I have to do it when the car pulls up. My wolf digs his claws in, trying to make me go back, but I can't do that. I clench my jaw. The bond will fade. They'll be safe, at least from the wolves.

That's what I want.

It has to be.

The taxi pulls up and I take a deep breath as I cross the wards, magic tingling over my skin. I'm careful to move quickly but not seem to be in an agitated rush as I climb in and then we're off, heading towards my fate.

I barely keep track of the way we're going, tears pricking the backs of my eyes. I want to throw up. This is a mistake, but staying would be a mistake, too.

There's nothing I can do now, anyway. I've made my choice. There's no backing out.

I'm Hale's, now.

The taxi pulls up and I can't hear the driver over the rush of blood in my ears. I've already paid, so I give him a tight smile and climb out, then watch as the car pulls off, leaving me alone.

I'm not alone for long.

I feel the prickle of eyes on my skin and pick up Hale's scent a few minutes later. I try not to seem agitated, but there's no point. He can smell it just as well as I can.

Kurt and Jett aren't far away either, but all three of them make me stand there for a few minutes before they appear. Hale saunters out of the shadows first. His handsome face twists in a sneer as he looks me over, undoubtedly catching Sam's and Adam's scents, too.

"For a second there, I thought you might hold out on us."

"You told me I could arrive near sunrise," I protest. My shoulders hunch, heart thumping against my ribs. I don't want to be here.

With sudden, startling clarity, I realise I never should have come.

But they'll never find me in time, if they even decide to come after me. The trail they can follow is weak, and we'll be long gone before they arrive.

"I know I did," Hale says, and his voice is lower now, softer. He comes close and puts his hand on the back of my neck, the way Kieran has so many times since I arrived, the way Adam and Sam have, too.

I fight back a shudder at his touch.

"And you did come here, didn't you? Such a good boy. I'll make sure to tell your father that, you know. I don't mind that you left, not now that you've come back to me."

I try not to think of Adam and Sam. They'll still be curled up together, warm and safe. Here, an icy wind creeps under my coat, and I wonder how long it'll be before Hale bares his fangs.

Jett steps up behind me, every move sleek and purposeful. I don't know where Kurt is, but he's close.

My shoulders slump in defeat. This is it. I'll not be able to escape again; or at least, not soon. Paxton and Jeremiah worked so hard to help me get out, but I won't be surprised if they're long gone by now.

"Come on, now," Hale says, and his hand slips from my neck to my back as he pushes me forwards. "We've not parked far from here."

I swallow back bile, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Kurt walks ahead of us as we reach the corner, and I'm certain I can feel Jett's breath on the back of my neck. The journey back… If I survive that, then I'll be in pack lands. I bite the inside of my cheek. If I survive the journey, I swear I'll help who I can. Whoever needs to leave the pack, I'll help them out.

That's what I should have done before. Should have helped my pack instead of trying to escape—

Kurt stops abruptly and Hale growls in the back of his throat as we almost bump into him. "What is it?" he snaps.

I raise my eyes, looking past them both. The car's sitting there, and there's a figure leaning against the bonnet, arms crossed over his chest.

I suck in a surprised breath when the wind turns and I catch his scent.

"Kieran?"

Hale glances between me and Kieran, and his hand moves up to the back of my neck again, squeezing tight. A muscle twitches in his jaw when Kieran doesn't move. "What do you think you're doing here?"

Kieran shrugs. He pushes off from the car, looking entirely at ease except for the hard set to his jaw. "Came to see Drew off," he says lightly. "That is, if he wants to go."

I let out a panicked breath. I don't. I don't. But if Kieran's the only one here…

Kurt growls when Kieran comes close, but Kieran doesn't bat an eyelid, stepping past him and closer to me and Hale. My pulse picks up again when Kieran dismisses Hale, ignoring him completely as he looks up into my face.

"Do you want to go back?"

I whimper. I can't say it. I have to say it. If I don't say it, then I'm giving in, but the wolves are squaring up to Kieran, who's acting like they don't matter at all, and I can't help, I can't fight, I can't lose someone else I care about when I could just go back and—

"You have nothing to fear," another voice says, and the growl that ripples from all three wolves this time is angry. Hale's grip is tight enough it hurts. The relief I feel is enough to make my knees weak.

Kieran isn't alone. Of course he isn't. Lucien is here, too, pale hair shining in the darkness and his fangs on full display. Sam steps up on his other side, hair still mussed from sleep, and then Adam, too, and I swallow a whine.

I look Kieran in the eyes. "No," I murmur, voice barely above a whisper.

"I need to hear you say it," Kieran says firmly. It's an order, sure, but there's some power behind it that Dad and Hale just don't possess. I want to tell him the truth. I want to tell him because he can fix it.

I swallow. "No. I don't want to go."

Hale's growl is dangerous. He lets go of me and takes a step forward, but Kieran doesn't move, and Hale has to stop short to avoid walking right into him.

"This is a pack matter," he says, voice clipped and snide. "Drew's alpha asked us to retrieve him."

"Well, that's a load of bollocks," Kieran says. Hale growls. "Not that I think Dad doesn't want Drew back, but I'll be damned if it's a good idea, him going back up there. What's going on?"

Hale puffs up his chest. He has height on Kieran—an inch or so—but he's not as broad, and I can tell it bothers him. "It is none of your business. This is a pack matter, and you're not pack."

He bares his teeth and his eyes flash as his wolf pushes to the surface. My hands curl into fists. I don't like to fight. I don't want to fight. I don't understand why Kieran's the one standing so close, why Lucien is letting him be in so much danger…

"I'm not," Kieran agrees. He pushes his hands into his pockets, and Hale grinds his teeth. "But why are you here? You're not his pack, either. Why would Dad send some alpha after a wayward son?"

Hale's expression shifts all at once, and my stomach sinks. He glances at Sam and Adam—only a flicker of his gaze, but enough for me to catch.

"Andrew is to be my alpha mate," Hale says, and he's projecting his voice, though there's no need. Adam would hear him anyway, and Sam—

They both look surprised when they hear him, and my chest hurts, and I don't know if it's coming from me or from Adam. Sam scowls, and Adam's shoulders slump.

"That's what you want, Drew?" Kieran asks.

I can't say it. Jett moves in closer behind me, so close I can feel the heat of him, and Kurt turns, effectively boxing Kieran in.

If I say no, they'll kill him. Hale looks at me, unbridled glee in his eyes. I open my mouth. I have to save Kieran. He's my brother, he—

"You'd better not be thinking of starting a fight in the middle of the street."