2. Jace

Voices murmured around me. Waylan, Langston, and I had summoned over a dozen men to my house. The two other members of my pack council had done most of the calling since I'd been too distraught and consumed with rage to do much.

Kirsten was gone. Taken. I'd been too slow, too stupid to save her. I'd fallen for Eren's distraction, and for that, I'd lost my mate. I alternated between browbeating myself and imagining the awful things I would do to Eren when I finally got my hands on him.

Langston and a few others stood over my kitchen table, studying the map of the area spread out on it. They were marking spots of likely locations where Eren might have taken Kirsten.

Fuck. Anger boiled up inside me. I didn't even know if the bastard had taken her to his lands or somewhere else.

"What about the old Stephenson farm?" one of my pack mates said, pointing at an area to the north of Scottsdale.

I sat in silence, fists clenching and unclenching. Langston nodded and circled the area with a marker.

"Possible," he said. "I doubt Eren would take her to a human-owned area, but we can't rule it out."

"Yeah, but old man Stephenson's been dead nearly ten years," another pack member replied. "That place has just been sitting there. For all we know, Eren could have crept in there, quietly taking it as part of his own pack lands illegally."

"We'll check it," Langston said. "But I think it'll be a lower priority."

Lacing my fingers together, I lowered my head, taking deep breaths to try and stay calm. Images of Kirsten's wrecked car flitted through my mind. I'd arrived at the scene to find it at the bottom of an embankment. The sight had sent jolts of long-gone misery through me. It had happened in almost the exact same spot where my parents died. Seeing her car all twisted and smoking had been like stepping back in time to that day when my life had forever been altered. I'd nearly broken my neck rushing down the hill to find her, horrified by the thought that she'd be lying in the mangled car, broken and bleeding.

When I found the car empty, I'd been both relieved beyond words and enraged in a way I'd never known. Kirsten was alive, but Eren had her. Now, my pack and I were preparing for war. A war the likes of which hadn't been seen in this area in two centuries.

Waylan paced the length of the room, phone held to his ear as he spoke rapidly to someone on the other end. "I told you, we need intel, for fuck's sake, that's why I sent you… Fine, but that doesn't tell me what I need to know… What do you mean there's no sign of them? It's Eren's fucking pack lands, he has to be there somewhere." Waylan listened to the response and grimaced. "Keep scouting. I'll have Langston text you more locations to check. The moment you see Eren or Kirsten, let me know… Yes, Jace is all right. He'll be better once we find Kirsten."

Waylan hung up and looked over at me. "Jack and Corey haven't seen anything so far. They've penetrated pretty deep into the Scottsdale Pack territories, but haven't seen any sign of Eren or his most loyal betas, and no sign of Kirsten, either. They can't get much closer without being seen, but they're still on it."

I nodded, chewing on the inside of my cheek, unsure how to respond.

"What's our next move?" Waylan asked after I stayed silent. "We don't have much to go on. They lost the scent a few miles from the scene of the crash."

"What I'd love to do," I said through gritted teeth, "is go to fucking Scottsdale and tear the town apart, rip every building down to its foundation, and burn what's left until I find her."

Waylan looked me dead in the eye and nodded slowly. "We've tried to do this by the book, but diplomacy isn't working. If you're down, I'm down. Everyone here is good to go on your word."

Eren had tiptoed on the line for years, always staying just safe enough to keep his good standing with all the other packs. Today, he'd crossed that line. I stood, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans.

"Listen up!" I shouted.

The room fell silent almost instantly. Langston and the other men turned to give their alpha their attention.

"Eren Miller kidnapped my mate. He stole the person that is most precious to me. Tonight, we go to Scottsdale and bring hell to Eren's pack lands. He will rue the day he thought to push the Crestwood Pack like this."

I couldn't help but push my alpha energy out to my pack, my anger and anxiety making it hard to control my emotions. The men around me fed on it, the fire in their eyes blazing as the wave of energy washed over them.

"Does anyone here have a problem with that?" I asked. "If you do, I will not hold it against you."

No one spoke. A few men simply nodded their heads. They were with me.

I gave them a savage grin. "Good. When we go, we will not be like Eren. Hear me when I say this—we will not be like him. Protect yourselves as needed, but no one harms any women or children."

The men were damn near bouncing with nervous energy as they fed on my aura. My conviction to rescue Kirsten was one of the most powerful things I'd ever experienced in my life, and it was leaching into them, the mystical connection between alpha and pack on display before me. I rarely got this worked up, normally priding myself on staying calm and collected. But with Kirsten in danger, I couldn't help it.

I opened my mouth to order them all outside to shift and descend upon Scottsdale when my phone rang, silencing me. Irritated, I pulled the phone out, hoping it was one of our scouts saying they'd located where Kirsten was being held. When I saw Eren's name on the screen, I nearly gripped the phone hard enough to shatter the screen, but I stopped myself before that happened.

Was he calling to rub my nose in it? To tell me how pathetic I was for failing to protect my mate? Or would he try to get some sort of ransom? Maybe he'd attempt to get me to concede leadership of my pack in exchange for Kirsten. No matter what he wanted, he'd never get it. I'd tear him limb from limb before I ever let him win.

I answered the phone, my anger a tempest I couldn't quite control. "You son of a bitch. If you hurt one hair on Kirsten's head, I will kill you, do you understand? Touch her and you die."

The other end was silent for a moment, then the sound of a woman sighing or sobbing—I couldn't tell which. Relief flooded me, pushing my anger to the side. I'd know that voice anywhere.

Kirsten.

"Jace," she whimpered. "It's me. I need you."

"Where are you? What's happening? Is Eren with you?"

Had he put her on the phone to prove she was still alive and unhurt?

"I'm in a car," she said, her voice regaining some composure. "I escaped, but Eren and his men are right behind me. I don't know what to do."

Sparing a glance at Waylan and Langston, I said, "It's Kirsten. She escaped, but Eren is chasing her down."

A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Waylan raised an eyebrow. He looked as impressed as I was that Kirsten had managed to get away.

"I have no clue where I am," Kirsten said. I heard her fumbling around. "I punched in the address for your house. It says I'm about forty-five minutes away. There was a big house and a barn they used as a car garage."

I locked eyes with Langston. "He took her to the fucking Stephenson farm," I hissed through gritted teeth.

"Well, goddamn," Langston said, shaking his head. He gave the man who'd suggested it an approving nod.

"We're coming for you," I said to her, rushing outside, my men following me. I couldn't manage to get a decent breath in. I needed air. "Keep heading south toward us, and we'll meet you. We'll hurry. Stay calm. We can't help you if you wreck that car."

"They're right behind me, Jace," Kirsten said, her voice laced with fear.

"Forget about them. Keep your eyes on the road. Stay on the phone until we get to you unless you absolutely have to hang up. We're on our way." I turned to Waylan. "Change of plans. We're going to meet up with Kirsten. This ends now. I'm putting Eren down today. Call the scouts back, tell them what's going on. Maybe they can come in from behind and flank Eren and his men. Hurry," I barked the last word, and Waylan pulled out his phone, dialing as we rushed to his truck.

The crowd of men followed behind, all heading for cars. I covered the speaker of my phone and shouted at them, "I need two cars to follow me, the rest I want in town. For all I know, Eren could have sent men to do some damage to keep us from helping Kirsten. Go!"

My pack obeyed with unfailing loyalty, men leaping into cars and heading toward town. Langston led the men to town while a few others got into a truck and SUV to follow me. Within seconds, Waylan had us speeding down the driveway, the engine of his truck screaming as he got the vehicle up to seventy by the time we were on the road leading north toward the old Stephenson farm.

"Jace, they're gaining on me," Kirsten said. "Fuck, they're right behind me, Jace."

"How close?" My heart thundered in my chest as the miles ticked by quickly—Waylan had the car up to ninety now. Dangerous on these small country roads, but I was okay with the risk.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe a hundred feet?"

Fuck. They might try to force her off the road like last time.

"I need you to tell me where you are. Do you see any landmarks? Be specific."

"Um… uh… I'm passing a really huge cornfield. There's a big red silo out in the middle of it."

"Okay, I know where you are. If you stay on that road, you'll see a turn-off onto a tiny dirt road that doesn't look like anything. Go down that road a little over a mile, and I'll meet you. It'll shave off a solid fifteen minutes on your drive. I'll be there, I promise you."

"All right," she said. "Jace, I'm scared."

Gritting my teeth, I imagined pulling Eren's guts out of his body while he was still alive. "We'll be there soon," I said, swatting Waylan on the shoulder as I pointed out the windshield. "Take the next right," I directed him. "The dirt road leading to the Puckett cornfield. We'll need to slow down a bit, but it'll get us to Kirsten faster."

Clive Puckett was human. Like Kirsten, he lived on the threshold between Scottsdale and my own pack lands, except he was closer to Eren's land than mine. His family had lived there since my dad had been a young man. We had a good relationship, and he had no love for Eren, either.

"Got it," Waylan said.

He pulled onto the dirt road thirty seconds later. Dirt flew up behind us, probably blinding my men who followed, but they'd figure it out. All I cared about was getting to Kirsten as fast as possible.

"Kirsten, you'll see a small barn or shed in what will look like a big dirt cul-de-sac, with another road attached at a right angle. We'll be coming up that road. Park at the barn. We'll meet you there."

"I think I see it," she said. "Is it painted orange?"

I sighed with relief. She was almost there. "Yes, that's the one. Waylan, how far are we from Puckett's barn?"

"Maybe five miles. We're getting close," he answered, never taking his eyes from the road. The car bounced dangerously with the speed we were going on the pitted dirt road.

Moments later, through the dust cloud, I saw a black truck skidding to a halt next to the small orange barn. Kirsten jumped from the cab, leaving the driver's side door open. I leapt from Waylan's truck. Shifting in mid-air, I hit the ground running in my wolf form and sprinted toward her. Seeing her, alive and well, made my heart ache in a way I never knew it could. I'd nearly lost the most precious person in my life. Now, she was running toward me.

Just before I reached her, I shifted back into my human form, and she slammed into me, arms wrapping around me and burying her face in my chest. I clutched her to me. Hard. Magic buzzed through her. I could just barely make out the sensation of it under my fingers and across my chest. It was like her anger and fear had fed the power coursing through her.

"That stupid, piece-of-shit motherfucker," Kirsten hissed. "Sick bastard fuck."

She was still spewing her hatred for Eren as Waylan brought his truck to a stop beside us. Two cars came barreling down the road toward us, kicking up dust clouds. Behind us, our backup had arrived, cars screeching to a stop on the dirt path.

Eren's goons slammed on their brakes and immediately turned, crashing their cars through the cornfields to head back the way they'd come. It seemed Eren was just as big a coward as I thought he was. My every instinct urged me to follow him. To chase his ass down and stomp him into a bloody puddle on the ground. But Kirsten shivered in my arms, the adrenaline that helped her escape now dissipating. I couldn't leave her. She needed me, and that was more important than revenge at the moment.

Gently, I pulled her out of my embrace and tilted her chin to meet her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but her lower lip trembled. Rather than breaking down, she clenched her teeth and blinked away her tears. "I'm fine. Just… really fucking tired."

"I'll bet," Waylan said, grinning. "You really screwed over ol' Eren. Good job, chick. You're a badass."

Kirsten glanced over at him, and a shy but happy smile cracked through the anxiety on her face. "It wasn't easy."

Waylan laughed. "No shit. I doubt many people could have pulled that off. Nice job."

The smile stayed on her face, and I wanted to hug my friend. Waylan always knew how to put people at ease. I would forever be grateful for him for that.

He nodded toward his truck. "You guys take mine back to the house. I'll bring the stolen truck. We'll call it spoils of war."

"I didn't steal it," Kirsten said.

"What would you call it, then?" I asked.

"I…uh… borrowed it."

Waylan laughed again. "Okay, I'll bring the borrowed truck along. See you two in a little while."

Leading Kirsten to the other truck, I waved at the rest of my men, letting them know the danger had passed. They turned around and started to drive back home. After helping Kirsten into the passenger seat, I rounded the front and got in.

We drove in silence for several minutes. Keeping one hand on the wheel, I reached over and clasped her hand with my other. After a few miles, the full weight of what had happened sank in. Now that Kirsten was with me and safe, I could actually process how terrifying it had all been. I couldn't handle it anymore. There was no way I could wait until we were home.

I swerved and pulled over, putting the car into park.

"Are you okay?" Kirsten asked.

I let out a sad chuckle. "I should be asking you that." I turned to look at her. "The answer is no. I'm not okay."

Kirsten's brow furrowed, and she leaned forward, putting a hand on my thigh. "It's all right, Jace. I'm safe."

Thumping my fist on the steering wheel, I shook my head. "I was so fucking scared, Kirsten. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again. You can't imagine what went through my head." Tearing my eyes from the windshield, I gazed into her eyes. "I've never experienced that kind of loss before, not since losing my parents. That horror. Wondering what Eren was doing to you. Torture or worse. I've known Eren a long time, but I'm still not sure I truly know what he's capable of."

We sat like that for several seconds, staring into each other's eyes. A magnetic force overtook us, making it impossible to look away. In that moment, I understood what it would really be like to be with this woman forever. And then, like a dam breaking under floodwaters, the spell was broken.

With a grunt of effort, I leaned across the seat and kissed Kirsten. She wrapped her arms around my neck, sliding her tongue into my mouth. A moan of satisfaction rumbled in her throat as the kiss deepened. The terror that had a chokehold on me since Eren had taken her faded to a faint background hiss. All that mattered was Kirsten. Her body, her taste, her scent. She was mine again, and I'd be damned if I'd let her go.

Pulling away, she gasped for breath and pressed her forehead to mine. "I'm safe, Jace," she whispered.

I cupped her cheek. "But you weren't. And I can't help but feel like it was all my fault."

"Stop. We both said and did stupid shit. That's behind us now."

"Yeah," I grunted. "I just don't know what I would have done if he'd touched you. Hurt you."

"He didn't." She curled her fingers around my wrist and ran her thumb across my skin, sending gooseflesh up my arm. "He never touched me. All he did was scare me and piss me off."

Nodding, I sat back and smiled at her. "I know. You can't imagine how grateful I am for that."

"Not as grateful as I am," she said.

"Fair enough."

Kirsten leaned against me for the rest of the drive, and I drank in her warmth, soaking in all that she was. I was so relieved that she was safe and sound. Though she was no longer in explicit danger, that didn't mean things were over. Eren had taken things to an extreme. Had pushed farther than he ever should have dared. Just because I had my mate back didn't erase the fact that he'd stolen her. Regardless of whether Eren had decided to give up or not, his time was running short. This was not the end, it was just the beginning. War was coming, and I would make damn sure we won.