Chapter Eighteen

This made no sense.

There was a big hole inside of Sloane now, but she and Captain hadn't been dating that long. Sure, she'd known him for a long time, and sure, she'd been through this familiar heartache with him before, but she wasn't supposed to get this attached to a man this fast.

For a minute there, she'd thought the saying "everything happens for a reason" was starting to apply to her life in a good way, and now? It felt like "everything bad happens for a reason" applied more.

She sighed and glared at the printouts she'd been compiling. She had been doing research for days, every waking hour she wasn't at work or with Ruger. She'd stayed up late into the night going down the rabbit hole of online research of everything she could find about Damon's Mountains, and about Alpha orders, trying to figure out a way to undo one.

She wasn't ready to quit on Captain.

She'd had to quit on Ryan because he wasn't in it and had chosen another, but that wasn't what had happened with Captain. He just didn't freaking remember their connection, but here was the thing—Sloane had slept with him, and she'd tried to be a cool girl about it and not make a big deal, but to her? It was a huge deal. She had been in a relationship for so long, and she'd felt so awful about herself at the end of that. Captain had taught her how to trust again, and taken care of her, and made her feel okay with vulnerability. And now he could pretend she didn't exist?

It wasn't okay. She was feeling that familiar sensation of rejection, and she hadn't done anything wrong.

If Captain wanted to end things, Gunner should've let him do it of his own free will. That she could accept, but Gunner cutting her from Captain's mind?

Another wave of anger roiled through her.

She'd just dropped Ruger off with Ryan, and he'd done his thing, trying to get into her head, trying to seduce her thoughts back to him, but she could only see Captain.

Problem was, Captain couldn't see her.

Ruger says Captain wasn't around this week. Did you break up with him? I'm glad. Want to meet up for dinner? Just the three of us?

Sloane narrowed her eyes at the text from Ryan lighting up her phone. She picked up her phone. Stop grilling Ruger about my romantic life. Her finger hovered over the send button, but she changed her mind. Ryan wanted a reaction from her. He would covet every kernel of information she gave him, so she deleted the text and typed, You couldn't pay me enough to go out with you. Married men stepping outside of their marriage is disgusting. Blocking you today. I WILL train you on how you are allowed to talk to me from here on out. Send.

And then she blocked him.

Feeling smug, she nearly lost it when her phone immediately lit up with another text. Freaking Ryan. Did he have a burner phone or something?

But the text was from someone else. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she sat up straighter in her office chair. Captain had texted, I have your address memorized. Why?

She gasped and tried to connect a call, but he didn't pick up.

No , he texted simply. Just messages. One of my Crewmates just asked for your information, and I knew it by heart. Why?

Which Crewmate? Send.

Silver. Explain.

Her eyes flew wide and she leaned forward in her chair as she texted as fast as her fingers would type. I like Silver. I know her and Hallie and Corey. We hung out last week. You know my address because we were friends. More than friends. She waited a two-count, then jammed her finger onto the send button before she could change her mind.

The three dots indicating that he was typing showed up, then stopped and disappeared. Showed up, disappeared.

She set the phone down face-up and stood. She paced her bedroom, chewing on the corner of her thumbnail. Come on, Captain. Fight the order.

Okay, so Silver was asking for her address? Why? Was she going to talk to her like Hallie did? Tell her to forget about him? Or did she want to explain? Did she want to hang out? She should text Silver. But wait, if she did, what if Silver backed off because Sloane was too eager?

The phone lit up with a text from Captain. I don't like how it feels when I talk to you. Don't want to do it anymore. I gave Silver your information. Leave me out of your friendship with her.

Sloane read the last word and closed her eyes at the stabbing pain that pierced her chest. More rejection.

I really liked the way I felt when I talked to you . Send. Can you please try to remember? Send. She pulled up the last picture they'd taken together. She'd been sitting in his lap on the couch, and he was kissing her on the cheek as she smiled at the camera. Send.

Those last three texts wouldn't go through. The little sending bubbles stayed white, and she pursed her lips and nodded her head as she realized what had happened. She had blocked Ryan, and then Captain had blocked her.

Everything had gotten so messed up. Captain really was lost to her now.

****

"What are you doing?" Captain growled at Silver as he advanced on her. She was running, so he had to chase after her. The instincts said he had to.

Owen's mate turned around in the middle of the trailer park. She lifted her hand up and said, "Stay right where you are. You aren't going to stop me."

"Stop you from doing what?" he barked out, angry for reasons he didn't understand.

"Look at you, Captain."

Confused, he looked down at himself. He wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing, and his hip was streaming red from a gash. What the hell? He closed his eyes and shook his head hard, trying to remember how he'd gotten that. Had he blacked out? He remembered texting the woman Silver had asked him about and then…and then…nothing.

"You've aimed at everyone here!" Silver screamed at him, her lioness eyes blazing bright molten gold. "For days we've taken it, and I'm done. You nearly killed him!"

"Killed him?" he repeated, feeling empty.

Silver jammed her finger at her trailer. Owen was sitting on the steps there, no clothes, bleeding from so many slash marks across his body.

"Wait…" Captain frowned. What the hell was happening to him? He didn't remember fighting Owen. "I fought you?" he asked.

Owen lifted his bright-blue eyes to Captain, and they were full of exhaustion.

"What's going on?" someone asked from tree line. Gunner was walking this way with long strides, and he looked pissed. "I was Changed! I could hear you fighting from two miles away!" he barked out. "Again? Seriously?"

"This is your fault!" Silver roared, rounding on the Alpha. "You did this. You carved out the good in him!"

"No I didn't. That's just Captain. He's an asshole—"

Silver shoved Gunner hard in the chest, and a snarl rippled from him.

With a grunt, Owen pushed up off the stairs and swayed slightly. "Gunner, don't touch her."

It was Silver who advanced as Gunner backed up, though. "That's not the Captain I know," she said. "You're living in the past, clearly! The Captain I know doesn't fight unless he has a reason. The Captain I know stepped in between all of the females in this Crew, and Wreck. The Captain I know was fucking happy a week ago! He brought you his mate out of respect, and you took her away from him. You carved out the good in him when you did your stupid Alpha order, and you know it."

"It's for his own good."

"No it's not. That's BS and you know it. We are imploding, and Captain is the one dragging us down because of your order. You're justifying what you did by telling yourself it's best for him, but look at your brother, Gunner! Look at him!"

Gunner's bi-colored silver-and-blue eyes lifted to Captain, but he had no idea what his brother was looking for.

"Ask him if he feels his injuries," Corey asked from behind him.

Captain twisted around to see she had come out onto Hallie's front porch.

She twitched her head toward Captain. "Go on, Gunner. Ask him. Ask him if when he just turned around like that and his gash opened up, did he feel it? Ask him if he feels anything at all."

"I didn't know it would work that way!" Gunner yelled.

"You stripped a mate-bond!" Silver yelled.

"You all wanted to be under me, you wanted me to be Alpha, and then you piss and moan when I make a decision that could save a human kid and his mom—"

"You should talk to Lucia before you brag on what a hero you are," Silver said, shoving him in the shoulder as she walked past him toward Owen's truck. "Your order didn't change a thing."

Something was happening. Silver was trying to do something. Something good? Something to do with Captain. She was sticking up for him. She'd said nice things about him, and now she was posting up against Gunner. He hated Gunner too, but he couldn't put a finger on why. Maybe he just hated everything now.

Owen strode past him toward Gunner.

Gunner looked furious as he tracked Silver's escape. "Silver, I order—"

"No!" Owen yelled at the top of his lungs. "Silver, run!"

The boar exploded out of him, and he went straight for the Alpha.

Huh.

Corey was running for Owen's truck now too, and Gunner was yelling something between the chaos.

He needed to…he needed to do something. He needed to give Silver the space she was fighting for.

It had something to do with him. It had something to do with why he'd been growing more and more numb. Why he'd been having the dreams of the faceless woman. It had to do with the woman whose address and number he knew by heart, but couldn't recall a single facial feature to save his life.

Silver was trying to help him, and Owen was buying her time.

Captain strode for Gunner, who threw the boar off him by his tusks. He turned for Silver and parted his lips, and the fury of Captain's bear swallowed him whole. The world faded away except for Gunner.

"Stop, Captain!" Gunner ordered as he saw him approaching, but Captain wasn't home anymore.

The animal ripped out of him, and the moment slowed.

Captain's claws were reaching for Gunner, the truck was peeling out of the trailer park, spraying gravel across them, Owen's boar was charging the Alpha from behind, and a line of bright-red fire was coming for them.

Wreck was here.

Good.

Captain would kill all of them.