Chapter 4

Thomas

I knew Lily and the girls were going to be okay. My mate would see to it. They were probably all tucked in and back to sleep by now. As Alpha I had responsibilities that went beyond my immediate family.

"What's the status?" I asked my brother-in-law Cole Anderson.

Cole and my sister Lizzy only lived in territory half the year. Well, that's the way it was supposed to be. But with his business ties to Westin Pack plus the fact that he was one of Kyle Westin's Betas, it meant I was lucky to get them a few months a year. But in a time like this, I was grateful to have them home.

Lizzy was a lawyer and oversaw all the legal logistics for my Pack. I was grateful to have her, but in all honesty, she could do her job from San Marco just as easy as being here. There was very little now that required her to be in Collier. Still, we were all grateful for whatever time they both could manage to spend with us.

"Looks like we have three unaccounted for. The others all made haste when the alarm sounded," Cole said.

"They probably think it's another drill. Idiots. I've never run a drill in the middle of a storm. But at least the others are taking it seriously."

"From what I heard, the way you reamed them out last time, of course they are taking it seriously."

"Who's missing?"

"Hewitt, Richie, and Crat. Crat? Crap? What the hell is that supposed to be?"

"Crat. Like Cat with an r. Don't ask."

He chuckled. "Well, those are the three missing."

I sighed. "Probably too drunk to even hear the warning alarm." I looked around the room to see who was nearby. "Gage. Can you help us out?" I hollered.

Gage was my sister Clara's mate.

"Sure, what's up, Thomas?"

"We have three men missing. I guarantee they are passed out drunk at one of their houses. If we each take one address to check, we can be back here in no time. What do you say?"

"Sure. Just tell me where to look."

"No," Cole said adamantly.

"Excuse me?" I wasn't the kind of man used to being told no.

"You are not going out there. You're too valuable to this Pack. I'll find someone else to join us."

"I've got this."

"Thomas, don't be stubborn about this."

"Stand down, Cole. This is something I have to do."

Times like this made me feel helpless and trapped. I needed to get out of here and do something, anything.

This time he didn't argue with me as I divvied out the list sending Cole to Richie's place, Gage to Crat's house, and I headed for Hewitt's knowing he was the orneriest of the three men.

It was my first time really out in the storm. As Alpha I had a direct access to the shelter from within my house. The rest of my Pack did not. There were multiple entry points around Collier designed to give people the best chance possible, but they'd had to come out in the wind and rain to get to them. I couldn't help but begin to think of ways we could improve, even knowing it had been very purposefully designed to accommodate as many as possible with easy access.

My shoulders hunched and I curled into myself as I ran against the rain. Drops pelted my body and at times the wind was so strong that it made it difficult to walk through.

Gage was the first to reach his location and called in over the walk-talkies I'd insisted we each carry.

"No sign of them at Crat's."

"Okay. Thanks. Head back to the shelter."

"See you there. Be safe."

I pushed on. A part of me wanted to shift into my fur where I could run faster and the rain wouldn't bother me as much. But with each gust of wind there was a part of me wondering if my wolf could stand it. What if he just took flight and was flung into the side of a building or something? I couldn't chance it. Not only did my Pack need me, but I had a mate and pups expecting me to return safe and sound. I never wanted to let them down, so I pushed on, keeping low and fighting the storm every step of the way.

Just as I stopped and started to call in for an update from Cole, there was a flash of light in the sky and a crack so loud that I reached to cover my ears and duck. Good thing too because a tree came crashing down right on the building I was braced against.I took off running as brick and wood scattered around me. I didn't even stop to take note of where I was or what we'd just lost. I just ran.

"Thomas, what the hell was that?"

I couldn't answer, still trying to find safety for myself.

"Thomas!" Cole yelled more urgently through the radio.

At last, I came to Hewitt's house and raced inside, practically knocking his front door in. I knew it wasn't safe to stay long.

"Thomas!" Cole yelled again.

"Sorry. I'm here. Just made it to Hewitt's. It's getting bad out there."

"What the hell was that noise?"

I hadn't realized I'd gripped the radio and turned it on as I ran.

"Tree came down. We're definitely taking damage with this storm."

"But you're okay? It sounded terrifying."

"I'm fine."

Looking around the house, I wasn't seeing any signs of our missing men.

"They aren't here at Richie's place," he told me.

"No luck here either. Head on back. I'm going to check one more place and then I'll return."

"Just get back safely. I'm sorry but three drunks are not worth our Alpha."

He was wrong, but I didn't say that. Every wolf in my Pack had value, even these fools. I had to find them.

"Okay," I lied wanting no further arguments. "I'll meet you back at the shelter."

As I stepped outside, I scanned the area. When I realized I was closer to shelter three than I was to shelter one, I wondered if perhaps they had made their way there. The one thing I'd not thought to do was check with the other shelters first, though I didn't think that was something Cole would have overlooked.

I ran all the way to shelter three. At times it felt as if I was going nowhere, but I did make it there safely.

When I burst through the door, everyone jumped.

James ran to my side when he realized it was me. "Thomas? What the hell are you doing out in this? What's wrong?"

I took a moment to catch my breath, realizing there were others watching us now and I was causing a scene with my presence.

Smiling and forcing myself to relax, I made up some lame excuse about checking up on everyone. James didn't believe a word of it, but before I could really explain things, I made my way around the bunker, letting my presence soothe the worried wolves there.

As soon as they started to calm, Austin grabbed my arm and dragged me into the Alpha suite there. There was one in every shelter just in case I found myself in another part of my territory when an emergency arose. When I wasn't there, it fell to my next in charge—James or Luke. In this case, all of the Six Pack and their families were currently using this suite. The surprised looks on their faces told me they had not been expecting me.

"Are Lily and the girls okay?" Kate, Wyatt's mate, blurted out.

"Hello to you too," I responded. "They are all fine."

"Then what in the blazes are you doing here?" Clay's mate, Winnie, asked.

I looked to James. "We have three people missing and I was kind of hoping they came here by mistake. We've already checked all three of their homes and still no sign of them."

Emmett scowled. "Let me guess. Hewitt and his buddies."

"Yup."

"They arrived about fifteen minutes before you. I called over to your shelter to let them know."

My whole body started to relax. "Thank God."

"You risked your precious Alpha-ass for those morons?" Austin blurted out.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Clay argued.

"Enough," I said, a bit sharper than I intended. "You don't get it. It doesn't matter that they are drunks and everyone sees them as worthless. They aren't worthless to me. Every Collier wolf has value and every single one of them are my responsibility. I take that very seriously."

"Clearly," Emmett said with a chuckle. "Lily doesn't know you're here, does she?"

"Probably not, and there's no reason to worry her about it."

"She's gonna kick your ass for this stunt. What was Cole thinking letting you go out in this mess?" Wyatt asked.

"His displeasure about it was duly noted, but I am still the Alpha."

"Oh. You pulled the Alpha card on Cole Anderson? That makes sense. I would have paid money to see that go down," Austin teased.

"It wasn't like that. He argued. I shot it down. It was done."

"He and Gage got back safely. Clara let us know."

"So you already knew I was gone."

"Of course we did. But we didn't know you'd be dumb enough to come all the way here," Austin said.

"I was checking Hewitt's place and realized how close I was to this shelter," I confessed.

"Makes sense, but you should never have been this far out to begin with," James argued.

"Whatever. What's done is done."

"How bad is it out there?" he asked as the others leaned in to hear more.

"Bad. Worst we've seen in a long time. A tree came down on me and took out a building. I honestly don't even know which. There is definitely some damage out there."

They all froze and then started talking at once.

"Calm down," I said, raising my hand and letting just a bit of my Alpha power flow across the room. "I don't know the extent of the damage, but it's definitely there."

We talked for a bit, and then I announced I was leaving.

"No," James said.

That was twice I'd been told no, and my wolf was already on edge from the storm, so I was not dealing well with it.

A growl erupted from me.

"Sorry, Thomas, but use your head. It's not safe out there," he argued.

"I know better than anyone what it's like out there. And I also know I have to get back to my mate and pups. I know you guys can appreciate that."

"We need those moles to add some tunnels between the shelters. This is ridiculous," Clay argued.

"I'll be fine. And I'll radio in when I arrive back at shelter one safe and sound."

It was clear that none of them liked it, but I also knew they weren't going to stop me.

"Oh, one more thing. Is everyone here accounted for?"

"Yes. Shelter two as well. The only ones missing from any of the bunkers were those three drunken idiots. Everyone else has checked in," James assured me.

"Good."

I said goodbye to the others. James walked me back out to the door. Along the way I had to stop and speak with a few people. They weren't quite as freaked out as I expected them to be. But there were certainly a few beginning to pace.

"Everything's going to be okay. No matter what. We are all accounted for and safe. This storm will pass and whatever happens out there, we will fix and rebuild as needed, coming back stronger than ever after this."

A few people clapped and I waved as James and I continued on. No one stopped to question my presence, how I got there, or even where I was going.

"Don't you make me regret letting you do this," he told me when we finallly reached the door at the top of the stairs.

I chuckled. "Don't recall ever needing your permission."

"Maybe, but for the record, you have it anyway. Give Lil a hug for us. We'll see you soon."

"Keep an eye on the radar. It's a big one, but it will pass, and soon this will just be a blink of time."

We hugged for a moment then I opened the door. It flew back against the wind.

"You're sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

Together, with me pushing and James pulling, we managed to close the door again.

The wind was even stronger. The thunder boomed. I could feel it in my bones. The lightning lit up the sky. I could see trees down everywhere. At least one truck was lying on its side. I couldn't even stop to allow myself to think about the animals. This was bad, really bad.

Stubbornly, I fought against the wind to return to my mate. I'd lost all track of time, but my focus was laser sharp as I kept my path straight.

I always said I could navigate Collier lands with my eyes shut. This was about as much proof of that as possible. Visibility was horrible, except for the flashes of lightning, but I pressed on.

The only thought in my head was how upset Lily would be if I didn't make it back.

Just when I thought there was no way I could make it and it was time to look for shelter, a flash of something caught my eye and I realized I was back where I'd begun.

With newfound energy I dug deep and battled the wind and rain to reach my destination.

The door wasn't easy to open, but I managed by channeling some additional wolf strength. Closing it was another feat as a worried Cole Anderson ran to assist me.

"Where is Thomas? Why won't anyone tell me where my mate is?" I heard Lily yell.

I cringed. Shit. I probably should have told her I was leaving.

"Lily, he's fine," Gage assured her.

"Where the hell is he?"

"Slugger, I'm right here."

It had seemed like the right thing to do despite Cole's head shaking in warning. I didn't understand why he would do that until Lily rounded the corner and shrieked at the sight of me.