54. Rhyson

54

Rhyson

"Charlotte and Bryan were wonderful," Emily said softly. "We couldn't give our real names, and we couldn't come up with fake ones. We were so scared to talk to anyone. They were the ones who named us Christa and Carla. I think, to this day, they still assume that Gemma and I are sisters. Rhyson, I don't want you to think that I forgot our parents."

"No," I broke in, my throat tightening. "No, I don't think that at all. You do not need to apologize for surviving. I would like to meet them and thank them for taking care of you."

Gemma and Emily exchanged looks. "We spoke to them last night after London told us the news. We needed someone to talk to. We ended up telling them everything," Gemma confessed. "It was a long night of confessing, but they would love to meet you as well."

The door opened, and Juniper stepped in. She was beyond pale. Immediately, I was on my feet. "What? What happened?"

Emily gasped. "Juniper?"

"Emily." Juniper forced a smile. "I can't wait to hug you and catch up on everything, but I need to talk to Rhyson first. Can you step out into the hall?"

Emily's eyes widened, and she and Gemma grabbed hands. "Is everything all right? Did something happen?"

"You're safe," I told them as I rose. "Believe me, I am not going to let anything happen to you. Stay here. This should only take a minute."

I was going to wring Juniper's neck. What the fuck was she thinking? Terrifying Emily like that, and for what?

"It's Maya," Juniper whispered when the door closed. London was still sitting in the hall, still protecting his charges. He cocked his head and stared at us. "She thinks she knows who took Emily and Gemma. Who killed your parents."

London swiftly stood and walked closer. I clenched my fists. "Maya was just in here. She ran out because she had morning sickness."

"More like a major panic attack. She's not hiding anything from you, Rhyson, but she couldn't tell you herself. She says she doesn't have proof, but she recognized a tattoo that Gemma described. She says her father has it preserved and hanging in his study. She's certain it belongs to him."

My world stopped. Why the hell would Bruce Callahan have been in the wolf trafficking trade? He was an alpha. A beloved one, at that.

But he wasn't always an alpha, and he was also exceedingly cruel. Was Maya right? Had I already shaken hands with the man who murdered my parents?

"He must have learned Marrow was looking into Emerson, and he knew it would lead back to him. He's nearly taken my whole family from me," I said hoarsely. "Where's Maya?"

"I ordered her back to her room."

"What do you mean ordered her? Where was she when you told her?"

"She was near the border. I had one of the guards looking after her."

I whipped my head around. "I'm going to see Maya. Guard my sister and her friend until I get back," I ordered London.

He looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but he just nodded. Opening the door, I popped my head out. "Everything is fine, but I need to check on Maya. I'll be back."

Gemma started to say my name, but I was already gone, running with Juniper to my room.

Maya had been breaking, but I believed her fucking story about morning sickness. The very first thing I was going to do was pull her into my arms and remind her that her father's crimes were not hers. Then I was going to hunt down her father and rip his head from his neck.

The room was empty. "Duke," I roared. "Nash. Dante." I wanted eyes on her. I needed to hold her. I was about to leave when I saw the piece of paper in the middle of the bed.

With shaking hands, I picked it up.

Rhyson. I am so sorry. By now, Juniper has told you what I strongly suspect. My father has taken so much from us. I won't let him hurt you anymore. I can go back to him. I know he won't hurt me because of the baby, not when he thinks he can use our son to manipulate you. I'll get him to confess, and then you can call the court for his execution. I want you to have closure, especially now that this new life is ahead of you. Your sister is wonderful and so is your mate. It's everything that you deserve. I'll be in touch when I can. Maya.

"What the fuck is she talking about? My mate?"

"Shit. She thinks Gemma is your mate. She said something about Gemma being your queen," Juniper growled. "I was going to correct her, but then she told me her father killed your parents, and I got a little sidetracked. I know there was a time when Gemma thought she was your mate. Did you bond with her just now?"

"No," I snarled. "Fuck, I think Elonso called her my mate last night. He must have learned that everyone expected us to be mates, but Gemma is not my fucking mate. That's why we were fighting to begin with. She wanted to leave the pack to find her mate, and I told her she was too fucking young."

None of that mattered. Using the radio, I got in touch with London. "Maya is gone. I want everyone looking for her. Could she have left your pack undetected?"

"No," London responded. "Give me a minute."

The minute felt like an hour as I thought about what I was going to do to Maya when I got my hands on her. No way was I letting her go back to her father. I didn't need evidence or court to rip the man from limb to limb. What I needed was her safe in my arms.

"She left in one of the jeeps you came in with. My guards let her through because they assumed she had permission to leave."

"How long ago?"

"Thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes. I looked at my wolves. "Let's go."

We followed her tracks for hours, my wolf growing crazier and crazier by the second. Then, when I smelled the smoke, I knew why.

There were dozens of wolves on the scene, all drowning out the original scents, but they were keeping the fire from spreading. Duke hadn't even put the car in a full stop before I jumped out, the blood draining from my face. The jeep had smashed into a tree, and it was a blazing inferno.

"This your fucking truck?" one of the wolves shouted. A woman nearby, a witch, blasted water from her hands to douse the remaining flames. "You could have set the whole goddamn mountain on fire."

"Where is she?" I whispered.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Where. The. Fuck. Is. She?" I roared as I unleashed my power. Every wolf in the vicinity, including my own wolves, crumpled to their knees. The witch paused and blinked at me.

"You have our attention," she said slowly. "Although I don't think you're going to get much from the wolves if you don't release them."

"There was a woman driving the jeep. Is she injured?"

She shook her head. "The vehicle was abandoned. I'm an elemental witch, and I sensed the fire. It couldn't have been burning more than five minutes before I got here. No one was here."

"Please," a wolf wheezed.

Staring down at the young man, I released him, and he gasped for breath and pointed. Turning my head, I saw the metal spikes in the road.

Maya hadn't gotten into a car accident. Someone caused this. Either someone was just waiting for some vehicle to dismantle and steal, or this was a targeted trap. I pulled in my power, releasing all the wolves as I walked over. Immediately, the smell of blood hit me, and my wolf keened.

"Leave," Duke ordered. "Anyone who does not have information on what happened here needs to leave immediately."

Everyone took off except for the young man. He slowly got to his feet. "Blonde man," he coughed. "Shifter. Not from here. He's been marking this territory for a few days now. Fancy clothes. Fancy phone. Often had it on speaker phone."

I stared at Maya's blood and fought for control of my wolf.

"He's not a kill-the-messenger kind of wolf," Juniper said with a friendly smile. "He only wants his woman back. Tell us what you know."

"He reported to someone that two girls were still alive. Two important girls. Maybe they were two of yours," the man said timidly and cleared his throat. "And whoever he was talking to called him Champ."

Champ. My wolf ripped out of me, and the kid took off running. My own wolves took a step back. Bruce had sent his second to kill my sister.

Maya's tormentor had her.

"I smell her blood," Duke said in a calm voice. "We can follow it, but you know what would be better? She's your mate, Rhyson. Accept that bond and find her."

Whipping my head toward him, I growled. I knew that Maya was my mate, but I couldn't bond with her.

"No, she can't bond with you. There's a difference. You've spent two years hunting down Marrow's killer. You've built yourself an entire kingdom with you at the helm just so you could avenge him, but you were born to be king, Rhyson. You were born to protect. You need to accept that this isn't just a crown you're using. It's a crown that you deserve. And Maya is the queen to be by your side."

Opening my mouth, I roared. I let my wolf unleash everything and gave him complete control, and then, as I focused completely on Maya, I felt the warmth spread through my chest.

My mate bond.

It was there all along. I just had to fucking accept it. Snapping it into place, I ignored the fact that it didn't seem to go anywhere. I knew it wouldn't connect me to Maya.

But her wolf was a different matter. I was her king, and her wolf was mine, bond or no.

Duke cleared his throat. "Got it?" I chuffed. "Good. You follow your bond. We'll follow our noses. Let's go get our queen."