9. Blayne

NINE

BLAYNE

After talking to Ava, I couldn't do anything but sit on my sofa. My panther had come out while I'd spoken to her. Knowing he was still there was a comfort to me, but it irked me that it still yearned for Ava even after she'd rejected the bond. Nothing I said could get my beast to understand that she wasn't the one for us—would never be the one for us. I even tried to remind him of what she had done to Liam, that she was the reason the part we were missing was gone. It did little to change its mind.

In the end, I took a melatonin pill and headed upstairs to bed. I wasn't sure it would work, but I was hopeful. I'd been sleeping like shit for days.

The first few minutes in bed were fitful, restless. The mewling and inconsolable cries from my panther deep in my mind made it difficult to even attempt to sleep. Thankfully, the pill started working, and I drifted off to sleep. Dreams of Liam and Ava plagued me, making my sleep less restful than it should have been.

My phone rang, ripping me out of a deep sleep, out of a replay of the night Liam had died. My mind was hazy as I fumbled around the nightstand for the ringing phone. Through bleary vision, I saw Tate was calling. It was also three in the morning. Something was wrong.

"Hello?" I mumbled groggily.

"Sorry I woke you," Tate said.

"No, no, it's fine. What's wrong?"

"Get to the office. I need to show you something. I already called the guys."

"Is it bad?"

Tate was silent for a moment before answering. "Well, it's not good. I'll let you guys decide how bad it is when you see it. See you soon." The line went silent, and I pulled the phone from my ear to see that Tate had ended the call.

I stumbled out of bed, my anxiety at an all-time high. Tate wouldn't call us in the middle of the night unless it was important. The call should have terrified me, but it was a nice change of pace. It was the first time I'd felt anything other than apathy for a week.

I pulled on a T-shirt, sweatpants, and sneakers before I grabbed my jacket and keys. Outside, I kept my eyes down as I got into my car, not letting myself glance at Ava's place lest I get distracted.

By the time I pulled up at the office, Miles and Tate were already here. A pair of headlights shone through my back window. Steff was right behind me. I parked and got out at the same time as he did.

Steff looked at me over the top of his truck's hood. "Not good," he said, shaking his head.

I sighed. "No shit. When is an emergency three am meeting ever good?"

"I've got a bad feeling."

"Yeah," I said. "Tate sounded worried. If he's freaked out, we all should be."

Miles, Jared, and Tate were in the conference room. Miles was starting the coffee maker as we entered. Jared was sitting in a chair at the back of the room, and Tate was focused on the laptop in front of him.

"Wanna tell me why I'm not snuggled up next to April under my blankets right now?" Steff muttered.

Tate gave him a strained look and nodded toward the big screen on the wall. "I'll show you." He plugged his laptop into the screen and brought up a saved video. "This was on the eleven o'clock news tonight. I didn't see it live, but I couldn't sleep. When I checked my email, Antonio had sent this."

The five of us exchanged a look before Miles gestured toward the laptop. "Well, let's see it."

Tate hit play and the screen on the wall showed a woman addressing the camera. "Good evening. Tonight, we have a special guest. Billionaire businessman Antonio Lowry. As some of you may have heard, Mr. Lowry was the victim of a terrible loss a few weeks ago. His daughter was found dead, and his adopted son has been declared missing. He is here tonight to discuss the loss and help others who've lost loved ones find some solace." The camera panned over to reveal Antonio sitting across the table from her. "Good evening, Mr. Lowry, and welcome."

Antonio smiled at her with faux sadness. "Thanks for having me, Brittany."

"I'd like to extend my condolences for your daughter."

"Thank you. Mariana was…well, she was a gift. A bright, beautiful girl, who was taken from me far too soon."

"From what I understand, Mr. Lowry, the authorities still have no leads on her death. Is that true?"

"Unfortunately so. The authorities have no suspects. Though, I have my own investigators working on it and we've come up with some leads."

The anchorwoman looked surprised. "You have suspects?"

"Indeed I do." Antonio glanced at the camera, and I felt a cold chill go through my body. This was all a show. He wasn't there to talk to this woman. He was speaking directly to us.

"Can you give us some insight into these people? Why did they kill your daughter….and possibly kidnap your son?"

"We aren't here to discuss specifics, Brittany. If I go into too much detail, it may spook those involved. We'll leave that to the professionals."

The anchorwoman looked as though she wanted to pursue the topic, but relented and took a different angle. "Very well. Hopefully your investigators and the authorities will track them down soon. You came here tonight to talk about the loss you suffered, and this platform is here for you to do just that."

"Thank you, Brittany. What I really want is to address those who've lost loved ones. You are not alone. Many of us have suffered similar tragedies. People who've lost those they held near and dear have to know that they must keep fighting. Like I have. Each day is a new beginning, a new chance to remember the family and friends they've lost. Keep getting up each morning, keep living your life. It's the best thing we can do to honor their memory."

"Beautifully said, sir. Now, on the flip side, what do you wish to say, if anything, to those who have perpetrated these crimes?"

Antonio shrugged. "I'd like to tell them they're nothing but filthy animals. Beasts that have no place on this earth. Abominations that should be eradicated. All they do is run around in the forests and dark places, sowing pain, destruction, and agony wherever they go. These abominations need to know that we will find them. We will bring them to justice, and we will make sure the world is cleansed of them. One way or another."

Tate hit the pause button on the remote. "All they do for the next few minutes is talk about grief counseling and things like that. This portion was the real message."

"He was talking to us," Miles said. "That last bit. Right?"

Tate nodded. "Even sent us the link via email to make sure we got the message. I think this is his way of telling us he's coming. His organization is about to move in for the final push."

I looked over my shoulder at Jared, who was staring at the screen with a blank expression of horror. "What are you thinking, big guy?"

Jared blinked and looked over to me, then at the rest of us. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "We're gonna need help before my dad…er…Antonio comes. He's gonna send his best guys."

"Hasn't he already done that?" Steff asked.

Jared's head moved slowly from side to side, terror sheening in his eyes. "You guys don't get it. The people he's sent haven't been his best force. Ryland? Mariana? They were bottom barrel. He didn't put his main force on us because your pack was small. Four guys? Easy pickings. All he's ever done was send new or fresh recruits after you. His main force? The true fanatics? They're different."

"How different?" Miles asked. He looked anxious, his shoulders tense as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Jared sagged back into his seat. "Antonio's got a lot of money, and a lot of investigators. He's made it his mission to find anyone and everyone who's ever been wronged by shifters. He's got at least two dozen people who served in the military or special operations. Guys whose wives left them for shifters or were raped by shifters. A drunk wolf shifter ran over your kid and killed them? Cool. Oh you were a Navy SEAL? Even better."

"Wait, wait, wait," Steff said. "How could Antonio know all these things were done by shifters? A hit and run? There's no way he could find that out."

"You don't get it, man. Grief fucks with your head. It doesn't make you think right. All Antonio had to do was make them believe it was a shifter. Show them a video of a guy changing into a dragon or bear, explain that they are evil, and say, ‘this is the creature that ruined your life.' After that, they fall right in. Guilty or not, they go for the throat."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Tate hissed.

"He's got some guys who are…more extreme than others. They're so far around the bend that it's scary. Guys who'd mow down anyone. Men, women, children." Jared shuddered involuntarily. "One of his teams came in and slaughtered my clan—I still have nightmares about it. The only reason I survived is that Antonio thought he could use me as a weapon. The screams?" Tears filled Jared's eyes. "I still hear them. The babies? Their crying was silenced by gunfire. Fuck…oh fuck." He buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

The muscles in my jaw jumped as I clenched my teeth. I could tell by the looks on the other guys' faces that none of us had expected Jared to open up like that. Seeing his reaction at remembering his family and friends dying ended any and all doubts I'd had about him. This was visceral for him. An exposed nerve that would never heal. My brother's memory was the same for me. What Jared had said about grief fucking with your head hit a little too close to home, but I tried to bury that.

Tate walked over and put a hand on Jared's shoulder. "You good? You don't have to be a part of this if you don't want to."

Jared looked up, eyes red and watery. "No way. I'm in this. Antonio has to pay. Not just for my clan, but for everything else. As crazy as Mariana was, she was my sister. I loved her in my own way. Antonio twisted her mind and made her into what she was, just like he did with me. Mariana deserves justice. I'll give you any information you need to take them down. This has to end."

"Okay then," Miles said as he pulled up a map on the big screen. He seemed more at ease when he could make a plan. "What do we need to know? We have to jump out ahead of this. We know about the training camp here." He placed a dot on the map. "What other camps do we know of?"

Jared whipped his eyes and looked at the map. "Well, now that Antonio knows I'm with you, he may have shuffled things around to maintain security, but I'll tell you what I know." He pointed at a few different areas on the map. "There are three main hunter groups in the country. Everything else sort of branches off them. One is on the West Coast, the second is on the East Coast. Antonio hasn't managed to branch out to multiple countries yet. There've been some ops there, but he has no presence outside of the US. The third group is being trained to do that. That group works around the northern and southern borders, but soon they'll make their way to either Canada or Mexico to start new branches. If we can take out the main teams, the entire organization will be thrown into chaos."

"Fuck," Steff said dryly. "Take out three heavily armed, highly trained militant groups? The four of us? Should be no problem."

Miles glanced at him with narrowed eyes. He didn't tell him to shut up, but the look said all it needed to. Steff rolled his eyes and kept quiet.

"First things first," Tate said. "We need to send our mates and children somewhere safe. They can't be here when shit goes down. We need to set up a safe house or something for them to hole up in until this is finished."

The mention of mates sent another deep burning ache through my chest. Even in the midst of all this, I couldn't ignore the fact that I'd lost the very thing my brothers were bound to—the very thing I'd wanted when they hadn't. I tuned Tate and the others out as they discussed possible locations to send the mates and kids. It was bad enough without having to hear them talking about it. My panther was nowhere near recovered from the rejection.

"We need to call all our allies," Tate said. "Anyone we can think of who can help us. Even if they can't help us, we need to warn them that a war is coming. They should be prepared."

Jared did not look confident. "We need an army. Do you think there will be enough people to help?"

"Not sure. Won't know until we make the calls," Miles said. "I don't think there's anything else to talk about. Let's all head home, grab some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."

Everyone got up and headed for the door, but Miles called to me before I was out. "Blayne, got a second?"

I stopped and waited until the others were out the door. "What's up?"

Miles scrutinized me before he spoke. "Are you gonna be okay? Through all this, I mean?"

"Why wouldn't I?" What was he asking?

"Have you been able to shift since Ava broke the bond?"

Tendrils of anxiety swirled in my stomach. I smiled sardonically. "Not yet, but my panther's probably only licking his wounds. He doesn't take rejection well, I guess. No need to worry. We'll be ready when the time comes."

Miles gripped my shoulder. "We're all family, bro. If whatever happened with Ava was too much for you to bear, just say so. We'll help. We won't judge. It's what we are here for. Why we're a pack."

A surge of burning heat ran up the back of my throat toward my eyes. I swallowed hard, desperate not to let any tears spill in front of Miles. I refused to let them see me as some weak kitten. I looked down at the floor. "Nah, I'm all right. Totally fine." I turned to leave. "Thanks, though."

I walked out the door before Miles could utter another word. Despite what I'd said, I wasn't fine. Not at all. I was anything but fine. The heavy weight on my heart had sent my panther into hiding, and I still couldn't get over the nagging pain. It was all the more irritating that all this agony stemmed from Ava. I just wanted this to be over. We had bigger things to deal with than my failed mating—a mating that wouldn't have happened without the fucking curse.

It was almost seven in the morning when I returned back home. I saw Ava locking up her house and heading toward her car. I had no clue why she was heading out that early, but I figured she was going to check on her dad.

When I'd found out her father had cancer, it had surprised me, but it made her return to town more understandable. Even terrible people had families who loved them.

She glanced across the street toward me. I had to fight down the impulse to wave. Ava's lips opened like she was going to say something, but instead she simply closed her mouth and got into her car. She didn't even attempt to speak, just got in her car without another look.

My panther yowled in my head, loud enough for me to flinch. A surge of soul-rending agony burst through me. I grunted and grabbed my chest. Was it a panic attack? A heart attack? The pain didn't stop. It crashed over me, wave after overwhelming wave. My panther hissed and cried, and tears I couldn't hold back anymore started to seep out of my eyes. I couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. Every action hurt. Bad.

I slowly sank to my knees, both hands clutched to my chest, rocking back and forth as I tried to ride out the pain. Finally, I managed to gasp in a breath, but that only made the pain worse. The icy-hot searing sensation went so deep into my core that I couldn't even pinpoint where it started or ended. It had to end. I needed it to end.

Unable to talk, I sent a thought out to my panther. How do I stop it?

It responded an instant later. Mate.

I clenched my teeth, ignoring the searing agony. No.