19. Ore

The plane ride to California was… interesting, to say the least.

Ore ended up perched on Cash"s lap since the plane—while luxurious—wasn"t actually made for so many people to travel in. Keegan was also on his mate"s lap, the two of them murmuring back and forth to each other. Nico"s big hands were clasped possessively on his witch.

The vampire, Nero, had offered his lap to Ericka. She laughed and then punched him in the bicep so hard the vampire winced.

Dare, who"d been sitting next to him, snarled at Nero, and then rose and offered his seat to her, before stalking to the back of the plane and closing the door behind him. Ore figured it was probably a bedroom for sleeping on longer flights, but he didn"t exactly feel like Dare would welcome him going back and taking a peek.

The Kincaid Pack members mostly kept to themselves, and the same with the Silver Oak Pack, three betas having joined them along with Liam.

The small bit of tension lingering in the air during the flight kept him tense and unable to relax. Even when Cash started gently running his hand up and down the outside of Ore"s thigh and encouraging him to lean back and get some rest. He did lean into his mate, but resting definitely wasn"t an option. Not with so many strange shifters surrounding him who didn"t seem like they really got along that well.

They were only about a half an hour from landing when Nico, who"d been talking to the human, Robson, sitting next to him, raised his voice just a little and said, "I am surprised Amato only sent two guys, considering it was his brother who asked for help."

Cash tensed beneath him. "We"re grateful for any help?—"

Nero cut him off, eyes locked on Nico. "Considering that Dare and I are equal to about six of you, I"d say it"s about fair, especially since he provided the plane and financial support as well."

"The two of you are worth six of us," Nico repeated, an incredulous smile on his face. "How do you figure?"

Nero leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and cocking his head to the side. All of his good humor and smiles had disappeared. What was left behind was a beautiful but deadly predator.

"Because the two of us aren"t afraid to kill someone. That"s what we train for. Not to win a fight, but to end it. Permanently. Your hesitation makes you weak."

"That"s enough," Liam said firmly, shooting Nero a frown before turning to the Kincaid Pack members. "Please ignore him. My brother tends not to put an emphasis on manners, but we are very appreciative of your help."

Nico kept his eyes on Nero for a long moment and then relaxed back in his seat, turning to Liam. He waved a hand. "Yeah, of course."

"I"m also grateful that Rick let me cash in my favor on this," Liam said, face solemn. "You let him know we"re square now."

Nico scoffed. "Nah, brother, this is a freebie."

Liam"s eyebrows twitched. "Excuse me?"

"You did something very personal for me and my mate., and Rick promised a favor in return, but this isn"t for that."

Liam glanced at Cash, who was on one side of him, and then Saint, sitting on the other, before turning back to Nico. "I just assumed it was."

"No. This is because it"s what"s best for the parahuman community," Marcus said, looking up from his phone. "Ore's parents mentioned they couldn't risk contacting us, worried they were being watched and spied on. I think I'll suggest to Alpha Kincaid that we set up an encrypted messaging system."

"That's a great idea, cari?o," his mate said, caressing the side of his neck and drawing Ore's eyes to the bonding bite there.

How on earth…

"Exactly," Nico agreed. "It's for the good of everyone. When you need a personal favor, that"s when you can cash in your chit. Got it?"

Liam smiled. "Got it."

Ore was a little surprised that when they landed at the private airport, there were enough black SUVs waiting for all fifteen of them.

Cash looked at Liam. "Your brother?"

"When I suggested we could just use a rideshare, he laughed at me and told me it was a good thing I had my looks since I wasn"t so bright," Liam told him dryly, shaking his head.

Ore slapped a hand over his mouth to suppress a giggle. He was both curious and terrified at the idea of meeting Liam"s brother one day. The other Alpha Amato seemed like he was quite the character. Definitely dangerous, but also generous, especially when it came to his younger brother.

They loaded into the SUVs, making sure everyone had the location of the pack, and then set off. He and Cash were in one with Nero, Dare, and Saint. Liam had jumped into the back of the one the Silver Oak betas had claimed, and then the Kincaid Pack members had split into the remaining two.

"Have you remembered anything else?" Saint asked him as soon as they were moving.

"Not since I told you everything I could remember a few hours ago," he said wryly.

Fern had explained to him that he remembered his family first because they meant so much to him. The connection was the strongest. He"d assumed he would then start remembering his packmates, alpha, and the place he"d lived most of his life.

He did remember some things, but others were still big blanks. He had a vague recollection of what his alpha looked like, but most of the rest of the pack, he couldn"t at all. But he could remember his fear as he'd fled, desperate to get away from Gladstone before he… forced the issue.

Most of the rest was still frustratingly blank.

Saint slapped him on the knee, giving it a quick shake before letting go as Cash growled at him. "Don"t worry. Your parents gave us the layout of the territory and your alpha"s house, so we should be okay."

"Plus, we do have the advantage of surprise," Nero chirped from the front seat, twisting around to grin at them.

"They have to know we"d come for Ore"s sisters," Cash said, frowning. "When his parents stayed instead of going back with Gladstone, they had to assume we"d do something to get the girls back."

Nero shrugged. "Well, yeah, but they"re probably expecting you to go about it diplomatically. Put together a formal request, go through all the red tape, yada, yada, yada. I doubt they"re expecting you to show up with force to make them turn over the girls."

"And anyone else who wants to leave," Dare added gruffly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Rivera mentioned on the plane ride from Michigan that he and the rest of the Kincaid Pack contingent will be staying if everything goes to plan," Nero added, distracted by something outside the window. "I guess they're going to help whoever steps up to be the new alpha get settled and make sure the Enforcers don"t stick around or try and come back."

Ore was a little surprised at that. He"d assumed they would have to immediately get back to their own pack and their duties. It seemed like most of them were Enforcers, after all.

Cash must have read his mind because he said softly, "Kincaid"s pack is a lot bigger than ours. He has a lot more Enforcers to pick up the slack."

"And betas," Saint added. "I heard once he has like thirty of them."

Ore whipped his head around to stare. "Seriously?

"I don"t know if it"s thirty," Nero said thoughtfully. "But there"s definitely a lot of activity at HQ there. But since so many people are coming from other packs to help get the new government set up, it can be hard to tell who"s a part of his pack and who"s there for that. It also benefits them if people think they have so many Enforcers and betas to protect their territory."

Ore nodded. "That makes sense."

Still, being around all of that activity sounded stressful to him, especially since Kincaid had only made his pack an even bigger target by building the new government just outside of his own territory.

He much preferred the small, more intimate pack in Silver Oak. He didn"t know how long they would have that peaceful existence before new members started arriving, but he had no doubt they would. Once word got out that a strong alpha like Liam was looking for new members of any shifter species, they"d be running to apply.

It only took about twenty minutes to get to the Barney Pack territory. Ore shivered as they crossed over the boundary line, not because it was imbued with magic like the Silver Oak Pack's were, he just wasn"t looking forward to the confrontation coming up.

He had so many bad memories of Gladstone harassing him and all of them were beating at his brain, trying to distract him. A big hand he was achingly familiar with slipped underneath his own where he was clutching at his jeans and thread their fingers together.

He smiled up at his mate.

"It"s going to be okay," Cash said firmly, no doubt in his voice or scent.

"I know." Ore nodded, looking back out through the windshield as they passed through the small human town at the outskirts of the pack"s territory. Most of the pack lived clustered around the alpha"s house a few minutes away from the edge of town.

"Yeah, we"re going to kick ass and be out the door before you know it," Nero said cheerfully, pointing at some store and nudging Dare with his elbow. "We should stop there before we get back on the plane."

Dare grunted at him, not bothering to respond.

Saint shot Ore a grin, seeming more amused than anyone else by the vampire"s weird behavior.

As soon as Alpha Barney"s house came into view, Ore"s hands started shaking, a trickle of sweat dripping down his spine between his shoulder blades.

Cash didn"t say anything, but he did squeeze his hand harder.

That show of support helped calm him. It would be fine. They"d tell Barney what was going on, get his sisters, and then get out of there. Marcus and the others could deal with all the rest.

The three other SUVs pulled up behind them, and they all parked in a line directly in front of the dilapidated porch on the front of the house. Ore vaguely remembered it once being in good condition, but that must have been when he was a kid because it looked like a strong wind would knock it down now. The house itself wasn't in much better condition. Anger over his sister's being trapped inside helped push the rest of his fear away.

"Ready to do this?" Nero asked, turning to look at all of them in the back seat, his gaze landing on Ore and holding. "You can stay in the car if you want. Once we"ve handled things, you can go in and get your sisters."

Ore shook his head. "No, I"m fine. Let"s do this."

He tried to insert more confidence in his voice than he was feeling, but he doubted any of the parahumans in the car with him bought it. No one said anything though or tried to talk him out of it. Cash opened the door and stepped out, dragging Ore behind him.

The others jumped out of their vehicles as well just as the screen door slapped open, and Louie Gladstone stepped out, a scowl on his face.

"What the hell do you think you"re doing here?" he yelled, eyes locked on Cash.

"Cleaning house," Cash said clearly and calmly, and then nodded toward the Kincaid Pack members.

Marcus stepped forward, his red hair nearly orange in the bright sunlight. "Are you Enforcer Gladstone?"

"Yeah, who the fuck are you?"

"Marcus Rivera, Enforcer in Garrick Kincaid's pack." He let that information linger in the air, Louie"s face dropping in shock as he ran his eyes over the rest of their group.

"You"re all from Kincaid"s pack?" he asked shakily.

Nero raised his hand. "Not me and the wolf." He pointed at Dare next to him. "Quentin Amato wanted to come and say hi."

It was immediately obvious that Louie was familiar with the name, blood draining from his face, and he looked even more scared than he had a minute ago.

"What"s going on out here?" an old, creaky voice called, and then Alpha Barney slipped past Gladstone. He squinted out at the gathered group on his front lawn. He looked even older than Ore remembered, his face so wrinkled it was hard to see where his features were. Most of his hair had been gone for as long as Ore could remember, but he looked stick thin, like he wasn"t really eating.

"Louie," Barney said, looking at his Enforcer. "Who are these people?"

Before Barney could decide whether he should come clean or lie, Cash stepped forward, Ore"s hand still clasped in his. As soon as he moved away from the others, his old alpha"s eyes landed on him and widened with recognition.

"Forester, is that you?"

He"d only been gone a month, but he tried to remember the last time he"d actually seen his alpha in person before that and he couldn"t. That could be his memory, but now he was wondering if Alpha Barney was being kept from the pack as much as the hatchlings were.

"Yes, sir," he said clearly, lifting his chin and refusing to show any fear in front of Gladstone. "I"m here for my sisters."

Barney looked confused for a second and then nodded once. "Ah, the hatchlings that have been staying with us for a little while." He looked over at Gladstone. "Are they finished with their training?"

Training? Is that what Gladstone had told him to get him to agree to keep the hatchlings locked in his house day after day? How on earth had he believed it?

He took in Barney"s appearance again, and a dark thought entered his head.

"Alpha Barney?" Ore called out. "Do you know what day it is?"

Face turning ruddy, he immediately blustered at him, "Who can keep track of the days? When you"re my age, they all string together."

Maybe, but he didn"t think that was the real reason, and he looked at Cash and then back at the others, the resigned faces letting him know he wasn"t the only one who had realized that the alpha"s mind was slipping, making it even easier for the Enforcers to do whatever they wanted.

Force matings. Steal hatchlings. There was no one strong enough to stop them.

Until now.

Marcus walked toward the porch, concern etched on his freckled face.

"Careful, cari?o," his mate muttered behind him.

Marcus moved to the bottom of the steps, glancing between Gladstone and Barney. "What you"ve done here is despicable," Marcus said fiercely, surprising Ore. The whole flight over, the redhead had only really shown emotion toward his mate. "You will be dealt with, but first I need you to release all of the hatchlings right now."

"You can"t do thi?—"

Marcus cut him off. "That"s where you"re wrong. We absolutely can and are prepared to."

He gestured over his shoulder and Ore looked too, not understating for a minute and then catching sight of Keegan at the end of the line. Purple tendrils of what looked like smoke were weaving around his fingers and up his arms.

He stared in shock. He"d never seen a witch with magic like that.

Gladstone"s cheeks pinkened, but he swallowed and stepped aside. "Fine, take them, I don"t care. They might"ve made it easier to control the weaklings in this pack, but I don"t actually need them. No one will stand up to us. This is our pack."

"Not anymore," Dare growled.

Gladstone eyed him warily as Marcus, Robson, and one of the Silver Oak betas—Riggs he was pretty sure his name was—headed into the house. Gladstone"s fists were clenched at his sides, but Alpha Barney still just looked confused.

"What"s happening, Louie?" he whispered to his Enforcer.

"Nothing, sir. Go on back inside and watch your programs."

"He"s been terrorizing the pack," Ore called out. "Him and the rest of the Enforcers."

"What?" Alpha Barney asked, looking shocked. "What do you mean?"

"We"ll explain everything," Liam said, clasping Ore on the shoulder and letting him know he would handle it. "I"m going to need you to call the rest of your Enforcers here though."

"Who are you, young man?"

"Alpha Liam Amato," he said, winking at Gladstone.

Ore stopped worrying about Alpha Barney the second a familiar young face filled the doorway. Hannah"s hair was as dark as his own, although her skin was lighter, closer to their dad"s. She was grinning widely, racing toward him before he had time to do anything but stare at her. She hit him at full speed and only Cash"s hand on his back stopped him from tumbling backward.

"Ore, you"re here!" she screamed in excitement. "I knew you"d save us."

His eyes prickled with tears as he stared over her head at his other sisters, Savannah and Holly.

Holly was the second oldest, but still almost seven years younger than him. The girls much closer in age than he was to them. She looked tired, her eyes scarily blank as she guided Savannah across the porch and down the steps, keeping herself between her and Gladstone.

As soon as they were close enough, he pulled them into his tight embrace with Hannah.

"Thank the Goddess you"re safe," he murmured, running his hands over their heads and backs, unconsciously scenting them after having spent so much time with Cash.

"Where"s mom and dad?" Holly asked, a little of her stone facade cracking as she took in the group behind him.

"They"re back in Kansas. I"ve been with a pack there." He nodded toward Liam. "His pack. For about two weeks, they"ve been taking care of me."

"Taking care of you how?" Savannah asked, staring up at him with her wide, hazel eyes.

"I was pretty hurt when I got there," he said, rubbing a hand over Hannah"s head when she made a soft noise of distress.

"But you"re okay now?" she asked.

"I"m okay now." He pointed unsubtly at Cash. "See that man?"

They all nodded, staring at him with round eyes.

"He saved me. And," he added in a fake whisper, "we're mates."

Hannah and Savannah clapped their hands together in excitement, and Holly smiled, but it was strained. He didn"t take it personally. He had no idea what they"d been going through after spending weeks and weeks locked in that house with no one but a daft, old alpha and his brutal Enforcers.

"We"re going to take you to mom and dad," he said, meeting each of their eyes, showing them that he was serious.

"We don"t have to stay here?" Hannah asked in a hopeful voice. "We"re never coming back here again."

He jerked back as Gladstone came storming down the steps, scattering the other hatchlings that had come out but were lingering by the porch, unsure what was happening or where to go.

Ore jerked the girls behind him.

"You piece of shit. You"ve ruined everything," Gladstone seethed, eyes locked on Ore and filled with hatred. "All you had to do was fall in line like the others. Instead, now I"m going to have to?—"

He didn"t get the chance to finish the threat. Before Ore even saw him move, Cash"s panther burst forward, shredding his clothes as he lunged at Gladstone, taking him to the ground quickly.

Unlike what Nero had said on the plane, Cash didn"t hesitate.

Ore covered the girls" eyes as best he could as his mate ripped the throat out of the man who had ruined so many lives. He didn"t linger over his kill, turning and trotting right back over to Ore and rubbing his bloody face against his leg.

He gave his black ears a quick scratch. "Thank you."

Cash looked up at him, and within a few moments, he was back in his human skin, pulling Ore into his arms and burying his face in his neck.

"Whoa," Savannah said. "I totally get it now."