Chapter Twenty-One

Now that we knew the place I dreamed of was definitely run by the same person who had taken over Shifter House, we couldn't wait around to find patterns or confirm all the facts. We needed to act.

It took a lot for my mate to let everyone know not only about his connection to the man in the picture but also about his past. He was so much stronger than he realized. But not stronger willed than I was.

Tyrus was less than impressed when I announced that I was, in fact, coming with them. It was going to be a small mission, as far as we could tell. Small as in there weren't a ton of guards who could get in our way, not small as in importance. When it came to children, there was no one more valuable, more in need of protection. In that respect, this mission was huge.

There were two adult people at the lodge on a regular basis. We hadn't yet been able to get an accurate count of the children. We had to do our best while we were there to make sure we got them all.

Based on the number of guards and the connection to the "inspector," my guess was it was a situation similar to mine—there was someone taking care of them and someone in charge of the entire facility. That someone in charge was the man slated to die.

When I saw his face in those photos, when I discovered he was responsible for yet another facility, I nearly forgot to breathe. How could anyone knowingly be part of a ring that sold children? How? And in his case, he wasn't just a part of it; he enjoyed the power. When he beat me, it was like a gift for him. He savored it. Just thinking about it sent chills running through me once more.

We drove down, Aziz and Mav leading the way in one van. We drove in the other with Pop-Tart and Hammer. Everyone else stayed back at the factory to keep it safe, to get ready for more incoming children, and to make sure everyone there had their needs met. We might be going on "the mission," but, they were warriors in this battle too.

In and out. That was our goal. No prolonged fight. No risks. In and out and done.

One good thing about it being an old mountainside resort was that we were able to get the floor plans to help us plan using old reviews on the internet from when people stayed there in years gone by. Could they have redone the building? Absolutely. But it didn't look like they'd done anything at all since they closed. Even the drive was all broken up.

"I need you to be safe, Sloan. Promise me you'll be safe." It wasn't the first, nor would it probably be the last time Tyrus said this to me. He was scared. I didn't blame him. I was, too. But this had to be done, and we were the people to do it.

"I had the dream for a reason." I gave his thigh a squeeze. "I'm going in and getting the children and leaving. That is all. You know there's something about me that children trust. It's part of the reason why I did so well at my job. There is something about me kids connect to." I'd been told it was my big face. "It tells them I'm safe, that I care about them, and they respond in kind."

That had been Hutch's argument for why it needed to be me. And he'd been right. But even if none of that had been the case, I'd still be going.

"I know, omega mine. I know."

We pulled over to where the stakeout had been. It wasn't the resort, but it wouldn't take much time to get down there. Every minute mattered. If we were walking, they could see us. Thankfully, the cameras let us know that only the caretaker was here. I wanted the other man brought to justice more than my next breath, but never at an increased risk to the kids. We could come back for him another time. Rescue first. Justice second.

We came up to the back side of the resort, and Mav picked the lock like a boss. Once inside, it wasn't hard to find where the kids were, but only because they had them all sleeping on the floor of what used to be the main dining room of this vacation destination. Sitting at the door was an alpha—one of those we'd seen on camera. In my heart, I wanted him to be like me, not knowing what was happening and here all for the children.

The second I got a decent look, I saw instantly that he was guarding them like prisoners. This was nothing like Shifter House.

My mate went up behind him, put his arm around him.

"Who else is here?" he asked. "Don't think I won't kill you, asshole."

"This is my profit." And that answered that. "I ain't telling you shit."

He sealed his own fate. My mate partially shifted, and, with one swipe of his claws, those became the last words that alpha ever said. We dragged him around the corner so the kids wouldn't see the body. They did, their breathing erratic enough that they couldn't be asleep. They were scared, frozen. Now that I got a better look at the room, every last one of them was on their back, as if that was required of them, as if they didn't even get any choices as to how to sleep.

I went farther into the room and knelt down low. "Guys, listen. My name is Sloan, and these are my friends. We're here to rescue you. We have other children from other places, and we're going to help you just like we helped them."

No one moved or made a sound.

Tyrus came up beside me, his hand on my shoulder. "I promise you, we're the good guys."

An older boy stood up and came over.

"I know you," he said, looking directly at my mate.

Tyrus shook his head. "You don't. You knew my brother—my twin brother."

That made the boy turn around and whistle. And just like that, everybody got up.

"It's the real deal. We gotta get out of here. Remember that guy I was telling you about? His brother is here. He can take care of us."

We gathered the kids, not giving them time to take anything with them, although I had a feeling there wasn't much to take. We led them out the back door we'd come in through, the sound of a car driving up the driveway filling the silence.

Aziz was already on it, pointing for us to go as he jogged around the building, his hand on his holster. I hated the thought of using human weapons, but we had children and needed to do what was best for them.

"I'll go help," Tyrus said. "Take them to the van."

"No, they only trust you, mate. Take them. I'll stay with Aziz and end this."

He didn't like it. I didn't like it. But we had no choice.

When he heard the guy yell and realized three of the kids had grabbed on to him, he could see I was telling the truth and that there wasn't time to argue. He led them out, and I ran around the building in time to watch as the man smacked Aziz to the ground then reached for his gun.

Never in all my years had my beast come through my skin as fast as he did then. I pounced on the man, my claws coming out and my jaw clamping onto his neck, holding on until I finally felt his body give way underneath me. If he had seen me, it wouldn't have gone as easily as that, but I had the element of surprise on my side.

Aziz stood up, watching me from a distance. I let go, backed away from the alpha, and shifted.

"Thanks for keeping me not dead. And not for nothing, we are scary as fuck."

"No one messes with our kids. No one."

I looked down at the dead body, blood everywhere. It was good he was gone. He needed to be. But why did I suddenly feel like I was just as bad as he was?