21. Twenty

Twenty

Lincoln

"Sawyer, stay with us." I jolted back to the bedroom. The cave was gone. We were back home.

Sawyer was gone we'd lost the connection.

Sloane and I sat on the bed, staring at each other. A cold chill zipped up my spine.

He was okay. He had to be.

But I couldn't feel him right now.

Sloane's face fell, morphing into a silent scream as she slapped a hand over her mouth. "Did we get him out of the water in time? Was he far enough that he can't fall under?" She reached over to me and shook my shoulders. "Lincoln, what if he drowns?"

My mind reeled at what she was saying. Nausea churned in my stomach. "He was out of the water. I think he's going to be okay."

Tears filled her eyes, and a few trickled out, running down her cheek. "Are you sure?"

I nodded and pulled her into my lap, holding her tight. "I'm sure. He's going to be okay."

He had to be. I closed my eyes and focused on him. There. He was there. Unconscious but alive.

She grasped my shirt, fisting it in her hands. "I hate we can't reach him. What if something happens?"

Her fears were real. We had no idea what was happening. And there was nothing we could do right now.

I rubbed my hand over her back, hoping I was soothing her. "It's going to be okay. We have to believe that. Look at how far we've come."

Sloane drew in a shuddering breath. "I'm scared, Lincoln. Do you think your father has done something to the wolfsbane?"

I chewed the inside of my cheek. Those scratches had been gnarly. "Probably. We'll have your mom make a salve or something to help with the infection."

She pulled back, blowing out a long breath as she set her jaw. "Yes. the stuff she gave to Willa worked wonders. I'm sure she could whip us up a few batches to take with us."

I nodded. "Good. Did Brandon check on the wolfsbane yet? Is it ready to harvest?"

I held my breath. We needed that now more than ever.

Sloane tugged her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Yeah. He was checking on it first thing this morning. It should be ready."

I rubbed my hand over my jaw. "I have a few ideas that might help us. We'll have to meet up with him and see if he can get some ready for the groups heading out tonight."

Sloane tilted her head to the side, a cute pout taking over her features. "What do you have in mind?"

I gave her a grim smile. It wasn't going to be pleasant. "The property runs off a well. I know where the pump is. We dump a bunch of that down the well, and it's going to affect the pack. They won't be able to get water or shower without burning themselves."

Her mouth opened in an ‘o' shape. "That's...a good idea."

She shivered and hugged herself. Yeah. I didn't like it either.

I cupped her face. "I know it's crude, but it will be effective, and we need everything we can right now."

She nodded slowly as she sighed. "I know."

"I also had another thought."

Her gaze flitted to mine. Her brows knitted together, and she opened her mouth, hesitating a long moment. "What is it?"

I scrubbed a hand over my face. "Dad will target you or me first. I know him." It was an advantage as much as a curse.

"Okay."

I blew out a breath. Heat crept over my cheeks. "He thinks we are weak." My voice was a low growl. "That he can easily beat us. For the safety of those who stay behind, we should have a third wave waiting. If we find his numbers are low like we think, we call them in with some sort of signal."

Sloane twisted a piece of hair around her finger. "You don't think we should pull the whole pack into the fight unless we think we have a good shot at winning?" Her face fell. "It's a good idea to keep some back. And it's no secret that we are outnumbered even with the new wolves."

I ran my palms up and down her arm. "We don't have to do that."

Sloane closed her eyes. "No. It's a good idea. And it would leave some to come back here and help the women, elderly, and kids run." She opened her eyes and dropped the hair from around her finger. "You know, if the pack isn't all there, the fighting won't really be over until we stop all his men."

I looked at the bedspread. The light green swirls drawing me in. "I know. But stopping my dad will leave the pack in shambles. It should be easy to put a stop to them without him as alpha." I reached out and took her hand. "But we can cross that bridge when we come to it. My dad is the biggest threat right now."

She chewed on her bottom lip again. "Do you think Sawyer is safe in that cave for now? And no one has really found him?"

I sat back on the bed and considered her questions. It was odd that no one had discovered him. It must be driving Dad mad that he'd evaded capture for so long.

But... "The cave has always been our secret spot. No one else has ever been in there to my knowledge."

Her brows drew together as she frowned. "How is that possible?"

I shook my head and then shrugged. "I don't know. But this is a good thing."

The longer Sawyer stayed undetected the better. It would be easier to get him out.

The alarm on the end table blared. Our phones went off in a perfect synchrony. We both darted our attention to the alarm clock.

It was six in the morning. Time to get up. Not like we'd done much sleeping to begin with. My eyes were heavy like I hadn't slept a wink.

Sloane's eyes slid shut for a moment before she reached over and smashed her hand down on the alarm clock and picked up both our phones, silencing hers and then mine.

She handed me my phone. "Looks like it is time to get our day started."

She slithered across the bed and groaned as she got to her feet. Her hands shot up over her head as she stretched.

I yawned and crawled out of bed, dressing quickly. "I told Brandon I would check up on him first thing. Are you good?"

She stripped off her hoodie and went to the dresser, yanking out a few items before balling them in her hands. "I think so. He's probably still working on the wolfsbane. I have to make my rounds too. I'll check in on you when I can."

I grabbed her hand as she passed by and tugged her to me, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "We are almost there, sweetheart. We just got to hang on a little longer."

She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against mine. "I know."

I gave her one last lingering peck and then pulled away, watching as she padded into the bathroom. I ran my hand through my hair, giving it a shake before dressing and slipping out into the hallway.

The pack was waking up for the day. Water shut on and off and alarm clocks dinged from behind closed doors. A few people were creeping out into the hallway with me. I nodded at them as I passed.

Oatmeal was for breakfast. There was a hint of cinnamon and brown sugar in the air. I bypassed the kitchen and headed outside.

The ground was wet and puddles pooled in the drive. A light chilly rain drizzled on me as I made my way to the greenhouse.

The door was partially open, and I nudged it the rest of the way. Brandon was in the corner by the computer with two of the other wolves. They had their heads together and were talking quietly.

I opened the door a little further, despite the chill. We had good ventilation in here, but it didn't get rid of the horseradish smell completely. Once this war was over, I never wanted to see let alone smell this toxic plant again.

I did my best to breathe through my mouth. "How's the wolfsbane?"

All three perked up, but it was Brandon who spoke up. "We are getting ready to start the harvest now. We are going to have a bit more than we originally thought."

I crossed my arms over my chest. My nose twitched, itching.

I should have put on a mask or something. "That's great news. I have a few ideas on how we can use this besides our smoke bane grenades we discussed."

Brandon motioned to the other two wolves. "Alex and Damon have been amazing at working with the wolfsbane. Hopefully, they can help make it work for us."

Alex picked up a bit of wolfsbane with his gloved hand and held it up like he was inspecting it. "The directions the dealer left us have been more than helpful. I think we can work up just about anything you want." He leveled his gaze at me. "What did you have in mind?"

My gaze darted to the table of the heinous plant. My skin crawled.

A lump formed in my throat as my mouth went dry. "I want to dump it down the well." I gulped and suppressed a shudder. "A large enough batch to keep them from shifting."

Damon picked up a stack of papers, flipping through them. "There are directions for that."

Of course there were. My dad had probably done it before. He wasn't expecting our attack, so our tactics used against him should be a surprise.

I took a step back, relishing in the icy breeze as it blew through the open door. I breathed in the dewy air. "Good." I pointed at the papers. "What other ways of weaponizing it are there?"

My dad probably had all sorts of awful things planned for it.

Damon shifted the papers again. "Well, there's stuff to put it in food." He sorted the papers again. "Then there are ways to make it airborne through the ventilation systems. I think that's it."

I huffed and scrubbed a hand over my face. "We won't get close enough to put it in the food to matter. Probably the same for the ventilation."

Luna help me with what I was about to do. "Get as much as you need ready for the water supply, though. We'll put it in the well a few hours before the attack."

Alex cleared his throat. "How strong do you want it? They already take some of it, right?"

The enforcers took it in small doses, so they had a tolerance. "Is there anyway to find out how long it takes to travel through the well system?"

Alex shrugged. "We could make some educated guesses, but would need to know more about the property and layout."

That made sense. "If I can get you the property info, can you do it?"

Alex and Damon looked at each other. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and put a hand under my chin as I narrowed my eyes, staring at the offensive plant. "The sprinklers run every day at 9am year round unless it's below freezing." Dad was weird like that. "If we get it in the water supply so it can be run through and we attack right as the sprinklers go off, they'll have to run through the water to get to us."

Another thought occurred to me. "And there are no sprinklers by the prisoner compound, so when our people escape, they'll remain unaffected."

Brandon shifted his feet and leaned against the table, grunting and jerking his hand back when it got too close to the wolfsbane. "How long do the sprinklers run for?"

"Five minutes, but I'm sure I can make it longer or shorter if needed." I rubbed my jaw. "By the time we draw them all out to the wrong area and work our way up, the water should be back off."

Brandon smiled. "I was planning on bringing my laptop with me, just in case, anyway. We could hack in, let it run as long as needed and shut it down just before I go into the house."

I liked the way he thought. "Just make sure you wear something over your shoes and pants so it can't seep through. We don't want you compromised. Everyone else should be able to stay on the drive and out of the wet zone."

Sloane's mom had lost enough in this conflict. I didn't want to see her lose anyone else. Sloane too. I was being na?ve to think we wouldn't lose anyone. War always came at a price.

Brandon closed his laptop and picked it up, holding it to his chest. "Me either. I have a few things to talk to you about."

Damon waved him off. "Go on. We got this."

Alex and Damon turned back to the pile of wolfsbane and began picking at it again.

I rolled my shoulders back, fighting the urge to scratch my skin off. I really hated that stuff.

I left the door open as Brandon and I walked back out into the crisp morning air. A few birds lingered in the trees singing softly. Our feet squeaked across the wet ground as we headed for the house.

I broke the silence. "Is everything okay?"

Brandon clutched his laptop to his chest tighter, like it was his lifeline. "There are a few things." He cleared his throat. "I was hoping you could look at the documents I've created to make sure they look authentic for your dad's business."

"Of course. I used to do the books for him. I'll give them one last look before you print them off."

Brandon opened his mouth and shut it. He huffed out a heavy sigh, but didn't say anything.

My insides twisted, causing my stomach to gurgle. "What else?"

He gripped his laptop so tight, his knuckles turned white. "I know about Sawyer. I'm sorry." He stopped and gave me a sympathetic look that had his lips turning down into a frown. "But how will we know if we still have reinforcements to help? Or that they'll be ready?"

My heart sank into my stomach. That was a great question. We wouldn't. We had to have hope. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. We were hoping for a lot of things.

My mother's words rang in my ears. Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.

Followed by my father's voice. You are weak, insignificant, and will never best me.