AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wasn’t sure how it happened, but I came to my senses in the foyer, inches away from opening the door. My wolf had taken control for a few seconds while the blow of that news hit me. I jerked away from the door, falling to the floor. My wolf gnashed his fangs, trying to force the shift. I clenched my fists, my sharpened nails piercing through my palms. I used the pain to help me focus, trying to fight for control.
Dom was suddenly at my side, trying to talk me through it. I heard Mom calling me from her room, urging me to be strong. On the stairs, I heard Dr. Stan coming down to help Dom with me.
I pushed all that outside shit away. Something was wrong with me. Never in my life had it been so difficult for me to regain control. My wolf had never fought so hard to take over. But slowly, thankfully, my wolf’s hold began to lessen and lessen until I was myself again. I heaved a shuddering breath, and with Dom’s help, I rose to my feet again.
“Night—”
I cut him off with a sharp shake of my head. “Not now. I just need some time to myself.”
“Right. Of course.”
Dr. Stan slipped his hands into his pockets. “I’ll keep an eye on Violet while you’re gone.”
“Thanks, Doc. I appreciate it.”
I turned my back to them and set off on my own. My body felt like it weighed ten tons when I first entered the forest near my cabin, but as I continued to walk, it became easier. I still felt off, not fully myself. My body seemed slow to respond to my commands, like that struggle with my wolf had put me on autopilot. And my wolf was eerily quiet now. I hoped I was just recovering from the struggle, but I knew it was more than that.
Dom had warned me that I should conserve my strength, but now that I was in the cover of the forest, I began to sprint. I needed to feel the blood pumping through my veins. If I could get my body moving, I’d feel more present. As I pushed my body to run even faster, my wolf started to stir again. This time, he wasn’t trying to take control. He was grateful for the activity.
He and I both found a lot of satisfaction in feeling the breeze on our skin and through our hair—or fur, in my wolf’s case. The mechanical movement of running and the woodsy scent of the forest grounded us both. I would stay in my human form for this run, though; I couldn’t trust him not to do something risky.
I couldn’t blame him for losing control. The fates knew that I was close to doing the same. Every fiber in my being was telling me that I needed to shift and get to Bryn as quickly as I fucking could. But I knew I needed to use my brain, not my emotions. I was scared out of my mind about what Troy might be doing to my mate and my sister, but I couldn’t dwell in that worry. If I let my emotions get the better of me again, I could make a mistake that ended up getting Bryn and Tavi hurt.
I reached the hot springs and slowed to a stop. I panted hard, my heartbeat pulsing through every inch of my body, sweat dripping from my chin and onto the forest floor. I looked at my hands. There was still blood on them, but the puncture wounds from my nails had healed.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm the rapid beat of my heart. When I was a pup, I had dreamed of becoming Alpha. After I achieved that, my focus had been on getting the Wargs back on their feet. Leading up to the day I found Bryn, I’d finally felt that my pack was in a good enough place that I’d be able to take control of the Kings and merge them with the Wargs.
Finding my soulmate had caused my priorities to shift. Taking over the Kings and combining them with the Wargs became secondary while Bryn and I slowly got to know each other. The Kings were meant to be mine as Gregor’s oldest son, and Troy knew that. He knew that taking Bryn would not only weaken me but also delay that goal further. I couldn’t keep pushing this off. I owed it to my pack to follow through on my promises, but I needed my girls home safe again.
The stakes were too high for me to let Troy’s capture of Bryn and Tavi get to my head. To find my family, I needed to be smart—much smarter than my half-brother. Now that he was a full-fledged Alpha, there was no underestimating what the psycho was capable of. I would have to be overcautious and overprepared to make sure Bryn and Tavi came back alive. I needed to plan, and I needed to keep my heart as far out of that plan as I could.
The hot springs ran into pools of varying sizes. Some were large and could fit up to twenty or so people, but others were smaller and cozier. I approached one of the smaller pools, peeled off my clothes, and eased into the hot water. I leaned back against the wall worn smooth by the water and let my head fall back against the bright green moss that lined the mouth of the pool. Steam wafted to my face, and I breathed it in until my lungs were full, letting the breath back out slowly. I did this again until my heartbeat calmed.
These hot springs were one of the jewels that the Wargs’ territory provided for us. I closed my eyes and imagined Bryn sitting next to me, pressing her soft body against my arm. I hadn’t had the chance to show Bryn this magical place. Knowing her, she would love to see all the tiny wildflowers that grew along the perimeter of the springs. She’d probably tell me all about them while I smoothed my hands over her back and pressed kisses to her neck.
I missed her so badly, my body ached. I needed her back. Now.
When I opened my eyes again, I lifted my head to stare through the steam and into the trees. The hot springs had worked; I felt more focused.
I was going to be slowly losing more strength each day I went without claiming Bryn, but I couldn’t let that slow me down—not with my girls’ lives in question. I needed to get my wolves together and we needed to find where Troy was keeping them. Then we would make him pay for all the shit he’d done.
4
BRYN
Stalactites and stalagmites were jagged teeth sticking out from the top and bottom of the cave but for the small hole in the ceiling near where Tavi and I sat. That hole let in a ray of bright sunshine, particles of dust glittering and dancing throughout, but that bit of beauty didn’t touch either of us. Not while we were in captivity.
We were in a fairly spacious cavity within the cave. It reminded me of the cave where Vincent and I were almost attacked by three feral wolves. There had been a massive hole in the roof of that cave, and Vincent had fallen through it. It had been cool and damp like this one, but the larger hole gave access to sunshine and fresh air. This cave had no such “comforts,” if they could even be called that.
To our right, the cavity narrowed into three separate tunnels. If I concentrated, I could hear the babble of the Kootenai River down one of the paths. The other two were quiet. If I had to guess, the one that sounded like the river would lead us to freedom. First, we needed to break free of these chains.
But we couldn’t do it. We tried everything we could think of, including yanking at our chains, but against steel, there was nothing we could do. All we did was exhaust and bruise ourselves in the process. We tried shifting, too, but Troy had obviously planned for that. With our arms chained, we couldn’t get them in position to complete the shift, so we were forced to remain human.
I had vowed to myself and Tavi that I wouldn’t cry again, but this was all so frustrating and scary. After being chained up in Troy’s basement and kidnapped by Night, I had believed that I’d lived through the worst terrors of my life, but this was a whole new level of awful. Neither Tavi nor I could do anything but wait for Troy, Samson, and Harlon to return to do…whatever they were going to do to us. It was maddening.
Unable to stay quiet as my frustration and desperation mounted, I turned to Tavi. “Why can’t Troy just leave me the hell alone?” I demanded. “Why can’t he live his own shitty life as far away from me as possible?”
Tavi sighed. She was just as exhausted as I was, and just as at a loss. “Alphas will use those who are closest to their enemy to cause them pain and throw them off their game. Night told us that was the reason he kidnapped you at first, but now we know it was because you’re his mate. Troy wants to keep Night off his game. He would have smelled Night on you, and he would’ve clocked that Night hadn’t left a claiming mark on you. Taking you away from him will make both you and Night weaker because Night hasn’t fully claimed you. If Troy keeps you away from each other long enough, Night will be an easier target.”
