Saved By The Alpha
Chapter 20

Eli’s stare met mine, and my spine stiffened. I even stood up a little straighter. But I had been waiting for a chance like this my entire life. My family’s case — my pack’s murder — still hadn’t been solved, and I had long since lost hope that any of the local authorities were still thinking about it. The other packs in the region gave our old territory a wide berth, considering it haunted rather than something they should investigate.

I probably would never know who wanted us gone or who pulled the trigger. Taking down the head of the Raven Brothers was the closest I was going to get. He may not have been there, but if anyone knew what had happened that night, it would be Victor Whithall. I can’t let this one get away.

This was my last chance, and if he somehow —

No. I wasn’t going to consider that possibility. I wasn’t going to put that out into the universe. It was finally my time. I was going to get answers, and then I was going to put that as*sh0le six feet under before he could do it to anyone else’s family.

“No way.”

Eli’s growl broke my train of thought. I scowled, not holding back my own snarl as I stared him down. “Excuse me?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You heard me,” he muttered, taking a step closer as he dropped his voice. It didn’t matter, of course. Everyone else around us was a shifter. They’d hear us no matter how quiet we were at this distance. “No way.”

Frankly, I didn’t care if anyone around us heard. I bared my teeth, my wolf bristling as Eli sought to deny us. I knew he wouldn’t be happy with me, but I didn’t care. “I’m not your packmate, Eli,” I growled back. “You can’t order me around.”

He made a frustrated noise, throwing up one hand. “I’m not trying to order you around,” he insisted, frowning. “I’m trying to keep you safe!”

“Newsflash! I can keep myself safe!” I snapped. The kidnapping and hostage situation were just flukes. And I got myself out of that situation myself, didn’t I?

Eli’s expression didn’t soften. “Have you ever done something like this before?”

“No.” I wasn’t sure if it was possible for me to scowl harder, but I damn well tried. “Have you?”

His brow twitched. “Well, no, but—”

“Then you have no right to exclude me on that basis.” I folded my arms over my ch3st. My teeth were starting to ache from how hard I was clenching my jaw. “I’m going, Eli. I’m up for the challenge, and I’m not going to be sidelined. Not again. I uncovered this whole thing, and I’m going to see it through.”

And not just Project Night Moon, either — I’d get as close as I could to solving the mystery of the Aurora Pack massacre, too.

Eli threw up his hands, making an exasperated noise. “No one’s trying to exclude you just for the sake of it!” he argued, motioning to where the others had been standing. When I looked past him for a moment, I realized they had all stepped away, giving us the illusion of privacy. For some reason, that only made me all the more frustrated.

“Then what are you trying to accomplish other than pissing me off?” I demanded. “I was the one held captive in that f*****g place. I was tortured — I watched wolves die, Eli. As far as I can see, I’m the one who deserves to go the most!”

It wasn’t a card I wanted to play, but I wasn’t sure how else to get Eli off my case.

“You’re also the most emotional about it!” he countered, his mouth pulling at the corners. “I’m not trying to exclude you, but what happens if you make some heated decision and get f*****g hurt? What am I supposed to tell Bella?”

“I—” The question stopped me dead in my tracks. I hadn’t even considered that. Logically, I knew that Eli would have to deal with it if something happened to me. That felt different, somehow. But Bella…

She watched her parents die. She might not have realized it in the chaos, but I had little doubt she’d remember later. It would follow her in her nightmares for the rest of her life, no matter what else happened. I knew this all too well.

I don’t want to add to that.

Eli saw his opening as I struggled to figure out what to say, stepping a little closer. He reached out, touching my elbow gently as his expression softened. “Seriously, Iris. I’m not trying to rob you of anything. I just want us to take these fvckers down, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. What would Bella do? What am I supposed to do if that happens?”

“I wouldn’t—” My argument died on my tongue. It had almost happened once already, and in that facility, no less. It was one thing to merely consider it, but hearing Eli say those words out loud: What am I supposed to do?

It felt like someone had taken a hammer and struck my ch3st, little cracks spidering across my heart as if it was made of glass. “I don’t know,” I said, now much quieter than I’d been before.

“Neither do I. I don’t want to replace out. I just…” He trailed off and shook his head, looking away for a moment. Suddenly I thought of Nic and Sarah. My heart squeezed, the broken pieces falling away as my wolf whimpered. That could be Eli.

No matter what else happened between us, I didn’t want that life for him.

“What am I supposed to do, then?” I asked. “I can’t just sit around, waiting and hoping. You can’t ask me to do that.”

Eli shook his head. “We can’t all go into the facility anyway. You can come and stay in whatever base we set up to help coordinate everything, okay? You’ll still be involved. Intimately.”

I didn’t say anything for a moment, rubbing my face as I tried to come to terms with his offer. Now that I had a second to think, if I acted rashly — or worse, and put the entire plan into jeopardy — it wouldn’t be just me that was in danger. And it wouldn’t just be Maverick or Eli, either. It was every wolf currently being held captive in that damn place. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to live with myself if something I did, caused harm to any of them — or Eli.

“Fine,” I finally agreed, my shoulders slumping. “Fine.”

Eli gave my elbow a little squeeze. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “We’ll get it done, Iris. I promise.”

We tooka moment to regroup before rejoining the others. Remus, Bane, and Maverick were discussing how to use the pack for the plan while involving as few wolves as possible. “Fiona and Luna will remain with the children. I will need a few more guards posted there, as Nic will be joining us to take on these alphas.”

“Of course,” Maverick agreed, nodding. “I think what we already have will be good, though I’d suggest posting a few guards around your pack doctor as well. Well, unless he’s some sort of combat medic, anyway.”

Remus snorted. “Dr. Hayes is in no way a combat medic,” he replied, eyeing Maverick. He gave me a questioning look.

“I’ll be monitoring you all from our base of operations,” I said, not interested in going into any more detail than that.

Maverick nodded and glanced down at the papers. “Good. Now that you’re back over here…” He pointed to the map on the table, tapping one finger against a door. “There will be guards posted here, here, and here,” he explained, pointing to several different locations. “There will also be guards making a circuit around this section and this one as well. And as I said before, all of these little symbols indicate where the security cameras are.”

“As long as we’re careful, we should be able to avoid most of the guards,” Remus said.

Eli gave a nod. “And between all of us, we should be able to handle them quietly and quickly.”

I rubbed my chin, inspecting the map and the corridors. “How are you going to get the captives out?” I asked, lifting my gaze to watch the others. “Some of them might be in bad shape, depending on how long they’ve been there.”

Maverick nodded. “We’ll make sure we clear a path for them. If anyone is unable to make it out under their own power, one of us will personally escort them out.”

“I will have vehicles on standby waiting for your signal, Iris,” Remus added. “We will escort them all to a secure location where Dr. Hayes and his nurses can administer treatment to anyone who needs it as quickly as possible.”

I nodded, but I was only partially satisfied. “What if children are still there? Maverick wasn’t able to confirm or deny that while he was grabbing the blueprints, was he?”

The man in question frowned and shook his head. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance. I got in and out as quickly as possible. There was a much higher probability of being noticed in an area I didn’t have clearance in if I poked around.”

I turned my attention back to Remus, pointing to the room labeled as Pediatric Care. “I don’t know what that’s supposed to be, but if I had to guess, that’s where they’d be. Maverick did say the doctor wants alphas who are easier to train.” I scowled. As if you can train a shifter.

“We’ll make sure to check the medical bay as well,” Eli added, pointing to it. “Anyone injured could be there — or anyone pregnant.”

“Good,” I said, nodding. “But that’s just getting them out. What happens to kids there afterward? Especially if they were like Bella and their parents were killed.”

Remus sighed, his expression growing somber. “We’ll try to determine if they were taken with or without their parents. If they were individually kidnapped, we will do everything in our power to make sure they are reunited with their family. If the children were taken with their parents and they were killed, then we will first try to reunite them with their birth pack. Failing that, I will personally make sure they are placed with a shifter family interested in adoption.”

I frowned, chewing over his plan. “Shifters don’t usually have a problem with fertility. Are there that many looking for children?”

He shrugged. “There are other reasons they might not have kids. Injury to one person. Same-s*x partners. Single women. Non-traditional families. There aren’t a lot of adopting families, but they do exist — and I would take the children in myself before giving them over to the human foster system.”

His expression softened as he watched me, as if remembering that was exactly what had happened to me, but I didn’t need his pity. I wasn’t offended by his passion, either. If anything, I was relieved to hear it. Naturally, I hoped we wouldn’t replace any other children at all, but if we did, I was glad that someone would fight tooth and claw for them to remain with other shifters. They would deserve nothing less.

Bane made a low noise. I had almost forgotten he had been standing there until this moment. “It’s not going to be easy coordinating so many people at once,” he said, a trace of concern on his features. “It might take a while.”

“We’ll set up beforehand as much as we can,” Remus said. Maverick nodded, adding, “We’ll do everything we can do…distract anyone involved to buy the captives as much time as possible, as well.”

Bane shook his head. “No, I mean…” He paused, looking a little frustrated. He motioned with one hand. “Once they’re out. Recovery. Return or relocation, depending on the situation. That will take weeks — maybe even months. That makes us vulnerable.”

“I can organize some assistance from overseas,” Eli said, speaking back up. “My cousins would be over here on the next jet if I asked them.”

Remus nodded. “I will coordinate with other alphas we trust in the area as well. Seff can help cover our tracks digitally, and if the others are willing to lend some aid, we can move these individuals much more quickly. Keep them undetected.”

Bane nodded, seemingly satisfied with the added plans.

Remus looked around. “If there’s nothing else, I have to make some calls to get these balls in motion.” When no one else spoke up, he smiled. “Good. I’ll be in the guest room if anyone needs me.”

“I guess I should make some too,” Eli said, giving me a reluctant look. Maverick had already slipped away, presumably doing the same thing, and Bane — well, I assumed the beta was shadowing his alpha.

I sighed and waved a hand at Eli. “Go on,” I said. “Catch them before they fall asleep.”

As he walked away, I returned to my seat in the kitchen, staring down at my cold cup of coffee. I had no one to call, nothing to arrange. Despite being in a house with three alphas, I suddenly felt extremely alone. Isolated.

So much for being intimately involved.

Eli foundme sitting outside on the deck, staring at the trees as low beams of light filtered through autumn leaves. “Are you okay?” he asked, sitting next to me.

I fought down a scowl, lest I make myself out to be a liar before even speaking. “I’m fine,” I said, choking back the emotion. “Did you get in touch with Myles?”

“Everything’s being arranged,” he said dismissively. “Seriously, though, I know you wanted to go to the facility. You sure you’re not upset about this?”

“Of course I’m upset,” I snapped, giving him a sharp look before closing my eyes. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to pause. “Sorry.” I sighed. “Yes, I’m upset. It still feels like being excluded, even if I’m still involved. I’m not an alpha. I don’t have all these resources to add to the pile.” I shrugged — that wasn’t even Eli’s fault. “Look, as long as we pull this off — as long as we pull this off and you’re okay, then I’ll be fine.”

Eli tipped his head, giving me a wry smile. When he didn’t say anything, I frowned, fighting back the urge to squirm under his gaze. “What?”

“I think you’re starting to get how I feel,” he said, shaking his head as he dragged his eyes away.

“What do you mean?”

All of the humor had left his expression now. “When you insist on throwing yourself into harm’s way. I’m not going to stop you unless I seriously think it’s going to cause, well, huge problems, but…that doesn’t mean I don’t worry. Do you seriously think I’d be okay if you got hurt?”

“I—”

Damnit. How does this man keep rendering me speechless? I’m supposed to be the one with the quick quips here.

Before I could say anything else, Eli leaned over and k!ssed my cheek. “I know exactly what it feels like, Iris. I will never forget the days when you were missing. Captured. I won’t forget how scared I was for you after, either.” He shook his head. “I won’t do that to you.”

“Promise?” I asked, leaning a little closer.

He nodded, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me into his side. I snuggled a little closer.

“I promise,” Eli responded, k!ssing the top of my head this time. “I have too much to lose, Iris. I want to live this life. I want to live it with you — I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize that. You have my word.”