“He died the week he became a Warrior. They both did. An Alpha ordered the kill, and they were gone,” she grimaced, gritting her jaw. “It wasn’t their fault, and the Alpha just killed them without asking him any questions. They were both innocent.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. My chest became heavy as I watched her eyes well with tears.
“It took a while for me to get over it.” Her falsetto grin flashed on her lips once again, and all the negative emotion filtered out of her façade. “And I wanted to do something with my pain and my anger, so I helped some women find their mates.”
“They why were you running?”
“Because right as another girl joined us, we were attacked.”
“By who?” she sighed at my question.
“Some men I owe money to.”
“Who are they?” I was hoping if I spoke loud enough, Theo and Caddy would be able to hear on the other side of the door.
“Men I hired to look into the death of my mate and my brother.” She placed her elbows on the table and let her forehead fall into her hands. “I didn’t have the finances to pay them at the time, and I told them I would pay them back when I had the money. As you can imagine, they didn’t like that answer very much. So, they took the girls. And they’re holding them until I can come up with the money.”
“Do you have the money?”
She laughed. “Do I look like I have the money, Margo?”
“So, what do you plan to do?”
“That’s where I need your help,” she said seriously. I flinched back slightly in my seat. “I need you to find those girls and bring them to me.”
“Why?”
“Because I was the one that got them into this mess, and I need to make sure their plans come to fruition. I know what it’s like to love a mate, and I just want these girls and their mates to experience that, too. I promised them.”
“Why didn’t you want to tell Theo about this?”
Her eyes turned darker at the sound of his name. “Because I don’t trust him. But I trust you. You’re like me, I can see that in you, you’ll do the right thing.”
“I’ll need Theo’s help to find them. I can’t do it on my own,” I warned her.
“As long as you return those girls safely to me, I don’t care if you need every wolf on this continent to help you.”
“Fine,” I leered apprehensively, grabbing the pad of paper and pen Theo had left in the room. “Where are they?”
“They’re in a cabin in the south end of the mountains. I don’t know any other way of directing you there. But five men are keeping them captive.”
“Okay, and who are these women? What are their names?”
“Olympia Trent, Pilar Aisles, and Verona Avery.” She didn’t make eye contact with me as she jutted out the names. I scribble the names down quickly and set the pen aside.
“That’s really helpful, Saskia,” I praised her. “We’ll do everything we can to find your friends.”
“They aren’t my friends,” she clarified, looking at me with her caramel eyes through a mess of dark eyelashes. “If anything happens to them, this on you now.”
Her words made me unsettled like she was loading a gun on the table in front of me. I nodded and folded the paper in half, rising from my seat slowly. She stayed sitting, looking over at the table angrily.
I opened the door and walked towards Theo and Caddy, handing them the sheet of paper.
“It’s a long story that I’ll explain on the way. But we need to go to the south end of the mountains to save these girls from a group of men who are holding them hostage.”
“Well, that’s not how I thought this conversation would go,” Caddy admitted, rubbing his thumb over his eyebrow.
“You’re brilliant.” Theo wrapped his arms around my midsection and hauled me up. Our chests pressed together, and I buried my head in his neck.
Theo set me down, and I steadied myself on my feet. The small smile I had didn’t reach my eyes, and Theo asked what was wrong. “Nothing,” I said softly, reaching up to rub his cheek with my thumb. His stubble tickled my skin. “I just-”
My words were interrupted by a shattering sound from the conference room. I stilled as Caddy tried to throw the door open, only to be blocked by furniture stacked up on the other side of the door. With Theo’s help, they pushed the door open completely and saw the remnants of a shattered window.
“She’s gone. She’s fucking gone.”
In the Brush
“Caddy, sit down,” I urged, pushing a chair out from the table with my foot, motioning for him to sit. He slammed the chair back in roughly and hit the table with his fist.
“Caddy.” Theo’s voice cut through the room. Bodhi had peeked through the door, watching Caddy with cautious eyes.
“What, Theo?” he practically shouted, throwing his arms into the air.
“You need to calm down,” Theo said softer, eyes motioning to the seat that I had pushed out previously.
“I need to calm down?” He laughed. His eyes were wild. “I don’t need to calm down. I need to get a grip on my pack. I don’t know what I’m doing,” he gritted out, enunciating each word individually. “And it’s not like she cares enough to help.”
Bodhi threw the door closed as she left. Caddy leaned over the table, exhausted, and his head dropped down to his chest.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said again.
“You’re doing the best you can,” I tried to soothe him.
“Well, it’s not good enough.” He stood up and turned his back to us. I looked at Theo.
“He just needs time to adjust,” Theo promised me quietly, setting his band on my knee that was bouncing rapidly. I folded
