Jade rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Laurel,” she said, bouncing from foot to foot with a grin and jabbing her fists in the air. “I got this.”
My mouth twitched up into a smile as I saw the sparkle in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in years. She’d always get this buzz whenever we’d pull off something particularly risky or difficult. Casey looked at her, his face soft, even as he raised his eyebrows at her.
“You seem pretty proud of yourself,” I teased, finally giving in to her infectious smile as we stepped through the second door and arrived by the cages. I glanced over at Ocean, who gave me a nod. He was sitting on his bed, and he looked tired.
“Hell yeah!” Jade scoffed, punching my arm and getting my full attention again. “I convinced those idiots upstairs I had the job as a security guard. I look like a fifteen-year-old, for fuck’s sake. Who’s the best, Laurel?”
“Jule,” I said, bursting into laughter as I gave her the traditional response.
Casey chuckled and Jade scoffed in mock outrage as she punched my arm harder thistime. “You fucker!” she said. “He trained you well. He’s not even here, and he can’t let me win one.”
I stopped as Casey turned and I caught sight of his bruises. “God, what happened?” I asked, pointing at his face.
“Oh, Titan was a bit agitated this morning.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there to help him from now on,” Jade cut in.
Casey and I exchanged a look that she, thankfully, missed.
“Is there any way to calm the feral alphas?” I asked, looking at them.
“I mean, they’re not aggressive most of the time,” Casey said. “Just not…there. But if you know how to approach them and not seem like a threat, they’re fine.”
“Is there a way to bring them back?” I asked, trying not to look at Ocean.
“No.” Hugo’s voice rang out from his cell on the other side of the bars. We all turned to him. “Once their mind is gone, I haven’t seen a single one come back.”
“But there must be a way,” I said. “It’s not like it’s the only time an alpha has ever gone feral.”
“What are you going to do, go to the hospital with one of ’em?” Hugo said with a snort. “Take them to a specialty clinic? If you get any of them out of here, you bet your dad will be watching for any record of a feral alpha in treatment.”
“Enough talking,” Jade said, pulling me toward Ocean. “Let’s get the two lovebirds together.”
I felt my face go hot. “We’re not like that,” I said as Ocean barked out a laugh.
I moved over to his cage, and my good mood vanished as I got a better look at him. Ocean looked rough, his eyes swollen and bruises decorating his body in a depressing mirror of mine.
“Hey,” he rasped, struggling to his feet, his expression softening.
I swallowed, hesitating as I felt his relief and joy as I got closer. He shouldn’t feel that happy to see me. I searched through the bond, trying to figure out the trick. The idea that it was genuine was too much, like trying to look directly at the sun. Instead, I wanted to avert my eyes and hide.
“You okay? Something happened yesterday that had you terrified,” he said, leaning against the bars.
“It was nothing,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself.
I walked closer and glanced at where Jade and Casey were hovering. Jade took the hint and dragged Casey back, giving us some space.
“I found out I’m engaged to the Lucas pack, and it took me by surprise.” Ocean’s face darkened. “Don’t worry, we’ll still get you out of here, no problem,” I said, but he shook his head.
“Did no one see how Madison treated you in the suite?” he asked. “Wasn’t your father there?”
“My father doesn’t care,” I said, shrugging.
Ocean raked a hand through his lank hair. “Well, don’t worry,” he said finally. “You won’t be here much longer, anyway.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He looked at me incredulously. “I mean, when I get out of here. Because you’re coming with us, right?”
