“Hopefully?”Aisling asked.
“I have two techs on standby with tranquilizer guns,” Trevor said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.“They’ll remain at the end of the hall and move in if we need them.”
They brought Peyton a chair, and he sat on the other side of the hall, directly in front of the door, while Trevor and Aisling waited further down.
It took several minutes for Bryn to come to.They heard her moan, then gasp.
Peyton sat up and cocked his head, listening.
A moment later, the doorknob slowly turned.Aisling fought the urge to hold her breath as the knob stopped turning, but the door didn’t open at first.
Over a minute later, it finally opened just a crack, a thin shaft of light peeking through.
Peyton slowly held his hands up in front of him.“Bryn?”he softly said.“Hi.I’m Peyton Bleacke.”
She didn’t move.Aisling could barely see a sliver of her face and eye peeking out.After a long moment, she slowly opened the door more, cautiously peeking around.
That’s when she burst into tears, her hands covering her mouth as she tried to muffle her screams.
Hopefully happy screams, but Aisling was no authority on the level of trauma the poor woman had endured.
Peyton didn’t move, keeping his hands up.“You’re in Wales,” he softly said, even though he’d put that in the note.“Feagan is dead.We’re using the house as a rehab center for everyone we rescued.”
The door slowly opened more.There she stood, her hands still clapped over her mouth as she looked down the hall.
Aisling offered a smile and slowly held her hand up in a friendly wave.
Bryn choked back her screams but didn’t drop her hands.“We’re… free?”
Peyton nodded.“You’re free.I’d like to put my hands down, if that’s okay?”
Bryn slowly nodded, walking down to the window at the end of the hall, her hands still covering her mouth.
She stared out the window.“It’s not a dream,” she mumbled.
“No,” Peyton said.“It’s not a dream.”
She finally turned back to Peyton.“What’s wrong with Callum?”
“We dosed him heavily with ketamine.It’s a very strong sedative.He should wake up soon.We didn’t want to risk him coming to during the flight and harming himself or others because of being disoriented, and we didn’t have time during the rescue to explain what was going on, or that we’re on your side.”
She nodded and dropped her hands, then seemed to see Trevor and Aisling.“Who are they?”
Peyton kept his hands on his lap.“He’s Trevor Clarke, Pack Alpha of the Staffordshire Pack.We’ve been working together.She’s Aisling Walsh, an Enforcer.”
Bryn finally turned to Peyton and seemed to study him.“You’re both wolves, but she isn’t.”
“She’s an Irish Wolfhound,” Peyton said.“It’s complicated.She’s a trusted pack member and adopted family.”
Aisling wouldn’t deny that second label chuffed her more than a little bit, but she remained silent.
Bryn turned to look into the bedroom where Callum still lay in bed.“He’ll be okay as long as he wakes up and realizes I’m with him,” she said.“May I keep the door open?”
Peyton nodded.“Of course.You are not prisoners.Anything you want or need, please ask.All the personnel are here to help you.But for now, if you wish to go outside, please ask one of the personnel to go with you.At least for the next few days.You’ve been gone a long time, and we need time to get you caught up,” he said.“Alothas changed in the world.”
She nodded.“What happened to the others?From the lab?”
He took a deep breath.“The people we could save, we did.Forty-seven total.Thirty-two adults, including you two, and fifteen children.They were all brought here with you.Some begged for death despite our offering to rescue them and trying to reason with them, and some were unresponsive.So we felt it best to let them go.They were given heavy doses of sedatives, plus we deployed sleeping gas before we destroyed the lab.If they weren’t already gone, they didn’t feel anything.”
