“Where is Page?” Allie wanted to know.
Randall hung his head and shrugged his shoulders. “Believe it or not, I have no idea. Ben let me go because she was taken by Ethan. He doesn't know where Ethan is. He took off and now I have no idea where she's at. She's ready to give birth at any time, and I don't know what Ethan’s going to do to my children when that happens.”
He knew it was all going to turn bad, Randall could just feel it. His dear brother didn't want to listen to him. He kept saying how everything was going to be okay. Randall knew that it wasn't going to be. The tightening of his chest was getting worse, and it was hard for him to even get the words out. How could this happen?
His sister put an arm around him, and it made him feel a little bit better, but there was still part of Randall that knew it wasn't a given that he would find her in time. It wasn't a given that his family would be in one piece. The problem was that none of it was given.
“I just have to find her, Allie. I can't even think about what happens if I don't. I swear if Ethan touches her or my babies…” Randall couldn’t finish the sentence, he was afraid to. He was going to leave it open, because he was so disgusted with the whole thing.
“We are going to find her, Randall. I promise I am not going to stop until we do.”
Randall thanked her. He tried his best to focus on what was ahead. At least Allie had more information, information that he could use to find Page faster. That was the only thing he could focus on right now. Everything else was just static in the background. Randall had to find Page before she had the kids. His legacy was in jeopardy. Ethan had gone out of his way to mess his life up, so Randall thought that it was only fair that he did the same thing to him. In some ways, he was looking forward to it.
***
Allie promised that she would help him find Page, and his sister was always one to keep her word. They bonded over their brother's horrible decision making that affected them both. Randall needed his sister's help, and he also needed the support. Going against his Alpha and older brother that he had treated like his dad for so long was actually really hard. Randall had idolized his brother for as long as he could remember. Only when he had tried to give Page to Ethan had Randall finally started to see the chinks in the armor. Now, he could see hisbrother as a people-pleaser who did what was necessary to keep his place, not keep his family safe. Randall hoped that one day he could forgive him for that because at the moment, it seemed impossible. If something happened to Page or his children, Randall was never going to be able to forgive him.
Ethan was not as easy to find as Randall would have hoped. Since he knew that it was Ethan who had taken Page, then Ethan was the one that he had to find. He wanted to find him, wanted to pay him back for all the pain and suffering that he had caused him for no reason. Randall had a lot on his mind when it came to his so-called half-brother. It was just another way that he could blame Ben for everything. Ben was the one that had brought him into their life. Without Ben, Randall never would have heard of Ethan and none of this would have happened. While it was likely pretty unfair to see things that way, Randall couldn't help it. He wanted to blame someone, and his older brother was an easy target.
Ethan had been staying with their pack. Randall went and tossed his room but most of his things were gone and a few things that he had left were of no real consequence. Randall didn't glean anything from being there, he just ran into his older brother. He thought that Ben was going to ask him what he was doing there, but he seemed to already know. He asked him if he found anything.
“Do you want to go tell your brother Ethan that I'm on his trail? I'm sure you two are getting a kick out of this.”
Ben waved him off. “You know damn well that I never meant for any of this to happen.”
“Yeah, I probably know that you didn't mean it to happen, but you know that it doesn't matter either way, right? It happened. You brought him into our lives, and now he has myvery pregnant wife and there is no telling what he's going to do. What if it was your wife and your children?”
Ben looked a little different after that question. Of course, he had a wife that he loved more than anything and children that were the best part of him. Randall could see the look of loss on his face, and it made him feel better for only a split second before the anger came back. He only had to think about it for a moment to see how devastating the loss would be. For Randall, it was reality and far worse. There was no way to say that what they were going through was the same thing. It was so very different to imagine something, as opposed to actually having to live it.
“Tell me what I can do to make this right?” Ben wanted to know. He seemed desperate to fix it, and Randall was thankful that he could see the impact his decisions had, if nothing else. Randall didn’t think that there was anything that could be done to fix it.
“I don't know if you can, Ben. That's the truth of it. I don't know if this is ever going to be right again. Do you think that it will be? Can you honestly tell me that you think we are ever going to be able to deal with this and be brothers again?” Randall made it clear that he didn’t think it was possible. He really didn’t either. How could they come back from that?
His brother didn't hesitate to tell him that he hoped that they would. It was clear to Randall that his brother wanted to make amends. The truth of it was he wanted to make amends as well. He didn't want to hate his brother; he had looked up to him for so long. It was going to take a while, if ever, for him to feel that way about his brother again.
“Let me find Page and let them be okay, my children, then we can see where we're at,” Randall finally said. He couldn’tcontemplate anything, until Page was back in his arms and safe with their kids. It was a big ask, but that was the bare minimum.
“Allie saw her a couple of days before Ethan was taken. Have you talked to our sister yet?”
Randall nodded his head that he had. He didn't mention that Allie was just as pissed off at Ben as he was. His sister would have no problem giving out her opinion and her feelings. Randall was going to wait for Allie to do that herself. She would do a better job of it anyway. Allie really did have that whole rage thing down pat. He hoped that there would be a time when they could all be brothers and sister again, but Randall was still shaky on that thought. It seemed like too much to ask for at the moment.
“If you need anything, Randall, let me know. I have soldiers that can be at your command. Just let me know what you need, and I will make sure it happens.”
Randall knew that it was guilt talking, but it didn't matter. Help was help and he was desperate and willing to take about anything at the moment.
“When I get close, are you going to warn your brother?” Randall asked, biting out the words. He wasn’t helping his cause at all, but at the same time, he didn’t know how to show Ben that he was doing the right thing. There was something between them that Randall was never going to understand. He would never understand how his brother could be so cold one moment and then change the next. Did he realize what he’d done, again?
“You are my brother, Randall. I wanted Ethan to be another one of us. You know that dad had kids beside us. You don’t want to know what they’re like? I have found several more.”
Randall shook his head that he wasn’t interested in anymore brothers and sisters than the ones that he had already. He had his hands full as far as Randall was concerned. It seemed silly that there was nothing else to be done. Randall wished that there was but knew that he had his hands tied. “I don’t care what he made. I never liked him, so I really doubt that I am going to like any of his kids.”
Ben wanted to protest, but Randall wasn’t going to hear about bringing anyone else in, especially when Ethan had caused so much trouble. It was a shame that they were even talking about it. Randall wasn’t in the mood to talk about it or bring anyone else into their lives. He was still trying to fix the last sibling that had come into his life. He didn’t want to meet anymore right now. It was certainly too soon by all measures.
“I can’t think of anything else right now. I need to worry about Page. That’s it. You left her in the lurch, and I have to find her. I will let you know if I need an army. I hope I can go in and scoop her up.”
Randall’s nerves were not helping his temperament. As much as he tried to focus on one thing or another, it all came down to Page. He left and Allie was with him, but she wasn’t there to fight. She was going to be his eyes and ears while he was inside.
Randall had the bare semblance of a plan in place, but it could all go sideways quite quickly. Randall hoped that it would go well, but he had already lost once to Ethan. Maybe he just wouldn’t be fair this time. Ethan had thrown dirt in his face and brought a fashioned weapon into the fight. It wasn’t allowed, but not stopped. Randall wouldn’t be caught off guard again. He knew what he was walking into this time and swore that he was prepared to match Ethan’s viciousness.
