Shit, please be alright, Ave.
My head swam, and my throat hurt as I ran for my sister’s house. Surely, the Made vampires wouldn’t attack Hope again—would they? But the war with them was escalating and Ava had found an important bit of code embedded in the communications hub. That had only been a recent discovery, but what if they knew? What if they had spies here and somehow figured out they’d been discovered, and by whom?
I ran harder, pushing away the throbbing in my head as I dragged in air until my throat and lungs burned. I almost kept running when I recognised the cars gathered outside Rawson’s home. But this was about my sister. Heart slamming against my ribs, I barrelled inside the open front door and skidded to a halt as five powerful Alphas glared at me. Rawson’s expression was a mix of devastation and fury.
I dropped my gaze, instinctively moving back a step. My face, already hot and sweaty, burned enough that I was sure my skin would melt off as shame flooded me. My hands shook so much that I had to shove them in my pockets to hide it. Something bad had happened, and it was my fault.
The need to turn around, run away, and hide in the oblivion of a bottle was almost overwhelming. But even I knew there was no way to escape Rawson’s wrath.
Pulling his glare from me, Rawson roared and grabbed Lionel, slamming him against the wall. “Where the fuck is she!?” roared the Alpha, his bear rising in his eyes. He snarled in Lionel’s face. “You were supposed to protect her!”
Lionel and D were part of Connor’s inner circle, two of the Shifter King’s brothers, along with Rawson, Stone, and several others. They all carried a small drop of the King’s blood and power, making them more powerful than any Alpha male shifters had ever been. And I’d managed to fuck up enough that Rawson was ready to hurt one of his brothers. I kept my eyes down, hating that I’d caused this.
Why the hell hadn’t I set a damned alarm on my phone?
Because you were too damned drunk to even think about it.
Worry for Ava almost swallowed me whole. Stone’s silver grey gaze flashed with purple, his face cold as he glared at me. My chest tightened. His mouth pressed into a tight line and his nostrils flared, but my attention shot to Rawson as he yelled, “You all were!”
Mother Wolf, he was right. I’d been sent to Hope by Connor to protect my pregnant sister, and I’d let my twisted feelings and memories get the better of me. It didn’t matter why, only that I had. I dropped my gaze, studying the floor. Heavy footsteps marched towards me. Rawson stopped only inches away, and I braced myself for his attack.
Fuck, I deserved it.
Bitter with alcohol, the scent of my fear laced the air, and I couldn’t even bring myself to be embarrassed by it. I was sick of being tough, kickass Shannon; it was exhausting. My shoulders drooped. I’d let down the people I cared about most, and if he struck me down now, I’d almost welcome his punishing blow.
“Yeah, you know you fucked up. How wasted did you get last night, Shannon? How many men did you fuck? Do you even know? You were so fucking drunk, so hung over that no one could get through to you to even tell you Ava had been taken! Not even Stone!”
“Okay, Rawson, that’s enough.” Connor pulled Rawson away from me.
Stone’s heavy gaze was fixed on the side of my face. I couldn’t see him clearly from the corner of my eye, but I could feel his condemnation. Squeezing my hands into fists, I ignored him, unwilling to acknowledge that his disappointment broke something inside me.
Connor tried to comfort Rawson, even using some of his power to calm Rawson’s bear, but I couldn't process their words, not when I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that my beautiful, strong, and very pregnant sister had been taken because I’d been too drunk to get my arse out of bed. I rubbed my shaking hands over my face, my brain foggy as I tried to think, to figure out how I could help. Rawson’s next words yanked me from that fog.
“Get Shannon out of here. I can’t look at her right now. I know she’s got issues, but we all have. She’s become a liability, brother, a dangerous one, and I won’t be responsible for my actions if I lose Ava and my unborn child.”
“I know.” Stone nodded and walked towards me.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I went into defensive mode. My head snapped up. Stone looked more Fae than shifter, his eyes glinting with purple, telling me his base emotions, his ability to hold back his powerful Fae magic was slipping. I didn’t care. There was no way I was leaving, not without finding Ava.
“Touch me, and I’ll break your face, Faery. She’s my sister, and I’m going to help find her.”
Stone halted, but his expression made me shiver. He’d always been handsome, even more so than most shifters with his beautiful Fae features. With most people, he was distant and cold. Probably because he was emotionally closed off. It was one thing we had in common. At that moment, though, his beauty was icy, and he was terrifying. This wasn’t my frenemy anymore but something to be feared, a being from a world I knew nothing about.
A muscle ticked in his jaw, the only sign of emotion on his ethereal face. “No, you’re not. You’re coming with me. You’ve done enough damage, caused enough trouble. And not only today. It stops. Right now.”
His words landed right in my gut. It was a painful blow. He’d always been the one Eli, the manager of the Black Orchid….Oh damn, that was the smexy barman’s name…ah, fuck, it didn’t matter, not now. It was Stone that Eli called when the staff considered me too drunk to take care of myself. I hated that they did, that Stone often saw me at my worst, but I’d always pretended it was nothing, that look of disappointment in his eyes. Acting like an irresponsible, uncaring bitch had been effective at keeping him at a distance. After all, getting him to ditch me completely had been one of my ultimate goals. Well, I guess I’d achieved that. This morning had just solidified my success.
My legs shook so much I leaned against the wall to stay upright, yet I forced myself to meet Stone’s gaze. And there it was. Not only disappointment but judgement. It was obvious even amongst the swirling violet magic staining his mercury gaze. All the air left my lungs in a rush, and I pushed off the wall, my nails scoring my palms. “Fuck you.”
My snarl had no effect on him. A slow, disparaging smile curled his lip, ice glinting beneath the purple fire in his irises. “Not a chance in hell, shifter.”
Considering the pain already crushing my chest, the disgust in his eyes shouldn’t hurt, but it did. Too much. I spun and walked away, desperate to keep him from seeing the tears lining my eyes. Before I could reach the door, my wrists and ankles were bound in purple magic. My forward momentum meant I fell to my knees, and only my training and instincts stopped me from face-planting on the floor.
I screamed, trying desperately to break its hold. My wolf snarled, fighting to break through, but something about that Fae magic stopped her.
“You fucking bastard, let me go! Now!”
Stone didn’t even look at me as he spoke to Rawson. “I will help you find your mate. Shannon will not. When this is done, we will be leaving.”
