“No, no, she’s getting Maddy out of the safe room.”
“She’s gone, Dad. There’s no need.” My voice hitched, and I had to swallow before continuing. “They took her. The royals have her.”
“Oh god… no.” Dad was more distraught than I’d ever heard him. He called Mom back over and told her. “I’m sorry, son… I… I failed you. I’m so sorry.” I could hear Mom crying quietly beside him.
“It’s fine. We got outplayed. They knew we’d go for the hostages. They were waiting until we made our move. Once our forces were spread out, they went for her. You did all you could. I knew there would be retaliation, but I thought it would come after we rescued Maddy’s family. None of us anticipated it would happenwhilewe were saving them.”
Diego patted me on the shoulder. I turned to look and saw the doctor coming through the door. “Dad, I need to go. We’ll be home as soon as possible. You need to send someone to the gate. Uncle Miguel was shot. I’m… I don’t know if he’s okay.”
“Sweet lord. Okay. Be careful, son. See you soon.”
Hanging up, I stood to greet the doctor. “How is he?”
The doctor nodded and glanced at his chart. “Your friend is very lucky. The knife penetrated the abdominal cavity but missed the major arteries and organs. However, the spleen was perforated. We had to remove that, but he should be fine. Prognosis after splenectomy is better for shifters anyway. We aren’t at risk of disease like humans are. We stitched up the fascia and closed the wound. We’ll want to keep him for a couple of days.”
“When can he fly home? We… uh… we’re from Florida. We need to get back home.”
The doctor nodded. “A human would need to wait at least a week. He’s already healing pretty well. I’d say two days. As soon as he’s discharged, he can head home.”
Diego nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll stay with him. I’ll make sure he gets home safe. You get home.”
“Okay. Thanks, Doc.”
I wanted to go and say goodbye to Felipe, but every second mattered. I had to get home and regroup. I jogged out the door and got into my rental car. On the way to the airport, I called the other teams and updated them on the situation. They took the news almost as poorly as I had. The other teams hadn’t had to make detours to the hospital and were already boarding jets to get back home. My knuckles were white as I drove. I pushed my car as fast as it would go.
Checking the car back in and getting through security was like walking through mud. Nothing could have felt slower than this. Then I had to wait over an hour for the next flight. All the while, my wolf was raging inside me, desperate to lash out. I was right there with him. I would give anything to go on a run and slam my teeth into the neck of a deer—or even better, the throat of an enemy.
The actual flight wasn’t much better. Thankfully, due to the late departure, the flight was nearly deserted. The last thing I wanted was to try and survive two and a half hours of small talk. My feet and hands fidgeted the whole flight. My body was wound tight with anxiety, anger, and worry. A thousand thoughts burned through my mind as we flew. Had the royals already bled Maddy out? No, that wouldn't happen yet. They’d wait until the full moon. We still had time. But they could have hurt her. If they so much as laid a finger on her, I’d rip their guts out. I fantasized about leaving Viola’s bloody body broken and torn on the ground. Daydreams were the only catharsis I had at the moment.
By the time I burst through my front door a few hours later, I felt like a balloon on the verge of popping. Mom and Dad and my brothers ran to me. I took a moment to hug them all, thanking God that fate let them live, even if it chose to take Maddy. There was only so much loss I could take. At least with them, I’d have the support I needed to get her back.
“Where is everyone?” I asked Rafael.
“Maddy’s parents and Abi are upstairs with Doc. We had him come over to check them all out. They were drugged with something. It’s been hours since we got them, but they’re still pretty loopy,” Rafael said.
“What about you guys? How do you feel?” I asked, turning to Mom and Dad.
“We’re fine. It’s okay. We have more to worry about than us,” Mom said, waving me off.
“Do they know she’s been taken?” I said, gesturing upstairs toward Maddy’s parents and Abi.
They all shook their heads. Dad put an arm around my shoulders. “We didn’t tell them. Didn’t want to worry them while they recovered. Doc agreed it was for the best.”
My wolf was snarling in rage, and I clenched and unclenched my hands. It was like I was ready to burst. My mind raced to come up with a plan, a solution, anything to make this right. We weren’t sure where the vial was, we didn’t know where they’d taken Maddy, and there were only a few days until the super moon. I paced across the kitchen and slammed my fists onto the counter, then lowered my head. Desperation was fighting with hopelessness in my mind. Anger and fear warred in my chest.
I threw my head back and roared in rage. The sound exploded through the house. Everyone else froze where they were. The release of energy felt good, but I knew I had to stay calm. I was the alpha. If I lost it, then the whole pack would bein trouble, not just Maddy. I had too many responsibilities to let myself fall apart.
Sebastian walked up and put a firm hand on my back, and leaned in close. “We’ll get her back, Nico. I know we will.”
I couldn’t even muster a nod for him. His confidence was a much-needed presence, but I couldn’t match it. How could we get her back when we had zero idea where she was?
“I need to see them,” I said, heading toward the stairs.
Before I climbed one step, a quiet voice spoke from the top of the stairs. “Nico?”
I glanced up and saw Abi standing there. “Abi? Shit, I thought you were still in bed.” My gaze traveled over her body, inspecting the wounds—mostly bruises and small cuts. She also looked like she’d lost about ten pounds. She’d been petite to begin with, and the weight loss made her look almost emaciated.
I climbed the steps until I was by her side and put a supportive arm around her. “You need to rest. You look terrible.”
