The young doctor shudders. “Evil, despicable man. We have to do something—and soon.” She finally sighs as she listens to my heart and lungs. “You’re malnourished, probably all of you. And weak. Take the time to rest and heal.”
I stew in quiet at her words as she and Daniel heal my mates from their hexes and bruises. What can we do against a force that large, especially if they’ll start killing hostages if anyone acts against them? And what could we do that the army could not? Even with the resistance on our side, there’s no way we could infiltrate such a well-guarded and well-warded campus like the consortium’s. I agree with her that something must be done, but how? With what resources?
As soon as the Huongs leave, Cass calls a pack meeting, though we don’t move from the sofa to the dining table where our pack meetings normally occur. We’re mourning the horrors we’ve faced, numb now that we’re free.
“Marcus, you too,” Cassian says as Marcus hesitates by the stairs. “This concerns all of us.”
Marcus comes and takes a seat on the sofa across from me, tenderness in his eyes as he takes me in.
“Tell us what happened, princess,” Luca says quietly.
I take a deep breath and let it out through my nose. “I was held with other omegas for a time, including your mom, Cass. Then my father locked me in the room you found me in. After some time alone, he finally came for me, telling me I was going to help him with his work. He taunted me, as I’m sure you can all imagine. When we got to the operating theater, he had Soldiers strap an omega to a surgical table. I’d had a vision about this before, about being forced to aid him in an operation like this. Saints, I could even feel the weight of the scalpel in my vision as I gave it to him. This time, for real, I went for his jugular. He was faster. I got his cheek. He caught me when I tried to run and put a collar around my neck.”
“You tried to kill your own father? Saints, kit-kat, you’re so brave.”
“More foolish than brave,” I admit. “My heat came early, and, at some point, he sedated me. He told me he wants my affinity for Baphomet’s Prince, but that his success rate needed to improve first. When he sedated me, I thought… I thought he was going to do the operation. Then all of you came. When I saw Luca’s mask, I imagined the worst, that the Soldiers had come to punish me for slashing at my father, that they were going to…” A lump lodges in my throat, and I shake my head as tears spill down my cheeks.
Luca pulls me to his side, tucking me against him. “But we got you out, Junie. As we always intended.”
I look up at him, tears clinging to my lashes. “But how? How did you get us all out?”
“Secret tunnels, mostly,” Ian says wryly. “There’s a whole system of them under the consortium. They must have been added to help the students and faculty escape, back when the consortium was built. They’ve long been forgotten, but the headmaster knew of them. It was easy enough to overpower our two guards and steal their scribes. The headmasterknows the campus better than anyone and knew you had to be in one of the treatment rooms. We found you and then escaped through a tunnel leading out of the consortium.”
“But why me? Why would he choose to help you over all the other packs being held hostage? Why rescue one omega?”
“He overheard the Soldiers taunting us about the butcher’s plans for you. He knew we had to get you out,” Cassian explains.
“But Cass, you could have gotten your family out!” I protest.
“Junes, it was them or you, and I chose you. I always will. I wish I could have freed my parents, but we couldn’t stage a larger rescue mission without drawing attention.”
“It’s good we got you out, based on everything you’ve said,” Marcus says quietly. “Your father is a monster.”
“He has to be stopped,” I say, my voice hoarse with emotion. “And we have to rescue the hostages and test subjects. We have to.”
The ‘but how?’ lingers in the space between us.
Simon looks up from his laptop, eyes weary with fatigue. “I’m already on it.”
“You’re off it, until you’ve rested,” Cassian mutters. “You heard Doc. We need to rest and heal. All of us.”
For once, I don’t fight my mate. We’re all fragile, even my strong alphas, and I’m perhaps the most fragile of all.
We need to rest. And then we need to strike back.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Icurl up with Marcus on the couch, breathing in his scent. He still bears the bruises and evidence of the Soldiers’ brutality, and cringes whenever the healing hex bothers him. My black eye has stopped throbbing, but it’s a constant reminder to my pack that I went through hell.
“I was so worried about you, Marcus,” I say quietly. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
He sits up with a wince, takes my cheek in his hand and drops a lingering kiss on my lips. “You would have soldiered on.”
“I don’t think I would have,” I murmur, nuzzling his nose as he holds me close. I chase his lips for another kiss, just to feel him, to know he’s here with me, safe inside the pack house.
His gray-green eyes shine with emotion as he gently strokes my cheek, leaving behind the scent of pine and wintry winds.
We’re still in a strange state, almost lovers, exchanging kisses, cuddling up together. But neither of us has dared tomake the next move. Saints, if I weren’t so tired, so weak, I’d pull Marcus into my nest and take that step.
