Killian's eyes widened in horror. "Scout..." He took his mate into his arms and held him tightly, never wanting to let go. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again, you hear me?"
Scout was too rattled now to joke around. Instead he just nodded and tried to hold back tears. "I'm sorry if I made you think I was leaving for real, I would never..."
He broke out into tears and Killian stroked the back of his head in slow, soothing motions. "Shh. Don't apologize. Everything's okay now. You're safe."
Scout could only nod. His tears soaked into Killian's chest until he finally managed to hold them back. He pulled away, sniffling. "Sorry. I guess I was more scared than I thought."
Killian nodded. "You went through hell, Scout. It's normal to be upset. I’d be more worried if you weren’t." He brushed his mate's hair out of his eyes. "Now, let's go home."
"Leaving so soon, eh?"
Killian's blood ran cold a split second before it burst into blazing fire in his veins. He snarled, whipping around in the direction of the voice. Instinctively he pushed Scout behind him.
"What do you want?" Killian snapped.
From the dark, shadowy trees, a huge figure stepped out. Killian had never seen such a big man in his life — even his father seemed small by comparison. Behind him, he felt Scout tense up. He squeezed his mate's hand to reassure him, even though Killian had no idea what he was up against this time.
"So, you're the prince?" the man asked. He looked Killian up and down with an unimpressed expression. "Smaller than I was expecting."
"That's Warren," Scout whimpered behind Killian. Instantly the alpha prince stiffened.
"What do you want?" Killian growled.
Warren crossed his arms. "You know you're onmyterritory, right? I should be the one asking you that question."
Killian said nothing. He only glared back, his gaze full of hate. His rage clawed at the surface of his emotions, wanting desperately to hurt the man who had threatened his mate, but even with anger coiling around his gut, Killian wasn't that stupid. He knew the most important thing now was to get Scout to safety, and he wasn't going to accomplish that by starting a fight.
To Killian's surprise, the man stepped aside and gestured into the woods. "Go on. I'm letting you leave."
It was a trap. It had to be. Killian stayed rooted to the spot.
"Well?" Warren prompted. "I'm giving you a free pass and you're not even going to take it?" He gestured again. "Go on. Get off my territory."
Killian locked eyes with the Silvercreek alpha. Warren's eyes were cold and cunning, and Killian knew he couldn't be trusted. But what other choice did they have now? He couldn't take Scout back to the cabin, where Thistle could wake up at any moment — and he didn't want to take a different path and get lost in the woods. Gritting his teeth and holding Scout's hand tightly, he carefully edged forward, keeping himself in between Scout and Warren.
But Warren didn't make a move. He merely watched as the headed towards the far end of the trees. Scout was doing his best to avoid the Silvercreek alpha's eyes, while Killian never once took his eyes off Warren — if the other alpha made one wrong move, Killian would attack.
Even once Warren was out of sight, Killian still walked while looking over his shoulder. He was tense and alert, waiting for any sign that Warren set up a trap for them and was waiting for them to let their guard down. Half an hour later, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Killian finally stopped looking over his shoulder. The Whitewood border was just ahead. There was a figure waiting for them on Whitewood's side. At first Killian stiffened, ready to fight in case Warren had sent someone up ahead to cut them off, but as they got closer they realized it was only Stark.
Scout and Killian breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm so glad to see you both," Stark said. "I was starting to get worried."
"It's good to be back," Scout said with a sigh before he collapsed slightly onto Killian's side. Killian held him firmly. "Sorry."
"No, you must be exhausted," Killian said. He turned to Stark and added in a quieter voice, "The Silvercreek alpha let us go, but I don't trust him. Can you keep an eye out on the border for a while?"
Stark nodded. "Go take care of Scout. I'll be here."
"Thank you," Killian said with a sigh. He held his mate securely around the waist and headed for the elevator to the palace. As he stepped inside, the exhaustion he’d been ignoring for hours hit him like a truck.
He looked down at Scout, who looked even more tired than he was. Fatigue had gripped them both, but they were safe, far away from the clutches of an enemy pack.
At least, Killian thought,for now.
