“Wolfe? Tell me what’s going on?” she asked, her hand stroking down my arm, and I had almost forgotten she was standing beside me.
“Something’s wrong,” Diesel growled, his voice low. “They wouldn’t call if they didn’t need us.”
Killian was already at the door. “We need to send someone,now.”
“Wait!” We all turned to Rowen, as she stood in the center of our living room, her hands wringing in despair. “If you go,” she said to me, her eyes flicking between Diesel and me, “the seal on the Hollow goes.”
Diesel inhaled sharply, his hand running through his hair in frustration. “Shit.”
I felt the tug in my abdomen again, and my head automatically snapped to the door. “Rowen…”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “I thought no one could enter Stonefang when you and Diesel were not there.”
She was right, the seal on Stonefang was the opposite of Blueridge Hollow. Here, we kept everyone out when we were on the land; at Stonefang, we kept everyone out when we weren’t.
“You should have let me go up the mountain,” Diesel muttered, watching Killian’s hand on the door handle. “We need to go.”
“Rowen’s right,” Killian said, turning from the door and almost blocking it from me or Diesel. “Someone record that, I won’t say it again.” The small joke did exactly as he intended, helping both Diesel and me relax, and I felt some of the tension leave me. “You and Diesel cannot go,” Killian said gravely. “And I won’t get in without you.” He took a deep breath. “So, instead of a knee-jerk reaction, let’s think this through.”
“No one could have gotten in while we’ve been gone,” Diesel reasoned, pacing my living room, which for him meant two strides. He was making me dizzy. “I went there with the vulnerable from here,” he said, looking at me. “They’ve been sealed in since.”
“So there’s no harm to come to them?” Rowen asked softly, and I heard the hope in her voice that meant we weren’t planning on leaving.
I blew out a breath. “Unless we locked the threat in with them.” Diesel and Killian had already reached that conclusion; it was for Rowen’s benefit that I was saying it. The door burst open, and Brand stopped short at seeing us all gathered. “We know, we felt it too,” I told him.
He frowned. “Felt what?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “The boy is missing.”
I checked the mindlink for Lake. He was there, on the edge of his awareness. He felt sleepy. “What boy?”
“Fitz.” Brand looked at all of us. “What have you felt?”
“The Grumps,” Killian growled. “What do you mean by missing?”
“I mean, he’s gone. His friends were found at the back of the pack hall, half-drugged, we think. The boy, Fitz, is gone.” He looked at me. “How did they get in?”
“You’re assuming someone took him?” Rowen asked. “He could have wandered off. Fitz likes to wander.”
“He could have wandered right out of the Hollow,” Killian said sharply. “The barrier here keeps those out we don’t trust; it doesn’t keepusin.”
“Should have gone up the mountain.”
I turned to Diesel, temper giving way. “Well, you didn’t, and our Goddess isn’t about taking small boys or messing with the ancients just to piss you off.” I felt the tug one more time. “For fuck’s sake, we need to send someone to Stonefang. Killian, Brand, how ready is this pack to defend itself?”
Brand hesitated. Killian did not. “Not yet.”
Rowen opened her mouth to speak, but I held up a hand, cutting her off. “I cannot leave this land undefended.” I shared a look with my betas. “I can’t leave them unprotected.”
“I could go.”
We all turned to look at Rowen. “Our mate bond? Would it allow me to pass into Stonefang?”
“You don’t like the Grumps,” Killian said in surprise before I could answer. “You called them creepy.”
“Theyarecreepy,” Rowen said, not even caring that Brand and Diesel looked offended. “But they mean a lot toyou”—her gaze flicked to mine—“all of you. If they are calling for you, and someone needs to tell me how that’s possible, then I will go. I’m being selfish,” she added in a rush. “I want to help, but I also want my pack’s best defendershereif the fight comes before we expect it.”
Diesel was looking at my wife, his eyes narrowed. “Creepy?” He sniffed. “Says the woman who has no issue with the mismatched-eyed platinum blond fuckingancientwho even now sits in their tent, sipping tea.” He looked at me, eyebrow raised. “You want ancient, ask them how fucking youngtheyare.”
“Not the time,” I murmured. “You can’t go,” I told her instead. “I don’t know if the bond will allow you to pass, and if it does, if it recognizes my bond with you, then it may unseal the territory, and if they’re waiting to attack…” I drew a deep breath. “If they’re waiting, we expose the ones who are there to danger, and most of my fighters are here.”
