Keon stepped around the camp to get a closer look at Haley to determine if she’d be safe if they attacked. He didn’t want her in the line of fire, used as a hostage, if she had been bound by the ankles or incapacitated. Steps from the best spot, he found Isaac nearby.
Isaac was smaller and quieter. As he sank to his belly and crept to where she was sitting, Keon used their link.Haley heard you,he realised, watching her tense and glance at Isaac. Smart girl. Despite her fear, she tried not to reveal their presence.Try to connect with her, Isaac. Use our link.
Though unsure, Isaac crept closer, connecting with his mind, the tug inside Keon’s head suggesting he’d tapped into the strength of Milo’s gift.Haley,he said, low to prevent startling her.
Haley released a sob and flinched when a rock flew at her. She ducked in time, eyes blazing at the hostile woman by the fire. With proof she could hear them, and that noise would earn her trouble, Isaac proceeded cautiously.
Can you answer me? In your head?Isaac froze in place though Keon could feel his need to get closer.
In the dark, Haley tossed her head.
Shit.She shook her head,he relayed to Isaac, who couldn’t see her from his position.
Isaac crept closer another foot.You don’t need to answer. I’m not far behind you. Milo is here with Alpha Keon and a team. You don’t need to be scared.He crept closer, pausing to check he remained unseen, slinking through the grass.I’ll snap the binds around you and stay with you. Once you’re free, I’ll tell the Alpha and they’ll take care of everyone else. Trust I’ll take care of you.
She nodded.Keon backed away to give the warning to the others. Relieved Milo said Isaac had included him in the link.We’re heading in on Isaac’s word. He’ll untie her and take her to the copse. We’ll meet him when we’re ready. I want Vega alive. I don’t want anyone else killed if it can be prevented,he called, sharing the thought with the team.
Gale sniffed and moved into position behind the woman.If it can’t?he asked, no doubt imagining Yosi in Haley’s place and what he’d do to anyone who hurt his brother.
Keon wasn’t stupid. Life may need to be lost tonight, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be theirs.Do whatever is necessary to protect our pack,he said, granting permission for every defensive measure they had. They worked, tracked, and hunted as a pack, a team, and a family. No one was left behind.
Vega not included.A statement. A warning Gale wouldn’t show Vega mercy, as he was no longer pack. As harsh as it sounded, he understood.
Vega not included.
Vega was no longer a member of their pack. No longer the mate Keon would have accepted. No longer anything but an obstacle. An enemy to be punished for what had been done to Haley. Keon wanted him alive to pay for the wrongs he’d committed. When he died, Keon wanted to know it was sanctioned and legal, not an accidental swipe in the middle of a brawl.
Accidents happened, and he wouldn’t let Vega live if it meant putting Haley at further risk, or not bringing her home safely. Tonight, Haley came first, even if that meant killing Vega with his own two hands.
*
DEBATING HOW TOapproach Vega wasn’t a problem. Keon knew what he wanted and how to do it. Convincing the others was the difficulty. Once Isaac gave the word Haley was free of her bonds and had crept through the grass to safety, Keon made his move. He walked calmly toward the fire on two feet, uncaring of his nakedness.
The woman stood, grabbing a dagger from the log, while the unknown male glanced at Keon, absently chewing a cut of meat. Vega had picked the leftovers of the pack, either stragglers who couldn’t function without a pack, or the discards from Katarina’s pack, useless for anything but mercenary work.
Vega stood from a crouch by the fire, crossing his arms and glancing at the woman who thumbed a knife. “Put that away, Valora.” He huffed and kicked at her boot, refocusing on Keon. “I expected you hours ago, but seems you brought the invalid.” He shot a glance at Milo’s m’weko, creeping free from the tree line. “Makes sense, now.”
Keon didn’t like the implication this had been a trap. He’d anticipated it, with Milo’s vision confirming the suspicion, but didn’t like it. It implied Vega was smarter, which was bullshit. The guy was sharp as two thick planks and unlikely to change. Still, Keon could use the arrogance and ego against him. The hesitation as he’d stood and swept a gaze across the trees behind Keon gave an important distinction. Vega had expectedsomeoneto come for Haley, butnotKeon. Believing he wouldn’t leave the pack or hoping Haley’s disappearance would force Milo to recklessness, the difference left Vega unprepared.
Let him talk,he ordered as his team surrounded the camp.
Milo paused mid-step, obeying though he bubbled with repressed rage. He would get his chance. If Vega had anticipated them, he would need to fight to keep Haley as his prisoner, explaining the two chumps by his side.
“I’m here,” Keon announced, staying right where Vega wanted him. “If that was your plan, what happens next?”
“What do you meanif?”
Keon scanned the camp and shrugged. “I mean, you’re a coward. You expected Milo to come alone, unprepared, afraid I’d leave him behind if he asked my permission,” he replied, aware Vega thought Milo an insecure invalid. “Youdoconsider him a weakling, a burden, and that’s your downfall. You underestimate us, by thinking his condition makes a difference to his strengths, his abilities, and how I feel about him.”
Milo was stronger than he got credit for, and no matter who in the world underestimated him, no one could change how Keon looked at, loved, or needed him.
Vega’s jaw ticking with unrepressed anger. “You don’t feel anything.I’myour true mate,” he argued, thumping his chest in proof he had no control over his emotions. Proving this was Keon’s fault.
He’d rejected this asshole and started the ball rolling. The first person to say ‘no’ to Vega, and Haley had paid the price for his ignorance. For never seeing the paranoia and insanity lurking beneath the surface. For never realising what a threat Vega was, if he grew a backbone and fought for what he wanted.
“I feel more for Milo than I did for you, and you have yourself to blame. I could never forgive you for what you did to Teowulf,” Keon promised, movement out the corner of his eye updating Jude and Gale’s location. “How did you manage to lure Haley? The same way you tricked and lied to my brother?” He kept him talking long enough for everyone to get into position.
A glance showed Janet behind the man, Jude between targets, in case she or Gale needed assistance. Vega became his responsibility, as it should be, with no sign of Haley. Milo remained steadfast by his side, unmoving, eyes never drifting from his target. A true mate.
