Vale
Two days have passed with her managing to avoid us while thwarting our plans so completely that it’s now become the most adorable damn thing I think I’ve ever seen.
“I’m going to tan her hide as soon as I have her tied naked to a bed,” I mutter and glare at her, but, damn, if a part of me isn’t absolutely thrilled to have a challenge. The question is how to keep her.
I want to throttle her. I want to kiss her until we’re on fire.
We’ll be home in two days, and we’re at the end of a two-day journey through Colson’s Pass. I just want to talk to her, but she’s gotten so good at using the betas as shields. All four of us are frothing at the mouth trying to get a minute alone with her, but since the day we had sex, she’s been playing least in sight.
I’m ready to kidnap her.
I’m ready to steal her choices.
Throw her over my shoulder and march off.
The darkness in me demands her.Take her. Steal her. Kiss her until she forgets, make her feel so good that she never wants to escape.
Bonnie is talking through the abseiling lesson. I’m not paying attention. I’m watching as she fixes the ropes and gets Rojer into the harness. He’s demanded to go first. That’s fine with all of us.
This might be the last opportunity that we get. It’s half hearted, though. I think we’ve all come to the conclusion that if this fails, we’ll just get them when we get back. Bonnie tries to help him with the helmet she pulled out of a hidden chest, but he slaps her hands away, earning a deep, furious growl from Kota.
Cyn casually undoes the rope from the anchor. He wedges the rope between a rock so it feels firm and then casually wanders off.
There’s no possible way she can save him this time.
I inhale and feel myself tilt a little more towards the feral side of my nature. Peanut butter cookies. There is no denying it or hiding it. Her omega scent has taken over our world and every alpha here is struggling to ignore it.
“All right, just breathe and ease over the edge. It’s not far down. Once you’re there, it’s the homestretch.”
Rojer is white, his lips locked in a firm line, his nostrils flaring, and I know he’s going to hurt her as soon as he’s safe. It’s his go-to. He hurts when he can’t control. I’m going to make him suffer so bad when I get him alone. Cyn can keep him in his maze for a month, and then we'll pull him apart piece by piece.
This piece of shit shouldn’t be breathing the same air as her.
He eases off the edge, but then, in a move we couldn’t have predicted, he grabs her wrist.
The rope goes free, and they fall.
Dakota shouts and lands on it. He grunts, rolling, scrabbling for purchase as the rest of us pile onto him. We stop their fall, but a second later, I hear a crash and realise that’s her. She hit the bottom.
He fucking let go.
“Bonnie!” I sob as I strain to hold his weight.
Cyn looks up at me from where I’m crushing him.
“Vale, go.”
I hiss and jump up, racing to the edge. He’s dangling halfway down, but she’s lying motionless on the ground.
“If she’s dead, Rojer, I’m going to fuck you up, you fucking coward,” I roar.
“Oh, god, oh, my god. Bonnie!” Quincy shouts. “Don’t move. Juststay still!”
I dump my pack, grab the small first-aid kit, shove it into my pocket, then I put on my climbing gloves and carefully slide over the edge. I thank every deity ever created that Kota insisted on us learning how to free climb.
I don’t dare look down. I just keep going. When I get close to Rojer, he starts trying to get my attention, but I keep going. I would leave him there to rot forever if it were up to me.
“You fucker!” he screams. “Get over here and help me! You’re done, Prince. You’re fucked. I’ll make it so no one can ever work with you again.”
