“Thank you, baby.”
He sat down next to me, leaning forward and grabbing the mug he had left for himself. He took a sip and leaned back. The look of shock he had worn to bed and woken up with slowly waned as the day went on. I hated that he’d been dragged into this pack war, but there was unfortunately no other option. All I could do now was ensure he stayed safe.
“What I want to know is why does Viktor think we have Veronica?” Yuni asked, shaking her head. “I can’t wrap my head around that.”
Emmy grunted. “All of this is fucked. How did they even get Dylan? And thinking that was a good move? This is going to end them. Their pack will be destroyed.”
“And what if this is a trap?” Eli asked. His voice shook, as did his leg. Up and down, up and down. The couch vibrated with his nervous energy.
“It very well might be,” Emmy said matter-of-factly. “But we have no time to drag this out, no time to investigate. We have to fight.”
His leg bounced even more violently. The mug of tea cupped in his hand was shaking too.
“Come,” I said, grabbing the tea from his hands and placing it on the coffee table. “Let’s get some fresh air.”
Eli stood up and walked with me out into the yard. The soft blue glow of twilight painted the woods behind Emmy’s house. We went over to the fire pit. I pulled two chairs close together, and we sat.
I broke the heavy silence first. “I’m not even going to ask if you’re okay because I don’t expect anyone to be okay under these circumstances. But I want to tell you that thingswillbe okay.”
He took a deep breath in. “You don’t know that, though.”
Touché. He got me there.
“I’m scared, Gabe. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to keep you safe.” His expression twisted with sadness. “On the ice, it’s my literal job to watch your back. And off it, I want to do the same. But I just feel like an ant crawling into a lion’s den.”
I wish I could give him something more solid than simply my words. An actual promise that I wouldn’t get hurt tonight. But I knew that would be a lie. I couldn’t do that to him. “That’s why I want you staying here tonight. Raquel will stay back and watch over you. She’ll make sure you’re safe.”
Eli turned his head to look at me. There was a determination in the set of his jaw I’d only seen a few times before. “No, absolutely not. I’m not staying behind.”
“Elijah,” I said, bringing out the full first name. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t a matter up for discussion.” I had to be firm with him. This was to protect him. And, honestly, myself. Because if he were anywhere in the vicinity and somehow got himself into danger, then I knew I would stop at nothing to save him, even if it meant endangering my own life or the lives of my pack members to trade for his.
“I’m not discussing it,” Eli said, pushing back. “I’vealready decided. It scares me, but that’s never stopped me before.”
As cute as those damn puppy-dog eyes were, I wanted to shake him and knock some sense into him. “There will be six fully shifted weres who are there for a brutal fight. You saw me in my were form. I’m over seven feet of muscles and claws and teeth. You can’t fight them.”
“I don’t intend to. But maybe there’s something else I can do. Maybe I can set off a distraction. Or I can?—”
“No.” The word came out with the force of a thunderclap. Eli sat up like a steel rod had just been rammed through his spine. I felt guilt for my delivery but couldn’t back down. Not with this. “I’m sorry, baby, I am. But you have to sit this one out. You being here, waiting for me, is what’s going to get me through tonight. I’m going to fight for Dylan, bring him back home, then hold you in my arms and never fucking let go again.” I reached for his hand. The muscles in his jaw twitched as he ground his teeth.
I brought the back of his hand up to my lips. “I love you.” I kissed his hand. “And I’m going to come back to you.”
“You fucking better, or I’m going to be so pissed.” The tension in his body eased slightly. It was a joke, but I could tell the undercurrent of fear and anxiety had gone nowhere. I squeezed his hand. I was grateful that I’d at least know Eli would be safe here, watched over by Raquel. Emmy had a shift room inside the house, which would provide an extra layer of safety.
I just had to make sure I made it back to him.
“I promise, Eli. I’ll come back.”
Coral Ridge Parkwas a massive nature preserve that was relatively popular during the day but rarely ever visited at night due to the large number of predator sightings once the sun fell. The news often talked of the mountain lions and the bears, but it was the wolves that people seemed most frightened of, just due to the sheer number of sightings recorded and howls heard.
Which meant we were completely alone as we stood at the heart of the preserve, inside a clearing that would be spotlit by the light of the full moon any minute now.
I stood practically shoulder to shoulder with Emmy. Chris stood on his other side. We were supposed to be following the rules of pack engagement, which meant the alpha and two of his betas met before the shift. It would be the six of us who initiated the fight. The rules stated that only five pack members could fight at once, which was why Yuni and Soren were currently in the dense foliage surrounding the clearing.
Viktor appeared from the other end of the clearing with three of his betas. He wasn’t the tallest or even the most muscular—I recognized two of his betas as players on the Sharks team—and the third beta was a woman who appeared to be a professional bodybuilder, judging by the way her shoulders and arms were corded with muscles. They were all dressed in similar clothing—upscale athletic clothing—like they had all raided the same Lululemon on the way here.
Viktor strode forward, staring daggers directly at Emmy. He wasn’t breaking eye contact for anything. Alpha to alpha. I glanced at Emmy, who returned the same intense glare. He stood with his hands behind his back. He still had on a Bobcats jersey from yesterday.
It was going to get tattered to shreds in a few minutes.
