Connor raises a hand. “Me too. Fern would never forgive me if I let you go alone, and frankly, neither would I. Skylar is pack. We don’t leave pack behind.”
Something constricts in my chest. These men barely know me. I’ve been back in Silvercreek for less than a month, and most of that time I’ve spent either arguing with Skylar or trying to convince her to give me another chance. But they’re willing to risk their lives to help me save her anyway.
This is what pack means. This is what I gave up when I left ten years ago.
“That’s three.” I look at Nic. “Who’s the fourth?”
“Caleb.” Nic gestures toward the younger wolf. “He knows the facility layout better than anyone. Without him, you’ll be navigating blind.”
Caleb nods. “I’ll get you to Skylar. After that, it’s up to you to get her out.”
“What about magical defenses?” Ruby speaks up from her position beside Luna. “Rafe clearly has wards around thecompound if they blocked Luna’s scrying. He might have alarms set to detect shifters approaching, too.”
“I can mask them,” Luna supplies. “A concealment spell layered over the strike team. It won’t last long—maybe twenty minutes if I push it—but it should be enough to get them inside undetected.”
“That’s a lot of magic to channel on your own,” Ruby says with concern creasing her brow. “Let me help. I’ve been practicing the amplification techniques you taught me. If I anchor the spell while you cast it, we can make it stronger and longer-lasting.”
“That could work. We’ll need to start preparing the ritual now if we want to move tonight.”
“Tonight?” I look at Nic. “We’re going tonight?”
“Luna sensed that Skylar is alive, but she also sensed that she’s hurt,” Nic states. “We don’t have time to delay.”
I think about Skylar, in pain and alone, wondering if anyone is coming for her. I think about the dream I just had, where her body was lying on my family’s floor with her eyes staring at nothing.
“I need a minute with Nic,” I say. “Alone.”
The others file out without argument. Dylan grabs my shoulder as he passes, and Connor gives me a nod that says more than words could. When the door closes behind them, I turn to face the Alpha.
“If this goes wrong—”
“It won’t.”
“If it does. If Skylar dies in that compound, I won’t survive it. I need you to understand that, Nic. I’m not beingdramatic or making threats. I’m telling you the truth. She’s the only thing I have left. The only thing that matters. If I lose her...”
I can’t finish the sentence. The words get stuck somewhere in my throat, tangled up with all the grief and fear and desperate hope I’ve been carrying since I found that parking lot empty two days ago.
“I know what she means to you,” he replies. “I know what it’s like to love someone so much that losing them would destroy you. Luna is that person for me. If our positions were reversed, I’d be standing exactly where you are, saying exactly the same things.”
“Then you understand why I have to be the one to bring her home.”
“I do. But you need to understand something too. Whatever happens tonight, whatever we find in that compound, it’s not your fault. Rafe made his choices. You don’t get to carry the weight of their decisions on top of your own.”
“I brought this danger to her door. If I had stayed away, if I had never come back to Silvercreek, Rafe would never have found her. She’d be safe right now instead of locked in some cell with a silver collar around her throat.”
“And she’d be alone. She’d be safe and alone and wondering for the rest of her life why the man she loved walked away without ever coming back. Is that really what you want for her?”
I don’t have an answer for that.
“Bring her home, Bryan. Bring her home, and let her decide what the future looks like. That’s all any of us can do.”
I nod once. There’s nothing left to say.
Tonight, I’m getting my mate back. Whatever it takes.
Chapter 20 - Skylar
The ropes have started to fray.
