“Your mission was to abduct Max?”
“Not exactly.” She pushed herself up further before slumping against the wall. “Savino hired the Order to help get his son back and suggested it would be easier if your pack was dealt with at the same time. They contacted Kostas, who was eager to help.”
“Of course he was,” Caius growled, still kneeling on the floor with Max.
The three kids at the back of the room were still standing there as if afraid to breathe. They reeked of fear and relief, which was curious and reassuring.
“There’s at least half a dozen kids here,” Quinn said quietly. “What’s the plan?”
Caius turned towards the kids with a deep sigh. “Where’s Leon?” he asked as he stood. He picked up his clothes, which looked mostly intact, aside from some charred spots and a rip in the shirt.
The kids shared looks before one of them was nudged forward as their leader. “Leon was exiled with the other traitors,” he said.
“Can you contact him?”
They all shared looks again before shaking their heads, but a girl poked her head out of the kitchen. “I can,” she offered.
Quinn nodded at her. “Do it,” he said, holding out a hand to stop her before she reached the entrance. She didn’t look any older than the others, and no kid needed to see their alpha dead on the floor. Even if he was a bastard who deserved it.
She pulled her phone out and put it on speaker. When Leon answered, he sounded frantic.
“What happened?”
Before she could answer, Caius approached and tugged the phone free. “Leon.”
“Caius?”
“Kostas is dead. How fast can you be in Denver?”
“Dead…. What?”
“Leon,” Caius said firmly, using his no-nonsense colonel voice.
“We’re in Denver,” Leon replied faintly.
“Quinn is going to give you an address,” he said before handing the phone over.
THE NEXThalf hour was spent rounding up the kids and corralling them in the dining room. The one he’d choked out was apparently Kostas’ son, which was a surprise to Caius, who hadn’t known he had any cousins. It was apparently as surprising as learning the girl, Eva, was Leon’s daughter.
Quinn tried to ignore the itch of unease between his shoulders as Caius took command of the kids as if he were their alpha. He didn’t mind growing their pack, he’d love to have a decent-sized pack again, but if Caius took his old pack over, that would mean moving to Wyoming. Which he didn’t really mind, but he preferred the big city. And taking over a pack full of traumatized teens seemed like the absolute worst idea.
He expected the cops to show up in force, but when he peeked outside, the rest of the neighborhood looked as dilapidated as the house they were in. A cop car finally pulled up with a detached officer who took a statement from Quinn and Lukas, called it in as pack business, and left them to it.
When Leon finally arrived, it was with two dozen other men and women who’d been exiled as traitors. From the sound of it, after Kostas took over, the pack fractured until he’d kicked out over half of the adults. Obviously, he kept the kids to brainwash and mold into his own perfect little cult.
Once Leon learned what Kostas was planning, he gathered the others and followed Kostas and the kids to Denver.
Quinn left Caius and the others to discuss next moves and sank onto the only slightly broken and charred couch in the den. Someone had gotten rid of Kostas’ body at some point, but his stench and the splatters of blood remained.
He zoned out as he stared at a large red stain, fighting the post-battle crash. He closed his eyes for a moment and found himself slumped against Lukas when he opened them again. With a soft groan, he wiggled closer and pressed his nose into Lukas’ neck, breathing in his warm, rain-soaked scent.
Before he could wake enough to demand Lukas tell him where he’d disappeared to, a car revved as it raced down the street. There was a crunch of metal and wood as it drove into the mailbox and into the front yard.
Quinn and Lukas were both on their feet before a car door slammed shut, standing side by side in front of the broken front door.
A young woman with blood-matted blue hair and a shattered arm stalked towards them.
“Fuck,” Lukas hissed. “How did you find me?”
