“Josie,” Cam growled.
I turned around, taking in all of their disgruntled expressions.
“What happened since we were arrested? How did you get to Amirah?” Theo asked.
I bit my lip, realizing they had no way of knowing Glen had pulled a supervillain move and locked me in his dungeon, and now was not the time to tell them.
“I’ll tell you everything when we get there.”
I resumed walking, but Theo’s snarl made me jump and whirl around. I looked around, eyes wide. Had someone found us?
“Are you limping?” he bit out, his eyes wild as they honed in on my leg.
I pressed my hand to my chest, willing my heart to slow. The burnt edge of my alphas’ fury swirled around me, and I couldn’t stop my whimper. This isn’t how I imagined our reunion. Everything felt wrong and unsafe and I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
“Shit,” Theo said, running his free hand through his hair. His eyes softened and he held his hand out. “Come here, love.”
I took a few hesitant steps towards him. He grasped my hand and pulled me into his chest. Ben and Cam pressed around us until I was completely surrounded.
“My alpha is freaking out,” Theo murmured. “I’m not upset with you. I’m so relieved to be back with you, angel.”
I let out a shuddering sigh. “I just... I need us to get somewhere safe before I tell you everything.”
“Let me carry you,” Cam said. “You shouldn’t walk on your leg.”
I scrunched my nose at him. Ben met my gaze over Cam’s shoulder and rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“Umm,” I said in a high-pitched voice, not wanting to insult Cam. “I can walk. Angie looked at my leg and said it was fine to walk on.”
“Let’s just keep going,” Ben said. “The faster we move, the faster we’ll get there.”
I threw him a grateful smile and resumed walking down the path before Cam or Theo could argue.
The rest of the walk was quiet, the chirping birds our only soundtrack. Every few minutes, I looked back over my shoulder. Ben and Theo were still supporting Cam, but he was looking more alert.
The air was crisp and I shivered in my jacket. At least the midday sun helped a bit. I worried about my guys who were dressed in thin prison-issued jumpsuits. Why didn’t I bring clothes for them? I had been so focused on rescuing them that I hadn’t thought through what we needed afterwards. I couldn’t even remember what supplies the safe house was supposed to have. Did it have food? Clothing? Medicine? I berated myself—I wasn’t doing a very good job of caring for my alphas.
Sweat trickled down my back as I kept going. I didn’t want to admit it, but my leg was hurting more and more. I thought I heard Cam muttering under his breath, and I knew my alphas were watching my movements carefully. I was doing okay until I stumbled over a branch and fell to the ground.
Ben was next to me in a flash, pulling me up and keeping a firm arm around my waist.
“I’m okay,” I said, but I couldn’t help leaning my weight on him. Ben’s clenched jaw was his only response.
“Ben, help Josie. I’ve got Cam,” Theo commanded.
Before I could protest, Ben swept me up in his arms.
“No, I can walk,” I said, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. I desperately wanted to relax in his arms, wanted to demand all my alphas touch me and never let go, but my inner omega was driving me right now. I needed to be the one to care for them, not the other way around.
“Shh,” Ben said, tightening his hold on me. “Just let me carry you for a few minutes to give your leg a rest, and then I’ll let you walk. But I bet we’re almost there anyway.”
A few minutes later, he was proved right as we came to a small clearing in the woods where a cabin sat in the middle of the trees.
ChapterForty-Seven
Josie
The cabin looked quaint and unassuming, but Amirah had assured me it had an advanced security system that would alert us if anyone got close.
