“We need to know what we’re going into.”
No, we didn’t.
Maybe they did, but I didn’t.
It didn’t matter whether two fledglings were waiting for me or five or a whole fucking army. I’d kill them all. Obliterate them. Every single one of them. Everyone who’d dared to touch my mate.
My claws were itching, ready to slice through their chests and rip their fucking hearts out. Just like they’d ripped mine out when they’d taken Finn.
“Eric. Dude.” Bennie stepped in front of me, his eyes flashing with concern. He placed his hands on my cheeks and forced me to look right at him. “You did good. You found him. But now it’s time to reel yourself in, okay? It’s time to start thinking again. You can’t risk marching in there wreaking havoc if you don’t know how many fledglings are waiting for you. Otherwise, you risk Finn getting caught in the crossfire.”
I growled.
I hated it when Bennie was right.
Unfortunately, it turned out he was right a lot.
He’d been right about my stalking habits ending badly, for one.
I hadn’t listened to him then.
I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Because if he was right again and I didn’t listen, the price might be Finn’s life.
Fuck.
I took a deep breath, held it, and released it slowly. And again.
Aries was still holding my wrists behind my back, obviously not trusting my ability to take back control when needed, but even he relaxed after a while.
“Can I let go of you?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I swear to you, youngling, if I let go just for you to run off and barge in there, I’ll make you pay. Got it?”
Another nod.
Aries released my hands, then gestured for us to follow him.
Back.
Away from the building.
From my mate.
I couldn’t help but snarl at the thought of even taking a single step back, but Aries’s eyes flashed in a way that was, quite honestly, terrifying.
How old was he again?
Because in moments like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if he told me he was like a thousand years old.
We hid in an alley on the other side of the street. It was a strategically sound decision, I had to admit. We had a decent view from here. Both the big garage door and the back door were visible, but we weren’t. Not if those fuckers weren’t actively looking out for us.
Which they probably weren’t. Because those idiots had smashed Finn’s phone instead of taking it.
“I can detect six scent patterns. Finn’s in there. There are also four fledglings I don’t know, and the lingering scent of the one who attacked Bennie. So, chances are, there are four fledglings in there with your mate right now. Not ideal, but perfectly manageable between the three of us.”
“Yeah, it should be easy enough,” Bennie said with a sigh. He was giving me a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I knew he wanted to cheer me up, but at the same time, I also knew he hated that we were about to kill someone. Even though they deserved it.
