Luca had a busted phone in hand, turning it on and frowning at the screen that was broken beyond repair.
“Someone took him?” I asked no one in particular, already pushing through the employee only door.
It was empty in the back room, not a soul in sight. The floor had two distinct clean patches, as if someone was dragged through here. Someone definitely took my alpha and there would be hell to pay when I found them.
“Guys!” I pointed at the floor as they rushed in.
Ronan cursed. “Pull up his tracker. Change of plans.”
“You have a tracker in him?!” Leon said, shock and worry filling his tone as we rushed out to the lot and dove into the van. Luca already had his phone in the stand on the dash, following the directions to find our missing pack member.
“Yes, he has a tracker,” Ronan finally spoke up again, giving us both a look. “As will you.”
There was no question, just a demand.
“Like hell,” I muttered, but he let it drop for now. With Nikolai hurt and missing it wasn’t the time to fight about trackers.
And honestly… the idea of them always being able to find me was a bit reassuring considering.
Luca tore through Widow’s Peak, but it was obvious they had taken him beyond the border. That made this a whole lot more complicated. There were a few towns nearby but far more random cabins set up in the mountains.
“Tell me you have weapons?” Leon said carefully as Luca drove down the treacherous mountain roads, following the GPS the best we could.
“Of course, we do,” Ronan scoffed. “Know how to fire a gun, beta?”
Leon’s answer was stolen by a collective scream as a truck tore around the curved road, slamming into us head on.
Pain exploded through my body, my screams tearing out of me with enough force my throat ached sharply. We weretumbling through the air before the impact of hitting the rocks below shook through us.
Then it went dark.
Nik
My throat was dry and my head throbbing as I blinked open my eyes. For a second, I had to blink against the dim lighting and try to figure out where the hell I was.
I was shopping… then, nothing.
My arms were bound to my sides, my body secured to a chair with a thick chain that dug into my skin, bruising me.
The fuck?!
“Ah, the prodigal son is awake,” a familiar voice echoed out. A light clicked on and Alessio walked into the room. A few men stood behind him. Not Crows, but familiar.
My head was just too foggy to place them. What the fuck had they given me?
“I’m going to kill you, Alessio,” I warned him as he stepped forward. He looked rough. His usually pressed suit was crumpled like he’d slept in it for days. The slicked back hair looked like it fought through the old gel and was sticking out now.
He sneered at the sound of my voice, or maybe my words. It was hard to tell with him. He’d always hated me.
Even Victor, who was vehemently against his ‘bastard children’ joining the Crows, tolerated my presence more because I followed his orders and did my part.
Alessio was the spoiled youngest brat of Victor’s ‘true’ bloodline which meant he was an entitled prick. Ronan wasshaped by his father’s heavy expectations whereas Alessio was left to do anything he could to gain his father’s attention.
“I’m taking over the Crows,” he said as if I was stupid. “Your precious packmates will come running, and just like that you’ll be at my mercy. By the end of the day, there won’t be a trace left of any of you.”
“Yet, you were too big of a bitch to get me yourself. You hired someone else to do it,” I laughed, the sound cruel and mocking. He crossed the room in a few short strides before cocking his fist back and slamming it into my jaw. My head snapped to the side, copper filling my mouth. I turned back, my smile widening as my alpha surged to the surface. They used chains for a reason, they knew damn well I’d tear through rope in seconds.
“I’m strong enough to kill you,” he growled, yanking his knife from its holster and lunging for me. I barely felt the knife plunge into my arm, my focus on keeping the bond shut tight to save my girl from this.
