Page 98 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

I turn around and walk away, pretending I can’t hear anything. I yank open the car door and get into the passenger seat.

“Get us home, now.”

“Should we attempt to get back to somewhere more isolated?” King asks.

“We’ll see once we get home and know they are okay.”

It takes hours, and it’s getting dark when we finally pull up in the drive. I run up the paved pathway, making sure I don’t land in the gravel, and bang on the door. They don’t open it, so I fish in my pockets, pulling out the keys.

I open the door and jump to the side when I register the crossbow aimed at my face.

It takes Sage less time to realise it's me and drop the weapon so that the deadly point is aimed at the floor and not my heart.

“We called you!” he snarls. “You have been radio silent.”

“We’re compromised,” I say, scanning the dark. Where are Roseland and Merle?

There’s a whimper from deeper in the house, and then Roseland appears with a limp and sick omega in his arms.

“What’s wrong with her?” I ask as I hurry over.

“Bond sickness apparently or rather a psychological version of it. We thought bonds might stave it off, but she frets the minute anyone leaves now, and she’s been beside herself since the minute you all walked out the door. It’s been thirty-six hours!” Roseland shouts. “Where the fuck were you?”

I go to him and turn her face to me. She’s pale and moaning almost constantly. I kiss her, and she latches on with a strength that surprises me. Her fingernails bite into my skin, and she almost rolls out of Roseland’s arms to wrap herself around me.

I kiss her until I can barely recall my own name. As soon as I break away for air, King is there, dragging her into his arms. I think, before all this, I might be offended to be forgotten so quickly, but seeing the way she forgets everything but our alphas makes me proud and satisfied on a deep, deep level.

“We all need to sit down and talk,” I say to Sage.

“Yes, we do. There's a lot going on.”

“What happened to you?” I ask, startled.

“Oh, we found a body.”

I stare at him, wanting to be surprised but being unable to find it in me. Of course, they did. Of fucking course.

The room spins, but I reach out, and Blaze is there, giving me his strength.

“One problem at a time. Get rid of the technology. We need to ditch everything,” he says. “Then we need to decide if we’re going to stay here or go.”

“We can’t leave while she’s in this state,” Roseland says softly. “But leaving is probably problem number two.”

“Tell me everything,” Sage says in a voice that brooks no argument.

I open my mouth and tell him everything we found.

Merle sits up, her whole demeanor changing. “I’m sorry, did you say the cottage I took you to is empty, the old lady murdered, and the kid presumed dead?”

I stare at Raven.

“Yes.”

She exhales roughly.

“Looks like you’re going to get your wish, after all, Kestrel.”

Blaze