Page 49 of Tangled Fates

I strained to try and figure out what in the hell the sound was.

“It’s water! They have him near moving water!” I exclaimed.

“Like, ocean water? Or river water?” Hudson asked.

I shook my head. “It’s not like an ocean. I hear splashing, but not, like waves. And there’s—what the hell is that?”

Raven, I can’t. Please, help me.

My throat closed up. “Just a few more seconds. Hang in there with me. You can do this. I know you can.”

Raven, please find me. I can’t hold on much longer.

My brow furrowed deep. “There’s a sign on the wall. Brody, focus on the sign.

His voice faded away. I can’t. Too much blood.

“Just try for me! Please!”

And just before the vision faded away altogether, I caught a glimpse of that sign. A pure, focused, unadulterated glimpse.

“Redwood Tavern!” I shouted.

My body grew weak and fell to the floor, but god damn it I knew where they were holding Brody.

“Redwood Tavern,” I whispered. “The sign on the wall said Redwood Tavern.”

Hang on, Brody. We’re coming to get you.

I reached up to Hudson. “Show them. Take my hand and—and show them.”

He shook his head. “You’re not strong enough. It could incapacitate you.”

I gazed up at him with fierce determination. “Your Alpha commands you. Now, do it.”

With a nod of his head, he clapped his hand into mine and pulled the images from my brain. The pain was great, but not as great as my need to save the only shred of family I had left. Mom’s death had been hard as hell on me, so much so that I refused to talk about it most days. Her and I had always bickered. Always fought. And when those police officers showed up at my doorstep to tell me what had happened, my life had forever changed.

Being an orphan forever changed the way I saw the world.

But to think that she had been murdered, just like Dad, made me sicker than guilty sin.

“I know where that is!” Levi exclaimed.

My eyes shot open, and the images quickly faded away. “What?”

Levi stood to his feet. “I know where that lake is. I don’t know about the tavern, that must be new. Dean, that’s our lake, though.”

He furrowed his brow. “You mean that shitty-ass lake we all used to sneak up to when we were kids?”

“Mudwater Lake?” Hudson asked.

I laid there on the floor, trying to catch my breath. “You guys know the place?”

They all laid down beside me before Levi spoke. “We used to go up there as stupid teenagers to prove how big and bad we were, stepping into bear territory without anyone knowing.”

“God, we were idiots,” Hudson murmured.

Dean placed his hand on my thigh. “How are you feeling?”

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