But I didn’t have another plan. If I didn’t try, Thea would die, anyway.
I couldn’t think about the future, what would happen after I rescued Thea—if I rescued Thea. There were too many variables. And thinking that far ahead would only get in the way. I needed to keep strong. First things first—get the hell out of these woods and go to Ansel’s headquarters. If Thea was there, break her out. If she wasn’t, then find out where the hell he was really keeping her and go there. Anything that happened after that didn’t matter. Not yet, anyway.
Shakily, I stood to my feet, wiping the tears I hadn’t realized had been streaking down my face, a new sense of purpose flooding my veins. At the very least, I knew what needed to happen. I had a game plan. Sitting here sulking over what I’d done, over who I’d lost, wasn’t going to do any good.
Pushing thoughts of Rand to the back of my mind, knowing he was lost forever, I turned to look at the tree. Crouching down, I dug right beneath the claw marks. After a few minutes of carving out the dirt, I found a canvas bag wrapped in plastic. An emergency bag, in case I needed to make a quick getaway. Food, water, clothing, and a spare phone. Everything I needed.
Thoughts of Thea and regrets about Rand swam through my mind as I tugged the bag out of the earth, clumps of dirt spraying everywhere. I yanked off the plastic, hands still trembling.
I took a deep breath, trying to center myself one last time. Then, when I was certain I had enough of a game plan and enough of a grip, I shifted, picking the bag up in my mouth. Turning, I sprinted through the trees to save my sister.
Chapter 16 - Rand
Silence hung over the group as I finished telling them everything. The Silver Wolves all stared at me, identical expressions of shock on all of them.
“She said they were coming here?” Jameson asked.
I nodded.
“Why would she tell you, though?” Tannen asked. “That seems like a bizarre change of heart. She really didn’t tell you?”
“She tried to explain, but I didn’t particularly care to hear her out at the moment,” I growled. “I figured there’d be time for that after I brought her here. My main focus was making sure she didn’t get away.”
No one pointed out that I’d done a shit job on that end. They didn’t have to.
“So what’s the plan, then?” Mark asked. “We need to prepare for an attack, but can we actually trust all her information? For all we know, this whole thing was a lie to throw us off.”
“You don’t need to remind me that she tricked me,” I snarled. “I’m very aware of that fact.”
“Regardless of how much she’s lying, she’s our best asset at the moment,” Jameson said. “We need to get her back here and get as much information as we can from her. That’s our top priority.”
“Great,” I said, already heading for the door. “Let’s find her before it’s too late.”
“Not you, Rand,” Jameson ordered.
I snarled but stopped, turning to glare at him. “Why not?” I demanded.
“Probably because you’re too pissed off,” Mark said.
Jameson nodded. “You’re not going to be able to think straight. Stay here. I want some of you to stick to town, anyway, just in case the Gray Wolf decides to make his move tonight.”
“I want to be the one to find Astrid,” I argued.
“And I told you no.”
I marched toward him, hovering over my alpha by a good head. He looked back at me, not breaking eye contact, expression steely.
“You’re staying here,” Jameson said. “Trust the rest of us to find her. We’ve done enough search-and-recover missions to know how to find her.”
Complying, I stayed where I was, silent, bristling. If he weren’t my alpha, I would have decked him. But even my wolf had respect for Jameson, and as angry as I was, I wouldn’t hurt him.
That didn’t change the fact that I was still furious.
“Think of it this way,” Tannen chimed in. “You’ll get first dibs on the Gray Wolf if he comes early.”
As usual, Tannen had a point. I grumbled but nodded, jerking my head as I took a step away from Jameson.
“Right,” Jameson said as if nothing had happened. “She’s gotten a couple hours’ head start. We’ll spread out and head out of Brixton in different directions so we’ll cover the entire perimeter. Let’s go out twenty miles to start. If we don’t find her, we’ll expand the perimeter or come back to defend the town, depending on the situation. If any of you find Astrid, bring her in.”