Page 77 of Owning His Mate

“I’ve had word of an attack on another compound three days from here,” Callum says. “Most of the occupants were tau or vargr. Some wolves and a couple of humans.”

My gaze snaps to Kye. His shoulders square, and his jaw flexes, twitching. I can’t even blame him for his anger. I feel the same. The Order is just picking us off one by one.

“What happened?” Cade asks.

“Hunters, of course.” Callum sighs, looking as tired as I feel.

“Can we help them?” This question comes from Wyatt.

“They don’t want help. They only called to warn us. Two juveniles were taken—young tau just coming into their powers.”

My stomach churns. I can only imagine how scared they must be. Another Savannah, another little girl or boy, terrified out of their mind, wondering what is going to happen to them.

“We need to go after them,” I murmur.

“We can’t,” Callum says. “Even if we had the manpower, which we don’t, we can’t. They’re too far away. Even if we left now, they’d already be long gone.”

“And we’re already thin on the ground numbers-wise here.” Beck gives me an apologetic look as he says this.

“I don’t like it any more than you do, Apryle,” Callum adds, “but we can’t save everyone. The only way to stop this is to stay the course and hit the Order hard. We’ll save far more that way.”

He’s right, but it doesn’t help the way I feel in this moment.

I thread my fingers through my hair, resisting the urge to tear it out at the roots. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep losing people, children, to these animals.

I hate being helpless.

Kye’s hand wraps around the back of my neck, kneading my nape in an attempt to comfort me, and I lean into his touch. I want them to suffer the same fear and anguish those children have.

“They’ll have taken them wherever they keep the rest of the children,” Dove says quietly.

My heart breaks for her. She and Jackson still have no idea if they left behind a child when they ran from the Order. They may never find out, which seems cruel.

Kye pulls me into his side, his hand still on my neck as he speaks into my ear. “They’ll all pay.”

It is a promise, one given in earnest and one I know he will keep if he can.

“When are we hitting them?” Halle’s voice is tight.

“As soon as everything’s in place. I’ve pulled together at least six other groups like ours and I’m reaching more each day. We need to act before the Order finishes picking us off, or there will be no one left.”

“We also don’t know where the Order is based, so we’re having to work out a good position to draw them out.”

“And the followers of Revna?” Kye asks the question that sits on the tip of my tongue.

“One homicidal faction at a time, buddy,” Sawyer says.

After we’re finished talking, we find Savannah demolishing a bowl of fries, and I can’t stop myself from smiling at her enjoying food.

I pull Tessa aside, asking her to take care of the little girl for the afternoon so I can be alone with Kye. We have a lot of things to work through ourselves and he needs me. Our little dirty sparring session did help work out some of his frustrations, but not enough.

Our hands locked in each other’s, we walk back to our house, and as soon as we’re inside, Kye wraps me in his arms, holding me tight as if he is afraid to let go.

“It seems like things will happen soon.”

“Yeah, it does.” A tendril of apprehension works through me.

“We have to stay strong,” he tells me. “Things are going to get worse before they get better.”

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