Page 64 of The Last Ultimatum: Part 1

“But we were doing it for your own good and for that of the team,” Walker insisted.

“Just like you were thinking of the team when you let Lindsey fly off with you?”

“That was different?”

“How was that different besides the fact that I haven't actually blown our mission?”

“Everyone reacts to mating. We just weren't sure how you were going to react,” he tried to explain. “I'm sorry. There, I said it. I'm sorry that I didn't trust you to keep control. You were showing signs of losing it. What were we supposed to do? We all knew what it meant, and we were just trying to do better by you.”

I scoffed. “Better? How was that better? How would you have felt if we'd sedated you and then just let Lindsey and the kids fly away?”

He growled at the thought.

“My point exactly.”

“We get it. We screwed up no matter our intentions,” Michael said. “The question remains, how do we move past this?”

“I don't know if I can,” I admitted.

“Do I need to have you reassigned or pulled from this mission?”

“What?”

“I'm serious, Lachlan. If we can't work through this right now, I'm going to have to bench you until we can.”

“You're seriously going to punish me for what happened?”

“It's not a punishment.”

“Well, it sure as hell feels like one.”

He sighed. “So we're at a standstill then?”

“I know how to behave. We aren't entirely okay, but I think we're all grown-up enough to get through this. I have my personal reasons for it now, whether you guys like that or not. I'll do what I have to do to stay on this mission. After that? We'll see.”

“I don't like it, but I think it may have to do for now.”

He switched gears and briefed us on our next mission.

I was relieved when he explained that we'd rendezvous with Bravo at the auction location. That meant I could actively be seeking out Chelle. She was the key to my future right now, though there was no way I was going to share that with them. I feared Michael was serious and would pull me off the case. It was bad enough that I had to be separated from my mate right now. It would be a hell of a lot worse if I felt like I was letting her down too.

Charlie and Echo teams had been brought in as well. They were going around to the remaining Tribes to warn them of potential trouble. With any luck, each Alpha would step up and secure their Tribe or at the very least warn their dingoes to be on the lookout with a plan for evacuation and survival.

My first job, regardless of what Michael said, was to find Chelle and get her to safety, even if I had to buy her myself.

Lachlan

Chapter 18

We had an awkward truce by the time we touched down.

Silas and his team were there and waiting for us.

“Is he okay?” I heard him ask Michael.

I knew damn well he was referring to me.

“I don't know. I don't have a clue what to do about it.”

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