Page 49 of Fear

Sofia. Where are you, baby? Please… give me something.

The earth felt too still beneath him. The air tasted like rust and failure, and that whisper of her—the one that had pulled at his chest like a string soaked in fire—was fading.

The bond was still there. But barely. Like she was drifting. Like she was… giving up. That thought…That one goddamn thought snapped something inside him.

Goliath exploded upright with a roar, grabbing the nearest tree and slamming his fist into it with a sickening crack. Bark split. Blood smeared. Bone groaned.

“I’m going to lose her,” he growled through clenched teeth, pacing like a caged animal, eyes wild. “I can’t fucking find her.”

“Goliath.”

It was Frost. Steady. Controlled. Dangerous in his own right. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“I’m thinking just fine,” he bit back. “She’s alone, she’s scared, and we’re standing here with our dicks in our hands pretending like we’ve still got time.”

He turned toward the others—Hunter, Fang, Dixon—their faces drawn, tense. They were all feeling the weight, but none of them like him. None of them knew what it felt like to be bound to a woman and failing her.

But then—

Frost’s phone buzzed. The sound was small, but it might as well have been a grenade. Frost answered, listened. His eyes narrowed. Then—He looked up.

“Warehouse. North edge of Rodes’ territory. Surveillance has just picked up a vehicle matching one of his transports…an unlisted one.” Goliath moved before the phone was even lowered.

“Coordinates,” he barked. “Now.”

Dixon was already pulling it up, his voice clipped. “Forty minutes, give or take. It’s through dirt roads. Under cover of trees, It’s not on any of his known holdings.”

“Then that’s where she is.” Goliath’s voice was pure steel now, trembling with contained fury, “No more fucking delays.” He turned, stalking toward his bike like the devil himself was at his heels.

King’s voice rose behind him. “We move together. Don’t go rogue.” But Goliath didn’t answer, because he was done waiting, done planning, done trying to be reasonable.

They’d moved her once. They wouldn’t do it again. And if they did,

he’d follow them into hell. The Wolverines rode out as the sun bled into the horizon, shadows stretching long across the dirt roads. This wasn’t the kind of ride they lived for. It wasn’t brotherhood and beer and loud engines under open skies.

This was war. Silent, calculated, and cold-blooded. Goliath led the pack, his jaw clenched so tight it felt like bone would snap. The wind bit at his skin, but he barely felt it. All he could focus on was that tether—the fraying bond between him and Sofia, pulling him like a blade to the gut. She was close, he could feel it again, faint but real. Every bump in the road, every turn of the throttle, wound his rage tighter.

He wasn’t going to stop this time. He wasn’t going to hesitate. He was going to end this.

Two miles out, King signalled with his hand, motioning them to slow. The rumble of engines faded into a low growl as the Wolverines peeled off the road one by one, turning onto an overgrown trail leading through dense pines.

Frost pulled up alongside Goliath. “From here, we go silent. No headlights. No comms.”

“Eyes open,” Dixon added, scanning the treeline. “If Rhodes has cameras out here, they’ll hear us coming from a mile off.”

King dismounted, crouching beside the trail where a drone had marked the warehouse perimeter hours earlier. “There,” he said, pointing through the brush. “Perimeter fence. Wired. Single entry point.”

Gunner and Fang stepped forward, shifting quietly into their wolf forms just behind the brush. Their fur bristled, muscles taut as they lowered to the ground, ready to scout the perimeter.

“We don’t storm this one,” King said. “Not yet. If we alert him, he’ll move her again. If we’re wrong, we’ll lose her for good.”

Goliath was silent, staring at the outline of the warehouse through the trees—low roof, rusted walls, floodlights that hadn’t turned on. Too quiet, too still, but he felt her. Not clearly—just flashes of fear. Exhaustion, Pain , but it was clear that she was here.

“Give the wolves five minutes,” Frost said. “If they don’t come back, we hit it hard.” Goliath didn’t answer. His fists curled at his sides, his heartbeat like war drums behind his ribs.

He could smell her now. Faint. Fading. But there, and it made him wild. Every instinct screamed to rip the gates down. To crush every man between him and his mate. But he waited. Barely, because the moment that clock hit five minutes—hell was coming. And Goliath would be its first flame.

Chapter 21

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