Page 66 of Redeem Me
Chapter 52
Rafe
Ford stood next to me on the steps to the Crimson Manor. His stance mirrored my own. His face probably showed more emotion than mine did, but for some reason, I knew it was because he was more worried than I was.
My brother didn’t know my Guardians like I did. He didn’t know their fighting routine or how serious they could be when it mattered. They knew what to do when the going got tough. I trusted no one more with my mate’s safety.
Tracey would die before she let anything happen to her friend. I squeezed my eyes closed as the minutes ticked by. I felt useless. I was more than useless but I had promised I would stay behind so they didn’t have to worry about me too. After all, it was a trap. I couldn’t get caught up in that. My pack needed me. My mate would need me. My family needed me. I couldn’t do anything rash even though everything inside of me was screaming to go there and rescue her myself.
Ford touched my arm gently. “Don’t worry, they’ll bring her back.”
The scent of steaks cooking inside made me nauseated. Usually, I could tear up a kitchen right now when I was anxious like this but there was too much at risk.We had never had a mission this important before. Yes, they were all important in their own way. We had saved children. We had liberated Granny from a toxic coven. We had done so much good, but this was different and I hated every second I had to wait. I couldn’t even check in on them.
I shoved off of the front steps and paced across the worn dirt path. “At that rate, you’re going to have a tunnel to China.” My mother’s voice usually brought me comfort and peace but not today. I didn’t listen to her as I walked back and forth. I rubbed the back of my neck as I watched the drive. It was too late to be up and really past Ford’s bedtime. He liked to complain and object to having one, but he was still a grouch without sufficient sleep. He did well on pack nights but not if his wolf didn’t get a good run in.
“There’s no point in waiting out here,” my mother’s voice trembled. “You’re going to get sick.” I loved that she tried to be the traditional mother to me even though our bodies could withstand frigid temperatures. “You’re going to get heartsick.”
This time I looked up and the expression on her face almost brought me to my knees. All of her pain from losing her mate was right there in her eyes. All of that pain was because of me. My wolf perked up in my head and whined. He was usually the vicious side of me. He fought first and asked questions later. He was the reason I had a pair of Jade’s panties shoved in the bottom of my sock drawer. He was the irrational one who liked to hunt our prey and our mate. But today, he felt remorse over what we had to do for our pack. He felt just as terrible as I did.
So I climbed the worn steps and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. I pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and blinked back the growing moisture in my eyes. Maybe this time I could put it all aside for someone else. Someone that had absolutely nothing to gain from my pain. She sighed contently before she patted my back. “You remind me of him every day.”
I knew she meant before he got sick but a little voice in the back of my head reminded me that if I got sick, I would have to be put down too. If something happened to Jade, I wouldn’t be far off from where my father left off.
I had managed to wolf down most of my steak when the sound of tires on gravel had me flying out of my chair. Ford and my mother were right on my heels. The rest of the pack was sound asleep. I imagined Granny was still awake, I didn’t think she ever slept, but she was nowhere to be found. She would come out when she was ready. She would assist when needed but she had little minds to tend to.
Tracey’s car was the first one in the drive. Behind her was Mav on his motorcycle and Archer’s SUV. No other motorcycle pulled forward. I rushed to the side of Tracey’s vehicle and pulled the door. The way it groaned I imagined it flying through the sky. I didn’t care one bit what happened to this car. I could scent my mate and rot in the air. She was all that mattered. My wolf came up to the forefront in my head. His grumble vibrated my chest. He was ready to fight for our mate.
No need, bud.She’s in good hands now.
The seats in the back of Tracey’s car had been ripped out and the floor had been assembled in a makeshift bed. A wolf that hardly fit in the car was nuzzled around her head like a lap cat. I ignored the unfamiliar wolf if he was civil in the car. Most wolves couldn’t stand being in their wolf form in such a small space. I didn’t know how the massive oaf survived it. Until I really looked down at my mate.
The world around us faded. Everything was happening so fast but through my head, it was in slow motion. Jade’s shirt was gone and all that covered her chest was a thin strip of fabric. A little pair of shorts was stretched over her backside. Deep cuts marked up and down her legs in a grotesque fashion. But the worst of it was the deep, jagged ‘D’ in the center of her stomach. Blood and infection poured from the wound. I reached forward but someone slapped me away.
It took a moment for the sounds to rush back to me. The wolf by Jade’s head was growling. Tracey was screaming something about needing Granny. Knox was being carried from Archer’s backseat and my mother was shouting orders to the rest of the pack as they emerged from their homes to see what all the fuss was about.
“Bring her to my home,” my words halted everything else. “I have a room for her there.”
It wasn’t much but it was quiet and away from the prying eyes of the pack members. Tracey got back in the car as I ordered Archer to do the same. Knox would be brought back to my house too. It was the best I could do. The infirmary had been prepared for whatever outcome but I couldn’t allow them to go there. I couldn’t stomach it. My wolf ripped through my skin. The trees flashed by as I outran their vehicles. I managed to make it to my house before them and pulled my clothes out from the wooden steps. My dad had designed the house like that. All around the porch there were little airtight compartments to keep clothes and shoes in case a shift came on unexpectedly. I shoved my legs into a pair of loose-fitting boxers as Archer’s car skidded forward. This time Knox pushed the door open and collapsed beside it. Mav was next to him in a matter of seconds.
I pointed to the front of the house that had been left unlocked. “First door, down the hall, on the left. There’s a twin bed in there and bandages in the nightstand.”
Knox grinned at me as the boys helped him up the steps. “You missed a good fight, buddy.”
“Next time I’ll fight by your side,” I pressed my hand into his shoulder as they passed. Blood spotted his naked skin but I couldn’t tell if it was fresh or not. It smelled like his but he seemed to be healing alright as he walked up the stairs. Tracey’s car took a few seconds to slide beside Archer’s. Her face was grim and there was blood splattered on her fighting leathers. From what I could see and smell, she wasn’t injured but she had done a lot of killing. The scent of death clung to her skin.
The same wolf stayed curled up at my mate’s side. I looked at Tracey as I bent forward and tried to think of the best way to retrieve my mate. Mav was back beside me in no time. His big bushy brows were pulled together on his forehead and sweat slid down his temples. “What do we do?”
“I’m going to hand her to you,” I whispered as I climbed into the backseat carefully. He nodded before he stood up straight. A yell made the hairs on the back of my arms stand up.
Mav pressed his lips together with a grim expression. “He was shot with bullets laced with wolfsbane. Knox will be fine, but having to cut through his skin to get them out won’t be fun. For any of us.”
I nodded my head once then began to scoot my mate’s body from the car. Tracey watched beside Mav with a pale face. One of her hands was pressed to her lips. I didn’t know how I managed it but after a few painstaking minutes, I had Jade in Mav’s arms. As soon as I was free from the tiny backseat and the wolf hopped out, Mav gave Jade back to me immediately.
It was like muscle memory from the night she had curled herself around me after that painful shift. She winced as we climbed the steps and I wondered the kind of person and wolf she would be after all of this.
My wolf whined in my head but somehow it escaped outside my body. A howl itched at the back of my throat. All I wanted to do was fix her immediately but even if it was possible for her body, it wouldn’t be for her mind.
