Page 97 of Untamed

He snorts derisively. "I hate the bitch. For years I've been trying to track her down and not to make nice. I had this vision of bringing her back to trial. But... I didn't tell any of you because I knew there would be RustClaw wolves who would fall on her side. Now your mate is gone, and it's my fault again, In."

I believe him. Maybe it's naive of me, but I've seen this male suffer horribly, his mind trapping him in grief and guilt. Right now, I don't care about Jax's mate, only my own. My head spins. "How the fuck do you know that myQitsukis there?"

"We received a summons to a Challenge. Your mate is being held as a guarantee that you show."

I bark out a short laugh. "Who is dumb enough to Challenge me?" I ask him. I scratch my armpit with the claws. Vaguely, I realize that my wolf is stronger than before, a crazed, dangerous alpha with a singular focus on his hellcat.

His mouth twists. "My nephew, who else? Every wolf I believed in and trusted a decade ago has stabbed me in the back, Inuit. My own family, my mate. I'm ready to end this, one way or the other."

"First, my mate needs to be safe," I say.

Jax nods. "They won’t hurt her. Not until the Challenge. I brought someone you need to meet, In. Your little mate's mother."

Shock races through me. "Hermother?" I ask in disbelief.

Jax smiles wryly. "I have every reason to believe it, yeah. And she's naturally upset."

"Take me to her."

---

29 - Hollow Moon

Inuit

Alpha Jax presses a bottle of water in my hands before shoving me into the bed of his pickup truck. I don't argue, not when my head is pounding like the worst bitch, and I'm covered in dirt and debris from my rampage. Besides, it's a relief to be trundling out of town towards the ranch. The ranch is home. The packhouse is a hellhole and a reminder of betrayal that sits thick on both Jax and my throats. I sip from the bottle gratefully, letting the cool slide of water wash some of that foul taste away.

Ezra's gramps, Elias, is sitting in the passenger seat. He greets me with a familiar mischievous twinkle in his eyes. I swear my old friend will be disappointed if this situation doesn't blow up into full-scale war.

"Setting up a command center at the ranch," Jax says through the rear window as the engine rumbles and the wind snaps in my face. "Devel Grim came with me down from the north," he explains further. "We'll get a unit together to accompany you to the Challengeandget this shit. The GriMaw are sending their Alphason, Cullen, as a witness."

"You're fucking with me," I say.

"Naw. And even better, Conner Grim is coming here, too!" Elias says gleefully.

I don't bother to bite back the soft groan. My wolf perks up for the first time since we woke up without our female. Two Alphasons will be interesting, three including me. The fact that they're cousins is even better. Conner is the Alphason for the ClearHowl, far to the south of here, in the States. His Father, Teague, would have been the Alpha of the GriMaw if he hadn't shifted MateLess. Fuck, Cullen is my age and Conner. I figure Conner must be about sixteen now.

"Conner is the true Alphason of the GriMaw from his Daddy. Mic never was going to amount to the Alpha his brother would have been," Elias continues, practically jumping up and down like an excited pup. "Wonder how the pups'll take to each other, huh?"

"Nothing will stop me from getting my mate back," I warn him. This is not about the GriMaw and their heirs or lack thereof. GriMaw sits on my shoulders wrong. When the Adlartok were attacked, and my family was slaughtered, where were the GriMaw? Elias just chuckles, rubbing his hands together. "Still fun for me," he mumbles under his breath.

"Word on Orion Ferax?" I ask Jax.

"Not a damn thing," he growls back. I match his growl with my own. Neither of our alpha-wolves is happy about our enemy disappearing into thin air like this. The question of what Orion Ferax is planning with my mate burns in my gut. I want that male's head on a silver platter, but I can't kill what I can't find.

I rub the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger before pinching hard. This situation has been a mess from the beginning. I try to list it all in my head despite the fogginess of the drugs still in my system. Orion Ferax, the new alpha of the FeraxMaw, an unknown psycho after goddess-knows-what and has an unhealthy interest in my mate. Jax's sister, Glory, and his nephew Diego are trying to usurp me. Jessie, Jax's former luna, is alive and plotting like the crazy bitch she is. And now my mate's mother pops up from nowhere. Oh, and let's not forget the forest fire and Greta, that bitch, also coming from nowhere. Goddess, this is insanity in its finest.

My mate. I can't concentrate on all the pieces because my mate is gone. Taken.A dark rumble shakes my chest. My mate.

We pull into the ranch, and it sure as hell looks like the RustClaw have been mobilized. I put my hand on the side of the truck and leap over the edge to my feet. The wolves in the yard stare, wide-eyed, before glancing away quickly. I look around, inhaling, taking in the scents of the familiar pack. I can smell my prisoners here, too. All of them. My wolf snaps his teeth. They brought Greta here in another vehicle. I still want to rip out her throat, but I also know it's a good thing Rhet kept her alive for another interrogation. I'll have to stay away from her for now. No sense in tempting my wolf.

I walk into the ranch house without a single wolf greeting me. They are afraid, but I can't bring myself to care about these wolves. I'll give two fucks later.

Jax rushes past me when we reach the living room. I enter more cautiously. Not because I fear other wolves, but because I worry what my wolf and I might do to them.

Jax goes to a wan-looking female, delicate and small, with dark hair and bright blue eyes. She looks nothing like my hellcat, but there is something achingly familiar about her, and I know that this is my mate's mother.

"Where is Willa?" she asks Jax beseechingly.

---