Page 19 of Knot my Alphas

His obsession with her runs deep. He might’ve taken her away to protect her but I doubt he’ll lose the opportunity to claim her.

I glance toward Caleb again. He may look calm on the outside but I know he’s simmering deep inside. A storm is raging behind his steely-gray eyes, telling me he’s ready kill anyone who comes between him and Iris tonight.

The car suddenly swerves, knocking me against the closed window at my side. “Are you trying get us killed?” I shout, catching a glimpse of a large deer in the rearview mirror that Caleb narrowly missed hitting.

“Sorry,” he grits through clenched teeth. “I can’t slow down. Iris is in danger. She’s in terrible pain. I don’t know how but I can feel it.”

My hand brushes over my chest. A trapped, suffocating feeling has been swirling inside me since the moment Damon ended the call. I assumed it was my anxiety over everything that was happening but it’s only now that I realize it’s something else.

“I feel it too,” I say slowly. “The feeling has been building, turning more painful as time passes. It’s Iris, isn’t it?”

Caleb gives a nod as he continues to drive the car at top speed. “This sort of connection is possible between us because she’s our fated mate. We’ve all heard the stories and legends. I just never considered them to be true.”

“It’s a miracle we found Iris,” I say as the uncomfortable sensation grows in intensity. “We can’t lose her, Cal. I’ll fucking die if we lose her.”

“I know,” he growls. “How much farther is that asshole’s residence?”

I glance toward the GPS dashboard. “Still three miles to go.”

“What kind of an insane person lives in a place like this?” he shouts, banging on the steering wheel.

I stare out of the wild, overgrown woods that fence the road. There are no streetlights to illuminate the path before us. Potholes pepper the asphalt, making the car jerk wildly as Caleb doesn’t bother slowing down.

“From the few articles I found online, Fort Callahan has been abandoned for decades. Just take a look at the road conditions here. No one has lived here in recent years.”

“That’s strange,” he says, applying the breaks as the car gets close to a massive pothole. “This area isn’t too far from major cities.”

“No,” I say, staring at the dark empty road ahead.

“Why would he bring her here?” he says in a low, worried tone.

I have no answer to his question. It’s very obvious the asshole has no good intention for our Iris.

“I’m trying not to think about his reasons,” I say. “Every time I do, my mind conjures up scenarios that make me want to throttle him. Let’s just get there as soon as possible.”

“It’s lucky I gave her the bracelet before leaving,” Caleb says after a while. “We’d have never known where she was without it. We could’ve never guessed he’d bring her here.”

A heavy breath escapes me. “Maybe that’s the reason Callahan brought her to a place like this. No one would ever think to search for her here. He’s probably planning to keep her here until we all give up.”

“Like hell we’ll ever give up on Iris,” he growls.

The tops of an ancient castle soon come into view. I glance at the dashboard and see that we’re nearly at our destination.

Caleb is forced to slow down as the terrain turns uneven and rocky. Tall, dried grasses, tangled with vines, cover the ground. Thick woods surround the property on all sides.

“This place looks fucking haunted,” I say, staring at the tall iron wrought gate before us. Vines and creepers have grown unchecked, covering the walls as well as the bars of the gate.

“I just hope we’re in the right place,” Caleb says in an anxious tone. “It doesn’t look like Callahan drove here.”

“Damon said a chopper flew away from our property just as the attack stopped,” I say, remembering our earlier conversation. “He could’ve flown in here with her.”

“That was a fucking risky move,” he says through gritted teeth. “Damon could’ve assumed him to be a terrorist and shot him down.”

“There’s a lot of shit I don’t understand but it’s time we found out,” I say and unfasten my seatbelt.

Caleb takes a deep breath and climbs out of the car.

The ancient manor lies further ahead but we need to cross the gates to reach it.

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