Everett meets my lost gaze and then looks at Noah. “Put her on one of the lounge couches. We should keep an eye on her.”
Right. He’s right.
Ivy follows Noah to the lounge.
Rachel stops at my side.
I close the back door and lock it. I feel a little better once it’s locked.
“I’ll stay tonight,” Rachel tells me. “Just tell me what you need.”
I turn around and find her looking at me with worried eyes.
“I need Oscar to still be here,” I tell her.
“Oh, Cheryl, I’m so sorry,” she says.
She steps closer and wraps her arms around me. The hug brings back my tears. I try not to wallow in the feeling. I try to tell myself this is all temporary. That I’ll have Oscar back home in no time.
But empty words don’t erase the pain that having our bonds broken caused.
The only thing that will make me feel better is bringing him back here and bonding with him.
“I’m okay,” I tell Rachel, as I step back from her hug.
It’s a lie. I won’t be okay until everything’s put back the way it was before.
But I need to stop crying and start doing everything I can to fix it.
I clear my throat and look at Everett. He’s fully dressed now, and standing close by, with the slip of paper Georgia left in his hand. He shakes his head at it and looks up at me, frowning.
“Show Rachel the note. She doesn’t know about it yet.”
Rachel raises an eyebrow. “Something else happened?”
I don’t blame her for being surprised. So much has happened since she got here this morning.
“Let’s go into lounge,” Everett says. “We can talk about it while we wait for Vi to feel better.”
He waits for us to move and I hear him checking the locks on the front door before he follows us into the lounge. It’s been a long day, and I get the feeling it’s going to be an even longer night.
Chapter Eighty
Everett
Ittakesclosetotwo hours to get everyone caught up on where we’re at. We all seem to be moving at a snail’s pace and no one’s completely present. Vi’s still asleep when Rachel asks us if we have a map of the recent area. I’m about to say no, because who the hell keeps a map of their own town, when Cheryl gets up and tells her she’ll grab one from her supplies. Apparently, it’s a witch thing.
“We use maps to locate people or lost objects,” Rachel tells me while we wait for my mate to return.
“You’re going to check where Oscar is?” I ask.
She nods. “It’s unlikely the Alpha would risk the wrath of the Council of Witches by breaking the rules. He’s done everything by the book so far. But it won’t hurt to make sure Oscar is where he should be.”
Where he should be. I barely hold back a growl. She didn’t mean it, but I’m on a knife-edge.
It doesn’t take much to make my anger rise when my feelings are so raw.
“And Bianca’s supposed to be watching over him too, right?” Noah asks.