Page 39 of Riley's Storm

“I’m sorry, bug. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

A rumble came through the line, and then Xavier pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it in shock. He gaped like a goldfish and then turned to me, still death-gripping his phone.

“That was my . . . That was Drew. He’s Riley's brother. I know where she is.”

The room behind me erupted into chaos. Storm flew over from her chair and began peppering him with questions. “Riley? My Riley? You know where she is? Tell me, please! I need to go to her.”

“Calm, little bit,” I purred to her, trying to help her settle. To Xavier, I said, “Do you have her address?”

“I can do you one better; I can take you there. Seems I have a wayward beta to bring home.”

To Storm’s immense impatience, we weren’t able to set out until the following evening. Xavier wanted to go home and talk to his pack before we left, and they all decided to join us. I couldn’t believe that this whole time, my good friends were the answer to finding Riley. When I asked how they didn’t know Drew and Riley were related, they told me, much to their displeasure, that apparently the beta had given them a false last name. They didn’t know why he had done that, but they seemed adamant about finding out.

There was a story there and I couldn’t wait to meet the man that had my friends tied in knots. Seemed like he was going to give them a run for their money. It was going to be an epic showdown.

When we all gathered the next day to start off, Xavier came over and gave us the address of her home. The town wasn’t one I had ever heard of, but I loved visiting new locations. Maybe we would luck out and find a place to expand our business to.

Because there were seven of us traveling, and coming back there would be nine if my friends had their way, we took two cars. Xavier and his pack climbed into their Range Rover, while Victor, Ryan, Storm, and I climbed into our largest vehicle, the Hummer. We wanted there to be plenty of room to bring all of Riley’s belongings back with us. Even if she wasn’t ready to move in or make a pack right away, we knew Storm could never leave unless Riley was with her.

The town we were heading to was about fifteen hours away. We had enough drivers that we were planning on making it in one go. We would find a hotel to stay in when we got there. Victor started us off, the control freak that he was. He couldn't stand not being the one driving. A small smile snuck up on me when I realized he was going to have to let me take over at some point. I was excited about the opportunity to show him how to drive.

Ryan sat up front next to Victor, and Storm and I took the back seat. Her nerves had her practically vibrating. She couldn’t sit still, and if the seatbelt hadn’t been around her, I thought she would have been bouncing around the car.

I picked up her hand and stroked my thumb over the back gently. A purr built in my chest and I let it rumble out into the space. She responded immediately. Her stressed look eased, and she relaxed back into the seat. Her sparkling green eyes looked up and met mine. She leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. Surprised but pleased, I wrapped my arm around her and twirled her hair between my fingers.

“It’s going to be alright, little bit. We are going to go find your girl.”

“What if she doesn’t want me anymore?” she whispered, her voice quaking with nervous fear.

“What? How could she not want you? You’re beautiful, sweet, and you’re already bonded.”

“But none of that matters. I let them take her from me. I didn’t fight back hard enough.”

“Oh, hurricane, no. You did everything you could,” Victor said from the front seat, meeting her eye in the rearview. “She will know that. I’m sure she is just as excited to be with you again as you are with her.”

Storm still looked uncertain, but she gave Victor a hopeful smile. “Thank you, alpha.”

A purr rolled through him, and I joined in. Between the two of us, we could calm our omega’s racing heartbeat, and she settled deeper into my arms. My heart was full to bursting that she trusted me enough to hold her. My eyes met Victor’s and he looked awestruck. Ryan turned in his seat and a wide grin split his face when he saw how we sat.

“I’m so happy right now,” he said.

I echoed his sentiment. “Me too, Ry. Me too.”

Chapter29

Storm

Iwas so antsy. It was almost ten in the morning and we were only about an hour away from Riley’s home and the closer we got, the more my nerves spiked. Declan and Victor had tried purring for me again, but it wasn’t helping anymore. Each mile we drove, the more I could feel my tentative bond to Riley. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it for so long, that I hadn’t put the pieces together.

I had switched to the front seat about four hours ago. I needed distance from touching anyone because my skin was itching, and I felt like I wanted to crawl out of it. I was also incredibly sweaty.

Declan, on the other hand, was pouting because he had been certain Victor would have to take a break and let him drive. He was so put out when Victor stopped at a gas station, filled up, and chugged a Red Bull. He climbed back into the driver’s seat with a wink for his brother and off we went.

Now, though, I was burning up. I didn’t know if it was because we were getting so close to Riley or if maybe I was just getting claustrophobic from being in the Hummer so long. All I knew was I had the AC cranked up all the way, blasting directly into my face, and still I had sweat dripping down my neck and spine.

Everything also smelled so much stronger‌. My nose filled with the scents of apples, lemon citrus, bourbon, and, for some strange reason, vanilla cupcakes. I couldn’t separate the onslaught of smells from each other, but they each gave me warm, fuzzy feelings.

“How much longer do we have?” I asked, my voice teetering on the edge of a whine.