Page 116 of Alpha's Redemption

“I’ll tell him before I leave,” I tell her, gripping Valarian's face.

“Behave for your mother and stay in this room. Don't leave. Your mother can't chase after you right now,” I warn him, and he nods his little head.

“He'll be fine. I'll see you soon,” Everly says. I nod to her, kissing each of the kids quickly.

‘Make sure you come home to me. You are not leaving me with four babies to raise by myself,’she says through the mind-link.

‘Not even the devil himself would stop me from coming home to you. Or them,’I tell her, and she nods, yet I can tell she’s trying not to cry. She doesn't want me to go but knows I have to if we want to find Macey and have everyone come home safely.

My father and hers can handle themselves, but we aren't sure what they’re walking into, and each new Alpha is stronger than their father; it means Carter is stronger than them, plus he was forsaken once, so we aren't sure what it means in terms of his bite.

As I leave, I swing by Tatum's room, stopping at the door. I don't know how to tell him Macey is in trouble, yet he has a right to know. He loves her and Taylor, and after seeing him today, I know he wants her back. Swallowing guiltily, I push the door open to find a nurse in there checking his vitals while another is redressing his leg—the room smells sterile, and I can smell antiseptic strongly in here. He looks up at me.

“Late-night visit, Alpha,” he states, and I nod.

The nurse checks his dressings once more before smiling gently.

“I'll come back and finish up,” she tells him. I wait for her and the other nurse to leave, and Tatum pulls himself up higher on the bed.

“Everything alright?” he asks.

I sigh and shake my head, moving closer to the bed. “It's Macey,” I tell him, and he instantly perks up at her name.

“Is she here? Did she bring Taylor?” he asks.

“Carter has her, Tatum.”

His eyes widen and he instantly tosses the blanket back. I grip his shoulder.

“Everly wanted me to tell you. I’m going after her, but you are in no state to travel,” I tell him, trying to shove him back onto the bed.

“If it were Everly, would you be sitting around?” he growls at me, and I press my lips in a line.

“The doctor has told you, you can't shift.”

“Fuck the doctors,” he growls, standing, and I grip his arm. “I'm coming, Valen. That's my girl and my daughter's mother. You don't get to tell me something like this and expect me to sit around and wait for you to return,” he snaps. I curse.

“Fine, but we’re leaving now, and you are to hang back when we get there,” I tell him, and he nods, though I have a feeling him hanging back with patrols isn't happening.

“Let's go,” he growls, shaking my arm off and moving toward the door. When we step out, the nurse's eyes widen.

“Tatum, you should–”

“Leave him,” I tell her, and she backs up as he moves past her, ignoring the worried look of the nurse. Nothing anyone could say is going to stop him from shifting to get to her if he needs to—not even the risk of losing his leg.

ChapterFifty-One

Kalen

“What did he say?” I ask Marcus as he hangs up the phone. I start unfolding the new map we bought from the gas station on the hood of the car.

“He’s sending scouts and is on his way,” Marcus tells me as we shine the flashlight on the map—we’re trying to find any sort of trail. Though her signal is weak and keeps blinking out, we know roughly where she is, but the forest is so dense that navigating through unfamiliar terrain, even for us, could end up with us becoming lost or walking straight past her without seeing her.

John is walking along the forest edge, trying to pick up any tracks or scents, but we are at a standstill for now. We need help.

No doubt my son is furious with us. We had hoped to have found and brought her back before he found out, yet the hours ticked by, the day turned to night, and we found nothing. We had to ask for help.

Macey's life is the priority, and we don't want to take unnecessary risks more than we already have. This area is known as forsaken territory, yet we have yet to come across any.

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