AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My dad closed the distance between us and put his hands on my shoulders. He leveled his gaze at me. “I don’t disagree with you. But I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”
I gave him a sad smile, and a single tear trickled out of my eye. “I know, Daddy. But we are at war, and nowhere is going to be safe until we stop Alpha Dane. I want to do my part.”
He stared at me for a long moment, and I couldn’t breathe as I waited for his reply. He glanced away from me to gaze at the other people in the room. I almost forgot they were here since the conversation had been mostly between me and Dad.
My brothers looked like they didn’t know what to think, the same with Jacob and Ian. My mom, though… She had her hand over her mouth and was chewing on one of her fingernails. She was nervous because she knew me, and she knew my dad.
Dad pulled me into a hug. “Get the information. We leave as soon as we have it, and you can come. God help me.”
I squeezed him back. “Thank you, Dad. We’re going to rescue everyone there.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Yeah, we are.”
My dad released me and moved back to his desk, and I took a seat on the couch next to Willa. She hooked her arm with mine again and rested her head on my shoulder.
Ian took a couple of steps forward. “How soon do you think you’ll be able to get the information?”
I adjusted the strap of my tank top as I thought about that. “I found it’s easier to connect to Sawyer recently. Lincoln has been blocking me out due to the torture. He doesn’t want me to see that. But I’m not sure either. It could be me. I don’t really understand all of this yet.”
They seemed to be totally random at times, but there were a few similarities.
I found a spot on the couch and stared at it. “It’s usually easier to connect when I’m relaxed or sleeping. I’m not entirely sure how it works, though, to be honest.”
Sawyer and Lincoln were better at it than me, but the pair had been connecting to each other for years.
My mom came to the couch and sat on the opposite side of me. She put her hand over top mine. “Your bond is new. You’re still trying to figure out how it all works. All you have to do is think really hard about seeing your mates. Picture them in your mind. When you reach out to them, give them the sense that it is important. That you need to see them. The rest should do itself, but don’t be surprised if it takes you a few tries.”
“I’ll try to connect with one or both of them.”
My mom patted my hand. “Good. Why don’t you try that now? Our goal is to leave first thing tomorrow morning. We’re only going to talk strategy, but we need to know those plans as soon as you can get them. Our window for attack is small. You can attempt to do it here, or I understand if you’d rather go to your room or someplace quieter.”
I opened my mouth to protest. How could they plan without me? But then I realized that they needed the information I was gathering to finalize any plans. The sooner I got what they needed, the better.
I stood up and started for the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I didn’t wait for my dad to officially dismiss me before exiting and closing the door behind me. I speedwalked through the house and took the stairs two at a time before all but jogging back to my room and shutting and locking the door behind me.
My mind was whirling a million miles a minute by the time I sat down on my bed. I thought my chest might explode from the way my heart was thumping frantically.
I drew in a deep breath through my nose and let it out through my mouth. Closing my eyes, I called Sawyer and Lincoln with my mind. I focused on both of their faces and how much I needed to talk to them right now.
I prayed one or both of them answered.
Eight
Sloane
I opened my eyes and groaned as I flung myself backward onto my pillows. My gaze went to the Tweety Bird wall clock above my door. Fifteen minutes with no success. I fisted the blankets in my hand and watched the second hand tick around the clock.
Darrin had given me that clock when I was a kid one year for my birthday. I’d loved the cartoons when I was younger. We’d watched them together every day after school.
Darrin… I covered my face with my hands. Darrin was dead because of Alpha Dane.
I rubbed my eyes before letting my hands slip back to the bed. I stared at the clock until my vision blurred, filling my mind with thoughts of my sweet big brother and then of my mates.
The room began to hum, and I blew out a breath, almost laughing when I realized that it was working. The shape of the barn came into view. I braced myself, expecting to see Mikey tormenting Lincoln again. But it was nothing like that.
Sawyer sat next to Lincoln, who was eating a big bowl of steaming hot oatmeal. It smelled like there was enough brown sugar in it to give him a toothache. When they sensed my presence, they both looked up.
