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Callum squeezes his shoulder as he loses himself to the emotion. My throat clogs as I hear their stories. If I could remember my past, I’m certain my and Dove’s story wouldn’t be that different.
“They have my mom,” Halle says, her voice barely audible. “She was with a bunch of Order hunters when they attacked us. The last time I saw her before that, I was eight years old. She looked the same, but she didn’t recognize me. She didn’t even seem to know where she was.” My stomach twists as a tear rolls down her cheek. “I thought she was dead. I never looked for her. I let her suffer.”
Cade wraps her in his arms, pulling her against his chest as she sobs.
“We can get them all back,” Callum says. “Even the children.”
Children. Pups.
Fuck, if we do have a kid out there, we need to find and save them from whatever hell they’re going through.
“If we agree to work with you, what happens next?” Cade asks the question that burns through me.
Trust doesn’t come easily, but at some point we have to let others in if we’re going to unite against our common enemy. If I’m going to keep Dove safe.
“We all have a lot to lose here,” Callum says. “I understand your reluctance and your fear of trusting outsiders, but I ask that you keep an open mind.”
“I want to help,” Dove says instantly. I’m not surprised she does.
“I go where she goes,” I add.
Callum nods. “We’re glad to have you. Can we count on the rest of you?”
Looks are exchanged, and I can tell Sawyer and Cade aren’t as keen on joining their forces. I get it. They want to protect their mates, but Halle isn’t going to sit by while her mom is being held captive. He’s either going to have to force her to stay behind or bend.
“Beats sitting around waiting to be killed,” Wyatt says.
I guess that’s as good a reason as any to join what promises to be a suicide mission. We may all die trying to defeat the Order and liberate their captives. Then again, we can stay here and die too, or end up in a cell. I’ve never been the kind of wolf to lie down. I prefer to fight, to face danger head-on. I know my vargr brothers are the same way.
Halle digs the toe of her boot into the ground, her nose wrinkling. “I’m in.”
“Halle.” Cade’s voice is sharp, but she places her hands on his chest, and something passes between them before he blows out a breath.
“I need to do this, Cade,” she says.
“Fuck.”
She rolls to her toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. The gesture doesn’t entirely appease him, though he seems a little less snarly by the time she turns back to Callum. “I don’t trust you assholes, yet, but I want to save my mom. She tried to protect me, and all she got for that was years locked away. I won’t abandon her.”
Cade’s fingers trail over the claiming mark on her neck. He glances at Sawyer, and there’s a silent chat between them.
I almost give in to the urge to unmute the pack link.
“Fuck,” Sawyer mutters as his mate presses against his side. “You want to go on an adventure?”
Roux snorts. “Is that what we’re calling this insane crusade? You know we’re all going to die doing this, right?”
“No one’s dying,” Sawyer says, kissing the tip of her nose. “Especially not you.”
Her eyes are filled with love and affection, intense and heated. “I want us to have a normal life.”
“I want that too,” he murmurs before glancing at Callum. “I might regret joining your little cult, but you’re right. We need to fight.”
“Welcome to the war,” Callum says.
And a shiver runs through me. Blood will be spilled, but I'll try to make sure not one drop of it belongs to my family.
Chapter 17
