He pauses, and I can feel his racing heartbeat as he gently squeezes me close. Then his nose comes to my hair, and I can hear him breathe.
His arms start to tremble as he grips me. “I can smell your fear. And it makes me want to do very bad things.”
I nuzzle farther into him. “Would it help if I tell you that I’ve already done them?”
A pleased chuckle rumbles through his chest. “I can’t wait to hear about that, my sexy obsession. But let’s get you home first. The others are eager to see you.”
I start to ask why they didn’t come with him, but I stop myself, though I’m not exactly sure why. A lingering bit of insecurity, perhaps?
Who knows what happened after the Noths took me from school. Kylian has clearly been searching for me. Maybe the others were following different leads.
There’s going to be a logical explanation.
My heart just isn’t quite ready if there’s not one.
All the ferocity I had earlier has melted into a puddle, and I just don’t have the capacity for more right now.
Kylian starts walking toward the chopper, which still has its blades spinning.
As we get closer, he asks, “Think you can walk?”
I nod, not bothering to talk because thethump-thump-thumpof the blades is overpowering, whipping my hair across my face.
He lets me down, and we duck, running toward the door, which is open, awaiting us.
When I clamber inside, I fall back into my seat, relief making me sag.
But Luka’s voice startles a zing through my veins, making my eyes pop right back open.
My debonair alpha swings around from his spot in the pilot’s seat. He’s wearing one of the headsets that seems to be standard operating procedure in the movies as he grins at me.
Even though his hair and beard are as perfectly styled as usual, I can see dark shadows under his eyes, and I know he hasn’t slept since I was taken. But he’s never looked better.
My breath hitches, and I throw myself toward him, completely oblivious of the seats, equipment, or that coiled cord descendingfrom his headset, which gets snagged on my wild elbows and stretches tight.
Luka doesn’t seem to notice. Or if he does, he doesn’t seem to care. He pulls me in close enough that our heartbeats pound together, inhaling my scent just as I breathe in the fresh, clean musk of him…though I catch a whiff of something metallic.
It almost smells like blood, though his T-shirt and pants are freshly pressed.
I must be mistaken or paranoid. I’m probably smelling some oil or antifreeze or whatever they use to service this helicopter.
Ignoring my nose, I just revel in the feel of him for a second, in the fact he came for me. So quickly too. When I was taken the first time…
I cut off those thoughts because I can’t deal with them right now. Suffice it to say, Alpha Team X operates on an elite level.
These men… They did in hours what the people who brought me into this world did in weeks.
My mates found me.
My throat narrows, and I swallow a harsh sob that seems to swell up from the deepest, most defenseless part of myself. Instead of devolving into tears, that ache pulses in my chest. Hushed agony. Potent vulnerability. And blinding gratitude.
Somehow, the fact that it’s not just Kylian alone rescuing me is significant. They’re coordinating. My alphas are working as a team. It makes me wonder if Ridge and Colter are clearing a safe house or something for my return.
Reluctantly, I release Luka with a sigh and return to my seat.
Kylian immediately leans over me and straps me in, his expression so focused that you’d think he was disarming a bomb.
Once he's finished with me, he slides the door shut and straps himself in. Then he slaps the back of Luka’s seat, and we start to rise as he peers outside, keeping a wary eye on the landscape, as if he expects Noths to appear at any moment.
