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Mylah, in my arms.

The moment she’s free, she pushes against my chest, body loose and a little heavy, like she’s still coming to. What made her pass out? Was she drugged? Who the hell took them, and what the hell were they planning on doing to them here?

Did they already do something to my sister?

Mylah in my arms, I sink down to the floor, holding her tight as she cries against me, her arms a vice grip around my neck.

“I’ve got you,” I say, voice rough, knowing this is an admission, but not caring. Maybe it’s too late. Maybe it was never going to work, and I’m a fool for trying to resist the divine will of the moon goddesses.

Trying to resist this woman. So brilliant. So cunning.

And yet, still needing me to protect her.

It’s said that the moon goddesses determine the fated mate pairings. Maybe that’s the reason it’s felt like my pack didn’t have favor with them—I’ve been fighting this thing with Mylah for far too long.

Mylah sobs something against my collarbone that sounds like Augustus. My entire body stiffens, thoughts racing through my mind. What would have happened if I didn’t go to her? If I didn’t realize she was gone? If the guys didn’t come and join me in the hunt?

Well, I would have been able to handle all these fuckers myself. Except I might have been too occupied with Mylah to get my sister before they took off with her, if ransom is the reason they’re here.

Finally, Mylah loosens her grip around me. I brush the tears from her face, push the hair back around her ears, press my forehead against hers in an approximation of the grieving touch we did with Denvil before. She is here. She’s okay. Mylah is okay.

No matter how many times I try to tell my wolf that it’s true, that she’s intact and in my arms, he still doesn’t believe it. He would like to whip more people around like rag dolls before he feels satisfied with what’s happened here.

“Aug—” Brack stops in the doorway, taking in me, Mylah, her in my arms. My hands so tender on her face. The way I shift away from even him, my wolf growling out at the idea of anyone coming near my mate right now.

My friend blinks, takes a step back, a knowing look on his face. Once again, I’m hit with the thought that maybe Brack has known about this—or, at least, suspected something—for a very long time.

“We have two others tied up. The alpha and two more betas. Aurora is okay, a little shaken. It doesn’t seem like they hurt her more than the ties around her wrists. Is there anything else you need from me?”

“Kill them.” The words come out of me rough, like unsanded wood, sharp, jagged edges sticking out. “Kill them all—anyone who touched her.”

Brack’s jaw shifts. I can tell he’s weighing this right now—should he really kill them? Follow my directive? We might be close to the Eastern border, but we are still in my territory. I’m the boss here.

And even if we were in Zade’s territory, anyone who touched Mylah is fair game. I’ll kill every fucking shifter in every pack if they dare to even look at her in the wrong way. I’ll rip them limb from limb. Make sure they can never cause her harm again. Show them what it feels like to experience that kind of pain.

Finally, Brack nods and turns out of the room. I hear him speaking low to someone in the hallway. It doesn’t matter.

I turn back to Mylah in my arms, her eyes shut, a sheen of sweat over her forehead, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Of course.

Her heat is coming. That’s the entire reason I went to her room in the first place. The reason I discovered she was missing.

My entire body stiffens, but there’s enough adrenaline coursing through me that I still have control of myself. I gather her up, stand with her in my arms, holding her tight to my chest.

I need to get her home. Take care of her.

No—I need to get her home, then get the hell out of there. Have someone knock me out and tie me to a tree in the woods, so I don’t touch her. Whatever it takes to get me through her heat without the impossible pull to come after her, taking me over.

When I walk into the hallway, Denvil is just finishing up with the beta they must have found in another room, snarling loudly as there’s a wet crack. Good for him—let him have all the kills. Maybe it’s a way for him to let out some of that violence after what happened to his pack members.

Zade and Brack are in their human forms, still talking quick and low in the hallway. Strange to see Brack talking so much at once.

The two of them stop when I enter, turning to face me. I watch them watch me, their eyes traveling up and down the scene that is me and Mylah. Behind them, I see the shine of Aurora’s hair as she sits in a chair, her head in her hands.

I’ll have to talk to her later. Have to talk to a lot of people later.

For now, Mylah is the most important thing.