AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Raph held me by my waist, hoisting me up and guiding me down to the floor. His build was similar to my twins, lean but muscled. He matched my height and had eyes the color of fresh herbs. Out of the five men that made up Del's harem, he was the nurturing one. Funny, considering he and his three brothers carried the same names as the teenage mutant ninja turtles, yet this Raph was nothing like his reptilian cartoon counterpart.
"I spy Rosie!" I turned around in time to see a white blur jogging over to me. Before I knew it, Caleb had a tight embrace around me, lifting me off my feet and twirled me around. He then set me down and hugged me close to him.
"Hey, Caleb." I patted his shoulder.
"Hey, it's so good to see you again! Well." Caleb's smile faltered. "I guess not-so good considering... you know."
Well that dampened the mood, but he was right. This wasn't the best time for a happy reunion. Still, it was great to see him and the rest of the guys. Malcolm was next to greet me. This big, black, mountain of a man planted a kiss to my cheek before pulling me into his tree stump for arms that could give Byron and Joaquin a run for their money in terms of who was the biggest. Nash was the last to greet me, still the poster boy for stereotypical Texas cowboys with his hat, boots, plaid shirt, and huge belt buckle. He'd gotten tanner since the last time I saw him. His dirty blond wavy hair that went down to his jawline looked paler.
I did a quick introduction between Del's men and mine. The reminder that I was missing one sank its claws into my heart and tightened its grip around it. It physically hurt being away from Joaquin. I couldn't even hear his thoughts anymore. At least I was somehow able to tell he was still alive, but I wasn't sure for how long. We were able to escape because of him, because he held off the betas that were once his pack mates. I left him behind. The asshole hero said he loved me, and I didn't even get to say it back to him. All I could do was run.
"Rosie?" A hand on my shoulder snapped me back to the present and saw that it came from Kai. His concerned expression told me he knew why I was spacing out. "We're going to get him back, okay? Do you believe me?"
It wasn't a matter of believing him, but more of guilt for not doing enough to assure he came with us. I told Kai as much.
"There was nothing you could've done, not without you getting captured as well," Kai said.
"Kai's right, Rosa," Javier added from his spot in front of our truck where he and Del were looking at something on his phone. "It was more important that we got you out of town, and your mate knew that. I know it hurts right now but try to understand why we had to leave him behind."
I understood, but that didn't mean I had to like it. I didn't bother arguing. Del, Javier, Kao and Caleb were in the middle of figuring out where we were and the best place to set up for the night. Nash, Malcolm, and Raph were patrolling the perimeter without it looking too suspicious. All I did was pace back and forth, replaying the events of last night's full moon run over and over again. The image of Joaquin getting ambushed by wolves while he tried his best to fend them off haunted me—a nightmare that wouldn’t escape me.
"I love you, Rosalinda," Joaquin declared, which took all the air out of my lungs. "I won't stop until I find you."
I squeezed my eyes shut as Joaquin’s declaration of love continuously echoed in my brain. I pressed my hands against my ears as if I could somehow drown out the memory, my eyes burning with built up tears. My wolf couldn’t accept leaving Joaquin behind. She was urging me to go back for him; we couldn’t leave him behind. Reminding her that Pierce would likely be waiting to capture us did nothing to settle her. Her desperation to retrieve our missing mate was a brick wall blocking out all sense of logic and reasoning. My skin prickled as my wolf tried forcing the shift on me. If not for the gentle touch of coming from Kai to keep me grounded, I’d be concerned that she’d get her way.
“Rosie, are you okay?” Kai asked.
I took a moment to breathe in and out, relaxing my stiff posture and letting the tears run down my face. I turned to my mate, my vision slightly blurred from crying, but thankful he was still there. I reached out for him, pulling him closer to me and wrapped my arms around him. My face buried into the crook of his neck, sniffling, and letting my frustrations out. Kai didn’t seem to mind. He held me tightly, rubbing circles along my back and rocking me side to side.
“I know,” he said softly. “I know. We’ll get him back, Rosie, I promise.”
“Is she okay?” I heard Kao’s voice followed by his footsteps getting closer to where we were.
At his twin shaking his head no, Kao huffed out a breath before I felt him pressing himself against my back, offering his support and strength. It should’ve made me feel better, but the lack of a third body enveloping me only served to be a knife stabbing my heart. I needed to pull myself together. I couldn’t fall apart now, not when my mates and my brother’s group risked everything to get me away from Pierce. They were all going the extra mile for me, so I needed to be strong. I forced myself to relax and continued taking slow, even breaths. When I felt composed enough, I pulled away from my twins and wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“You don’t need to be sorry,” Kai expressed, keeping my hands clasped with his.
Kao ran his fingers through my hair. “Yeah, we don’t blame you for feeling overwhelmed. We’re all going through a lot right now. The best thing for us right now is to find some place to camp for the night to recharge. After some sleep, we’ll figure out what our next plan of action will be.”
“And that’s exactly what we plan to do,” Del piped in from where she stood in front of the twins' new truck a few feet behind us. She held up her phone and waved it at us. “Luckily for us, I think I found us the perfect spot to settle for the night.”
We faced our blue-haired companion with interest. "Where?" I asked.
"It's about three miles north of where we are now. There's a little spot in the middle of the woods that's open enough for all our camping gear but hidden enough to not be spotted so easily. We'll go over guard patrol when we get there."
I nodded along, thankful to have her, Javier, and the rest of Del's mates helping us out. It was a big risk getting them involved. Shifters from other packs were strictly forbidden from getting involved in the affairs of other packs without being taken as an act of a challenge. That was when Del and I both came to the conclusion of getting some of her hunter buddies to lend us a hand. They weren't shifters, which meant that the Blue Moon Pack wasn't involved. I never thought I'd see the day where wolf hunters and wolf shifters worked together, but that was to be expected when your brother was mated for a former hunter.
With a destination in mind, everyone went back to their respected vehicles to get ready to head back on the road. Javier offered to drive while the twins rode in the back with me. Kai and Kao once again sandwiched me in the middle, both men taking one of my hands in theirs and pressed themselves against me. My wolf thrummed at the physical contact, but the lingering pang of Joaquin's absence still hung in the air.
Don't focus on that, Rosie. Not now, at least.
It didn't help matters much that the full moon was still out. No wonder my wolf was heavily wired tonight. We never did get the chance to go on that full moon run before our plan fell in motion. Hopefully once we reached our destination, we could rectify that. If my wolf was on edge, I couldn't imagine what everyone else's wolves were feeling. With the engines of all vehicles revving to life, we were soon back on the road. Del took the lead since she knew how to get to this clearing she and Javier found. When it was time for us to turn off the road and head through the trees, Del held out a thumbs up for us to see before swerving right into the woods. Javier and her mates following behind in a straight line.
The grassy terrain wasn't the smoothest to ride through, but I sucked it up. My grip on the twins’ hands tightened. The foliage of the trees acted as a ceiling, making it difficult for me to get a clear view of the full moon above us. Even though I couldn't see it, I could still feel its spiritual pull, how it coaxed my wolf. I wish Mother Moon could communicate with me. I'd have a few choice words for her, not all of them pleasant.
Before my mind could wander too far into how many ways I could curse Mother Moon for picking me with such a heavy burden, the truck stopped. I snapped my head up and looked around, taking in the empty clearing Del found. I'd lost all sense of time. Caleb parked his car next to our truck, and everyone began stepping outside and unloading all our camping gear. Nash and Raph went out to look for firewood while Del instructed Caleb and Malcolm to take first patrol shift. That left her and Javier to set up their tent for the night.
