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“My father.”
Oh shit.
thirty-four
Wearrivedbackatthe temporary landing site to be greeted by a frantic alpha and a scowling beta. Hunter launched himself at Maia the moment she appeared in the open door, pulling her down into his arms. “Where’s Max?” Maia asked, her voice shaky.`
“He’s holding the fort back at the farm, pussycat, and watching the satellite feeds,” Hunter said as she slumped into him. Hunter ran his hands all over her, trying to reassure himself she was okay, before pulling her away from the slowing rotors. He must have felt all her emotions through their bond and known our mission was going badly. Not being with her would have been killing him.
Dave stalked up to me, looking fierce. He held his hand out to help me down, all but hip-checking Dio out of the way. He dropped my hand quickly as soon as I was out from under the rotors, to feel my forehead.
“You look flushed and you feel hot,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I said, distractedly. I was hot, but I didn’t have time to worry about something so mundane now. “It was hot in the chopper.”
“Debrief, dining room. Now,” Damon yelled over the top of all our voices.
Maia’s obvious pain drew everyone else in as her mates bundled her up between them. But I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sam.
He was stoic, but I could see the way his mouth was down-turned and his whole body was tense as he walked. It differed from the way he normally carried his rage. This looked as though he was at war with himself. There was a bow to his shoulders that hadn’t been there before.
Seeing him take command, in full military mode, earlier had gotten me all hot and bothered. Then, hearing his story as he opened up to Maia made me realize he lived in fear of himself and in constant battle to contain his beast. Right now, he was spiraling while trying to shut himself down. Yet his obvious pain called to my omega. The need to soothe him burned through my veins and the pull I felt toward him had turned incendiary.
I wanted to go to him, but I had to play this right or he’d shut me out completely to protect me. I’d stolen away after our family meeting this morning to read some of Maia’s old book. Not to read about omegas, though. I’d been hoping to find some answers about Sam, and it solidified my suspicions that he was a prime alpha. By denying his beast, and trying to shut everyone out to deal with his extreme dominance on his own, he was on a path to becoming feral. The thought terrified me.
I eyed Sam. He kept his distance, as if there was a giant force field around me, as we headed down the hill. He was clutching the metal box that Dio had handed back to him, as if it was a lifeline. Dave hovered near me, staying within reach, while Dio was a determined shadow at Sam’s back. Pala had rushed in just as the briefing started, cutting his surveillance of town short, as though all our emotions had been an unconscious pull on the bond that had drawn him home.
The briefing was quick. Maia’s pack had her firmly ensconced in their arms. Every one of them was touching her somehow. Nobody else was getting within arm’s reach of her.
I didn’t hear a word anyone said, anyway. The distance between Sam and me was becoming an increasing torment with every second that passed. His beast was pulling at me despite the fierce battle Sam was waging with him.
It felt like Sam was trying to throw a wall up between us to block the pull his beast was trying to throw my way, and it was snagging on the true mate bond trying to form. It was tearing some deep part of me in the process. He refused to even glance my way, and it was driving me to insanity.
It wouldn’t end well for Sam, either. All the gains he had made in the last few days, whatever had eased his hold on himself and made him seem more open this morning, was lost in the fierce battle he was waging within himself. I could feel he was holding back, because he didn’t want the pull his beast was trying to throw my way to force something I wasn’t ready for.
This constant battling with his beast was destroying him, though, and I wasn’t going to sit around and watch it happen. Besides, the last of my hesitation about Sam had fallen away today. I wanted him, needed him so badly I could feel my blood pounding. He was mine, to protect and care for.
As soon as the debriefing finished, Maia dodged her guys and threw herself at Sam. He hugged her tightly, yet his face was vacant, as if he’d built a wall even his sister wasn’t getting through right now.
“Mai,” he whispered. “These are yours. I wrote them to you. I’m sorry you didn’t get them until now.” He tried to shift the box awkwardly into Maia’s arms, but she already had a heavy old book under one arm and a tight grip on him.
“It’s not your fault, Sam. But thank you, I’ll read them all.” I heard her whisper to him. He just grunted at her. She looked over at me and I subtly nodded at her.
“Go, I got this,” I mouthed to her with a grimace. Maia gave me a sad smile and a wonky thumbs up behind his back.
Damon growled at Maia from where he was almost pressed up against her back. He was quickly losing his patience as his gaze swiveled around the room, constantly looking for threats. If he didn’t get her somewhere secure soon, where he could satisfy himself she was safe, he was going to flip his lid.
Dave made his way over to Maia, sharing a look with Damon as he put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Maia. Go calm your alphas before they lose their shit. We’ve got this.”
Maia pulled away from Sam reluctantly. “I just have to pop into the kitchen,” she tried to say as she waved her book in the air, but Damon had reached his limit. He grabbed the metal box from Sam for her, picked her up, threw her over his shoulder as she squealed and growled at his mates, “Nest. Now.”
She heaved the heavy book at me over Damon’s rapidly disappearing back. I dashed toward her, lunged and caught it, only fumbling it slightly in my panic, trying not to drop what was clearly something precious. It was old and overstuffed, with pages and notes sticking out. She seemed to have an affinity for old books. Luckily, the book had an old-fashioned clasp on it, so nothing fell out.
“It was my great gran’s old recipe book. They were poor, and she wrote a lot of substitutions in it from when they couldn’t get sugar and stuff,” she called out as she disappeared through the door, “give it to Isabella for me.”
I barely heard the last bit as Damon hustled her away. I figured their cabin was going to be locked down tight for a while. We’d all overheard what Damon had said to Sam in the chopper as we took off. That it was Damon’s and Ronan’s fathers that had turned up together and torched the old farmhouse. It didn’t bode well for any of us if Damon’s father was involved in this.
We needed more intel on what was going on out there. I knew Max was working on it, but everything he found just led to more questions. I had a sneaky feeling this thing was bigger than any of us knew, and the Crash was no accident.
