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The air whooshed out of my lungs, and the room began to spin. We had left them there to their fate. Or worse, had they not been as lucky as Willa and me?
My dad was at my side, his arm wrapped around my shoulders as he pulled me into his embrace. “Sloane has had a long day, and I think she’s overwhelmed. I know you want answers, and I’m sure she’ll provide them once she has rested. In the meantime, we have preparations to make.”
The room filled with loud chatter as everyone began to talk at once again. I flinched and curled into my dad.
A man whistled loudly from the far corner by the bookcase. “You heard him. Let’s give the girl some space. Alpha Eric is right. She’s had a long day, and we have lots to do.”
He clapped his hands.
The room spun into motion as the men filed out. Once it was empty, my brother Mark went to the door and shut it.
My dad guided me to the couch, and we sat down together. He pulled me into him and stroked his hand through my hair.
“I am so glad to have you home. I thought we lost you for good.”
Mark flipped the lock over, came to the couch, and sat next to me. “We were making plans for a rescue.” He frowned. “A lot of men are worried about their daughters and sisters. You really didn’t see any of them?”
I shook my head as I swiped away tears. “Lincoln and Sawyer only mentioned them the one time. I didn’t get many details because we were interrupted. I should have asked again.”
Mark picked up my hand. “It’s not your fault, Sloane. You had your own troubles to worry about.”
My dad studied me for a long moment. “Sawyer?” He lifted his brow. He pulled back and looked at me through narrowed eyes. “Alpha Dane’s oldest, the future alpha?”
I gulped and nodded. “I didn’t tell them everything. Sawyer is working with us too. His cover is still intact. I didn’t want to risk him. Alpha Dane could have men anywhere.”
Mark huffed and jumped to his feet. He started to pace. “I told you we should be careful who we let in, Dad. She’s right. There could be men anywhere.” He pointed to the floor. “They could be here within our ranks.”
My dad sighed and leaned back on the couch. “I know that, but we can’t just turn these people away, either. Most of them are ready to fight. I have to believe that there are far more men here for the right reasons than the wrong.”
“There might be more packs and men out there. We can ask for help.” I looked at Mark and then my dad before getting up and going to the laptop.
I put in Lincoln’s password and stared at the screen.
Dang, he had a lot of icons on his home screen. I was almost afraid to touch it. “Lincoln didn’t just keep tabs on his dad’s financials for him. He had a whole underground network set up. He was using the shifter website to funnel people he vetted into his own site.”
Mark nodded, a smug smile on his face. “The DarkSide website. It’s how we assembled the guys here. He created that. That’s pretty cool.”
I bit my lip to suppress my smile at Mark’s admiration for Lincoln’s work. He was a bit of a computer nerd himself. The two of them would probably get along. If they could ever meet.
“Are you still planning a rescue attempt?” I asked.
My dad scratched his chin as he got up. He went to his desk, uncorked his whiskey, and poured some into his tumbler. He took a long sip and set it down on the desk. “I’m not sure. It doesn’t sound like the girls are there. You were there for a little over a week, Sloane. You didn’t see them.”
I looked down at my hands. “No, but I never really made it out of the main house. I’m assuming they were more or less prisoners. They might have been confined to their mate’s room the whole time. They could still be there, and Lincoln is there.”
My dad sighed and took another shot of his whiskey. “He was captured, sweetheart. We don’t know if he’s alive, and we don’t know if the other girls are there either. It’s a big risk when we have no proof of life.”
I blinked back tears at his words, and at the same time, my soul searched out Lincoln’s. The world hollowed out. Light breathing echoed. I closed my eyes.
Lincoln was there, lying on his side on a dirt floor. Blood coated his hair, and his left eye was black and blue. His arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and his chest rose and fell in rapid breaths.
My heart ached. I took a step toward him and knelt next to him. My fingers trembled when I reached out. Could I touch him? I wasn’t really here, even though it all felt so real. I gently stroked the matted, bloody hair from his face.
He blinked his eyes open; they darted around until they landed on me.
“Sloane.”
Twenty-Five
