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“We did,” I said. “I promised I’d come back here and let Crew formulate a plan before heading back for Kira. I never said whenI’dgo back for her. If you all are ready, that’s fine, but regardless, I’m leaving tonight.”
Gavin’s lip curled in disgust. “Kira wouldn’t need to be rescued if she’d stayed in Haven in the first place. Who thought this was a good idea, anyway?”
“Please,” Zoe hissed, pressing her fingers to her temples, “shut up. Stop talking. All this macho bullshit is making my head hurt. There’s too much angry dick in here and not enough level-headed vagina. Am I right?” She glanced at Chelsey, who shrugged, obviously confused by her statement. Zoe rolled her eyes. “Anyway, can those of us who are capable of discussion without fighting move this to the meeting room? Then can we get this plan together?”
Before anyone could respond, Zoe turned and headed down the corridor. Gavin sneered and shook his head at me as he followed her. All the while, my wolf raged inside my mind. Part of him was ready to tear off back into the jungle to find Kira, the other part ready to rip Gavin apart for daring to accuse me of endangering her.
Off to the side, J.D. stood still as the others filed past to follow Zoe. He looked more distraught than I’d ever seen him.
I swallowed my pride and anger. “Are you good?”
J.D. shook his head helplessly, mouth agape. “This is my fault. All of it. I asked Kira to do everything she could to get Leif back. I thought about going, but she’s better trained. I mean… I’m a fucking alpha. I should have gone with you all. Maybe it would have been different if I’d been there.”
I put an arm around his shoulders and led him down the hall toward the meeting room. “You can’t blame yourself. Knowing Kira, she would have gone after Leif whether you’d put the idea in her head or not.”
But my reassurances didn’t seem to penetrate J.D.’s head, and bone-deep guilt still marred his face as we walked into the meeting room. Chelsey entered ahead of us, and even in my misery, it was easy to see how she avoided Crew as she moved to the opposite side of the room. Instead of speaking to Crew, she made a show of probing Eli for information.
“I want to help get Kira back,” she said. “She’s my friend, and I know she’d do the same for me.”
Eli patted her on the arm. “We’ll figure all that out. For now, we need to get the basics.”
“Absolutely not,” Crew barked. He was resting his weight on his fists against the large meeting table, glaring across the room at Eli and Chelsey.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” he added, this time directly addressing Chelsey.
“Excuse me?” Chelsey looked at Crew like he’d slapped her. “Are you talking to me? Because I don’t remember giving you jurisdiction over my decisions.”
Ignoring the jibe, Crew waved a hand in frustration. “It’s bad enough you’re on this gods-forsaken island to begin with. I’m not letting you anywhere near Simon. That’s final.”
Chelsey, her face blazing scarlet, took a few steps toward Crew. I’d almost never seen her look that way. The woman was usually calm and easygoing, but now she looked ready to kill. The last time I’d seen her with a similar expression was when the show had thrust her little brother into danger. Even then, it had been more of a terrified anger.
This? This was unmitigated rage.
“I’m sorry,Ben,” she spat. “But of everyone in this room, of everyone on this entirefuckingisland, you are the last person allowed to tell me what I can and can’t do. You gave up any say in my life when you turned your back on me on your parents’ porch a few years ago.” She suddenly frowned as though pretending to remember something. “Or wait… was it someone else who rejected me?” Sarcasm coated every word.
The entire room had gone quiet as we all watched the argument play out, none of us daring to interrupt.
Crew looked like he’d been kicked in the gut. “This… Chelsey, it’s not about—”
“Not about what?” she snapped. “Not about ripping my heart out and leaving me to suffer alone?”
Crew slammed a fist onto the table. “I have to keep my mate safe. Don’t you understand that?”
My jaw dropped. I didn’t know the whole story, but from what Chelsey had explained, this guy hadzeroright to call her his mate.
Chelsey took another step closer, kicking aside a chair with a clatter. “Ben, I don’t know if being on this island has given you brain damage, but do I need to remind you how things went down?Yourejectedme, not the other way around. I amnotyour mate… you made absolutely sure of that. Not only that, but you did it in the most embarrassing and cowardly way possible. So, how about you shut your mouth?”
The two stared each other down, anger fading into mutual hurt. If one good thing came of this weird fight, it had taken my mind off Kira for a few moments. Now that it seemed to have fizzled, her plight returned in full force. A lance of worry speared into my heart.
Chelsey crossed her arms and stomped out of the room, her sobs echoing back to us. Crew’s shoulders slumped and he made to go after her, but Eli grabbed him before he made it to the door.
“Maybe give her some time to cool down,” the fallen angel said.
Crew stared after Chelsey, but nodded absently. “Okay. Yeah.”
“You guys can talk it outafterwe get Kira back,” Eli added, nudging Crew back to the table.
The alpha nodded and wiped at his face. Even though he now had himself under control, Crew waved at Eli to start the meeting.
