The marks on my wrists burn as I grab a shirt, Celtic knots pulsing with each heartbeat. We only just bound ourselves together forever. And I’m going to tear apart anyone who tries to break that bond.
Starting with the entire fucking Salem Court.
The gravel sprays behind my truck as I take the curves too fast, hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel. The connection is steady but distant—they’re taking her east. Up through the mountain pass. The pain is like barbed wire tightening around my heart.
Mountain air whips through my open window, carrying the first hints of dawn. Any other morning, I’d appreciate how thesunrise paints the peaks in shades of purple and gold. Now it just means more time lost. More distance between me and Bridget. The bond pulses with each curve of the road, a compass pointing east. Pointing to her. And I’m headed the wrong fucking way.
Aiden’s cabin looms ahead, already alive with movement despite the early hour. Three of Dave’s trucks are parked haphazardly in the yard. Liam’s vehicle sits crooked near the porch, driver’s door still open like he couldn’t spare the extra few seconds to close it.
Then I hear it—a roar of anguish that makes my wolf’s head snap up.
I’m out of my truck and running. The scene hits all my senses at once—sharp tang of fear-sweat, low growls of wolves, the crackle of magick heavy in the air.
I burst through the door. Finn’s on the floor, thrashing against Aiden and Liam’s hold. His words come out garbled, half-human snarls.
“Emma…they took…my mate…my baby…”
My blood turns to ice. “Emma too? They took Bridget as well.”
Dave steps into my line of sight, his presence grim. “They must’ve split up. Hit both locations at once.”
My wolf surges forward, but Dave’s hand slams against my chest. “Hold, son. Can’t help either of them if you lose control.”
“Fuck your control!” Finn’s voice cracks, still fighting against Aiden and Liam. “They have my pregnant mate!”
“Which is exactly why we need clear heads.” Aiden’s alpha timbre hits me like a physical force. “Lawrence’s people are tracking them. Rachel and Lila are working a plan to get us to Boston. But we need you both in control of your beasts and not working against us.”
I drag in a ragged breath, forcing my wolf back just enough to think. He’s right. Bridget needs strategy, not blind rage. Throughour bond, I push every ounce of strength I have, letting her feel my determination. My promise. Not giving up. Never saying goodbye.
“They’re heading east.” I press my palm flat against my sternum, trying to steady the ache beneath. “Through the pass. I can feel her.”
Finn stops struggling. Nods. His eyes meet mine, and I tip my chin. Wolf recognizing wolf. He taps Liam’s arm, and they finally let him up.
“Two black SUVs,” Lawrence confirms, stepping out of Aiden’s study. “My people are following. They’re on the main road through the pass and took the south fork.”
Grind my teeth. Fight back another growl. “That leads straight to a private airport. We’ll lose them.”
“No.” Finn’s voice steadies, but his eyes burn gold. “We’re going to stop them. Tear them apart. Burn their whole fucking Court to the ground.”
“Yes.” Lawrence crosses his massive arms. “We are. But not at the airport.” His gaze locks on mine. “Salem Court has haunted my family long enough. Drove me and my wife into hiding. Separated me from my daughter.” Each word carries decades of pain, of rage carefully banked and waiting. “We end it. All of them. But we have to do it in Salem, or they’ll just keep sending more.”
The words settle over the room like a physical weight. Salem. Source of all this pain. All these broken families. The place that turned my mate into a weapon and aimed her at us. My wolf rises closer to the surface, hungry for vengeance.
“How?”
But my question is forgotten when Aiden’s door bursts open again. Rachel, Lila, and Marion rush in.
“They’ll expect a rescue.” Lila spreads a map across the table. “But not wolves. Not male witches. TheMathairsthere keeptheir existence hidden from most of their own people. And they won’t expect us to come to the Court.”
“We have surprise on our side.” Aiden moves to the table, all alpha authority. “Let’s keep it that way.”
“So we just let them take that plane?” Finn’s neck cracks as gold bleeds back into his eyes.
Marion steps forward, her usual gentle demeanor gone hard as steel. “We have to. If we put everything into fighting them at the airport, we’ll lose our element of surprise at the Court.”
“We can’t all go to Denver and buy a fucking ticket to Boston.”
Lila’s hand finds my arm. “We have another charter plane on its way to the private airstrip. We’ll be less than an hour behind them. Pack what you need.”
