Page 17 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

Chapter Seventeen

HAYDEN

“ I thought for sure you’d get stuck trying to squeeze through there,” Ryley said with a wide grin. His relief was so immense it felt tangible.

I could have kissed him again, but I held back.

The last time we’d kissed, it felt like we were trying to conquer our resignation, worry, and fear in one comforting moment. But if we kissed now, I wasn’t sure what it’d mean. Not that a kiss needed to mean anything, but with Ryley it seemed like it should. And , if we kissed, I wouldn’t want to stop. I didn’t know what to think about that either.

“ Me too,” I agreed.

I couldn’t believe Ryley’s idea worked. We were one step closer to freedom. Now we just needed to get out of the bunker.

I eyed the bars and shuddered, thankful to be on this side of them. I never wanted to experience that again. Ever . I couldn’t imagine what those poor people like Ogden , Brodie , Dakota , and Ryley had gone through, locked up for days or weeks or longer. And those were just the people I knew. There were so many others I had never met. Van said some people in Babette’s warehouse had been imprisoned for months or more.

My wolf bristled under my skin at the thought. Hallelujah . My magic was coming back. Had my wolf just been saving its energy?

Yeah . I doubted that was it, but I could pretend.

On the upside, I’d escaped the cage, so that had to mean the Eternal Magic was helping me. She hated seeing her children contained, and we were her creations, an extension of her own magic. At least that’s what my parents had taught us.

Had Robbie forgotten you couldn’t cage magic? What would the Eternal Magic do if someone abused her gifts like that? Could she be driving him mad because of that? What other explanation could there be?

Would I be in the same shape if I kept ignoring the Eternal Magic’s role in my life? I wasn’t sure I wanted to test it. I’d begged the Eternal Magic to strip me of my alpha powers for years, but what if she took it all? What if she killed my wolf? Sharp pain ripped through my chest. I would never survive without my wolf.

Had this been a wake-up call?

Either way, my wolf was back for now. I was ready for whatever came next.

Even if we couldn’t open the hatch to the surface right away, it’d be okay. I had faith that the Eternal Magic wouldn’t abandon Ryley and me. She wasn’t done with us yet. I knew it in my bones. We had both ignored her gifts, which earned us her ire, but Ryley had done it unknowingly. He was the victim of his herd’s abuse. He deserved to be saved. She wouldn’t abandon him too.

Of course, I’d rather not sit back and wait for her to save us. Just in case.

“ Let’s get out of here,” I said.

After Ryley shoved the toiletry bag containing all the phones and wallets we’d found in his backpack, we left the room. I shivered as I passed into the hallway; there’d been a moment there when I’d wondered if I would be stuck in that little room for the rest of my life.

I listened for a sign that we had company, but I didn’t detect anything. Did Robbie know we’d escaped? He must. He’d known when I was trapped, so he must know I’d escaped. I hoped he had no more surprises rigged in here, waiting for us to trigger them.

Ryley and I hurried through the tunnel. I stayed as close as I could to him. I didn’t want another set of bars to crash down and separate us again. At least if we were on the same side of the barrier, I could protect Ryley if Robbie returned.

We reached the exit without incident.

“ Go ahead,” Ryley said, motioning to the ladder. “ I tried and couldn’t budge it.”

“ Don’t go anywhere. Stay right there.” I wasn’t going far, but I needed to know he was close, so that I could look down and see him.

He nodded. “ You and me, we’re stuck like glue.”

I hauled myself up the ladder. As soon as I got to the top, I reached for the hatch. It wiggled before I touched it. Robbie was here. I let go of the ladder and let myself fall to the ground. Pain shot through my legs at the impact, but I was still standing. Ryley gasped, but I put my hand over his mouth before he could demand answers. I dragged him over to the wall where we’d be out of sight of anyone descending the ladder until they got to the bottom. I shoved him behind me.

I reached into the place where my magic lived, because now would be a fine fucking time for my shift to come back to me. Magic fluttered inside me, before slipping away. Nothing happened. Damn it. Again ? I thought we were past all that.

Footsteps clanged on the ladder rungs.

Then , in a blur, someone landed in front of us.

I was out of time. It didn’t matter if I didn’t have my magic; I had to fight. I had to save Ryley . This was going to hurt, but I had to take Robbie out before he shifted. I was about to throw myself at him when the intruder’s scent hit me. Relief swept through me. The cavalry had arrived for the second time in two days.

“ Adrian ,” I said. “ Fuck , it’s good to see you.”

“ What the hell, Adrian ?” Jeremy complained. “ You weren’t supposed to do that. You were going to wait for me.” He chattered the entire way down the ladder. “ Operation : Save The Alpha So We Can Kick His Ass isn’t a solo mission, damn it.”

Ryley snorted behind me. Right . Now that I knew we weren’t about to be attacked, I didn’t need to have him pressed up against the wall. It was harder than it should have been to step away and stop shielding him with my body .

When Jeremy was almost at the bottom rung, he looked over his shoulder, assessing the situation.

“ Oh , hello, Alpha ,” Jeremy said. “ I was just talking about you.”

“ Is he here? Did we find him?” Ash called down from the top.

“ We got him!” Jeremy called up.

More footsteps clattered down the steps.

“ And damn it, Jeremy .” Ash talked almost as much as Jeremy had as he climbed down. “ You weren’t supposed to go down next. I can’t believe you shoved Dillon so hard he fell on his ass.”

“ He took me by surprise,” Dillon mumbled. “ And I wasn’t about to manhandle him out of the way. Adrian would have gone for my throat if I’d done that.”

Then Dillon was coming down the ladder too.

“ How many people are here?” I asked.

“ Pretty much everyone from last night again.” Jeremy grinned. “ Except Van . But he is expecting you to go straight to the station as soon as we get back to town. He said something about making sure you knew how much of a pain in the ass you were.”

I smothered the groan threatening to break free. I’d deal with Van when I saw him. But first, I had other priorities. “ Make sure someone stays topside. We were locked in here until you opened that hatch.”

“ Stay up there, Isaac . Watch for wolves,” Adrian shouted.

“ Yeah , we had to move a monster-sized boulder to get you out.” Jeremy gestured, holding his hands far apart to show the size .

“ A boulder?” I reiterated in disbelief.

Damn it. Someone had been watching when we’d gone into the tunnel. How had I missed them? I rubbed my forehead. Was my magic fading? Could it do that?

“ It reeks of an unfamiliar wolf,” Dillon said.

“ Was it Robbie ?” I asked. No one answered. Right . None of these people had met him. “ I’ll check when I go up.”

“ We found some wallets and phones in one room,” Ryley said as he held out the toiletry bag to Dillon , who was dressed in his police uniform. Dillon opened the bag and flipped through what we’d gathered. “ We think they belong to other people the wolves held here.”

“ Are there more people to help?” Adrian looked around. “ Where are they? Are they stuck in cages?”

I shook my head. “ I think they escaped last night too. Like Ryley . We didn’t find anyone.”

“ Except there might be other hidden rooms down here. We know there are speakers and mics behind some walls,” Ryley said.

Adrian stilled and lifted his nose to sniff the air.

Dillon peered down the tunnels. “ It could take ages to search this place safely. That bit of wood might be all that’s preventing the tunnel from caving in.”

“ We need to call my brother,” Ash said. Dillon nodded.

Ash’s brother Birch had helped seal a hidden tunnel at the inn a few months ago. He was an earth mage and a good guy. He could at least make sure we didn’t do something that would have the whole place falling in on us.

“ Good idea,” I said. “ I don’t think we should stay down here.” I wouldn’t know how to deal with the guilt if anyone got hurt. I couldn’t take that risk.

“ Until then we’ll set up a schedule to guard the place,” Dillon said.

I shook my head. “ We don’t know how many people Robbie has with him. They are adept at kidnapping supes. No one is staying out here, not even in pairs.”

Dillon looked like he wanted to argue, but Ash caught his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“ Alpha is right,” Ash said.

“ Fine . We’ll head back together and come up with a safe plan,” Dillon said after a moment.

The tender look Dillon shared with Ash made my insides clench. I’d seen them go all gooey for one another many times over the last few months, but I’d never thought much of it. I’d been happy for them, but my reaction felt different this time. Envy ? Longing ?

What would it be like to share that gentle understanding with someone? I glanced at Ryley . His gaze caught on mine, and my stomach did that same weird swoopy thing.

I hoped I wasn’t coming down with something.

“ Let’s get out of here,” I said.