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9

SKYE

C old seeped into my bones as I listened to Remy’s voicemail for the third time. I closed my eyes as a buzzing noise started in my ears. Panic clawed at me as my breath caught and the room started to spin.

I almost dropped Nikolai’s phone. At the last second, I felt someone pull it from my numb fingers.

“I can’t breathe,” I gasped, my legs starting to shake. My teeth chattered as ice water filled my veins. Everything that wasn’t frozen was hard and brittle, threatening to crack and shatter. The air in the room seemed to disappear as I tried to breathe.

“Fuck,” Dimitri muttered. “She’s having a panic attack.”

Gentle hands guided me back down to the sofa. My knees gave out and I crashed onto the leather with enough force to click my teeth together.

If Remy wasn’t answering...

Oh, God.

“Look at me, Skye.”

The firm, commanding voice cut through the chaos in my head. I pried my eyes open to see gray eyes level with me, staring at me hard.

“That’s it,” Nikolai encouraged, his hands covering mine and warming them. “Breathe, little wolf.”

I sucked in a shaky breath, tears filling my eyes and spilling over.

I hated that I was falling apart now, showing weakness. I had held it together for so long, but it had never occurred to me that when I called, Remy might not answer.

That he might not be able to answer.

What if he was really hurt? And I was on the other side of the damn world? I was sitting here and he needed me.

I felt the wave of anxiety start to rise again. The air was sucked back out in a rush and I became dizzy.

“Skye, breathe ,” Nikolai ordered. “Look at me, sweetheart.”

My eyes snapped back to his.

“That’s my girl,” he encouraged, squeezing my hands. I focused on the feel of his rough hands surrounding mine. They were huge and calloused. This close I could see the different shades of gray swirling in his irises making them look like melted silver.

“Breathe in,” he commanded.

I managed to pull in a strangled breath.

“And out.”

I exhaled, the air wobbling as it escaped me.

“Good girl.” He smiled warmly and the effect was incredible. The light of his smile chased away the dark shadows lingering in his eyes and eased the tightness around his mouth.

I licked my lips. “I’m okay,” I whispered.

“I know you are,” he told me firmly. “You’re my daughter. I would expect nothing less.”

But I wasn’t just his daughter.

“I need...” I cleared my throat. “Can I call my mom?”

“Of course.”

Dimitri handed me the phone over Nikolai’s shoulder, giving me a worried smile.

“I’ll see if my guy can find out anything about who was on the plane that landed in Blackwater,” he assured me, already pulling his own phone from his pocket and turning away as he called Viktor.

My eyes dropped to the phone screen. The lock screen was just a black background with the time. 6:37 in the morning.

I frowned. “What time is it in Washington?”

Nikolai glanced down, his brow furrowing as he did some kind of mental math. “It should be early evening. Maybe seven or eight?”

I had lost track of times and time zones, but I was suddenly, exhaustingly aware that I was running on fumes. The only sleep I had gotten was when I was knocked out from the blast.

“I’ve been out of it for three days?” I stared at the date under the time, trying to reconcile the missing hours.

“Technically no,” Nikolai replied, pulling the phone from my hands and unlocking it before handing it to me. It was another black screen with a few apps in Russian.

“The states are a day behind us. You crossed several time zones on your journey,” he explained.

That only made me acutely aware of the headache I still had. “So, I’m in the future?”

He smiled again and chuckled. “Sort of.”

I stared at the phone. “I’m scared,” I confessed, not sure why I felt the need to confide in him.

“Of what?” He seemed genuinely curious.

“What if Mom doesn’t answer?” I whispered. A sickening thought ripped through me. “What if they took her back? The Council wasn’t going to make her go back, but maybe Linden already had it set up. He was working with Damien... He could have arranged to have her kidnapped like the others.”

“You mean your other pack? Long Mesa?” His lip curled in disgust. “You believe they would want her back?”

I stared at him for a beat. “You really have no idea what happened to her, do you?”

His eyes narrowed dangerously. “I thought I did, but I’m beginning to have my doubts.” He closed my hand around the phone. “Call her.”

Nodding, I dialed her phone number and hit the ‘send’ button. I lifted it to my ear as it started to ring.

“Hello?”

I choked on a sob as Mom’s voice came across the line. “Mom?”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Skye? Baby, is that you?”

“Yeah,” I replied as I started to cry. I squeezed my eyes shut, reveling in the liquid comfort of her voice as I let the tears fall unchecked.

“Oh, thank God,” she whispered, her voice catching. “Honey, hang on, I’m with Mallory. I’m going to put you on speaker phone.”

A second later, I heard Mallory. “Skye! Sweetie, where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” I replied quickly, swallowing down my emotions.

Nikolai gave me a soft smile and stood up, backing away to give me privacy.

“Where are you?” Mom demanded again.

“I’ll explain in a minute. Mom, where’s Remy? I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer. Is he...” I couldn’t say it.

“Baby, no,” she assured me quickly.

“Goddammit,” Mallory swore. “I bet he was in the middle of the challenge. They can’t have their phones there.”

“Hell.” Mom sounded as frustrated as I felt.

“What challenge?” I snapped, needing answers. “Is he okay?”

“Honey, he’s fine,” Mallory assured me. “One of the betas issued a challenge. He’s handling it.”

“Why would a beta challenge Remy?” I frowned into the phone.

Dimitri caught my words and turned curiously, watching me.

A pause stretched between us until I wondered if the call had dropped. I wasn’t sure how reliable cell service was out here in the middle of the freaking mountains.

“Skye, Remy is the Alpha now,” Mom finally said softly.

It was like someone punched me in the stomach. The air whooshed out of me so fast I felt sick. “What?”

“Gabe was hurt in the explosion,” Mallory added quietly, her voice breaking. “He’s... he’s in a coma. Remy and Dante brought him home.”

I rubbed my forehead.

“What about Luke?”

Another pause, but this time I knew the answer.

“No,” I moaned, shaking my head.

“He passed early this morning,” Mom told me.

“How am I going to tell Tate?” I wondered as tears kept rolling down my cheeks.

“Tate’s with you?”

I nodded, and then realized she couldn’t see me. “Yeah.” My gaze moved to Dimitri again.

“Skye, where are you? I’ll come and get you tonight,” Mom swore. “Are you safe?”

“Yeah, I’m safe, but... it’s a long story, Mom.” I sighed and looked at Nikolai. His metal eyes stared back at me. “I’m with Nikolai, Mom.”

Her breathing hitched. When she found her voice, it was hushed and strained. “What did you just say?”

“I’m in Russia. With my... father,” I finished slowly.

Nikolai’s mouth twitched.

“Russia?” Mallory exclaimed, stunned.

“But you’re with Nik?” Mom pressed, her tone deceptively calm. She was trying not to freak out.

“Yeah. He’s right here. This is his phone.”

“He took you?” Her voice vibrated with building anger.

“It’s a little more complicated than that, Mom,” I answered uneasily. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, but I need to talk to Remy.”

“There’s no telling how long the challenge will last,” Mallory murmured.

My heart sank. Remy was on his own, now in charge of our pack, and already dealing with challenges. And I was here . Completely, totally, uselessly here.

“Okay,” Mom said, determination lacing that single word. I could hear things shuffling. “I’m going to drive up to the house and take Remy my phone. He can talk to her as soon as he’s done. It should only take me ten minutes to get there, tops.”

My heart soared, relief sweeping through me. “Thanks, Mom.”

“I’ll talk to you soon, Skye,” Mallory called over the speakerphone. “Stay safe, sweetheart. Call if you need anything.”

I could hear Mom moving, her breaths deepening as she hurried.

“Mom, how is Gabe really?” I asked softly.

“He’s stable right now,” she replied. The noise levels changed and a second later I heard the engine of her car start.

“But he’s in a coma? Like me?” I pressed.

She sighed. “It’s not looking good, honey. It’s why Remy had to step up and become the Alpha. With Norwood on the warpath—”

“What do you mean?” I cut her off, my eyes narrowed into slits. “What is Norwood doing?”

Dimitri and Nikolai both looked at me, their expressions fierce.

“What about Norwood?” Dimitri asked me.

I gave him a shrug and lowered the phone. “Mom, I’m putting the phone on speaker. Nikolai and Dimitri are here, too.”

“Who’s Dimitri?” she asked, part-curious and part-Mama Bear.

I looked at him. “The guy who saved me. And he’s kind of my... brother, I think.”

Dimitri grinned at me.

“Your brother ?” she echoed in surprise.

Clearly Nikolai hadn’t told her he had a son when they bonded. Then again, I wasn’t sure how much time they had spent having conversations since they knew each other for hours before Mom broke their bond.

I snuck a look at Nikolai. His expression had turned glacial when he heard Mom’s voice.

“Oh,” she murmured. “I didn’t... I didn’t know Nik had any other children.”

“You didn’t give me much time to tell you about my family,” Nikolai replied coldly, glaring at the phone.

Mom seemed to hesitate before finding her voice. “Hi, Nik.”

“Adalynne,” he answered brusquely. “What do you know about Norwood?”

Mom sighed deeply. “We know that they’re responsible for the bombing at the Summit. Without Alphas leading most of the packs, they’re going in and taking them over. They’re spread across most of the east coast now.”

Nikolai and Dimitri exchanged a glance that sent shivers down my spine.

“How’s Remy?” I asked her.

“He’s worried as hell about you. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was on the first plane out tonight to bring you home. I might come with him just to see you with my own eyes.”

“You won’t make it,” Nikolai informed her, his tone clipped. “A storm came in just after Dimitri and Skye made it here. It will take days before we can get an aircraft in or out of the region.”

Mom gasped audibly. “How long is days ? I want my daughter home, Nik.”

He stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “ Our daughter is safer here than she is there with you and your brewing pack wars. Although, I heard you’re no stranger to pack warfare. Started one yourself when you were her age.”

I scowled at him on her behalf.

“How dare you,” Mom hissed. “You don’t know a damn thing about what happened back then.”

“And who’s fault is that?” he roared.

The sudden flash of his temper made me jump. His voice echoed off the walls.

“You stole my heir!”

“I’m not your heir,” I retorted, pulling the phone to my chest like I could somehow shield Mom from him. “And I’m going back as soon as the weather clears.”

“You’re safer here,” he insisted. “I can protect you.”

“I can protect myself,” I shot back, getting to my feet. “I’m going home , and if you want me to ever come back here or have a relationship of any kind with me, you’ll accept that. My family and my pack are in Washington.”

“Brave words, little wolf.” His gray eyes glittered at the implied challenge to his authority.

I lifted my chin as Dimitri stepped between us, his hands up. He looked warily back and forth at us.

“Can we table this conversation until tomorrow? No one in this room has slept and we’re all on edge.” He looked at his father. “Let’s let Skye talk to Remy, and then we can figure this out.”

Nikolai glared at Dimitri for several beats. “Fine.” His gaze cut to me. “Finish your talk. I’ll be back in a bit to take you to my home.”

I looked around. “Isn’t this your home?”

A smirk twisted his lips. “No. This facility is not our home.”

I ignored the ‘our home’ comment as he and then Dimitri left the room.

“Is he gone?” Mom asked a second later.

I sank back onto the couch. “Yeah.” I rubbed my temples. “Mom... why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s a really long story, baby,” she answered woodenly. “What happened between Nikolai and I, and then the aftermath... Those are some of the best and worst memories of my life. I know I owe you answers, and you’ll get them.”

“I feel like you’re always saying that,” I admitted, still sort of bitter over all her secrets.

“Well,” she said quietly, “I can stay here and tell you about it, or I can hand this phone to Remy, who is currently coming this way.”

“He’s there?” It was like an emotional tsunami was cresting over my head. I wasn’t sure if I was happy or scared, relieved or terrified.

“Yeah.”

I heard the door open.

“Addie!”

I pulled my knees to my chest, shoving down a sob as I heard his voice.

“Is it Dad? Did something happen?”

“No,” Mom answered. “It’s Skye. She’s on the phone.”

He breathed sharply, and then that voice I loved filled the air.

“Skye?”