Page 2 of Hunted Pack (Her Vicious Pack #7)

Mathew

I’m glad I’m running on more than adrenaline right now, because I won’t have time for sleep —or really time to eat— for the rest of the night and probably all of tomorrow. The hours after we return from a mission are already busy enough normally, but with the night we just had, it’s even worse.

I’m sitting behind my desk in the renovated office, the monitors in front of me filled with all sorts of programs as I keep an eye on everything from here. Security footage of the house, notes from people about the mission, data from the mission, all sorts of things.

Vera is sitting in my lap, laptop in front of her, as she’s chatting with Erika.

Erika and her pack —or, at least, some of her pack members— will be coming this way tomorrow or the day after.

They have much more experience with kids who’ve been rescued from the Suits Syndicate and they’ve got a whole network set up to deal with it.

From finding a safe place for them to stay while they look for any family members, to finding them a family to take them in long-term if they’re orphans, to getting them new identities, things like that.

I’ve helped a couple of people get away from the Hearts over the years, but most of them were older teenagers or in their twenties, not young enough to still be going to primary school.

Letting a couple of people in their late teens stay over and help them get an education so they can learn to stand on their own feet is very different from kids who still have most of their schooling, and most of their growing up, ahead of them.

And while I’d probably be able to figure something out under normal circumstances, with what I found out during the mission, the situation with Luca and his family and finding out that the Hearts are much closer to us than I’m comfortable with, I don’t have the energy or the people to dedicate to it.

Especially not if we know people who are much more knowledgeable about it, and who have systems in place for protecting and taking care of rescued kids that have been running for decades.

I’d rather rely on Erika’s knowledge and expertise and know for sure that the kids will be in good hands than fumbling through it myself and potentially making a much bigger mess out of it all.

A notification on my phone lets me know that the guys we captured are now all awake and not very happy, but that they’re all restrained in the training complex and that they don’t seem to have any lasting injuries. Which makes me feel conflicted.

On the one hand, it feels like these bastards got off too easy if they’re mostly unharmed.

But on the other hand, if they’re doing as well as could be expected in these circumstances, then that means we’ll be able to spend a lot more time getting information out of them, which I’m looking forward to.

Miles knocks on the wall to get our attention as he lingers near the door.

Since he’s taken on the role of head of personal security of the pack, he’s gotten a lot more responsibilities and he seems to be taking to them well.

Which is good, because relying on Derrick and Timothy all the time isn’t fair on them or their family, and Miles is the first person who impressed them enough that they’re happy to give him more work to do.

“The kids are settled in, Riley and Luca are with them.” He stands up straight, which he only remembers to do after speaking.

Vera’s pheromones spike when he mentions Luca, a mix of longing and pain and she holds onto my shirt, her grip tight. I pull her closer against me, trying to let out a soothing rumble. It’s not as good as an Alpha’s, but I’ll try what I can.

“Thanks for letting me know. We’ve got more guests coming.

Could you make sure that a couple of rooms upstairs are ready for when they arrive?

Ask Eli which rooms would be good. There should be supplies in the training complex that you can use, grab whatever they’ll need.

If you see anyone not doing much, put them to work. ”

Miles gives me a quick smile before he nods. “Will do.” Then he turns around and leaves the office.

I keep Vera close as a couple of people come in to report on whatever tasks I gave them. Usually, Derrick deals with this, but with him still on his way back here, I’m back in charge myself. It’s been a long time, but after such a chaotic evening, having something like this to ground me feels good.

When things quiet down for a few moments, I kiss Vera’s shoulder, nuzzling her neck. “What’s going through your mind?”

She glances up, giving me a sad smile. “Will Luca ever be able to feel safe here? Or would it be a better idea to send him away, keep him out of danger?” She’s quiet for a few moments.

“Have I put him in even more danger than he was already in?” She shakes her head, her pheromones filling with more pain. “I should have ignored his pheromones. I should have let him be. It’s my fault he’s in danger now. It’s my fault his family is in even more danger.”

I take her chin, making her look at me. “It’s not your fault what happened to him. It’s not your fault.” My heart hammers in my chest as I try to keep her gaze. “The Hearts are at fault. All of this,” I move my hand around, motioning to our general surroundings, “is their fault.”

After what Luca told me about how they treated him once they realised he’s one of my scent matches and how they used him to find even more of my scent matches, I’m more convinced than ever that so much of the shit we’ve been through —the last years, but especially the last months— is fully the Hearts’ fault.

All of it, all their attempts to hurt me, all their attempts to ruin everything around us, is because they were the ones who made a mistake a decade ago and sent me out when I was too close to my heat. They’re trying to hurt me, hurt my pack, over something that was their fault from the start.

“He’s right.” Luca’s quiet voice is muffled.

When we both look up in surprise, he moves awkwardly, rubbing his hands over his arms, avoiding our gazes.

He’s wearing a pheromone blocking mask, probably borrowed it from Riley.

It helps keep out most of the pheromones, though it doesn’t keep all of them out.

The way his bitter caramel scent spikes with each breath, he’s clearly still struggling.

“It’s not your fault for finding me. I’m really grateful you followed me and rescued us. The Hearts are the ones who’ve been causing all the mess and all the pain. None of it is your fault.” He finally looks up, but his voice is tight and he’s gripping onto his arms hard.

“Without you, these kids would have had their childhoods cut short. Their lives would have turned into a living hell. But, because of you, they might actually have a chance at a somewhat normal life.” He covers his mouth and nose with a shaking hand. “I’m sorry.” And then he flees from the office.

Vera jumps from my lap, her eyes wide, her pheromones fluctuating between pain and confusion. “Wait!”

Luca’s footsteps on the stairs are loud.

She glances at me, tears in her eyes and I nod in the direction of the door.

“Go after him. See if you can maybe have a conversation with him on the balcony or somewhere else where there aren’t so many pheromones around.” It’s been clear from the start how much they want to be together, even if it hurts them.

The Hearts may have tried to traumatise Luca so that he wouldn’t be able to be with his pack, but they clearly underestimated him.

They clearly underestimated how headstrong the guy is, even if it means hurting himself.

We’re going to have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t push himself too far, that he doesn’t accidentally hurt himself in ways that can’t be healed.

Though, to be honest, that’s a balancing act most people in our pack struggle with.

Vera leans close, giving me a soft kiss. “You come too?”

I touch her cheek, shaking my head. “I’ve got work to do and I think it’s more important that you talk to him first.” I’ve already heard more than enough for one night.

It’s more important that Luca and Vera get used to each other first now.

Explore how close they can get before things break down, so that we can help Luca get better in ways that work for him.

“Okay. But I’ll be back soon to check on you.”

“I know. I know that you will.” I kiss her again, longer this time, before I let her go. “See if you can talk to your new mate, get to know each other.”

Her fingers linger on my chest for long seconds, like she’s thinking something over, but then she nods decisively and gives me a tight smile. “I won’t be long.”

“If I need you, I’ll know where to find you.” Then I reach up, touching my earpiece. “And I’m always here if you need me.”

She glances from me to the door and back, and I nudge her with my knee. “Go on. Go find him. His family will arrive soon and things will get a lot more hectic then. Make use of the time you’ve got, while things are still relatively quiet.”

“Right.” She glances back at me one last time, her hand on the wall next to the door, before leaving the office.

My chest hurts as I look after her.

The Hearts may not have fully succeeded breaking Luca, making sure that our pack will be in a lot of pain once he joined us, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t have a long road ahead of us, before everything is settled.

And in that time, I’ll have to watch my mates struggle, breaking my heart every minute, until we get there.

I take a couple of long breaths, trying to release the tension in my shoulders and back, as I look at the screens in front of me.

Anger keeps rising in me when I don’t make an effort to suppress it.

With Vera around, it’s easier to control, but now I’m alone, it comes back to the surface.

I put my hand on my lower belly.

I’m sorry, baby. Your father is not the composed man in charge of a massive organisation that some people in the pack seem to think I am.

Right now, I’d give anything in the world to go back to the brothel where I used to ‘work’, where they held Luca, and kill every single person there.

Rip out the throat of every bastard there, with my teeth, making them suffer as long as possible before they die.

Letting them know why I’m doing this, letting them know it’s because they hurt my mates, my pack.

And once I’m done with that, I’ll hunt down every one of their family members and take them out too, take out every person connected to them, take out the roots of the evil they bring into the world.

I’m sorry, baby. Your father is not a good person.

I hope that you’ll never have to see this side of me and I especially hope you’ll never have to meet the person I am right now. Someone with only death and destruction on his mind, filled with fury at the vile things some people think they can get away with because nobody stands in their way.

I want you to live a happy and good life, without knowing about any of this pain.

But that means I’ll have to take the Hearts down first, so I’ll have to be a bad person for a while longer.

Just a while longer.

Just a little while longer.

Once you’re here, I hope the world will be a little less evil.

I’ll make sure of that.

I promise.