Page 27

CHAPTER 26

V ance

I ’ve claimed my mate.

But I did more than claim. I knotted inside her.

Now I’m listening to a story that makes me question everything.

“The Aether is full of lost souls who can’t move on, and The Tangle is… literally those souls,” I say, my eyes wide with astonishment.

“Which means you really are hearing the vines talk,” Jace chuckles. “I apologize. I really did think you had a few loose marbles in your head.”

“Still, it’s strange that I can hear them sometimes. Like whispers on the wind. That I feel a connection, when the rest of you don’t,” I say, leaning back as I try to process everything.

“I don’t have an answer for that,” Calla sighs. “I barely understand it myself. Silas is always fairly cryptic, or The Aether is. I think The Aether is speaking through him, similar to how The Aether spoke to Frank through me.”

“That’s a lot,” I admit. “But I’m more interested in what you said about our connection being ancient. I thought there was more than instinct that drew us together. That seems to confirm it, even if it’s not exactly fate. Edward and Zane did a lot of research trying to figure out what we were. They were convinced it wasn’t just the solar flare that changed us.”

“Unless Silas reveals more to our mate, we may never know,” Gideon says. “But it doesn’t matter. We have a mission. Our bloodline can heal the world.”

“Eventually,” Calla says, nodding in agreement. “It’s not going to be immediate, and I don’t fully understand that part, but our children will carry a piece of the fabric of creation. A piece of The Aether that is inside me.”

“Which means it’s even more important that we breed our mate,” Knox smiles. “A lot more than once, even if she has litters.”

“I’m not sure what to expect.” I look at my brothers before getting lost in a set of pretty, pretty blue eyes for a moment. “In the beginning, we were just stronger and faster thanks to the wolf DNA passed down from our parents. But after we shifted, we were more like animals than men. And now, the wolves seem to be taking a more dominant role, even when we’re in our human form. I certainly didn’t expect to knot inside her.”

Gideon stands up, walking over to his clothes and gathering them. “Some things will just remain a mystery. We may never have all the answers, but we know what we have to do. We have a role to play in healing the world. And I don’t think any of us are going to argue with it.” Gideon glances at Calla and grins.

“No objections from me,” Jace says, letting out a low growl.

“We should get back to the den,” Gideon says. “It’s getting dark, and if we’re not going to deal with Clyde, then it’s time to go. You sure about that, Calla? I don’t think any of us will mind ripping his throat out, if you still want some revenge over what he did to you.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Knox growls.

“No,” Calla says firmly. “Killing Clyde might make me feel better, but it won’t solve anything, based on what Caleb has told me. But maybe we can still help? Not from inside the wall, but outside of it. The slavers will still move their cargo through The Tangle. We could make that extremely difficult for them and if women who were kidnapped keep coming home, it should eventually raise enough questions for people to see there’s something very wrong going on here.”

“Perhaps,” Gideon says, then he turns his attention to me. “Vance, go check on the peace officers downstairs. Make sure none of them are going to escape before we get out of here.”

I nod, stand up, and drag my fingers across Calla’s back as I walk past her. She shudders, grins, and leans against my hand before I pull away.

I’ve never had a connection with a woman before. The experiments they did in the past didn’t leave much room for a connection. The women we spent time with when we were allowed to roam the streets of New York and the military bases we were stationed at during the Great War weren’t looking for one. Then we shifted for the first time, and we couldn’t even enjoy that.

But it doesn’t matter now. I’ve found my mate. Our mate. I don’t even feel jealousy toward my brothers, like I did the times Jace ran off with the girl I had been buying drinks for all night. Being with Calla feels natural. Sharing her feels natural.

I also feel validated. I’m not the crazy brother who talks to plants. I’m not the weird one. I was literally hearing lost souls screaming from The Aether, because The Tangle is a scarred extension of it.

“Maybe they’ll start trying to listen too, instead of laughing at me,” I mutter to myself as I descend the stairs.

The peace officers are awake. Some are fighting with their restraints. Others scream into their gags. I can understand enough of their muffled words to know they’re begging for help and demanding to know what has happened to them.

I feel bad about leaving them down here. They were just doing their jobs. But letting them go is too much of a risk. If they try, they can find their way to the stairs. At least one of them can get outside and find help. I’ll make sure we leave the door unlocked, just so they have a fighting chance.

“Alright,” I sigh as I walk back up the stairs. “Let’s go home.”

My brothers are in the process of dressing when I get back upstairs. Caleb and Calla are talking, so I give them their space and gather my clothes. I’m happy Caleb is talking to us again and talking to our mate. He’s been closed off for so long it’s hard to remember how different he was before Silas died. I’m finally seeing it again, and I’ve missed it. For the first time in a while, it actually feels like we’re a pack. A pack with purpose.

“We’ll check the tunnel we used to get in first,” Gideon says. “If there’s any sign of trouble, we’ll look for some of the others. I still have a general idea of where they should be, even if they’ve built something on top of them.”

“You remember a lot more about this place than I do,” Jace grunts. “I’ve tried to forget everything.”

“I designed the wall, using some old blueprints from before the Great War,” Gideon says. “The tunnels were supposed to be filled in to secure the city, but I guess they were more concerned about getting people out than protecting them.”

“Now it’s probably their entire economy,” Knox mutters. “But what the fuck are they spending the money on? It’s not like there are any trade routes.”

“No idea,” Calla says, shrugging her shoulders. “It doesn’t seem like there’s anything to buy. Haven North produces everything people need. I didn’t see anything at The Outpost they couldn’t make here.”

“We’ve been here long enough,” Caleb grumbles. “Let’s go.”

It would be faster to call our wolves and run to the closest tunnel, but it’s better to travel on foot. Especially after earlier. We subdued the peace officers who saw us, and I don’t think they were able to sound any sort of alarm, but we should still be careful. If anyone happens to see us, they’ll notice we don’t look like everyone else in Haven North. But if we’re wolves, they’ll run screaming.

We make our way to the warehouse we were at earlier. My pulse quickens when I see it is surrounded by peace officers. Same uniforms as the ones we fought earlier. Similar rifles and handguns. You don’t see much weaponry outside of New Chicago, but guns are easy to produce if you have the resources and equipment, which Haven North definitely has access to.

“Take them out, or move on?” Jace asks.

“My vote is we go right through them,” Caleb answers, sizing up the peace officers. “No way they can stop us.”

“It’ll be a massacre, brother,” Gideon says, shaking his head. “Let’s check the next tunnel.”

We don’t even have to get close enough to the next one to pick up the scent. More peace officers standing like armed guards. We stop beside a building, and I can see the frustration bubbling in Caleb’s eyes. He’s losing his patience.

“If they’re all guarded, we’re going to have to go through a group of them eventually,” Caleb says. “Let’s stop wasting time.”

“They’re peace officers because that is the path they were assigned,” Calla mutters, glancing nervously at Caleb. “They’re just following orders. It wouldn’t be fair to kill them for it. Slavers are one thing, but they’re innocent. They haven’t done anything wrong.”

“We know what it is like to follow orders, brother,” Gideon says sagely, putting a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “We may not get involved in human affairs anymore, but I don’t want to start killing innocent men and women because they’re in our way. They can’t have all of the tunnels guarded. There are too many of them.”

“Fine,” Caleb says begrudgingly. “Then let’s stop wasting time here and find the next one.”

We check tunnel after tunnel and find the same resistance waiting for us. One of the women we helped must have said something. Maybe not about Calla or the wolves, but enough for those in charge to want the tunnels covered.

“Notice they’re outside and not inside,” Knox says when we stop again. “They’re not concerned about anything coming in. They’re trying to make sure nothing gets out.”

“I’ve noticed that,” Gideon mutters.

Footsteps echo on the street behind us, and we’re all caught off guard. We spin around in confusion, seeing peace officers approaching. These peace officers look a lot different from the others. They’re wearing riot gear like SWAT teams used to wear before the Great War and carrying heavier weapons, but they don’t look like they’re designed to shoot bullets.

“What the hell?” Jace mutters. “I can’t even get their scent.”

“We have to move!” Gideon says, urging us forward.

We close in on Calla, making sure she’s in the middle, and take up formation as we rush through the streets of Haven North. It’s darker now, and we really haven’t seen any people, which is a little unusual. There was a lot of activity last night.

“More of them!” Jace growls. “Cut left!”

“We’re going to have to fight!” Caleb says. “We’re going deeper into the city, which means there are no tunnels around here!”

“We’ll go to the closest one and get the fuck out of here,” Gideon says, pointing ahead.

But it’s no use. Every street we turn down, we see more of the heavily armed peace officers. Almost like they’re tracking us, but we aren’t leaving any sort of trail. Even worse, they seem to be corralling us.

“Left, and then right,” Gideon says. “If we see more of them, we go through them. No more fucking around.”

“Finally,” Caleb grunts, then turns his attention to Calla. “Don’t get involved. I mean that.”

“If there’s any trouble, you run,” Knox insists.

We cut left, and it opens up into a square. A square filled with the heavily armed men, but I still don’t pick up their scent. We try to cut right, but the way is blocked by more of them. Every direction we attempt, we see others approaching.

“We’re fucking surrounded!” Caleb says. “We have to shift.”

“Calla is our top priority,” Gideon says, even though we already know that. “We protect her at all costs. But don’t call your wolves until they start readying their weapons.”

“As soon as we shift, we clear a hole to the right. Don’t worry about the rest of them. We make a hole, and we find the tunnel,” Knox grinds out.

This is bad.

Really bad.