Page 4 of Never Submit (Bad Wolves #2)

Chapter 4

Mathis

O kay, this is ri-goddamn-diculous .

I massage the ache in my chest, but it’s not going away.

Not anytime soon.

Outside the window, the view is the same as it has been since I rode my father’s shoulders as a child: a beautiful swollen moon above the dark tree line, and peace.

Looks are deceiving.

All four of us managed to get off the mountain and escape absolute slaughter, only to retreat home with our tails between our legs.

Torin, the fucking coward, went back to his pristine tower in the middle of the city. Talk about a huge ego to compensate for a small cock.

He took his beta with him, and then my own beta took off.

“What have we become?” I mutter out loud.

My breath fogs the glass, and I pull back until it clears.

My office is empty without the Moonstone taking up space. It was only a small crystal, able to fit in the cradle of my palm, but…the magic . The energy, the luck that brought it into my keeping in the first place.

Not to mention the woman able to waltz into my house and out again with that stone in hand.

Andras has her.

He ripped her and the stone right out from under our damn noses.

It’s been him all along, manipulating things to his favor, pulling strings to get his way. He has Ren, the crystal, and the women from my pack.

How do I get ahead of him, to stop him from doing anything else?

From taking anyone else?

Groaning, I run a hand through my hair, over the stubble on my chin and jaw. Hoping against hope I'll be able to pull my own mental shit together to get things done.

Andras and his wolves…where are they located?

How do we track them down to get her back? And once we find that out…how do we get into their stronghold?

And how the hell do I do it without Dax?

I turn from the window before I send my fist through it.

That kind of shit isn’t tolerable. My father prioritized family, rules, responsibility. If I can’t win by doing the right thing, then it isn’t a win at all.

But there are a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle. With Dax gone, I’ve only got a handful of deltas out there looking for answers. And there’s only so much I can do alone.

The scouts come up empty-handed.

The Moonstone was supposed to help, to keep the females of my pack safe from Andras. He took everything from me.

And I have to make sure he pays in blood.

Those wolves on the mountain were like ghosts. There and gone in a blink. They kicked our asses and disappeared like it was nothing.

My fingers flex, curling into fists. A growl burns the back of my throat, and when I glance down at the slight bite of pain, my fingertips are tipped with claws.

How the fuck am I supposed to get Ren back if I don’t know where to start?

A soft knock at the door interrupts the brooding and not a moment too soon. “Alpha?”

I glance up sharply at one of my deltas. “ What? ”

I catch myself immediately, my tone too rough and unwarranted. Rather, I force a smile to hopefully lessen the impact of the snap, but my man still winces.

“There, ah…” He trails off, his gaze dropping to the floor.

My stomach drops. I know. Without him having to say anything, I know. I pinch the bridge of my nose, but it does nothing against the sharp sting of agony in my gut.

Swallowing hard over the rock at the back of my throat, I ask, “How many?”

“Two, Alpha. Two more women were taken last night while we slept. Maria and Kenzie. I’m not sure how the Blood Moon managed to get past our defenses.”

The grief changes into anger in a blink, and I slam my fist into the desk. Black spots dance in front of my eyes. My breathing is too shallow, my heart racing too fast.

This isn’t the way.

There is no future built on acts of violence like this.

“I thought we said we were increasing the number of guards around the perimeter of the pack territory?” I ask, sounding strangled.

“We did, Alpha. They somehow…got in anyway.” My de lta won’t look me in the eyes, his head bowed low. “Our fighters must be spread too thin.”

“There has to be something we can do,” I reply. My voice is strained.

Every female in the Grey Valley pack is precious. To have them ripped so casually from their beds, stolen away in the night like they’re animals?—

It’s an insult and a travesty.

Andras is more than an enemy. He’s a sadist.

And he made a statement, first with their sacking of the temple, and now with Ren’s kidnapping. My pack is going to be next to fall under his iron fist, and we no longer have the Moonstone to help us.

They’ve got it.

My inability to decisively act in this situation, the slow way I can’t seem to catch up, will be our downfall. And we have no idea what happens to the women who are taken.

No idea if they’re still alive, or worse.

There are much worse fates than quick death.

The delta waits for my answer, and I pause, my nose and throat raw. “We’ll figure it out. We always do. Has anyone heard from Dax?”

My delta shakes his head. “No, Alpha. He’s off the map.”

I grind my teeth, the small hairs at the back of my neck rising to attention. I’ve let Dax have his freedom. But at times like this…

Fucking betas.

Sometimes I think he holds way too much sway over me.

Dax takes off on a whim, usually. But in this case, I want my friend nearby. I want to know exactly what he’s found and hear his thoughts on the situation. If he can gather them.

Shaking my head, I force every spare buzzing thought away. “Walk with me.”

“Alpha?”

“I want to inspect the territory lines for myself.”

When my delta finally looks up at me, his eyes are narrowed, glinting in the faint glow. “You don’t have to do that. I’ve inspected them myself.”

“Then you’ll humor me and do it again,” I bite out.

I can’t sit in this office and expect people to fill in the gaps of our defenses for me. Besides, what have I done so far to stop our enemy’s advances? Not nearly enough.

And then there’s Ren.

Memories of her plague me on my way down the stairs, as I bark out orders to the other wolves. Getting them to fall in line and follow me outside.

I draw cool night air into my overheated lungs and lift my face automatically to the moon. The motion stretches the red flannel across my shoulders, the buttons down the chest threatening to burst as I shake out my arms.

The crisp autumn air has a bite to it that wasn’t there a week ago.

In my mind I see Ren the last time I’d looked at her. Standing on the snow-tipped mountain peak, looking pale, the bright red of her hood like a beacon in the bleak landscape.

I don’t even know if she’s still alive at this point.

The thought sends a shockwave of frost through my veins.

I swallow a groan.

I’ve got to put my feelings for Ren aside and focus on getting her back only to return the Moonstone .

If I found it once, then I should be able to find it again. Or, if I’m even luckier, find the sword of the Goddess. Although that artifact has been lost for so many years, its existence is practically lore and myth now.

I’m off the porch and stomping along the edge of the fence a moment later. Beyond, the forest hoards her secrets in the blessed darkness.

My deltas remain silent through our trek. There are more wolves stationed throughout the perimeter of the forest, and with their keen sense of smell, it’s unlikely anyone would get past them.

So how had Andras managed to do it?

“Damn, Mat. You look like you’re ready to either blow an artery or shit your pants. I’m not sure which one will be funnier to watch.”

Dax’s voice sounds from the left and he separates himself from the cold shadow of a tree where he’s been leaning, watching me and the others behind me.

I stop dead in my tracks and snarl at him, my heart slowly steadying into a more rhythmic beat. He only looks amused.

“Where have you been?” I ask sharply. “You can’t take off that way in the middle of a crisis.”

My hands itch to strangle him. When do they not? Dax is effective and dangerous, unhinged in the best way, and he’s always been reliable in those things if nothing else.

I hold his loyalty.

Is it wrong to ask for some consideration in return?

He lifts a fuzzy brow at me until it disappears in the wild strands of gold hair whipping around his face. “Where the fuck do you think? Out. Busy.”

He says it with enough insolence that two wolves behind me inhale in surprise. Dax catches the sound and grins, the pointed tips of his canines glinting in the dark.

He’s the only one that I allow to talk to me that way, and even then, I need to bite back. He’s my beta for a reason. He’s determined, fierce, and absolutely merciless. He’s also fucked in the head and probably a step away from attacking me at any second.

I lift a hand to send the others away and resume my walk.

Dax falls into step beside me a moment later. My skin bristles at his indolent swagger, but I say nothing. There’s a tightness to his shoulders, his lips.

He knows something.

“I looked for her,” Dax finally says in the easy hush between us.

“And?”

I keep my gaze straight ahead.

“Not a goddamn thing.” His voice takes on the growly timbre of a half-shift.

When I glance over, he’s more wolf than man, lumbering on two legs.

“I looked everywhere. She’s just fucking gone. Not even a trace of her scent.”

I know him. His single-minded focus is a huge asset. If Dax couldn’t find Ren, then who could?

“I’m not sure what to do, then. You have the best nose among us,” I mutter.

“And the biggest cock,” he adds. “Don’t forget that.”

“Focus.” I chew on the word. “This isn’t the time to make jokes.”

“I never joke about size.” Then Dax falls silent.

I work my jaw until my tendons ache. “It might be time to…bring in outside sources. ”

Dax studies me, his head tilted to the side and his eyes squinted. “For what?”

“To get the Moonstone back.”

“No.” Dax is adamant. “I don’t give a fuck how hard it is. I’ll find her on my own. Give me time.”

I shake my head. “We’re out of it. And trust me, I don’t like this any more than you do.”

Dax growls, the sharp sound cutting through the night until every living creature around us falls silent.

I don’t let him see me roll my eyes.

“I hate them as much as you do, but maybe Torin and Noble saw something we didn’t.” I pause, and then say, “We can’t keep losing our women.”

That stops Dax in his tracks. “More?”

“Two,” I reply.

He curves away from me, slinking through trees, disappearing from sight. After several seconds he makes his way back, but there is nothing calm about him. He’s a powder keg ready to blow.

“I can’t sense Andras here. There is nothing. No tracks, no scent…” He trails off and snaps his teeth in the open air.

“Our women were taken even with the extra precautions I’ve put in place.” And still, with everything going on, I keep dreaming of Ren.

I see her whenever I close my eyes. I feel the softness of her skin, the clench of her pussy as I drive myself deep inside of her. I draw in her scent even when I wake and I’m alone in my bed.

Would it be the worst thing to at least talk to Torin and Noble? To see if they might have noticed something at the shrine that would help us both find this fucker?

Giving up on her, even reminding myself of her connection to Torin’s pack, is anathema .

“I always refused to work with Torin, even as a last resort,” I insist. “But you saw what happened on the mountain.”

“We can find out where Ren was taken on our own. The way we’ve always done. You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’m going to work with Noble ever again after what happened.”

His eyes dance with madness.

“I’m just saying you might not have a fucking choice. Someone’s got the answers and I’m willing to bet it’s those two assholes.”

“Fine,” Dax replies after too much silence. “Fine. We know Andras is close. Let’s find him and make him beg for mercy.”

“It’s time,” I agree.

The thought of Torin fills my mouth with the taste of something bitter. Logic can’t make me like him any better.

Dax growls, the sound filled with malice and dark promise. I taste violence in the air, but even that is preferrable, at this point.

“Let’s set up a meeting.”

Why does it feel like we’re submitting? Even to get the one thing I want more than anything else, it feels so wrong and off-putting to be friendly with the Steel Claws.

Too many years of having it ingrained in me that they are our enemies.

“We reach out, in a neutral spot, and if that doesn’t work—” I start.

“Then we slaughter them.”

I shoot Dax a sharp, thin smile. “You always know exactly what to say.”

He shrugs again. “It’s the truth.”

Yes, it is. And if things go bad, then we will both do whatever it takes to protect the Grey Valley wolves and Ren.

No matter what.