Page 34 of Stolen By the Alpha Hunter (Moonbound Mates #3)

PEACHES

N ight falls…time passes…I keep waiting. Javi doesn’t come to. My pack doesn’t arrive. It’s radio silence from Gideon.

I shift back to my human form and huddle against my mate.

I’m left alone in stasis, fending off nausea that I can’t determine the source of—anxiety or pregnancy.

It’s got to be well past midnight when I get the first sense that something is different about tonight. A shout sounds from outside, floodlights suddenly blaring in the direction of the docks. I go to the window and watch for a sign of my people or at least Ephraim.

All I see are running Gulf Pack alphas, all heading toward the dock.

This can’t work. They can’t have thought a full-on assault of the dock would work…right?

Someone pounds on the door and I snap my head toward it, gripping Javi’s fur. He doesn’t move a muscle, the wolf’s green eyes staring straight ahead, his chest rising and falling rapidly. I get up slowly and move toward the door, afraid of what I might find on the other side.

It could be Gideon, here to lock us away somewhere we can’t escape.

Or it could be the Austin pack, here to bring us home.

Another loud, desperate knock comes at the door and I finally get the nerve up to open it…

…and my heart swells.

Tilda …they came for me. My family came for me.

“Peaches!” Tilda breathes. “Thank God—are you okay?”

I fling my arms around her neck and she steps inside, returning the hug.

The pistol at her hip knocks against my stomach, a warning that I need to be careful and that she’s prepared to kill if necessary.

The next thing I see is Will standing over her shoulder, his eyes flitting left and right to make sure we’re not being followed.

“Where is he?” Will says. “We’ve gotta hustle.”

“He’s…” I pause and shake my head. “I don’t know how we’re gonna get him out of here.”

I step aside and Tilda’s face falls when she sees the hulking wolf in the corner, still gasping for breath. Javi twitches at the sight of her—maybe because she’s someone he doesn’t know, and his wolf is on guard. He has a much stronger reaction when Will steps inside.

Javi gets to his feet, his shoulders hunched, hackles raised. He snarls, a garbled sound that doesn’t quite hit right—probably because his head is still spinning, his eyes rolling in his head as he stumbles.

“This is him?” Tilda whispers.

“They drugged him,” I say. “He’s been like this all day and he needs help.”

Will edges around the room, keeping his eyes on Javi. They’re both big guys, but I think Javi is just a smidge bigger, and I don’t think Will can carry Javi if he passes out again. Javi snaps his jaws at Will, his eyes darting toward me.

I put my hands up.

“Slow down,” I say.

“We have a limited amount of time,” Will warns. “Boyd’s drawing the guards down to the docks, but the second they realize he’s alone, they’ll know something’s up.”

“The others?” I ask, my voice sharp. “Who’s here?”

“Frankie’s keeping watch,” he says. “Reyes and Colt are waiting with the boat around the west side of the Rig—soon as we’re clear, we haul ass.”

My heart pounds. “Then we can get more of the women out,” I say. “There’s still time?—”

“There’s not,” Will says, firm. “We’re lucky we got this far. If you want Javi to survive, we go now.”

Javi staggers and loses his footing, sagging against the wall. I rush toward him and kneel in front of him, taking his head in my hands to look into those familiar green eyes. Even when he’s like this—out of his mind and shifted—I would recognize his eyes anywhere.

“You need to come with me,” I whisper. “If there’s any of you left in there…please, Javi, this is our ticket out of here. We have to go.”

“I can try to carry him, but I can’t guarantee he won’t come at me,” Will says. “He’s giving off all kinds of warning signals to everyone but you.”

“Because he’s my mate,” I say, snapping at my friend more than I planned. “Sorry…I’m…”

“It’s okay to be defensive, but we’ve gotta go,” Tilda says. “I brought a sedative. We could dose him with it and?—”

“We can’t!” I interrupt. “He’s a recovering addict. It could make things worse.”

I smooth my thumbs over Javi’s cheeks and look into his eyes.

“Please,” I say. “Follow me. For me…for our baby.”

I hear Tilda suck in a breath, and Will shifts on his feet. Well, it’ll all be out there soon anyway—and when we’re back in the den, everyone will know.

When we’re back in the den.

“We’re going home,” I say, standing up and running my hand over Javi’s coat.

I take a step backwards and he somehow manages to follow me, padding forward. He casts a wary glance at Will, and another at Tilda…but he follows anyway.

I look at my friends. “Let’s go,” I say.

We move fast, Will scouting ahead while Tilda covers our backs, her gun steady as she watches every shadow.

The Citadel twists around us, all rusted metal and creaking boards, and I keep my hand on Javi the whole way, guiding him through the maze.

We're almost to the exit when my senses tingle, a scent that makes my hair stand on end.

I turn.

“Two?” I whisper.

She’s just standing there in the corridor, a chain locked tight around her throat. Her eyes are wide and ringed with bruises, darting behind her before she speaks.

“Take me with you,” she breathes. “Please.”

For a second, rage churns in my chest. She didn’t help me. She let me suffer. When I needed someone, she turned away. I should tell her no—we don’t have time, not with Javi like this, not with so much on the line.

But that’s not who I am.

“Come on,” I say. “Get ready to run.”

She hesitates only a second before stumbling after us, the chain around her throat clinking with every step. I keep my hand firm on Javi’s side, steering him through the last door.

The guards are slumped just outside—one shot through the head, the other mauled down to the bone. Blood smears the wall, fresh and sticky.

I don’t have to guess who did it.

Frankie waits at the edge of the corridor, breathing heavy, blood on her hands and shirt. Her eyes burn as she surveys the scene—and then Ephraim steps out beside her like a bad penny, brushing something off his jacket.

My heart stutters.

He narrows his eyes when he sees Two behind me. “What the hell is she doing here?”

Frankie steps forward without hesitation, placing herself squarely between me and Ephraim. Her jaw is locked. Her fingers flex like she’s itching to grab her weapon again—if she even put it away.

“You really wanna start something with me right now?” she asks, her voice flat and lethal. “After what we just pulled off?”

Ephraim’s mouth opens like he’s going to argue, but something about Frankie—blood-slick, carved from stone—makes him think better of it.

“Fine,” he mutters. “But my father’s not gonna be happy.”

Frankie wipes her hands on her jeans, still glaring. “Good.”

We move as a unit across the deck, Will leading the way toward the edge of the Rig where our boat waits just out of sight, engine quiet and hidden behind a cargo crate.

I keep one hand on Javi, urging him forward with every ounce of strength I have.

He stumbles again and again, falling to the floorboards with heavy thuds that echo into the dark.

Tilda circles back for me every time, trying to help me lift him. We’re not fast enough. I’m lagging. Every second feels like too many.

I drop to my knees beside him again. “Javi, we have to hurry,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “Come on. Be strong for me. You can do this.”

Tilda’s gun clicks.

My head jerks up.

But she’s not aiming at me. She’s aiming behind me.

Someone followed us from the Citadel.

My blood turns to ice.

Gideon stands just a few yards away, his silhouette outlined by the faint glow of floodlights on the far side of the dock. That ruined blue eye catches the light, white and staring, and the rest of him moves with a slow, predatory confidence.

My breath sticks in my throat. Javi’s not on his feet—he’s not even close. If Gideon sounds the alarm, the whole pack will descend on us before we can get to the boat.

“Well,” Gideon drawls, his gaze sweeping from Tilda to me. “Ain’t this a pretty picture.”

“I’d recommend shutting the fuck up,” Tilda says, her stance unmoving. “You’re not walking away if you take another step.”

He chuckles, like she’s made a joke. “If you fire, every wolf on this rig is going to come running. You sure you wanna make that call, little girl?”

“I’d do it just to shut you up,” she says.

I reach for Javi, jostling him, willing him to wake up. His eyes are wide, unfocused. His breath catches. Then—nothing.

He stops breathing.

I twist my fingers in his fur, panic blinding me.

“Javier’s not doing too well, is he?” Gideon says casually. “I’ve got medicine for that overdose down in the clinic. I could help him, if you just come with me.”

“He’s lying,” Tilda says, steady.

“I know,” I whisper. My throat is dry. My hands tremble.

But before I can say more, someone vaults up over the edge of the platform.

Reyes.

His eyes flash gold, his body already halfway into a shift, teeth bared. “You dare threaten her?” he snarls.

Gideon’s smirk falters.

Frankie appears next—stepping out of the shadows, her knife already slick with blood from the last asshole who tried to stop us. Her focus is razor sharp, trained on Gideon with cold purpose.

“We warned you,” she says. “We gave you every chance. And you still fucked around.”

Will moves in beside me, crouching near Javi. “If he can’t run, we carry him,” he murmurs. “But we’re not leaving him behind.”

I nod, swallowing the fear that rises in my throat. We’re not alone anymore. Gideon may have ruled this place for years, but his time’s up.

Still—he’s not backing down.

“You’re all fools,” Gideon spits, teeth bared in something that isn’t quite a grin. “You think you can take my daughter, my heir, and just leave ? You’ll never make it off this dock alive.”

That’s when Javi moves.

One second, I’m kneeling beside him.

The next, he’s on his feet.