We all walked in a daze out of the auditorium. It had been a double victory, and we should celebrate, but losing one of the oldest packs on the continent didn’t feel like something to rejoice about. “I’ll just go to the ladies,” I told Finlay as we headed for the elevator. “Wait until we get to our room,” he said. I could tell his mind was elsewhere. “Finn, I have been brave and held it in this long. If I get on that elevator, there will be an accident,” I told him. He looked at me as if he was trying to register what I was telling him. Truth be told, I hadn’t needed to go two minutes ago, but now it felt like if I didn’t get to the toilet within the next two minutes, all hope would be lost.

“Right, okay. I will go with you,” he said. I had started walking towards the bathroom but stopped. “You can’t go into the ladies’ room. Do you know how many Alphas would come for you if they thought you were trying to peep at their Lunas?” I told him and heard Luna Beatrice giggling. “I will go with her,” she offered. “Thank you,” Finlay said. She hooked her arm in mine, and we hurried off. The bathroom was empty, which thankfully meant I didn’t need to wait in line. “Alphas, they are all the same when it comes to their mate being pregnant. I remember when it was Jonas. And I remember needing to pee like fifty times an hour,” she told me from the stall next to mine. The last words sounded a little slurred. “Are you okay?” I asked as I was ready and stood up. Why was the floor swaying? “Something’s wrong,” I heard her say. I could barely make out her words. I tried mindlinking Finlay, but my mind wouldn’t focus. A darkness was creeping in around my field of vision. I shook my head and stumbled to the sink. “Finn,” I meant to shout, but it wasn’t louder than a whisper. The only thing keeping me on my feet was my grip on the sink. No way I was going to black out. I had no clue what was happening, but it wasn’t good, and if I lost consciousness, it would be worse. The darkness grew as my vision faded. Hands. They grabbed me roughly, and I tried to fight, but the darkness claimed me, and I made one last attempt at mindlinking Finlay.

My arms hurt; it was the first thing I registered as I came to. I was sitting in a chair, slumped forward with the weight of my upper body on my arms, which were tied to the back of the chair. My head felt fuzzy, and there was a dull ache all over my body. I was alone in a mostly dark room. There were no windows; the only light came from underneath the closed door at the other end of the room. It was enough for my night vision to take in my surroundings. I was sitting at the back of the room. There wasn’t much else in here. A couple of mattresses were leaning against a wall. The smell coming from them made me happy they were nowhere near me.

“Finn?” I tried to mindlink. “Amie! Oh, thank the goddess! Sweetheart, where are you? What happened?” he answered. The fear and panic were clear through our bond. “I don’t know. Things just went black. Is Beatrice okay?” I asked. “She is fine, Red. We found her passed out in the bathroom. She is still unconscious, but the healers say she will be fine. Where are you?” “I don’t know. It’s a windowless room. I’m tied to a chair,” I told him. “Can you get free?” His question made me want to kick myself for not trying sooner. I twisted my arms and heard the clunk of metal hitting metal. I moved my arm to try and feel the restraint that was holding me to the chair. I felt the chair; it was made out of metal. I then came to something which felt like a handcuff. The moment my fingers contacted it, I felt sharp pain. It was like putting your fingers on a hot stove. I hissed and pulled them away. “I’m tied to a metal chair with silver handcuffs,” I linked Finlay. “Fuck! How are your wrists?” he asked. “They are fine; the cuffs are on top of the blouse I’m wearing. I didn’t realize it was silver until I started to feel around. Finn, how long have I been gone? I have no sense of time.” “Almost two hours,” he told me. I could hear how he was trying to hold it together to make me feel better. “I’m in a quite large room, the walls look to be concrete or something. There can’t be too many buildings like that within two hours of the hotel,” I said.

“No, there can’t. I’m talking to the head of the council now. They have given me full access to all their people and resources. I will find you, Red. I will come for you and I will kill my fucking brother,” he told me with so much conviction it caused a tear to fall down my face. “I know you will find me. But Finn, we don’t know if this was your brother or not. I haven’t seen who is keeping me here,” I told him. I didn’t want him to do something he would regret. “I know it’s him. I can feel it in every bone in my body. Just stay with me, Red, keep talking to me so I know you are okay!” “It just doesn’t make any sense for him to grab me. He has to know everyone would suspect him, right? And he has done nothing to stop our mindlink. I mean, it would have made sense if he stuffed me into the back of a car and drove until we couldn’t connect to each other. But he has me set up in this room which obviously is in mindlinking distance to you,” I said. I got the sense in our link that Finlay was chuckling. “Did you just rate your own kidnapping and give my brother an F?” Finlay asked. I had to smile. Having the link to my mate kept the fear and panic at bay. “I’m a little insulted they did such a sloppy job,” I told him. “Don’t be too harsh on them. It makes it easier for me.” Somewhere, a door opened and closed. I could hear footsteps. “Finn, someone is coming,” I told him. “Listen to me, Red. You don’t do anything stupid. All you have to do is keep yourself safe, and I will find you. Don’t be a smart-ass and provoke my brother,” Finlay said. He knew me too well. “I will do my best.” The door to the room opened and let in sharp, white light that momentarily blinded me. I turned my head away from the light and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to lose my dark vision.

“Well, looks like she is awake,” someone said. I recognized the voice, squinted in its direction, and saw the door had been shut. I opened my eyes fully and looked at Finlay’s brother and his former Beta. “Are you two insane? How stupid can you be? Did Finn get all the brain cells in the family?” I asked. Then I remembered my promise to Finlay and sighed. At least I had kept it for half a minute. “Shut the fuck up, you bitch!” Karo, the former Beta, shouted. I looked at him. He looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel any moment. I switched focus to Ryan. His anger wasn’t as obvious. It was just under the surface, bubbling, seething, and it made me ten times as nervous. “Didn’t you like my way of inviting you to some family time?” he asked with a wicked grin. “We are family now, aren’t we? You being mated to that brother of mine and even expecting his pup.” His words made something click in my mind. “Finn, you can’t come here. The reason your brother has made it so easy for you is because he wants you here. He has something planned. Stay away,” I mindlinked my mate. “Not going to happen, Red. I’m not leaving you there with him. I don’t care what he has planned for me. I will get you and our pup to safety,” he replied. I cursed in my head. He was going to be stubborn and come rushing into this without thinking. I had no one else to mindlink, no one I could ask for help to at least make Finlay think it through before he acted. We should have brought Sam, I thought. We could have let him stay in a camper some distance from the hotel. I just hoped our friends and my brother would help him.

“Hey, I’m not going to stop you from getting your mate. I’m just asking you to take two minutes to think of a plan. This smells like a trap,” he told me. He was right, but it would mean two more minutes Amie had to spend being cuffed to a chair. “Would you have waited two minutes before rescuing your Luna?” I asked. “Do as I say, not as I do?” he tried to say. “I want to get her out of there just as much as you do. But she will be heartbroken if her rescue comes at the cost of your life. Don’t do that to my sister,” Elder told me. “We will get her, but we will do it together and with a plan,” James added. “Fine!” “First things first. Head councilman, do you agree Alpha Finlay is in his right to kill anyone who has kidnapped and harmed his Luna and unborn pup?” Alpha Lars asked. “Without hesitation. To harm any pregnant wolf is a crime punishable by death. Kidnapping a Luna also has a death sentence,” the head of the council agreed. “Good, then we don’t have to stop you and wait for a trial,” Alpha Lars cheerfully said. The plan, if you could call it that, took us five minutes to put together. We all set off for the basement. “Red, we are coming to get you,” I mindlinked her. “Be careful, Finn,” she answered. I scoffed. My brother and his former Beta may have been built like brick walls, but neither of them had the primal need to protect their mate and pup running in their veins. I did; my wolf was just under the surface, pushing me forward, lending me his senses and strength. We stepped off the elevator into the basement, and a group of the warriors took the lead. It rubbed me the wrong way, but I could see why it was the best choice. They moved with determination through the corridor, opening doors as they passed them. The leader stopped and pointed at the floor. If he hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t have seen the thin wire at ankle height. One warrior took a moment to investigate it, then he used a claw to cut it. He pointed high up on the wall.

“Probably wolfsbane or silver solution,” he whispered. I looked at the small device on the wall with a spray nozzle. I held back the growl. We continued forward and found three more traps. I knew if I would have rushed down here on my own, I would most likely have triggered all four of them. Even if they wouldn’t have killed me, I would have been weak when I reached Amie. “Red, can you talk to my brother or something? We need to pinpoint where you are,” I mindlinked her. I held up my hand to let everyone know to stop. I heard a low murmur coming from a couple of doors down. As one, we started moving again, everyone being on the lookout for more traps. “What the fuck did you just say to my Alpha?” I heard Karo yell. “He isn’t your Alpha any longer. He isn’t anyone’s Alpha. Soon he won’t be nothing more than a wet stain on the floor,” I heard Amie say. Both Elder and I groaned. “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t provoke them, love,” I reminded her. “Sorry, it was an accident. Wait, you could hear that?” she asked. “I’m almost there. Elder and James are with me. They will look after you until I have finished the business with my brother,” I told her. “You might want to close your eyes,” I added, as I didn’t like the idea of her seeing that side of me. “Love, I’m not scared of you. I have told you before. I’m not going to miss you tearing that piece of filth limb from limb,” I smiled at the blood thirst in her voice. I knew that if my brother hadn’t knocked her unconscious and used silver on her, he would already be dead. The thought made me grin. We had arrived at the door, and when everyone was ready, a warrior kicked the door in and stepped to the side. I was first to go through the open door; Karo came at me full speed. I slashed him with my claws and sidestepped him. Elder was the second in through the door, and he engaged the former Beta; James and the warriors headed for Amie. I had my sight set on my brother. He stood halfway between me and Amie. “Brother, you came,” he said, sounding happy. “Shut the fuck up,” I growled. “It’s time we settle this the right way. Winner takes both packs and Hoth mates. I won’t promise to keep that pup alive, but at least we know your mate will produce pups,” he told me. Red colored my vision as my wolf roared, and I attacked my brother.