Redeem Me (Crimson Pack Trilogy Book 2)

by A Lonergan

  “I can promise you, they know the risks and they are completely okay with them.”

  “And you know your granny will for sure help?” I closed my eyes as the soap ran down my face and near my mouth. I tiled my head back to rinse the shampoo out before I lathered up my hands in conditioner. At least they had given me the good stuff. My blonde hair wasn’t dying in here.

  “Yes, I promise you that she will be willing to do whatever it takes to get you out.”

  My eyes snapped open as his words dawned on me. There was still soap on my eyelids. I blinked as the burning set in and tears leaked from my eyes. “You’re getting out of here too.”

  Lucas shook his head. He sat hunched over on the toilet seat and wouldn’t look at me. I was somewhat relieved over that but I couldn’t get a feel for his emotions without seeing his face. All the steam in the bathroom didn’t make it easy to smell his emotions either. I ran my hands over my eyes. Lucas finally whispered, “We will not tell them I am here, do you understand me?”

  I kept the water running as I grabbed a towel off of the rack beside the shower door and ran it over my face before I stepped out into the cold air. “Why? Why can’t they know you’re here?”

  Lucas looked up as I was wrapping the towel around my torso. “They already lost me once. If something happens while we are fighting to get out of here, then I don’t want them to go through the emotions of having to lose me again or knowing they could have had me. I don’t want them to go through the ‘what ifs’. You let me die and you leave me dead if something happens. You don’t let them wonder or harbor pain over me.” The emotions waging war on his face were enough for me to promise him that I wouldn’t say anything. He showered quickly while I stewed over what he said.

  When he got out of the shower and wrapped the towel around his waist, he smiled. “No more bad thoughts like death, okay?”

  All I could manage was a nod and a fake smile. We had to play the part coming out of the bathroom together. Surprisingly enough Damian wasn’t waiting for us like I thought he would be. Micah was lounging on my bed this time.

  “We have five minutes to talk before the cameras click back on.”

  Lucas snorted out a laugh. “What the f-”

  “What are you planning?” I interrupted Lucas and stared daggers down at Micah. Lucas and I both still had towels wrapped around us.

  “I know you are planning something and I want in. No matter what it is. I am one of the only ones that can get in and out of this place without suspicion.” He shrugged like duh.

  “We need to get one of the witches out.”

  Micah pressed his lips together. “The only way that’s going to happen is if one of them dies.”

  I shrugged. “So be it. Magic is a powerful thing.”

  Micah bit his lip. “No, you don’t understand. Damian’s power far surpasses any other witch I have ever encountered. Now that you have allied yourself with the witches, he will be looking for you to try something with them.”

  I shook my head. “Then we cannot plan this. We can’t go forward. I won’t sacrifice anyone for my cause. We will have to think of something else.”

  Chapter 33

  Jade

  I was still trying to think of a plan when Damian slid into the seat across from me in the common room. Everyone went eerily quiet as he grinned at me and the obvious fear in the room.

  “Good morning, Damian,” I said casually like I hadn’t been plotting his demise for the last few hours.

  “Good morning, Jade, you seem to be in a good mood today.” He watched as the witches and wolves quickly filed out. The room had been lively and full of energy just a few minutes prior. He sucked the life out of it all.

  “Making enemies and killing people will do that to you,” I grinned like I wasn’t bothered with what was haunting my sleep.

  “And possibly some good sex?” He leaned forward on his elbows and smiled smugly.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

  “I didn’t have the privilege of sleeping with Lucas, but I have heard rumors he’s a very selfless lover.”

  Blood rushed to my cheeks and as much as I wanted to pretend to be embarrassed I couldn’t be. It was all real. “You came here to talk about my sex life?”

  He titled his head from side to side. “I find it interesting that you can stomach doing such a thing when you have a mate.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know why you concern yourself with it. Maybe I’m polyamorous.”

  “That would be fine, if you weren’t a wolf. They mate for life.”

  I clenched my jaw. “I never agreed to any mating, so not yet I’m not.”

  He chuckled. “Once you discover that mating bond, it’ll be painful to be with others.”

  I leaned across the space between us. “Why are you so obsessed with me?”

  He bopped me on the nose. “Oh little wolf, I’m not obsessed with you. I’m obsessed with what you can give me.” His eyes twinkled with mischief as he stood up to walk away.

  I looked up at him unimpressed. “And what if I’m obsessed with what you can give me?”

  He grinned. “Then I think we have the perfect partnership, my pet.”

  I could feel Nalia rising up to his challenge inside of me. I had to think soothing thoughts to get her calm. The last thing we needed was to start a fight with the man that could kill thousands with one word. Based on how many witches he had here under his thumb, there were thousands of kids that would be collateral damage if I wasn’t careful.

  Except it didn’t matter if I was careful that night. Plans had been made without me, at least I became aware of that when we were eating dinner and Lucas refused to talk to me. No matter what I said or did, he just continued to eat his food like he couldn’t hear me.

  I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. “You can call me baby doll if you’d like or any of the other ridiculous nicknames you came up with.”

  Lucas smirked. “That’s your secret weapon to get me to talk?”

  I raised my brows. “It worked, though.”

  He sighed before he took a massive bite out of his hamburger. I could feel it in the air that something wasn’t right. It was like my wolf senses were tingling. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “Lucas, what’s going on?”

  Based on the way his eyes crinkled, he was about to lie to me. But before he could get the chance an explosion rocked the building. I watched in slow-motion as I was thrown from the table I sat at and Lucas was pinned beneath it. My head connected with the wall and a high pitch noise filled my ears. Dust fell from the…

  I blinked. There was no ceiling above me, all that was there was was black sky above us. I tried to sit up but my body wouldn’t listen to my internal commands.

  Nalia? I thought to my other half, but she was silent. Finally, after a few more attempts I was able to rise from the rubble around me. Everything hurt and none of my senses were functioning properly. All I could hear were muffled screams and that high pitch noise. I coughed into my elbow as I tried to get to Lucas but there was too much happening around me.

  A massive piece of ceiling fell from the sky and I watched as it came down to crash into me. Except it didn’t. It was suspended in the air above my head.

  “Jade!” My senses came back to me all at once and I stumbled forward over more debris. What happened?

  “Jade!” This time I could hear my name being called clearly. I choked on my breath again as I stumbled toward the voice. Was it Lucas calling me or Damian? I couldn’t differentiate with my hearing still coming back to me.

  I knew it had to be Damian calling me as soon as I noticed Lucas laying on the ground unconscious under the pieces of picnic tables we had been sitting at. Blood rolled down his forehead and his eyes fluttered briefly before he went still again. Nothing else mattered as I fought my way through the throng of people trying to get away from the fire on the other side of the room. Someone was screaming as
I fought my way across the rubble but I didn’t allow myself to get distracted. I fell into the dust and sheetrock beside my sweet friend.

  “Lucas!” I tried to pull the table pieces off of him but my werewolf strength was gone.

  “Let me help you,” a gentle voice said beside me.

  I fell back away from Lucas’s still body and felt my insides crumble like the building. Tears fell from my face as I realized that Lucas could die from this. This was what I had been trying to prevent. He had predicted his own death but I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let that happen.

  Damian lifted the jagged pieces of the table with his magic, I assumed as they floated above his body without a tether or evidence otherwise. They crashed somewhere in the distance as I pulled Lucas into my arms and brushed his hair from his face. Damian leaned over to check for a pulse while I rocked back and forth.

  Damian sat back on his heels. “He’s still alive. His pulse is strong. His wolf won’t be able to heal him though. Someone blew up the wolfsbane closet.”

  It hit me like a ton of bricks. This was the distraction. This was what I had been left out of. I pulled Lucas from the rubble and into my arms. I stumbled over bodies and more pieces of the room before I got him to one of the hallways. I looked back at the damage to the cafeteria but the dust was still thick in the air and now smoke was starting to join it. Damian was nowhere to be seen and neither was Micah. I looked down at my friend and wondered if he would be safe here. I couldn’t sit out on the rescue efforts. The building was on fire and there was no telling how many people would die if I didn’t go in there to help.

  I pressed a quick kiss to Lucas’s hairline before I jumped back into the madness. Damian was using his magic to lift pieces of wood and sheetrock from the victims. I was no use on that front but where the fire was, I knew I could help. I rushed through the wall that was on fire and right into the kitchen. I immediately spotted Micah. He held a syringe up before he put it in his pocket. Laying on the ground at his feet was Bee. Her head was at an odd angle and her limbs were sprawled out around her. I immediately sprang to action. She could be saved, right?

  Micah grabbed me around my middle and stopped me from going down to her. Stopped me from feeling that she was already gone. I didn’t realize I was crying until a sob erupted from my lips. She was my friend. She had a daughter. A family. She was more than this place. She was more than this death. I fought his hold and fell to my knees beside her. I hardly knew her but she had been my friend. She didn’t deserve this. Her family didn’t deserve this. My hands fluttered over her peaceful face as another sob wracked through my body.

  Micah pulled me into his arms and I felt myself break again. My entire body shuddered with it. Where was Nalia? She was the only one that could help me.

  “We have a few minutes before Damian comes this way. The fire is superficial and can be put out easily. You can fall apart but know that she sacrificed herself for this cause. She sacrificed herself for her daughter.” Micah whispered into my hair. I would avenge her. I would avenge them all. I nodded my head against his shoulder and fell back to my knees beside her. “You have to get up, Jade. She was a traitor. She deserved this death.”

  “No,” I whispered. I knew the moment Damian walked through the flames. It was like the air had been sucked from the room. “No!”

  I fell forward and brushed her blonde hair from her face. The sobs only increased.

  “You heard him, Jade,” Damian commanded. “She was a traitor. There is no use in these theatrics. “I understand your grief but you must let her go. Micah did what he had to do.”

  My eyes turned up at the man that had guarded my room. Of course he was the one that had killed her. He would do it quickly so she felt no pain. She had sacrificed herself. I nodded once before I tried to wipe the tears from my face. “Will her body be brought to her family?”

  “Traitors don’t deserve such honors.” Before I could reply her body was in flames at my feet. I jumped back in horror and dread. He was burning her body. What were we to do now? How would we get her blood to the pack? Her sacrifice had been for nothing. My face fell. “But Micah will be permitted to go to her family and tell them what he did. He will bring her ashes with him.”

  Micah smiled gleefully and it caused nausea to fill my stomach. The cook that had befriended me busted through the wall of flames next. When she saw Bee’s body burning her face fell too. She understood what we had lost. She didn’t allow any tears as she looked down at the witch she had cared for. The witch we had all cared for.

  Damian sighed. “This is all very unfortunate.” He twirled his fingers and her body stopped burning. He snapped his fingers and then the ashes collected in the air. Damian materialized a long thin glass beaker. The ashes collected into it before he put a cork on the top. He handed the remains of our friend to Micah before he wrapped his arm around me and led me from the room.

  His voice echoed around the war zone we walked through. “We will have to find another home.”

  Chapter 34

  Rafe

  “You know, arguing about such things is completely pointless,” Tracey muttered at the dinner table. Tonight was another full moon and we were preparing to go out again as a pack. But as per usual, Knox and Archer were arguing over anatomy.

  Knox snorted. “You’re a woman, you wouldn’t understand it.”

  Tracey folded her arms over her chest. “You think I don’t understand when a woman’s worth is practically decided based on her chest?”

  Knox leaned back in his chair. “Don’t forget her ass.”

  Tracey had her spoon halfway to her mouth when he spoke. She looked up with a serious face and threw the entire spoon with rice at his head. The glob of rice hit the center of his forehead and Ford barked out a surprised laugh beside him. In response, Knox wiped off the rice and smeared it across my brother’s face. Ford tried to dodge it, but all it did was make a bigger mess across his head.

  I leaned back in my chair as the rest of the pack laughed and the new twins garbled from their car seats on the floor. It felt almost normal again. Except there was just one missing piece.

  My mate.

  As if Mav could read my thoughts he leaned over and patted my shoulder. “We will come up with something. Our pack will be whole again.”

  I nodded my head as I finished off the stewed chicken on my plate. I didn’t bother with tasting it. I stood up and filed out of the room. It gave the rest of the pack permission to get up too. My shirt came off first then my jeans before my wolf ripped through my skin. I felt myself sigh with relief as I faded into oblivion and let my wolf take over. I liked to be present most of the time, but not this time. I could feel myself fading like I was taking a nap.

  When I came to, there was blood all over my bare chest and I had zero ideas of where I was. The woods didn’t look familiar and there was the roaring of a waterfall nearby. I didn’t remember there being a waterfall on our property but it had been a long time since I had been on patrols or even looked at the maps. Patrols had been my excuse to find a willing female to romp with.

  I was a shit Alpha. I should have memorized the border of our lands instead of relying on the flag markers set up around the property. I needed to do better. I had to do better.

  I pressed my palm into my forehead and laid back down on the leaves. The snow would be here any day now and it would be even harder to get to Jade then. The chill was already heavy in the air. I rolled over onto my stomach and groaned. Thankfully my wolf had disposed of us both beside a body of water. The smell coming off of me was intense. My wolf was practically snoring in my head.

  What did you kill?

  Surprise, surprise, I got zero response.

  The water shocked me from my sleepy state as I plunged into it. It was crystal clear and I knew if I had been here before, I would remember it. I swam under the waterfall and came up on the other side in a cave. It was still too deep to stand up so I swam for a moment before I pulled my body up on t
he ledge and laid back. The cave was hardly big enough to stand up in. The sound of the waterfall slapping the surface of the water was deafening as it echoed off of the walls around me. It was almost too much with my heightened senses.

  Rafe, we have a situation at the manor. Knox’s words blasted through my head and the peaceful moment I was having.

  Can it wait?

  Definitely not. The wolf that escorted Jade through the woods that night is here. He has witch blood.

  I was out of the water faster than I thought I could move. Nothing else mattered but getting to the pack house and my wolf agreed. Fur rippled across my arms before I shifted again and let my wolf lead me back to the manor.

  Not just any wolf could transform multiple times a day. My body was still healing from the transformation the night before but it didn’t matter. My wolf didn’t care either. I would handle the soreness. All that mattered was getting to my Guardians. We shot across the Pack Lands at a speed I didn’t know possible, especially after shifting the night before.

  I skidded across the dirt in front of the manor. Knox was standing out front with a pair of boxers and a t-shirt folded neatly between his hands. My mother’s mouth was hanging open from the doorway. I had never managed this much power before. I prepared myself mentally for the change back to be brutal. A few pops and cracks later and I was standing in front of my family stark nude. I grabbed the clothes and put them on quickly, expecting soreness and fatigue but I was met with neither.

  The man that had the witch blood took a step out of the manor then. His blue eyes were clear as he looked at us all. Then he showed me his neck. “Alpha.”

  “What can I do for you?” I leaned forward to shake his hand. His grip was steady and firm.

  “We have to work fast, but I have brought the blood of a witch that has a daughter being held hostage. As far as I know, all of the children are kept in the same place.” He held up a vial full of dark red blood.