32: Well, Now He Knows

Hours passed and still no updates from Lyla. Whether that was good news or not depended on who you were talking to.

I was sceptical; Lyla has always been very good at checking in, and I expected she would have done once reinforcements reached her. We’d heard from the reinforcements once they reached the forest, but that had been nearly two hours ago.

Luke and Nathaniel, however, believed it was good. If they were in trouble, we’d know about it already, so they probably just wanted to get the job done and come home.

Out loud, Luke may have been agreeing with Nathaniel, but I could feel through the mate bond that he didn’t believe that for a second. My usually stubborn, strong-willed and confident head of security was nervous, and it took a lot for him to be nervous. He’d worked with Lyla for years, so he agreed that normally, she would have checked in by now.

I was going to have to try to reach her, that was all there is for it. “Sierra one, how are we doing?”

Radio silence. Not even a crackle.

“Sierra one, check in, please?”

Nothing.

“Sierra four, how are we doing?”

Nothing.

I met Luke’s gaze. His expression was the same as mine. We needed to go after Lyla, something wasn’t right.

“Effie,” Nathaniel whispered. “You’re alpha now, try the pack link.”

First time for everything.

I reached out, looking for Lyla. I wasn’t sure how to describe it, but I could feel her; I could feel something was wrong. “Lyla,” I whispered, calling out to her through the link.

“Alpha?”

“Thank goddess. What’s going on, do you need backup?”

“Can’t talk. Maximillian has Ali and I in a cell underneath the main packhouse. Sierra two and three are still MIA.”

“We’re on the way. We’ll see you soon.”

I didn’t even stop to explain what was going on to Luke and Nathaniel, I just jumped up, ran to my quarters, and got ready to go.

They ran after me, because of course they did. “Effie, what’s happening? Talk to us!” Luke shouted after me.

“Lyla’s in trouble,” I growled.

“I gathered as much. Nathaniel, with me, I’ll sort your kit out.”

I skidded to a halt. “You two aren’t coming.”

They both growled at me.

“Yes, we are,” Luke growled back.

“Absolutely not. I’ll go after Lyla, find out what’s going on, and I’ll let you know if I need backup.”

“Effie, please! Just let us help!”

“No, Luke, you two can stay here. I can hide myself from Edward and Maximillian, I can’t hide you two.”

“I’m not leaving you on your own, Effie,” Nathaniel growled. “You can’t block us out or stop us anymore.”

“I will command you two to stay here if that’s what it takes to keep you safe. You’re not coming with me!”

I could feel the power crackling in the air around us as the argument grew more heated, both Nathaniel and Luke’s eyes were glowing, so I could assume mine were too.

The power was everywhere, looking for an escape.

“Effie! Let me come with you!” Luke threw his power behind those few little words. He probably didn’t even realise he did it, but on anyone but me, that would have been a command. Unfortunately for him, it was an offshoot of my power, so it didn’t take.

“You can’t command me, Luke. That power comes from me, you can’t use my own power against me.”

At that point, with all three of us scowling, our power reached breaking point. It exploded out of us, hard enough that it shattered glass, knocked doors off their hinges and blew bulbs.

I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding, and a second wave of power exploded out of me.

The power tripped out, plunging us into darkness until the backup generator kicked in and emergency lighting came on.

“Luke, Nathaniel, are you okay?”

“In one piece, Effie,” Nathaniel’s voice was breathy. The power rush felt amazing, apparently Nathaniel agreed.

“Luke?”

“All good, Effie.” His voice was just as breathy as Nathaniel’s.

“We won’t be though, will we,” Nathaniel whispered. “Edward and Maximillian definitely know about our triumvirate and power boost now, don’t they.” His face sank. “Please, Effie. Just let us come with you. Don’t make me beg.”

Maybe I could distract him from wanting to come… at least on this mission, anyway.

I forced a smirk on my face. “You can beg on your knees later, mate.”

He growled, it didn’t work. It was worth a try.

I closed my eyes in exasperation, rubbing my hand over my face. “Please stay here. It’s safe here. I don’t want you two waltzing straight into the wolf’s den.”

Nathaniel appeared on my right, Luke on my left, each taking my hand in theirs. “Let us come with you, Effie,” Nathaniel was pleading now.

Their power was tingling along my skin, bringing the three of us together, giving a hint of what the three of us could be, the power we could command.

There was no point arguing anymore. If I didn’t agree, they’d sneak out. At least this way I could keep some semblance of control. I grimaced. “Okay, fine! Fine. Get ready to go, we need to be out the door in five minutes. If you aren’t in the garage when I get there, I’m leaving without you.”