Chapter 82

Chapter 82
Ace wrapped his arms around my waist, tucking me against him. He buried his face in my neck, inhaling my scent.


"I didn't mean to snap at you," he murmured into my hair. I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck. Lucille purred, making my chest rumble, and Ace chuckled at her reaction to him, despite the time not being appropriate.


"Sorry," I told him, but he shook his head and kissed my cheek.


"Our wolves make noises. I expect her to purr. I would be worried if she didn't," he said while grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the hospital entrance.


We walked back up to the ward, and Aamon was nowhere to be seen. Tyson was on his phone pacing the corridor, talking to someone angrily. Ace tugged me over to the chairs in the waiting room and pulled me on his lap while we waited for Tyson to finish on the phone. Ace's hand sneaked inside my shirt as he brushed his thumb over my stomach.


"I have sent people to check the airport's security footage to see if Josie flew out of here," Tyson said while hanging up and walking over to us.


"Any change?" Ace asked him, but Tyson shook his head.


"No, but we should go home, shower, eat, and get some sleep. We can't sit around here all the time twiddling our thumbs," Tyson said, and Ace sighed.


Tyson gripped his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "He will survive, brother. He has too much to live for," Tyson told him. Ace nodded against my back but didn't add anything.


"Come on, we should get home and away from this place, at least for a little while," Tyson said before gripping my chin and forcing me to look up at him.


"You okay? You seem almost calm," he said, and I swallowed.


"Yep, fine, just needed some fresh air," I lied. Tyson turned my face eyeing me suspiciously, or so I thought.


"You smell different, and you feel warmer."


"Yeah, I haven't showered in days. You don't smell so hot either, and it is hot outside," I told him. He chuckled, letting my face go.


"Come on, let's get home and shower." I nodded, and Ace unwrapped his arms from around my waist and let me up. Tyson tugged me toward him before kissing my hair.


"They will all be fine, and we will get them back. We just need to wait a bit longer. Avery or Ryker will wake soon, and then we will know what to do," he said, and I nodded. I already knew what to do. Fucking search and not sit on our hands.


We all reluctantly left. Despite being worried about mom, I needed to head home to meet Melana tonight. I needed to bring my brothers home, make sure they were safe. Right now, that was all I cared about.


The drive home was silent while I tried to figure out what to do next. Leaning between the two front seats, I turned the air-conditioning up. Tyson was right. My scent was so much stronger, the heat really getting to me.


Even Lucille was panting in my head and whining about the heat. Ace glanced at me, his brows furrowed before touching my head, the warmth of his hand making me hotter, and I slapped it away. A growl tore out of me. I felt so uncomfortable in this stuffy car.


"Settle down," Ace growled at me.


"Sorry, it's just boiling."


"It is quite warm today," he murmured, and I saw Tyson's eyes dart to me in the rear-vision mirror.


"I know everyone is irritable, but we just need to be patient. Once Avery wakes up, we will know our next move."


"Anything is better than nothing," I murmured, and his eyes darted to mine and narrowed slightly.


"Are you feeling okay?"


"Yeah, just tired," I mumbled, resting my head back on the headrest and enjoying the cold AC in the car. We pulled up at home, and I instantly started sweating the moment I left the coolness of the vehicle. A shiver ran through me at being back here, and it felt so long ago, even though it had only been a couple of days. And yet a lifetime of drama happened in that time.


The house was quiet as we entered, and Tyson checked the phone's answering machine while I wandered down the hall to the bathroom. Pulling my phone out, I saw a message from an unknown number, and I opened it.


“I will be in the garage at midnight and will wait for you until you escape them. I still think we should tell someone.”



I figured the number was Melana. How she got my number was beyond me, but I just thought she either already had it or asked for it from someone.


“See you then. I will get Ace's keys,” I replied just as the bathroom door opened.

Ace walked in, and I put my phone down, locking the screen.

"Who was that?"


"Just checking my emails," I lied. He nodded while walking over, turning the shower on, and stripping his clothes off. I shook my head. I intended to shower alone, but oh well. I tugged my clothes off.


"Tyson?"


"On the phone," Ace growled. I wondered what had made Ace so grumpy this time but couldn't be bothered to ask.


The water was hot against my skin, and I turned the water down, the steam making me dizzy.

"Freaking cold, Luce!" Ace shrieked when I turned it down.


"It is boiling outside," I snapped at him when he tried to turn the temperature up.


"Doesn't mean we need to freeze in the damn shower," he retorted, turning it up. I rolled my eyes at him and reached for the soap, snatching it from his hands.


"Fuck, what's wrong with you?" he asked.


"Nothing," I mumbled while washing myself. Only a few more hours, I reminded myself. A few more hours, and I would be out of here actually doing something other than waiting around and wasting time.





The time ticked by slowly. We showered, had dinner, and then stared at the TV, not really watching it. Tyson spent the majority of the night on the phone pacing the veranda. Ace, however, was being annoying as hell and kept touching me. How his mind could even go there with everything going on was beyond me, and I was about to throat-punch him if he didn't stop soon.


All I kept thinking about was my brothers, my mind utterly consumed with their well-being, wondering if they were hungry or warm. If they had eaten. If Ryden had formula. If I was worried this much about my brothers, I would hate to be mom when she woke up. This was pure torture, and I was never having kids if it meant spending all my time worrying about them like this.


The door opened, and Tyson walked in. He shivered, and a growl escaped him.


"It's like an igloo in here," Tyson mumbled, turning the ducted AC down. Ace moved again on the couch, tugging me against him.


"Will you stop?" I hissed at him and his grabby hands. Instead, he ignored me, rolling over and pressing me against the couch and moving between my legs.


"Ace!" I snapped when his lips went to my neck as he nipped at it. His erection pressed against my cotton shorts. Tingles rushed across my skin as he nipped at my neck. He thrust his hips against me, and I fought the moan that tried to escape me. The last thing I needed to do was provoke him more.


"Ace!" I growled while Lucille remained quiet, almost dormant in my head. I could actually use her strength right now, but no, she runs off somewhere in my head.


"You smell so good," Ace groaned, nipping at my mark.


"It's called deodorant. You should try it, now get off me."


"She does smell different," I heard Tyson murmur, and I felt Ace's hands grip the side of my shorts as he tried to tug them down. I sank my teeth into his shoulder, and he groaned. I huffed, annoyed as he kept pawing at my clothes, trying to remove them.


"How can you even be thinking of sex right now? Get off me, or I will toss you on your damn ass. last warning, Ace." Yet he chose to ignore me and pinned my hands in his above my head.


"Then let me change your mind." I will change his in a damn minute, I thought to myself angrily. He ground himself against me, and I lifted my hips since he had my hands trapped and turned, making him topple off the couch. I landed on top of him, my legs straddling his hips, and he gripped my thighs, his eyes the black of his wolf when I throat-punched him. He choked, clutching his throat, and I got to my feet.


"I fucking warned you," I snapped at him, stalking off down the hall. Tyson whistled and chuckled.


"Well, that's what your stupid ass gets," Tyson told him while Ace gasped behind me. I shook my head, wondering how he could even think of anything other than the situation at hand. I was about to walk into the spare bedroom when Tyson growled behind me.


"No, Ace's room. We are all staying together," Tyson commanded, and I gritted my teeth against the order as it rolled over me, pissed off he would even use it on me.


"Lucy, not tonight. Sleep where you want after all this shit is over, but until Jamie is found, we remain together," Tyson said, walking past me and pushing Ace's bedroom door open. I glared at him before stalking past him and into the room. My blood felt like it was boiling in my veins as I climbed into the bed. Ace came in a few seconds later and mumbled an apology which I ignored.


"He didn't mean to upset you, Lucy. Cut him some slack. Your scent is extra potent tonight," Tyson mumbled, his eyes flickering, and I lay on my back, both of them sticking to the edge of the bed like they were too scared to get too close to me.


I didn't blame them. I was in a terrible mood, and it suited me just fine. Plus, it was sweltering. I sat up, keeping an eye on the clock. Each minute passing felt like an hour, but eventually, they both fell asleep, yet both wouldn't stop squirming in their sleep, and their arousal was ticking me off.


How could they both be so horny while sleeping while I was in a murderous mood and Lucille was anxious and quiet? And I could feel how uncomfortable she was, but her anxiousness helped keep me awake.


When it was nearly midnight, I heard movement outside and knew it was Melana. I tried to untangle myself from them and climb over Tyson when he gripped my hips.


He groaned lewdly in his sleep, rubbing me against his erection, and I fought back my own sudden arousal. His hands on my bare legs sent sparks straight up between my thighs. I fought the sudden urge off, struggling to get a grip on myself.


Melana is outside, I reminded myself. My brothers, my brothers, I need to find my brothers, I repeatedly chanted in my head, wondering why I was suddenly struggling with control. Tyson murmured in his sleep, and I saw Ace squirm on the other side of the bed. I forced myself to step off the bed, and Tyson's hands fell back to his sides.


I quickly rushed out of the room, tiptoeing down the hall. I had no time to change and scoop my sneakers up from the door. Everything in me was trying to pull me back to my mates, some urge I couldn't explain, and the further I moved through the house, the stronger it got.


I carefully picked up Ace's car keys, making sure not to jiggle them before carefully unlocking the door and slipping into the night. The crunch of the gravel made my feet ache, the breeze caressing my skin like shards stabbing into my skin as I raced up the side of the house to the garage. Melana waited in the shadows and stepped out, and I held the keys out to her.


She took them and pressed the key fob unlocking the doors, and the beep had us both freezing and glancing at the house nervously. When they didn't come rushing out, we opened the doors and climbed in, and Melana tossed a bag onto the backseat. Melana placed the keys in the ignition and turned the dash on before putting the car in neutral. I glanced at her because she still hadn't closed her door completely.


"We start the car, they will hear us before we get out of the driveway," she whispered before stepping out. I opened the door catching on, and we carefully pushed it out of the garage, letting it roll past the house before jumping back in.


Melana steered the car away from the house and down the long gravel road a bit before shutting her door and starting the car. I closed my door, and I glanced back at the packhouse in the distance but saw no lights turn on and figured we were safe.


I let out a breath and turned back to face the front when she put the car in gear and took off. I wound the window down, needing air. Sweat dripped off me, and nausea rolled over me before we were completely off the gravel road.


"You okay?" Melana asked, and I nodded, feeling the blood drain from my face.

I felt terrible. The further we drove, the worse I got; something was trying to pull me back home. We had been driving for over an hour, and our City was miles away from the secluded road we had pulled onto when Melana suddenly pulled over. She checked her phone.


"Shit, I have no reception," Melana murmured before hopping out of her car. She rummaged in the backseat, pulling a map from the bag and a flashlight. I hopped out when she walked around to the hood of the vehicle, unrolling the map, the flashlight between her teeth. I clutched the side of the car. My stomach was aching, making me double over.


"Lucy?" she asked. I waved her off, and she walked over and gripped my arm before jerking away from me.


"What?"


"Your skin. It's so hot, Lucy," she told me, rushing to the back of the car. She grabbed a water bottle from her bag and handed it to me. I watched as she sniffed the air. My hands shook terribly as I twisted the cap off. I chugged the water down thirstily, and Melana observed me before taking it from me and drinking some.


"How long have you been feeling like that?"


"Since we left," I muttered, leaning against the car's hood.


"You should have said something. You don't look too good," she said nervously, reaching out and touching my face. My skin felt clammy and sticky.


"Have you gone into heat yet?" she asked, and I raised an eyebrow at her.


"More vampire, I don't have a—" My words cut off as it dawned on me. Lucille. I had a wolf now.


"Shit, we need to go back and now."


"What? No, we have already come this far," I told her, staggering toward her. My surroundings spun, and I lurched forward, my stomach contents spilling onto the ground as I heaved violently.


"Nope, we are going back."


"I am fine," I gasped out.


"No, Lucy, you're not fine. You are in heat, and you need your mates. You know it can kill you. You're a mutation, our wolves weaker than an average werewolf in that state, and we can't transition through heat by ourselves, not without our mates."