“How are we supposed to come up with an escape plan an hour before our final meeting?” I hissed once we were all safely back in our suite.
“Sweetheart, my parents and I have been mulling over escape plans for at least a week now,” Kieran chuckled, crossing his muscular arms. “Ever since we found out the High Table wanted to meet you, we started planning. Sebastian and Williams have been helping too. I’m sure they’ve come up with something by now.”
Ethan lay draped across the sectional, the sporadic flutter of his eyelashes the only sign that the sedative was wearing off. All eyes turned to him when a husky mumble escaped his lips. Kat was at his side in seconds, checking him over for the third time.
Since I had run away, Kat had started an apprenticeship under her dad, spending her free time looking for me and working nightly shifts at the hospital.
“It’s wearing off faster; he should be lucid within the hour,” Kat said, her words reassuring.
The first thing I planned to do was get some food in his system, then contemplate hunting down Maverick Billford and removing him from his position at the High Table.
“If only your little fantasy were achievable,” Kieran’s thoughts melded into mine, and I flushed at the laughter in his voice. “Though, I did enjoy the part where you mercilessly blew Maverick Billford’s head off.”
“If you don’t like my fantasy-” I began, but the door to our suite swung open, cutting me off.
The twins’ parents stormed in, faces hewn with worry. Though the door had been locked, they had a key. Constant access to one another made it safer, especially after what happened at the last hotel.
Their mom’s blonde hair was pulled into a neat wrap, and though her sleek skirt and blazer were professional, I could see how shaken she was. Their father was much better at hiding his emotions, just like his sons. His onyx hair was swept to the side, and his navy suit made his eyes seem even darker. Their eyes roamed the room briefly before settling on Ethan. There was no surprise there, only aching, mind-numbing relief.
“I knew it-you’ve got him,” their mom exhaled, her eyes wide as she looked at her unconscious son. The hand on her chest trembled, even as her eyes hardened. Her husband’s hand on her shoulder kept her from rushing forward to embrace the son she thought she had lost. Surprisingly, she turned to me. “Do you know who took him?”
“Maverick Billford was responsible,” I answered without hesitation, trusting them enough to know my words wouldn’t leave this room.
“That man uses his money and power to keep us under his foot,” she huffed, fury brimming in her eyes and emotions. After a deep breath, she continued, her movements rushed, hinting that something else had happened. “Listen to me, I don’t know how you rescued him or when, but the entire hotel is on silent alert. There are guards everywhere, posing as employees and witnesses. I think he knows you’ve rescued my son.”
“No matter how this last meeting goes, I won’t rest until Maverick is permanently removed from the High Table and stripped of his position as Alpha,” I promised her, infusing as much courage as I could into my words.
The door opened again, letting in Sebastian and Williams. While I wasn’t surprised to see Williams flash me a grin and a wink, I was surprised to feel a distinct lack of anger radiating from Sebastian.
“What is that look for, Sophia?” Sebastian drawled once we locked eyes. His blue and brown eyes mirrored my own, as did his chestnut hair and full eyebrows. The corners of his lips twitched slightly as he continued, “You know I have a mate as well, right? I understand the lengths one would go to for such a person.”
I didn’t know what to say, feeling uncomfortable as a strange sensation ran through me. Sebastian would never be father of the year, but he had left his mate and daughter to help me. Even if for selfish reasons, he had stuck with me thus far.
“Maverick Billford claims there’s been a breach in hotel security and that one or more intruders may be in the building. It’s clearly a coverup, disguising the fact that his captive has been rescued,” Sebastian told Kieran and me, his eyes flitting to where Ethan lay. “While I’ll never be fond of my daughter being in danger, I realize she wasn’t given these abilities to live an ordinary life. I expect you to protect her at all costs, but I am relieved to see your brother is alive.”
I could feel how those words pained him, but once spoken, a flicker of respect ignited in Kieran’s eyes.
“Sophia.”
It felt like months since I had heard Ethan’s voice, and every muscle in my body reacted at the sound. I turned so fast I nearly stumbled into the coffee table. My knees hit the plush carpet, and my hands held the sides of his face. His stubble brushed my palms, and his eyes fluttered as he mumbled my name again and again.
“He’s going to be awake soon,” I told everyone in the room, not bothering to look away from Ethan. His brows furrowed, but relaxed as I trailed my fingers through his hair. “We can’t leave- not yet.”
“The final meeting’s been moved up, Sophia,” Williams said, frowning as I whipped my head around to stare at him. “We’ve got only twenty minutes to arrive before we’re counted as late.”
“He’s getting everyone together, possibly trying to flush us out,” Kieran grimaced, giving his unconscious brother a long look. “It’s not safe to leave him here. Not when Maverick can send a squad to take him back.”
A knock at the door captured everyone’s attention. The pattern was once, then twice, then a rapid succession of taps that sounded almost like a song.
“Expecting someone?” Sebastian asked, narrowing his eyes at the door. He walked over to the peephole and glanced out before turning to Kieran and me with a look of confusion. “It’s a girl, her hair is-purple?”
“It’s Eve! Let her in,” I snorted at Sebastian’s bewildered comment.
As soon as Sebastian unlocked the door, Eve stormed in. Her tangled headphones skidded across the carpet as she practically ran inside. After brushing several purple strands from her forehead, she cocked an eyebrow at all of us.
“Um, hello. Were you trying to get me caught?” Eve scoffed, placing her black-painted nails against her chest. “Seriously, I’m the one doing you a favor. I’m not the one who wants to babysit a kidnapped Alpha with a narcotics addiction. Consider that next time you keep me waiting in the hall for eons.”
“There is so much to unpack with that,” Kat sighed, sitting down on the couch beside Ethan’s slumbering form.
“You know this wolf?” Sebastian asked snidely, giving Eve a look that she returned with interest.
“Duh, she knows me. She wouldn’t have let me in if she didn’t,” Eve sighed, rolling her eyes before glancing down at Ethan. “So-is he gonna be all comatose all day, or am I gonna have someone to talk to?”
“What are you talking about, Eve?” I asked, utterly clueless.
“What do you mean, what am I talking about?” she retorted, clearly in a mood. “Zack asked if I could babysit your beefy mate while he’s drugged up, so you could go figure out if the witless five are going to let you live past sundown.”
“He never told us that,” I frowned, turning to Kieran. “Did he send us a note?”
“Not that I or any of the guards have received,” he replied, looking just as troubled.
“Take it up with him next time you meet, but I’m here now. Let me do what I came here to do,” Eve insisted, already beginning to untangle her indestructible headphones. “Besides, it’s not like you couldn’t use the help.”
“Is there a reason you’re particularly snarky today?” Kat asked, bold as always. There was no malice in her eyes, just amused curiosity.
“All the employees are busy with this stupid meeting,” Eve huffed. Her eyes widened as she realized what she said. “Not that your life isn’t important, but do they really have to vote on it? Anyway, Zack failed to mention there would be no one escorting me through the employee areas up to your suite. So, I was stuck hiding under a food cart until they dropped me off at this floor. Do you know what’s in the bottom of a food cart? Old, disgusting food.”
“There’s a shower and spare clothes if you want to wash up,” I offered, grateful for Zack’s help even if I refused to trust him completely.
“Are you sure you trust her to watch Ethan?” the twins’ mom asked, worried about her son.
Eve looked at me, waiting for my answer. I didn’t exactly trust Eve, and I think she knew that, but she would gain nothing by harming Kieran. Our kind were being enslaved, used as weapons by cruel Alphas with severe superiority complexes. Even though we didn’t trust each other, we knew we were on the same side.
“She’ll keep him safe,” I promised their mom, hoping she could see the confidence in my eyes.
Fifteen minutes later, all of us except Eve and Ethan left for our final meeting with the High Table. I left Ethan a note, pinned to the coffee table by a bottle of water.