Danny chuckled, coming up behind Tyler. “She would’ve been hard-pressed to do any damage with that angel around. I’ve never seen the likes of him in my entire life. Glad it was a success.” He gave me a quick hug.
“I am too.”
“I’m sorry we got lost. The cabbie didn’t speak any bloody English,” he groused. “And I might’ve misheard the name of the city when Tyler told me on the phone, as I was distracted.” He beamed at Naomi. “But we’re here, alive and well, albeit late.”
“No problem. Come on in,” I said. “Dad’s trying to get a hold of James right now so we can see where they’re at. We’re going to need to head back to the Compound soon.”
Before I could follow the group back into the house, Kayla grabbed my elbow. “I just wanted to say thank you,” she said as happiness radiated from her. “Jax is all I have left in this world, and if something had happened to him, I don’t know what I would’ve done. You stayed true to your word, and you have my loyalty for it.”
“I appreciate that, Kayla,” I told her, settling my arm around her shoulders as we walked inside. “We are happy to have you guys as part of this team. I meant what I said to Jax. You are welcome to stay with us as long as you like. There will always be a place for you here. And we will continue to do everything in our power to protect Jax from the gargoyles who want to force him to be a part of their pack. I’ll be able to facilitate that better once I take my seat on the Coalition. From that position, I will instruct them to back off permanently.”
“That would be outstanding,” she said. “I hope they listen. From what I understand they stick to themselves and don’t follow any conventional rules. But I’m confident that, between all of us, we will be able to keep my brother safe.”
My father paced in from another room, looking distressed.
“What is it?” I asked, concerned, pulling out a chair and taking a seat at the table.
“James isn’t answering,” he said.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Maybe he’s tied up with something.” There were only two reasons James wouldn’t answer my father—he was either incapacitated, or Marcy was injured and he was trying to help her.
Either scenario didn’t bode well for us.
“I’m sure,” he answered. “I commanded he answer me, and all I got in response was silence.”
I glanced at Rourke, who had taken a seat beside me. “Have you tried the Pack phone? Nick and Lucas should be at the Compound keeping an eye out.”
He nodded, setting the phone on the table in front of him. “I just tried, and no one picked up.”
As we stared at the phone, it rang.
Rourke grabbed it and handed it to me to answer.
“Nick?”
“It’s me,” he said, sounding out of breath. “Jessica, where are you? Things are falling apart here. Ray went missing first. Now we can’t find James or Marcy.”
His voice held a strange echo. “Where are you?”
“Lucas and I are in an abandoned shed near the edge of the Compound, trying to stay out of sight. Ray took James and Marcy to the bunker this morning. There was a small explosion of some kind a few miles away, so Ray went to investigate. He never came back. James wanted to go search for him alone, but Marcy wouldn’t hear of it. They went together and didn’t come back. Lucas and I have been trying to figure out what’s going on. For a supernatural to have that much strength—to take all three of them—makes me think that maybe Ceres and Julian aren’t working entirely alone. Ray mentioned a strange power signature nearby. Not sure if we should go and check it out or not. We’ve been waiting to hear from you.”
“We can leave here in five minutes. Don’t go near the bunker for now,” I told him. “If you can, have Lucas reach out to any of Julian’s wolves who he thinks are willing to defect. When the Alphas come face-to-face, there will be a challenge. If Julian has an ounce of respect left inside him, he will fight. My father will win, and Julian’s wolves will be accountable to him.”
I heard Lucas in the background say, “Will do. There will be more than a few who are willing to defect.”
“Is Eudoxia around? Does she know what’s going on?” I asked Nick.
“We haven’t seen her, so I’m assuming she’s not here. There was quite a bit of commotion. I would think she would’ve come out to investigate if she’d heard.”
“Leave it to her to be a no-show when we need her most,” I muttered. “We’ll be there soon. Hang tight.” I punched off the phone and stood, addressing my father. “There’s no doubt Julian and Ceres are in this together. They’ve kidnapped Ray, James, and Marcy. My guess is that since Julian and Ceres’s plans have fallen through, and they haven’t been able to kill Tally and grab the power, they will try to ransom them to us for immunity.”
“That’s not going to happen,” my father said as he pushed up from his chair, his voice tight. “If you act aggressively toward me or mine, you’re going to pay the price. This is not a time for us to show weakness. I want the supernatural community to know how strong you are—we are—together. Once you take your vows, I want any and all uprisings to be halted in their tracks. Supernaturals around the world need to understand who’s in charge.”
I nodded as we moved toward the door. “I agree. If we’re easy on them now, the supernatural community will take notice. We go in with force, rescue our friends, and move forward in strength.”
“If Julian forces your hand,” Rourke said to my father, “we will have to figure out the logistics of what you being the Alpha of the Mediterranean Pack means.”
“I’ve thought about that,” my father admitted as he ran a hand through his hair. “I won’t be able to linger in Europe past the coronation. It will be too confusing for the wolves, and I have too much to deal with back home as it is.” He looked directly at me. “But I think you need to stay in Italy. At least for a while. I’ll name Tyler temporary Alpha of the Mediterranean Pack in my stead, and he can run things here. Having an Italian wolf as a second, if there is one strong enough, should quell things for a while. Once things quiet down, we can reassess.”