didn’t get up. Her gaze flickered to Dad, looking for a change. Her mouth pressed into a thin line when she realized there was none.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I admitted regretfully. I knew sleep was hard for her, and I hated that I had disturbed it. But after the challenge Lodge had lobbed at me, I needed to see my dad.
I needed to remember why I was doing this instead of packing a bag and tearing the world apart to find Skye.
Her dark eyes, identical to mine, sharpened with intuition. “What happened at the council meeting?”
I dropped into the vacant chair on the other side of the bed. “Lodge challenged me for the pack.”
“Dammit,” she hissed, looking away. “I really hoped he might give this family a minute to breathe without being a prick.”
“He’s worried about the pack.” I shrugged indifferently, trying not to take it personally. Part of being an Alpha was being able to separate personal emotions from what was best for the whole pack, but I still felt the sting of his accusations. “They all are.”
“Lodge has always coveted the title of Alpha,” Mom told me with a frown, “but he has no idea what it is to lead. To sacrifice.”
My jaw clenched as I ground my molars.
Dad had definitely sacrificed.
“Any word?” Her words pulled me back to the moment. She didn’t have to elaborate. I knew who she was talking about.
And it killed me to shake my head.
“Honey, we’ll find her.” Mom gave me a tight smile full of grit and determination. “Skye is a fighter.”
“I know.”
I did know that.
It killed me that she had been forced to become that fighter; the hell she had endured as a kid was enough shit that it would have made any adult crack under the pressure.
But not Skye.
Which was why I knew my girl was out there, fighting just as hard to get to me as I was to get to her. It just didn’t make my current reality any better.
“When is the challenge?” Mom asked with a sigh.
“Tonight.”
I could have delayed it for a few days under the guise of giving us both time to prepare, but I wanted this over and behind me. I needed our pack all ready to do their part so I set up the challenge for tonight at sundown.
Mom nodded, her eyes moving again to Dad before turning back to me. “Any word on other survivors?”
I shook my head slowly. “No. They’ve found a few more bodies, but it’s a mess.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, unable to stop the memories of seeing body parts and dead eyes when I closed my eyes.
“How’s Dante?”
“Not great. Luke’s dead and Tate’s missing. At least Ryder is on his way here, so that’s something.” I felt for my friend. He was going through hell.
“You think Tate is with Skye?” she inquired softly.
I nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. But Mom,” I swallowed hard, “Skye’s uncle wasn’t found either. If she’s with him …”
“You can’t think like that,” she told me fiercely, her dark eyes flashing. “You’ll go crazy wondering what if, sweetheart. Focus on what you can control here and now. You said Damien made it out before the explosion?”
“Yeah.”
“And Linden is aligned with Norwood?” she pressed.
I nodded once more.
“Then there’s a chance Skye is with Norwood, or that they know where she is,” Mom mused thoughtfully. “Damien is an asshole, but he isn’t an idiot. He knows what she means to you, to us. She’s too valuable for him to hurt.”
A sick feeling slithered into my gut. “What if he asks for something I can’t give?”
Mom’s gaze sharpened, her chin lifted a notch. “Skye is one of us. Remember you have an entire pack behind you, Remy, and so does she. There isn’t a person in our pack that won’t follow you into hell to bring her back.”
“Guess it helps that Dante agreed to join us,” I said, trying to move past the sudden lump of emotion strangling me.
“He’s giving up his pack?” Mom blinked in surprise.
“The best thing for us is to join forces. We’re going to approach other packs about joining us, too. If Damien Valois is building an army, then we are, too.”
Mom released a long breath. “I always knew one day this feud between our packs would turn into a war. So did your father. But we never expected it to fall on your shoulders, honey.”