Remy and I exchanged a look as Dimitri growled in her wake.
“They have a complicated relationship,” Nikolai murmured behind us.
I shot him a glance over my shoulder. “Clearly.”
Lulu made it up the stairs and slowly pushed open the front door. Before she could step inside, Dimitri shouldered her out of the way and went in first.
“Very complicated,” Remy whispered for my ears only.
We all filled the small lobby inside the entrance, pausing in front of the locked gate that separated the lobby from a long corridor.
“If I may?” Elias asked, slipping between us and approaching the gate. He laid his palm on the scanner beside the door and a second later it clicked open.
“Where is everyone?” Remy demanded, looking around.
“Top floor is research,” Elias said quietly. “If your elemental is here, that’s where he’ll be.”
“I’m going,” Lulu said sharply, starting towards the stairwell.
“Would you wait a damn minute?” Dimitri snapped, grabbing her wrist. He immediately dropped her arm with a hiss, moving back.
“Touch me again and I’ll fry your whole arm,” Lulu said coldly.
“Everyone calm down,” Remy ordered, stepping between them. “We need to split up and take sections.”
“I’m the elemental, so I’m going to the top floor,” Lulu insisted.
“I agree, but you shouldn’t go alone,” Remy shot back. “Nikolai, why don’t you go with her?”
My father nodded, giving Dimitri a look before moving to Lulu’s side.
“I’ll go, too,” I offered, joining them.
Remy’s lips thinned for a second, clearly not liking me going anywhere without him.
“Alexei, can you have your men cover the exits? Just in case?” Remy turned to the still naked shifter.
“Of course,” he replied, clearly not bothered by his nudity. He turned to go give them Remy’s order, shifting as he headed back outside.
“What else are we looking at?” Remy looked at Elias, brows raised.
“The main level is mostly offices,” Elias stammered. “Second floor is where the younger girls were. And the nursery.”
My eyes slid shut for a second. They had a fucking nursery here.
Every time I heard it, anger surged in my veins again. Who would agree to giving up their baby?
“Third floor is where the women are,” he finished quickly.
“And the others not chosen for Damien’s fucked up mate assignments?” Dante folded his arms across his chest and glared at Elias.
Elias looked down. “There’s a door to the basement level across the courtyard. I was never permitted to go in there. Damien said it was for storage.”
“And you just took his word for it,” Tate scoffed darkly.
“I realize now how truly misguided he was,” Elias added.
“You didn’t realize that when he set up a nursery to take children from their mothers?” Rhodes chimed in, shaking his head.
Elias actually looked affronted. “These children were not taken from their mothers; they were given to the pack at birth for the Alpha to find them the best suitable match.”
“Tell that to Kit and Jayla,” I muttered. “Or Maren.”
Elias frowned at me. “Damien made a gross misstep when he started abducting young girls, but our pack has left mate pairings up to the Alpha for generations.”
“Still doesn’t make it right,” I snapped.
He started to turn away with a sigh of annoyance. “According to you. This is how our pack has operated for generations.”
“And the girls in the basement? Was that just for funsies?” I shot back, irritation spiking.
“I told you that I didn’t know—”
“Okay, enough!” Remy’s voice cut through all the dissent. “This isn’t solving anything. Right now we need to focus on freeing the women and children locked up in here. We’ll break into teams, and everyone will meet back here in thirty minutes. Got it?”
When we all nodded in agreement, he broke us into groups.
“Hey.” Remy grabbed my hand before I could go upstairs.
“I know,” I said with a tired smile. “Be safe, no risks, yell if I need help.”
He rolled his eyes. “You forgot one thing.”
“I did?”
He kissed me hard and fast. “I love you.”
“Love you,” I murmured, turning and jogging up the stairs with my father and Lulu. I was winded by the time we reached the fourth floor landing.
“Stay behind me,” Lulu told us as she opened the door to the fourth floor.
“If you insist,” I mumbled, closing the door gently behind us.
We walked silently through the hallway, checking inside doorways. I was shocked to find a few surgical rooms scattered amongst the offices and rooms full of filing cabinets.
We turned the last corner in the hall and froze as one when something dropped in a room ahead of us.