Setting Boundaries (The Boundaries Series Book 2)

by Eva Harper

  Two cars were waiting outside, one with the driver door left open and the other with all the doors closed. Rush opened the back door of the first car and helped Emily inside. He held my door open as well and lifted me inside, buckling my seatbelt and kissing the side of my forehead.

  The other car followed us back to our packhouse, which took about an hour and a half. Emily remained quiet for the entirety of the trip while I told Rush what happened.

  At the mention of Kenna’s name, his hand clenched the steering wheel. I glanced down, still confused about how someone I was once so close with could betray me. I knew she was angry about the day her father was killed, and I had regrets about how absentminded I had been. I wasn’t attentive to her needs, and I allowed myself to be swept up in something that took my mind off of the current situation.

  It wasn’t right, but it didn’t warrant her helping humans kidnap the other Lunas and myself. A loud honk of the horn brought me back to the present as Rush’s hand slammed down on it angrily.

  “Hey,” I called softly, reaching over to pull his hand off the center of the wheel. “There’s nothing we can do until we question her.”

  “I mind-linked Casey, she’s in the dungeon.”

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  We didn’t talk much after that. We got home in the late evening when the sun was just beginning to lower behind the house. Emily climbed out hesitantly and scurried to my side. Rush walked next to us quietly.

  Cordelia and Hollis were waiting anxiously in the main room for us. When we entered, Cordelia immediately ran up and embraced Rush, stroking the back of his head. “Oh, thank heavens, you both are alright.” She released Rush and patted my shoulder. “I thought he would never stop crying.”

  “Mom,” Rush snarled, red-faced and embarrassed.

  “It’s true.” Hollis smirked.

  “I’m just happy you’re okay.” Cordelia pursed her lips, smoothing her hair. Her eyes caught the sight of Emily behind me. “And who is this? Let’s get you cleaned up. That lip looks horrible.”

  Cordelia took Emily under her arm and whisked her away, promising to get her cleaned up and presentable. Hollis followed lamely behind them.

  “Come on.” Rush grinned, his lip hitching higher on one side. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  “Not yet.” I stepped away from him. “First, I need to talk to Kenna.”

  “We can talk to her tomorrow,” he promised, placing his arm around me.

  “No, I need to see her now,” I shot out. “She put our child in danger.”

  “I know that.” He nodded. “But, she’ll still be down there tomorrow.”

  “Not good enough.” I stalked off towards the basement corridor.

  “Sloane, just wait,” Rush called. I could tell he wanted to grab me, but my quick movements, coupled with the frail look of my body, stopped him. I held onto the railing tightly as I descended the stairs, intent on getting to Kenna.

  Two long staircases winded down to a dark hallway. Two Guards operated the door that was promptly opened for us. I had never been down to the dungeons, but I knew where they were in the house. Rush hovered behind me, impatiently trying to get me to stop walking forward.

  Kenna was sitting cross-legged in the middle of a cell, three down from the entrance. Casey sat on the ground outside the cell, resting his back against the wall; his arms were crossed over his chest, and he looked exhausted. He stood up quickly when he saw us. Kenna didn’t move when we came up to her cell, she kept her head down, with a proud look on herself.

  “Kenna,” I called, fighting down the urge to open the cell door. “Look at me.”

  Her head struggled against the authoritative tone of my voice.

  “Now!” Her head snapped up despite her strong will. “Tell me why you were working with them.”

  “That’s none of your business,” she spat.

  “Yes, it is.” She rolled her eyes. “Kenna, tell me now, or I will slit your throat in front of this entire pack.”

  She shuddered at my threat but kept her mouth shut. I turned around to Casey and grabbed the ring of keys from his hands roughly. His eyes widened in shock, and he stepped backward. I fiddled with the keys, searching for the one that unlocked Kenna’s cell.

  Rush took the keys from me, childishly holding them out of my reach far above his head. I growled and pushed his stomach lightly.

  “Sloane, what are you planning on doing?”

  “Getting my answers,” I snarled, sending a glare to Kenna, who fought hard to look brave.

  “And then what? We need her, if only as collateral,” he reasoned.

  “I don’t care, Rush.” He kept the keys above his head. “She could’ve killed our child.”

  His eyes softened at that accusation, and his arm slumped down a few inches. I tugged on his arm and grabbed the keys again, flinging the cell door open. Kenna scrambled to her feet, raising her arms in a fighting stance. Although her father and brother were Warriors, she knew hardly anything about fighting.

  I pushed her back roughly, grabbing her throat tightly in my right hand. “You will tell me why you are working with them,” I told her, whispering harshly in her face. Her face began to take on a light purple hue. “Now, or my grip will only get tighter.”

  “I won’t tell you,” she said brokenly, only able to breathe in a small amount. I pulled her head away from the wall only to slam it back against the cement harder. She groaned, scratching at my hand.

  “Sloane,” Rush called, shaking his head. “You can’t kill her. We need to know who she’s working with.”

  “Well, who can I kill then?” I shouted. “Someone needs to pay!”

  “I know,” he said sadly. His eyes shot to the cell beside Kenna for half a second, trying to hide it. I allowed Kenna to drop to the ground as I walked to the cell next to Kenna’s. Inside, a middle-aged man was sleeping on the floor. His face was weathered and sunken in; time had taken something from him.

  “Who is he?” I demanded.

  Rush refused to answer me.

  “Casey, who is this?”

  He snuck a look at Rush, who simply nodded, allowing him to answer. “He’s a hunter,” he told me, barely louder than a whisper. I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was in our cells. “It’s the hunter than killed Isla.”

  Deja Vu

  I turned slowly to Rush, who had his eyes locked on the ground.

  “You had the hunter that killed Isla down here, and you didn’t tell me?” I asked. The deadly tone of my voice made him shrink back. I took a step forward and shoved his shoulders. “You had him down here the entire time!”

  He grabbed my hands softly as I pushed him, and he held them tightly.

  “Sweetheart-”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Sloane,” he started again. “He hasn’t been here the entire time.”

  “Then, when?” I grabbed his shirt in my hands. “How long has he been here.”

  Rush looked down, closing his eyes to keep himself restrained. “Beckett found him three weeks after her funeral.”

  “He’s been here for months,” I ground out. “Months, Rush! I’ve been living under the same roof as my sister’s murderer for months, and you didn’t even have the decency to tell me.”

  “What would you have done?” he shot back suddenly.

  “I would’ve ripped his damn throat out!” I yelled loudly.

  “Exactly,” he said through his tight jaw. “And we wouldn’t have gotten all the information from him that we have now.”

  “Information is more important than justice for my family?”

  “In this case, yes.”

  I let go of his shirt, moving back from him, shaking my head.

  “Sloane, you’re exhausted. We’ll get you cleaned up, a hot meal in your stomach, and we can talk about this tomorrow.”

  “Do you think you can satisfy me with dinner and a shower?” I barked.

  Casey quietly sidestepped me and closed Kenna’s ce
ll. She continued to kneel on the ground, coughing and heaving.

  “Sloane,” Rush soothed.

  “How could you keep this from me?” I bellowed.

  “How could keep Hazel from me?” he yelled back, twice as loud. “You met with that human girl for weeks! You went to Harrison’s house, Sloane! Don’t act like you’re so innocent in this.”

  “I was protecting the pack,” I claimed, shoulders arching inwards at his attack.

  “I was protecting you!” His face grew red and angry.

  “I don’t need protecting,” I denied, shaking my head.

  “After Isla’s murder, you didn’t move for a week.” He stepped forward; I took a small step back. “I had to bathe you, feed you, brush your hair for you. You died a little bit that day, and I barely got you back.”

  “You had no right.” My lip wobbled.

  He stepped towards me again, and I stepped back until I hit the wall opposite the cells. “As your mate, I have every right to make decisions that prevent harm to you.” He stepped closer to my face, leaning down. I closed my eyes, and suddenly we were back in the forest; Rush was yelling at me for disobeying his orders when I first arrived.

  “I’m sorry,” I quaked, closing my eyes. “I won’t do it again.”

  “Do what again?” he asked, leaning back slightly.

  “I didn’t mean it,” I said again, looking around the room that had somehow become woods in my mind. I glanced frantically over his shoulder. The cold cells merged with the image of trees in my head. “Are the hunters gone?”

  “Sloane,” Rush breathed, stroking the side of my head. “You’re exhausted. I’m going to take you to bed.”

  “Are you hurt?” I asked, running my hands over the planes of his face. His eyes were confused and sad, and I wanted them to be the bright, happy, blue they were before.

  “I’m not hurt,” he told me, bending down to reach behind my knees. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

  “Okay.” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Are you tired? I can walk by myself.”

  “No.” The door to the dungeon opened for us. “I’m alright.”

  He walked up the stairs to the main floor, dodged the pack members in our way, and brought me up to our wing. The bedroom door was propped open, waiting for our arrival. I was set on the corner of the bed before Rush took my shoes off. I sunk into the abundance of pillows, relishing in the fluffy texture.

  “I’ll be right back,” he promised. “I’m going to get your water and something to eat.”

  “Okay,” I called weakly. I blinked my eyes, and it seemed like Rush was back, a glass of water and a bowl of soup in his hands.

  He allowed me to gulp most of the water down before he took the glass and set it on the nightstand. I snuggled back into the pillows, lazily opening my mouth. Rush blew on a spoonful of soup and tipped it into my mouth. After three more spoonful’s, my stomach ached, and I turned my head away.

  “Come on, love.” He blew on another spoonful. “Just a few more.”

  “No,” I moaned. “I can’t, it hurts.”

  He dejectedly put down the bowl of soup and pulled the blankets over my body. “Okay,” he relented. “Just go to sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  His words mushed in my brain, and I didn’t know when I fell asleep exactly. I woke up to the sound of different voices in our room. I squinted to see Rush and a woman wearing a white coat. Rush looked over as I moved and smiled.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” he greeted, sitting on the edge of the bed near me. He brushed my tangled hair away from me. “This is Viola, she’s a doctor. She’s great with the pups and moms, I asked her to take a look over you and our little peanut.”

  I nodded and rubbed my eyes before sitting up in bed.

  “It’s lovely to meet you, Luna.” Viola tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear. “I’m just going to do a quick check-up, a blood draw, and we’re going to get you on a diet to promote weight gain.”

  “Ugh,” I groaned, flinging the sheet off my legs.

  “I know.” She laughed slightly. “You probably already feel like you’ve been gaining weight, but your body needs a lot more calories now that you’re pregnant. This little pup will be ready to come out in about two and a half months, and they have a lot of growing to do in the meantime.”

  Viola palpated my abdomen and checked my body broadly. True to her word, she drew a small vial of blood from my arm and left me a grocery list of things I should be eating. Rush looked over the list and went down to the kitchen to get me breakfast. He returned with a plate of scrambled eggs, salmon, and whole-wheat toast.

  I finished the entire plate quickly, shocking both Rush and myself.

  “I’m happy that you’ve got an appetite,” he admitted, lying in bed next to me.

  “Me too,” I said, shoving the last bite of toast into my mouth. I licked the small amount of butter off my finger and wiped it on the leg of my pants.

  The shower I took after eating revitalized me; it made me feel like a person again. Rush still hovered over me for most of the day, waiting for my legs to collapse or for me to get out of breath climbing the stairs.

  I smiled secretively, loving the attention after so long without it.

  Emily was given a temporary room in our wing, equipped with her own bathroom and closet, features she gushed she never had before.

  After dinner, I sat down with Emily and Rush and proceeded to tell him Emily’s story. He was angry for a few minutes until I explained that she was abused by her family, the same people that were trying to hurt ours. I felt an instinct to protect her, be it my maternal hormones or the fact that I had been trapped in a cell for nearly a week, but I couldn’t leave her behind.

  Rush sat in silence, staring at Emily, whose eyes wandered around the room.

  “Fine,” he finally said. “She can stay.”

  “Thank you,” Emily cried. “I swear you won’t regret this. I’ll be invisible, you won’t even notice me.”

  Rush smiled, laughing at her panicky words. “I don’t want you to be invisible. You seem to be a good friend to Sloane, and after Kenna, she could really use another girl around here. I know she can’t be happy being surrounded by Beckett, Casey, and myself all the time.”

  I hugged Emily’s small waist as she cried happily.

  “What do we do about Harrison?” Rush’s voice broke up our sweet moment. Emily shivered at the sound of her father’s name.

  “Well,” I unwound myself from Emily. “What were we planning on doing before?”

  “Do we wait for him to make his move, or do we strike first?”

  “Knowing my father,” Emily interjected quietly. “He doesn’t wait for anyone. If he’s planning to do something, especially after I helped all of you escape, he’ll probably do it sooner than later.”

  Rush nodded thoughtfully and rested his chin on his fists.

  “How soon would you expect him to make his move?” I asked.

  She looked down, counting days in her head. “Honestly? I’m surprised he didn’t come when you were taken, and the pack was vulnerable.”

  “So, what does that mean?” I looked to Rush, who had stood up from his chair in the office, pacing back and forth.

  “It means he’s waiting for something,” he mumbled. “Something more important than your absence.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “I know as much as you do,” Rush said sassily. I rolled my eyes.

  “If I may.” Emily pushed her chair back and stood up. “They don’t know that I helped you escape. I disconnected the cameras before I came in; there would be no way to know if I was taken prisoner or if I helped you. Let me call him.”

  Rush and I both stiffened at her suggestion.

  “You want to call him?” I asked, more unsupportive than I intended to sound.

  “If I could convince him that you had me captive, I could maybe weasel some information out of him. Maybe he would tell me what his plan is.
”

  “Not now,” Rush said, leaning across his desk, looking at me. I scrunched my face in confusion. “Not until your stronger. Haz-Emily’s call could push him to attack us earlier, and I’m not having hunters on our land while you are still recovering.”

  “Okay.” Emily nodded, sitting back in her chair. “We can wait until the end of the week.”

  “Just a few days,” I warned, sitting back in my seat, gently tracing my protruding stomach. “That’s all I need.”

  Rush and Emily exchanged a glance at my stubbornness but nodded, nonetheless.

  “Alright,” Rush declared, clapping his hands together loudly. “We’ve finally got a plan.”

  Five Days

  “Daddy, please, you have to help me,” Emily pleaded over the phone. Rush and I sat silently next to her, biting our tongues. The five days to Sunday were long, and we were shaking in impatience.

  “Hazel, where are you?” his gruff voice answered.

  “Please, dad. They said they would hurt me,” she whispered again.

  “Hazel, you have to tell me where you are. I’m going to kill those mongrels.”

  Emily rolled her eyes. “I don’t know where I am. Are you coming to find me?”

  “Haz, we’ve been trying to find you for a whole week,” Harrison grunted. “Joel and Dean have been searching day and night. You have no idea where you are?”

  “No,” she responded. “I’m scared.”

  “Well, pull your panties up and figure something out,” he nearly shouted back. “We’re doing all we can, you’ve got to give us something.”

  Rush scribbled something on a piece of paper and pushed it over to Emily. She scanned it and pressed the phone to her ear again.

  “They keep talking about someone attacking. Daddy, are you coming to attack them?”

  “Hazel, we can’t just stop everything we’ve been working towards to come and get you. When this is all over, we’ll find you.”