“Shit,” he hissed.
Sensing his rising tension, Willow rested her hand on Declan’s arm and squeezed it. Brian’s eyebrows rose, but he refrained from saying anything as Declan relaxed. Ronan and Nathan’s gazes fell to her hand when they entered the barn.
“What about the others who were in the woods with us?” she asked.
“After you two went over the waterfall, they searched for you but couldn’t find you. They did find the bodies of the others, though,” Nathan said. “They brought them back, and we buried them at the compound.”
“None of the others survived?” she croaked.
“No, but we have you.”
Willow didn’t know what to say, and she welcomed Nathan’s hug as Ronan and Declan clasped hands and embraced. “It’s good to see you again,” Ronan said.
“You too,” Declan said as he squeezed his friend before releasing him.
“Where are Abby and Vicky?” Willow asked.
“Waiting with Kadence by the first SUV,” Nathan said. “They’ll be happy to see you.”
“I would be happier to see them if it was at the compound where they belong,” she retorted.
Nathan laughed as he released her. “We tried to get them to stay behind, but they’re stubborn. It runs in the family,” he said with a pointed look at her.
Willow scowled. “They’re idiots.”
“You can tell them that,” Brian said. “I much prefer not to have to sleep with one eye open.”
“Oh, believe me, I’ll let them know.”
“What happened out there?” Ronan asked.
Willow stopped scowling out the door as she turned her attention to the leader of the Alliance. She’d always respected the king, but having learned more about Declan and Ronan’s relationship, she had a whole new level of admiration for him.
He could have saved himself the trouble and worry with Declan by killing him, but instead, he rescued Declan from his father and himself. He’d helped forge him into the man she was proud to call her mate.
“It will take some time to fill you in, but we have a town to check on and a weapon the likes of which you’ve never seen before,” Declan said.
Their eyes fell on the sword in Willow’s hand when Declan waved at it. Her grip tightened on the hilt. Once they learned what it could do, they would take it from her. With the power it possessed, it belonged in the hands of the king, but she did not want to let it go.
“I’ve seen a sword before,” Nathan said.
“You haven’t seen anything like what this one can do,” Declan assured him.
“What makes it so different?” Brian asked.
When Willow held up the sword, she admired the way the sun shone off the blade and illuminated the beautiful, unearthly gem. “It turns whoever it stabs to ash.”
Brian’s snort of laughter faded when he saw the look on her face. “You’re not kidding?”
“I’m not kidding. And you don’t have to stab them in the heart to kill them, so I’d be nicer to me if I were you.”
“You’re the one who’s always been the asshole.”
Willow chuckled; she really had enjoyed aggravating him over the years. “Yeah, I am.”
Ronan rubbed his chin as he studied the weapon. “I can’t wait to see what it can do.”
CHAPTER 52
After Willow and her sisters finished hugging and yelling at each other for getting involved in this mess, they cried and hugged each other again while everyone else stood awkwardly around and listened to them blather. When they finished, Vicky handed Willow her phone so that she could call her parents. She cried some more when her mother started sobbing on the other end.
Declan stood beside her while they talked, and when she got off the phone, he opened his arms to her. She went into them and hugged him as she tried to shut out the memory of her mom’s tears. She’d planned to keep their relationship strictly business when they were around other members of the Alliance, but she required his soothing presence after hearing her mom’s distress.
She hated what her parents went through, but she knew the risks when she joined the Alliance and the impact it would have on her family if something happened to her. She never wanted her parents to go through this again, but she was more determined than ever to destroy the Savages and demons who were becoming a blight on their planet.
Abby handed her some clothes, and Ronan produced clothes for Declan. They changed in the barn, and when she reemerged, Willow felt halfway normal again. A long, hot shower and a bed would help get her closer to normal, but those would have to wait.
“We have to go,” Ronan said when they rejoined him and the others by the SUV.
When Declan reluctantly released Willow, Abby and Vicky grabbed her again. Willow’s shoulders scrunched up, and her breath was forced from her lungs when the identical twins crushed her between them. They were about four inches shorter than her, and the whole thing looked comical as Willow shot him a pleading look, but love shone in her eyes.
Vicky clasped Willow’s hand and dragged her to the SUV. “You have to tell us everything that happened.”
Three more vehicles were parked behind the SUV, and Saxon, Asher, and Logan came forward to embrace Declan. While Saber and some other members of the Alliance remained spread out around the vehicles with their attention riveted on the woods.
“It’s good to see you,” Saxon said.
“You too,” Declan said as he clapped his friend on the back.
“Always getting yourself into trouble.”
Declan smiled at him. “Far less than you, my friend.”
“Did you see any sign of Lucien?”
Declan rested his hand on top of the vehicle as Willow and her sisters climbed into the back. She slid the sword under the seat in front of her and smiled at him when she sat back.
“No,” Declan said. “Where’s Killean?”
“He and Simone are leading a small search group for Lucien,” Ronan said before climbing behind the wheel. “Let’s go.”
Logan clasped Declan’s shoulder and squeezed it. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“So am I,” Declan said.
Declan swung himself into the vehicle and onto the seat in front of Willow. Kadence settled on the passenger seat while Nathan and Brian sat next to him.
“Where to?” Ronan asked.
“A town called Culver,” Declan said. “We hid there for a couple of days, and there was a family who tried to help us. The town was crawling with Savages the last time we were there.”
Ronan’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel as Kadence leaned over and started punching something into the GPS in the center of the console. Willow leaned forward to rest her hand on Declan’s shoulder; he clasped it before kissing her fingers.
Tomorrow, she would be nothing but professional around him when they were around the others. Even though the color was easing from him again, his shoulders remained rigid.
When Ronan shifted the vehicle into reverse, Declan released her hand, and she sat back. Then she leaned forward and bent down to reassure herself the sword was safe. The cool metal—or whatever forged the blade—against her fingers made her sigh.
Releasing the blade, she sat back again. She ignored the pointed looks of her sisters as they gazed between her and Declan. They gave her identical “spill the beans” looks.
Willow had no intention of spilling those beans until they were alone; it was a bonus that her silence would drive her older sisters crazy until then. She grinned at them and assumed an innocent expression as she clasped her hands demurely in her lap.
When Vicky leaned over to pull down her shirt, she exposed Declan’s bite marks and pointed it out to Abby, who leaned across her. Willow slapped Vicky’s hand away and glowered at her.
Vicky ignored Willow’s warning look as Abby grasped the other side of her shirt and pulled it down to reveal more marks. Her sisters giggled as Abby pointed to the bites and Willow slapped her hand away.
And right now, she’d like to kill them both as she slapped at their hands again, and Vicky playfully slapped her back. When Willow glared at her, Vicky covered her mouth to stifle her giggles before Abby threw her arms around her and hugged her again.
Willow’s murderous impulses faded when Abby’s arms cinched around her neck, and Vicky hugged her waist. They could drive a saint insane, but she loved them dearly. She clasped Abby’s arm as she rested her head against Vicky’s and closed her eyes.
“What do we do about Lucien?” Declan asked.
“We’re going to keep searching for him,” Ronan said. “But we’ve moved the women and children out of the compound.”
Declan turned his attention to the passing roadside. Not only had they lost one of their brothers, but he could inflict a lot of damage on them if the Savages did have him and they succeeded in turning him.
“Where are they?” he asked.
“We purchased an island off the coast. It’s small, and there’s only a couple of houses on it from the family who owned it before the Alliance. They’re going to be cramped, but it’s safe, and Lucien has no idea we own it. Some members of the Alliance are already over there standing guard and building shelters. Over time, we’ll either build it up or bring them home, but until we learn what happened to Lucien, they can’t be at the compound,” Ronan said.
“Are we staying on the island too?”
“No. If they succeed in turning Lucien into a Savage and he comes for us, we’ll be at the compound waiting for him.”
Declan couldn’t think about what would happen then. A fight to the death against one of their own was not something he was looking forward to, especially since Lucien never would have chosen such a fate.
Maybe there was a chance they could pull Lucien back if he turned into a Savage. Killean had killed and managed not to give in to his more nefarious side. However, he also had Simone to guide him back, and Killean still battled the effect taking a human life had on him. Occasionally, before leaving for Mexico, Declan would see him wandering the grounds at night and feel the war he waged within himself, but it happened far less often than five years ago.
Declan shifted his attention to the window as trees flashed past it. He couldn’t think of many things worse than Lucien arriving with a horde of Savages. Lucien could be a giant asshole, but beneath his rough exterior was the strong, caring soul of someone who had endured a lot.
This wasn’t like when he’d believed he could save his father. His father had given in and embraced his nature, Lucien would continue to fight what the Savages did to him for as long as possible. Lucien was a warrior, and Declan retained the hope he would fight his way out of whatever he was involved with… if he was still alive.
“Where’s Wyatt?” Willow asked as she pulled away from her sisters. “Is he on the island too?”
“No,” Vicky said. “He’s at Mom and Dad’s being spoiled rotten and playing with his cousins.”
“Good.”
“Are we sure we want to check out Culver now?” Nathan asked.
“Yes,” Willow said. “Those people are defenseless, and we’re the ones who put them in a really shitty situation. We have to help them if we can.”
“I’m all for helping them,” Nathan said. “I didn’t know if we should wait for more backup.”
Declan glanced at the SUVs following them. “It’s daytime, and I suspect most of the Savages left town when we escaped. We’re more likely to run into them out here than we are in Culver.”
“Happy thoughts,” Vicky said.
When Declan turned to look at Willow, she smiled at him, but with his empathic ability, she doubted her smile fooled him. “Do you think Gus and his family are okay?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said, unwilling to lie to her.
Willow nodded and bit her lips as she turned her attention to the farms, fields, and woods they passed.
“What happened out there?” Ronan asked.
Willow clasped her sister’s hands as she told them about the Savages rushing out of the tunnel and how Lucien ordered the rest of them to run while he stayed to fight them. She didn’t require Declan’s empathic ability to feel the tension ratcheting up in the vehicle. Lucien was their friend, their brother, and there was an excellent chance those bastards either killed or destroyed him.
She recalled her time in the woods and the tree until the waterfall. Declan took over from there. When he finished speaking, the hum of the tires against the asphalt was the only sound in the vehicle.
After a few minutes, Declan broke the silence. “A turned hunter named Derrick was leading this group of Savages.”
Kadence turned in the passenger seat to face her brother, and Nathan stiffened as they exchanged a look.
“Do you know him?” Ronan asked.
“When some of the other hunters decided to split off from us instead of joining the Alliance, Derrick went with them,” Nathan said.
“He was really opinionated,” Kadence said.
“But he wasn’t a bad guy; he was more annoying. Asher and Logan said they thought they saw him by the waterfall but couldn’t be sure. He disappeared pretty quick.”
“That’s because he was hunting us,” Willow muttered.
“What was he opinionated about?” Ronan prompted.
“The way things were done, and he definitely wasn’t on board for the Alliance,” Nathan said. “He was older than me, and he didn’t like getting orders from someone who, he believed, still required a lot more training before becoming a leader.”
“Well, he may not have been anything more than an annoying, opinionated, know-it-all before, but he’s a major asshole now,” Willow said. “And he enjoys torturing and killing.”
“That he does,” Declan agreed. “He’s also really good at tracking things, mainly us.”
“Tracking was his specialty,” Nathan said. “He spent years honing his craft.”
“He was very successful at perfecting it. The demons are also looking to breed with a purebred vampire woman,” Declan said and filled them in on what Derrick said to Willow.
Willow rubbed her arms as the reminder of Derrick’s words caused a chill to run through her. Vicky and Abby hugged her again. She knew they were all thinking about how bad her life could be right now if things had gone differently.
“That’s great; we needed another complication. Things were starting to get boring,” Nathan said sarcastically when Declan finished speaking.
Willow chuckled as she rested her head against the seat. The hum of the tires, the warmth of the vehicle, and the feeling of safety caused her exhaustion to rear its ugly head.
She resisted the pull of sleep but lost the battle and woke as the sign for Culver came into view. The roadblock was gone. She didn’t know how to take that; was it a good sign or a bad one?
They had no idea what they were driving into, and she’d never dreaded anything more in her life.
CHAPTER 53
A knot formed in Willow’s stomach as she stared at the front of Gus’s house. At first, the neighbors who were outside glanced curiously at them, but when more SUVs pulled up on the street, they openly stared. Willow ignored their gawking looks as she focused on the unlit house. It was midmorning; there was no reason for lights to be on inside, but she wished for some sign of life from the home.
There was none.
Had the Savages somehow figured out this was where they hid? Did they learn Gus was the one who took them from the woods?
As they’d driven through it, the rest of the town was as she recalled with people walking the streets, mowing their lawns, or sitting on their porches while they sipped drinks and watched their neighbors. Today the roads were busier than the last time they drove through the town and Vicky informed
her it was Saturday.
Culver was still the suburban ideal it was before monsters roamed the streets days ago. However, those monsters most likely retained control of some, if not all, the minds in this town. Willow forced herself not to gulp at the possibility they were being watched by a bunch of Savage-controlled automatons right now.
When one man rose from his porch swing and returned to his house, the hair on Willow’s nape rose. Was he going to call the Savages who controlled his mind, or was he refilling his drink?
All around her, doors opened and closed as the other members of the Alliance exited their vehicles. They probably all looked like members of the mob or FBI with their black SUVs and the fact most of them wore black.
Although, from what she knew about the FBI, they wore suits and ties. But then, most of her FBI knowledge came from watching Supernatural, so she didn’t consider herself an expert on the subject.
Declan also sported jeans, boots, and a black shirt. Willow was almost the same, except Abby had given her a dark blue shirt instead of a black one. Her jacket was gone, and his was ruined, so they both had stakes tucked discreetly into their waistbands. He’d removed his sword and left it in the vehicle before exiting.
Between the six vehicles, there was a total of thirty of them, and they were all gathering around Ronan.
“We can’t go straight to Gus’s door,” Willow said.
“We’re going to spread out and go to a lot of doors,” Ronan replied. “We’ll find out what these people know.”
“I doubt it’s much,” Declan said. “The Savages would have covered their asses before leaving here.”
“Yes, they would, but because there are so many people, they may have missed something or messed up. Someone here might know one minuscule detail that could help us get a lead on Lucien. Now, spread out, but stay in pairs as you go to each house,” Ronan commanded.
Willow watched as they all spread out down the street. Her sisters waved to her before crossing the road with their mates to start on the houses over there. When Vicky waved to an older man and practically skipped up the porch steps to him, Willow turned away. She didn’t envy Nathan at all.
Bound by Torment (The Alliance, Book 5) Page 28