In silence, the busted-up crew stood there watching everyone leave. Candace was cold and numb, shaking from head to toe. Was this what complete shock felt like?
“What about me?” Nox asked.
“What do you mean?” Torren said in an exhausted voice.
“Well, Damon’s out here granting wishes like a damn dragon-genie, you got hearing for your sister, Candace got all her debt paid off, and what am I? Chopped liver?”
Torren’s sigh tapered into a frustrated growl.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nox muttered, draping his arm over Nevada’s shoulder. “I already know what you’re going to say.” He dropped his voice low and mimicked Torren. “We just lost our alpha and you want to talk about why you didn’t get some life-changing gift.” Nox snorted and spun him and Nevada to head back toward the house.
“Where are you going?” Torren asked suspiciously.
Nox tossed the Manners & Shit book behind him, which landed in the snow near Candace’s feet.
“I’m gonna go plan a jailbreak. Even though no one will admit it yet, I’m the MVP of this stupid crew. Our alpha can’t rot in shifter prison for a year without his crew. He’ll go nuts and burn the world to the ground. Are you coming or not? I’m hungry for pasta and have devious deeds to plan. I need like seven beers. Today sucked balls. Speaking of sucking balls…” Nox’s voice became too hard to hear as he and Nevada made their way into the house, leaving Torren and Candace to stare after him dumbly.
Well…okay then.
Devious deeds and jailbreaks.
No one had ever accused them of being the good boys of Damon’s Mountains. And now they sure as hell weren’t the good boys of Vyr’s Mountains.
Chapter Thirteen
The lobby was full of shifters. The walls and tiles on the floor were the same sterile white, and every air molecule in this room was so saturated with dominance, Candace couldn’t breathe. And from the looks on the faces of some of the other inhabitants from Damon’s Mountains, they were feeling the heaviness, too.
Two months since Vyr had gone into the shifter prison.
Two months since the crew had been rocked to the core.
Two months since Torren had started doubling his effort to stay stable.
Two months since her mate had begun allowing only one Change a day.
Two months since they’d gone over everything Nox had been able to track down about the shifter prison and realized it was impenetrable.
Two months since they’d had to accept that their alpha had to stay the year.
Two months since Damon Daye had followed through on his promise to pay off her father’s debts.
Two months since she’d quit Jem’s and gotten a job bagging groceries at Essie’s Pantry.
Two months since she and Torren had begun saving money to fix up the sawmill.
Two months that felt like an eternity without Vyr around. Every one of the Sons of Beasts felt the loss. Felt the absence. Felt the hole in the crew. Even Candace’s tiger was harder to manage.
Two months since Torren had devoted himself completely to keeping her happy, and also Nox and Nevada, because he was determined to keep the crew together. He was now alpha until Vyr came back home and took the crown again.
Two months, and Damon Daye had paid for the rest of Genevieve’s cochlear implant surgery.
This had been the day they’d waited for.
Candace was pacing, her tiger restless around all these unfamiliar shifters.
“Everything is gonna be okay,” Torren’s father murmured with a kind smile. His leg shook in quick succession as he sat in the chair between his mate, Layla, and Torren. “No one will hurt you here. Everyone knows what you did for Vyr. For Torren, too.”
She huffed a laugh and shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get that day out of my head. Most days I still wish he would’ve run. I pulled my alpha back to earth and asked the crew to stifle his dragon. I took away his weapons.”
“To save him. You did a brave thing for your crew.” Kong’s chocolate brown eyes were soft and understanding. They were the same color as Torren’s now that he had more control over HavoK.
Would Vyr see her betrayal as a good thing, though? She thought not. Every second he spent in that place, she couldn’t help but feel it was partly her fault, no matter how much Torren comforted her.
“Come here,” Torren murmured, reaching for her from his chair. He hooked a finger in the belt loop of her jeans and tugged her gently toward him.
She gave in and sank onto his lap. They didn’t say anything. He just slid his hand up to her neck and gripped the back. He’d learned that was her button. That was what made her feel safe, his firm grip on her, holding her steady. Her cat purred softly, and a slow smile took Torren’s lips. He loved having this effect on her. She could tell. He pulled her against his chest and sipped her lips, then rested his forehead onto hers and said, “Today is a good day. One we’ve looked forward to. You’re okay. I’m okay. Nox and Nevada?” he asked, jerking his chin to where they sat cuddled against the wall near them. “They’re okay, too. Vyr is gonna be all right. He’s stronger than anyone I know, and he’s going to come back to us, and we won’t ever have to look over our shoulders ever again.”
“Swear?” she murmured.
“You trust me?”
She nodded and gripped his wrist to keep his grip on the back of her neck.
“I swear. I’m going to make sure everything is okay.”
Strong man. Capable man. He was telling the truth. She could tell from his tone he absolutely believed that he was going to get this crew exactly where it needed to be.
The crowed ramped up their mumbling, and she turned to see a nurse cut through the crowd. She read from a clipboard. “Greyson, the Red Havoc Crew, Kong, Layla, Torren, and Candace. She’s ready. Come with me, please.”
Candace’s heart banged against her chest as they all stood. Greyson was Genevieve’s mate and had been sitting silently beside Torren. When the boys stood, Torren gripped his hand and pulled him into a rough hug, hand on the back of his head as he murmured something near Greyson’s ear. They both clapped each other on the back and turned to follow the nurse. Torren slid his hand around Candace’s and led her past the wall where Nox and Nevada were sitting.
Torren and Candace reached out their hands, and Nox and Nevada squeezed them. Touch had become important lately. It made those strained bonds feel better. They didn’t say anything— they were just there. Candace smiled at them and gave a little wave as Torren pulled her toward the hallway behind the others.