Chapter 67

Shirley

“What are you talking about?” I ask, standing from the bed as I hear Emma take a small gasp from her end of the phone. However, Keith is already silencing her as he hangs up the phone.

He’s then pacing, holding my phone in his hand as he still grips it firmly within his large hand. There’s murder in his eyes as he breathes heavily.

“Each time there’s been a report of a kidnapping, my team has gone to the location where the victim was last seen,” Keith tumbles out. “And that symbol has been left behind every single time. After you left the forest, we found it carved into one of the trees.”

“So this man…” I begin, my head filled with a cocktail of emotions. “Is tied to the kidnappings?”

Keith lets out a harsh breath from his nose, wildly shaking his head in frustration. “It appears so,” he confirms.

“But that also means,” I start again, feeling terror rising up from my stomach. “That Ralph…”

Keith pauses then, coming to a firm stop a few feet away from me, though his deadly gaze is pointed toward the ground. I can tell he’s thinking the same thing I am.

If that strange man was affiliated with the kidnappings…and he’d been secretly meeting with Ralph…

Then there’s a high chance Ralph is also involved.

“I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner,” he says, his voice low but filled with venom. His whole body is shaking.

“You couldn’t have known,” I try.

“But that’s the thing,” Keith says, beginning to look up as his jaw is held tight. “I could have. I should have. Ralph has been sneaking around my back too. I don’t know how I could have swept away every sign.”

“Because you wanted to see the best in him,” I offer, as I take a step forward, and then another until I’m only a foot away at his side.

“He’s your best friend, Keith,” I continue. “You may have seen the signs, noticed something was off - but you know Ralph. You’ve known him since you were kids. It was obviously hard to believe he’d do something like this.”

“I thought I knew him,” Keith grinds out then. “But clearly I don’t. I haven’t known him for a while.”

My gaze becomes sad as I stare at the man, seeing threads begin to break within him. Over the course of two days, his trust in everything has been ripped to shreds. And even though I know I’ve played my own part in the grand scheme, I want to try and be there for him.

I don’t know what it is, but I can’t stand seeing him this way. It hits me at the center of my chest as if I can practically feel his pain, bare his same heartache. It’s enough to make me take a final step so I’m no longer at his side, but standing right in front of him.

There, I can’t ignore the twitch in my palms, causing me to bring them up until they’re placed on either side of his face. I watch as Keith begins to blink, like he hadn’t sensed me before, and his head slowly raises.

“We’ll figure this out,” I tell him then. “Tomorrow, you can send out your team, find Ralph, and bring him in for questioning,” I state, my eyes never leaving his. “For right now…you need to rest, regain your wits. But we’ll figure this out.”

A slow breath exits Keith’s nose as he looks at me, his lips pressing into a firm line. Part of him seems as though he wants to challenge my words - as if he’s ready to go find Ralph right then and there so he can tear his throat out. But there’s also another part of him I can see - the part that is obviously exhausted both physically and emotionally.

And that part wins the fight.

“Alright,” Keith murmurs, his head dropping a little, and he seems to fully register my touch as his own comes up to gently wrap around my wrist, his thumb swiping my skin.

He raises his eyes again, some of the fire having died down, yet I can still see the tension that has yet to leave his body. He may have accepted my words, but it’s clear he’s not fully relaxed. Any moment, his thoughts may take hold again and he could storm right out the door.

“Sleep here,” I tell him as I move to take his hands, pulling him toward the end of the bed. “Let your mind rest.”

Keith says nothing in response as he continues to watch me, but his body also offers no resistance as I reach up and begin to unzip his jacket. He just watches me, allowing me to remove the layer before I let it drop to the floor. Once it’s gone, Keith still stares at me, as if he’s checking in with me.

But I don’t back down, I don’t change my mind. And then everything seems to happen in a blur.

Our shoes kicked off, the light turned out, the words “lay down” slipping from my lips. Keith obliges my request, climbing onto the bed before he sinks in. My knees nearly wobble at how gorgeous he looks in my bed. However, I keep myself steady as I slide in too.

I can sense how stiff Keith is, but it doesn’t stop me from getting comfortable - showing him it’s okay. And after a moment, Keith seems to follow my lead, letting out a slow breath as he tries to settle.

And then I feel him. His hand comes to my waist, soon scooting me toward him. I suppress a sigh as my head lands against his chest, feeling as though this is all an odd dream. It causes me to reach out, my hands on his taut stomach to make sure he’s real as his chin brushes the top of my head.

We fit together perfectly, and I swear I’ve never felt so safe in my entire life. The realization scares me, but even that can’t make me move away from him. Instead, I breathe in his scent as I sense Cicy begin to stir.

Be quiet. Go back to sleep, I tell her as I close my eyes. I don’t want to ruin this - not when I know it’s exactly what Keith needs. He needs something to hold onto - and maybe I do too.

And that’s how we stay as our breathing becomes calmer, our eyelids heavier.

Together, we drift off to sleep in each other’s arms.

~

I’ve been alone all morning, left to my own devices as Keith and his team have been Goddess knows where. I’d woken up that morning to find my bed empty, slight disappointment weighing on my skin.

But then it eventually turned to worry.

And now it’s alarm.

I've been pacing in the living room, but I pause as I hear grunts and struggles coming down the hall. I move to get a better view, finding two men tugging someone between them as others follow behind. And as I blink, I realize who it is they’ve captured.

It’s not Ralph, but rather the stranger who I’d seen him with - who the nanny mentioned. He’s clearly pissed that he’s been caught, causing him to lash out. However, the two wolves overpower him, keeping him contained as they bring him closer.

They walk right past me, depositing him in a chair within the living room before they begin to tie up his hands and legs. I watch in shock at the scene, only turning when the others file into the room.

That’s when I see Keith, leaving me to release a soundless breath as he stalks into the room with a determined look across his face. He glances at me once, firmly holding my gaze before he looks away and instead goes to the man.

“Start talking,” Keith orders as he stops, the rest of the wolves lingering at the edges of the room.

“About what?” the man in the chair asks through his teeth as he glowers up at the Alpha.

“You know what,” Keith says back impatiently. “Who do you work for? Who’s behind the kidnappings?”

The man laughs in turn, shaking his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

It happens in a flash, so fast that I’m not even sure it’s real. But as I register the sound of skin hitting skin and the man’s head jerking to the side, I know that Keith has struck him.

“Let’s try this again,” Keith says, perfectly in control as the man shakes his head to recover. “Who are you? And who do you work for?”

“I’m no one, man,” the stranger tries, blood leaking from his mouth. “I don’t work for anyone.”

Keith sighs at that. “I guess breaking a few fingers might help you remember.”

True to his word, I watch in disbelief as Keith grabs hold of one of the man’s hands, already making him scream as he begins to twist a finger.

“Jax!” the man yells. “My name is Jax.”

My lips part as I hear his admittance, baffled by how easily he folded. However, if I was currently being pressured by Keith’s seething efforts then I probably would have crumbled too.

“And who do you work for?” Keith asks once more, still twisting and causing Jax to squirm and shout.

“They call themselves the Hollow Shadows,” Jax admits, causing Keith to ease up a little. “They’re a pack up north.”

I watch as Keith’s shoulders tighten, sensing the fierceness that fills his gaze.

“And how the fuck do you know Ralph?” Keith demands next.

“Ralph joined forces with us months ago,” Jax says between pants. “He found us after he said he was unhappy with his own pack. He said he could help us…join forces and improve our business.”

“What business?” Keith pushes him.

“To kidnap and sell vulnerable she-wolves,” he states with panic. “We allow other wolves to purchase them as surrogate wombs. We make money, gain rank in a powerful pack.”

“Power and money,” Keith practically spits out then, disgusted by the man’s words as I’m left in horror. My head is filled with thoughts of all the taken she-wolves - the fates they’ve come to. And Gwen is among them.

“Pathetic,” Keith speaks again, backing away from the man. He then looks to his other men, his expression rigid as meets their gazes.

“Ralph betrayed us - illegally smuggling wolves from our pack. Our family,” he announces aloud.

But then he stops, staring specifically at Ron as he breathes.

“It’s time to put an end to it,” the Alpha announces. “We must expel Ralph as Rogue.”