Heart's Desire

Chapter 34 - Kit

Alpha Dane doesn't have to speak to make his will known, and everyone obeys without question.

Ambrose, with his healing abilities, goes straight to Monty's dad and attends him, with Astrid and Sasha at his side, while Ed and Ophelia take little Kitka and retreat to their tent, getting themselves out of the way.

Meanwhile, Dane, Freya, Noah, and Monty shift to Wolf form and set out, noses to the ground in search of scent or sign.

Darius goes with them, and I try to go as well, but Monty tells me to stay behind and help his parents.

I don't want to be separated from him for even a moment, but I obey nonetheless. I can tell he doesn't want to leave me either — the newly forged bond between us is strong — but his alpha needs him more than I do, at the moment, and he won't let his brother down.

I watch from the doorway as he and the others depart, spreading out in all directions around the house and into the surrounding meadows and woods. Within moments, they're out of sight.

"He's uninjured, at least," Ambrose says, examining the unconscious alpha carefully. "His heart sounds normal, too. Ah — here; he's coming 'round."

Joseph groans and stirs, lifting a hand to his face and covering his eyes.

"Wha's happening?" he mumbles, drawing a deeper breath. "Astrid?"

"I'm here, Joe," his mate answers, taking his hand. "You're alright."

He blinks his eyes open and gazes up at her. "Why'm I on the floor, then?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Astrid returns softly, a grim smile on her lips as she strokes his hair. "Do you remember anything?"

He presses his palms to his eyes. "I was helping Jules put the twins to bed. Bath time, story time —the whole routine. Little Lulu wanted warm milk, so I came down to get her some. Don't taste the same in the microwave, so I was gonna heat it up on the stove. I remember opening the 'fridge and reaching for it, and then... that's all, till now."

"Think carefully," Ambrose says, holding Joseph's wrist as he checks his pulse, measuring it against the second hand on his watch. "Was there a sound, or a strange odor, or anything unusual at all?"

The older man frowns. "You think I had a stroke?"

"No, Joe," Astrid says, squeezing his arm. "Someone did this to you. Julian and the twins are gone."

"What?" Joseph sits up, brushing off our warnings to take it slow. "What you mean 'gone?'"

"Kidnapped, probably," Ambrose says. "The fire was a tactic to draw us away. Nobody brings babies to a burning building, so they counted on most of us goin' to lend a hand, and Julian staying back with the kids. Whoever it was knows you all well. My money's on that Jake fellow, personally."

Sasha flinches, and Astrid shakes her head. "That bastard come within twenty miles of this house, we'd know it. We know his scent."

Quietly, Sasha speaks up. "He coulda masked it," she says. "It was him attacked the twins before, right? We didn't get his scent then, either.

"Best warn Martin," Joseph points out. "If someone's after the kids, his children could be in danger, too, and he's still in the dark to all this."

Astrid nods, rising to retrieve her phone.

She taps the screen and holds the device near her ear. After a moment, she swears.

"Damn it. He's probably asleep, and Elena on the night shift. She doesn't answer her phone while she's at work. Someone will have to go over there in person."