News of Cole's condition had spread fast, and people were completely up in the air about it which was understandable. They didn't know the details of how gravely unwell he was, but when Anthony showed up at my hospital door, I opened up about it all.
I needed to tell somebody everything - leaving out the parts about the wolfsbane trials and the communication device.
Kassandra had stopped by briefly again right before, and I had explained how we were going to do everything we could to help Finn. She was grateful, and immediately jumped into action, claiming that she was going to go and find some warriors to lecture. I knew that they weren't going to give her the time of day though.
"So where are the humans that were being housed in the apartment complex now?" Anthony asked me as he leaned back against the sink in the corner of the hospital room. "If the building is falling apart, they can't live there, right?"
I shook my head. "Rowan told me that they've set up tents nearby for now. They're all being watched. They can't be allowed to leave until we can clear all of them of being involved with the attack."
Anthony hummed, huffing. "And your human friend, Finn?"
I shook my head. I didn't want to speak about him, because we didn't have a plan. Finn wasn't going to be able to hold on forever, and we needed to get him out of that colony as soon as possible. Without Cole though, it was hard to know what to do.
I was trying my best not to think of my mate, although I had visited his room seven times in the past hour, finding myself standing and staring at him in the doorway, just longing for his eyes to open. They never did though.
"Okay," muttered Anthony, sifting through his carpentry book he had brought with him. I gathered that he had been told that he was going to be in the waiting room for a long while before getting to see me, and had popped back home to collect it. "So this Christopher guy is dead?"
I nodded in confirmation. I had seen Finn stab him.
"And this Bill guy is the only lead we have regarding this so called 'rich' colony?" Anthony questioned, snapping his book shut and placing it on the chest of drawers next to him, sighing. He was probably a stress-reader.
"Yes, Bill has been in surgery and he's recovering," I said, gazing out towards the door. This hospital was huge, and I had no idea where he could be. My guess was that he was somewhere away from others though where he could be watched by warriors.
I was paranoid since finding out about the communication device Christopher and Bill had been hiding, worried that there were more of them dotted around the apartment complex. Rowan had reassured me that he was going to be doing a full sweep of it though, checking for any signs of them. If there were any there though, they were probably crushed underneath the rubble now.
"Well, we need to go and find this Bill," Anthony muttered, his jaw taut. He looked on edge, but was holding it back as best he could.
I scowled. "I'm not sure if that's a great idea. Rowan said that he was sorting it with Bill, and he might not even be in a position to talk. He could be unconscious."
Anthony shrugged, appearing unbothered. "Then I'll wake him up."
After a few minutes of sitting in pleasant silence, I sighed, pushing myself off the bed.
"Going to check on him again?" Anthony wondered, nodding towards the direction of Cole's room.
It was tempting, but I shook my head. No good could come from staring at my lifeless mate's body. "No, I'm going to go and see if I can find Bill. You're right. We need to talk with him."
We couldn't sit around and wait forever. I had to step up.
I was unable to get a hold of Rowan- he was most likely busy. I knew that he would be leaving Finn's rescue to the very end of his checklist, so it was my duty to go and grill Bill and find out why the colony took my friend.
"You can't come though," I said as I held my hand out to Anthony, looking apologetic. "No offense, but he's not going to talk with a werewolf in the room."
"You said he spoke with Rowan," Anthony argued, and I shook my head.
"Yes, when he had something to offer him. Bill doesn't need anything else." I apologised as I made my way down the narrow corridor, gritting my teeth together as my body complained against my movements. I spotted an elderly female nurse shuffling past me, and I blocked her path, offering her a small smile.
She wasn't overly keen on directing me to Bill's room, but once I pressed that I really needed to speak with him and lied about discussing it with Rowan, she gave me the location of it.
Once I spotted warriors down the hall, their shoulders broad and chests puffed out as they guarded the door, I breathed a sigh of relief, my body about to give out on me. They raised their brows as I approached, looking me up and down, concern masking their faces.
"Reya," one of them muttered, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. "I don't suspect you should be out of bed?"
It was a question, but I didn't respond to it. "I'm here to see Bill. Is he in a state to discuss?"
Both of the warriors shot each other a glance, their eyes narrowing. They cocked their heads at me, and I placed my hands on my hips. I had to fake my confidence. I had to remind them that I was Alpha Cole's mate. He wasn't in a position to be at the forefront of this plan right now, so that left me in charge- even though the prospect scared the shit out of me.
"It's urgent," I told them, keeping my voice smooth and level. "If he's awake after surgery, then he's well enough to talk about the situation he has put us all in. In case you're concerned, this has been approved with Rowan."
That was a lie- it hadn't.
"No, that's not an issue," the warrior spoke. "We are just concerned about your wellbeing. My guess is that you don't want us in there eavesdropping and our worry is that if Bill were to do anything, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself. Alpha Cole won't be very happy with us when he wakes up and finds out we allowed you to put yourself at risk."
So it wasn't anything to do with the fact that I wasn't Cole or Rowan? Well that was good to know they respected me.
"Let me see his condition at least, please," I said, and after a few seconds, they obliged, stepping aside and opening the door for me, revealing a very battered and bruised older man lying in a cot. His head had been wrapped, and his blood was already soaking through it, his eyes barely open.
I gazed up at the warriors, raising my brows at them. Were they serious? They thought somebody in this condition was going to be able to harm me?
"You never know what they have planned," muttered the warrior to my left, mumbling the words so that Bill couldn't hear, answering my silent inquiry.
I shivered at the emphasis on the word they.
I knew the warrior had meant human. Had they forgotten I was one too? It was pretty obvious.
They shut the door after me, and I walked into Bill's bathroom, turning on the shower and basin faucet full blast, hoping it would stop anyone from hearing our conversation. I made my way over to Bill, dragging up a stool and taking a seat, my movements slow and juddery.
Bill watched me with beady eyes, one of them swollen and black, looking as if he had burst a blood vessel. It was still a miracle that he had survived.
"Rowan told me everything that you told him," I stated, keeping my tone calm. I didn't want to come across confrontational and have Bill shut down the second I got in here. He needed to think that this was just some casual chat. Although, I was sure he wasn't that stupid.
"Did he now?" Bill questioned, humming.
"He did. I'm interested to know the ties you have to this colony. So Markus was in contact with them, and you were helping?"
Bill remained quiet, and I sighed. His life had already been saved, and there was no reason for him to answer any of my questions.
"What do you want out of this, Bill? What's the end goal here? Because Markus' colony is gone. Everyone is either dead or they've run off, so what are you going to do next? Were you hoping to join the rich colony Markus and yourself were in contact with? Was this your way of proving yourself to them?"
"I have nothing to prove to anyone," Bill spoke calmly, lacing his fingers together. "My work here is done. I did what I was supposed to do."
I was growing increasingly frustrated, and I wanted to grab Bill's stupid oxygen machine he was attached to and crush him with it.
"What were you supposed to do?"
Again. Radio silence.
"Look, your life is pretty much over. You must know that now?" I told him, leaning back on the stool and making my posture look casual as I assessed my nails. "Cole and Rowan won't let you out after what you've done. You know too much."
Bill nodded. "I've accepted that."
"You wanted to visit the city right?" I asked, and Bill's ears perked up. He turned to me, looking interested. "What if there was a way I could make that happen? No bullshit. No lies. No strings attached. I'm willing to make sure you are let go if you promise to disappear and never return. To never speak of us again. To never share information you know. You'll get to live out the rest of your life in the human city just like you and Cole had talked about. This can stay between us."
Bill's eyes were wide, and he furrowed his brows as he scanned my face for any sign of a lie.
"I know you tried to strike up some kind of deal with him. You did that because you wanted to complete your mission, and visit the city too, right? You knew the colony you were contacting was already aware of the location of our apartments, so your job was done. You had planned to head to the city, and you tried to bargain with Cole for more money, but he declined."
"Word spreads fast, doesn't it?" Bill muttered. "What's in it for you?"
"All I want is one tiny piece of information. We will never mention your name. You won't be wrapped up in any of this. Nothing will come back to you."
Bill quit breathing for a few seconds, grinding his teeth together as he blinked, the action looking painful. "What do you want to know?"
"The location of Finn," I told him, and Bill nodded slowly, his grey hair falling in front of his eyes. Just as he opened up his mouth to speak, there was an agitated knock on the door, and I groaned, calling out for whoever it was to give us a few more minutes.
"Reya, come out," Rowan's frustrated tone chimed from the other side of the metal. "I'm serious. Come on."
I really hoped he hadn't heard what I had 'promised' Bill. I was lying- through my teeth. I couldn't grant Bill freedom. I hated to be a liar, but I was doing it for the greater good. It was the only way. If I had to be the bad guy along the way at times, then I didn't mind.
Holding my finger up to Bill, I shuffled over to the door, flinging it open to reveal a scowling Rowan. He was clutching something flat and square shaped in his hands, and I cocked my head. I had never seen anything like it before.
"What are you doing in here?" Rowan asked me with gritted teeth, peering past me to glare at Bill, taking my arm and pulling me through the doorway. The warriors shut the door behind me, and Rowan narrowed his eyes at them, shaking his head. "We have to communicate, Reya. I didn't know you were going to go and speak to Bill. What did you say in there?"
Oh. So he hadn't heard me? Fabulous.
"Nothing. I wanted to get the location of the colony, but he wouldn't talk," I said, shrugging and dropping my gaze.
"Why would he?" Rowan mumbled, leading me back towards my room. "There's nothing in it for him."
I decided to remain quiet, not wanting Rowan to dig any deeper. He would be fuming if he found out what I had promised Bill. I was playing with fire here. "What is that?" I asked as we reached my room, and I settled down comfortably on my hospital cot, nodding towards the shiny metal looking thing in Rowan's hands.
"It came in the mail today," he said, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he placed it in front of me. "The letter stated it was a laptop. I've never used one myself. They're pretty expensive, but they're used to send messages to others. You can also search for answers to questions you have. A little tedious if you ask me."
"Who would have sent it to us?"
Rowan cocked his head at me. "Take a guess."
Who was stacked up with technology? Of course. The colony that had attacked us.
"Cole explained the postage service to me at one point, but I've forgotten. How do you receive mail without it coming directly here? Doesn't it mean that people know the location of the pack?"
Rowan shook his head. "We have a second address set up. It's like a PO box. It's what everyone uses to hide the location of their packs and colonies, and every day, someone will head to the box to pick up all of the mail and bring it back here to deliver to everybody. It's a good couple of hours away."
"Right," I said, the words going in one ear and out the other. Everything was so complicated. I was unsure how Cole managed it all.
"There's a file on here," Rowan mumbled, tapping away on the laptop, it making a beeping sound. It was kind of annoying. "Take a look."
Spinning the screen around to me so that I could see, I gazed at it, my eyes watering when the video popped up, my heart slamming against my chest and leaving me breathless.
No, no, no.
•••
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