Page 167 of Awakened

“Alright, let’s head out.”

The words have barely left his mouth when everyone jumps into action. It’s fascinating, really. Like a well-oiled machine. Males who have their orders slink off, disappearing into the night like shadows given flesh. Soon, Vae leads our group around the side of the building, where he slides a metal door aside to reveal an open doorway.

I move to step in behind Vae, but Caelan holds me back with a hand around my arm, guiding me into the very center of the group so I’m surrounded.

That’s where they keep me, the Alphas forming a blockade around me as we make our way through the empty military base. I crane my neck to get a look at my surroundings, but I’m too short.

The small glimpses I do catch send shivers down my spine. It’s like something out of a nightmare. The stale air is suffocating, and I try to breathe through my mouth, but it doesn’t help. I swear I can taste rust and mold, coating my throat and tongue.

We turn as one down a hallway and the Alpha’s flashlights skitter across the walls and floor, offering the only light to fight back the oppressive darkness deep inside the compound. Every few feet I catch a glimpse into rooms with their doors propped open or hanging on rusty hinges.

There’s not much to see. Bed frames so rusted they’ve started to collapse, filing cabinets with shelves hanging open.

Every step further into this hell is worse than the last, tightening my lungs with guilt and shame until all I want to do is open my mouth and scream and rage at the realization that this is where my mother’s been kept all this time.

My kind, sweet mother who wore sundresses and baked banana bread because she knew I loved the smell of it. My beautiful mother who told me stories because every day of our lives was a nightmare.

A tear trickles down my cheek, and I angrily swipe it away, hoping no one else noticed. I don’t want to be the girl who cries all the time.

“Are you alright?” The sound of Vaelenor’s voice is far closer than I’m expecting. I flick my eyes to his, irritated all over again that he obviously saw me crying.

“I’m fine,” I insist through clenched teeth. “I’m not even sad. I’m just angry.”

It’s not an excuse. I am mad. Furious. At my father and the hell he put me through, and worse—the hell he’s spent the last decade subjecting my mother to.

Vae doesn’t respond, but I can feel his eyes on me as we continue down the hall, our footprints kicking up dust with each step.

“This is it,” Silas announces. He raises a hand, gesturing for everyone to stop. Like they’ve choreographed it, the Alphas part, leaving a path for me to creep toward the head of the group.

Hope and fear war inside of me, swirling through my chest in a chaotic dance and making it hard to breathe.

What if she’s really down there?

What if she’s not?

I don’t know which possibility is worse.

Soren’s voice breaks through the buzzing static in my ears. “It’ll be alright, Little Mate. We’ll be with you every step of the way.”

I glance at him over my shoulder. He smiles, his eyes bright with a primal devotion I could drown in.

Caelan places a comforting hand on my shoulder. “If anything feels wrong or off, pay attention to those instincts, alright?”

Finding it impossible to force sound from my dry throat, I lift my hand and place it on top of his. Something about the way he treats me as a part of the team—a part of the mission—gives me the strength I need to take that first step.

“Team Two just completed a second perimeter check,” Gavran announces. “It’s clear, but keep ready. We don’t know what those runes will do, or how they’ll react. They could be keyed to alert Varenthrall, so we act on the assumption that he knows we’re here. Get in, get Idril’s mother if you can, and get out. Just like we talked about.”

I nod in understanding, even though I know he’s probably talking more to the Alphas than me. Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders and take a hesitant step through the doorway and down the stairs.

It’s pitch black, and I have to hold onto the railing to keep my balance so I don’t go tumbling into the gaping maw of darkness surrounding me. I can feel my Mates right behind me, their presence solid and grounding.

The moment my foot hits the bottom step, bright light erupts around us, casting a glowing light blue haze over everything. It’s beautiful, and I don’t think before reaching out and tracing the pads of my fingers over one of the symbols—three squares overlaying a circle bisected by a line from top to bottom.

I lift my hand away from the wall, and the moment I’m no longer making contact with the symbol, it starts to hum. I gasp as the runes around me begin to flicker and pulse to an unknown rhythm.

The glow brightens until it’s so bright it’s bleeding up the stairs and into the hallway above. I turn, the light allowing me to see the Alphas peering down at us clearly.

Vae’s expression is awed. “Gav’s right, it’s like the blood recognizes her.”