“What else are we looking at?” Remy looked at Elias, brows raised.
“The main level is mostly offices,” Elias stammered. “Second floor is where the younger girls were. And the nursery.”
My eyes slid shut for a second. They had a fucking nursery here.
Every time I heard it, anger surged in my veins again. Who would agree to giving up their baby?
“Third floor is where the women are,” he finished quickly.
“And the others not chosen for Damien’s fucked up mate assignments?” Dante folded his arms across his chest and glared at Elias.
Elias looked down. “There’s a door to the basement level across the courtyard. I was never permitted to go in there. Damien said it was for storage.”
“And you just took his word for it,” Tate scoffed darkly.
“I realize now how truly misguided he was,” Elias added.
“You didn’t realize that when he set up a nursery to take children from their mothers?” Rhodes chimed in, shaking his head.
Elias actually looked affronted. “These children were not taken from their mothers; they were given to the pack at birth for the Alpha to find them the best suitable match.”
“Tell that to Kit and Jayla,” I muttered. “Or Maren.”
Elias frowned at me. “Damien made a gross misstep when he started abducting young girls, but our pack has left mate pairings up to the Alpha for generations.”
“Still doesn’t make it right,” I snapped.
He started to turn away with a sigh of annoyance. “According to you. This is how our pack has operated for generations.”
“And the girls in the basement? Was that just for funsies?” I shot back, irritation spiking.
“I told you that I didn’t know—”
“Okay, enough!” Remy’s voice cut through all the dissent. “This isn’t solving anything. Right now we need to focus on freeing the women and children locked up in here. We’ll break into teams, and everyone will meet back here in thirty minutes. Got it?”
When we all nodded in agreement, he broke us into groups.
“Hey.” Remy grabbed my hand before I could go upstairs.
“I know,” I said with a tired smile. “Be safe, no risks, yell if I need help.”
He rolled his eyes. “You forgot one thing.”
“I did?”
He kissed me hard and fast. “I love you.”
“Love you,” I murmured, turning and jogging up the stairs with my father and Lulu. I was winded by the time we reached the fourth floor landing.
“Stay behind me,” Lulu told us as she opened the door to the fourth floor.
“If you insist,” I mumbled, closing the door gently behind us.
We walked silently through the hallway, checking inside doorways. I was shocked to find a few surgical rooms scattered amongst the offices and rooms full of filing cabinets.
We turned the last corner in the hall and froze as one when something dropped in a room ahead of us.
My father gently tucked me behind him as we slowed our approach towards the last door on the left.
“Dammit,” a low voice muttered. “Shit, shit, shit. Where is it?”
Lulu rounded the corner, slipping silently through the slightly ajar door. We followed her inside to where a person was crouched in front of a filing cabinet. It had been ripped open, like the three drawers above it. Papers were everywhere.
“Stand up slowly,” Lulu told him.
He whirled around with a gasp, shoving his hands out in front of him. Whatever he tried to do never happened, and he frowned, looking at us.
“You’re like me?” he demanded, his pale blue eyes jerking around the room.
“I am,” Lulu replied. “How about you put your hands down and we chat about what you’ve been doing here?”
“They all left,” he said, shaking his head. “They’re gone, and they promised to let us go if I did what they wanted.”
“Us?” I echoed, easing around Nikolai.
“My family,” he replied, blinking at me. His gaze sharpened with interest. “You’re one of them. Are you next?”
“Next?” I paused and Nikolai pushed between us.
“Next for the treatment,” the boy snapped impatiently. “They haven’t brought me a new girl in days.”
“They left days ago?” Lulu asked.
“I don’t need your help!” he yelled, glaring at Lulu. He advanced towards me even as Nikolai started growling. His steps were stopped when he promptly ran into an invisible wall. He pressed his hands to it curiously.
“What is this?” he whispered, gently poking the wall. It rippled every time he made contact and then smoothed back into invisibility.
“A shield,” Lulu said slowly. “What’s your name?”
“Jack,” he replied after a second.
“Jack,” Lulu repeated. “How old are you, Jack?”
He glowered at her and folded his thin arms over his chest. “Sixteen.”
“Why are you here?” Lulu’s tone was soft and lilting, trying to calm him down.
His head tilted to the side. “Is this a trick?”
“No trick,” she assured him. “We’re not like the others.”
His eyes narrowed again. “No. You’re different. Your magic is like mine but not. What are you?”
“A friend,” Lulu said calmingly, brushing off his question. “What were you doing here, Jack?”
He stared mulishly at us, his dark hair falling in his eyes. He was tall, but thin and young. But there was something about him that just seemed … off.
“Elias sent us,” Nikolai said suddenly.
Jack relaxed instantly and even smiled. “The doc? Why didn’t you say so?”
“Must have slipped our minds,” Lulu murmured.
Jack looked at me again. “Are you sure she isn’t for me?”
“Quite sure,” I spoke up. “I’m not here for … what are you doing?”
“Making them better,” he said plainly, innocently even. “I help them. And if I help enough, I get my family back.”
“Your family?” Lulu looked at him curiously.
Jack waved a hand behind him at the filing cabinets. “They’ve been gone for days now, and the doc longer than that.”
“So, they took your family to make you help?” I hedged.
He nodded. “Yeah. I thought maybe I could find my family in the files.”
“Why didn’t you leave with them?” Nikolai asked with a frown.
Jack laughed. “Because I’m a boy. They only took the girls.”
My back stiffened. “Took the girls?”
“I saw them through the window,” Jack added. “They used the vans.”
“Shit,” I muttered, meeting my dad’s eyes. “Who else would have taken them if Damien didn’t order it?”
“Women are a valuable commodity,” he replied softly, regretfully. “Perhaps one of Damien’s less ardent followers saw an opportunity. Maybe his beta?”
“I thought he was in Tennessee,” Lulu hissed.
My shoulders sagged as I realized we were too late. “Yeah, but he knew Damien was going to Windale. He would’ve been able to arrange it.”