Page 45 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

“Fine,” he says, “but I’m driving.”

“No way!” I say, shaking my head and tightening my grip on the steering wheel. “I’m driving. I don’t trust you not to head in the opposite direction.”

Bigby lets his head fall against the window, rolling it back and forth and muttering to himself. I’ve successfully reasoned him into submission, and I feel a streak of pride.

“Why did Aris have to mate with such a—”

“—beautiful, wonderful, kind—”

“—stubborn woman.” Bigby finishes, giving me a look as he moves around to the passenger side of the truck. After a second of hesitation, I unlock the door for him, and he hefts his huge body inside, making the truck rock under his weight.

“Yikes,” I say, laughing and punching into reverse. “The gas mileage on this thing just went way down.”

“Hardy-har,” Bigby says, scrubbing his hands over his head again. I take a turn a little too sharply, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, making me drive like someone out of GTA. Bigby grabs onto the handle above him and sighs loudly. “You’re going to be the death of both of us.”

As the car hurtles around a particularly sharp bend, we hear the soft clinking of glass in the seat behind us. Bigby reaches back, and a moment later, he’s produced a vial of shimmering silver serum.

“Holy shit,” he says, quickly placing it in the cupholder like he doesn’t want to risk contamination through the glass.

We crest the hill, seeing the town come into focus, and I can’t help but think about how good it feels to be home. I know the shape of every tree and building in this town like the back of my hand, and I can feel my body slotting into place here. It’s where I belong—with my pack. With my people. With my mate.

“It’s too quiet,” Bigby remarks as we roll through town, noticing not a single person or child out and about. A sprinkler shoots water through a yard, pool noodles and toys abandoned like the children ran inside as quickly as they could.

As we get to the center of town, it gets even more eerie. At this time of day, the diner is usually full of people getting a bite to eat on their lunch break, but the shutters are pulled and the “open” sign is off, the usually red neon absent.

Bigby motions for me to park a street down from the bar, and I pull off in front of the bank, which is also closed down, not a soul in sight. When Bigby gives the all-clear, we get out of the truck, walking quickly behind buildings and through yards to get to the bar.

The inside is quiet, the sticky floors and trashed interior the only sign that people had once been here. Bigby sniffs around, investigating.

“Where is everyone?” he asked.

“Maybe Varun has a different hub,” I wonder. “Somewhere else. But how can we find it?”

“Shh,” Bigby says suddenly, placing his hands on the filthy wooden bar. “Do you hear that?”

“No, obviously not—”

“Shh,” he says again, and I roll my eyes at him.

“There are… Vibrations. Coming from beneath us?”

Suddenly, it all comes into focus. I remember the girls coming and going, but I’d never wondered where they were coming or going to and from. This bar isn’t big enough for the sheer number of people moving in and out.

“There must be something underground,” I breathe, and then, remembering where the people would always exit from, I move behind the bar, running my hands along the panels. Bigby joins me, using his heightened senses to feel, and a moment later, a panel pops open, revealing a number pad.

“Shit,” I breathe, but Bigby starts to punch in numbers, trying 1-2-3-4 first. To my shock, the door swings open, revealing a long hallway and a set of stairs.

“How did you know that?” I ask as I duck after him, following him inside. Bigby chuckles.

“Varun’s an idiot. I just asked myself what an idiot would do.”

Chapter 25 - Aris

The town where I grew up looked no better than a ghost town when the team and I arrived. The unnerving silence did nothing to ease the anxiety churning in my gut as we surrounded the bar, trying to find the most feasible way inside.

But when glancing in the windows, we found the bar to be completely empty. Eva suggested there may be another compound somewhere, but Byron had already found the answer when he managed to use the information he’d gathered earlier to hack completely into Varun’s systems.

“There’s an underground component,” he’d whispered, gesturing to the series of numbers and coding on his computer as though it was supposed to mean something to the rest of us. We stared at him dumbly, and he sighed. “These are electric signals from beneath the bar. Doors, computers, and various components connected to the overall security system. Varun could have run them on a closed loop if he was smart, but they trace back to here. Give me a second to find a way in.”

---