Page 31 of Ruin

Squatting in front of me, Stone lifted my chin and forced me to meet his eyes. With his thumb, he gently wiped away a tear from my cheek. His eyes turned wholly purple, his expression telling me to be strong.

Owen’s hand rested on my shoulder for a moment, but he addressed Stone. “Stay with her, brother. I’ll send word when we’re ready.” Owen’s wolf rolled over his eyes. “We’ll deal with this together. You are not alone, Ember. We are your brothers as much as we are Connor’s.”

With a warm strong hand under my upper arm, Stone urged me up. “Come on, she-wolf, let’s go. The sooner you are prepared, the sooner we can call out that slimy fucker that has possessed your mate.”

I looked to Drake who gave me a supportive smile and pulsed some comforting vibes against me. I grabbed them gratefully, along with the reassurance Owen was throwing my way. I didn’t know how to express my gratitude to them, so I lifted my damp eyes and smiled as best I could. There was still hope that Connor’s soul had survived.

Back at the cabin, Stone pushed open my door, and I strode past him. I perched on the edge of the bed and stared at my bare knees, both wanting the demon in Connor restrained, and hating what I knew we’d have to do. I gripped the bed cover, my fingers digging into the soft cotton. Stone’s energy and the weight of his gaze drilled into me.

“I won’t let that demon hurt you, Ember,” he said quietly. “This will be hard—for all of us, but Connor would want us to do this, he’d want to be restrained so that he can’t hurt you.”

I swallowed. Another enemy that had become a protector and friend—no, Stone was more than a friend, so were the rest of Connor’s brothers, we were a pack now, and that meant family. I couldn’t look up as tears dripped off my nose and onto Owen’s tee shirt, staining the material.

“Stop your tears. That thing out there sure as fuck isn’t the alpha I know, but that doesn’t mean he’s dead. Don’t lose hope, she-wolf. You are Connor’s Firecracker. He would fight Satan himself to get back to you. So you fight for him, don’t give up on saving his ass, not yet.”

My weapons hit the bed next to me. I hadn’t realised he’d picked them up after my shift. I felt the weight of his stare before the door clicked shut behind him. I sat and stared at nothing, listening to the sounds of the camp that echoed outside the prefabricated walls of the cabin. Footsteps thudded in the other rooms as people moved about. Doors clicked shut, and voices that I didn’t recognise, filtered through the plywood and plastic.

The skin of my face was tight where my tears had dried. I rubbed at them before I slapped my hands back on the bed, tilting my head back and staring at the aluminium strips in the ceiling.

I’d carried the guilt of abandoning Connor for months, and now I would carry the pain of seeing him chained in a prison of our making. But Stone was right, I needed to fight for Connor. I’d find that disc, if it was the last thing I ever did. I huffed. Blue would kick my arse if she thought I’d given up after all of our planning and scheming, and risking the wrath of the High King to get back here.

I sent a silent prayer to the Mother Wolf that my friend was alive and healing. “Hope Walker hasn’t kicked your arse too viciously, either, B’nar,” I muttered into the air.

Giving myself a mental slap, I stood and pulled off Owen’s t-shirt. His scent still clung to it, and it really wasn’t the male scent I wanted flooding my senses. I stepped into the shower for the second time that day. With scalding hot water and soap, I scrubbed away my guilt, replacing it with determination. Rawson had brought me up to be strong, and I would do this for him and for Connor. An ache bloomed through my chest at the thought of my guardian. I placed my hands on the shower wall and leaned my head down under the hot spray, letting it take some of my tension away.

“Where are you, Rawson?”

I wished he was here. He’d know what to do about this, I was sure of it. I’d find out what had happened to him, but even I knew the possibility of him being alive was small. Rawson would have found this camp weeks ago. He was as highly trained as Connor and Owen.

I switched off the shower and dried myself with a rough towel, before pulling on the clothes I found at the bottom of my bed. Combat boots, black cargo trousers, a black tee and a warm jacket that was a little small, but still welcome for its warmth.

“Thanks, Stone!” I called through the door knowing he’d hear me. Maybe the guy wasn’t all bad.

Chapter 10

Ember

Stone’srugged features were set in his customary hard mask as I stepped out of my door with new clothes and a new sense of resolve.

“Took you long enough.”

Despite the dread in my soul, I grinned at him and winked. “A girl’s gotta look good to kick demon arse.”

His heavy silver brows twitched upward, and his lips curled in a smirk. He cocked his head, his silver hair gleaming as it shifted around his shoulders. “Not alone, remember?” he rumbled gruffly.

Yeah, Stone was not comfortable with conveying emotion, but I appreciated his effort to support me. I nodded and shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah, some moody bastard with purple eyes reminded me of that a little while ago; so I guess it’s time to step up and kick a big bad demon back to Hell. Then search for my mate, before Mr Moody kick’smyarse for being a pathetic sap.”

Stone peered down at me. “You’re welcome, she-wolf. And I’ll happily kick your irritating, Englisharse,anytime. Now, let’s go and see if we can find the demon spawn. Owen said he’ll meet us at the room he gave Connor. Zander is coming and so is Alex.”

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, but couldn’t stop my palms from sweating as we left the cabin and walked out into the cold night air.

“How are we going to do this?”

“Careful she-wolf, I can smell your fear. You need to hide it better, or that demon will use Connor’s face and body to tear right into your heart, and then Prime will tear into him, no matter who Connor once was to him. And if it is possible to save Connor, he needs his body to be in one piece.”

I just grunted. Confronting a demon wearing Connor’s face wasn’t something I was looking forward to, but I needed to be level headed. I couldn’t contain Prime, even with his brothers around, if things got violent; he’d just force his way out.

I cracked my neck, the weight of the knife strapped to my thigh, and the bow I clung to with my sweaty hand, giving me a small amount of confidence. We crossed the compound, Stone leading me through the buzz of people who were still unpacking big crates and setting up cables and water pipes.

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