Chapter 166

Alyx

He groaned and clawed his way toward the light. A moment later, Alyx managed to shove the stones off him, and he breathed in the winter air. Around him, the house lay in ruins, and his heart rate spiked.

What the hell?

One moment he was standing in his room, and the next the house was shaking around him. If he hadn’t shifted then, he might have died. His arm was broken and a few of his ribs, but they snapped back into place with a loud crack. He yelped and forced the change to come over him.

He had to find the rest of his family.

The compound was in chaos, and people rushed toward the rubble, looking for survivors. Wolves could survive a lot, but a ton of concrete landing on you would kill anyone. He was lucky the way the stones fell, making a gap for him to cower in. That, and his room was on the top floor. All of theirs were, but he didn’t know where his brothers had been.

He crawled over the rubble, calling out his brother’s names. All he could think about was finding them.

“Alyx!” a voice answered.

It was Lane. Blood trailed down the side of his head, and he was covered in dust. Rocky stood beside him with his arm cradled against his chest. Alyx stumbled over to them, pulling them into a tight hug. His brothers clung to him.

“Jesus Christ,” a voice growled. Alyx looked to the side. Ronan was standing with his arms crossed, his face red with fury. His suit was cut up in several places. Behind him, Kai hovered. He was leaning all his weight on one food, and he held onto the back of Ronan’s arm to steady himself. He must have broken it badly.

“Have you seen the others?” Ronan asked him.

Alyx shook his head. Panic spiked through him again.

“How did this happen?” Kai asked, his voice uneven. He was in a lot of pain. He could keep it off his face, but not out of his voice. Ronan stepped back into him, and Kai leaned more of his weight on his shoulder.

“Ronan?” a voice screeched. Ronan whirled around. “Ronan!”

Ronan beckoned Lane forward. He stepped up, and Kai transferred his weight to him. Ronan took off across the rumble and Alyx stumbled after him. It took them a while, but they eventually found Beck half-buried. They had to shift the stones aside to get him out.

Blood matted his hair, and he couldn’t move either of his legs. Both snapped back into place as his healing kicked in, and he howled. Ronan wrapped his arms around his youngest brother, holding him close. Beck was shaking, and tears rolled down his frightened face.

It made Alyx want to kill someone.

“I’m sorry,” he choked. He glanced to the side, where a boot poked out of the rubble. Alyx shifted some of them to reveal the face of a guard. He was dead.

“It’s okay,” Ronan said, running his fingers through his hair. “It’s okay.”

Noah also appeared stark naked. He didn’t look injured at all. He must have been preparing for his next patrol when it happened. Which meant he wasn’t in the house, thankfully.

He dropped to his knees beside Beck and pulled him into his arms. Ronan stood up.

“I’m sorry,” Beck kept saying over and over.

“For what?” Ronan asked gently.

“I brought her out here. She said she needed some air. I didn’t think she could do this.”

“Celeste?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“She did something,” Beck sobbed. “To the ground. I don’t know how.”

I glanced at the broken wall of the courtyard. Ronan stared at his brother for a moment, then took off. He crawled over the wall and grabbed the nearest guard. “A prisoner has escaped. Her name’s Celeste. Do whatever it takes to get her back.”

The woman nodded, her ponytail swinging. The minute Ronan let her go, she took off into the crowd, calling to more of the guards.

“Have you seen Jeremy?” I asked, looking at Noah.

He shook his head. “I wasn’t near the house. I saw you guys first. Zoe’s still over there, giving orders.”

“I have to look for him.”

Ronan returned to my side. “What?”

“We need to find Jeremy,” I repeated. Everyone else was safe. All I had to do was find Jeremy and I could relax.

“Alright, let’s go.” Ronan looked over at Noah and Beck. “Get him out of here. It’s not safe.”

Noah nodded and helped his brother to his feet. Beck couldn’t stand, and Noah bent down and draped him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Ronan watched to make sure they got out okay before he turned and led me across the rubble.

Some of it shifted beneath our feet, and I cursed.

“Careful,” Ronan said.

I nodded.

We found bodies along the way, but none of them were Jeremy. Every time I pulled the slabs of stone away to reveal their faces, I felt a rush of panic, followed by a sharp twinge of relief. He had to be here.

We called for him but got no answer. The more time that went on, the more the panic clawed at me. He had to be okay. He had to be.

Ronan stood a few feet from me, looking down at the ground. His brows were pulled together, and I stumbled across him. I dropped to my knees, noting the sneaker sticking out of the pile of concrete. It took a while, but we eventually moved the concrete enough to get a good look at the person beneath.

It was Jeremy. Blood trickled from a gash in his head, and his legs were bent at odd angles. A stone lay on his chest, and blood pooled out around him. His eyes were closed, and I dove forward, pressing my fingers to his neck.

There wasn’t a pulse. This couldn’t be happening.

I shook him, my eyes going wide. He didn’t respond. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t responding.

“Jeremy?” I said, my voice breaking.

Ronan put his hand on my shoulder. “Alyx, he’s gone.”

I shook my head. “No, no, no. He’s not. He’s not.” I shook him again. “Please, wake up. Wake up!”

Ronan pulled me back, his arm around my chest.

“He’s not dead,” I repeated. “He’s not.”

“I’m sorry,” Ronan said, his voice laced with pain. “There’s nothing we can do for him.”

I screamed. It tore at my vocal cords, but I didn’t stop until my voice gave out completely. Pain tore at my chest, and I felt like I was suffocating.

“Shh,” Ronan said, rocking me.

People gathered around us, but I hardly noticed. Someone was sobbing, and it took me a while to realize it was me. Me and the rest of my brothers. Ronan still held on to me, but he was silent.

“I’m going to kill her,” I growled. “I’m going to kill her.”

Ronan got to his feet and pulled me up with him. The rest of my brothers stood around us, even Beck, who was leaning against Noah. Their faces were all tear streaked. Yet, beneath the sorrow and grief, violence hummed.

“If she wants war, so be it,” Ronan declared, gazing down at Jeremy’s body. “We’ll take her family away from her the way she’s taken ours away from us. An eye for an eye. A brother for a brother.”

Alyx fell to his knees.

“We’ll make sure she knows what this feels like.”