Cameron
Despite our best efforts, we lost a dragon.
We lost David.
We lost my brother-in-law.
I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself for that. He sacrificed himself for me and that’s something I can never repay. No matter how long I live, I will never forget what he did for me, and I’ll never stop regretting that we didn’t get to him sooner.
If we had gone as soon as he went missing, we may have stood a chance at saving him.
This might not be true.
It might just be wishful thinking.
Still, I have to fight the urge to scream at Wilson that we should have moved sooner, earlier. I know being a clan leader isn’t the easiest job in the world, but if we had gone full dragon the second he went missing, we could have rescued him. I know it.
“Hey,” Peggy comes over to me. She’s covered in sweat, but she looks beautiful to me. “I think everyone is stabilized for now. Your mother said we should go home.”
I glance around the room at all of the shifters we saved. A dozen men and woman lay in beds now. Most of them are makeshift because a veterinary clinic doesn’t usually have beds. People ran home and hauled cots and couches and futons, and now the clinic looks like a mish-mashed teen hangout.
“They’re going to be okay,” she tells me. “We aren’t sure what’s wrong with everyone. A couple of them appear to be sick, but your mom is certain we’ll be able to get whatever it is under control quickly.”
“Good,” I tell her. Ellie is already home with Daisy. As soon as she got a splint for her leg, she was sent home to rest. I hope she’s actually asleep, but I also know that’s not going to happen. No, I get the feeling that Ellie has many sleepless nights ahead of her.
Peggy and I turn to go, and as we walk away, a sense of dread covers me.
“We’re going to Ellie’s, right?” Peggy asks sweetly, and it’s one of the things I admire about her. It’s only our second day as a mated couple, but she’s not concerned about getting alone time or making love. She just wants to help my sister.
“Yeah,” I manage to choke out. “She’s at my mother’s house with Daisy and my dad.”
“Then let’s go.”
Peggy slips her hand in mine and we walk toward the house. We’re silent on the walk, both running through the events of the day.
We received word that Thunderstorm destroyed the Lucky facility they knew about. Like the one we found, there were close to a dozen injured and ill shifters. We don’t know what they were doing, but we do know that neither one of the buildings we destroyed were the primary headquarters for the organization.
Why do I say that?
Each building only had four employees. Thunderstorm sent a dragon a few hours ago who explained the situation was almost exactly the same as ours. Four employees, 12 captive shifters, and little security aside from a couple of guns.
What the fuck are you planning, Lucky?
If I didn’t know better, I’d say these little buildings are decoys, traps. I’d say they’re planning something bigger and we’re not out of the woods yet. We need to watch our backs because something darker and more dangerous is coming our way.
We need to be ready.
When we reach my mother’s house, Peggy turns to me.
“Cameron,” she starts.
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“David is dead.” She shakes her head. “If I had gotten to you sooner…”
“It would have been the same,” I tell her. “He died saving me, Peggy. He didn’t die because they hurt him or because they tortured him. He died because he was watching over me.”
“I’m so sorry,” she says, and I notice that tears are streaming down her face. “I can’t believe this happened. I can’t believe we were too late. I mean, I know it was a long shot, but I guess I was hoping it would be this magical ending where everyone got back okay.”
“Peggy,” I whisper, and I pull her into my arms. “There isn’t always a happy ending, love, and that’s all right. Sometimes, the best we can do is just give it our all. We all did our very best and we lost David.”
“Cameron, I’m scared.”
“Why?”
“There are more of these groups, aren’t there?”
I don’t want to tell her there are. I don’t want my mate to live in fear. I don’t want her to be scared. I can’t lie to her, though. We aren’t through the darkness yet. We still have a long way to go.
She’s my mate, though.
I can’t lie to her.
I know that no matter what happens next, Peggy is going to be by my side. She’s strong and determined, and brave as fuck. She’s not going to back down just because she’s afraid. No, that’s not Peggy. Peggy is the girl who’s going to look death in the face and then she’ll spit at him.
“There are more,” I tell her. “Thunderstorm destroyed the other facility. It was almost identical to the one we attacked.”
“So when Ellie said they were coming?” Peggy asks.
“She said that when she first broke into the facility to save David and Daisy, she saw a memo about Fablestone. It was just written on a piece of paper, but they had notes that made her think they’d found her base. They spotted her with Daisy before she could finish reading the memo. She ran, escaping, and that’s how she found you.”
Peggy shivers. “What happened next?”
“They caught her shortly after she gave you Daisy and returned her to the facility. They didn’t speak to her or any of the other shifters, but the scientists did administer medication that made shifting impossible.”
Peggy shakes her head. “Seriously? Those fuckers.” Then she pauses. “Even though we lost him, I’m glad Ellie got to see David again, one last time.”
“Me too,” I tell her.
It’s no consolation.
Not really.
But I’m glad my brother in law got to see his beautiful wife before he lost everything.