Fated to the Warrior Wolf (The Hunted Omegas #3)

29. Gael

TWENTY-NINE

Gael

T wo days later

Ten weeks. The baby— Petal , I corrected myself with a smile at Leigh’s cute nickname for the baby—was nearly ten weeks along. Leigh had only promised me five months, and we’d had no movement with the council. The frustration was growing with each day that passed, my desire to force things to go our way completely unfulfilled, and we were almost halfway through my time.

My wolf was restless, and I should have probably gone for a run. But I hadn’t, not since Leigh had passed out. I couldn’t bring myself to leave her, and if fifteen minutes of stretching had caused her to faint, I wasn’t going to ask her to take the stairs down to ground level so that we could even get out to nature. And then after that, we’d finally be able to run.

We never had—a fact my wolf was grumbly about—but he understood. He would never push for anything that endangered her or made her or our pup unsafe.

I couldn’t let myself think about that, though. I was reviewing the security measures for the tribunal, and every single thing had to be perfect. I wanted a bow on security before we retrieved Varga, and that was happening tonight.

Kane and I were spearheading the mission, because, to absolutely no one’s surprise, Varga had ignored his formal summons. Other alphas of neighboring packs had started to arrive in the small village closest to the castle, including the top five of Pack Caelestis. Kane was meeting with them now, formally accepting his father’s role as new Alpha of their pack and accepting their pledges. Three other Alphas from around the world had already proven their loyalty, bending the knee without hesitation. The Chinese and Japanese Alphas had flown in on private jets overnight, pledged, and left again before sunrise.

It was a smart move on Kane’s part to take the time to meet with as many packs as possible now, given we had no idea what other tricks Varga might have up his sleeve. Our intelligence reports placed him at a private chalet in the Transylvanian Alps, not at his pack seat in Hungary. Which was either a good thing—he might be less heavily armed if we took him unaware—or a very bad one. He could be hunkered down, armed to the teeth and ready to trap us. The fact that he was in Romania was suspicious in and of itself.

We were going in prepared for the heavy option. If it was easier than we anticipated, bravo.

“Gael.” Andrei, one of Kosta’s former bodyguards, jogged over. “Just wanted to let you know I’m going to be taking over perimeter security. Karl was previously second-in-command, and I don’t personally like the guy who’s running its attitude. He’s got a chip on his shoulder about Karl getting sacked, and I don’t trust it.”

“Thank you. Let him know he’s lucked into a free week of vacation and escort him off the grounds. I’ll deal with him one-on-one once this is put to bed. ”

“Will do.” He was gone again as quickly as he came, not one to waste words or effort. We needed a couple dozen more of him. Most of Kosta’s men were good; there was no doubt about that. But many of them were older than Kane, and several of them hadn’t fully transferred their loyalty yet. Sure, they would do their jobs. But grudging obedience wasn’t even close to respect. I was making sure we had people I had personally vetted in every key role. The others, Kane would win over with time.

Andrei had taken one more checkpoint off my list. Which was a good thing, because I had a lot left to do and less than an hour before go time to do it in. The pilot was readying the military helicopter, one large enough to carry our eight-man team plus a light tactical vehicle with body armor that could also handle the terrain in the Alps.

It made me itch, leaving Leigh behind. But… it was necessary. She would be safe here, with Dirge and castle security to watch over her, and Brielle and Olivia in case of medical emergency. I couldn’t do any more than they could, but I could wipe a threat to our pack off the map. So, I got back to work, and continued checking things off the list.

Nightfall found us loading the helicopter, dressed in all black. Kevlar vests, armored helmets, the whole nine yards. The plan was four men in the LTV—the tactical vehicle’s max capacity with a top gunner—and four in wolf form. But we were all starting armored in case we landed in a firestorm.

The pull in my chest toward Leigh was painful, but I’d checked on her and the other women, and they were all chatting and painting their nails in the high alpha’s suite, with Dirge on the door in full armor. It felt risky to me, but Cristian had assured me that the castle would be locked down like the fourteenth-century fortress it was. I stopped next to the chopper and watched as Sergei carried a munitions case into the loading bay, resting my hand on the fuselage.

“You okay?” Kane stepped up to my side, dressed just like the rest of us, with his alpha dominance tightly leashed. “Brielle is fully charged up, and even without me here, Shay knows how to help now if Leigh or the baby have any trouble.”

“I know, brother. It’s the first time I’ve had to do this since I met her. Since I had a mate.”

Kane rocked back on his heels, wearing a contemplative look. “You know it’s going to help you, right?”

“How so?”

He laughed. “I thought I focused before I met Brielle. But after… She’s changed me. And not in that cliché way, where she makes me put the toilet seat down. But on a cellular level. Everything I do now has a purpose. It’s her. And you’ve got that twice over, because this doesn’t just matter for your pack anymore. You’re doing it for your mate and child’s safety. Let that be fuel, and you’ll be sharper than you ever thought was possible.” He clapped me on the shoulder and strode off to check in with the other guys coming on the mission.

That was why we followed Kane, and why I didn’t worry about the rest of the packs falling in line, given enough time. He was strong, sure. But he led from the front, and he put his whole self into everything he did. He would check on every man before this bird left the ground.

I shook my head, trying to clear the muddled thoughts. But deep down, I knew he was right. I was antsy because this mattered in a way that it didn’t before.

My mate was counting on me to protect her and to protect her friends. I wasn’t going to let her down—not now, not ever.

With that purpose at the forefront of my mind, I slapped the side of the chopper twice to alert the pilot, then whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Load up!” I yelled as the blades started to spin.

I pulled myself in and strapped into my harness, counting each man as they loaded the bird. I’d already checked the LTV. It was secure and ready to roll. Reed was the last one in, and he looked so strange in a uniform instead of one of his expensive suits. But he could fight, and he was as strong as any other man on this mission. More than that, I trusted him to have my back, no matter what.

When all eight of us were seated, the loading hatch lifted back into place to seal the cabin, and then that sick sensation of lifting off hit me as we left gravity behind.

The flight wasn’t long, but I spent it running over scenarios and reviewing the floor plan I’d located for the chalet on my tablet. All the men had one, but I’d provided the attack routes and assigned the teams. I needed to know where everyone would be at each minute, in case of an emergency evacuation or anything going sideways.

When a light flashed overhead about an hour later, I stowed the tablet and made the round-up hand motion. We moved as one, unlatching our harnesses and getting into position to exit the helicopter. The pilot was on order to drop us and hover out of firing range for fifteen minutes. After that, we needed to have Varga in custody and be back in the air before any of his pack members could try to stop us.

The chopper touched down, the gate dropped a second after, and we slipped into the darkness. The LTV team was being run by Dimitri—he was furious, hungry for retribution for his Alpha, Kosta—and those of us on foot bailed off and veered left, waiting at the appointed spot for the LTV to roll out and to the ground.

As soon as it was clear, the lift gate of the chopper lifted, and the helicopter was disappearing back into the velvet sky.

Quiet descended over us, no sign of a firefight, or any resistance whatsoever. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

I activated my helmet microphone. “Change of plans. Grab the handholds on the LTV. We’re going to piggyback.” It was basically a miniature tank, but the inside only seated three, plus a gunner on top. However, it did come equipped with handholds so that extra troops could grab onto the outside and stand on the running boards to be transported more quickly.

We moved in silence, and as soon as the four of us were secure, I tapped the mic twice to let the driver know to roll out. The LTV crawled over the rocky terrain with surprising quiet, and within two minutes, we saw the lights pouring from the beautiful chalet. It was open and modern, the entire back wall made of glass.

We skirted it, having to pick off only two guards as we approached from the side.

Either Varga had grown lazy, or he was waiting for us. I exchanged a look with Kane, where he hung from the nearest handhold, a deep frown of concentration only partially hidden under his helmet.

Dimitri parked us in the tree line, and all but two men piled out with us. One stayed in the driver’s seat; the other manned the mounted gun on top of the LTV, in case we needed cover fire to get out.

We wove through the darkness with silent, serpentine intent. When I arrived at the rear corner of the building, I risked a glance around the edge for security but found none. Arrogant asshole.

I did get an eyeful of Varga, balls-deep in a female—who, based on her significantly younger age, was not his mate, Marta.

Arrogant, murderous, and a cheating douchebag. He got the triple crown.

Apparently, he didn’t want an audience for his infidelity. Too damn bad. I smirked as I stuck a percussive explosive carefully on the glass and set the timer. I stepped back and braced, turning away in case of flying glass shards, and the rest of the men mirrored my position. Three seconds later, it blew with a high-pitched shriek, followed by the rain of falling glass.

A split second later, the female started shrieking her terror. That was our cue.

We rounded the corner and fanned out, three of us encircling the duo, while the other three jogged through the bedroom door to clear the rest of the property. While the young woman scrabbled for sheets and screamed her head off, Varga just grinned his best shit-eating grin and propped his hands on his hips, wet dick and saggy balls still swinging in the breeze.

Nasty old fucker .

“About time you idiots showed up. Another week and I would’ve had to send you a written invitation.”

“Alpha, do something!” the woman said, cowering in the corner.

“Shut the hell up, you stupid bitch. They’re not here for you.” He snarled, letting his alpha dominance strike out, knocking her back with the force of it.

I snarled, my vision going red at his abusive use of power. I didn’t even clock the distance. One second, I was in position with my weapon; the next, I had his throat in my grip, my own dominance raging in the air.

“You lecherous old prick.”

His eyes went wide as I cut off his airway, but Kane was at my shoulder a second later. “Reed and Sergei cleared the building. It’s only these two and whatever security he has out front.”

“What do you want to do with the female?” I snarled, my wolf still making my eyes glow as I stared Varga down, refusing to break eye contact.

Kane rounded on her, keeping his distance. “Are you part of Varga’s pack? ”

She nodded, terror and the stench of piss filling the air as the high alpha addressed her.

“I’m his granddaughter’s best friend, Sydney.”

“Can you make your own way off the mountain, Sydney?”

“I’ll call a car. Please don’t take me.”

“Get dressed and leave. Don’t linger here,” he ordered, alpha command lacing his voice, not enough to make her piss herself again, but enough to make her limbs move despite her terror.

“Reed, find this man a pair of pants,” I snarled. “I’m not flying all the way back home staring at this saggy fucker’s junk.”

Kane laughed then, as Reed grumbled and threw a pair of khaki slacks my way.

Something about this didn’t feel right.