Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(55)

Yeah, he’d already figured that he was being baited, but . . . “He’ll come for her.”

“Let him come. Let him fucking come. We’ll take care of him when he does. And we’ll do it as a pack—without anyone going off alone, leaving behind their mate. Or is finding and killing Archer worth more than Madisyn’s safety to you?”

Bracken shot him a glower. “You’re an asshole.”

“Harley would agree with you on that. But I say it’s debatable.”

“I don’t.”

Zander rubbed his nape. “Yeah, me neither.” But there was humor in his eyes.

“Think we should cancel the barbecue?” asked Eli.

Nick shook his head. “Archer won’t send anybody back here. He wants us to feel unsafe on our own territory. Wants us to feel that hiding the location of one sow isn’t worth all this shit. He’ll learn fast that he’s wrong.”

Crouching near the van, Derren called out, “There’s a GPS tracker under here. Archer must have planted it there.”

Bracken looked at his Alpha. “Then we know what to do.”

Nick gave a slow nod. “But not yet. Our mates and Kathy will be on their way here as we speak, determined to see for themselves that we’re fine. Let’s give them that, or they’ll track us out here. Besides, we could do with Ally’s healing skills right now.”

All in agreement with the Alpha, they headed to the main lodge. They were lounging around the living area in their jeans, sipping the coffee Kent made for them, when the females arrived. Taryn, Trey, Makenna, and Ryan also filed in behind them.

Bracken only had eyes for Madisyn, and he felt the lines of strain ease from his face as she came toward him. His wolf relaxed a little, even though his mood remained foul. Bracken had wanted to go collect her, as he’d arranged, but he’d known that she was already be on her way here with Ally. No way would Madisyn or the other Mercury females have remained behind once they learned of the Seer’s vision.

“Hey, baby,” he said softly. She was gaping down at him, studying every injury. He patted the spot beside him on the sofa. “Come here.” But she hesitated, as if afraid she’d hurt him. He caught her wrist and tugged her to him. As she sank on the sofa beside him, he pressed a lingering kiss to her mouth, letting the touch, feel, and scent of her soothe both him and his wolf.

Madisyn swallowed, stomach churning at the sight of all his injuries. Most were healing already, but some were much worse than others. There were deep gashes on his face, weeping puncture wounds in his sides, and his arm was bruised and broken. Rage curdled inside both her and her cat. The feline wanted to claw the fuck out of whoever had hurt him. “We need Ally.”

He put a hand on her thigh before she could go find the female in question. “As expected, she went straight to her mate, who incidentally needs her the most anyway. Zander clicked Derren’s dislocated shoulder back into place, but the Beta’s in a lot of pain, and he lost more blood than the rest of us.”

Madisyn shoved her hand through her hair, edgy with anger. “I shit myself when Ally told me about her vision. What exactly happened? She just said that she saw your wolves fighting three males.”

“They were bears from Archer’s clan.”

“Were,” she repeated carefully. “They’re dead, then.”

“Very.” Bracken studied her face. “That bother you?”

“Fuck, no.” She’d be happy to dig out some popcorn. “Where are they now?”

“Still on our territory. We stuffed them in the van, along with their trash bags, box, and shovels.”

Madisyn blinked. “Wait. Shovels?”

Bracken took a deep breath, still unable to think of the matter without tasting anger. It was like ash in his mouth. “Archer sent them to dig up the bodies of my family.”

Shock slapped her. “What? That motherfucking asshole. Who does shit like that? Oh my God, that’s just . . . I don’t have words.” Mentally fumbling, unsure how to comfort him, she simply asked, “You’re all right?”

“Now that I have you with me, yeah.” Because she calmed and centered him.

Crossing to him, Makenna winced. “That arm looks sore. And those scratches on your face are pretty deep too.”

Standing beside her, Ryan grunted in what was probably agreement.

“I’ve had worse,” said Bracken. At a loud curse from his Alpha, Bracken glanced his way and saw the male facing his mate, arms raised, palms out.

“You don’t need to get the shotgun, Shay; the bastards are well and truly dead,” Nick assured her while Taryn rubbed her back soothingly.

It was good that Kent had taken the pups to their bedroom where they wouldn’t see the males wounded, because they’d have been just as freaked out seeing Shaya looking absolutely murderous. She might be a submissive wolf, but she was also bloodthirsty.

“Well, you got your wish,” Madisyn said to Bracken, mouth curved into a smile that was somewhat forced. “The baby shower ended early. I could almost think you hired those bears yourself,” she joked.

Realizing she was trying to distract him from his anger, Bracken tangled his fingers in hers. “It was the only stunt I could arrange on such short notice,” he quipped. He kissed her again. “I wanted you home, but I didn’t want the baby shower being spoiled.”