Cravings: Alpha City 2 (21 page)

Kayden nodded at Ryder who lit the fire underneath the table. The fire blazed to life burning his body as they watched.

“Rest in Peace, my brother,” Kayden whispered.

Kayden and the others watched until there wasn’t anything left. They would clean this site up tomorrow. Now, he needed to get Carina to the mine. Bast turned and placed a kiss on Carina’s head and then retreated into the darkness. Who knew how much power the elf really had, or why he didn’t choose to help his friend? Kayden shook his head as they pulled away from the cabin, knowing that Claudia had won this round by killing Thorn and letting him feel anger toward another member of The Order.

Zoey and the others were waiting for Kayden when he returned to the mine. Ryder had contacted London and told her what had happened. Rose sat staring off into space. She and Thorn had gotten very close since she arrived in Alpha City. The fact that Thorn had sacrificed himself to save Carina, said a lot about the man he was, but Zoey couldn’t accept that Thorn had been killed. She almost expected to see Thorn get out of the vehicle with Kayden, but that wasn’t to be.

Zoey ran to her mate and hugged him close. She could feel the distance in him when he hugged her back.

“Kayden, are you okay?” Zoey whispered.

“No. Right now I just need to be alone,” Kayden said then pulled away from his mate and walked off. She couldn’t believe what he was doing. She watched as he pulled his shirt off and threw it down to the ground then started stripping off the rest of his clothes. He then shifted and ran off into the woods behind the mine.

Nope, she wasn’t going to let him do this alone. She stripped and shifted then followed his trail. Zoey ran hard to catch up with her mate. She found him sitting underneath some rocks. His eyes glowed as he watched her shift and sit beside him. He stayed in his panther form as she rubbed the soft fur down his back. His eyes closed as she continued to run her hand from his ears down to his face.

“We are mates, Kayden, and I won’t allow you to pull away from me, especially now. I loved Thorn too. He was a good man, and he will be missed by all of us. I promise we will avenge his death and kill the dragon. You’re not in this alone, baby. I will be here every step of the way, together, with you. Don’t you see what she is trying to do? She is trying to pull us apart and make us resent each other. We have to stay strong, but we have to do that together.”

Zoey stayed silent knowing he needed to think about what she said. He would make the right decision; she knew that. Kayden was a good man and a good Alpha. He knew what he needed to do, and she would help him with his grief.

They had been under the rocks for about an hour when Kayden finally shifted.

He looked up at his mate. She could see the pain in his eyes.

“I feel lost now. It’s like a big chunk of my life has been stripped from me, here.” Kayden put his hand over his heart. “How do I replace him and go on without him?”

“We take it minute by minute and day by day. No decision has to be made on who can be your beta. Right now, the pride needs to grieve, and we continue with the plan,” Zoey answered. Her heart broke for her mate. Thorn had been with him since the beginning, and Kayden thought of him as a brother.

“Okay. Let’s get back to the mine. Carina isn’t in good shape. I think she’s in shock,” Kayden whispered, and then he leaned into Zoey, nuzzling her face with his. Zoey got up and shifted, then waited for Kayden. He shifted, and they ran back to the mine. Shifting back, they faced their friends and family.

“Thorn did a lot in a short amount of time. He got the line set up where London could hit the satellite from inside. He even had some of the workers here stabilizing the walls in the front part.” Zoey pointed at all the work Thorn had already accomplished. He had done this even before he spoke with Kayden about moving to the mine during the full moons. That was what a Beta did. They took care of problems without even being asked. She wanted to cry thinking about Thorn and how his life had been taken from them too early. He never even got to find his mate, or maybe he did with Rose. Maybe she was his mate. Nobody could be sure now. Rose would have to go on without him. They would all have to go on without him. He would have been angry if they didn’t. Thorn knew what needed to be done and had prepared a place for them to be safe.

“Look at what Thorn did, Kayden. He did all this before he even told us about the mine. He was a great man, and I will miss him,” London said, her voice wobbly as she hugged Kayden.

“Yes, he was,” Kayden whispered. He pulled himself together because they needed for their Alphas to be strong now. “We still have a lot to do.”

Brody, Judd, Nolan, and Ryder all came up to Kayden and embraced him in a big hug. “Together we will get through this,” Brody answered. Then Zoey and the others came in and put their arms around the Alphas.

Zoey glanced over at Rose who was holding Carina, rocking her as she slept in her arms. She needed Rose to know that they were there for them and sorry for her loss as well. Tears fell down her cheeks as she mourned the life of a man who could have been more.

Zoey and Kayden broke free from the group and went over to Rose and put their hands around her letting her know that they felt her pain as well.

War had begun, and they were safe. At least for now…

The End

The Ashland Pack

The Trinity
Big Bad Alpha

The Love of a Shifter

Once Forgotten: Twice Loved

Healing Their Mate

Shifter Justice

Co-Written with Author Jana Leigh

Perfect Reflection

Infiltrating the Pack

Alpha City

Obsessions

Cravings

Keep up with all of Bryce Evan’s new releases via her website:

www.bryceevans.webs.com

Bryce Evans is a mother, wife, and author who loves to escape to the world she has built in the Ashland Pack and other stories. She burst onto the publishing scene with a hit in The Trinity.  As an active police officer, Bryce needed another outlet from the pains of others.  Writing filled that void. 

She loves talking to people who have the same tastes as she does and enjoys storytelling about vampires, werewolves, witches, and fairies. 

She loves to read books and write about places that come together in her head. She tries to write about what she knows and usually you will find some aspect of law enforcement in her writing. 

Travel with her to a world filled with vampires, werewolves, witches, and fairies were the paranormal run wild and romance blooms. 

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