Liam, Toni Griffin [freda ebook reader .TXT] 📗

He couldn't let his little brother get hurt because of him.

"Honey, what's wrong, I can feel your pain. What's happened?" The soothing tones of his mate's voice floated through his mind.

Declan sobbed again before he could gather himself together enough to answer his mate. "Alpha Wallis has Tommy." He hiccupped and tried to calm himself down.

Falling into hysterics would not help Tommy.

"I'm leaving now. I'll call Ben on my way. I'll be home soon."

"Hurry, I've got 'till six tonight to get there before he kills Tommy."

"Hold it together, honey, Tommy needs you. I'll see you in five minutes."

Declan pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, trying to calm down. He couldn't lose Tommy. It had nearly killed them when their parents had been shot by poachers when they were out running together. He didn't think he would survive if Tommy was taken from him as well. Liam would do everything within his power to help him.

Declan had no idea how long he'd been sitting huddled on the floor when a hand landed on his shoulder.

Declan cried out looking around wildly, until his gaze settled on his mate.

"Shhh, honey. Everything's okay. We're going to go get Tommy. Come on."

Liam helped Declan from the floor and pulled him tight to his chest. The scent of his mate surrounded him and did more to calm him than everything else he had tried since the phone call. Liam's strong arms gave him a feeling of utter safety and Declan never wanted to give them up.

"I love you," he blurted.

Declan had no idea the words were going to come out until it was too late. Embarrassed at his case of verbal diarrhoea, Declan buried his face in his mate's shirt.

Liam didn't laugh. Instead, he eased Declan back and lifted his head until he could look him in the eyes. "I love you too, Declan. Nothing and no one is going to take you away from me. Okay?"

Declan nodded and Liam laid a gentle kiss against his lips.

"Let's go get your brother and bring him home, hmm."

"Yes, please," he whispered.

"Then we can all come back here and watch you clean up the kitchen. Damn, babe. It looks like a bag of flour exploded in here," Liam said.

Declan laughed as he looked around the room. Liam had it right. Flour covered just about every surface within a fairly large radius of where they stood.

"Thank you," he said.

Liam had taken his mind off Tommy for a moment and he appreciated it.

"You're welcome. Now let's go. Hopefully Ben should be out the front waiting for us by now." Liam took Declan's hand and they walked through the house and out the front door, which Liam had left open in his obvious haste to get to Declan.

Liam locked the door behind them and they headed to the big SUV Ben sat waiting in.

"Where to?" Ben asked when Liam climbed in to the front seat and Declan got in the back.

"Umm… he didn't say. Just that I had until six to take my brother's place." Declan looked at his watch. It had just gone four so they had time. "Knowing how much of an ass the man is, he probably thinks it's fitting to go back to the place where I witnessed Nigel's murder. So I guess that means the pack grounds in Cairns. Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, Brad reported its whereabouts after his and Corey's scouting mission." Ben put the car in reverse and left the driveway.

As they drove, something Alpha Wallis said registered with Declan.

"He knows." He didn't realize he'd spoken aloud until Liam asked him.

"Who knows what?"

"Alpha Wallis, he knows about Corey and Brad. He told me on the phone about the wolves poking around his pack."

"Doesn't matter now. Everything's going to come to a head this afternoon. Alpha Wallis's time is up. Frank, Glen and Adrian should be arriving in the next day or so anyway so this wouldn't have gone on for much longer."

The anger in Ben's voice was clearly evident.

Declan processed what Ben said and settled back against the seat as they headed towards Cairns.

He hadn't slept, but Declan must have zoned out because the next thing he registered, the car pulled to a stop in his pack ground's car park.

Declan exited the vehicle. As soon as his feet touched the ground he started shivering. He had no idea why, the temperature felt pleasant, by no means cold yet.

Liam wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. "Everything's going to be fine. Tommy will be fine.

We'll go get him, kick the Alpha's ass, and go home.

Okay?"

"Yeah." That sounded really good, in fact.

Ben came round the front of the car and waved his hand towards the trees. "Can you lead us to where everything went down?"

"Yeah." Declan didn't look forward to going back there.

Hell he didn't want to walk back into the stretch of trees full stop. Liam never let go of his hand as they headed into the bush.

Declan glanced down at his watch. Half past five.

Shit, it had taken them longer to get here than he thought.

They needed to move. After traipsing through the trees for maybe fifteen minutes, the sound of a gun reverberated through the silence. Birds screeched and took flight above them.

"Tommy!" Declan shouted, yanking his hand away from his mate's and racing through the trees.

He didn't care if Liam and Ben were behind him or not, once again thankful for his speed. His heart pounded in his chest and he pushed branches out of his way, ignoring the stinging cuts to his skin when he had been unsuccessful in moving them in time.

Declan finally broke through the edge into the same clearing he had witnessed Nigel's murder. Time seemed to slow down as he came to a halt. Gregory and Barry held Tommy between them just as they had Nigel that night.

Tommy sagged, naked; his body covered in bruises,