Chapter 34: Brothers in Arms

KOL

I strolled into the diner Diego had told me to meet him in and saw him with two wolves in a booth halfway down. I tensed and walked toward them.

He looked up when I reached them and nodded his hello, so I slid in beside him. “Who are they?” I asked cautiously, eyeing up the wolves opposite me.

“This is Ollie and his mate, Julia.” They both nodded at me, fear in their eyes. ~Why would they be afraid? They’re sitting in a nice diner eating good food with—shit!~

I turned to him, choosing my next words carefully. “Diego? How did you meet these wolves?”

I glanced over again. He definitely had some healing bruises, and she looked—I gulped and closed my eyes. “Diego? What did you do?”

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, his eyes never leaving his plate. “I captured them,” he whispered. I closed my eyes, clenching my jaw.

The last thing this poor woman needed was seeing me going berserk. She looked terrified to her core.

I motioned for a waitress to come over. When she did, I ordered more food for the table, and lots of it. Once she had left, I turned to the she-wolf. “Julia?”

She whimpered in her seat, but her eyes met mine. I didn’t look much better than Diego, I imagined. Sure, I had cleaned up at the castle, but I still had that insane look in my eyes.

I did my best to smile at her, though, and she relaxed slightly. “How far along are you?”

She rubbed her tummy, smiling slightly. “Eight months in a week,” she mumbled.

“What do you want from us? I told him everything I know. Or are you going to beat the shit out of me too?”

Her mate was defensive. I didn’t blame him. I’d only seen Diego in action once, and honestly, that had been enough to turn my stomach.

I swallowed down the memory along with the bile that was building in my throat.

The waitress brought over the food I had ordered, pancakes, bacon and eggs, juices, and waffles. “Please eat. Help yourselves. I just need to speak with Diego a moment.”

I grabbed him and dragged him from the booth into the one opposite. “What the hell were you thinking? Are you out of your mind? She’s fucking pregnant!” I snarled at him.

He just flinched and stayed quiet. “Diego!” He looked up, and I had been right, the insane look in his eyes matched mine. “When was the last time you slept? Or ate, even? You’re wasting away!”

He looked over at the couple in the booth who were now tucking into the food I had ordered.

“I was giving her the food I could get. I’m a madman, Kol, but I’d never hurt a pregnant woman. You have to believe me.”

I just sat back and watched him, turning away slightly when I saw the tear roll down his cheek. He sniffed and gathered himself. “I got something, though.”

~Now he has my attention.~

“Ollie said that some crazy lady was holding them and controlling the rogues. Not all of them are rogues, man.

“Some of them have been taken and forced to follow her command. He said she’s packing some serious juice.”

I stared at him. ~Juice? What the fuck is juice? She’s packing oranges?~

Then it dawned on me. “You mean she’s a witch?”

I gulped, and Diego nodded. “Yeah, and remember that Ash kid? I was talking to him. He told me what happened when Gia met him in death.” I flinched at her name, but he didn’t notice.

“He said she recognized the figure in the darkness, and that’s when everything changed.”

“Wait, wait, back up. What?” I sat closer, staring at him. “There’s someone in death with her? Who?”

He stared at me. “My guess is it’s that bitch Merrida, and she’s not in death, Kol.”

“What do you mean? Where is she?”

“She’s in limbo.”

DIEGO

Okay, so it turned out that if I had just spoken to them instead of terrorizing them, I would’ve gotten the information I needed a lot quicker. Huh, who knew?

Once Kol started talking to them, they really opened up. They were having a girl, something Julia was really excited about. He didn’t admit it, but it was clear Ollie was excited too.

Kol forced me to eat, and once we had finished eating and had taken some food to go with us, we were back at the cabin, just sitting and chatting.

I found myself wondering how I would feel about becoming a father. Would I be excited? Would I want a boy or a girl? How many pups should we have?

~A conversation Liv and I should have once I make it home to her.~

~God, I miss her. I miss her scent, her smile, the way the light bounces off her golden hair, the way her eyes light up when she sees me.~

“Diego?”

Kol’s question snapped me out of my trance. “What?” I blinked.

“I asked how you wanna do this. We need to find Merrida and get her back to the castle.”

I cursed silently. We did need to get her back to the castle, but three male wolves and a pregnant she-wolf weren’t exactly gonna go taking down any armies anytime soon.

A slight cough snapped me back to the room. “If I may make a suggestion?” My eyes narrowed at Ollie. “There are some wolves who don’t want to be rogue, who weren’t shunned, and who got taken like us.”

I clenched my fists. “Your point?” I snarled.

His gaze darted to Kol, and he gulped “I think what he’s trying to say is that some of those wolves might help us.”

My mouth fell open. “Are you serious? How can we trust them? Their pack won’t even take them back,” I spat at him.

They shuffled uncomfortably. “All I’m saying is those wolves don’t want to help her, they want to be free. I’m sure if we can try to talk to them, they will agree to help us.”

Ollie glared over at me. I couldn’t say I blamed him. I’d really done a number on him. I was surprised he’d even sit in the same room as me, if I’m honest.

After agreeing to this ridiculous plan they cooked up and giving Ollie my phone so he could make some calls, I sat outside under the stars.

“What’s the difference between limbo and death?” I hadn’t even noticed Kol sitting down beside me.

“Only Gia can enter death and return to the living world unharmed. Anyone can enter limbo—well any witch worth their dime in the craft can enter it.”

He just nodded. “Can you?”

I shook my head at him.

“No, I can do a couple of spells, mainly ones that would help me on missions or in a fight, but Gia and the twins were always the stronger witches. I never learned how to cross into other realms.”

“Hey, guys!” Ollie came running out to us. “I got through to a couple of guys that I had been close with, and they agreed to round up some help and meet us! They know where Merrida hides her body.”

I froze. “Body? What do you mean her body?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, honestly. They said something about her disappearing for a long time, and she has some wolves guard her body so no harm comes to it or something. I don’t really understand it.”

We spent most of the night coming up with a plan. Ollie would take us to meet the wolves who had agreed to help us.

Kol called Mom to ask one of the twins to meet us and take Julia back to the castle where she would be safe. It took a few minutes for Ollie to agree, but eventually he did.

We decided to get some rest and begin our journey once the sun had come up.

It took a couple of days to get to the clearing we had agreed to meet these wolves in. I was a little on edge and feeling murderous.

“Just know this. If this is a setup, I will rip you apart and make your mate watch,” I growled at Ollie.

“Easy, Diego,” Kol warned behind me. “Everything will be fine.”

I glared at him. “It better be; otherwise, heads will roll.”

Ollie just stared ahead. “It’s not a trap. They’re here.”

My gaze followed his, and my mouth dropped. Ten men walked out of the trees toward us. They looked strong, like warriors.

I was sure if they had been in a pack, they would have been in the guard, running patrols and being the first line of defense for the pack.

Merrida must have been as powerful as Mother if she’d managed to control these wolves. I clenched my jaw, looking at them.

~Once Levi or Lucas arrives, before he takes Julia to Mom, I’ll have him help me enter their minds. Only then will I know for sure this isn’t a trap.~

The men came to a stop in front of us; their leader nodded his head in our direction. “Prince Diego, Alpha Kol, we are indebted to you and thank you for your help.”

Kol nodded in response; I, on the other hand, was not so easily convinced. A slight pop behind me signaled that one of the twins had arrived. Perfect timing.

Levi stood beside me. I glanced over and opened my mind to him.

~“I want to make sure this isn’t a trap. Help me check them out. I’m rusty.”~

He nodded and stared ahead. I cleared my throat. “I find it hard to believe that this many of you managed to sneak away unnoticed. How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

The man in front just smiled. “We know who he is.” He pointed to Levi. “Enter our minds if you wish. We have nothing to hide.

“We have told her followers that we went on patrol, but we have no wish to be there. Ollie told us you can help us escape, so we are here to help you.”

I scoffed and crossed my arms. Leader 101.

If I entered their minds now, I’d lose any form of trust I may have had from them, so my hands were tied, and this jackass knew it, but I was keeping Levi close.

~“Call Lucas to take the she-wolf to Mom. I want you close.”~

Levi nodded silently, and a second later Lucas appeared. “I will take Julia to Mom for you.” I nodded at him, and Ollie said his goodbyes to his mate.

I looked back over at the others. “So, how do we do this?”

The leader looked behind him.

“We will have to return soon or the others will get suspicious, so we will need to keep up a ruse. But I will send Marco and Kane back at sundown, and they will lead you to the cave she lies in.”

I looked at Kol, and he nodded at me.

If all else failed, at least I would have a berserk on my side. I remembered what he’d done in the last cave like it was a piece of cake. I scoffed again and looked at the sky.

~What is it with this bitch and caves?~