Chapter 41: City Lights

CONNOR

“I’m telling you, this is a bad idea,” Jyn muttered, straightening his suit as he climbed out of the car. “We should’ve stuck together.”

“Sure, we could’ve. But then what’s the point of coming as a group? Let ~me~ handle this,” she retorted, causing Jyn to grumble under his breath.

I glanced up at the towering building that had been our temporary home for the past week.

I stepped into the bustling building, glancing over my shoulder. People were coming and going, dressed in high-end suits and dresses.

You’d think they were just regular humans, but most of them were wolves from all over the globe. They lived and worked among humans, pretending to fit in, all the while knowing this charade might not last.

This was my second visit to the city, my second time in New York. The first time was when my mother was still with us.

After she left the mountains for the city, I never set foot in a city again. My father hated the idea of becoming like her, of abandoning our kind.

But she never did that. My mother never severed ties with our kind or the Moon Goddess. She just wanted a change, to live and work differently. My father couldn’t accept that.

Ever since she left, Sorin and I acted as if she didn’t exist. But I knew she was the one sending all the fancy stuff my way. I just never acknowledged it or cared.

With a sigh, we stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for our condo. Jyn and our go-between, Victoria, were in the middle of a heated discussion when my phone buzzed.

I let it ring a few times before reluctantly pulling it out.

A quick glance at the screen made me frown. Jyn and Victoria noticed and fell silent.

“Something wrong?” Jyn asked. I frowned, still staring at the number.

“Answer it,” Victoria urged.

I was about to do just that when I heard a groan from the other end.

My heart jumped into my throat as more grumbling and muffled sounds came through the line.

“Connor?” Jyn moved closer, but I raised my hand to silence him.

I didn’t know who was calling, but every instinct in me screamed it was Elaine.

As the elevator doors slid open, I nodded at Victoria. She quickly pulled out her own phone.

I didn’t catch what she was saying as I focused on the call.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Elaine?” The word slipped out before I could process what was happening.

“Elaine?” Jyn echoed, his brow furrowed in concern. “Is it her?”

“Yes, but something’s off,” I explained, pulling the phone away from my ear and hitting the speaker button so we could both listen.

Jyn and I huddled around the table, straining to hear. A few moments later, Victoria joined us with a laptop.

The same muffled sounds came through the phone. It was hard to make out anything.

“They’re tracking the call,” Victoria whispered. I glanced from the computer screen back to the phone.

My heart pounded as I waited to hear her voice again, for any sign that it was really her.

A loud bang came from the other end of the line, and we all froze, expecting something. But all we got was silence. Or so we thought.

“Hello?” Elaine’s shaky voice came through. ~“Connor, hello?”~

Relief washed over me, and I let out a sigh, leaning against the table.

“Connor, please, answer me,” she pleaded.

“Elaine,” I managed to choke out.

“Connor…it’s really you,” she said, her voice breaking. I could hear her sobbing, and it tore me apart.

“I’m here, Elaine. I’m here.” I picked up the phone from the table. “Where are you, Elaine? Who has—”

“Listen, Connor. Please listen. Don’t trust Sorin. Don’t let him lie to you!” Her words tumbled out in a rush. “Whatever he tells you, it’s a lie. He knows where I am.”

I frowned, confused.

“Sorin? What do you mean, Elaine?” I asked, desperation creeping into my voice.

The sound of something roaring to life sent my heart into overdrive.

“Where are you, Elaine? Are they taking you somewhere?” I asked, turning to Victoria. She was focused on her computer screen, typing furiously.

“Don’t trust him.”

The line went silent, and panic set in. I pulled the phone away from my ear and saw that the call was still connected.

“Do you know where you are?” I asked, but there was no response. “I need you to tell me. Where are you?”

“Hunters. I’m at the hunter’s mansion,” she whispered. “Or was.”

I swallowed hard, waiting for her to say more. But all I could hear was her breathing.

I walked over to the massive glass window that overlooked the towering buildings of New York City. I rested my forehead against the glass, watching as the sky turned from blue to orange, then pink.

“I’m sorry,” I heard her whisper. ~“I’m so sorry I hurt you.”~

I chuckled, looking down at my reflection in the black marble floor.

“I miss you, Elaine. More than you can imagine,” I murmured. “I’m going to find you and bring you back home where you belong.”

I heard a muffled sob.

“I don’t have a home, Connor,” Elaine stuttered. “I can’t go back to the pack.”

I smiled at that.

“Yes, you can.”

“No, I…,” Elaine trailed off.

“Listen to me, and remember this. You are coming back home.

“When I say you’re coming back, you are. Because the pack isn’t home without you. And even if you’re not a lycan anymore, you’re still ~my mate.~

“My one and only, the one who completes me and Khan, my true love. And no matter what happens, I will find you and kill the bastard who laid a hand on you.”

A small chuckle came from Elaine’s end.

“You and your damn ego,” Elaine whispered, her words pulling a smile from me.

“And you and your damn stubbornness,” I shot back.

We fell into silence, the only sound our shared breaths.

“~I love you~, Connor,” Elaine’s voice trembled over the line.

I closed my eyes, letting her words wash over me. They left me breathless, a lump forming in my throat. I needed to respond, to reassure her, but before I could, the line went dead.

“Anything?” I asked, stepping away from the window and pocketing my phone.

Jyn was fixated on the screen displaying the tracker signal. I moved closer, my frown deepening at the sight.

“There’s a mistake, right?” I asked, glancing at Victoria. She looked just as confused.

“It doesn’t seem so,” she murmured.

My gaze returned to the screen. The red dot blinked, moving around the city. But it was closer than it should have been.

“Should we call the team?” Jyn asked, pulling his phone from his pocket. “We need to move fast.”

“No.” Victoria shook her head. “We should wait and see where it stops.”

“We can’t just wait!” Jyn snapped. His lycan snarled at Victoria, who merely raised an eyebrow at him.

I had a feeling something was brewing between those two. A hunch that Victoria might be Jyn’s mate.

Pushing that thought aside, I refocused on my phone.

“We should wait,” I agreed, earning looks from both of them. “Before we act, I need to visit someone important.”

Victoria smirked, understanding my meaning, and grabbed her laptop.

“I’ll set up a meeting then,” she said, disappearing down the hallway.

Jyn snarled in my direction, causing me to roll my eyes.

“You’re too calm, Connor!” he accused. “Elaine could be in danger.”

I sighed, sinking into the sofa. My fingers massaged the space between my brows.

I agreed Elaine might be in danger, but I had a feeling she could handle herself. That she’d be okay until we could get to her.

What worried me more was what she’d said before the line went dead.

“Elaine said not to trust Sorin.”

That stopped Jyn’s rant in its tracks.

“What?” he frowned. “Did you mishear her?”

“No, she said it more than once. She said, don’t trust Sorin, please don’t. Something tells me to believe her, but I don’t know why.”

I shook my head. “I know what you’re thinking. He’s my brother and Elaine loves him, but she wouldn’t speak ill of Sorin, not when she’s in danger.”

Jyn fell silent, lost in thought, when the condo doors opened and Yuki walked in with Jyn’s brothers.

“Victoria said Elaine contacted you?” Blaze asked, taking a seat across from me. I nodded, waiting for the others to settle in.

“She called. We traced the phone she was using,” I explained.

“So, what are we waiting for?” Regulus demanded. “We need to move now!”

“We can’t.” I shook my head. “Not yet.”

“Are you out of your mind, Connor? What if something happens to Elaine?” Blaze growled. “It’ll be on us.”

“I know, but listen!” I shouted. “The tracker is moving, which means they’re taking her somewhere. We have to wait and see where they stop.”

“And then what?” Jyn growled.

I was struggling to keep Khan in check. Jyn’s attitude wasn’t helping.

“We take it one step at a time,” Victoria answered before I could.

She’d changed into a sundress, her hair still wet from a shower.

“They’re still moving, which might mean they’re taking her out of the city,” she pointed out, tossing a phone onto the coffee table. A small red dot beeped with each turn.

“To act, we need proof.”

“We have proof!” Jyn grumbled.

“Yes, but the council of human and wolf leaders wants more. Without solid proof, we can’t attack the hunters’ base.”

“So we wait until it’s too late?” Yuki asked, frustration clear in his voice.

“No, we ask for help. That’s where Connor comes in.”

All eyes turned to me, waiting for an explanation. I took a deep breath and sighed.

“There’s someone who heads the council here in the city,” I began.

“Someone you know?” Regulus asked. I nodded.

“She’s my mother,” I said, looking away from the group.

I waited for a reaction, but they all stayed silent. Smiling, I turned back to them.

“My mother is alive,” I chuckled. “She lives among humans.”

“Isn’t she supposed to be dead?” Jyn asked, frowning.

“To my dad, she is,” I shrugged. “But my brother and I know she’s alive.”

“So, what are we waiting for? Contact her,” Yuki urged.

“It’s not that simple,” I mumbled, looking away. “I haven’t spoken to her in over ten years.”

The room fell silent again until Victoria cleared her throat.

“Don’t worry, I already contacted her,” she said, winking at me.

I could feel Jyn’s glare boring into me. I forced a smile and pretended not to notice.

“Oh, you did. What did she say?” Yuki asked before I could respond.

“She’ll meet you tonight, boy. Better be ready to see your momma.” Victoria grinned. “And bring a box of tissues. Don’t want you drowning us in your I-miss-you-mommy tears.”

The group erupted into laughter while I scoffed at her.

With a bitter smile, I folded my arms and turned my gaze back to the window.

A flicker of hope sparked in my heart. If tonight went as planned, I’d soon have Elaine wrapped in my arms.