Free Home (Running With Alphas Book 7) by Viola Rivard Page A

Alder and Hale.
    Not since she’d first arrived at the pack had anyone been so dismissive towards her.
    Alder came to her defense. “She’s right. This is our pack and we’re not going to war without giving Silas the chance to end this peacefully.”
    “They’ve had months to end this,” Cain shot back.
    Alder kept his cool. “And we’re giving them one more day. If Snow isn’t returned to us my sunrise tomorrow, you’ll have the full support of Halcyon to get her back.”
    It appeared as though Cain was still going to press the issue, but Hale interrupted them. Inserting himself between Cain and his female companion, he placed an arm around her shoulders.
    “Come on, little sister. You look tired.” As he led her from the other males, he hooked an arm around Taylor as well. “You, too. Let’s go.”
    Normally, Taylor would be annoyed at being escorted away like a child. Today, she was too exhausted and dejected to complain.
    Hale guided them down the passageway that led to several of the lower chambers. While there was still a moderate amount of light, Taylor peeked over at the woman, whom she presumed must be Cain’s mate, Sarah. She looked to be in her thirties, with soft brown hair and deep blue eyes. At first glance, Taylor had taken her for a larger woman, but now she realized that Sarah was actually quite pregnant.
    As soon as they were away from the others, Hale broke the silence. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    Sarah shook her head. “You see how he is. I had to come, otherwise there’d be no one to keep him sane.” She paused and placed a hand on Hale’s chest to stop him. “Tell me, and you know you can be honest with me. Is Snow in danger here?”
    Concern welled in Sarah’s eyes and Taylor felt the need to ease her fears.
    “Silas cares about her,” she told Sarah. “He won’t hurt her.”
    Abruptly, Sarah’s warm hands enfolded Taylor’s. She expelled a long sigh of relief. “Thank you. Do you believe he’ll give her back?”
    Not wanting to lie, Taylor replied, “I sure hope so.”
    They exchanged brief introductions. Hale introduced Taylor as his mate and she was grateful that he didn’t go into further detail. While their polyamorous relationship seemed to be readily accepted by the shifters, Taylor didn’t want the first human she’d met in months to know how much of a sexual deviant she was.
    After dropping Sarah off with Cammie, Hale led Taylor down to their bedroom. On the way, she told him what Lark had confided in her about Snow.
    “It makes sense why Cain’s so pissed. He must be worried sick about her,” Hale said.
    “I’m afraid what will happen if Alder finds out,” Taylor said.
    “At this point, it doesn’t really matter. They’ve already decided that they’re going to war if she isn’t returned.”
    “And you think that’s the best thing to do?”
    “I think it’s all that’s left to do now, Taylor.” He patted her on the head. “You’ve done everything you can here. You’re going to have to leave the rest up to us.”
    He left her in the bedroom. After forcing down some leftover jerky, she lay down in the cold bed and held herself. If her plan didn’t work, if Silas didn’t trust her, then tomorrow Halcyon would be at war.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Taylor tossed and turned for what felt like hours. Her inability to sleep had nothing to do with the impending war, which suddenly seemed trivial. She was in pain.
    A deep and unrelenting ache spread through her chest, leaving her paralyzed with fear. Laying flat on her back, hand over her heart, she contemplated her stupidity. If she had just told Alder she needed her medicine, then he would have found a way to get it for her. But she hadn’t, and now she would probably die.
    Her fingers traced the long scar between her breasts. It used to be that she thought of her heart transplant on a daily basis. She couldn’t not think about it, after all. While her anti-rejection medications had been