Tears of the Fallen Ch. 22

The huge Alpha turned anguished eyes to meet hers, unshed tears brimming in their depths. "I don't know," he whispered. "I just know I can't feel them anymore. Something has gone wrong in Europe, something terrible has happened there."

Throwing her arms around him, she wept against his shoulder, her tears coming out in loud sobs. The impact this would have on the pack was devastating. The impact it would have on Annie was catastrophic. "What can we do, Rafe?"

He was already gentling prising her arms from him, climbing naked from their bed. "We need to let Caleb and Annie know, and someone needs to check in on Kothari. I don't know if it's just my Alpha bond that's been cut or if it's his familial bond too. If he senses they're gone...I have no idea what he'll do, Lacey. He was barely in check earlier when I had to come down on him over his fight with Liam."

She was getting up too, hastily pulling on jeans and a sweater while he dressed. "Kallum's still up at the Praetorian compound. Kothi's close to Dara, maybe it would be best to have her check in with him?"

Now that the initial panic was starting to wear off, Rafe tested his Alpha bond with the Vârcolac, his big frame relaxing a tad. "Kothari is sleeping and his bond feels calm," he told her, sighing with relief as he spoke. "He doesn't appear to be aware of anything at the moment so it looks like we have some time in hand. Let's contact Annie and Caleb first before we disturb anyone else's sleep. Maybe they'll have an idea on how best to support Kothi through this crisis."

It made sense if the danger point wasn't with them at the moment, and yet, Lacey felt uneasy about not being more proactive. There was no telling when Kothari might become aware that something had happened to his parents. They should have a contingency plan in place for that moment. "Are you sure, Rafe?"

It wasn't often that she questioned her mate on pack decisions so he took a moment to think through the issue. "We need to try to have answers for him when he becomes aware, Lace. If he suspects we have no idea what to do, he's more likely to go off half-cocked and we will have no way of countering his reaction. Let's take the time that we have to be as prepared as we can be."

Lacey nodded her agreement, following Rafe from their bedroom. They had a few hours in hand. With luck, they would have a plan of action that would satisfy the erratic Vârcolac and all hell wouldn't break loose, as she feared it would.

Rafe was hitting the speed dial on his phone as he entered his study and Lacey headed to the kitchen to get some coffee brewing. "You know...?" she heard him saying before his voice was cut off, and her heart went out to his sister on the other end of the phone. Losing Gard would crush Rhianna, and most probably bring out Anakatrine in all her fury. While they had been discussing Kothi's reaction to what had happened, neither of them had considered what reaction the vampire Queen would have to the news...

To be continued...