"You can take, you can give. Let him be, let him live
If I die, let me die. Let him live. Bring him home."
~Les Miserables, 'Bring Him Home'

~~~

*Ryland's POV*

After dropping off a very pouty Kai with Landon's family, we pick up Lia and head over to Landon's house to talk to Lucca.

He's our closest connection to the rogue groups. If we can get him on board, then we have a much higher chance of tracking down the rogues that have Leon.

Unfortunately for us, Lucca is... reluctant.

"Abso-fucking-lutely not," Lucca immediately shoots down our request.

"What?" Landon demands, his face growing red with anger. "Lucca, this is Leon! I'm asking you as my best friend to help me find Easton's little brother."

"Don't do that," Lucca scowls. "Don't try to guilt trip me. I bounced between rogue groups before I met you, and they're not bad people. I don't know who hurt Easton, but I'm not going to help that kid hurt a group of innocent rogues."

"How the fuck do you know they're innocent?" Landon questions. "Maybe Leon really did find the right group!"

"Yeah, right. You know what I think? I think he tracked down a group of rogues and decided to go after them, regardless of whether or not they were the ones to blame. Think about it! He's out for vengeance. Blood. I doubt he would mind if he had to wipe out every single rogue in order to get revenge. In case you forgot, I'm still a rogue. I'm not going to tag along, and watch him slaughter innocent wolves while waiting for my turn."

"We won't let him hurt you. I know Leon. He may be an idiot on a suicide mission, but he's not thoughtless. If we tell him not to hurt you, he won't."

"What about the other rogues? Can you really protect them from him?"

"That's even more of a reason for you to come with us!" I say quickly, making the bickering ex-roommates stop and look at me. "You know the rogues in this area better than any of us. Come with us, and you can vouch for the ones you believe are innocent. We'll handle Leon and make sure he doesn't hurt them. Okay?"

Lucca hesitantly glances between me and Landon before sighing. "Fine. I'll come with you. Only so Leon doesn't kill any of my friends."

"Thank you," I beam. Landon remains silent, and I raise an expectant brow at him.

"Thanks, Lucca," Landon nods. "I know this will be tough, but I appreciate your help. I just... I need to make sure I'm doing everything I can to get Leon home safely. I would never forgive myself if..."

He trails off, biting his lower lip as sadness fills his eyes. Lucca's expression softens, and he places his hand on Landon's shoulder.

"He'll be alright," Lucca says softly. "We'll find him and bring him home."

Landon smiles weakly. I take his hand and squeeze it to silently remind him that I'm right here. He's not alone, because I'm not leaving his side. We're a team now, and I'll face all of his troubles with him.

"Can we go now?" Lia asks impatiently from the doorway.

"Why?" I grin. "Eager to go see Ronnie?"

Her face turns bright red and she sputters. "N-No! I want to find our Alpha. That's it."

Clicking my tongue, Landon and I exchange a skeptical glance that makes Lia huff in annoyance. She stomps out the door towards Landon's Jeep, and the three of us scurry after her. Landon drives us back to our pack, where Lyn and Mateo have been waiting at Ronnie's house.

"Ophelia," Ronnie greets Landon's sister in a low, husky tone. Lia tries to keep a straight face, but she can't hide the way her blush spreads down to her neck.

"Veronica," Lia responds mockingly. Amusement lights up in Ronnie's eyes as she steps closer to her mate.

"That wasn't a very nice greeting," Ronnie scolds her. "Do it properly, kitten."

As if on cue, Lia's eyes drop to the ground submissively. "Hello, Ronnie."

Ronnie hums approvingly, lightly scraping her nails along Lia's jaw and making her shiver. "Good girl."

"What the hell?" Lucca whispers in shock, while Landon stares at the pair with wide eyes. I've never seen Lia so... docile. This is fucking weird.

"How cute!" Lyn squeals, breaking the mood. "Ronnie, your mate is adorable!"

"I am not," Lia snaps, her usual fire returning to her blue eyes. Even as she denies it, Lia glances at Ronnie, as if waiting for a comment on her behavior. Instead, Ronnie takes it in stride with a smile.

"Uh, guys?" Landon cuts in. "While I have so many questions about what just happened, we still have an Alpha who needs rescuing."

The reminder sobers the room; grim expressions falling across everyone's faces.

"Everyone, this is Mateo," Lyn introduces the man at her side. "He's our Beta, and he's known my mate basically since Leon was born. Mateo, this is Lia, Ronnie's mate. And that's Lucca."

Mateo studies Lucca for a moment. "You're a rogue," he deadpans.

Lucca pretends to look shocked. "What? I am? Goodness me, how on earth did that happen?"

"A rogue and a smartass. This should be fun."

"It'll keep being fun if you want to make more obvious comments."

"It was merely an observation."

"An unnecessary one, but okay."

"Can we not do this right now?" Lyn interjects. "My mate is still missing."

"Sorry, Luna," Mateo apologizes, and I notice the way his eyes flick briefly over to Landon. "The abandoned church is several miles north. We can drive most of the way there, but once we get close, I suggest we go on foot. The wolves would be able to hear the car engines and smell the exhaust."

"Are you sure you know where it is?" Lyn asks, and Mateo nods once. "Then it's settled. Who's car—"

Her question is cut off when there's a loud pounding at the door. Ronnie frowns, since we weren't expecting anyone else. She's on her guard as she crosses the room and slowly opens the door. Surprise is a shared emotion among our group as Landon's older brother pushes his way into the house.

"Luna Roselyn!" Enzo exhales, looking both tired and frustrated. "What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to stay within the pack. It's my job to watch you, and— Landon?"

"Good timing," Landon grins easily at his brother. "We're going on a rescue mission and we need some muscle."

"I— What?"

"I'll explain on the way. Your car can fit eight people, right?"

Enzo stammers in confusion as Landon leads us out to his car. With three rows of seats, there's just enough room for our entire group to squeeze in. Enzo refuses to let anyone else drive his car, leaving Mateo in the seat next to him so he can navigate.

Landon explains the plan to Enzo, who immediately goes off into a rant about how dumb we all are. Which, we already kind of knew, so we let his scolding roll off our backs.

"You were supposed to stay at the pack and wait for Silas to bring him home!" Enzo shouts, face reddened from anger. "This is ridiculous, I'm taking you back right now—"

"No!" Lyn stops him, authority rolling off of her in waves. "I am your Luna. If I say that we're going to look for Leon, then that's what we're going to do. Do you want to go against your Luna's orders?"

Enzo's jaw ticks. "No, Luna," he grinds out through clenched teeth. "If those are your orders, then I'll do my job and protect you."

Lyn smiles in relief. "Thank you."

"But I'm not going to be happy about it," he grumbles under his breath.

The car falls into an uncomfortable silence after that. My fingers interlace with Landon's, and I pull his hand into my lap. He smiles tiredly at me; bags already forming under his eyes when our mission has barely begun.

"You should rest, baby," I say quietly, pushing his head down onto my shoulder. Landon sighs as he snuggles into me, turning his head so he can breathe in my scent. His breath tickles my neck, making me giggle.

"Oh my god, someone make it stop," Lucca begs. "Seriously, I don't think I can handle this drive if they're going to be gross the whole time."

Landon rolls his eyes. "Jealousy does not look good on you."

"Whatever," Lucca scoffs. "I can't be the only one bothered by it."

He glances around to the other passengers, quickly realizing how stupid his endeavor is. Enzo is married, Lyn is engaged, and Ronnie and Lia are... well, Ronnie and Lia.

"What about you, man?" Lucca asks Mateo. "You don't have a mate, right?"

Mateo grins. "Actually, I do."

Landon sits up with wide eyes. "You found your mate?"

"I did. Just a few months ago, actually. The thing is... she doesn't exactly know we're mates."

I furrow my brows. "Is she not eighteen yet?"

The Beta shakes his head. "That's not the issue. She's not a wolf. She's a witch."

"A witch?" We all exclaim in unison, making Mateo chuckle.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lyn questions, seeming hurt that Mateo kept that information from her.

"I'm sorry, Lyn. Reina isn't very... subtle about her disdain for wolves. I've been keeping my distance, trying to get to know her before I drop the 'mate' bomb. I'm kind of worried that she's going to freak out and poof away."

"That won't happen," Lyn assures him.

"Well..." Lucca starts, but Landon slaps a hand over his mouth.

"Not the time," Landon warns. With how high tensions are right now, the last thing a car full of wolves needs to hear is about how the concept of mates is ridiculous. You know, considering everyone else here has a mate.

"Gah!" Landon exclaims in disgust, ripping his hand away. "Did you lick me?"

Lucca just shrugs, crossing his arms and settling back in his seat. Landon throws me an incredulous look that has me saying a silent prayer.

Dear Goddess, please help us find Leon before we kill each other.

~~~

Ronnie and Lia skdnskdk I'm so excited to write about them in the anthologies book soon

Thoughts??

Is everyone keeping up with all these characters? Remember, there's a cast list in Gumbie's Journal

Q: What's the longest road trip you've been on?
[13 hour bus ride]

See you next time!
-Gumbie