My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 460

Kane

I turned back to Brooke and met his eyes. "Jace is on an assignment to deal with Mistwood," I said quietly. "It's being handled." The words felt bitter on my tongue, every bit as false as they sounded.

I hated myself for saying them, for letting my best and oldest friend handle this mess while I did nothing. But what else could I say?

Brooke was patient. "For how long now, Alpha?"

I swallowed hard, the bitter taste of my own failure. "Five weeks."

"And when did we last hear from him?"

My jaw clenched. I knew this was coming, knew Brooke would be the one to ask it, the one who'd have the guts. "It's... being handled," I repeated, my voice cracking.

Not one call in five weeks. The realization settled in my gut, cold and heavy. Five weeks with nothing but silence from the north, from the land of the savages.

Jace had gone there for help, believing the wolves of the north could provide what the south couldn't.

But now... I swallowed hard, my throat constricting around the unspoken truth. He'd gone into their territory, alone, seeking aid from monsters.

My mind drifted toward the terrible possibilities, but I wrenched myself away, refusing to let the images take hold. I couldn't bear to imagine what they might have done to him, what they might still be doing.

A growl rumbled in my chest and I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. I shut my eyes, shutting the thought away, burying it deep.

Jace was fine. He had to be. The alternative was too unbearable to contemplate.

Brooke's tone softened but the weight of his words was no less heavy. "Then with respect, Alpha, you don't know if it's being handled. You don't know if he's alive."

My mouth opened, searching for some scrap of words to throw back at him, to shut him up, to make this nightmare disappear. But I had nothing. No answer. No defense. No hope. I stared blindly out the window, my silence deafening.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify