Final Extraction by Julie Trettel

Silas

Chapter 19

 

 

 

I saw Vada emerge from behind the curtain that had been put up to shield the laboring woman. She stopped to talk to Clara and Gage and gave me a weird look from across the room. I didn’t know what to make of it, but it made me uncomfortable.

So far, she seemed on board with mating me. Had she changed her mind? I wasn’t used to not being in charge of things, and right now, I knew I was no more than putty in that woman’s hands to mold or crush as she saw fit.

By the time I walked across the room, the good news had spread. It was a boy, and from his cries that had silenced the room and brought tears to many eyes, he was a healthy one.

“Excuse me,” I told Tarron as I left him to make my way towards Vada.

The hanger was now a bus load and three planes less of people. Those that knew exactly where they wanted or needed to go, we were able to move out quickly. The remainder would take time.

While we had made the interrogation process optional, the majority wanted to talk about their time there. They wanted their stories told and remembered.

So many shifters had explained just that. “I just want to be remembered. I thought I was forgotten in there.”

It was heartbreaking and made it difficult for me to keep my commanding exterior required to lead these people.

Some of them were still scared, but there was also a great sense of hope in the air.

As I walked across the room, several people stopped to talk to me. As much as I wanted to get back to Vada, I couldn’t find it within me to deny a single one of them a moment of my time.

By the time I made it to where I’d last seen Vada, she was gone.

I looked around only to find her talking to Jake. I wiped my hands down my pant legs so not to fist them. Vada laughed at something he said, and I wanted to punch that punk in the face.

I tried to casually stroll towards them.

Ben stopped me. “Silas, are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You look like you’re about to kill someone.” He turned around to see the direction of my obsession and shook his head. “He’s an idiot.”

Ben stalked over to Jake as I followed behind. When he reached him, he smacked him on the back of the head.

Jake jumped up and assumed a fighting stance but cooled when he saw it was only Ben.

“What was that for?”

“Dude, you have a lot to learn still. Stop flirting with his girl.”

Jake looked up at me and his eyes shone surprise. “I wasn’t. I swear.”

Vada groaned and rolled her eyes, then stepped between us to protect him. “We were just talking. I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would be a problem.”

I glared at her. “It’s not,” I told him.

“Then why did you have your goon here come over and assault him?”

I was very curious just how Vada had survived so long on the inside when she asked so many pointed questions. I struggled to believe Trevor would appease her curiosity the way I would.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I keep forgetting my place and just seem to blurt things out whenever you’re around.”

I bit back a grin, so maybe this open communication wasn’t normal for her. I loved the idea that she was comfortable enough to ask me anything. Then it dawned on me the rest of what she had just said.

“Your place?”

Her eyes averted mine and she nodded.

“Just what does that mean?”

Instead of answering she turned to Ben. “Hi, I’m Vada. I really didn’t mean to get Jake in trouble.”

“He’s not in trouble, he’s just an idiot. I’m Ben.” He nudged me. “You really should introduce your girl to your team you know.”

“We’ve been a little busy,” I protested.

“Your team?” Vada started and then pursed her lips. “Never mind.”

I dropped it for the moment, but soon we were going to need to have a very serious talk. I didn’t know what exactly she thought was happening here, but some of the things she’d said were making me very uneasy.

“You’re right,” I told Ben with a smile. “Vada, this is Ben Shay, sniper extraordinaire. He’s my eyes in the sky. And you already know Jake, the conman currently working with us.”

“You’re a conman?” she asked him.

He laughed. “Not exactly in the way you think. I’m the guy that goes in undercover for information or extraction, or whatever they ask me to do. I’m not officially on the team, but maybe you could put in a good word for me with the bossman,” he told Vada and then he winked at her.

I growled at the same time Ben smacked him again.

“Flirting with her of all people is not going to help your cause, dude.”

“What? I wasn’t flirting,” Jake protested.

“He really wasn’t,” Vada insisted.

“Don’t screw with a mating male like that, man, it’s not cool. That’s all I’m saying. I know you don’t exactly get it, but Silas is struggling to hold it together right now, so chill.”

Vada looked at me, there was concern filling her eyes.

“I’m fine,” I said a little harsher than I meant it.

“Whatever. They never listen or think those of us that have been there will understand,” Ben mumbled as he turned to walk away.

“Catch you later, Vada,” Jake said as he followed Ben away.

“He really didn’t mean anything by it,” she continued.

“It’s fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

I sighed. I wasn’t good at sharing my feelings and shit. “Really, I’m okay. How are you holding up? It’s been a lot today.”

Before she could answer, Clara came over gushing. “You should have seen her in action. She was amazing. This girl here is definitely a keeper. If you don’t want her on your team, she is always welcome to come join mine.”

“You don’t work together?” Vada asked her.

“Occasionally,” Gage explained. “They work with Westin Force. They’re broken into smaller units, or teams. Silas oversees Bravo team. Clara works for the Verndari. We assist when one of the team leaders requests additional medical backup.”

“Yup, like today. We weren’t really sure what to expect or what kind of rough shape you guys would be in. Overall, I’d say there’s a few cases of concern, definitely some dehydration and malnourishment, but overall better than expected. Our team has been hanging out for the last few missions ready to assist however necessary.”

She looked around at everything. “Your team must be very big.”

Clara shook her head. “Not really. Bravo team is what? Eight members? Nine?”

“Seven, I corrected.”

I could see her counting them off. “Silas, Painter, Grant, Taylor, Baine, Tarron, Ben, Jake, and that college kid, Marie?”

“Jake is not on my team.”

“Not officially,” Gage corrected.

I chose not to argue it. Jake had been brought in by Ben’s insistence as backup support to our team. If I were being honest, he had proven to be a great asset to the unit, but he also had a flirty way about him that I didn’t like, especially when that smile of his was aimed at my mate. I had not made a decision one way or the other about bringing him on permanently. My other and even bigger concern was that he was human. I recognized the value in that for this mission, but it could also prove a hinderance to other missions.

I knew my team stood behind Jake. To them, he had proven himself worthy and was considered part of the team, but nothing had been decided officially. My verdict was still out.

“But there are so many people here, are they all with your group then?” Vada asked Clara.

She laughed. “No. There are only four of us on my team here. The remainder are other Westin Force units. Girl, this man called in every resource available to him to make this happen, and I suspect he did it for you.”

Clara gave Vada a little bump of her hip, and then dragged Gage away with her.

“You did all this for me?” she asked quietly.

I shrugged. “I would have called in the whole damn Army if I had to. You weren’t staying there another second.”

After what Martin had told me, I would have burned down heaven and earth to reach my girl. I had no idea how much time we had together, but I was damn well gonna make the most of her and give Vada the life she deserved to live.

She nodded but didn’t say anything, so I continued..

“When Martin called me, we had to expedite things, but I was already formulating the plan with resources on standby. It was a smooth and thorough extraction.”

“But you let them live,” she said.

I nodded. “It was the right thing to do. His mother is dying. I couldn’t just blow the place up no matter how much I wanted to. It wouldn’t have been right.”

“But he could come back.”

I shook my head. “You are safe now, mate. You’re free. Trevor Daniels will never hurt you again, no one will. Not on my watch.”

I reached out and cupped her face in my hands. I wasn’t sure she truly understood just how precious she was to me.

She cleared her throat as if I were making her uncomfortable, so I pulled my hand back. I just couldn’t help myself. I wanted to touch her, to kiss her, to cherish every moment I had with her.

“Where will all these people go?” she asked, completely changing the subject on me.

“I’m not sure yet. Kyle Westin is Alpha of the Westin Pack wolves. He created Westin Force as an elite paramilitary unit to protect shifters. With groups like the Raglan rising up and the Verndari doing little to shut them down, it was time we stepped in and took care of ourselves.”

“I don’t really understand what the Verndari are or who.”

“They are supposed to be our human protectors. They failed when they allowed the Raglan to rise up and even more so when they failed to control them. The Raglan are Verndari too.”

She gasped. “But Clara works for them. Does she know?”

I nodded. “Most of the Verndari are great and mean well, but just like any organization, not all are. Some had ulterior motives and overstepped a boundary that never should have been crossed.”

“Trevor,” she whispered.

“We only recently found out about his mom. We now suspect that is why several high-ranking members of the Verndari turned a blind eye to them, out of sympathy and compassion to the family. They were wrong to do that, and we’ll be addressing the issue with them. But first we just needed to shut them down.”

“Not all of these shifters even have families,” she explained.

“We know, and we’re prepared for that.” I hesitated, there was something I was dying to ask her. I swallowed hard. “How about you, Vada. Do you have a family or, um, someone special waiting for you? Is there somewhere you call home you want to return to?”

My heart was pounding in agony as I awaited her response.

Her eyes widened. “Does it matter?”

I was confused by her question. “Does it matter?” I repeated as if I didn’t understand her question.

She shrugged. “I’m yours now. You own me. Mates and all that.”

I was certain my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “You are my mate, yes, but I don’t own you. A person cannot be owned or possessed like a piece of property.”

“Can’t we though? I always hoped I would never meet my mate. I didn’t want to belong to someone else.” She shrugged again. “After all these years in captivity, I’m honestly just happy for a change.”

I growled. “You are not my captive. If you wish to be somewhere or with someone else, all you need to do is tell someone and they will assist you.”

I turned my back on her and stormed away.

You own me.

Those words kept ringing through my head. I didn’t own her. She was a person with free will and the right to choose what she wanted, not obey and follow orders like a victim with a new warden.

I was so furious I left the hanger altogether.

Taylor saw me and followed.

“Silas, wait up. What’s wrong?”

“Leave it,” I said. “I’m not in the mood right now.”

I didn’t want to lash out at T, but if she didn’t get out of my way, I was going to do exactly that.

She crossed her arms in a stern scolding mother-like position. “Silas Granger, where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m just walking it off. Leave it alone, T. This isn’t your concern.”

“Are you blind? Did you not see how upset your mate was when you stomped out like that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, T. She thinks of me as her new captor. In her eyes I’m not any different than Trevor.” Just saying it nearly broke my heart.

Taylor was my subordinate. It wasn’t right for me to dish this out on her.

I walked to the edge of the woods, quickly removed my clothes and shifted. My gorilla was getting to be too much to handle, we both needed to just blow off some steam.