Stephan's call to Alexei confirmed what Andrei already knew. Daniel had Loretta and Ashleigh. Nors' face had darkened with rage and it was only Freya's constant murmuring to him and tight hold on his arm which was stopping the flame haired vampire from flying out of the house.
Andrei was conscious of his own lack of reaction to the confirmation. He had expected to feel the red hot fury again, the wild impulse to detach from humanity completely and kill everything in his path. Instead he just felt cold and numb inside.
Every emotion within him felt as if they had turned to blocks of ice. His child was most probably already dead, his mate close to joining that fragile little spark of life. He was losing everything that mattered to him as each second passed and he couldn't even react to it. He was aware of Alexei approaching him, saw his brother's eyes meet his in the reflection in the glass.
"Don't give up hope,"
Alexei said urgently inside his head.
"We'll get her back, Andrei, I swear we will. Hopefully the baby will be fine too. Should the unthinkable have happened, there can be other children as long as you have Loretta at your side."
Alexei's heart ached for his brother, for the anguish he couldn't quite hide from him. The others probably weren't aware of the depth of agony Andrei was currently languishing in but he knew because he was his twin and he always knew what he was feeling.
Alexei's words shattered the ice encasing Andrei's heart and pain well up inside him.
"I should have known, Alexei,"
he whispered, his mental voice thick with emotion.
"I spent so much time fighting her that I never took a moment to find out about her life, what it means to be a Were. I thought I was protecting her and the child when instead I was only hurting them both."
"None of us knew that Daniel would act so soon," Alexei argued fiercely, trying to alleviate some of his brother's pain.
"Even Caleb thought we had more time and you're always saying he knows everything. You thought you had enough time and acted accordingly. Loretta won't hold that against you, Andrei. She loves you and will understand."
He watched denial flit across his brother's face and held back a slightly irritated growl. He couldn't even begin to understand what Andrei was feeling. He tried his hardest to put himself in his shoes, to imagine that it was Cedar in Daniel's grasp, that it was his child whose life hung in the balance. He just couldn't imagine it because he couldn't bring himself to think about his woman being hurt in any way.
Andrei didn't answer his brother. Part of him knew that what Alexei said made sense but he couldn't allow himself any absolution for his actions. Maybe when he had his Rose back. Maybe then he would be able to start forgiving himself when she was safe once more in his arms. Until then he would do what had to be done to get his wolf back.
They turned at the sound of raised voices. Jared was shouting furiously at Caleb, a dark scowl on his face as he stood toe to toe with the Ancient vampire. Caleb appeared unfazed by the wolf's anger, his expression completely bland.
"Jared, I understand your feelings but this is something you're going to have to back down on, my friend," Caleb said when Jared paused for breath. He kept his tone calm and even despite the fact that he was irritated that he had to have this conversation. He understood his friend's need to do something but he surely had to know that he couldn't help in this instance.
"They are my pack members," Jared grated out through clenched teeth. His wolf was howling angrily, wanting to go and retrieve Loretta and Ashleigh from the clutches of the vampires. He was so angry he was having a hard time not shifting.
"And they are in our territory," Caleb sighed patiently. "We can't take the pack into the Council chambers, Jared. Loretta and Ashleigh are mated to vampires too so that makes them part of our people just as much as it makes them pack. It's our responsibility to take care of them just as much as it is yours."
He paused keeping his gaze fixed on his friend's for a long moment before he sighed softly again. "I'm asking you to trust me, Jared. Trust that I will do everything to bring the girls home safely."
The Alpha fumed silently his blue eyes almost black with anger and then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He knew there would be all out war if the pack tried to enter the vampires' sacred headquarters. He knew Caleb spoke sense but it didn't make it any easier having to stand by and do nothing to help his pack members.
"You know Andrei and I will not leave until we have them," Nors said in a cold, hard tone, spearing the wolf with a hard gaze. "This is internal vampire politics, no business of the pack. We will deal with it, wolf."
Caleb wanted to groan out loud at Nors' choice of words. He waited for Jared's fury to spark again and was relieved when it didn't.
Jared stepped away from them and turned to look at Rafe who was keeping silent but watching his Alpha carefully.
"They have a point," Rafe rumbled quietly. He understood Jared's fury because he felt the same way but he knew they would only be in the way if they tried to storm the Council chambers. "Let them deal with the situation, Jared. Nors and Andrei have their mates to protect. They will die doing so if need be. You're always telling me to use the correct tools for the correct job."
Jared breathed out deeply again and then nodded abruptly. He wasn't happy with being denied from taking part in the rescue but he couldn't really argue with the logic being presented to him. He just wished Millie was there. She was always able to soothe him down when his anger took hold of him and refused to let go.
Caleb then turned and smiled apologetically at Rhianna, reaching for her and pulling her into his embrace. He dropped a slow, loving kiss on her lips. "That goes for you too, love," he said softly. "You and Mara are to return to the pack with Jared."
