Chapter 39 - Breathe

*“Fall. Stand. Learn. Adapt.”― Mike Norton*

***Kiya***

Heart monitors make the most annoying sounds.

The vexing beeping, although soft and barely noticeable to most people, punctured my eardrums as I arose from unconsciousness. My throat was painfully dry, my head pounded, and my body ached for movement. A scratched the roof of my mouth and I felt the gentle presence of needles in the veins of my arms. Yet, the most noticeable pain emanated from my stomach, looking like the sister of swiss cheese without a doubt.

*I hate hospitals*.

I brought a hand up to shield my eyes from the glare of the fluorescent lights above, my vision slowly clearing up to my hospital bed. The double-pane windows brought in natural light from the morning sun. My nostrils flared at the sharp scent of antiseptics and my fingertips rolled over the double-stitched hospital blanket covering me from my chest to my feet.

When my nose flared again, I picked up aromatic lavender. I turned my head to the side to see Raina posted in a chair, fingers tapping away against her phone. Her head shot up when she heard me groan again, squeaking like a mouse as she tossed her phone back in her black purse.

“Kiya, oh thank Goddess you’re okay!” She rubbed her hand on my cheek, pushing away a twist. “How are you feeling?”

“Raina, I have more holes in my stomach than a honeycomb. How do you think I feel?”

She grimaced. “Right. I’m sorry, it was a dumb question.”

“Don’t be sorry. I forget that not everyone responds well to pessimism.” Propping my elbows at my sides, careful to not aggravate my IVs, I pushed myself upright. Raina helped with a loving hand on my back and the other pulling down my blanket. “How long have I been out?”

“A day.” She helped to straighten my gown from the shoulders. “The doctors were scared that you might’ve suffered severe brain damage due to lack of oxygen. When the pack warriors found you, you were…” Raina inhaled in a deep breath, shutting her eyes before opening them seconds later. Her hand found mine and squeezed. “…we didn’t know how long you were in the river.”

Memories of the attack rushed back to my head, right down to Neron’s shouting fading as I practically drowned beside the waterlilies. My head darted around for a familiar head of lush black hair and the woody scent of sandalwood and spicy ginger, but there was nothing.

My heart plummeted to my diaphragm.

“Where’s Neron?”

Raina averting her eyes like she was holding something back, squeezing my hand again. “Kiya…”

“Where. Is. Neron?” I demanded, snatching my hand away to clench the hem of my blanket. Panic gripped me like a vice, stopping oxygen from entering my lungs. “Raina, don’t lie to me. What happened to him?”

“When the warriors got to the picnic site, all they found was you in the river and the bloodied picnic blanket. Kwame and Valerian searched high and low for Neron, but there was no sign of him. His mind-link is blocked, too. We…” She expelled a heavy sigh. “…don’t know where he is.”

I forced myself to swallow the scream surging in my throat.

*He took him*. *Jonathan kidnapped Neron*.

The bastard will do anything and **everything** to make Neron submit to him again! He must’ve thought that stabbing and dumping me in the river would break him, giving him the map to fuck with his brain. Not to mention Odessa was also back and Phoebe fucking betrayed me.

“I can’t believe this…” I rasped out.

“We’re going to find him, Kiya.” My sister reassured me. “Neron won’t be lost to us. He’s coming home.”

*If only you knew what we’re up against, Raina*.

Throwing my hands on my face, I rubbed ones in hopes it would stomp out the nausea twirling in my stomach. Our moment of happiness was gone in the blink of an eye. “*Artemis, are you okay*?” I asked, opening up my mind-link.

“**I’m fine**. **A little worse for wear, but I’ll live**.”

Thank Goddess. But, Arty's tone couldn’t fool me; she’s just as worried about Onyx as I was about Neron.

“How are you and the kids? Are Lorelai and Naomi okay? What about Alana and Aiyana?”

“We’re fine.” Raina bobbed her head. “We had a good time until we came home and learned that you were in the hospital.” She smiled small. “Alana and Aiyana wanted to see you so badly, but I didn’t think you’d want them to see you like this.”

She was right. The last thing I wanted was for the girls to worry about me. It’s bad enough Neron was gone. They didn’t need more anxiety piled on top of what they already had, especially after the mall incident.

“Well, I’m okay. No need to worry.” Shifting slightly on my bed, I winced when the pain from my stomach scorched paths over my diaphragm to my chest. “Well, shit!”

“Sis, you shouldn’t move so much,” Raina begged, resting a palm on my shoulder. “Your stomach isn’t looking too good, and you haven’t completely healed yet.”

“I should have,” I replied, scoffing. “Odessa must’ve used a knife made of silver to do me in. How fucking ironic.”

“Odessa?” I raised my head to be met with my sister’s confused glare. “What does she have to do with this?”

Shit. Raina didn’t know her former friend had come back to life and stood by while Jonathan threatened to kill her and her children if I didn’t listen. She could’ve lost her life if I didn’t yield. The cat was out of the bag. Reluctantly, I explained to her the entire situation and the ambush Neron and I faced, watching her face shift from confusion to anger and, finally, to horror.

“Holy shit.” She muttered, covering her mouth. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

“There isn’t much to say, except I’m sending her back to her grave,” I growled, throwing my blanket off my legs. The longer I waited, the more Neron will be in danger. There’s no telling what Jonathan could be doing to him right now.

He could be breaking him at this moment.

Neron was no longer the child Jonathan forced to conform. He’s a grown man. I have faith Neron will survive because he’s incredibly strong, more than he gives himself credit for, but I’m also terrified that Jonathan will try much harder to hurt him.

I needed to see him. I needed to touch Neron and hold him. My heart wouldn’t rest until he’s back in my presence and my lungs couldn’t inflate without his.

“Kiya, stay in bed!”

“Fuck this bed!”

“*And I thought I was a bad patient*.”

We shot our heads to the door to be met with a mane of dark Botticelli curls and a pair of bright blue-green eyes. Violetta shined a Cheshire grin and stepped in with her leather jacket hung over an arm, revealing her blank tank barely shielded by her mesh crop top and ripped demin jeans.

“Vi?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”

“A little birdie brought me here. Asim is here too.” On cue, the hybrid entered the room with his white hair in a ponytail swaying with his steps.

His purple eyes narrowed on me. “Are you alright, Kiya?”

“I will be. It’s not like I haven’t been stabbed before.” Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Shouldn’t you be with Nailah and your kids?”

“They’re doing fine. I have faith in Anthony’s security to protect them in case something happened.”

“Uh…” Raina blinked, shifting in her seat. “Should I leave?”

*Oops*.

“Not at all! Vi, Asim, this is my older sister Raina. Raina, this is Violetta and Asim; they’re also avatars.”

They all shook hands.

“How did you all get here?” I asked.

“Phoebe teleported us, duh. She gave us the rundown on what happened with Nuria and we had a funny feeling something happened to you, so Asim made the call to see you.” Violetta explained, sliding a seat next to Raina. Before I could question her further, Phoebe ambled into the room as silent as a mouse.

Our eyes met.

And fury launched in my body like a rocket to space.

“YOU!”

Shouts of shock and horror echoed in the hospital room when my body surged forward, arms outstretched to get to Phoebe. My IV poles fell to the ground, and it wrenched the needles out of my arms. However, Asim stopped me with an arm around my stomach, pulling me back when I was less than a foot away from the witch. My wounds screamed for relief and I felt my stitches splitting open, but I didn’t care.

All I cared about was strangling my friend who backstabbed me in the worst way possible.

“Whoa, what the hell?!” Vi yelled as she dodged my flailing fists, pushing Phoebe back toward the door with one arm. “Kiya, what drugs did the hospital give you?!”

“You betrayed me!” I screamed at Phoebe, backing up to the threshold of the door. “And you have the fucking audacity to show your face here?!”

“I didn’t betray you, Kiya.” She answered, steading her shaky voice. “Whoever hurt you wasn’t me; I swear on Hekate.”

“Oh, yeah?! You expect me to believe you have an evil twin running around?!”

“Yes.”

I stilled, hanging off Asim’s muscled forearm like a ragdoll. “Excuse me?”

“I have a twin…or, had.” Phoebe shut her eyes and expelled a deep sigh. “I don’t know how or why it happened, but my twin, Rhea, is alive. Nuria had visions about her and…” Her whole body shook, her head bowed in shame.

A cold sweat flowed down my spine. “Did something happen to Nuri?”

“We had a fight; a stupid, completely unnecessary fight that I’m responsible for. All because I didn’t want to believe what she saw was true.” Phoebe caught a tear with her finger before it fell, guilt overpowering her fruit scent. “Nuria left the territory yesterday, but when she didn’t return for over an hour, I knew something was wrong. Anthony sent patrols out to find her and they found her car abandoned on the side of the road and blood and…”

“He took her too…” I whispered. Asim silently set me back on the bed as I tried to make sense of the situation. But all I got was a headache.

“Who did?” Violetta asked.

“Jonathan.” A thought in my head forced my head to Raina. “Has there been any news from the Iron Stone Pack?”

Raina nodded; her face grim. “Wystan called to inform us that his pack was attacked by unknown assailants. Ezekiel was harmed, but he is recovering in their pack hospital. Aunt Celeste—”

“Was kidnapped.” I grumbled, digging my nails into my bed. “Jonathan kidnapped his fucking family while I was unconscious.”

“You were right.” Asim added. “Jonathan has been resurrected by the mad god and has proceeded with his plans. We can’t afford to waste too much time. We must plan their rescue.”

“How?” Raina quipped. “Do you know where he is or where he could be?”

“No,” I answered. “But I guarantee wherever he’s hiding out, we will find the Johansen family there.”

Would he harm Nuria and Celeste? He wanted them back for as long as I could remember, and I couldn’t imagine him raising a hand against his daughter and ex-wife. Then again, if he could fuck with Neron’s mind and abuse us both in different ways, anything was possible.

He’s fused with the dark magic of an evil god. That level of darkness can and will permanently warp someone’s mind. Jonathan will go to great lengths to coax Aunt Essie and Nuria into his arms and dead heart, even if it meant harming them.

Three people I care about are in great danger. Three people who had made their homes in my heart. I stood at the epicenter because Jonathan wants to quench his thirst for revenge. Odessa was in this as a pawn; this Rhea was in it—who knows who else was also in this tangled web of madness?

“*Save yourself*.” Neron’s last words whispered in my head. “*Don’t let Dad touch you*.”

Neron wanted me away from danger. It’s a damn shame that I’m going to run toward it.

I have to find him and his family and bring them back safe and sound. An old sliver of who I used to be hissed in my ear to rescue them alone. But, when I looked at my sister and fellow avatars in my hospital room, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I needed their help. And admitting that didn’t come with that familiar sting of pain.

“The gears in your head are turning,” Phoebe remarked, the corner of her pink lips curving into a small smile. “You have a plan, do you?”

“It’s not much, but it’s a start,” I answered. I flinched at the burst of pain from my stomach when I hopped on my feet. Planting a hand over my bandages, I exhaled in relief at the soothing warmth sealing my wounds and dispelling lingering aches around me. My mind buzzed with mild vertigo from the healing, but it vanished in a blink of an eye.

“Any plan is better than no plan.” Violetta shrugged her shoulders. “So, how are we going to find this zombified wolfman?”

“By understanding his mannerisms,” Asim answered, folding a leg over the other. “We are at a disadvantage because we don’t know where he is holding his family. However, when we examine all that has happened up to this point, we can infer that his mannerisms are akin to both a snake and an oligarch who refuses to get his hands dirty.”

“Jonathan was behind the attacks, but he didn’t act on them,” I added, shuffling to the window. “He didn’t show up then, but he showed up now because he wanted to. After taking Neron and almost killing me, Nuria and Celeste were abducted. He hid, burrowed, and struck at the perfect moment—strategic moves for a former alpha.”

“Wait, I thought of something!” Violetta shot out of her seat, her curls bouncing on her shoulders. “What if the reason you never knew where Jonathan was hiding was that he was literally hiding under your feet? Snakes hide underground and under rocks for their own safety, but only come out when they need to hunt.”

“Going underground is the best option to get maximum secrecy,” Phoebe added, angling her hip against the threshold. She shuddered as if she was remembering something painful. “You are shielded from the world’s eyes, which is why criminal businesses and underground markets are widely successful because only a select few know about it. If Jonathan wanted to keep his family to himself, he’ll make sure the world never sees them again, unless he wants it to.”

“Okay, how do we go underground?” I inquired. “Where do we start?”

“What about a cave?” We all looked at Raina, fidgeting with the hem of her green blouse. “There are thousands of cave systems around the country and it’s the easiest way to stay deep underground.”

“But, just as you said Raina, there are thousands,” Asim spoke. “Jonathan can only be in one. It’s physically impossible to explore every cave hoping to find the missing family.”

“We don’t have to.” I folded my arms over my chest. “We just have to find the one that means the most to him—the one he has the deepest connection with.” I looked at Raina. “Can you ask if Kwame can come here?”

Ten minutes later, both Lorelai and Kwame came in without Naomi, who they said was with her grandparents. Lorelai drew me into a tight hug, patting me gently on the back. “Are you alright?”

“I am a little tired, but I’ll be okay.” We broke our hug, and I made my way back to the bed. I gave them the run-down of what had happened and explained our ideas on where Neron could be. “Kwame, I know your dad was Jonathan’s Gamma, but were they close?”

Kwame bit the inside of his cheek as he sighed through his nose. “Honestly, I’m not sure. They had a good relationship, but it fell apart after…you know.” He stuffed his hands in his khakis. “Since then, their relationship didn’t extend beyond maintaining the pack.”

“And I don’t think Val would know much either.” Raina added with a shoulder shrug. “I’m not sure if there is anyone else who might know Jonathan beyond the surface level.”

There isn’t anyone I could think of…

Except for one.

This could be a long shot, but I’m not letting this chance pass me by. It could be the key we need to find the abductees. “Phoebe, has a woman named Liberty arrived at Garnet Moon recently?”

“Yes.” Her eyes brightened. “Anthony and Alesia were showing her around the day before Nuria went missing. Is she important?”

I sighed with relief. “Very.”

Liberty escaped Bastard Jackson. He’ll never harm her again. My mind drifted back to the Alpha Gathering where Neron and I first met him. He and Jonathan were high school buddies. If Jackson talked about his relationship with Jonathan, and she overheard…

“*She could be our only hope*.” Artemis mentioned. “*We have to take this chance*.”

And that chance we will take.

But, first, I needed clothes and the girls.

---------------------------------------------------

This teleportation thing has got to be taxing on Phoebe, especially when teleporting six people at once.

We stood in front of a small, white two-story home embroidered with yellow chrysanthemums and purple columbines. Freshly brewed tea drifted from the open window, tickling my nose as we drew closer to the front steps. Two smaller hands squeezed my own, pulling my attention to Aiyana and Alana gazing up at me with curiosity.

I didn’t tell them why we were here, rather keeping it a surprise for all three wolves.

Liberty must’ve detected our presences because the front door flew open, her willowy appearance emerging in front of us. She looked a lot better; her long brunette tresses held hints of soft curls, her green eyes dazzled like jades, and color had returned to her once pale skin. Wearing a modest blue dress that hid her curves, her eyes traveled down to the girls in my hands.

She cried out in relief, toppling on her knees. “Girls!”

“Liberty!” The girls shouted, leaving my side for hers. They dashed into her open arms, almost tackling the poor woman on her rear. Liberty sobbed into their shoulders, tightening her thin arms around each girl. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I watched the scene, feeling my heart warm and break at the same time.

“You’re okay…you’re both okay.” She murmured, kissing their temples. When they separated, she cupped both their cheeks, smiling through her tears. “How have things been for the two of you?”

“Good!” They answered in unison. Alana wiggled in happiness in her spot. “Neron and Kiya are taking good care of us. We got frozen yogurt yesterday!”

“Alpha Jackson won’t find you, right?” Aiyana asked, her dark eyes glistening in her worry.

“No, he won’t.” Liberty breathed. “He won’t be finding me ever again.”

“Liberty.” I walked forward from the avatars behind me. She found my eyes and smiled wider, her gratitude and praise written on her face like an open book. “You look good! How have you been adjusting?”

“Oh, yes. Your brother and your sister-in-law have shown me great hospitality and gave me this home. I don’t know how I can repay them or you for saving my life and my heart from further heartache.”

“Knowing you’re safe is repayment enough.” I patted the heads of my girls. “I hope we haven’t come at a bad time, because there is something I need to ask of you.”

Her smile fell to a concern frown. She bowed her head and looked at the girls again before nodding. “Of course.” She ushered the girls into her tiny home, giggling when they plopped on the soft couches, kicking off their shoes. “What is going on?”

“Has Jackson ever mentioned anything about his relationship with a deceased Alpha named Jonathan Prince?” I asked. “Something has happened that I cannot go into great detail about now, but my friends and I believe the answers we need lie within Jonathan’s relationship with Jackson.”

“The name is familiar.” Liberty leaned against her door by the doorknob. “From what I can remember, he has mentioned him a few times, especially when looking at old memorabilia from his younger years with his fellow alphas while drinking.”

I winced, remembering how Jonathan was as a drunk. “Has he ever mentioned anything about a cave or anything remotely similar to it?”

Her eyes lit up, nodding. “He mentioned, when other alphas visited him for a kickback, that there was this very large and spacious cave some miles away from their old high school where they’d get together with friends and do dumb stuff in both their human and wolf forms. This was before he moved back to Florida to take over his father’s pack. He said, today, that high school had closed down a decade prior, so that area is abandoned.”

“And where was this high school?”

“Somewhere in Nevada, I think? It was named Trinity Prospect High.”

Nevada is where everything started. While I didn’t care for Jackson, his talks in passing had helped change the course of Neron and his family’s fate. Feeling accomplished, I grinned. “Thank you, Liberty. Do you mind if the girls stay with you until I return?”

“Yes!” She cheered, clapping her hands once. “It’ll do me some good to catch up with them. Thank you for taking care of them. They’re…” She sighed, peeking inside. “They’re like my children.”

“I know the feeling.”

*Because I love them too*.

Leaving her to her home, I walked back to the group and repeated what Liberty had confided in me. This was an excellent start, and I had a feeling Jonathan would be there. Having all my ducks in one row is dangerous, especially with how elusive that bastard is, but my heart is set.

My boyfriend, my best friend, and my aunt were trapped inside that cave.

And I’m going to get them out, even if I have to blow up the damn system myself.

*I’m coming, Neron*.

*Wait for me*.