Alpha - Forever #1 (Complete)

Chapter 16 - Part 2

Scarlett

Half an hour later, I heard the sound of a car engine and rushed to the window to peer outside.

Any hope that I had that it was Cade vanished when I saw Hank and a few other guys, along with Gary, get out of the car.

I rushed to the front door with Jake following behind me.

"Have you heard anything?" I asked anxiously as Hank entered first.

"No," he answered as he shook his head.

"How are you doing?" Gary said as he entered the house behind Hank. I gave him a look that revealed the panic that was rising up inside of me. He walked over to me and pulled me into a hug.

Still being tightly hugged by Gary, I noticed Jake stiffen for a moment and then he dashed through the formal lounge. I pulled myself out of the hug as I saw Jake disappear out the patio doors toward the compound.

My heart began to hammer inside my chest as fear began to overflow inside of me. I watched Hank hurry to try and catch up with Jake. Something was up.

I followed them to the compound, where there was flurry of activity. The air was filled with a nervous energy.

Just as the gates at the bottom of the property came into view, I saw a couple of injured guys lying on the ground. Curtis leaned over one of the injured people. It was only seconds, but time seemed to slow down as I looked down to the faces of the people who had been injured, my feet leading me to them.

Blake. He grimaced in pain as Curtis put his hand on a wound bleeding on his stomach. Horror filled me when I saw a deep gash through a tear in his shirt. There was so much blood.

Oh. Dear. God.

My head began to spin as I came to a stop a couple of feet away from him. I couldn't pass out; I needed to know where Cade was. I took a deep and struggled breath to stop the dizziness. My mind fought with my body to stay upright and in control.

In the back of my mind, I couldn't stop the thoughts that something bad had happened to Cade. He and Blake were inseparable and Blake looked seriously injured. Had Cade been injured as well?

I don't know how, but when I opened my eyes again, the sight of blood didn't make me feel sick.

Cade.

I needed to know that he was okay, because if he wasn't... it wasn't something I could think about without feeling like someone ripped my heart from my chest.

I wanted to help Blake. I knew I'd just get in the way, though, so I stood nearby, just a couple of feet away as I watched them load him onto a stretcher and carry him to the medical center.

Where was Cade?

Frantically, I scanned the area for Jake. He would know, but I couldn't find him in the crowd of people that had built up around the gate. I spotted Hank standing guard at the gates with a few others watching into the forest. Were they waiting for Cade?

Panic gripped me, but I pushed forward in Hank's direction. Even though I was petrified of the answer, I needed to know where Cade was.

As I reached Hank, he glanced at me.

"He's on his way back," Hank informed me with a soft expression when he saw the state I was in. I clutched his arm. Relief flooded through me and I felt my knees weaken. The array of emotions that had gripped me from the time this had all started had exhausted me. It felt like I'd been stuck on a roller coaster for the last hour.

"He's okay," Hank reassured me as he studied me for a moment. "They got ambushed."

I stood beside Hank, waiting for Cade and holding my breath. Even though I knew he was okay, I wasn't going to relax until I could see him for myself.