"I'm a very resourceful man, what can I say?" He smiles at me smugly.

I attempt to limp over to him and the smile disappears instantly.

"What happened? What the fuck did Sage do?"

I stop short, motioning to the bloody mass on the floor behind me. Several emotions flash on Killian's face before he settles on anger, his glare focused on the body of his former friend.

"Yeah, sorry for slitting your third in command's throat and all, but in my defense, he had it coming," I joke nervously, trying to lighten the dark mood that set over the room.

Killian growls in response and makes his way towards me in three easy strides.

"I'm okay. Promise," I murmur, warmed by the concern etched on his face.

"This is all very touching, but what do you suppose we do from here? Loud noises tend to draw crowds and we do have to transport two unconscious bodies out of here. Any ideas on how we lift these fat asses?"

I peek behind Killian's shoulder to see Patrick staring at me expectantly, tapping his foot with mock impatience.

"Patrick, you came to rescue me!" I squeal girlishly, pushing Killian away as I hold my arms open.

Patrick runs to me instantly and wraps me in a bear hug.

"Oh, sure, I'll just stand over here while you two have your moment," Killian grumbles petulantly.

I embrace Patrick for a few seconds more before turning to the rest of the team with a sigh.

"He's right, we need to get moving before whatever I'm sure you distracted the Warriors with is resolved. I know a way out from here. Let's put two men each on Daniel and Gabriel. I'd help, but..." I point to my ankle, grinning impishly.

Everyone nods in agreement and wastes no time unhooking the men from all their machines and fluids. Killian wraps a supportive arm around my waist and we leave through the man-made entrance, but not before Killian pauses to look at Marcus, his expression mournful.

"I'm sorry," I look up at him, my voice cracking.

"I trusted him. What happened, Rey?"

"I'll explain later, when we have more time. Let's go."

When we make it to the outer gate, Killian's men start loading Daniel and Gabriel into the back of a black SUV and Lexie climbs in next to them wordlessly, her expression grim. I start to follow, walking painfully slow to the passenger side, but Killian pulls on my waist to stop me.

"What? We need to go," I glance back at him.

"We can't just leave like this," he replies darkly.

"You mean Marcus? I know it sucks, but we don't have time to go back for him and I don't really feel like riding home with a dead body anyways."

"No, I mean Sage. We're just going to leave him here so these experiments keep happening? We need to do something."

I take his face in both of my hands, hoping my touch will help calm the desperation in his eyes.

"And we will. I promise. But to do that, we need to get out of here safely. Please, we need to regroup and organize an attack."

He sighs heavily, but nods in agreement and helps me to the passenger side. I lean back into my seat and close my eyes. For the first time in what feels like forever, I allow myself a few seconds to relax.

Killian starts the car and I assume we're going to have to kill the Warriors at the main gate to get out, but he heads to the side of the base instead. I look over at him questioningly, but the smile on his face tells me everything I need to know.

"Another C4 entrance?"

"I figured it would save some time."

"I think you're just a trigger happy madman," I laugh, closing my eyes again.

The rest of the car quickly falls into a comfortable silence, everyone slipping into an exhausted sleep, and I feel Killian's hand rest itself on my thigh. I sigh into the touch, feeling content despite the dark cloud that is Jacob's disappearance and Sage's fucked up plan looming over us. When I wake up, I realize it's dark as we pull up to pack property.

Most of the pack is standing out front waiting to welcome us as we unload. Several cheer and let out whoops of excitement at our safe return while the rest look at us silently, relieved but concerned. I catch a brief glimpse of Alice, her expression hopeful for a brief moment before falling when she realizes Jacob's not with us.

"You guys haven't found him yet?" I ask quietly, pointing my chin in Alice's direction.

Killian shifts on his feet uncomfortably and shoves his hands in his pockets, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Uhh, yeah, well, we kind of put a pause on his search when you guys went missing."

I feel heat rising to my cheeks- I can't believe what I'm hearing.

"Killian, what the fuck?" I let out shakily. I feel like the wind was knocked out of me.

"I couldn't focus on anything else until I knew you were safe!"

"He's a kid! A kid probably being tortured as we speak, if he's not already dead, and his mother looks like she hasn't slept since he went missing!"

He groans heavily, like he has the audacity to be frustrated with me, and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I just needed to make sure you were safe. I couldn't live with myself if I knew you were hurt. We're mates, you come first."

"Your pack comes first. That's your family, we haven't even fully mated yet. They come first. Jacob should have come first," I start to raise my voice and we begin to draw attention.

Killian looks around at the crowd and puts a calming hand on my shoulder. I pull back and look at him in disgust.

"Come find me when you have a plan to get Jacob back."

I give him one last glare before turning on my heels, hoping the pack doctor can fit me in before she goes to sleep.