Page 115 of Hart's Redemption

"But Remus said before that they'd searched your house," I whispered.

He shook his head. "I use a different residence for anything that requires a physical address.”

Bang-bang-bang.

The noise came again, faster this time. My mind scrambled to think of something that wasn’t fueled by sheer, blind panic. “If not them, then who?” I thought aloud. “Could it be the things from the cottage?”

“How would they have gotten past the front gate without Atlas alerting us?” Josh appeared every bit as perplexed as I was.

“Did you give them a code or something? Some kind of bypass?” I was grasping at straws now, my heart pounding in my chest at the prospect of losing Josh once more. I wouldn’t survive it again.

“Bypass! Of course.” I jumped at Josh’s unexpected shout. He turned to look at me, the intensity of his gaze somewhat diminished now. “I turned off the security protocols when we arrived, but I never turned them back on.” He hopped off the table and immediately started for the front door.

I ran to catch up with him, pulling up beside him right as he opened the massive door. Where my heart had been beating furiously before, it stopped dead. I took in the man before me, casually leaning against the doorjamb, and the sea of familiar faces behind him.

“Eric?” I gasped. Before I could say anything else. Two bodies separated themselves from the rest and launched at Josh. It wasn't until my irrational spike of fear subsided that I recognized the bodies now clinging to Josh as Tommy and Kale. Josh gave me a disbelieving, albeit pleased, look.

He held the two tightly and looked out at the faces of what appeared to be the entire Klamath Pack. "This is what I was feeling," he whispered in awe.

Not entirely sure what he was talking about, I turned back to Eric. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You didn’t honestly think you could take off without a word, did you? You won the Alpha battle. Half the pack is yours.” His cocky grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Half? Eric, this looks like everyone.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Oh. Right. The other half’s here for him.” He gestured with his thumb at Josh as the brothers released him. “Technically, you both won, though good luck sorting everyone out.”

“How did you find this place?” Josh asked Tommy. Considering what he’d told me in the library, the question had merit.

"We followed you. I thought we might have lost you when you went through the second portal, but it was like you kept calling to me." Kale elbowed his brother in the ribs, and Tommy quickly amended, "I mean us. Even Remus felt it." He glanced over his shoulder at where—yep—Remus stood with his arms crossed, an ever-present grin on his face.

"Nice to see you in one piece, Alpha. Though you could have messaged. I can honestly say I've never experienced a summons like that before. Luckily, these guys showed up and were able to fill in some of the blanks." Remus pointed at two men I didn't recognize making their way closer.

“Yanesh?”

I turned to look at Josh at the same time an older man with remarkably brown hair streaked with white turned to the taller next to him. “Yanesh. Really? You hate it when people call you that.”

“I didn’t want him to recognize my name,” the man argued.

“Because Alec is such a common name,” the brown-haired man scoffed.

At that, I returned my attention to the bickering men. “Alec, as in Dr. Alec Wilson?”

The man in question gestured at me as if I’d just made his point. “See, Ty. I’m famous.” “Ty” rolled his eyes and wrapped a possessive arm around him.

Josh stepped forward, and Eric moved out of his way to let him pass. “I don’t understand. I suspected Yanesh wasn’t your given name, but you’re telling me the premier expert on Mein Zeke is the one who was treating me this whole time?”

“And I’d like to continue to treat you. If you’ll let me.”

I held up a hand, more than a little overwhelmed by everything going on all at once. “You were receiving treatment while you were in the Pit?”

“How else do you think I got control over the rambling?” Josh fired back.

“Wait, there’s a fix for that?” Tommy piped up. From there, all the voices rose in a tide of sound.

Something in my chest eased at the familiarity of it all. I turned to look at Josh and found my surprise reflected in his eyes.

Josh