Pregnant With Four Alphas' Babies: A Reverse Harem Romance Chapter 163: Deployment Preparations

*Tristan*

Mark, Reece, and I have just made it through the castle gates, and I quickly notify Adam that we are here. During the run back, we’d all tried to figure out a plan to get to Kane’s castle and rescue Rose and our babies.

The first step is knowing the enemy, so we’re headed to the library for a book I remember that had a lot of detail about enemy castles. I’m sure that Kane’s has to be in there. Sure enough, when we get to the library and spread out the book, which is full of huge drawings and takes up an entire table in the corner of the room, the plans for Kane’s fortress are at the very top of the stack.

“Fairly straightforward,” says Reece, examining the drawing.

And it is, which is upsetting, and I frown at the drawing.

“What’s wrong?” asks Mark.

“I was hoping it had all the secret passages like we have here at Gene’s castle. But if it did, we’d notice something off about the dimensions. Rooms would be odd sizes, and walls would be thicker, I’d assume,” I say.

Reece nods. “That would make our lives easier to have a secret passage, but we’ll get him regardless,” he says. “Deliveries probably come in through the kitchen, here.” He points to an area on the map. “We could disguise ourselves and head in that way.”

“We’d have to get past the guards at the front gate first,” says Mark. “I doubt they get deliveries from the same companies that we do here.”

“They don’t,” Adam says. “Everyone is under orders in this pack not to associate with the enemy. I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to go against that law.”

“So, we think of another way,” I say.

Just then, a group of guards runs past the library doors and heads down the hall. “What’s that about?” asks Reece.

Adam puts his hand over his forehead. “Gene,” he says with a groan. “He’s calling for the guards. And me.”

“Why?” asks Mark.

“Who fucking knows,” says Adam. “I’ll just go deal with him.”

‘Tristan!’ says a voice ringing out in my head. ‘Are you there?’

“What the—” I say out loud, but in my head, I answer, ‘Eli?’

‘Oh, thank the Goddess,’ Eli says. ‘You answered.’

Reece has just said something to Adam that I didn’t hear, but when he notices the look on my face, he asks me, “What is it?”

“Eli!” I say out loud, and that gets everyone’s attention and they’re all looking at me. ‘Where are you, man?’ I ask Eli.

‘No idea,’ he says. ‘But I’m free and I’m headed back! Please tell Rose I’m okay. I don’t want her to worry. How is she?’

I swallow hard, and I can tell my expression is falling as the ache pounds in my heart. I have no idea how I’m going to break this to him.

‘Tristan?’ he says in my mind.

Adam looks at me questioningly, but Reece shakes his head and says in a pained whisper, “He’s telling him.”

Adam nods and looks down at the floor.

‘She’s… Eli, there’s no good way to say this,’ I tell Eli in the mind-link. ‘She’s been kidnapped.’

‘What!?’

I cringe as I hear the same pain in his voice that I’m feeling in the pit of my stomach. For him, it must be so much worse because the pain is new to him. Not that it’s getting any better with the passing moments. It’s not. But at least I’ve had time to digest it. Eli just got free, and the first thing he has to hear from us is how the woman he loves—and his child—have been kidnapped.

‘We’re getting her back,’ I say simply.

‘Who!?’

‘Kane,’ is my simple answer.

‘I’m going there,’ he says.

‘No,’ I tell him firmly. ‘We’re not going to do a suicide mission. Rose needs us all alive.’

The rest of the Alphas join in the conversation, and soon we get a quick overview of what’s been happening to Eli and where he thinks he might be. Eli is hurt, and has barely escaped with his life, not to mention that he’s been drugged most of the time he’s been gone, so he’s in no shape to go running into Kane’s castle like a vigilante, and we tell him as much.

‘Is my sister okay?’ he asks.

‘Yes, she’s fine, and she’s here at the castle,’ I say.

‘Then the rest of you go after Rose,’ Eli says.

I’m relieved that he’s decided not to go after her by himself. After the initial shock, I think he’s realized that losing him is something Rose just can’t handle.

‘I’ll have Kelly head in my direction with some of my people,’ he says. ‘Trevor and Cora can head up the team.’

‘Wait…’ says Mark. ‘Cora isn’t to be trusted. She’s missing, in fact.’

‘What?’ says Eli. ‘She’s been one of my best warriors. I’ve been impressed with her, especially since I heard she’d been one of Tristan’s people.’

I shake my head. ‘Eli, I’ve never seen that woman in my life,’ I say. ‘Well, until recently.’

‘What the—that fucking bitch!’ he says.

We explain a bit more about what had happened with Cora and then break off the mind-link so we can focus on our plan to get Rose home safely. Knowing that Eli is safe, and that Kelly is going to go find him, gives me a little sense of relief, although the rock weighing down my heart will not go away until my little flower is back in my arms where she belongs.

I can’t wait to tell her that Eli is safe. But we have to get to her first.

We rip the pages with drawings of Gene’s castle out of the book—we’ll deal with restocking the library later—and head back out toward the gates, each of us instructing our warriors in our heads to make quick preparations. When we get out to the courtyard by the entrance, Kelly comes running out with Trevor and a couple more warriors in tow.

“He’s alive!” she calls to us.

“We know,” says Reece as she approaches us. “You’d better take a healer. I think he’s hurt pretty bad.”

“Oh, the big lug will be fine,” she says. “I’ve seen him through a lot worse than a broken paw. But you’re right; the healers already gave us some herbs to treat him once we’ve got him. The hard part is going to be keeping him in one place long enough to heal. I had to beg him not to go running off to find Rose. You three Alphas can handle that.”

I nodded. “We’ll get her,” I say. “Tell him that she’s as good as home.”

With that, Kelly nods and gathers a few more people and supplies, then heads out the gate. They’re taking some four-wheel-drive utility vehicles to carry the supplies to Eli, and probably will use them to get him home quickly.

Knowing Eli is in good hands takes one layer of pain away, but it’s little comfort. I can’t stand to sit around waiting any longer, even though we don’t have a great plan once we get there. Just heading out in the direction of Rose and getting in closer proximity will help the pain, but just a little. “We need to hurry,” I say.

“I want to get to her, too,” says Mark. “But we are going to need all the help we can get. My people will be ready within a half hour.”

“Mine are almost ready,” says Reece. “And I’ve got a secondary backup team that is going to load up more supplies and follow behind the front-line group. Kane wants a war… he’s getting a war.”

I nod. “He’s a dead man,” I say. “And so is anyone else who stands between us and Rose.”

The other Alphas nod in solidarity… but having Rose’s name leave my lips has my heart aching again. It’s so unbearable to know that someone you love more than life itself is in the hands of a dangerous man, far away where none of us can hold her in our arms and protect her.

A group of Reece’s men approaches, and he consults with them on some last-minute details. I’m about to take a final inventory of my own men when I hear a voice bellow over the sound of the troops readying for deployment.

“What the fuck is going on out here!” hollers King Gene. “This is my fucking courtyard and you’re… what the fuck?! That man has just trampled my begonias!”

“What?” I ask. It’s the only logical word that forms in my mind to answer whatever it is that Gene just said.

“My prize begonias!” he says. “Do you have any fucking idea how prestigious the award is for the rarest color? The specimens must be in pristine condition!”

My mind pieces together the information enough to recognize that he’s talking about… flowers? Rose’s life is in danger, and he’s worried about some stupid flowers. I turn toward him, and I’m about ready to just lay into him about what a stupid moron he is when I spot it… spot her… walking out of the castle with a confident strut as if she owns the place.

The rest of the Alphas catch sight of her at about the same time as I do, and I can feel their expressions on their faces without even having to look at them.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” I scream at her.