[Rock]I ignored the people calling my name as I started punching the invisible lump that was Wylder Steinman. Punching him and kicking him was helping with the anger and helplessness I was feeling. The spell was powerful if he wasn’t reacting with more than grunts yet.“What a useless troll warrior! Getting taken down by three softies? I can’t believe someone as pathetic as you has the nerve to wear the name Steinman. You had one job, and you failed,” I growled as I beat him.He shifted and growled. I continued my physical and verbal assault until there was more movement. Once it felt like he was breaking out of the spell, I stepped back.I could hear him working to get to his feet. As he did, he replaced his invisibility glamour with one similar to mine. Wylder was no longer hiding anything about himself, aside from his more troll-like features.This meant that all the police and gawking humans now saw a man who was about nine feet tall and built like a mountain appear out of thin air. Understandably, the scent of fear increased and there were some gasps and screams.Wylder didn’t even hide the fact that he was only wearing a loincloth. If no one could see you, why not be comfortable? What it hid was the thing I wanted to see.“I failed you and dishonored my family name,” Wylder grumbled.“You had one job. So far, you’ve done well, but I can’t overlook this failure. My mate is in danger because of your weakness.”He gave me a look that I could only describe as stony and gave a sharp nod of his head. Even though I had told Carmen about added security I wanted for her, in the eyes of the troll community, this was entirely Wylder’s fault. I understood where the blame really sat, but I would follow tradition here.“I thought we needed an earth witch,” Queen Maeve said from behind me.I turned my head slightly and looked at her out of the corner of my eye. This was a great insult to fae who valued honor and especially to trolls. It meant I didn’t deem her worthy of my full attention, and I didn’t think she was strong enough to be considered a threat.The human police had pulled back to their cars. Viola was watching from a distance. The only people with her were Rhett and Trent. Rhett was standing away from the two leaders. He was distancing himself from the targets of the angry trolls. For all that he seemed obtuse, he had immaculate situational awareness.“The spell can be broken if we get angry enough. It's hard to get a troll angry enough to break it, so other fae don’t know how,” I explained in a chilled tone.Turning my full attention back to Wylder, I saw him evaluating me. He had assessed me when we first met. It changed his opinion that I was a noble’s weak half-breed son. It also showed him Carmen would fight to save herself and me. I knew from what she taught me about werewolves that she wouldn’t have fought if it meant saving someone else.“Are you branded?” I asked him. “I would assume a warrior son of the Steinman clan is.”His glamour on his abdomen shimmered and revealed several marks carved into his chest. I looked at them and saw he had the one that protected against earth magic. No matter how strong the witch was, they shouldn’t have been able to cast that spell on him.It meant they had worked to develop a way to use it, even if someone was protected from earth magic. Since the spell would only work on a troll, I had the sudden realization that there was only one person they could have tested it on. A growl started deep in my chest.Troll women were almost as strong as troll men. We didn’t coddle them and protect them in the same way werewolves did. That didn’t mean we abandoned them. Her leaders put Shayle in this position and she probably suffered in the cult while they used her to develop this level of the spell.Now those people had my mate. The revelation about sacrifices and the knowledge of what they did to Shayle increased my agitation. If they thought of Shayle as a willing member of their cult, what would they do to someone they had to abduct?I looked into Wylder’s eyes and could see he’d come to the same conclusion. Perhaps not knowing about the Shayle component, but realizing this would have to be tested on a troll.For centuries, our people were used and disparaged. People, other fae, thought we were brutish idiоts who only enjoyed fighting and fuсking. We didn’t talk much, and we kept what we said to the point, not believing in the useless drivel people used to fill conversation.That meant some people saw us as little more than animals. Beasts that walked on two legs. We weren’t on the same level as them.Because she was friends with my mom, I thought Queen Maeve was different. Maybe she was. Keeping information like this from me, keeping a genuine threat to my mate quiet, wasn’t treating me like any other member of her community. Would she have kept this from another elf? Would she have kept it from her son if his mate were in danger?The loyalty of the trolls was always precariously maintained. We’d been fuсked over too many times. There would never be a time when we fully trusted the royals.Wylder put his hand out to me. I reached out and gripped his wrist. He did the same to me. Together, we thumped our chests with our free arm.Some people started crossing the police line. This was a store where you can buy items in bulk. There were always trolls around. It looked like some of the crowd had actually been curious trolls.As they moved toward us, ignoring the police telling them to stop, they let their glamour melt away to be like ours. Trolls were always up for a fight, and Wylder and I had just forged a battle alliance. It acknowledged our commitment to the same battle.The crowd of trolls wasn’t huge. Only about twenty, including Wylder and me, but even five trolls in one place made people nervous. With good reason.In the language of the earth, I told them about what happened. I told them how the leadership kept secrets from me making it impossible to protect my soft mate, how there was a threat to our people and only the warriors had been notified, and how Shayle was serving her people and had been tortured by our enemies. Then, I told them where we could find someone who could tell us how to fight the creature who was giving power to our enemy and where to meet once we had everything we needed and reinforcements.Once I told them everything, the crowd dispersed. They knew what to do next. If our people weren’t protected, especially my soft mate, who many trolls had grown to love, then we would take care of this ourselves.We turned to my truck. Queen Maeve tried to step in front of me but realized I wasn’t going to stop and moved out of the way. I grabbed Rhett’s jacket and dragged him along with me.When we reached my truck, Wylder got in the back, and I handed Rhett to him. The warlock struggled and tried to reason with us, but I wasn’t listening. His dark spirit was part of the earth. He understood everything I told the trolls, and I wasn’t going to let him stop us from saving Carmen.“Rock, stop! Where are you going?” Trent asked.“I have some things to pick up,” I replied, getting into my truck and starting it.They pondered their assholes for too long. I wasn’t waiting anymore. Carmen wasn’t waiting anymore. I wouldn’t stop until I had my mate.I took Wylder and Rhett back to my office. It wouldn’t be long before the leaders collected themselves and started looking for us. This was the place they’d start.Wylder handed Rhett to me while he was getting out of the truck, and we headed into the office. Forrest was waiting there. He took in our glamour and changed his as well. I knew he would side with us without question.“Where is she?” Forrest asked.“The cult took her. They have Shay. We’re getting them, and Austin, back. This is Wylder Steinman. I want you to take him to the fort. Call Elbio, Mica, and Jett. Reach out to every troll who met Carmen, even if they aren’t warriors. This ends now,” I growled.“And the little warlock?” Forrest asked, looking at the man I was holding.“You could just let me go…. I wouldn’t tell anyone where you were going. I’ll go home,” Rhett suggested.“You’re coming with us, Warlock,” I growled before turning my attention back to Forrest. “I have to go get something we need. Keep the little warlock with you. One of you has to be holding him at all times. No matter what. If you have to piss, he holds your dick. Got it?”“Got it,” Forrest and Wylder replied together.I picked Rhett up to face level and looked directly into his eyes. “You said Carmen was like family to you. If you abandon her, you’re no longer her family and I will consider you an enemy to my mate. I will end your miserable life.”“Dolly needs me,” Rhett whispered.“Then I’m sure you have motivation to get back to her. I’ll let Echo know she’s alone before we leave for the cult. Someone will look after your child,” I said before handing him off to Forrest. “I’ll meet you at the fort.”“Be safe,” Forrest said as I walked back out.Once I was back in my truck, I headed for the pack lands. The other trolls were getting the Templar from Victor’s house. They wouldn’t hurt anyone. Violence wasn’t the only option. It was just the fun option.I would go get Harmony. If they were planning to use her to fight the demon, then she was needed. I didn’t like the idea of endangering someone else’s mate, but she had some powerful magic and I would do everything I could to get Carmen back.As I passed the border, I smiled and waved at the guards. They were familiar with me coming into the territory, so they didn’t stop me. This was the vehicle I usually used to bring Carmen to visit her family.I stopped in the downtown area of the pack lands and looked at the GPS with Cam’s address on it. It was part of the paperwork, and I programmed the phone numbers and addresses of my entire crew into my phone. If I needed them or they needed me, I wouldn’t have to get the address from them or look through the files.After I looked at the location on the map, I put everything away and pulled back onto the road. It didn’t take long before I pulled up in front of a fairly nice-looking house. I parked and headed for the door.Before I could knock, the door opened and Harmony stood in the doorway looking at me with a raised brow. I smiled, but she didn’t smile back. I wondered what she knew.“Echo contacted me. Some trolls came to her house and asked for Spencer. They implied that there wasn’t an option for him to say no to coming with them. I’m guessing I don’t have that option, either.”“You’re the greater darkness that Rhett was afraid of. He thinks your power can take down the demon. They took my mate and Gemma’s mate. Carmen’s in danger. I know if you’re as powerful as Rhett says, you can say no and there’s nothing I can do. Carmen and Austin need you. You’re a ranked wolf, right? They need you to save them,” I insisted.She laughed. “I wasn’t raised as a werewolf, so rank means nothing to me. Mercy wants to save them, though. And I think of Carmen as a friend. Austin and Gemma came to see my family after Adam was born and brought some pre-made meals for us. I’ve been itching to go after this thing for a while. My in-laws have the baby and I left a note for Cam. Let’s go.”