Ch. 321..330

Chapter 321

The weather, bizarrely, gets worse as we drive. I’m usually not skittish about driving in bad weather, by as the miles pass I feel myself getting more and more anxious. The water pounds against the windshield and thunder booms around us, lightening flashing through. the forests through which we drive.

“What the hell is this,” Roger growls, leaning forward to look up into the sky. “I can’t believe it’s lasted this long and it’s raining harder, not letting up..

“Can you even see?” I ask, my hands gripping the leather of my seat anxiously now as I stare out the windshield in front of us. To me it looks like a vast sheet of grey water with the occasional flare of the guard car’s brake lights ahead of us.

“I can see,” Roger murmurs in reply, a little annoyed, apparently, that I’d even call his skills into question. I roll my eyes at this, but trust him there must be something about his wolf senses that can see into the road ahead of us that my eyes cannot make out. Still, despite my trust, I’m anxious. We could run into another car, or a fallen tree, or a lost animal at any moment – how could we even see it coming?

My phone lights up in the cupholder next to me and I release my grip on my seat to grab it, looking at the new text from Ella. “Roger,” I say, anxious, glancing at him. “Ella says it’s not even raining at home what –

But suddenly the car lurches, skidding sideways a little I see the diver’s wheel shift in

Roger’s hands, moving without his control – hear him curse under his breath as the car hydroplanes and drifts at high speed to our left. I give a little shriek, pressing my eyes. closed, my whole body tense – anticipating at any moment that we’ll slam into a tree, or fly off a cliff –

But we just slow, and then come to a stop, and I peek my eyes open.

“It’s all right, Cora,” Roger murmurs, frustrated but in control of the car again. “We skidded but we’re okay. We just hit some high water

“Where’s the other car?” I gasp, still freaked out, looking steadily out the window.

“They got through it,” he tells me, putting the car in park and picking up his phone, glancing at the road ahead of us. “I don’t know how, though, it looks completely flooded…” the road ahead of us. Roger’s on his phone now, speaking to the guards in the car, who have stopped on the other side of the flooded road, separated from us. They speak for a few moments, trying to figure out a plan, but they don’t come up with much.

“It’s no good, Cora,” Roger says, hanging up the phone and turning to me. “They can’t come back across the road. We’re going to have to backtrack and find a new route.”

“Seriously?” I ask, my eyes wide with anxiety. “We can’t like… ford the river, or whatever?” Roger raises an eyebrow and gestures towards the water in front of us, which looks like it’s rising by the minute. As I watch, what looks like an entire tree floats by what is quickly. becoming a river across the road.

“How did that happen so fast?” I ask, a little breathless. “Between one car length and another?”

“I don’t know,” Roger replies, his voice tight as he turns in his seat and puts the car in reverse, backing away from the rising water line. I watch him, waiting for him to continue, but he doesn’t, his brows knit together.

And then, suddenly, I realize that he already knows what I’m just now figuring out. That this storm…is not natural.

“Roger,” I whisper, my words shaking. “What’s happening?”

“We’re going to get through it, Cora,” he promises, his eyes on the road as he turns the car around and heads in the other direction. “Do you trust me?”

And I do. I know it, deep down in my gut, that I trust him to get us out of this. But instead of telling him that, I just nod, sitting back tensely in my seat as we retrace the ground we’ve already crossed. Even as we drive back down the road, though, the storm does not let up.

Lightening crashes around us and the tree limbs whip wildly above, threatening to come down on us at any moment.

When it starts to hail, big golf-ball sized pieces of ice, I open my mouth to say we need to do get out of this

But Roger beats me to it. “It’s no good, Cora,” he murmurs, glancing at me. “We have to stop.”

“Okay,” I breathe, somehow at once more anxious and simultaneously relieved. I want to stop I know that for sure, I don’t want to ride on this road any longer in this storm – but what’s waiting for us when we stop? Something is fighting to keep us here. What happens

“I think I remember…” Roger begins, peering out the window, but his words fade off as he looks. I wait, holding my breath, not wanting to interrupt his concentration, looking out. the windshield along with him, unable to tear my eyes away. But as I watch – a red neon glow comes barely into sight in the distance. “Yes,” he murmurs. “A motel. Thank god.”

I breathe a big sigh of relief as Roger pulls into the parking lot, the wind hitting us so hard now from the side the car rocks as he slides the gears into park. The rain is coming at us sideways now, punishing and incessant. As I stare at it, baffled by the sudden hurricane conditions, Roger surprises me by taking my hand.

“We can stay in the car,” he offers, “if that feels safer. But…I think we should get inside, Cora. What do you think? Make a run for the lobby?” He gestures towards it, just a few feet away, but somehow in this insane weather it feels as if getting there means running a gauntlet.

“Roger,” I say, anxious, looking into his eyes. “What’s going on? What is this?”

“I don’t know,” he says, concerned, shaking his head at me. “I honestly don’t, Cora. But we can’t drive in it not now. So our only choice, I think, is to weather the storm. And we can do that here, in the cold car. Or…there,” he says, nodding to the motel.

“In a flea-infested bedroom with rusty tap water,” I murmur, grimacing a little and looking at the motel’s run-down façade.

“Yup,” he says, putting a hand out to me. “What do you think? Want to make a run for it with me?”

Suddenly a huge gust comes, shifting the car so that it feels almost as if it lifts up on two wheels instead of staying steadily on four, as a car should.

“Yup!” I say, giving him a big anxious grin. “Let’s go!” and I slap my palm against his, tightening my fingers to grip his hand.

Roger gives me a little wink and then grabs his car door’s handle. “On the count of three…”

“Wait!” I gasp, sliding my phone into my back pocket and then grabbing for the copies of the pages from the book and shoving them hastily under my shirt, where I hope they’ll keep relatively dry.

Roger pauses for a moment, still holding my hand tightly, and then smirks, murmuring” lucky paper.” Then he meets my eyes and begins to count. “One?” he asks.

“Two,” I say, meeting his eyes and smiling a little bit, despite myself.

“Three!” he shouts, and we both throw open our doors, leaping out into the elements. I am almost instantly soaked as I sprint for the doors of the motel, Roger at my side for every step.

 

Chapter 322

I’m gasping as we burst through the door of the motel, Roger quickly turning to force it closed behind us as the wind batters us, making his job hard. I pant, looking around, my eyes settling on the startled eyes of the gnarled little man sitting behind the front desk. I work hard to give him a polite smile as Roger grunts, finally forcing the door shut behind.

“Nasty weather out there, ain’t it,” the desk attendant says, giving us a toothless grin.

“Bit of an understatement,” Roger murmurs, straightening and looking anxiously over his shoulder as he moves forward to the desk. I follow him, my hand pressed to the papers under my shirt. Some of them the outer ones, I think – are probably ones feel dry against my stomach…

– are probably ruined, but the inner

“Well, you’ll be good and dry here,” the attendant says, giving us a happy little nod. “You lookin’ for a room?”

“Sure,” Roger says, shrugging and glancing at me. I nod and shrug back. We could wait it out in this lobby, I guess, but as I look around and take in the patchworked chairs and the musty smell…honestly, being able to sit down somewhere a little cleaner sounds good to

1.

“We got room six,” the attendant says contemplatively, turning to point at a set of keys on the wall. “That’s our best room, but you gotta go out into the storm to get to it.” He points to a set of keys labeled “12” next. “Twelve ain’t as nice, but it’s just in the back of this building,” he says. “So you can stay inside, if you don’t want to get wet…” he turns back to us then and grimaces a little. “Or, well…wetter.”

“Twelve,” Roger and I say in unison, our faces serious. The attendant smiles at us and hands over the key. Roger nods and takes his wallet out of his back pocket, sliding some cash out and pushing it across the counter to the man.

Seeing the line of green bills left in Roger’s wallet, the attendant’s eyes light up. “Will you be needing any room service on top of that, then?” he asks.

“No,” Roger replies firmly and I’m grateful for it, thinking about what kind of delicacies a place like this might serve up. My stomach turns over a little at the thought of it. The man nods and tosses the key to Roger, who catches it in the air. Then, he takes my hand and

a polite smile and he returns it with a naughty little wink which makes me realize –

Oh my god, I think, as Roger leads me firmly down the hall towards the rooms at the back of the main building. That guy thinks we’re a couple… that we’re going in here to…

And then I realize that… that I’m actually in a sleezy motel with Roger Sinclair. And that we were going to go into a room, alone. With beds. To wait out this storm. Suddenly my heart. begins to pound as I follow Roger down the hall. Roger, perhaps hearing the change in my heartbeat, or smelling some physical change in my body’s scent, looks over his shoulder at me with a little smirk. I return it with a glare, but he just tightens his grip on my hand as the numbered rooms pass.

When we arrive at twelve, he deftly puts the key in the lock and twists it, pushing the door open to reveal…

“Oh my god,” I murmur, all ideas of scandal wiped from my mind as I go rigid at the sight of the water- marked ceiling, the rug with the mysterious stains, the television that looks like it might actually be the first television ever created. A ceiling fan whirls at the center of

the room, wobbling with an ominous threat that it might just give up at any moment and

come plummeting to the ground. There are windows at the far side of the room next to a

door that leads to the parking lot outside and a set of woods beyond that. The window is

slightly fogged, but it clearly shows that the storm outside still rages.

“Actually, I kind of like it,” Roger murmurs, looking around, his eyebrows up.

“What?!” I gasp, appalled.

“Sure,” he says, looking at me with a little grin. “It’s very true crime, very ‘will they or won’t they get murdered.’ I like a motel room with a little bit of an edge. Keeps things exciting.”

I somehow manage to roll my eyes and glare at him at once, dropping his hand and sweeping into the room. Roger laughs behind me as he closes the door. I quickly approach the slim bed in the center of the room, leaning over to take a good look at the stained.

blanket on the top.

“This is…not sanitary,” I murmur, grasping the very corner of the blanket between my fingers and then quickly whipping it off the bed and tossing it to the floor, revealing what actually looks like a set of crisp white sheets beneath. “That’s better,” I say, surprised and standing up straight.

“So eager to get between the sheets, Cora,” Roger says as he crosses the room and sits on a wooden chair by the window, pulling off his soaked shoes. “I always took you for a girl

“Don’t be gross,” I murmur, pulling the papers out from under my shirt and placing them, along with my phone, on the bedside table. Then I turn my back to Roger and sit down on the bed, working at my own shoes then, wanting very much to be dry and warm Roger just chuckles and says nothing, though I feel his weight on the other side of the mattress as I pull my second shoe off and work at my soaked sock. I

turn then, honestly surprised that he came to the bed, and freeze when I see him pulling off his shirt as well.

“Wha “I gasp, my eyes going wide, my forgotten wet sock still dangling from my fingers. I can’t help myself, though, from glancing at the contours of his abs, which I haven’t seen. since that night when he cried in my arms. My mind flashes suddenly to that moment, the intimacy of it – but that’s all wiped away when I realize that Roger right now isn’t wearing any pants –

“Oh my god!” I say, jumping up and turning towards him. “Where are your clothes!?”

“Over there, Cora,” he says simply, a little frustrated, gesturing to the heap of his pants on

the floor and tossing his shirt on top of them. “They’re soaked. I’m not sitting in wet

clothes all afternoon until this rain stops.” He smirks at me, then I think pleased to see how much he’s unsettled me with his nearly-naked body. Then, to my shock, he leans back. against the headboard, lifting one leg lazily onto the bed, bending it at the knee and looking completely relaxed. “Besides,” he continues, smug. “I don’t see you complaining.

And I hate him, in that moment and myself, a little bit as the first thought that pops into my mind is that he looks like a damn underwear model, laying there like that, his gorgeous tan set off nicely by the crisp white sheets.

“Complaint registered,” I growl, and, frustrated, I whip my wet sock at him, which smacks. wetly against his abs. Roger just laughs, brushing the sock away as I stalk towards the bathroom and slam the door shut behind me.

I take a few deep breaths, then, looking at myself in the mirror. I close my eyes and listen to the storm raging outside separated from me only by a few inches of brick and drywall. My stomach drops when I

think about it as I wonder about why the hell it’s here, and who sent it, and why. Because I know and I know Roger does too – that there’s nothing. natural about this storm

But somehow despite that insane, horrible realization all I can think about is the rain- slicked werewolf laying on the bed on the other side of that door. I grit my teeth and press my eyes shut, leaning against the sink and wishing to the death of me that he was just

Just….

Ugh, just a little less hot.

Or that his particular brand of swaggering arrogance, mixed with occasional

thoughtfulness, didn’t sing to me as enticingly as it apparently does.

“Cora?” Roger calls with a gentle knock at the door, making my eyes fly open. “Are you all right in there?”

“Fine!” I call back, my voice a little too shrill. “Just…splashing some water on my face!” I reply.

“All right,” he says, his voice a little worried. But I hear him move away.

I turn to face myself in the mirror again. “Come on, Cora,” I growl, taking a deep breath as I stare into my own eyes. “You have to control yourself for one afternoon. Just one afternoon. You have a boyfriend, after all. You can do this.”

But even as I nod to myself, my face set with determination, as I turn towards the door and put my hand on the knob?

Something inside of me nudges me, laughing, and whispers no, baby. No, you can’t. But why would you want to?

 

 

Chapter 323

“I wonder what Cora’s up to,” I sigh as I stand by the window rocking Rafe, who his crying a little and fussing in my arms. I know that he doesn’t need anything – he’s been fed, burped, changed, and everything else a baby could want. He’s just crying to cry, and I give a defeated little sigh, smiling at him and knowing that he just has to take a minute to work it out.

Sinclair, sitting on the bed with papers spread out all around him, glances up at me. You haven’t had any word from her?” he asks.

“No,” I reply, shaking my head. The last thing I heard was from the guards, who said they got separated form Cora and Roger by a flash flood. I’m…worried about her.”

“You know Roger will take care of her,” Sinclair says passively, flicking through the papers, looking for one in particular.

“I know,” I sigh, bobbing Rafe in my arms. “But even Roger can’t protect against the forces of nature. It’s just so strange – they’re only three hours away, and they’re apparently caught in some kind of hurricane? And we’ve got sunny skies?” I turn again towards the window, frowning. Something that feels uncannily like my mother’s gift pulses inside me, making my wolf turn towards it in attention, cocking her head to the side curiously. But neither of us know what to make of it, so I sigh again.

Rafe lets out a little wail then, working one of his little arms free of his blanket and waving an angry fist in the air.

“Oh baby,” I murmur, leaning down to give him a little kiss. “What do you have to worry about? You’re not stuck out in a storm. You’re here safe, with mommy!”

“Maybe he’s picking up on mommy’s anxiety,” Sinclair says, standing up from the bed and coming next to us, reaching for the baby. “Maybe he feels it down the bond

“Don’t blame me for your child’s bad attitude,” I say, joking and handing Rafe over into his father’s arms, whose size remind me again of the tiny delicacy of my baby boy “He gets that from your side. I’m no crybaby”

Sinclair laughs, rocking the baby in his arms, and Rafe quiets almost instantly, his yowl softening to an angry little murmur “Why,” Sinclair asks, “do you always suggest that his undesirable qualities come from me? I come from excellent stock”

“Hecause,” I say, standing on tip toe to look down at my baby’s perfect little face, raising a hand to tieke his belly a little I’m jealous, a bit, that he quiets so readily in his father’s aums, but not jealous enough to take him back if it means he’ll cry. Alongside the jealousy, there’s also a part of me that loves Rafe’s connection with his father, that he like me – finds comfort in the Alpha’s arms “My genetic line is that of a perfect Goddess You can’t beat that ”

“You have a father too, you know,” Sinclair reminds me.

“Yes,” I say, grinning up at him. “A king. I win. Again.”

Sinclair laughs, opening his mouth to retort, when we hear a little knock at the door. We both turn to it, Rafe settling down more completely now, and Sinclair’s mouth drops at little to see his father there, wheeling forward.

“Am linterrupting?” Henry asks curiously.

“Dad,” Sinclair says, smiling and moving forward. “No- but how-how did you get up here?”

“Ella’s excellent lift system,” Henry says, as if it’s obvious. He looks to me then. This chair is really state of the art,” he says, gesturing to the chair I ordered for my bed rest. Tll really have to consider one of these for myself.”

“Ella,” Sinclair says, frowning at me. “I thought I told you to arrange to get rid of the chairs. And the lift.”

“But Henry needs them!” I say, grinning widely to hide the fact that I completely ignored that command.

Sinclair groans, tilting his head back, realizing he’s never going to get his house back to the way it was. I pat him on the arm, knowing that it’s the right choice Henry should have free run of the house, and if I’m ever pregnant again.

“It’s very practical,” Henry says, raising his eyebrows at his son “But I came up with information,” he says, pulling a folder from the little pocket by his side, “on the cult that Roger and Cora discovered*

“Oh,” I say, moving behind his chair to look over his shoulder, eager to know more. Sinclair likewise steps forward, a protective hand on Rafe as he leans forward “What did you find?”

“Well, unfortunately, that the cult is alive and well It actually makes sense that the book that Cora and Roger found was so old, because the Monastic Cult of the God of Darkness secrecy. As the book reports, they never write anything down and pass all of their traditions from brother to brother. This has allowed them to operate in the background for decades, largely unnoticed. It’s actually rather a miracle that that book reported anything about them – our best guess is that, in fact, the scholar who wrote it must have been an ex- member of the brotherhood themselves.”

“Wow,” I say, looking between Henry and my mate. “But they’re still…operating? In secrecy?”

“In full force, apparently,” Henry says, looking up at me and tapping the report. Then he looks at his son. “Your investigative team did quite well once they had this lead. The Cult has, by necessity, had to start leaving a bit of a trail on the dark web and other such underground spaces, in order to

communicate across distances and acquire rare materials for their ceremonies. But from what your investigators estimate, they’re more powerful than they’ve ever been.”

“And these men,” Sinclair considers, standing and rocking the baby absentmindedly. They’re responsible for switching the sperm that brought Ella and I together. They, for some reason, wanted Rafe to be born.”

“Indeed,” Henry says, raising his eyebrows. “But it is particularly curious that they showed their hand a bit in sending a robed member to do their work. The high-ranking members of the Cult who wear the robe are, apparently, notoriously reclusive. It is perhaps to our luck that the man who tricked Cora – and,” he shifts his gaze to me, “who has been, apparently, following the two of you your whole lives, is a high-ranking member of the cult. If it had been a plain-clothes member, we may never have been able to discover who was behind this.”

“Why is that, though?” I consider, coming to stand at Sinclair’s side and folding my arms over my chest. “Why didn’t they send someone in normal clothes?”

“I don’t know,” Henry says, with a shrug. “Perhaps they needed someone with a particular affinity for magic, or someone with great strength. We know, for instance, that the Goddess’s priests were keeping an eye on you. It is likely that they needed someone very strong to evade their detection.”

I nod, considering that that makes sense, and look up at my mate. His eyes, however, are fixed steadily on his father.

“What is it, dad,” Sinclair says, his tone suddenly sharp. “What is it you’re not telling us?”

Surprised, I look back at Henry, curious. There’s nothing on his face that speaks any secrecy to me, and I look back up at Sinclair, confused.

Henry sighs, though. “I should have known that you’d see through me, Dominic,” he murmurs. “You always could read me like a book.”

“Out with it, dad,” Sinclair says, his whole body tense now. I glance at Rafe, registering that he’s fully asleep, and can’t help myself from noting that he’s certainly not letting his father’s clear anxiety affect his own moods, as he does mine. I purse my lips at my baby and then turn my attention to my father-in- law.

“Your intel has spoken to an escaped member of the cult,” Henry says. “The man insists on being anonymous, but he was willing to divulge some of their practices.”

“Well that’s wonderful,” I say, hope blooming in me. “That’s so helpful -”

“It is,” Henry says, looking up at me, his eyes still worried. “We’re grateful for that, of course, but…”

“Dad,” Sinclair growls at Henry’s hesitation, annoyed now at the further delay.

“All right, Dominic,” Henry says, putting his hands up and sighing. “It’s just – he told us that their standard method of operation is to play the long game – to place a member of the cult within the target’s inner circle. To spend months, if not years, becoming a confidant of the target, becoming a best friend or a member of the family. And then, when the Cult decides that the time is right, that person strikes. The victims are…almost always completely blindsided by the betrayal.”

“Oh my god,” I gasp, looking between Henry and Sinclair. “This means…it could be

someone we know and love? Someone close to us?”

“Yes,” Henry concludes, nodding slowly. “It is very likely that the Cult has been working for years to bring about the birth of this child. And we still don’t know why they wanted Rafe to be born, and for you to be his particular mother and father, but we do know…”

“That if they’re working that hard,” Sinclair says, picking up his father’s line of thought. That they’ve certainly placed someone within our inner circle who is seeking to betray us.”

–

“Oh my god,” I say, my hands flying to my mouth in shock. And then I wrack my mind, wondering who on earth it could be. But no one comes to mind everyone I know and love none of them could be involved in such a nefarious scheme to steal my baby away

Right?

 

Chapter 324

I drop my hand from the doorknob, suddenly, making a split decision and not letting myself think too hard about what I’m doing and why. Then, I strip my wet shirt and leggins from my body, grabbing a dry towel off of the shelf and wrapping it around myself. My skin is grateful for this, wanting to be free and dry, but my anxiety rises as I tuck the towel into itself above my bra so that it will hold itself together.

I close my eyes as I grasp the door knob again, exhaling a deep breath and then pushing it open, striding back into the room.

A little pulse of satisfaction runs though me as I see Roger do a double–take at my appearance. He has laid himself back on the bed in the same position he took before – shoulders against the headboard, one leg casually bent at the knee and propped on the mattress, the other foot on the floor. He watches me steadily as I swiftly cross the room, coming to the other side of the bed and primly sitting myself down on it, my whole back against the headboard. I pull my legs up, wrapping my arms around my knees and staring steadily at the blank television screen.

“Does the tv work?” I ask, my voice shaking a little despite myself.

“I…don’t know…” Roger replies, his tone curious. “Do you want me to try it?”

“Mmmhmm!” I say, my hum an octave higher than it would usually be. Slowly, Roger stands up and moves to the TV, treating me to the opportunity to scan the broad muscles of his back, which sweep downward to a trim waist. He even has two little dimples on either side of his spine right above his perfect ass…

I grit my teeth to keep from making any noise, giving him any indication of what seeing him undressed like this makes me want to do to him. Roger reaches out and twists the dial on the TV, but there’s no

reaction from it. He tries the other two, but the tv stays stubbornly dark. Then, too slowly, Roger turns to me,

I inhale, sharply, when I see the way that he looks at me beneath his lowered brows. His face is serious, and a muscle in his cheek flickers, letting me know that he’s clenching his teeth, holding back from…something. But the darkness in his eyes, the intensity there…

“No such luck,” he purrs, dropping his hand from the television and focusing his entire attention on me. It falls on me like a real weight on my chest and I feel my breathing deepen, fighting

“Oh,” I say, something in me screaming at the lameness of that response.

Roger doesn’t say anything. He just begins to prowl back across the room, heading – my breath

catches to see – not back to his side of the bed, but to mine. He stops about three feet from me,

slowly lowering himself to sit on the mattress next to me. He puts a hand out to rest on the sheets,

a few inches from my feet, and leans forward towards me.

Roger doesn’t touch me at all, but he doesn’t need to. The space between us in this moment is

thick with electricity, with a palpable intensity that may as well be his wolf’s tongue licking up

the side of my throat for all it’s doing to me right now. I realize, suddenly, that I’m panting as I see

his eyes move to my parted lips, as I hear the growl beginning to resonate in his chest.

He reaches out then, slowly, as if to a startled hare, but I don’t move. My body is fully pressed

against the headrest, every inch of me tensed as if to run, but I don’t. move. an. inch.

Roger’s hand is moments from my face, reaching for me, every inch of it a plea as much as a

craving to just touch me, just once – when suddenly, a spark – a literal spark – flies between us –

from his thumb to my lower lip, just–millimeters away.

And I jump suddenly at the unexpected pain of it, my hand flying to my mouth, stunned.

Roger blinks and pulls his hand back, looking at it. “What the,” he says, looking at his fingers as if

he somehow willed this thing between us to take form to become actual lightening

But as he looks at his hand, my entire reality comes crashing down on me.

—

My mind flashes through memories in an instant – first I see him, Roger, crying in my arms when he thought his brother was dead – and then to me, running out to check and see if he had left on that mission to the expression on his face as he held me safe to those days on the ship, when he hadn’t touched me, but had let me know every day with his eyes, with his steady presence, that he was mine, waiting for me, as soon as I wanted to claim him-

–

And then my heart wrenches when I remember, again, the absolute heartache in the weeks after when he didn’t call – when I’d stay up at night, staring at the blackened screen of my phone,

—

waiting for him to reply to my texts when I’d cried myself to sleep night after night realizing that whatever magic had been between us was gone –

And then Hank! I actually groan when I remember Hank, and I put my face in my hands, my shoulders hunching with shame. Hank, who has been so sweet and patient with me. I know that he knows something had been between me and Roger – and he gave me so much space to figure it

Hank, with his soft lips, who turned out to be so surprisingly good in bed –

But even when I’d been with him, I’d thought of Roger’s mouth on mine at the moonlight baptism

– of everything that passed between us –

–

And suddenly, my groan becomes a sob ripping from my throat. Barely a moment has passed

since Roger reached out to touch me, and despite my face buried in my hands I can feel his heavy

attention on me again.

—

“Cora!” he whispers, his voice shocked. “What’s what’s wrong –”

“I can’t do this,” I bawl and suddenly I’m on my feet, past him, headed inexplicably for the door

that leads outside to the parking lot –.

“Cora!” I hear behind me, hear Roger stumbling over his own feet in his surprise to see me gone so

fast-

But I’m already gone, already out the door, which hangs open behind me, banging against the wall

of the motel in the wind. I’m running now I have no idea where running, and crying, my tears

lost to the streams of water that fall from the sky. My body pushes itself, responding to something

in me needs to be out in the storm. – that matches it, that seeks some clarity within it. And so I

run, my body pumping almost in time with the thunder rumbling above me, my lungs gasping

like the rain pounding against the forest floor where I’m running. I need this space need the

water running down my skin – I need to be somewhere else where things make sense –

Where I make sense, where I’m not totally and devastatingly in love with a guy who abandoned me

after making me feel like I had his heart, who wants children I can’t give him – who is somehow

now, back who comforts me, and flirts with me, and looks at me like that – but who hasn’t made. me any promises –

Suddenly, something grabs my arm, pulling me almost off my feet as it yanks me backwards. I

can’t stop the scream that tears from my throat

 

Chapter 325

I cry out as I’m pulled backwards – surprised more than hurt and suddenly I’m pressed against

him in the pouring rain. Roger holds me tight, one hand around my upper arm, the other wrapped

firmly around me, pressing my body to his

And the feel of him, of his skin hot against my own – my towel is gone, I have no idea where — I

cry harder at the feel of him and rest my forehead against his chest, because I know I can’t have it

– I can’t-

“Cora!” Roger shouts, above the wind and the rain. “What – Cora! What the hell are you doing?!”

“I can’t!” I sob. “I can’t do this, Roger! I can’t be with you like this, not if you’ll….you’ll never love

me! I can’t have you in half measures!” I look up at him then, into his face, realizing the truth of it

in that moment. “I can’t do this if you can’t take me for who I am! Human! Broken! Complicated,

difficult! Confused, and jealous, and mad pretty much all the time! If you can’t take me like that,” I

shout, begging now, “then let me go, Roger! Because I can’t –”

I glance back in the direction of the hotel, my sobbing breaths tearing at my lungs, “I can’t have

half of you. I can’t have – just…. lust. It will kill me! It will break my heart, and I’ll never survive it!”

With the last words I pound my free hand against his chest, my palm slapping wet against his

skin.

Roger stares down at me as I confess everything to him- my whole heart – listening to every

word. And then, when I’m done, when the words stop pouring from my mouth and all that’s left is

my panting breath, he tightens his arms around me, giving me an angry little shake. He clenches

his jaw and I can tell that he’s mad – but I have no idea why.

“God damn it, Cora,” Roger growls, glaring down at me. “You’re my fucking mate.” 5

And then he sweeps me up in his arms, the gesture not at all sweet or romantic – but possessive,

and conclusive, incensed. “All I’ve ever wanted is all of you – my whole life, I’ve been waiting for

1. it. And I was an idiot” he continues, his voice breaking, “I hesitated, and I’ll regret it until the day I

die because there was no denying that all I want – all I’ll ever want is this –”

www

And then he kisses me, his mouth hard on mine, and my body reacts instantly, my back arching

and pressing myself harder against him. My arms are around his neck, pulling him closer to me,

my mouth open to him as every piece of me – every molecule – gives in.

He’s mine. Mine, something in me screams to the universe. And god damn it, if I can have him

And the universe responds, lightening cracking above us, the rain pouring around us as Roger

presses me fervently too him and ravages my mouth with his kisses me like the world is falling

to pieces around us, which it very well might be. The water rushes around his ankles, threatening

to sweep us away. But Roger is adamant against it and something fierce within me sings that he

and I can weather it, that I’ve been a fool to run from this. That we can face this storm, and

whichever ones comes next.

My hand is on his face when Roger pulls away from me. “Come on,” he growls, his skin shivering

against the cold rain. Thunder cracks again as he turns back towards the safety of the motel. “I’m

getting you inside. Now.” Then he shakes his head at me, frustrated, and mutters “you idiot.”

I nod fervently, ignoring his insult, tucking my head against his shoulder and breathing hard as I

let him carry me back to the motel. Barely above the sound of the storm, I hear him growling more

frustrated words with every step, something about insane women who run naked into storms and

how he should have known better, because he’s met my sister, and madness is frequently genetic… 1

I’m shocked to find myself smiling, laughing a little and wrapping my arms more tightly around

his neck. Because Roger is about to find out precisely how crazy I can really be.

The door to our motel room is hanging open, blowing in the wind, but Roger ignores the rain

water pouring through it as he strides through the entrance, kicking the door shut behind him,

not bothering to lock it as he moves steadily towards the bed. When we get there he throws me.

down against the mattress, a little angry and not bothering to be gentle.

And, god damn it, but I laugh again – laugh, a little recklessly, as I bounce against the tired

springs of this worn out motel bed. Laugh, because he’s so fucking mad at me, and me at him, and

we’re both so mad at ourselves and I want to tear him to pieces, and I know he wants to do the

same to me –

–

“Shut up,” Roger growls, ‘swiftly lowering himself to the bed and covering his body with mine. I

grin as the corners of his mouth turn up, as he lays his cool wet skin against mine, as he wraps

his arms around me, one low behind my waist, the other tight behind my shoulders.

“Make me,” I snarl back at him, my eyes narrow and teasing.

And, god damn it, he does.

His mouth is on mine again, hard and fast, and I press my eyes shut, opening my mouth to him and sliding my leg up the outside of his thigh, wrapping it around his hips, pulling him closer. I

There’s nothing delicate or hesitant about us anymore – no more games, no more testing, no

more pulling back. Instead, his hands are eager against my body as his tongue sweeps through my mouth, as I lean my head back to give him access to my throat, where he laps the rain water off my skin like he’s been thirsty for weeks.

His hands work quickly now, unsnapping the clasp of my bra and then moving lower to grasp my panties, yanking them down. He pulls away for a moment, trying to make space between us so that he can slide the panties off of my legs but I moan in protest, pulling him back, not wanting him away from me for a second –

“God damn it, Cora,” Roger snarls, sending me a quick glare as the fabric is again trapped between

us, stopping him from – “would you just let me do this?”

I laugh then, again, realizing my mistake, and I unloop my leg from its place around his back so

that he slip the fabric off of me and toss it somewhere on the ground. An instant later he’s back,

his face pressed against my stomach as he kisses and licks his way up my body. I tear my bra off

and toss it away, clearing the path for Roger to move up my chest and bring his face back to mine.

He groans, a little, as he kisses me and moves a hand to capture one of my breasts, softly

squeezing it in his broad palm. “Fuck,” he moans, his body clenching so that he has to pull his

mouth from mine at the intensity of it, “fuck, Cora, I’ve wanted this for so long

“Then fucking do it Roger,” I pant, impatient, wanting him now.

 

Chapter 326

I want him right now – immediately – so I impatiently sit up to fumble at the top of his boxer briefs, to push them downwards –

Roger glares at me a little again, at the challenge in my voice, and I glare right back.

(

“Fine,” he snarls, rolling briskly away from me so that he’s sitting on the bed next to me, pushing his shorts down and kicking them off. I barely have a moment to look at him, my eyes widening at the sight of that thick, hard cock – before he grabs me, hauling me bodily on top of him so that my chest is pressed against his, my legs straddled on either side of his hips, my oh my god, the slick center of me pressed directly against the mass of his cock

“Fine, Cora,” Roger snaps, looking directly into my eyes, his temper riled, just how I like him.” Then let’s fucking do it.”

Without a word, still holding his gaze, I shift my hips upwards and reach one hand between us, feeling the proud length of him against my palm. I pump him once, twice, my mouth falling open as I realize the full size of him, Roger shuddering hard at my touch. And then, slowly, delicately, I position the tip of him directly at my entrance and then lower myself down.

I can’t help the noise that crawls from my throat as I lower myself fully onto Roger’s cock, the moan that turns into a cry as he slowly fills me far beyond the point I thought I could be

stretched. Roger groans deeply, his head falling against my shoulder, panting as I take all of him

in until my body is pressed flush against his.

“Fuck,” he whispers, and I feel the word as breath against my skin. “Fuck, Cora…”

My body starts to shake a little as I adjust to the feel of him inside of me, my face turned up to

the ceiling as my hips start to pulse of their own accord, wanting to feel him moving against my

inner walls.

“Fuck,” Roger says again, more definitive this time, and then he curls his back, pressing his hips.

upward, sinking moré completely into me, making my whole body rock forward at the sudden

intensity of it. And then he’s pulsing, pounding up into me, and it’s all I can do to cling to his

shoulders and weather him as he holds my hips steady with his hands, pounding his thick dick,

deep into me stroke after stroke.

I feel my climax building quickly and I welcome it, wanting it, angling my body so that Roger’s

Until –

I’m gasping, suddenly, everything in me spilling over and clenching hard against Roger as I wrap my arms around his neck, pressing my forehead to his shoulder as everything I am comes to pieces, as the tension snaps and pleasure sweeps through my body. Roger holds me through it, wrapping his arms tight around me, and something in me is aware of his hips pulsing three more times, harsh, before he cries out, his whole body going still as he sinks all the way into me, spilling himself into me as I lay my head against the curve of his neck and pant against his shoulder.

We stay like that for a long time, Roger with his arms wrapped around me, pressing me tight against him as I trembling lightly and I catch my breath.

“Cora,” he whispers, his words thick, his throat raw. “Do you want it?”

“Huh?” I ask, pulling my head up so that I can look at him, my eyes still a little bleary with intensity, with the afterglow.

“Do you want it,” he asks, raising a hand to my cheek, brushing my face with his thumb and looking at me wish such – such love in his eyes – I catch my breath at the sight of him. “Do you

want my mark? You can have it –”

“Oh,” I say, my eyes going wide as I realize what he’s asking me – and the significance of it. It’s such an incredibly intimate moment – Roger is still pressed inside of me, his arms wrapped around my body, his face just millimeters from mine, so close that our lips brush as he talks.”

Roger,” I say, suddenly afraid, pulling away a little bit. “Can – can humans even take a wolf’s

mark?”

He knits his brows together for a moment, frowning, and I can see that he also just doesn’t know

“Roger,” I say, leaning back a little so that I can take his face in my hands, feeling him groan as I

shift against his new newly–sensitive cock. “Roger,” I say again, waiting for him to focus on me. “I

want it. I do,” I say, nodding, making sure he understands me and waiting until he nods to let me

know he hears me. “But…can we wait? Until we know how my body is going to react?”

He pauses for a moment and then pulls me a little closer so he can rest his forehead against

mine. “Yes, Cora,” he breathes, and then, laughing, he twists in the bed so quickly that I shriek

with surprise and then laugher as my back hits the mattress and he pins me down against it with

the weight of his own tanned, muscled form.

–

“But know this, little mate,” he growls, looking me in the eyes and then lowering his head to drag his teeth down the length of my neck to the soft, tender space where my flesh arches down into my shoulder. “I’m going to mark you right…here…” he says, pressing his sharp teeth against it. I gasp a little at the sensation, at the preview of what he’ll do.

“I’m going to do it,” he continues, flicking his tongue lovingly over the spot, “as soon as we know it won’t make you like. Explode or something.”

I burst into laughter at this, rolling with it, and Roger’s body shakes along with mine as he pulls me tight against him, not wanting to let me go. I let him, not wanting to be separated either, until

my laughter fades and I find us both lying on our sides, our faces close together, our noses nearly

touching.

“I love you, Roger,” I say, quite simply, surprising myself. Because….well, I’ve never said it to

someone before. And I always thought it would be hard or scary. –

But somehow, in this moment….it’s just the simple truth, as easy as observing that it’s still

raining outside, or that he’s beautiful.

Roger pauses for a long second, I think because he knows how big of a step that is for me. And

then he closes the distance between us, kissing me thoroughly, recklessly, his whole heart in

every movement of his lips. I’m out of breath when he pulls away and I blink my eyes open to find.

him already staring at me.

“I’m very much in love with you too, Cora,” Roger sighs, shaking his head a little. “Though we

didn’t make it easy for each other, did we?”

“No,” I murmur, moving my body closer to him, if that’s possible. “But,” I say, with a little smirk, ”

it wouldn’t be very us if we did, would it?”

“No,” he agrees, shaking his head and smirking at me. “But the rest,” he says, nodding urgently.”

The rest let’s make that simple. I love you, and I always will, and that’s the only thing that

matters. All right?” (1

“All right,” I say, sighing and allowing myself to rest against him.

And, deep inside, I hope very much that that will be true.

 

Chapter 327

I’m sitting anxiously by Rafe’s basinet, watching him sleep, while my mind wanders impatiently

elsewhere. It’s been twenty–four hours since we heard from Cora and Roger and I feel, just a tiny

little bit, that every passing minute is a knife in my heart.

Where is my sister? I wonder to myself, sighing as I look down at my baby and honestly barely

seeing him. 1

It’s okay, my wolf says to me, rubbing her body warmly against my poor aching heart, nuzzling

me with her snout. Roger will take care of her – I know it. He can’t not.

But what if he couldn’t, I think anxiously, my mind turning inevitably to that freak storm that

they hit – the storm which separated them from their guards, which seemed….just, too precise.

Too convenient. To perfect to be coincidence. What if the cult trapped them? And hurt them both?

I wail, inwardly, my wolf giving in a little and sitting back on her haunches to raise her nose to the

sky and howl a little along with me. She still believes, but she’s overwhelmed, a little, by my

despair, even though inwardly she keeps the faith.

“Ella!” I hear Sinclair shout from downstairs. I jump a little, turning towards the door, but I freeze,

not allowing myself to hope. If it was bad news – he wouldn’t be shouting from downstairs –

But something very urgent could be happening so he can’t come up –

“Ella!” he calls again. “Come down! There’s a car in the drive!”

I gasp, leaning down to quickly scoop Rafe up into my arms. He gives a little half–hearted cry of

protest and I know that I should leave him here to sleep more – but damn it, with the cult out

there looking for him, there’s no way I’m leaving him out of one of his parents‘ sight for an instant.

Not until I know he’s safe.

I dash out of the room and pound down the stairs, looking anxiously into my mate’s face as he

stands at the bottom, a hand raised to take mine. I slip my hand into his as I reach him, my eyes

not leaving his. “Is it “I gasp.

–

He doesn’t say anything and I realize that he doesn’t know he came to get me before he could

tell so, together, we both stride to the front door, which Sinclair throws open.

–

And I give a little moan of relief, sinking against Sinclair as my knees weaken, just a little, as I

door. And behind her – I can see Roger, turning towards her and saying a few words before they both open their doors and climb out.

“Cora!” I cry, tears filling my eyes as I dash towards her.

“Ella!” she laughs, giving me a big smile as I throw myself at her, tossing my arm around her neck. Cora takes too steadying steps backwards at the force of me, but wraps her arms around me nonetheless. “Easy, sis!” she says, still laughing a little. “Don’t crush the baby.”

—

“Screw the baby,” I mutter, angrily

the side as I hugged my sister, but well, in this moment, all I care about is that I have my sister back, safe. “Where were you?” I demand, stepping back and wiping at my eyes, shifting Rafe again so that he’s safely against my chest. “Why didn’t you call?”

– not meaning it at all, of course – I made sure to hold Rafe to

“Our phones died,” Cora says, shrugging at me. “We were in the storm for a long time –”

“And you didn’t have a charger?” I ask, exasperated.

“We didn’t plan to stay so long

“No charging cord in the car?”

“No, there wasn’t one –”

“Couldn’t have stopped,” I cry, “at a gas station to buy one?!”

“Ella,” Cora says, stepping forward and looking into my eyes with her own wide with shock. “I’m

sorry I didn’t know you were so worried. We were fine. – we are fine! We didn’t want to stop

anywhere on the way home, we just wanted to get here quickly. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it.”

–

“Well, you should have,” I say, sniffing a little and wiping my angry tears of relief away from my

eyes. “I can’t lose you, Cora. I was worried I did.”

“You didn’t,” she says, putting a warm arm around me. “I’m sorry, Ella,” she says, as Roger and

Sinclair come slowly over to us. “You’re right we should have called, or texted, or sent a smoke

–

signal. It’s our fault. We were…” she hesitates here, but Roger finishes for her.

“Distracted,” he says, smirking smugly at me and sinking his hands into his pockets.

“What?” I ask, confused, looking between the two of them. “Distracted by what?”

Cora blushes –

Blushes?!

My mouth drops open.

And then Cora, a little chagrined but smiling a little at Roger, explains. “The storm was bad – we stopped…at a little motel. Just to weather it out.” She doesn’t say anything else but the big smile that creeps across her face then says everything I need to know.

“Oh, ew!” I shout, shoving her a little. “I’m sitting here, for hours, worried to death, and you’re out there having motel sex!?”

“You should try it sometime, Ella,” Roger quips, and when I turn to him I see that he’s smirking at me again. “There’s nothing ‘ew‘ about it.”

“Oh my god,” I say, suddenly realizing the implications of this. “Oh my god,” I repeat, taking a step forward to shove Roger for his comment for good measure and then turning to Cora. “Does this mean – are you two –” I’m unable to finish my sentence, my mouth hanging open in hope and

awe.

“We’re together,” Roger says smoothly, ignoring my little shove and closing the distance between

him and Cora to take her hand.

I stare at them, frozen in shock, for so long that Cora’s smile falters on her face and she looks at

me with new worry in my eyes. “Ella,” she starts, “are you –”

“Yes!” I shriek, tossing my head back and shouting the word to the sky. “YES! FINALLY!” I pump a fist into the air and then start to dance in a little happy circle, laughing with my glee. “Codger

exists! Codger forever!”

“Roger,” Sinclair sighs, and I see him glare at his brother on one of my happy loops. “You know

you need to tell her these things slowly – she’s going to shake the baby

“I’m not shaking the baby,” I scold, giving my mate a happy little glare and continuing to dance,

Rafe safe in my arms, awake now and giving me a happy little smile. “See?” I say, “he likes it!”

Then I turn my little dance into a song, dancing a loop around them all, “Baby Rafe is happpppy!

He is also team Codgerrrr! He knewwww it was gonna happpppen!”

Sinclair laughs at me, putting his hands in his pockets, shaking his head but grinning at me. I

give him a wink and wiggle my hips and he sends me a little pulse of happy lust down our bond

that lets me know he likes it. A lot.

“Not dating,” Roger said, putting an arm around Cora’s shoulders. “Mated.”

“What,” I gasp, laughing a little as I spin towards my sister and, apparently, now, her mate. “How did that happen? Let me see!” I reach out my hand to pull back the collar of her shirt – which looks wrecked, by the way, like it’s been through the storm and back.

“Ella,” Cora says, pursing her lips at me and swatting my hand away. “There’s no mark yet. We don’t know if…” she hesitates, looking at him.

“We don’t know what will happen,” he says, “if I try to mark her.”

“Oh,” I say, my eyebrows going up. Because, obviously, I don’t know myself. “Well,” I say, turning to look at Sinclair. “Is the intent enough?”

“Yes,” he says, smiling at his brother and holding out a hand, which Roger grasps warmly. “Yes, it certainly is. Congratulations, brother.” Roger says something serious back to him, but I don’t hear it because I’m shrieking with happiness again and hugging my sister close. She laughs and hugs

me as well.

“Oh geeze,” I say, laughing as I pull away from her. “It has been…a lot of emotions for me in the

past ten minutes,” I say, putting a hand to my head. “I thought you were dead, and it turns out instead that you’re mated!” I smile softly at her now, taking her hand. “I’m so happy for you, Cora,” I say

sincerely, squeezing her fingers in mine. “I think…it’s right.”

“It is,” she says, nodding and smiling at me. Then she looks at Roger, distracted by Sinclair, and sighs a happy little sigh. “We have a lot to figure out, but…” she shrugs. “We’re going to figure it

out.”

“You will,” I say, stepping closer to her and wrapping my arm around her waist. “You really will,

Cora. I can feel it.”

And inside me, my little wolf gives a little howl of victory and starts to dance around herself.

 

Chapter 328

“As happy as this is,” Sinclair says, folding his arms over his chest and looking around at the four of us. “And it is happy,” he says, looking at Cora and Roger to let them know that he’s sincere. They nod their understanding. “We do still have a problem on our hands,” he says, nodding to Rafe

in my arms.

“Yes,” I say, looking eagerly up at Cora. “Henry found out some more about the cult – I’ll tell you

all about it. It’s…not good,” I say, with a little grimace.

“Oh,” she says, drawing her brows together. “Okay – yes, I want to hear everything.” I nod, tugging at her waist so that she’ll follow me into the house. Sinclair and Roger come close behind.

“Did you find anything else out?” Sinclair asks Roger.

“No,” Roger replies, a little apologetic. “Just what we sent you from the library. Was it useful?”

“Incredibly,” Sinclair confirms, thankful. “But yes, we found out more…”

”

My mate and I take Roger and Cora into the little office and tell them everything, seating Rafe in

a little swing that we’ve placed there temporarily since we’ve been spending so much time here.

working on this issue. They’re both as horrified as we were to discover that we likely have

someone in our midst who is working for the cult, who either has already betrayed us or will soon.

Though both wrack their minds they, like us, can’t come up with a viable candidate for who it is.

“We need more information,” Sinclair growls, thoughtful, as he flips through what paperwork his

investigators have produced for the case, as if he might find something else there. I nod, agreeing,

but I look at Cora and see her fading a bit.

“You haven’t slept, have you?” I ask, concerned.

She smiles at me, apologetic, but shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Ella,” she says. “I want to help but I

think…”

“Upstairs,” I say, my voice definitive, swatting her on the rear. “Immediately, sleep.”

“I’ll take her,” Roger says, stepping forward to take Cora by the arm.

“Noooo,” I say, putting a hand on his chest and shoving him back. Though I’m not actually strong

enough to stop him, Roger complies, laughing and falling back a bit. “I said sleep. Not bed.”

Roger laughs, putting his hands up. “I promise,” he says, “I just want to see my mate comfortably tucked in. All right?”

“All right,” I say, narrowing my eyes and then giving Cora a peck on her cheek. “We’ll figure it all out when you wake up, okay?” I say, giving her a little nudge towards the door.

“We will,” she agrees, giving me a steady look. “Really, we will.” And then she takes Roger’s hand and walks out the door and up the stairs with him.

I move to Sinclair’s side as we watch them disappear form our sight. “I’m so happy,” I say, leaning against his chest and sighing contentedly. He wraps his arms around my shoulders, dipping his head to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“Me too,” he says, holding me tight against him. “They’re idiots for not doing it sooner.”

I don’t say anything for a moment, considering all the things that held them back in the first

place. “It’s not going to always be easy for them,” I sigh. “Not like it was for us.”

“Ella,” Sinclair says, and I can feel him shake his head against the back of my neck. “You almost died like, four times since we’ve been together. How is that easy.”

“Because,” I say, turning in his arms and looking sincerely up at him. “We always had Rafe. And

once we figured out that we loved each other, and especially that I was a wolf too, then…” I shrug, ”

at least with us, it was always smooth sailing.”

“I see what you mean,” he says, looking calmly down into my eyes. “But their love is a big love,

Ella,” he says, nodding to me. “Like ours. They’re going to work it out.”

“I hope so,” I sigh, resting my head against his chest and closing my eyes. “That’s all I want. For

both of them.”

The next five days pass with that seeming like a very real possibility. Cora and Roger stay with

us, partially because I keep making up reasons why they can’t go, and it fills my heart with joy

every day to see them growing closer. To see the tiny little touches he places on her back when he

leans down to say something in her ear, to see the way she turns her face up to him and laughs at

one of his dark, wry little jokes.

But then, on day six, Cora takes me by the shoulders and gives me a little shake, insisting that

she must go back to the clinic.

“Whyyyy,” I whine, tiling my head back on my neck and groaning. “Just stay here with us. We

need you!”

”

“You don’t need me,” she says, taking her hands back and folding her arms across her chest.

You’re just trying to keep me in a little love bubble with Roger so that I don’t change my mind or

something.”

“Well,” I say, raising my eyebrows at her and giving her a too–innocent smile. “Is it working?”

She laughs, shaking her head at me. “I’m not changing my mind, Ella. I’m in love with him.” I

squeal a little to hear her say it but she holds a finger up, stopping me. “But I have a life. And a boyfriend who I never broke up with. And a job that requires me to actually help people. And I

have to go deal with all of that! Okay?”

“Okay,” I mumble, looking petulantly down at my shoes. “Did you seriously never break up with

Hank?” I ask, glancing up at her.

“No,” she says, raising a guilty hand to her forehead and shading her eyes, embarrassed. “I kind of

…ghosted him. But I need to be a big girl and go…do it.”

“Okay,” I say, stepping forward and rubbing her on the arm in what I hope is a comforting way.

Be nice to him, all right? I like Doctor Hank.”

“I like him too,” she says, shaking her head. “I feel terrible, Ella. But…I’ve got to go set it right.

Okay?”

Roger comes around the corner then from the kitchen, carrying me a little lunch bag that very

clearly says “To Cora from Roger” on it in black pen. I smirk when I see it.

“What is this,” Cora sighs, snatching the brown paper bag from Roger’s hand and giving him a

little glare.

“Your lunch,” Roger replies, innocent.

Cora looks into it and then glares at him again, shoving the bag at his chest and forcing him to

take it. “There’s nothing in there except an apple and the sharpie you used to write the message.”

“What!” Roger protests, laughing. “It’s nutritious, and doctors are always losing their pens.‘

Cora glares at him and crosses her arms. “You’re just trying to make Hank get the message the

moment I walk in the door instead of letting me do this on my own time.”

“Um, yeah,” Roger says, as if it’s obvious. I can’t stop the laugh that spills out of me at that. “But

also,” he continues, gesturing towards the bag now in his hands, “an apple! For strength!”

“Roger,” Cora says, laughing as well and stepping close to him, lining her body tight against his. ”

You’re sweet, but also a little bit psycho. Can you please let me go do this?”

“Fine,” he murmurs, smiling as he kisses her hair. “But then I’m not saving this apple for you.

Ella will probably devour it, as she does everything else in this house anyway.”

“My apple to begin with,” I mutter, snatching the bag from his hand.

Cora rolls her eyes at both of us and gives Roger a kiss before blowing me one as she heads out

the door.

“See you, Cora!” I call after her. “Come back as soon as you can!”

“I promise,” she calls over her shoulder, laughing. I shut the door behind her with a happy little

sigh, thinking that I’ll see her that night.

But five days later, she still hasn’t come back.

 

Chapter 329

“Where is she,” Roger growls, pacing through our living room as Ella sit on the couch feeding

–

Rafe, watching him anxiously. “I’ve been everywhere looking for her – at the clinic, at her

apartment –”

“You must have just missed her, Roger,” Ella says, as worried as he us but wanting to calm him

down. “She calls me every morning and night to fill me in. It sounds like she’s just super busy at

–

the clinic it got very overwhelmed when she disappeared with us for a few days.”

“He’s keeping her there,” Roger murmurs suspiciously, his anxiety really doing a number on him.

“She broke up with him, and he pretended to accept it, but he’s keeping her trapped in the clinic

so she’ll agree to give him another shot –”

“You know she’s not doing that, Roger,” I say, leaning against the fireplace mantle and taking a

deep breath. Honestly, I don’t want to be in here handling my brother’s paranoia, but Ella sent me

a little shout down the bond letting me know that she needed some help. He’s been worked up for

days, of course, but really seems to be going off the deep end now. Not that I wouldn’t be too,

honestly, if I was freshly mated to Ella and then she disappeared for five days.

“How do you know,” Roger snaps at me, his eyes flashing with rage.

“Because,” I reply, my wolf responding to the challenge in his voice by raising his hackles. “I

know Cora. She wouldn’t do that. You have to trust her.” I stand up straight, my body language

communicating to Roger that I can take him, and if he needs someone to pin him to the floor, that

I’ll do it. After all, my mate and my infant child are in this room. If he flips out… their safety is my

priority. Not his.

“He’s right, Roger,” Ella says, trying to keep her voice even. “Honestly, she sounds fine, she’s just

really busy. She told me to… tell you she loves you.”

“But why won’t she pick up my calls?” Roger snaps, spinning on her, “why, when I go to the clinic

to see her, is she conveniently not there? Why is she never in her apartment when she says she

is!?”

Instinctually, I take a step forward, interposing my body between my mate and

my mate and my brother.

“Oh back off, Dominic,” Roger growls, forcing himself to turn away and stalk to the window, looking for Cora, hoping she’ll magically appear in the driveway. “I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

“You’d better not,” I murmur, leaning back against the mantle.

“I’m going to take Rafe upstairs,” Ella sighs, nodding to the baby, who has finished eating. “See if I

can get him down for a nap.”

I nod to her, watching her carry our little boy out of the room, my heart surging with love for

them. When they’re gone, I turn my attention back to my brother.

“I need you to come back, Roger,” I say, my voice soft. “We need you here.”

“How,” he growls, digging his fingers into the windowsill and not turning towards me. “How can I

concentrate on anything when she hasn’t talked to me for days. And I don’t even know what I did

wrong.”

“Well,” I say after a long pause, considering. “Did you do anything wrong?”

“What?” Rodger spits, spinning on me.

“It’s just a question, Roger,” I say, shrugging and meeting his furious eyes. “Did you do something

to make her question your mating?”

“NO, Dominic!” he shouts. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Well, then there’s your answer,” I reply with a little shrug. “If you didn’t do anything, then it’s all

with her. And your only choice is to keep reaching out, and wait for her to come to you when she’s

ready. There’s literally nothing you can do now except be patient.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he snarls, turning away from me again, desperate.

“You just don’t like the truth,” I reply, sighing. “Because my answer wasn’t ‘go rip the world apart

until you find her, and then sling her over your shoulder so you can more easily carry her home.“”

“Well, yeah,” Roger replies, arrogant and angry. “Obviously that’s what I would do, if I even knew

where she was.”

I laugh and move over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder that makes him jump a little bit.

But I don’t move away – I’m bigger than he is, anyway. I can take what he throws at me.

“Trust her, Roger,” I say quietly. “She’ll thank you for it, in the end, if you approach this with faith

instead of suspicion. And in the meantime, let me distract you.”

“You just want me to work harder on this cult problem,” he sighs, closing his eyes and hanging

his head, giving into my advice a little bit.

“Just think of it as a puzzle,” I say, slipping my arm around his shoulder and giving him a

steadying little squeeze, “and when you finish it, your reward is that my son doesn’t get

kidnapped! Isn’t that a great prize?”

“Fine,” he sighs, shaking his head and covering his eyes with his hand. “But you get maybe three

hours of this,” he continues, “before I’m out there looking for her again.”

“Okay,” I reply, nodding and lying through my teeth. Because there’s no way I’m letting him

prowl the streets looking for Cora when he’s like this. He’ll completely freak her out, and it sounds

like she’s spooked already. So I turn him, my arm still around his shoulders, towards the door and

we head to the office to sort through the evidence we’ve sorted through a thousand times.

We spend hours doing this, wearing ourselves out looking for loopholes that we haven’t explored

before, calling our interrogative team together to better speculate about the possibilities, when

suddenly, the front door to the house slams open.

Roger is instantly on his feet and moving towards the door, only one person clear on his mind

But I’m more wary, more aware of the possibilities and my muscles bunch as I sprint to get in

front of him, pushing behind me as we reach the office door together so that I can get into the hall

first, just in case it’s a threat –

—

My eyes go dark as I see my reconnaissance team forcing their way in, a black–robed figure trapped in their arms with a sack over his head. I think several things at once, the first being that

they would never, ever come through the first door if they didn’t have to

And second, that they barely have a hold on him.

“Roger!” I shout, my voice deep with the Alpha’s command. “The door! NOW!”

He realizes instantly that it’s not Cora, but he responds ably, seeing the importance of the moment. Roger sprints past the struggling reconnaissance team to slam the door shut behind them while I stride forward, pushing one of my men aside and slipping behind the priest’s back,

wrapping an arm around his throat and cutting off his air so he can’t breathe.

—

The priest, who cannot see anything at all, struggles hard against me and even though he’s a small man – he must have some magic working on his side to be able to resist me so well. Still, he’s no match for me, and I get one of his hands twisted up behind his back, yanking it so that he

screeches in pain.

“Enough,” I growl in his ear, yanking his arm again so that he whimpers, his arm almost

qualms with breaking each one of your bones before I tear your limbs apart. Am I understood?”

The priest hesitates for a moment but, luckily for him, realizes that he’s been beat. Quickly, he

nods. As he does, I nod to the team to let them know I’ve got him. “Ropes, cuffs,” I command,“

tasers.” Most of them scatter to gather the supplies I order to interrogate our prisoner as I move

forward, pushing the man towards the office where we’ve gathered our intel. Honestly, the

basement would be more convenient, but until we have him contained…

“Dominic,” Roger says, coming to my side as we enter the office and then pulling up a chair so

that I can sink the priest into it when the team comes back, “Let me take charge on this.”

“Can you do it?” I demand, my voice harsh. “Is your head in the right place?”

My brother looks at me steadily and then nods once. “I need this,” he says and I nod as well,

consenting. Honestly, it’s probably better – I’m too close to this, my emotions might get the better

of me –

There’s a fair chance I’m going to snap this priest’s neck from rage if I’m in charge, so Roger…he

really is the right choice, now.

Luckily, before I can act on it, the team floods the room with supplies and together we get the

priest into the chair. He struggles again as my team strap him down but I punch him, hard, across

the face behind his hood, warning him without words to stop struggling. He cries out in shock and

pain, but we’ve got him now, his arms and legs securely strapped to the chair.

Dominic? Ella’s voice asks, quavering, through our bond. I heard something – what’s going on? Is

everything okay?

Stay upstairs, Ella, I command, sending her a feeling of reassurance as well to let her know that

I’m okay, Roger’s okay. We’ve got a priest. We’re going to ask him a few questions. I’ll tell you

everything – just, stay upstairs. Where it’s safe.

Ella sends me a little pulse of compliance, tinged with fear, and I turn my concentration back to

the priest just as Roger whips the hood from the priest’s head, revealing the face of my enemy.

 

Chapter 330

I growl down at the man before me, who is younger than I thought he would be, for one with

such power. He has thick black hair and a day’s worth of stubble on his thin cheeks. The man

glares up at me with dark, angry eyes and opens his mouth to speak but before he can, I slap him

– hard with an open palm.

–

The man gasps with surprise and pain, his eyes going wide as he stares down at the floor, and I

smirk. I doubt this man has been slapped anytime recently, if ever. He has the smug look of

someone used to being in charge.

But he’s in my house now.

“You’ll speak when we tell you to speak,” I growl, and then I turn to the head of my

–

reconnaissance team, who is standing against the wall, his hands on his knees, panting a little.

Craig isn’t a small man to see him so undone by the efforts suggests that this diminutive priest

is, indeed, powerful in other ways.

“How did you catch him?” I snap. Craig looks up at me and does his best to straighten up.

“We followed the leads, sir,” he replies, looking me in the eyes, “that we gleaned from the

conversation with the other priest, who wished to remain anonymous. They were…fruitful. We

found this one’s lair, for lack of a better word. It was actually in a sewer -in an abandoned

maintenance room. He was living there doing…” Craig hesitates and then shrugs. “Forgive me, Sir,

for the dramatic language, but ‘arcane magics‘ are the only words coming to my mind now. Lizard

skins…and and snail shells, in jars – he had a cauldron –”

“Thank you,” I say, interrupting and nodding towards the head of my investigative team. “You.

will give your details to Alastair, as soon as you can. For now, though I want everyone here for

the interrogation.” I lean forward towards the priest, who watches me with wary eyes and a

clenched jaw.

“An interrogation,” I continue, lowering my voice and slowing my words, “will be long, and

bloody, if need be.”

The priest proves himself a brave man, then, by baring his teeth at me in a little snarl. But I just

laugh at him, which makes him faulter. And then I step away, secretly grateful for it, because

each of my muscles are tensed, ready to rip this man’s head off. Roger steps in to take my place.

“Tell us,” Roger commands, his arms crossed as he looks down at the man strapped to the chair,”

who you are. And what your people want with my brother’s child.”

The man just grins at Roger, a too–wide expression that shows all of his teeth. “No,” he growls, a

little laughter in his voice now. Roger stares at him blandly for a moment and then shifts his eyes

to a member of the reconnaissance team standing behind the priest who whips forward a taser

and places it swiftly against the priest’s neck.

The bolt flies through the priest’s body, making him shriek and twist in pain, but my man, well

trained, pulls it away quickly. The priest goes a little slack in his chair, panting.

“Let’s try again,” Roger says, kicking the leg of the chair to get the priest’s attention. “What do

your people want with my nephew.”

My eyes narrow, though, as the priest looks up at Roger again and just huffs a short, humorless

laugh. “It doesn’t matter,” the priest says, shaking his head and holding his gaze. “Because,” he

pants, a smile growing on his face. “You are already…too late.”

And then he starts to laugh – really, truly laugh, as a crash of glass sounds and a scream erupts

upstairs –

And my heart stops as I recognize it, instantly, as Ella.

Ella

I was just sitting here, tense, in my rocking chair by Rafe’s basinet, one hand on the edge of it –

as it always is – shushing him quietly as he falls asleep when –

–

I heard a little tapping sound at the glass of his window –

I looked towards it curiously, expecting a little bird – maybe a squirrel –

But terror flooded me when I saw a black–masked face calmly tapping on my window, grinning

at me. I gasped, my body turning to ice as I froze, as he quietly pointed to the basinet and mouthed

“I’m coming for him.” (2)

–

And then it seemed to go so fast – the man pulled back his arm, and made a fist, and crashed it

through the window –

I don’t know how he did it – it should have broken his hand – Sinclair paid to have those

forced his body, head–first, into the room through the hole he made with his fist, the rest of the

glass of the window cracking and shattering around him

–

But the moment he hit the floor, only half an instant later, my instincts came back to me, and I

pulled my child’s rolling basinet behind me and screamed –

I shove the rocking chair away and back into the corner now, Rafe in his cradle behind me, as

the man gets to his feet at the foot of the window. As he stands, my heart jumps when I see that

–

–

there are more more men behind him, working their way up to the window and through it –

moving unnaturally fast –

The man in the lead is on his feet now, grinning at me, starting to prowl towards me –

And all of my wolf instincts kick in, all of them, at once. And suddenly I’m snarling at them, the

nails on my fingers elongating to claws, my teeth sharpening in my mouth. It’s not a full

transformation – not yet – but it’s enough, now, to make it clear to the men who gain on me –

That they will not take my child –

Not ever.

Not even over my dead body. I will never let them take him.

“Here, kitty kitty,” the man says, menacing, only a foot from me now. “Hand over your little

kitten, like a good girl –”

–

I roar and swipe at his face, stepping only one foot forward so that I’m still protecting Rafe with my body but enough that I catch his cheek even though he flinches back. My claws open three long, deep cuts across his face that I can see through the mask, marks that stretch from his ear

downward, across his nose and his mouth.

The man flinches back in pain and then, at least eight men behind him now, glares at me again.

“You’ll pay for that, bitch,” he snarls.

But I just open my mouth and roar at him, at all of them, fury in every line of my body, ready to

shred them with my bare hands – every single one –

My message couldn’t be clearer.

Come at me.

But the man in the lead just laughs, and then they do.

I’m overwhelmed almost at once, pressing my back to Rafe’s basinet and swiping with my claws,

tearing at whatever flesh is closet to me, my mouth open in a constant roar. But there’s too many

of them for me – I’m pulled away from the basinet and feel something cut harshly against my

back.

I scream again – in pain this time and turn to see – I gasp

the basinet –

–

– one of those men, reaching into

“RAFE!” I scream, reaching for him

–

But something grabs me, hauling me away, as one of the black–masked men lifts my child into

his arms and turns to smile at me.