“Not like that you’re not. Hold on a second.” Jason steps away from me. I have to use the door frame to keep me upright.
“I know you don’t care either way, but I will be right back, I promise. No one comes in or our while I’m gone, something is wrong with the Alpha and if it’s Drake, this will be his next stop.” Jason doles out commands and I feel Juliette’s fear increase.
“You shouldn’t have told her that.” I say slowly slurred.
“I’m not going to lie to her and tell her everything is fine when it’s not and she’s still in danger. Maybe you should stay here. You sound drunk. Your mate doesn’t need you down there like this. You’ll be a? weakness, not a help.”
His insult has the desired effect. My wolf surges forward and I straighten up.
“What’s wrong with him?” I turn at the soft voice. I’ve only heard a handful of words from her since she arrived and never a full sentence.
“We can feel when our mate is in pain or has extreme emotions. Elara is down questioning Drake right now. Something happened and we need to go figure it out.” Jason is quick to give his mate answers.
“I got this. Juliette needs you here right now. Help her heal, I’ll be back later.”
“Um, no. You can f*ck off with that plan. Who knows what he did to her.” We hear Juliette squeak again.
“She’s an Alpha. Unfortunately, she’s seen and will see a lot worse than this asshole.” I look over my shoulder, giving her a weak smile.
Jason grabs my arm, “Stop flirting with my girl so we can go save yours.” I hear another sound, that I can’t decide if it’s good or bad from Juliette. “Please stay here and stay safe. There are two guards at your door and Owen will stay inside. We are still trying to determine friend from foe. Do not let anyone else in? here until we come back, not even Marietta and Brianna.”
“But…!”
“No, Drake is too f*cking cocky down in a cell, something’s up. Marietta and Brianna will be on standby? for us. No one should come up here, if they do zap the sh*t out of them…or whatever your magic does.”
“It zaps the sh*t out of you. Trust me.” I grumble, teasing, looking over my shoulder at her from the hallway. She still looks terrified sitting on her bed, knees tucked to her chin. SHes’s not shaking, but wary all the same. Drake did a number on her, and according to Brianna, she could probably incinerate him with a snap of her fingers.
Jason pushes me and I fall in line next to him. We rush down the hall, down the central stairs to the main level, rounding the banister to the door that leads to the cells.
My steps get faster as we get closer to the last cell. Dev catches me by the arm. “She’s better now. Don’t go barging in there or he’ll have another thing to throw in her face.”
“What did he do?” I growl. She has to know I’m out here. The second she says the word, I’m by her side no matter what anyone else here says.
“He told her that her father poisoned her mother in the hospital, giving her the final dose. We don’t have any information for her to prove or disprove the point. He’s trying to distract her.
“You think he’s stalling?”
“Of course. No one is that arrogant in a holding cell waiting to die. There’s either a plan to release him, or? him dying is a signal for something else to start. I can’t decide which might be worse for us.” He scowls.
“I was thinking he’s stalling too. Jay, did you get any information about this Eliza chick and what she? might be up to?”
“Nothing we don’t already know. Juliette was in charge of casting spells that made it look like Elara’s? pack was imploding from the inside so no one would come to help. Obviously, that extended to Junior as? well. The only thing specific was the waterfront. Water is a conduit for a bunch of spells I guess.” Jason? shakes his head.
I take a deep breath and let it out, pacing the small hallway. I have a couple of options, and I don’t like any of them. “So, I can go in there and be her back-up. Which will piss her off and be unproductive, but it? will make me feel better. We can go back upstairs and see what else Juliette has to say since Owen seems to be your wingman and has her talking. He needs to explain his magic, by the way.” I look at Jason and a dark look crosses his face so I change track fast. “Or…you and I can go take another look at the waterfront and see what we can find. That’s where that cave was with the supplies. We know Jeff was hiding trails? along the shoreline, there has to be more. We’ve had so much other sh*t going on, I don’t think anyone? followed up.”
I curled my knees tightly against my chest, making sure I was wrapped up as much as possible. My eyes scanned the room cautiously. Ryker could start the conversation whenever he was ready**I had no intention of pushing it. His room looked familiar, though my memory of it was hazy from last time. Back then, anger clouded my attention. The space was dominated by dark tones**deep blacks and cold steel grays. Everything was spotless, but I couldn’t tell if it was because Ryker preferred minimalism or if the omega responsible for cleaning had an obsessive streak.
Without a word, Ryker slid his arm around me, pulling me snugly against his side. I instinctively leaned into him, as if this closeness was meant to be. “Before your mind spirals into whatever wild theory it’s cooking up, let me explain,” he began. “Your clothes had to come off. You were nearly frozen solid, and I needed to raise your core temperature. You were barely breathing. Then the healer said skin-to-skin contact would speed your recovery. And second, I don’t understand why you give me such a hard time when I look out for you, but when Bennet asks you not to do something, you obey without hesitation.”
I didn’t voice it aloud, but the explanation about the clothes made sense. “It’s pretty simple, really. He’s not my mate.”
Ryker waited only a moment before pressing, “Care to explain what you mean by that?”
“There’s not much else to add,” I said quietly. “As a mate, you’re compelled to protect me. But I’m a liability**being human is a flaw in this world, and that makes me a target. Bennet can’t resist the urge to keep me safe, so I don’t do anything that might make his job harder. You, though, have the choice to focus on me or something more important**like the attack earlier today…”
“A week ago. And you are important,” Ryker interrupted gently.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.