I leap a foot in the air, yelping softly as my heart races with sudden panic. Spinning in place and steadying myself against the solid doors, I find a very large, very angry Alpha towering over me. Bastien emanates disapproval: his silver gaze narrowed in reproach, his jaw rigid and arms crossed over his chest.
I quail, guilt assailing me as I shrink away from him, my cheeks flushing bright pink. “How in the Goddess’s name did you do that?”
He ignores me, closing one powerful hand over my nape. “What do you have to say for yourself, little wolf?”
By now my initial shock has subsided, and I realize I have no reason to feel guilty. Straightening up and giving my mate my best scowl, I state, “I have a right to know what’s going on.”
“Then knock on the door and come in,” Bastien admonishes, “don’t eavesdrop.”
“If I was in there you wouldn’t have spoken openly,” I argue. “You came down here specifically so I wouldn’t hear. Drake called you instead of me because he didn’t want me to know either – right?”
“We did those things for damn good reason.” Bastien grumbles, reaching past me to open the doors. Moving into the room, I see the bookcase concealing the side passage he must have used to sneak up on me still standing wide open.
Well that explains that mystery.
Bastien’s phone is sitting on his desk, and I circle the sprawling mahogany surface to retrieve it. Drake’s eyes widen when he sees me, but before I can say anything Bastien plucks the device from my hand. “Some advice Cavanaugh,” He drawls, sitting down and pulling me into his lap. “If Sophie shows any propensity for eavesdropping, you’d do well to train it out of her early on. Don’t make the same mistake I did and overlook it because it’s cute.”
“Excuse me, train it out of her?” I hiss.
Bastien’s eyes flash dangerously, “That’s right.” His arm is like an iron bar around me, far from the gentle embraces he usually prefers.
Drake sighs, “Selene, how much did you hear?”
“Enough to know you found security cameras at the house, but I don’t understand why you don’t want them to be reviewed.” I share, turning to my husband.
Both Alphas don the same tight-lipped expression, like they don’t want to answer my question. After a moment Drake shoots Bastien a look that seems to say, “she’s your mate.”
My mate really is fuming, his molten gaze boring into me. “Damn it, this is exactly why I didn’t want you on this call.”
“I have a right to know.” I say again.
“No one is denying that, Selene.” Drake interjects soberly, “The issue is when knowing does more harm than good.”
I don’t like the sound of that. Returning my focus to Bastien, I murmur. “Bastien?”
Looking as if he wants to throw something, Bastien emits a bitter exhale. “They weren’t security cameras.” He rumbles, shaking his head in frustration. It’s painfully clear he doesn’t want to tell me this, and equally clear that he’s livid I forced the situation. “They were spy cameras… in every room of the house. Common areas, bedrooms… bathrooms.”
My blood turns to ice as his words register, a thousand horrible implications racing through my head. “What?”
Bastien’s mouth is a hard line, his eyes closed in resignation. “Baby, whoever sent you there was watching you.”
__________________
Bastien
I swear, I could wring my mate’s little neck. At the same time, I want to bundle her in my arms and kiss away all her fears, tell her that none of this is real
When I saw Drake’s call come in so late, I knew he must have found something like this: something so bad it couldn’t wait; so bad he didn’t want to tell Selene.
I already regret telling her the truth. The moment the words were out, all the blood drained from her face, her porcelain complexion turning a shade of sickly green.
“You mean,” She stammers hoarsely, “The whole time? When – when we were sleeping?… And when we went to the bathroom?… When you and I…?
“Yes sweetheart.” I confirm sadly.
In a flash she’s out of my lap and vomiting into my waste basket. “Fuck,” I curse, immediately going after her. “Drake I’m going to have to call you back in the morning.”
“No, there’s something else that can’t wait,” Drake interrupts urgently, refusing to hang up even as Selene’s gagging grows louder.
Already on the ground next to Selene, holding her hair and rubbing her back while she retches, I call. “Then get on with it.”
“We were able to trace the feed to a cell tower.” The Eros Alpha reports. “We couldn’t narrow it any further than that, but we have a general location on where the footage was being sent.”
That got my attention. “Tell me.” I hiss, fearing I already know where this is headed.
“Bastien,” Drake sighs, “I’m sorry, but it was going to Elysium.”
________________________
Bastien
The soothing jets of the master bathroom’s huge sunken tub pulse around our bodies, frothing sweet-smelling foam and bubbles on the surface of the deep water. The massaging streams of heated water are probably doing me more good than Selene, since she’s sprawled out on my chest and not actually seated in the tub, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
After my mate finished emptying her stomach into my waste basket I hung up with Drake and brought her back up to our room. Half an hour ago we were both so exhausted we could have slept through a hurricane. Now I’m worried I won’t be able to get Selene to sleep at all, and if I do I’m afraid it will only be interrupted by nightmares.
She hasn’t said a word since I explained about the cameras. She was silent as I carried her upstairs crooning sympathetic words; silent as I started the bath and stripped her down; silent as I guided her to the sink to brush her teeth. Selene bore it all in a sort of trance, looking so lost and empty I’ve done nothing but fantasize about disemboweling whoever owns that safe house since.
She’s still not truly with me, her sleek form rests atop mine and her cheek is flush to my chest, but her eyes are staring blankly into the distance. Trailing my hands over her slender form in soothing patterns, I try to check in without pushing her. “How are you doing, baby?”
I breathe a sigh of relief when she blinks and looks up at me, pleased she’s still responsive. Unfortunately that’s the only good news I’m going to be getting tonight.
“I’m sorry I eavesdropped.” Selene whispers pitifully, her beautiful eyes welling with tears.
“Hush now, little wolf.” I hum, cuddling her closer and stroking her hair. “I’m sorry I was such an ogre, I only wanted to protect you.”
She nods and hiccups, “You were right. I wish I could un-know this.”
“I know.” I confirm sincerely, “I wish you could too.”
“It’s so…” Selene searches for the right words, retracting her gaze. “So sick,” she finally decides with a shiver. “So violating.”
“Hey, look at me.” I order gently. She doesn’t comply at first, but after a moment her little head tilts back and I’m staring into those bottomless pools of blue and violet once more. “I promise you, Selene. If it is the very last thing I do, I will find whoever is responsible for this, and I will make them pay.”
My voice is little more than a snarl at this point, “I will make them regret ever laying eyes on you, I will make them wish they’d died instead of ever hatching this plan.” I vow, “And I swear to you, I will kill them.”
From the look on my mate’s face you’d think I promised to buy her candy and roses, rather than issuing a string of violent threats. “I know you will.”
“Good.” I praise, caressing her spine.
After a moment Selene looks up again, “Does this mean…?
She trails off with a furrowed brow, as if the thought is on the tip of her tongue but she can’t grasp it. “Hmm, what are you thinking?”
“Well, you think someone was trying to keep us apart, right?” Selene asks.
“Yes.” I confirm gravely.
“So…” She’s almost cringing as she spits out the words, “they wouldn’t have wanted you to mark me. And they had the access to see you on the verge of doing it when…. When we were in the shower in the safe house.”
“That alarm.” I exclaim, realizing she’s exactly right.
Someone in Elysium set off that alarm to prevent me marking my mate.
Someone in Elysium altered those DNA tests, took Selene out of the city after the fire and left her in neutral territory, then faked her death.
I’ve known most of this for a while now, but I’m only just starting to realize the broader implications of these events. All this time I’ve been thinking about the problems in my city – my father’s murder and everything that’s gone wrong since – and my misfortunes with Selene as two separate issues.
But now it’s glaringly clear.
It’s all connected. Whoever has been trying to ruin me as Alpha hasn’t only been interfering in the pack, they’ve also kept me from my mate – and that, is unforgivable.
