by JJ King
“I just want to talk,” his voice rumbled through the door and down through her body, sending shivers of excitement and nerves skittering over her skin. God, she just wanted to fling the door open and…
“I don’t think that’s the best idea.” Rose blew out a breath as quietly as she could and inhaled, focusing on keeping her heartbeat steady. She didn’t want him knowing how much his presence affected her. “It’s pretty late…”
Liam sighed and rested his forehead against the door. Rose inhaled his scent and regretted it instantly. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed he’d take the hint and leave.
It was quiet on the other side of the door for a minute, but she knew he was still there She could hear him, smell him, sense him. It was almost painful to have him so close but not be physically touching and the longer he waited, separated from her by just that thin piece of wood, the more painful it got.
She waited for him to leave, but he remained, still as stone just inches away from her itching fingers, waiting for something from her that she wasn’t able to give right now. It was shocking how much she wanted to give it, though.
This wasn’t something she’d ever considered, not with the life she’d lived. There were too many scars on her soul for it to be worth much to anyone.
“Please, Liam,” she whispered, resting her forehead against the door, “I… I can’t.”
He shifted and deep inside, some part of her felt his uncertainty. Amazed and stupefied by their connection already, she sent out her need for space and time with as much force and focus as she could and prayed he’d understand.
“Alright, Rose.” He murmured after a moment, “I understand. Sleep well.”
Then he was gone. Rose listened to the sound of his soft footsteps as he walked down the hall and disappeared into the stairwell. She rubbed at her chest, feeling his absence like a weight, then turned and walked away from his lingering scent and crawled back into bed, let her bones go liquid, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Nine
Katherine reached for her third coffee of the day and grimaced when it went down cold and bitter. She sat back, arching her spine and getting a satisfying crunch in response. “Oh god, I’m so stiff,” she complained, feeling too tired to care if she sounded a bit cranky. She was halfway around the world from her daughter and had risen with the sun to restart the search for Raphael. They were all just lucky she was caffeinated.
“We can take a break if you’d like,” Quinn sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and yawning loudly. “I could use a walk or something.”
That sounded like Heaven to Katherine, but when she glanced across the table to where Rose sat with a map of Ireland before her, Daphne, and Liam, who, Katherine couldn’t help noticing kept sneaking glances at Rose with so much longing it hurt her stomach to see. They were using the local library as their base of operations, since their rooms were all too small and didn’t come with computers or tables to spread out. So far, they’d spent the morning researching triskele and connected the symbol to locations in Ireland where Raphael could have taken the girls.
No one said it aloud, but everyone knew that their assumptions regarding the triple spiral could be completely off. There was no certainty that it would lead them anywhere in the vicinity of Raphael, let alone directly to their new lair.
“New lair,” Katherine muttered to herself, frowning at the computer in front of her.
“What?” Quinn glanced over his shoulder then did a double take and moved behind her to look at the screen. “Figure something out?”
“Not really,” Katherine’s fingers flew over the keyboard as she entered search words to her already detailed list, “but we’ve been assuming Raphael is moving to somewhere new, which might just be a faulty assumption.”
“Based on?” Daphne broke off from the group at her table, walked over to them and pulled out a chair. “Sorry, not eavesdropping, I just need a break from the star-crossed lovers.”
Katherine chuckled and glanced over at them. They were like teenagers, both interested but wary about how to maneuver their way through something new. She looked back at Daphne and Quinn, “Based on the fact that Raphael has been disappearing for weeks at a time for as long as Rose can remember. Where was he going? And,” she sat forward excitedly, “where did he get the scent eraser? He has to have a lab somewhere.”
Daphne strained forward, her eyes animated, “And we searched the bloody castle from top to bottom. There’s nothing there. Shit,” she laughed, “you’re right.”
Daphne’s laughter got everyone’s attention, including the disapproving librarian who arched a sharp eyebrow then returned to her well-loved copy of Pride and Prejudice. They circled her table, pulling up nearby chairs to sit.
When they were all there, excluding Ronan who was working on finding them a new, bigger, van that didn’t feel like a dungeon, Katherine turned her computer screen around so they could see her lists. “We’re looking for a connection between Raphael and the triskele, but we’ve got precious little else to go on and Ireland is a big friggin country.” She clicked on another tab that brought up a map of Ireland. “I’ve put dots on all the locations we’ve identified that have connection with the triskele in any way, but it’s too much.” The map was covered in small red dots. “So, let’s forget about the symbol and look at something else. The scent eraser serum Rose took from Raphael.” She looked at Rose, “Do you have any left?”
Rose’s forehead crinkled, “I don’t know, we used a lot before Classiebawn.” She glanced away, her eyes glossing over for a second, then got up from the table and went to retrieve her backpack. She rummaged through its contents, cursing under her breath, then grinned and pulled a bag with two full vials free. “I’m guessing you’re going to suggest we analyze the serum and see if the compounds are available here on the island. If so, this should be enough.” Rose held out the bag for Katherine to take.
Katherine took the bag from her sister’s hand and looked at the small glass vials of clear liquid. “You guess right. Whatever is in this stuff might just help us find the asshole.” She grinned at Rose and saw a glimmer of hope reflecting back at her in her familiar eyes. It was nice seeing hope in those dark depths, she thought.
“I can help with the analysis,” Liam offered, looking intently at the bag in Katherine’s hands. “We have people here who do good work, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Katherine considered. She’d reached out to Liam for help because she’d gotten the sense long ago that he was a good wolf and an honest man, but the serum she held was game changing. It had amazing potential for good and just as much for evil. It’s already been used for evil, she reasoned, now let it be used for good. Katherine prayed she was making the right decision and placed the bag in Liam’s outstretched hand. “The faster the better and let’s keep it need to know only,” Katherine let her hand drop to her side and found Quinn’s fingers waiting for her.
“I promise,” Liam nodded solemnly offering his hand to her and then the others. “I’ll get this to the lab straight off, then.” He turned towards Rose and stilled, glancing back at the group hesitantly, then tilted his head toward the stacks. “Can we talk?”
Katherine watched her sister’s expression, recognizing fear, trepidation, and a glimmer of something more, something hopeful. She also saw Rose freeze, so she did what any big sister would do and gave Rose a nudge, “Go on, we’ll wait for you.”
Rose looked at her, her normally stoic face faltering momentarily as her eyes asked for guidance through uncharted territory. Katherine smiled and nodded, hoping Rose could read the encouragement in her gaze. She watched the two of them walk off together and squeezed Quinn’s hand, lifting it to her lips. “I hope they figure it out.”
“They will,” Quinn pulled her into a hug and pressed his lips to her hair. “We did.”
She stayed in his arms for a moment, reveling in the warmth and love seeping from her mate, then cursed when her phone began to
ring, loud enough to draw the ire of the librarian along with a loud “Shhh.”
“It’s Teagan,” she whispered, accepting the call and moving away from the group, into the stacks on the opposite side of the library from Rose and Liam. They deserved their privacy. “Hey little brother,” Katherine smiled, anxious to hear about Eve’s latest escapades and their mother’s emotional progress.
“Hi Katherine,” Teagan’s voice was tense, setting her nerves on edge immediately.
“What’s wrong?” She heard his inhalation and felt panic spread through her. “Tell me, please,” she begged, “it can’t be worse than what I’m imagining.”
“The lab results from the samples Anthony sent came in.” He paused and she heard him shuffling papers.
“And?” Katherine waited, unable to breathe.
“And the blood we found in Dad’s room came back with familial markers. Our family, Kat. One of Raphael’s experiments was there when Dad died.”
Katherine felt her legs go weak and she leaned against the books for support. She turned her head and looked across the wide room, catching sight of Rose as Liam brushed a hand over her cheek, then turned and walked away, and felt bile rise in her throat. “One of the girls?” She asked, praying for a plausible explanation.
“One of the boys,” Teagan said tersely, “one of our half-brothers.”
“Don’t call them that!” She hissed, picturing Raphael’s face. “They’re his, not Dad’s.” Katherine closed her eyes, trying to think through it logically, trying desperately to stay impartial even when she knew it was impossible. “Why?” She heard her voice break, echoing the ache in her chest, “Why would he kill Dad?”
Her mind spun furiously, placing images and conversations, details and facts into place, and then she knew. Her body grew heavy as if someone were sitting on her chest and her heart rate slowed. It was just like Maxwell. She felt numb, inside and out, as the words escaped her mouth. “He killed Dad to get to me.”
♀♀♀
Quinn’s strong arms lifted her and cradled her head into his chest. Katherine wrapped her arms around his torso and held on tight, afraid to fall if she let go. She wasn’t aware that the phone was still in her hand or that Teagan was still on the line until Quinn pried the cell from her fingers and raised it to his ear, demanding to know what Teagan had told her.
Katherine let her mind drift so she didn’t have to listen to the awful words again, but she couldn’t run, they were in her head. Her father had been murdered by one of Raphael’s boys, one of his own biological sons, because of her.
It all came back to her in the end, she thought, feeling the weight of her existence like lead in the pit of her stomach. She’d been born so that an ancient line of wolves could have a new chance at life. She’d been foretold and sought out while she was taking her first steps. She was the reason Raphael had kidnapped and tortured countless women, forcing them to give birth to girls who would never live up to his mad dreams because they weren’t her. Maxwell had died violently because of her, countless humans and wolves had been murdered because of her, and her Dad, her big, sweet, loving father, had been murdered because of her.
And Eve.
She straightened, feeling the lead in her stomach migrate to her spine. This wasn’t just about her, she realized, this was about their child. Everything that had happened, had happened because their baby, their precious little girl, was special in a way not one of them understood, yet.
If she were responsible, then so was Eve, and there was no fucking way she would ever let her daughter think that trash logic. Katherine squared her shoulders and pulled free of Quinn’s arms, giving him a silent assurance when he questioned her with his eyes.
When he hung up the phone, thanking Teagan for the update, Quinn cursed and ran a hand through his hair. Katherine watched him, seeing the parts of him that were already evident in Eve. He was the one who had prophesied her coming and he was the only Geliget to impregnate a woman in over two thousand years. Together, they were remarkable, and the life they’d created was immeasurable. They’d been through so much, but they’d gotten Eve and she was worth everything. Katherine would gladly shoulder the burden of responsibility if it meant Eve never had to think, for a single second, that anyone had been hurt because of her.
“Do we tell Rose?” Quinn murmured, pointing his body away from the group in case they somehow heard.
Katherine frowned, looking over to the table where Rose now sat with Daphne and Keme. She looked happy, Katherine realized. Not, typical girl-next-door happy, but happier than Katherine had ever seen her before. There was a lightness in her eyes now where the shadows of her past had been before. The bond, however much Rose was letting trickle in through her mile high walls, was having a good effect on her. Katherine hated to tell her, to wipe that smile from her face, but they’d vowed transparency. “No secrets,” she told Quinn.
He held her hand as they left the stacks and rejoined the group who stopped chatting as soon as they saw their expressions. Daphne shot up, “What happened?”
Katherine sank into the chair that Quinn pulled out for her and gestured for Daphne to sit again. She gritted her teeth and turned to Rose, wincing as she saw the spark in her sister’s eyes die.
“What happened?” Rose echoed Daphne’s question.
Remembering her plea to Teagan to just spill the news, Katherine held back nothing. “They got the results back from the blood Anthony found in Dad’s room down in Montana. They also ran your DNA sample and Dad’s.” Katherine swallowed the lump in her throat and plowed on, “The blood was from one of Dad’s sons, one of your, our,” she amended, “half-brothers.”
Katherine felt every eye on her, but she could see only Rose. Her sister sat like a statue, her gaze locked on Katherine’s, but there was nothing behind her dark eyes. Katherine searched, her sense of uneasiness increasing as each second ticked by, but Rose was unreadable. Finally, she reached out, touching Rose’s arm gently, and Rose blinked.
“Why were they running my blood against the blood they found?” Rose’s voice was soft and even, emotionless.
Katherine shook her head, pulling her hand back. “They weren’t. They were running your blood against Dad’s.”
“So, they just happened to notice a common DNA sequence?”
Katherine looked to Quinn who shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“They ran the samples because I asked them to,” Daphne said quietly.
Katherine turned to her friend, confused and hoping she’d heard wrong. The unapologetic look on Daphne’s face put that hope to bed. “What do you mean?”
"I mean that I asked the lab technicians to check Rose’s sample against the blood Anthony found.” When no one said a word, Daphne sighed and continued, “Alright, here goes. We're all willing to acknowledge Raphael's fiendish mastermind status, but no one seems willing to consider that this is all part of some grand plan of his. Get mad at me if you need to, but I'm the only one here thinking with a clear mind. There's a very real chance that she," Daphne tipped her chin at Rose, "is part of his plan."
Katherine’s stomach churned. She knew Daphne had a good point, they’d all thought about the possibility, but they’d been working together, helping one another, and she couldn’t help it, she trusted Rose. Katherine looked straight into Rose’s eyes, “I trust her.”
A tiny flicker of emotion sprang to life deep in Rose’s gaze and her eyes shimmered with the barest hint of tears, then she blinked and they were gone.
“And that’s good, I actually think she’s on the up and up, too, but come on,” Daphne’s voice spiked with irritation, “think Katherine. Raphael is smart, smarter than all of us, he’s proven it over and over. There’s no doubt in my mind that he would be willing to play the long game and, I don’t know, mind control the girls. Turn them into sleeper agents.” She shrugged. “I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s been done before. We can’t put it past him.”
Deep-seeded stubbornness poured into K
atherine’s chest and she shook her head. “No,” she glanced around the table and saw the looks her friends and mate were sharing, “no, come on. It’s insane. It’s…”
“Possible,” Rose interrupted. “Katherine, stop, please.” She attempted a smile that barely made it to her eyes and sighed. “Daphne’s right. Thank you for trusting me, it…” Rose blinked rapidly again, looking away for a moment, “means the world to me, but it’s possible. What if he’s in my head?”
Katherine choked back tears and fought to control her anger. It was useless, they had no villain to fight, yet. She balled up her fists, letting her nails dig painfully into her palms, and wished he were here so she could bloody his face and destroy his life. She’d done it once before and she could do it again. He was strong, determined, and had Geliget blood running through his veins, but she was the mother and… she gasped.
“Quinn!” Katherine grabbed her mate’s arm, “You can look. We can know for sure.” She turned to Rose, “He’s a dreamer; he can look inside your mind.” Katherine frowned, hearing her suggestion, knowing how invasive it sounded. Her excitement dulled.