My lips curved up. As much as a commitment like that scared me because I didn’t know what I wanted anymore, there was something about the thought of being tied to Rumple for all eternity that didn’t sound as bad as it would have with anyone else.
“Now, tell me what happened while I was gone,” he said. “You said you met up with Jack to talk to him about Anna and Russell Charming?”
“What’s a White Rabbit?” I asked him. I wasn’t purposefully avoiding his question. It only occurred to me that I had never asked him about what a White Rabbit was.
“I beg your pardon?” He quirked a brow, but there was something about him, something that told me he knew exactly what I was talking about.
“Jack called himself a White Rabbit,” I said, tucking hair behind my ear as I rolled onto my back so I could get more comfortable. “It was after the whole ordeal with Tom. He told me he was a White Rabbit, but he never explained what that actually meant. I wanted to know if maybe you knew.” I bit my bottom lip. “I should have told you sooner. It just slipped my mind. I’m sorry.”
“No.” Rumple shook his head once as his eyes burned the ceiling. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re sure he said White Rabbit?”
“Positive.” That wasn’t something I could easily forget. “What does it mean?”
“I’ll tell you, Alice, but I need you to promise me something first,” he said. He locked eyes with me, hands coming on my cheeks so I was forced to look only at him. “Can you do that?”
“Y-yes,” I said. I tried to nod, but I couldn’t. Not with his hands holding me in place. “Of course.”
This seemed to relieve him slightly. “Promise me you won’t go see Lupine on your own from this point on,” he said. “No matter what.”
“Rumple, I -”
“Promise me,” he insisted, tilting his head to the side to emphasize his seriousness of eliciting this promise from me.
“I promise,” I said. “Now, what’s a White Rabbit?”
He opened his mouth, ready to respond, when my phone chirped. I wasn’t going to answer it, not with Rumple about to tell me what I’d wanted to know for the past couple of months, but then I saw the unknown number flash across the screen. Typically, unknown numbers were government related.
Maybe my father.
So, I loosed a breath and answered.
12
“It’s Shane,” the low, rumbly voice on the other end of the line announced. “Peter insisted I call you.”
“Peter?” I furrowed my brow. What time was it, anyway? I was sure it had to be early, and as far as I could remember, Peter had never been a morning person. And yet, he was with Shane? Why?
“Okay,” I said slowly. Rumple’s fingers were tracing my hipbone, making it hard for me to focus on what Shane was trying to say. As much as I knew that the guy liked me, I highly doubted he would call unless he had a good reason to. “Is Crim okay? Is Peter?”
Rumple’s caresses paused momentarily as he waited for me to react to whatever Shane’s response would be. I pressed my lips together, trying to ignore the way I already missed it. Somehow, there was warmth as well as desire when he touched me. It was like all my insides melted and turned into something sweet and gooey, something that made me feel both sexy and safe. I wanted more of that feeling.
“They’re both fine,” Shane said. “Peter said you would want to know…” He cleared his throat. “Look, my shift ends soon. This would probably be better explaining in-person. Do you think you could come to the lab?”
“Did you tell her it was important?” Peter asked in the background. “Don’t ask her to come - tell her.”
“Will you tell Grumpy to calm down?” I said. “We’ll be there.”
“We?” Shane asked. “Oh, you mean the Imp? Yeah, I guess he can come too. Just hurry.”
I got off the phone and turned my attention back to Rumple. He was currently blowing on my skin, as though he was fascinated by watching my goosebumps start to shape my body all because of something he did that I naturally reacted to.
“Everything all right, darling?” he asked, finally picking up his gaze so it could lock with mine.
I nodded once. “Shane wants us at the lab right now,” I said. “I’m not sure what they found -”
“They?” Rumple didn’t make any move to unravel himself from me.
“Well,” I said, lifting a shoulder into a shrug as my other hand reached out so I could run my fingers through his hair. “Peter’s there.”
“Hmm.” Rumple frowned. “Why would the Dwarf be there?”
“We can ask him that when we get there,” I said. “You coming?”
“Of course I’m coming,” he said as though he was offended I would assume anything else. “I can’t have you going off alone, doing God knows what with wicked rabbits and who knows what else? I have to be there to protect you.”
“Really?” I threw my legs over the side of my bed before standing up and stretching.
I had no idea how I was so comfortable in my naked skin in front of Rumple, but I was. Maybe it was because of the fact that there was no point in hiding myself in front of him anymore. We had, after all, been together more than once, and each new time, there was something new to learn, to appreciate, to feel good about. It made me more comfortable in my own skin, which meant I was more comfortable in front of Rumple. And I liked that.
“I’m not even going to comment on the fact that I’m the one who seems fully capable of protecting myself and those I care about,” I said, shooting him an impish smile over my shoulder and giving him a wink.
“Careful, darling, I wouldn’t want to have my wicked way with you again,” Rumple said, slowly getting out of bed himself.
He angled his shoulders in my direction so I wouldn’t be able to see his scars, but that was okay. It was a work in progress. Last night had been a huge step, and I wasn’t going to take that for granted. When he was here, when he was ready to let me touch him again, I would. But I didn’t want to force things. I didn’t want him to feel any kind of pressure one way or the other - just as long as he knew I loved all of him.
“Wouldn’t you?” I asked.
Without warning, Rumple leapt over the bed until he was behind me. His hands wrapped around my waist, pressing my back against his chest. Immediately, I tilted my head to the side, showing the fact that I had no problem submitting to him, showing him that he had me and I would do whatever he wanted. I could feel him stir behind me, and my heart skipped a beat at the thought of having him inside of me again.
“I always want you,” he murmured against the skin of my throat. “You’re simply irresistible, darling. I can’t seem to get enough of you.”
I turned in his arms, wrapping my own around his waist. I lifted them up, keeping a careful eye on him as I began to brush his scars with my fingertips.
“Thank you for trusting me,” I murmured.
“I could say the same,” he said. “And thank you for being patient with me after I acted like an ass. I never handle seeing my parents well, but I shouldn’t take it out on you, especially when all you want is to help me.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
We got dressed - well, Rumple conjured up a suit for himself while I pulled on clothes like an unmagicked peasant - and headed to my car. I was glad to know that Peter was nowhere near us during our time last night, which meant there was no way for him to walk in on us or overhear what we were doing. I still didn’t know if Rumple had magicked the room or not, but at least it didn’t matter.
By the time we got to the medical lab, the dark blue sky was being penetrated by the first ray of light. It would be dawn in an hour or so, which meant Shane was ready to leave. I didn’t want him waiting on us any more than he already had, so I pulled into the nearest slot and we rushed inside. The doors were locked - probably for good reason - but Peter appeared almost instantly to let us in.
“Well?” I said once we were tucked into the small waiting room. Sha
ne was behind the desk while Peter sat on one of the chairs. I was too energized to sit so I stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed over my chest, while Rumple stood casually by the door, hands loose in his pockets. “We’re here. What did you want to tell us?”
“Do you remember when we discussed Mary Stone and you believed she wasn’t the Mad Mage’s first victim?” Peter asked. He was drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair, staring at me with piercing green eyes.
I thought for a moment. Truth be told, I didn’t remember the specifics, but I knew it was around the time he told me about his mother and what happened to her. He still believed Rumple had killed her. I wondered if he felt the same way now.
“Kind of,” I said.
“I told you that you were wrong,” Peter continued.
“I do remember that,” I said flatly. “You reminded me that all these rules and laws that we’re dealing with today are in place because everyone thinks the Mad Mage killed her. In fact, he was only regarded as a criminal because of this death, because it linked the rumors of him using ShadowMagic on a human.”
“Right.” Peter stuck up a finger, excitement washing off of him. “Except, I am now forced to admit that I’m wrong.”
“Wrong?” I glanced over at Rumple but his gaze was focused on Peter. “What do you mean, you’re wrong? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that.”
“We’ll, I’m saying it now,” he said, shifting in his seat. “I was wrong about Mary Stone. I was wrong about the Mad Mage. I was wrong about all of it.”
I tilted my head to the side and recrossed my legs. Everything in my body was tight. I knew Peter would explain why he changed his mind. Clearly, it had to do with tests ran in the lab by Shane. Which meant there was hard evidence - because there was no way Peter would believe anything unless he could see it, touch it, taste it, smell it, or hear it. He was one of the few people in Wonderland with little faith in what humans might consider magic.
“So, I’m finally off the hook then, for killing your mother?” Rumple asked. There was an undercurrent to his tone, like it still bothered him that Peter thought Rumple was capable of killing Peter’s mother. The truth was, of course Rumple was more than capable of doing anything, but would he? I didn’t think he would, but again, Peter had little faith in The Imp.
“I didn’t say that.” Peter’s tone had changed since responding to Rumple, and his eyes narrowed a fraction.
“Look,” I said, standing up. The movement was stiff, but it did its job and caught both men and their attention. “Let’s not worry about that for the time being. What does any of this have to do with Mary Stone?”
“The real question is, why would the Red Queen want everyone to think the Mad Mage killed Mary Stone in the first place?” Peter asked. “Why would she say that? The only thing that happened was that it went along with her narrative that he’s a dangerous mage who uses ShadowMagic - ShadowMagic which could kill others.”
“Unless her entire goal was to take away the magic of Wonderland,” Shane put in.
I turned from where I stood in order to look at him. He had always been a gruff sort of guy. His nose was broken, lines in his face were hard, and he had a body of solid muscle. He was gorgeous in a brutal sense, the kind of beauty that piqued both arousal and fear. I could understand why Crim was infatuated with him, and why he was crazy about her.
“Why would anyone want to do that?” I asked. “Isn’t magic something that protects Wonderland?”
“You would think,” Shane said. “At least for us, the Lycans, we’ve been regulated to the Forest because that’s where we can run freely and shift without anyone seeing who we really are. We’re safe there. No one can take that away from us. No one can take our abilities away from us - unless we were magicked into staying in one form or another.”
“Is that even possible?” Peter asked.
“Only with the right level of magic,” Rumple put in. “That requires ShadowMagic.”
“I heard ShadowMagic is inherited,” I said. “It originated from the Fae, but if a Fae had a child with someone else, there’s a chance that magic can be passed down.”
“The magic can always be taken,” Rumple said. “As long as it’s freely given, it can be received and used, but the effects are temporary. The person receiving the magic would need to refill her glass, so to speak, after a certain time.”
“So,” I said, looking back at Shane. “You think the Red Queen took magic from everyone to always have a refill of magic should she need it? I didn’t think magic - regular magic - ran out.”
“It doesn’t,” Peter said. “Well, not in the sense you might think. However, if you use too much of it, it can stagnate. Think of a battery: if you use it all, you need to recharge it before it’ll work again. Magic is the same way.”
“And ShadowMagic?” I asked.
Peter looked over at Rumple. “I’m not familiar with ShadowMagic,” he said. “There isn’t much written about it.”
“ShadowMagic is much the same,” Rumple said. “When you use a great burst of power, darling, you feel tired afterwards, yes? That’s you using too much of your magic, even though it feels like it isn’t. It’s why I wanted MaryBeth to train you. The more you practice, the longer you’re able to access that magic without needing to, as the Dwarf so eloquently put it, recharge.”
“So, with this great pool of magic,” I said slowly, “the Red Queen wouldn’t need to recharge.”
“Exactly,” Peter said. “That, or she’s looking for a specific type of magic.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. This was starting to get confusing. I didn’t know much about how the magic actually worked here before this simply because it wasn’t as though they taught it in schools anymore and there was never a reason to teach me.
“Magic leaves a trace,” Shane reminded me. “Which means she can upload every magic sample into the Spark System in order to ensure we would be able to match magic to its user.”
“Which she did,” Peter said.
“Besides catching criminals, how is that important?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and shifting my weight.
“Magic can also be paired to your lineage,” Rumple explained. “If my magic is in the system, for example, and they had Pan’s DNA, it would come out like we’re related. There’s also a way to trace it back to where we’re from. Again, using me as an example, my magic would clearly indicate magic cultivated from the Fae realm.”
“Okay,” I said. “So, it’s basically like DNA. Or, in this case, an extra layer of DNA.”
“Yes,” Peter said.
“So,” I said. “Why are we here? What’s going on?” I finally rested my eyes on Peter. “This has something to do with Mary Stone?”
“Considering the whole debacle with Anna Skaarsgard was carefully orchestrated, I thought Shane should run DNA and magic through the system,” Peter said. “I wanted to prove to you that Mary Stone was the Mad Mage’s first victim. Because if I was right about that…”
“You’d be right about your mother,” I finished, glancing over at Rumple.
Though his face was serious, he didn’t seem offended by Peter’s revelation.
“But I wasn’t,” Peter admitted. “I wasn’t right at all.”
I stepped forward. “What did you find?”
“There’s a trace of magic on Mary Stone,” Shane said. “And it doesn’t belong to the Mad Mage.”
“It’s not as though the Mad Mage has DNA in the Spark System,” Rumple pointed out. “How can you say for certain it’s not his?”
I knew he was playing Devil’s Advocate, and I could appreciate that.
“Because the magic matched someone in the system,” Shane said. Before we could ask who that was, he told us. “Sabrina Charming.”
13
I blinked.
Sabrina Charming?
“I don’t mean to insult you, Shane,” I said slowly, “but are you sure? Why would Sabrina Charming kill Mary St
one? And would she really be stupid enough to leave her DNA on the body when she could have paid someone else to do it? And -”
Shane slid a file across the counter he stood behind. “It’s not my job to figure out the human component,” he said. “I just run the DNA. The database tells me the truth.”
I wanted to go to the counter and take the file. I wanted to flip through it and see it for myself. Not because I didn’t believe Shane. I actually did. But because I wanted to see it in black and white for myself. I wanted to know it to be true.
“Could she have been framed?” I asked. This time, I looked over at Rumple. However, there was an odd look on his face. It wasn’t exactly indifferent. There was a knowing in his eyes that said he was well-aware of what was going on, but for some odd reason, that knowledge was paired with strain.
“You’re telling me, you don’t know any reason why Sabrina Charming would kill Mary Stone?” Peter asked, arching a brow.
I did know a reason. Her name was Rory Rose, and I helped find out what happened to her mother in the first place.
I looked over at Rumple once again. His eyes were burning into mine. Even though his face was as passive as he could make it, I heard the words he didn’t say. He wanted me to think. He knew I knew, but he wasn’t saying anything.
I frowned.
Why wouldn’t he -
And then I remembered.
He was bound by some magical deal that he made with someone long ago regarding Mary Stone. He knew who killed her. He knew how it happened. But he couldn’t say anything, or else whomever this killer was would be entitled to kill his weakness.
I never thought it was possible Rumple could even have a weakness, but apparently he did.
And that weakness was me.
“Mary Stone and Russell Charming had an affair,” I said out loud, though my eyes were still locked onto Rumple. “I talked to Russell myself a few weeks ago. He admitted to the affair.”
“Then Sabrina must have found out,” Peter said. “Does Russell…?”
The Seeker's Revenge Page 9