by Ally Summers
“I was only the messenger. I don’t know anything about a kidnapping.”
My hands were around her neck again, shoving her against the wall. “Messenger, huh? You lied to me. You lied to my mate. And now she’s gone.”
The woman wheezed, gasping for air, but my grip tightened. “Please,” she begged. “I-I didn’t have a choice.”
“No choice? You’re a Keeper. You know things. You didn’t have anything you could leverage?”
She squeaked. “I didn’t have time. I didn’t know she was going to be kidnapped. They said she was going to be the queen. She would be treated like a queen. And she is your queen.”
I let her fall to the floor and backed away. Cadence was my queen as far as I was concerned, but it wasn’t official. She wasn’t the queen of the Tribe.
“Stupid woman,” I spat at her. “You have no idea what you’ve done. My child is in danger.”
“I’m sorry,” she cried.
I didn’t have any more time to waste. I rushed out of the cottage, leaving the door wide open.
12
Cadence
I sat on the big bed until I could no longer fight sleep. Eventually, I curled up into a ball and let the exhaustion win. When I awakened, I realized someone had tucked a blanket to my chin.
It was almost dark. The sun was setting.
I sat up, hungrier than I’d been in days.
Anthony peeked his head inside. “Hayden would like for you to join him for dinner in an hour. There is a gown laid out for you.”
“No thank you.” I glared.
“It’s not optional.” He eyed me. “I wouldn’t reject his invitation.”
“Fine.” I huffed. “What does he want me to wear?”
“I hung it up for you.”
“Are you the one who covered me with the blanket?”
He nodded. “You looked cold.”
“Thank you.” I walked toward the bathroom to see the gown. My bottom lip dropped in shock.
It was gorgeous. It was floor-length, with a deep V-cut. The dress was a shade of purple so rich I didn’t think I’d ever seen it before. It shimmered with an incredible glitter woven into the fabric. My fingers drifted over the material.
“I can’t wear this.”
“He chose it for you.”
I turned to face Anthony. “This plan of his isn’t going to work, you know.”
Anthony shrugged. “I serve the Litchfields. If he wants you, then I serve that purpose.”
“Such a minion thing to say,” I sassed.
“Dinner is in one hour. I’ll return to escort you.” Anthony turned for the door and I heard the lock click behind him.
I dreaded the idea of having dinner with Hayden. Breakfast had been a disaster. I was still horrified that he thought I’d marry him and hand over my baby as if it were a piece of property in a legal dispute.
I needed some kind of plan. I needed a strategy. I needed a way out of here.
I held up the dress and looked at myself in the mirror. It made me sick to wear it, but defiance wasn’t going to get me anywhere with Hayden.
An hour later I knocked on the door to let Anthony know I was ready for dinner. I had stepped into a pair of five-inch heels and fastened the diamond earrings to my ears. I didn’t know if I was a survivor or a cheater.
Anthony held my hand while we navigated the staircase. He presented me at the door of the dining room and I entered into a room filled with candlelight and roses.
“You look beautiful, love.” Hayden crossed the room to greet me. His tux was fitted and stylish. I could see just how handsome he probably looked to other women. Women who weren’t his prisoner.
“You may go.” He cut to Anthony who hurried out behind us.
“I ordered some sparkling cider for you.” He offered a crystal flute to me.
“Thank you.”
I noticed how his eyes dipped between my breasts. My heart thudded under my ribs.
“Simply gorgeous,” he growled.
I felt the need to step away from him, as if he could eat me on the spot, but I held my ground. I didn’t want him to think I was afraid. I had to show him just how strong Case Maddox’s mate was.
I sipped the bubbly drink and wished like hell it was champagne.
I felt the heat of his stare on my throat as his hand lifted to my shoulder. He traced the line of my chest across the strapless bodice of the dress.
“You’re exquisite, Cadence.”
“Thank you.” My breathing was rapid.
“Should we eat?” He pulled a chair.
“Yes.” I relaxed. “I’m rather hungry.”
“The chef has prepared something rich in iron. Jaguar cubs like red meat.”
He made sure I was comfortable before walking to the other side of the table and taking the seat across from me.
“I didn’t know that.” I laid the linen napkin in my lap.
“Have you done much research on your special pregnancy?” he asked as if he was asking if it could rain tomorrow.
“Not really.” I knew nothing about carrying a cub. Nothing.
“Then it’s settled. I will have my shifter consultant meet with you tomorrow and you can ask her anything you’d like.”
I blinked. “Shifter consultant?”
“Yes, she has had many cubs. I’m sure you’ll find her information helpful. I want you to be happy here, Cadence.” He smiled. “I want you to know you’re safe. I will take care of you. I’ll take care of the baby. Whatever you need, it’s yours.”
I bit my bottom lip, repressing the nasty things on my tongue. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes. The steak was delicious. The bread was warm and soft. Everything was cooked to perfection. I was curious as to who the chef was. It made my heart ache for my kitchen back home. I should be working on a catering event for clients. Or making one of Case’s favorite dishes for him.
“Would you like to see the kitchen after dinner?” Hayden’s question surprised me.
“Why would you ask me that?”
He grinned. There was nothing sinister in this man’s face. As much as I searched for it, it was simply etched with beautiful straight lines.
“You are a caterer aren’t you?”
I nodded. “To be honest, Hayden I’m a little freaked out by how much you know about me.”
“I’m sorry. How can I make you feel more comfortable?”
“Why don’t you tell me something about you? Where are you from? Do you have any family?”
He wiped the corners of his mouth with the napkin. “Well, I’m from a jaguar line that originated in the southern tip of Florida. Mostly marshes and wetlands, but we started moving toward the cities. And once that happened, we kept moving north.”
“Does ‘we’ include anyone else?” I asked.
“I was the sole male heir to my father’s territory,” he explained. “I have two younger sisters. They are in Florida now.”
“I see.” I pinched off the end of a roll. I couldn’t stop eating bread. “And your sisters, are you close?”
“Sometimes. They prefer the lower region. I’m interested in expansion.” He winked.
“You mean war and planning territory seizures.”
“Don’t.” His voice was filled with icy warning.
“What? Is there a problem?”
“It’s a beautiful evening, Cadence. You are stunning in that dress. The meal is perfect. The atmosphere is full of magic. Don’t make me send you upstairs.”
“That’s my punishment? You’ll send me upstairs like an unruly teenager if I upset you?”
He pushed back from the table and walked toward me. I sat frozen in my seat as he leaned toward my neck. I felt his breath breeze over my skin.
“I want to get to know you before we’re married.” He leaned his temple into my hair. I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid of his next move. “But I don’t have to do that. I don’t have to pay a
ttention to the details. I can marry you without all this beauty here tonight.”
He roughly tugged my chin upward between his fingers. “Look at me.”
My eyes flew open.
“Don’t mistake my chivalry for weakness.”
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t,” I whispered.
“Good.” He let go and I looked at the napkin in my lap. “Then, I would be happy to give you a tour of the kitchen and introduce you to Chef before Anthony returns you to your room.”
He held out his hand for me to take.
I rose from the table as Hayden led me from the dining room and into his labyrinth.
13
Case
I didn’t return to the compound until the sun had been down for hours. I had been chasing shadows. Following leads that led nowhere. I forbid anyone from coming back until they had a shred of news. I barged into the study and picked up the decanter of bourbon.
Why had the trail gone cold? Why couldn’t anyone find anything?
The Keeper had given me a sliver of information. It wasn’t much to go on, except now I knew that Litchfield had been planning Cadence’s kidnapping for a long time. They had been waiting for her to get pregnant.
I paced the room, trying to put the timeline together.
When I first met Cadence the activity in Charleston had started spiking again. It had been at an all-time high right before my wedding to Dare.
I made another lap around the room, drinking and thinking.
Their interest in Charleston seemed to die down when the Council had been taken out. Had they been planning this all those months ago when they thought Dare was going to be my wife? I scowled. Good luck trying to take her out. She would have killed them all herself.
I placed my glass on the silver tray. I didn’t think I could stay here. I had to get back out. I had to keep fighting. Keep looking. Keep scouring the city until I held Cadence in my arms again.
I slammed the kitchen door behind me and the hair on my neck stood up. There was a shifter out here somewhere.
And then she walked out from the shadows.
“Hey.” She smiled sadly.
“Kitty?”
“I came to help.” Dare’s boots clicked on the driveway. Her jet black hair fell around her shoulders. Her green panther eyes glimmered in the darkness.
“Bring your sidekick?” That rock on her left hand was big even from where I was standing.
She shook her head. “He offered, but I didn’t think you needed that right now.”
I nodded. Zac was a good guy. I hated his guts, but still a good guy.
“You didn’t have to come.”
She walked toward me. “I did.”
I didn’t know what I would feel when I saw her again. There had been nothing but anger and hurt every time I’d thought about her. That was until I learned how to rebuild my life with my own two hands. Without the influence of the Council. Without magic. Without a woman.
And then I’d met Cadence. And the bitterness I’d had toward Dare had evaporated. I had my mate.
Dare and I had history. That wouldn’t change. I had loved her once. Loved her so fiercely I would have died for her. Loved her enough to defy the Council. Loved her enough to take my soldiers into battle.
She stood in front of me, her eyes filled with sadness.
“What can I do to help? Name it.”
“I got this, kitty. Nice of you to be here, but we’ll find her.”
Dare’s hand landed on my arm. “Let me help. Please, Case. I owe you. We all do.”
She was the strongest leader I’d ever known. She took her girls into battle fearlessly. I was stupid to turn her away. Idiotic to put my pride ahead of Cadence’s life. Nothing mattered more.
“All right. Thank you.”
She exhaled. “I thought I was going to have to kick your ass to let me help. That was too easy.”
I cracked a smile despite the tension I felt. “You can’t kick my ass.”
She shoved me. “Still up for debate.”
“How well do you know Charleston?” I asked.
“I’m pretty much a Sullen’s Grove girl. But I can track anywhere.”
“Bey has been doing a lot of work for Donovan. She’s good.” I walked back into the house. I wanted to give Dare something that was Cadence’s.
“You know she trained with a queen I hear,” she smarted.
“Yeah, I heard.”
It was strange how quickly we fell back into familiar banter.
“Wait here.” I left her at the bottom of the staircase while I jogged to the top level.
Cadence’s suitcase was near the door. I rummaged through and found one of her favorite sweaters. I held it to my nose, inhaling her scent. God, why had I let her get captured?
I bound down the stairs. Dare looked up at me.
“Here.” I handed her the sweater.
It passed between our hands. Her fingers grazed mine. I looked into her eyes and she held my stare.
“I’m so sorry, Case. I know how this feels. But you’re not helpless. You have all of us. The Tribe and the Nox will do everything in our power to find her. I swear.”
“She’s pregnant,” I blurted it out.
“What?”
I sank to the bottom step. “I just found out. She doesn’t know I know. She wanted to tell me, but I was focused on the damn Litchfields.”
Dare sat next to me. “Wow. You’re going to be a father.”
“I am.”
“Congratulations.” She nudged me with her shoulder.
“I can’t find any peace or happiness about it. All I can think about is how I pushed her into the hands of those shifters. They’ve been plotting this for months.” I looked at her. “As far back as when we were in the middle of our wedding.”
“Oh God.”
“Yeah, they want my heir. That’s the end game. I just don’t know why.”
“Well, they aren’t going to get that cub. I swear. I will fight for her. I’ll fight for the baby. I owe you the freedom I have. I owe you for Zac. I won’t let someone steal the happiness you’ve found.”
“For some reason when you say it, I believe it, kitty. I’ve been on the other side of your claws before.”
Her eyes glowed. “Then you know the Litchfields don’t have a chance.”
“That they don’t.”
“I’ll head out now.” She rose from the staircase.
I grabbed her hand. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” She folded Cadence’s sweater against her chest. “I’ll call you.”
I heard her heels clack through the foyer and then she was gone.
14
Cadence
I slept. I actually slept in the huge bed Hayden had deemed mine. I woke up the next morning and for a minute I had forgotten I was a prisoner in this beautiful house. I felt like a guest in a boutique resort and then I stretched out and Case wasn’t next to me.
I popped straight forward and the panic zipped through me. Another day in this house. Another day spent at Hayden’s beck and call.
I slipped from the bed and padded off to the bathroom. Today would be another day of anxiety and questions. Riddles and ultimatums. As I washed my face, I didn’t know if I had the strength to get through it. But I had to.
The alternative meant that Hayden had won. That the Litchfields could dominate the Maddox line. And I couldn’t let that happen.
I had dropped the evening gown on the bathroom floor in defiance last night, but I noticed it was no longer there. Anthony had probably come in while I was sleeping and removed it. It bothered me I didn’t hear him as he came and left the room, but I was living in a house of cat shifters. They were stealthy and silent. I should be used to that by now.
But things weren’t like that at the compound. The Tribe didn’t tiptoe around me. They didn’t sneak in and out of our suite. They didn’t try to hide.
To me they were part of my new family.
A family I missed terribly right now.
I heard the knock in the bedroom.
“You’re expected at breakfast, your majesty.”
I sighed. “All right. I need a few minutes.”
I didn’t know what the day held. I only knew I had to get through it.
I sat across from Hayden, eating a blueberry muffin. He read the paper, looking up now and then to see if I had touched anything on my plate.
He picked up his china coffee cup, took a sip, and returned it to its saucer.
I didn’t know which meal made me more uncomfortable—the ones where his attention was on me, or ones like this when we didn’t speak.
I finished off a bowl of fruit. I didn’t think I could eat anything else. As hungry as I was, the plate of food made my stomach turn.
Hayden glanced at me. “Everything all right, love?”
I nodded. “I think I might go lie down.”
“Not feeling well?”
I didn’t want to discuss it with him. Was it any of his damn business if morning sickness was already starting to hit me? I felt the roll of nausea. Oh God. I didn’t think it should be happening this soon. I was barely pregnant. It had only been days.
And suddenly I realized I knew nothing about what was happening to my body with this cub. Would the pregnancy last nine months? Did I need to eat different foods? What about giving birth? Was that the same?
I wobbled to my feet and grabbed the chair. Hayden was next to me in a burst of speed.
“Let me help you upstairs.”
I looked at him. “Don’t you mean Anthony?” I couldn’t get my feet underneath me. I felt dizzy.
“Cadence?”
He scooped me up, holding me against his chest. “Hold on, love. I’ve got you.”
He marched up the stairs, two at a time until I felt him deposit me on the bed. He returned with a glass of water and sat next to me.
I felt too weak to tell him to leave.
“What else can I get you?” he asked.
“Case,” I whispered.
He pressed his lips together. “What else?”
“The consultant. I need her.”