So I set my phone to the side. After all, I had a date to get ready for.
And alone time with Sage Montgomery would be the perfect opportunity to talk with her and determine who to believe in this situation—Sage, or Flint.
I knew which one of them I wanted to trust.
Now, all I could do was hope she proved me right.
14
Sage
After Thomas had left to talk with Raven, I’d told Noah that I didn’t have to get ready for the date yet. I’d sit with him and wait to make sure Raven was okay.
He’d insisted I go ahead and get ready. Apparently he wanted the time alone to think and to prepare for telling Raven about their imprint bond. I also needed time to think—being around Thomas had affected me in ways I was hoping it wouldn’t—so I was happy to take some much needed alone time.
I knew the way to the second bedroom. I knew my way around the entire Bettencourt hotel.
Growing up, Flint had sent me to Chicago for a few weeks each summer to solidify our alliance with the Bettencourt coven. In return, Thomas had sent his most cherished vampire—a cousin he’d found and turned—to stay in the Montgomery compound. It was abnormal for vampires and shifters to work together, so this was an exercise in trust to show we had faith in our alliance. By the leader of each group sending their closest family member to the other’s territory for a few weeks each summer, it showed that we trusted that the Montgomerys and the Bettencourts would always keep one another safe.
Thomas’s idea, of course.
I’d started coming here when I was twelve. At first, I’d stayed in a private guest suite. Those initial summers had been lonely, since the Bettencourt vampires weren’t particularly interested in spending time with a twelve year old. So I was constantly exploring the hotel and getting into all kinds of trouble.
The other vampires had scolded me, but Thomas always seemed amused by my antics. He also always made sure I had enough games, movies, books, and such to keep me entertained. He’d even set aside nights to take me out of the city so I could change into my wolf form and run.
Our relationship wasn’t romantic when I’d been so young, but I’d had a crush on him and knew I trusted him. I think that time he spent with me when I was young allowed him to feel freer than he allowed himself to be when he was at the Bettencourt, responsible for the safety of his entire coven.
We started dating the summer when I was sixteen. I’d gotten a car a few months earlier, and that had been the start of my “rebellious phase,” as Flint liked to call it. Honestly, I don’t think that phase ever ended, but whatever.
The moment I’d arrived at the Bettencourt that summer, Thomas had looked at me differently.
He’d looked at me the way a man looks at a woman he’s attracted to, instead of like a kid he has to take care of.
The tension between us grew like a wildfire. The first night he took me out to run that summer, I was quick to kiss him and show him that his feelings were returned.
In that instant, everything between us clicked. Like we were meant to be.
After that night, I switched from staying in the guest suite to staying in the second bedroom in his penthouse.
He didn’t allow me to stay with him in his room until I was eighteen. Because of that, much of the time that I’d spent in the Bettencourt had been in the bedroom I was heading to now.
The room was exactly as I remembered it. Furniture in shades of gray, an upholstered bed that I knew was heavenly to sleep in, mirrored nightstand and lamps, and a crystal chandelier fit for a princess. Normally, the curtains were open to a spectacular view of the city, but like all the shades throughout the penthouse right now, they were currently closed.
The remote to control the curtains was inside the top drawer of the nightstand closest to the window, exactly as I remembered. But when I pressed the button to open them, they remained closed.
Someone who didn’t know Thomas might have chalked it up to faulty technology. But I knew him, and I knew that the remote didn’t work because he either didn’t want us seeing outside, or he didn’t want to risk anyone outside seeing in. I suspected the latter. I tossed the control back into the drawer, knowing it wouldn’t work until Thomas deemed it safe to open the curtains.
Then I took my time in the luxurious shower, cleaning off all the dirt and grime from fighting that red-eyed wolf shifter in the alley in Nashville. I still had no idea what that creature was. I should have been thinking about it—trying to figure out why a shifter had the red eyes of a demon.
Instead, all I could think about was Thomas.
Being in this room where I’d spent time with him brought back memories I wished would remain buried. Now, as I scrubbed myself clean, all the memories came to the surface again.
Especially one in particular, from the final night I spent here during the summer when I was sixteen.
I was zipping up my final suitcase, preparing to head back to LA in the morning. As much as I hated it, I cried the entire time I’d packed. I hated seeing my stuff all packed up—I hated knowing that soon, this incredible summer with Thomas would only be a memory.
Suddenly, the door opened. Thomas. His jacket and tie were off, and the sleeves of his button-down top were pushed up to his elbows. He watched me with tortured sadness—like he was seeing me for the last time.
He’d been looking at me like that a lot the past few days. Like I was going away and never coming back.
“You’re crying.” He tilted his head, watching me in that curious way of his—like he was studying me and trying to figure out how my emotions worked. He always ended up asking. I wasn’t one of his machines or political alliances, and I apparently surprised him more than he liked to admit. “Why?”
“I don’t want to leave here.” I wiped a tear from my eyes and forced a smile, despite feeling as far from happy as ever. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I don’t want you to leave, either.” He took a few steps forward and stopped, looking like he wasn’t sure if he should come closer or keep his distance. “I’d keep you here—with me—if I could.”
I smirked, a crazy idea popping into my mind. Instead of saying it immediately, I rushed over to Thomas and wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his lips down to mine.
He didn’t fight me. He never did.
I deepened the kiss and pushed my body against his, smiling when he let out a tortured groan. Thomas was always so calm and in control—I loved being the only one who could get him to let down his guard.
I eventually broke the kiss and smiled in mischief. “You’re the leader of the Bettencourt coven,” I said, my gaze locked on his. “You can do anything you want.”
“Not anything,” he said reluctantly. “I love you Sage, but if your brother knew about what happened between the two of us this summer…” He let the thought hang, although I was barely focused on what he was saying anymore. “I don’t think he’d ever let you leave the Montgomery compound again. He certainly wouldn’t let you anywhere near me.”
“You love me?” I stared up at him as I waited for him to confirm that he meant it—that I wasn’t just hearing what I’d been hoping he would say for weeks. Years, if I was being honest with myself.
“Of course I love you,” he said. “I loved you since the first summer I took care of you, but this summer, that love changed. It grew. I’m in love with you, Sage Montgomery. You’re the most fascinating, beautiful, infuriating woman I know, and I’m so madly in love with you that I can’t think straight anymore. It’s driving me crazy. Before this ends—before you leave here—I needed you to know that.”
“Who said anything about this ending?” My heart dropped at the thought of it. He couldn’t say something so amazing and then imply we were over. It didn’t make any sense.
“I know how shifter biology works.” He pulled away, his eyes flashing with pain. “You’re going to be back home, among others of your kind, for months. If you imprint on any of them while you�
�re there, I won’t blame you for choosing your potential mate over me. Your happiness is more important to me than anything. I’d want you to choose him over me.”
“Never,” I said stubbornly. “Since you know how shifter biology works, then you know I have to kiss another shifter to imprint on them. Which isn’t going to happen. Because I love you too, Thomas Bettencourt. And the only lips I want to kiss are yours.”
I shut off the water in the shower, the memory feeling like it had just happened yesterday. Right after telling him I loved him, I’d pulled him to me again. That kiss hadn’t ended nearly as quickly as the previous one.
The Thomas from all those years ago was so different from the cold, hardened man I saw today.
A huge part of me wanted to run up to him like I had back then and kiss him with that same wild abandonment—like I was young, in love, and without a care in the world. I wanted to break down his walls in the way he’d once told me only I was able to do.
I wanted to go back to the time before he’d ruined everything.
But I couldn’t. Because if he’d truly loved me as much as he’d claimed, he wouldn’t have broken our engagement. He wouldn’t have gone years without contacting me—as if I never mattered to him at all.
I’d just been a game to him. Another one of his machines to study, play with, and master.
Once I’d said yes to his proposal, he’d tossed me aside like a piece of old technology.
And nothing he might say to me on this date could ever make me forget that.
15
Sage
The closet was filled with women’s clothing, and the bathroom stocked with hair supplies and makeup.
Why did Thomas have all that stuff in his penthouse?
Jealously burned at the pit of my stomach at the thought of another woman here, in the room that had been mine. Obviously I knew Thomas was likely seeing people after breaking our engagement, but actually seeing evidence of it hurt more than I cared to admit.
He had another woman living with him, and here I was—a defected shifter who had yet to imprint on anyone. I felt like such a loser. This all would have been so much easier if I’d come to him for help and had a sexy shifter mate by my side who I was hopelessly in love with. But no. I was forever cursed to be alone.
But I refused to let Thomas get to me. I was here for Raven—not for me. I’d agreed to this date for Raven.
Plus, just because I’d agreed to go on a date with him didn’t mean I had to dress like I cared what happened on the date. Especially considering that Thomas had a woman living in this room, which meant he shouldn’t be going on a date with his ex-fiancée at all.
This was messed up on so many levels.
I browsed through the clothes in the closet, determined to find the most casual outfit possible. All of the clothes were in my style, which definitely weirded me out a bit. Apparently, Thomas had a type.
I considered putting on the same clothes I wore when I got here, but they were dirty and smelly. While that would get across the message that this date meant nothing to me, I’d just gotten out of the shower, and the prospect of putting my dirty clothes on again wasn’t appealing at all.
Proving a point didn’t mean I had to be gross.
So I put on the most casual clothes I found amongst all the dresses and fancy tops—jeans and a black tank.
I wasn’t going to put on any makeup, since if I did, it would look like I cared. But the circles under my eyes were atrocious, so I dabbed some concealer on them. The purpose of concealer was to look natural, and guys didn’t know enough about makeup to realize I was wearing it, anyway.
All the makeup in the drawer was unused. And the concealer matched my skin tone perfectly.
Strange.
I threw my wet hair up into a ponytail—the least sexy thing I could think to do with it. Nothing said, “I don’t care if you think I look hot or not” like a wet, messy ponytail.
I gave myself a once-over in the mirror. I looked ready for a girls’ night in. Perfect.
I opened the door to return to the living room. But Thomas was already standing outside, preparing to knock.
His eyes widened, and he took a step back. “Sage.” He straightened and cleared his throat. “I was just coming by to see if you were ready to leave.”
If he thought I didn’t look ready, he said nothing.
Ugh. So frustrating.
Even more frustrating was that he was dressed casually—for him—too. Slacks and a white button down top.
He knew I thought he looked hot in white button down tops.
What kind of game was he trying to play with me?
“I’m ready.” I marched past him, refusing to let him take the lead—and not wanting him to see the effect he had on me. “Let’s get this over with.”
16
Sage
Thomas led me up to the roof of the Bettencourt, where a helicopter waited for us.
“Always such a show off.” I glared at the helicopter and rolled my eyes.
The light in his eyes dimmed, like my reaction had been a punch in the gut. Good. “You love the helicopter,” he said.
That was back when I loved you.
The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t say them. I couldn’t bring up my feelings for him. If I did, I didn’t trust myself not to burst into tears.
“That was a long time ago,” I said instead.
“Something happened between then and now that caused this intense aversion to helicopters?” he teased.
This time I glared at him—not at the helicopter. He had no right to act casual and friendly after what he did to me. And if he thought I was going to go along with it, he was terribly mistaken.
“Cut the crap,” I said. “I agreed to go on this date with you, but I didn’t agree to forgive you. Pretending like everything’s fine between us isn’t going to make what you did to me go away.”
A myriad of emotions crossed his face. He eventually settled on his typical detached look. “Noted.” He walked over to the helicopter and held the door open for me. All traces of friendliness were gone from his tone. “Hurry up inside, then. The sooner you get in, the faster we can get this over with.”
The helicopter ride passed in silence. Thomas piloted, and I gazed out the windows, watching as the city skyscrapers gave way to suburbs, and eventually gave way to nothing. It took everything in me not to press my hands against the windows and stare out in awe like I did when I was sixteen.
Eventually, Thomas made a sharp turn, and we headed over Lake Michigan.
I sat back and swallowed, knowing exactly where we were going.
The private island Thomas owned and had taken me to many times during my summers here.
When I was twelve, he’d taken me there to prove he owned an island. Twelve-year-old me had been extremely impressed. I’d thought he was a king, and that the island was a magical land where anything could happen, like the ones from storybooks.
When I was sixteen, he’d taken me there so I could shift into my wolf form and run freely through the woods. We’d kissed for the first time on that island.
When I was seventeen, he’d taken me there and we’d sat out on the beach talking for hours. We’d fantasized about living there, just the two of us together, with no one else in the world to bother us. I’d even planned out our perfect dream house, complete with a dock and a boat.
When I was eighteen, he’d taken me there, gotten on one knee, and asked me to marry him. That had been the happiest moment of my life.
It still was the happiest moment of my life, if I was being honest with myself.
How pathetic was I, that my happiest moment was when the man who had broken my heart had proposed to me years ago?
The island came into sight, and I saw lights on it. Those were new. Despite owning the island, Thomas had never built anything on it. He’d left it natural and wild—his own personal escape from the busy world he lived in.
As we got close
r, the thing he’d built on the island came into view.
It was a house. And it wasn’t just any house. It was a beautiful castle-like home with a dock leading out to a boat on the lake.
It was the house from my dreams. From our dreams.
He landed us in the yard, and I stared out at the house as he powered the helicopter off.
“You built it,” I said once the helicopter went silent. “The house we talked about that summer. You built it.”
I couldn’t believe it. This felt like a dream—not like real life.
“I did,” he said.
I turned toward him, tears brimming my eyes. “Why?”
“It was going to be an engagement present.” He looked out to the house, staring at it with wistfulness and longing.
Like he was longing for something he’d never have.
I touched the finger on my left hand, as if imagining the ring I’d once wore was still there. None of this made any sense. Why would he build our dream house and plan on giving it to me as an engagement present if he didn’t want to marry me? Why was he bringing me here now? And why did he look just as heartbroken as I felt?
It was too much at once. I needed air.
I opened the door of the helicopter and jumped out of it, walking toward the house. I heard Thomas do the same, and he followed behind me.
Eventually I stopped in front of the sidewalk and stared up at the house. It was exactly what we’d planned, down to the turret with a tower that looked out toward the lake.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Thomas said from next to me. “Not knowing is killing me.”
The Angel Trials- The Complete Series Page 36