“I know the name,” he confessed. “I've researched all the Foundation's top supporters. He's clean.”
“He's not,” I assured him.
“What exactly are we talking here?”
I took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy for him to digest. “The Order of the Verndari. Have you ever heard of it before?”
He shook his head no. I hadn't expected he would have. I got up and walked to his desk, taking a piece of paper and a pencil. I sketched a quick replica of the emblem on the rings they all wore and showed it to him.
“Have you ever seen this mark?”
He hesitated before shaking his head yes. I was surprised. Why was he hesitating? He didn't speak, so I continued.
“This is the symbol of the Order of the Verndari. They are a secret society of humans who know all about shifters. They watch us, they supposedly help us, and if the guy who told me all of this at the ball where I was surrounded by dozens of them was telling the truth, then a group within has taken to researching and studying our kind, too. I was warned they are very dangerous.”
“Larry isn't one of them. Patrick, you know he isn't,” Elise said.
“E, he wears their symbol. I think he is.”
“Who's Larry?” I asked.
“Larry, Dave, and Martin are three allies of mine. They are friends. Humans. They give me heads-ups on pack movements. They are the ones that alerted us to the Bulgarian traveling with my brothers during our mating challenge period. Remember?”
I nodded my head. I did. Patrick's asshole of a father actually sent one of Patrick’s own brothers to challenge him for Elise during their mating period. It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever heard of. When a small group arrived with him, a Bulgarian spy had been among them. Westin was at war with the Bulgarians. Kelsey, whose given name had been Elena, was originally from the Bulgarian pack. She was one badass Pack Mother for us, but the Bulgarians were still hellbent on finishing what they had started so long ago. It led to war between the packs. Patrick's father, Alpha of the Irish Clan, had sided with the Bulgarians.
“They also helped me save Elise. They had been monitoring the Bulgarians that kidnapped her last year. That's how we met. I knew they were part of some secret society, and that they have been terrified that their people would find out they broke their law and interacted directly with a shifter. It's apparently part of their greatest code. I didn't know what the faction was called or even how many there are. They refuse to share any details, only information that can help with security of our pack.”
“So this guy just approached you at some party and told you all of this?” Elise questioned in disbelief.
“Jacob sent him.”
“Jacob? Wait, Maddie's Jacob?” Patrick asked, trying to keep up.
“Yes. Jacob and Annie are part of the Order of the Verndari,” I said.
“They never knew about me,” Maddie said. “Apparently when I was attacked, there was a pack of out-of-control tiger shifters doing terrible things to people. Like they did to me, or that's what they assumed. They thought Oscar was half tiger, but never suspected I was wolf.”
“How is that even possible? You lived with these people. They had to have known. You couldn't have just gone all those years without shifting. How did you do it?” E asked skeptically. “´Here, hold my baby. I need to go for a few hours walk in the woods?’”
I glared at my sister.
Maddie shook her head. “I've never shifted, so it's never been an issue.”
Elise's skepticism turned to complete shock.
“I told you, it's complicated,” I said.
By “complicated,” I hadn't meant Oscar. I already loved that kid and as far as I was concerned I'd be the only father he ever knew. I paused for a minute in that thought. Father? I let it hang in the air of recognition. Yes. I already considered him family. My kid. I was a father. The thought gutted and elated me at the same time.
When I had said complicated earlier, though, it wasn't about Oscar, it was about Madelyn. If she truly had no wolf, then how could we possibly complete the bond? Her human teeth wouldn't be sharp enough to pierce my skin in the exchange of blood that came from marking either other and beginning the lifelong bond between mates. I hadn't begun to push the issue because a part of me feared it wasn't physically possible for us. I knew I would still be committed to her and Oscar in the same way for the rest of my life, but I still wanted the full package. I just didn't see how it was ever going to work like a normal mated pair.
I hadn't even noticed that I wasn't the only one who had fallen quiet, lost in my own thoughts, until Patrick cleared his throat. “So, aside from being aware of the Verndari and now knowing the sign they wear that identifies them, what further knowledge do we have from this?”
“Yeah, we've known about them, maybe not their name, but them, for the past year.”
“And you never thought to tell anyone?” I questioned.
“Kyle and Kelsey are aware. We decided it was best not to alarm everyone unnecessarily. If they are truly just observing, and have for thousands of years, what difference does it really make?”
“Not even the council knows?”
Elise and Patrick both shook their heads as I tried to absorb it all. I wasn't sure how I felt about my siblings keeping such a massive thing to themselves. I could sort of understand, I guess. I mean, I had chosen to come straight to Patrick with the information, instead of alerting every packmate I crossed paths with on my return home.
“The way he spoke, and warned me of danger, I can't help but think there's more than just observation going on. He made it sound like there was a divide among his people: those holding to the old ways and watching and helping—he called them the guardians—and those wanting to research us to better humanity with modern technology.”
Elise gasped. “Raina! Patrick, you don't think?”
He shook his head no in reaction, but slowed it to a questioning shrug.
“What about Raina?” I knew she was Kelsey's Bulgarian aunt, and the only Bulgarian allowed in Westin territory.
Patrick filled us in. “Raina was supposed to arrive in time for Zander's birth. Larry warned us a small group of Bulgarian women arrived in San Francisco and were thought to be heading for us, a few months ahead of his due date. Raina was confirmed to be in the group, but they never arrived.”
“Kelsey's been sick with worry. It's been over a year since anyone's heard from her. You don't think?” Elise questioned.
“I don't know, but by the way he spoke, I wouldn't exclude the idea that the Verndari have her.”
Maddie
Chapter 16
I couldn't reconcile what they were saying with the loving parental figures I had lived with for the majority of the last eight years of my life. There was just no way that Jacob and Annie could be involved in something like that. Kidnapping shifters? Experimenting on them for research? That's basically what they were talking about. I tried to contain my fury at the insinuation that my loved ones could be involved in something so sinister.
I knew the moment I could get away, alone, I had to call Jacob and Annie. I had to get to the bottom of this and I couldn't believe hearsay. I needed to hear it from them. I needed them to explain to me what was going on. They had admitted to being guardians, Verndari, but they said they could never hurt our kind, so this didn't make sense.
I sat quietly while Liam finished talking with Patrick. Elise had finally stopped asking a million questions, though I could still see them churning inside her. I had been open and honest with them, even confessing what Oscar most likely was. It had been even easier this time. I didn't cry once. I was becoming numb to telling the story and in a way, that felt good. It wasn't controlling me anymore and made me feel stronger each time I told it.
As the conversation moved into small talk, I reminded Liam that we shouldn't leave Oscar for too long. It wasn't right to just drop my kid off on his mom like that, so we said our goodbyes and headed b
ack to the Alpha house. As we pulled up I was suddenly struck by a thought that hadn't yet hit me.
“Um, Liam,” I said, biting my lower lip, unable to broach the subject without completely embarrassing myself. “What's the plan for tonight?” I finally blurted out.
“What?” He looked confused.
“Oscar and I need a place to sleep tonight.” I tried to sound sensible.
Inside I was a bundle of nerves. Did he expect me to stay with him? Did I want to? What kind of impression would that be for Oscar? Where would Oscar sleep? We had always shared a room. I mean, we didn't have to, there were plenty of other bedrooms in the house, but even when he was still in the nursery, I had slept on the floor beneath his crib. From the second I decided he was mine and I was keeping him, I struggled with being way from him. The guilt of those early days when he first came home and I was terrified, struggling to connect with him, still weighed heavily on me.
“I don't have a place for us yet. I still live at Mom's,” he said apologetically, looking embarrassed. “But there're plenty of rooms there, especially since Kyle and Elise have moved out. Of course, you're welcome to stay in mine,” he said, grinning from ear to ear at the thought and causing me to blush. “But I understand if you're not ready for that yet. Whatever you're comfortable with is fine with me.”
I always knew he was one of the good guys. Not feeling pressured to take things to a level I didn't know if I was ready for meant the world to me. I knew it wasn't because he didn't want me in that way. When we were sitting on the couch upstairs at Elise's and I had touched his leg, he had shifted, and there was no mistaking how badly he wanted me.
“Hey,” he said before getting out of the car. “Why don't we grab Oscar and go for a drive? I'd like to show you something.”
“Okay,” I said, wondering what he was up to.
He didn't get out of the car as I exited and walked up to the house. I turned to question him but he just smiled and waved me on from the driver’s seat. I knocked on the front door. Lily opened it and laughed.
“Girl, you do not need to knock around here. Mi casa es su casa.”
I followed her inside and back to the living room where Oscar was happily playing with the baby and watching cartoons, something I'd rarely ever let him do. He couldn't have been happier.
“Hey, Mommy,” he said with barely a glance.
“Hey, buddy. We're going for a ride around town, want to come?”
“Nah, I'm good.”
I stared at him with the mom face, but it only met the back of his head as he went back to playing. Mary walked in just in time to see the exchange.
“Go on, he's fine,” she encouraged. “Zander is staying the night and I already made up the twin bed in the nursery because they want to room together. I do hope that's okay?” She asked, but I didn't really feel like it was a question.
“Oscar, come here a minute.”
He huffed but obeyed. “You okay sleeping with Zander in the room without me?”
“Mom,” he said incredulously. “I'm seven, I'll be okay. Can I stay or do I have to go with you?”
I smiled and hugged him, kissing the top of his head. “You can stay. Just do me a favor and stop growing up so fast.”
“Never gets any easier with that problem,” Mary assured me. “All you can do is hope and pray that they are truly ready to fly when they leave the coop and that they always know they can come back home.”
Guilt shot through me. I knew she meant me. I would have to face my parents. I nodded and thanked her again for watching him before heading back outside to find Liam still sitting in the car waiting.
“Where's the kid?” he asked. I knew he knew his name, but he had been affectionately calling him “the kid” or “the boy” since he'd met Oscar.
“We've been ditched,” I said sadly.
Liam laughed. “Well, okay. Wanted his opinion too, but guess it'll wait.”
He didn't explain further as he backed up and drove off. We were only on the road for about two miles before he veered off on a side road, followed by a couple more turns. The last one ended in the middle of a large field surrounded by woods. He got out of the car and walked around to lean up against the hood. I joined him.
Liam wrapped his arm around me and leaned in close, practically whispering in my ear and causing the butterflies to take flight in my stomach again. My heart raced from his nearness.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“It's beautiful,” I said, and he smiled happily.
“Okay, now you'll have to use your imagination a little,” he said, pulling out a piece of paper from his back pocket. He released me long enough to unfold it and pass me a hand drawn sketch of a house. Two stories, a large garage, and a big wraparound porch. Off to the side he had even added a swing set. I didn't need to use my imagination to know it would be an amazing house.
He used his left arm to point out exactly where he thought everything should be. “So,” he finally asked. “What do you think?”
“It's gorgeous. Who wouldn't want to live in a place like this? And the lot is so isolated, but only a few miles into town. It's perfect.”
“But would you want to live in it? Is it perfect for you and Oscar,” he asked and I felt his nervousness for the first time, “and me?”
He looked so hopeful and I finally realized what he was asking.
“You want to build this place? Here? For us?” I said “us” so effortlessly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“I don't want us to live with my parents forever. Hell, if I'd known finding my mate would feel like this, I'd have built it a long time ago in preparation of your arrival.”
He was still nervous and I saw the vulnerability in his eyes. He was nervous about me. Somehow that thought breathed new life into me. He wanted me and Oscar in his life. We weren't going to be some obligation to him. He was choosing us. Before I could speak, he was talking again.
“I'm not going to pretend to know everything. I don't know how we will ever be able to fully bond without your wolf, but I don't care.” He was standing in front of me know, his hands on either side of my face, caressing my cheeks. “Maybe our life won't be normal. Maybe our son will be a tiger.” He said “our son” and my heart nearly leapt from my chest. “Those little details don't matter. What I do know with absolutely certainty is that I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Oscar. I want to help erase all the bad you've faced in your life and fill it with nothing but happiness. And the rest doesn't matter. We'll figure out the details as we go along.”
He paused, staring into my soul, making me feel complete and vulnerable at the same time. “Madelyn, I've loved you my entire life, for as long as I can remember. You are my one true mate. So, I'm asking, will you and Oscar move in with me? Build this house together? Share a lifetime here? Stay?”
He was holding his breath, awaiting my answer as I started at him in awe. The only boy I'd ever loved was confessing to loving me. There was no way I could pass up on a lifelong dream in the arms of Liam Westin. I nodded as happy tears fell from my eyes.
He relaxed, looking happier than ever. He kissed me, but it wasn't the passionate kisses we had shared earlier; it was a hopeful kiss filled with love. He picked me up and swung me around. We laughed.
“You've just made me the happiest man alive. Now come on, show me where you want your front door. I plan to have them break ground this week. The sooner the better.”
We ran around hand in hand, dreamed aloud, lay in the grass staring at the sky as the sun started to set and planned for a future together. It was arguably the greatest moment of my life. When I started to yawn and my stomach began to rumble loudly, we decided to head back. Realization struck that we hadn't really eaten all day, and I was suddenly famished.
Liam called his mom to check on Oscar without me even asking him to. It was the little things like that that made him truly exceptional. We swung by a place called The Crate for dinne
r. There were a lot of people there, but few gave me a second glance. We made it through dinner and were waiting on dessert when that started to change.
A tall, dark-haired man with bright-blue eyes approached us. He was strong and handsome, his arms covered in tattoos. I had no doubt many women swooned over this guy, but he didn't hold a candle to Liam for me.
“Liam,” the man said, approaching us and shaking hands with my mate. I held in a giggle, letting it sink in. Yes, he was definitely my mate. All mine.
“Cole. It's good to see you.”
“Thought Patrick said you wouldn't be back till tomorrow.”
“That was the plan, but plans change.” He grinned, reaching across the table and taking my hand. “Cole Anderson, this is Maddie Collier, my mate.”
I blushed, unable to believe he'd just broadcasted it so clearly. A quiet fell across the room as people strained their necks to get a look at me.
“Collier? As in Madelyn Collier? The girl who's been missing for . . .” He seemed to struggle for the timeline.
“Eight years,” I filled in for him.
Whispers started up throughout the room. It wouldn't get any easier trying to hide from it. I was going to have to put my big girl panties on and own it. I could feel my nerves rebelling as I fought back the panic trying to settle inside me. Liam squeezed my hand, helping to ground me and not let me succumb to the darkness threatening to pull me back under.
I liked Cole Anderson immediately, because the next thing out of his mouth wasn't “Where have you been?” or “What happened to you?” No, he turned his attention off me entirely and back on Liam. Clapping him on the shoulder, he said, “You lucky son of a bitch. She looks like a keeper.”
Forever Mine (Westin Pack Book 3) Page 15