His smile was warm, a gesture that she wasn’t used to. She shivered. His nostrils flared and he opened his mouth to say something.
“Ready?” Robert asked as he walked in.
“Ready,” she said.
Her original room was already luxurious and her new digs connected to Roman’s quarters were even nicer. She admired the elaborate tapestries hanging on the wall and lowered herself to sit on the lush rug before the massive bed. Her eyes roved over the decorated ceiling arched high above her. It was a room fit for a queen.
In a way, she was. Or a princess, at least. If Roman was the prince of the Midnight Den, then did that actually make her a princess in their eyes? She stifled a chuckle at the thought of herself with a crown.
As the sun dipped and her room grew dark, she rose from the floor and climbed onto the bed where she snuggled underneath the luxurious comforter. Minutes ticked by as she tossed and turned against the silky sheets. She peeked out from beneath the blanket to stare at the clock beside the bed. An hour had passed. She groaned and collapsed against the pile of pillows behind her. Outside, the soft sound of crickets added to her insomnia.
Finally, she pulled herself out of bed and pulled on the short kimono robe hanging nearby. She tiptoed over to the connecting door to Roman’s room. Her hand hovered above the polished wood, begging her to knock. She thought of him, his handsome sleeping face, and felt a wave of guilt. How could she wake him up just because she couldn’t sleep?
Swish!
The door opened suddenly. She tightened the robe around her with a sudden gasp. To her surprise, he was leaning casually against the frame in a second.
“When you can’t sleep well, it affects me too,” he informed her with an amused smirk. She blushed as he walked inside and beckoned for her to follow. He climbed into his own bed and patted the space beside him.
She gave him a pointed look. His smirk grew more wicked.
“You don’t want to officially validate the marriage, Princess?” he asked in a sly tone. Her cheeks burned.
“I’ll ignore that,” she said softly and went to the opposite side of the bed, sitting the farthest that she could away from him. He chuckled darkly. “So, it’s not just me. You can feel what I feel?”
“Somewhat,” he said with a shrug. “It’s different for everyone. If you’re not compatible with someone then you’ll have a very hard time reading them.”
But, he seemed to have no trouble reading her. She tried to steady her nerves, worried that he might be able to feel it.
“Have you always been…like this, a shifter?” she asked.
“Since I can remember,” he answered. “The women in my family can be affected too. My mother wasn’t, but she’d grown up around bear magic.”
“You mentioned your mother earlier,” she said while lacing her fingers together anxiously. She still hadn’t told him about finding the symbol in his mother’s note. He only thought his mother was connected because she’d brought the statue with the symbol into the house.
“She was amazing,” he said with a dazed look. “She passed away when I was young, but I can remember that she often studied different types of magic. Of course her specialty was bear lore, but she was familiar with other supernatural groups. I should’ve suspected that she was the one who hid the document.”
Her heart throbbed as his eyes clouded with painful recollection. She couldn’t imagine losing her mother that young, even if the woman did drive her insane sometimes. He was without a mother, his father dying from something he can’t stop, and an impossible quest.
“I’m so sorry, Roman.”
He shook his head and emitted a half-hearted laugh.
“Don’t be,” he rasped. “You should be glad that she didn’t have to watch her son grow up into a bastard.”
“Don’t say that,” she cried.
“Fine,” he said with a playful roll of his eyes. “You know, she always mentioned that she’d wanted to leave me rare treasures. I never gave it much thought. She always said she wanted to me to have a wonderful wife, as well.”
“My mom doesn’t stop talking about marriage. If she heard what happened today, she’d freak out,” she said and they laughed together.
“How did your mother meet your father?” she asked after a few moments.
His face broke into another one of those half-smiles she was quickly growing fond of.
“She was working intelligence for the government. They placed her with the Midnight Den due to her unique scholarly specialty,” he answered and she didn’t miss the distant gleam in his eyes.
“Wow,” she muttered, truly impressed. “She must’ve been brilliant.”
“She was,” he added. “Definitely brilliant enough to hide all of the rare magical documents she could get her hands on. She could’ve never guessed that we would need the wolf magic for good.”
“Roman, I have a confession to make.”
Then she told him everything about her excursion into his private library and eavesdropping on him and his mystery conversation.
By the time she was down to her fortieth apology, he was almost laughing.
“So, what? You looked at my books. I bit you,” he countered. “I still think you’re in the clear. Man, I’d forgotten all about that note. It was a gift from when I was young, too young to be interested in books, or even read anything that complex. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d had that statue bewitched to prompt me to mate as soon as possible.”
Could he really chalk everything that had happened up to the magic?
Suddenly, he looked over at her and she stifled a gasp when she realized that she’d voiced her thought out loud. He gave her a wicked grin and then winked.
“Magic works in funny ways.”
Silence fell over them. Pushing his comment to the side, she was determined to focus on serious matters. She felt a rush of hope as her mind began working on everything they knew. His hair fell into his face as he looked over to the clock across the room. It was getting late. She should go back to bed, but her legs couldn’t seem to move. Her skin tingled as she realized that she was sitting on his bed. If she leaned over, she could brush against him. Heat rose to her cheeks.
His deep chuckle interrupted her thoughts. She sucked in a sharp breath when his hand reached over to her own.
“Josephine,” he told her with steady eyes. His cheeky expression turned her into jelly. “I can feel that.”
“Feel what?” she asked, feigning ignorance. Her heart beat wildly.
“I can feel your desire,” he whispered hoarsely as he leaned towards her. She shivered as his breath brushed her neck. “May I see it?” His fingers brushed the bandage.
She nodded timidly. He pulled the bandage back and whistled lowly.
“I know I’ve said it,” he told her while shooting her a look. “But, I’m still sorry.”
“I know you didn’t mean it,” she said. When his hand brushed around the wound, it sent sparks of pleasure through her. She jumped. “What was that?”
“A mate’s touch is a natural anesthetic,” he said with a grin. “It should be fully healed by morning. Of course, there are other ways to speed up the process.”
She raised one eyebrow. “And that is…?”
His grin turned naughty. She rolled her eyes, but they laughed again. Somehow, the serious situation felt lighter.
“I should get to bed,” she said when the clock chimed to signal a new hour. He followed her to the open connecting door. Before she could walk through, his hand gently grabbed her arm. She gasped as he pulled her towards him.
“Josephine, I know this isn’t ideal,” he said in a rumbling voice. She shivered as she felt the vibrations from his chest. “If you need anything, please let me know.”
A sudden rush of bravery ran through her. “Answer me. Why did you kiss me?”
His eyes glittered. “I kissed you because I wanted to. I had to. Your entire scent pulled me in.”
She held her br
eath. No boyfriend, no lover, no man had ever told her anything like that. It made her feel gorgeous. She felt like a treasure, even if it was only temporary.
“A goodnight kiss,” she told him. “That’s what I want.”
His breathing grew heavier as he leaned down. “Are you sure?”
“You’ve kissed me twice,” she told him. “That seems a bit unfair.”
“I’ve never been known to deny a woman,” he confided. She closed her eyes as he leaned down. When she felt his lips brush hers, the wound sent a wave of ecstasy through her. She gasped in pleasure. That’s was all he needed to press her up against the wall.
His lips were fiery against her. She groaned against him as her core brushed up against his hardened member. His fingers played with the edge of her robe that barely brushed her mid-thigh. Her heart jumped as his hands slipped underneath the silky fabric and began toying with the lace panties she wore.
A sudden sound broke their heated embrace. They ripped away from each other with clouded looks. The sound continued.
“Fuck, my phone,” he said with a growl.
She stifled an embarrassed squeak. “I’ll head off to bed.”
Before he could say anything else, she was in her own room. She dove underneath the covers with a flustered groan. Three times, she’d fallen for the charms of Roman, and there was no end in sight.
The bite throbbed as she fell into sleep. On the other side of the door, she felt he was in distress. Was it from the call? She fell into an exhausted, restless slumber as her thoughts tumbled around her.
Chapter 9
“My father doesn’t have as long as we thought,” Roman announced darkly as he strode into the dining room the next morning. Robert and Josephine were the only ones gathered for breakfast. She felt her stomach knot as Robert began asking for instructions.
Roman pulled a chair out for himself and plopped down into it. He pinched the bridge of his nose and pressed his eyes together as if lost in a jumble of chaotic thoughts.
“Josephine and I will research the symbol while you, Robert, check in on my father,” he announced and then turned bloodshot eyes on Josephine. “He’s in a secret clinic with a military doctor who has a certain discretion concerning our kind.”
Robert nodded and headed off, pulling out his cellphone to bark some commands to someone. She watched as Roman’s gaze bore into hers and felt the tension rise between them.
“I think I know where the other symbol is,” he said with a sigh. “Back at the main house, my mother’s private wing was roped off after she passed. I believe the statue we found last night is part of a pair. There’s the woman, a symbol representing the mate, and a bear. If I’ve remembered correctly, it’s in her bedroom.”
Josephine rose from the dining table and offered a small smile.
“I’ll go get my bag,”
Roman simply nodded.
The car ride was silent. Even Leo seemed out of his usual humor as he kept his gaze solely on the road. Only when Roman asked him to take shortcuts did he answer with a short agreement.
She simmered with worry in the seat beside Roman as they drove. Would they actually find the statue that he was desperately searching for?
Josephine found Roman’s father’s insistence that his wife’s quarters, at the townhome, country home and the main house, be closed off, oddly romantic. It was as if he’d wanted to preserve any and all remnants of her presence for eternity.
She also worried about their upcoming search. Chances were good that nothing had been moved or touched, but they couldn’t be certain until they got there. They had no idea what was in his mother’s wing or if the statue truly did bear the mark as Roman recalled.
Barely an hour later, they found themselves batting away cobwebs as they made their way to his mother’s room. Josephine watched Roman’s broad shoulders as he led them down long passageways. She split her focus between his muscular backside and the sheer size of the house.
Finally, they came upon a magnificent set of towering French doors. The crimson paint covering the fancy panels peeled in the corners, but it was clear that this had been a queen’s domain.
Roman paused with his hands resting on the doorknobs of two large oak doors. She glanced at him and quickly noted the heavy look marring his face.
“We’ll find it,” she told him. “Even if it isn’t in there.”
It had to be, she reassured herself. Roman’s father didn’t have much time.
She placed her hand over one of his and together they opened the doors.
A rush of dust and stale air greeted them, but Roman pushed through without noticing. The statue was there, just as Roman remembered; standing proudly in the far corner.
Extending his hand, he approached the enormous bear and Josephine’s eyes zeroed in on the same crescent moon symbol they’d found on the statue back at the country home. She smiled as she realized that Roman’s mother had left such a clear trail of clues.
When Roman’s hand came in contact with the statue, a secret panel slid open just to the right of the sculpture. The panel had concealed a passage way that lead to a rather large collection of bookshelves.
Like Roman’s private study at the country home, his mother had stashed away an extensive library that they soon discovered contained rare magical tomes and documents.
Together, they began searching and it wasn’t long before they found the scroll they’d been looking for.
Josephine knew the moment she laid her hand on it that it was the one. Warmth blossomed in her fingers and quickly spread to envelope the majority of her body.
“You found it,” Roman breathed in awe. Tearing her eyes from the brittle document, she found his and smiled.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“We get that to the doctor as quickly as possible,” Roman answered and took Josephine by the arm.
They rushed back through the labyrinth of hallways and corridors and then outside to where Leo still had the town car waiting.
“Get us to my father,” Roman barked and Leo wasted no time in getting them on their way.
Josephine tucked the scroll into her messenger bag. The historian in her wanted to take the document and study it inside and out, but she repressed the urge. Maybe after they used it to save Roman’s father, he would allow her to continue her research and study the Den.
Then again, she was officially a part of it now, it wouldn’t be much of a hardship to embrace her new lease on life and stay on with Roman as his mate.
Inhaling sharply at her sudden self-revelation, Josephine missed the way Roman’s entire body tensed, and suddenly she found herself sprawled on asphalt, pain slicing through every atom.
“Josephine,” Roman frantically called for her from somewhere in the distance. She heard what sounded like gunshots and then a bear’s angry roar. Panic filled her chest and she tried to catch her breath in order to call back to him. She didn’t know whether the emotions rolling around inside of her were her own or her mate’s. But before she could so much as move, her world went black.
***
She came to, and her body instantly tuned into her surroundings. She was somewhere underground, blindfolded with hands and feet tied together. The drip, drip, drip of water echoed throughout the room and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t determine where she was other than a large, dank, moldy space.
She moved her bound hands around behind her back and determined that she sat upon some sort of concrete. The sound of traffic was present, if a bit muted. So, she felt she was still in the city, but where exactly, she couldn’t tell.
Panic seized her chest and her breath wheezed in and out in small, panting gasps.
“Roman,” she called and coughed when her voice came out raspy and hoarse. A light, shimmering weight dusted across the skin of her bare arms and she suddenly felt Roman’s presence.
“Where are you?” she asked softly and waited for him to respond.
“He isn’t here, Princess,”
an unfamiliar voice announced and she jerked her head blindly to her left. A low, guttural growl rumbled from the area.
“Where is he?” she demanded. “Where am I? Who are you? What do you want?”
A chuckle wafted into her face, its malevolence echoing in the space surrounding them.
“One problem at a time, eh?” the voice mocked.
“Don’t say a word, Marty,” another voice broke in. “We’re only supposed to hold her until Rafe gets here.”
“Shut up,” Marty growled. “Rafe isn’t here yet so I’m still the one in charge.”
“What does this Rafe want with me?” Josephine asked. She basically understood the fact that she’d been kidnapped because of her association with Roman, now she wanted to know who they were and what, exactly, they wanted.
“Curious little girl, aren’t you?” Marty spoke directly into her ear and she jerked her head aside to keep him from touching her. She felt Roman’s rage and wished she could convey her thoughts to him as easily as he received hers.
Suddenly howls, whistles and barks heralded the arrival of others, but what frightened Josephine most was the fact that they didn’t sound human. It was then she understood the trouble she faced.
“Wolves,” she murmured. “You’re the werewolves that Roman mentioned.”
“Very intuitive, Princess,” a third voice praised. “Take her blindfold off Marty.”
Once the mask was removed from her eyes, Josephine slowly opened them and inhaled sharply when she saw the sheer size of the group of men surrounding her.
Although their bodies weren’t as large as the bears, these men were still massive. Sinewy muscle and unusually long limbs replaced the bears’ hulking frames. Letting her eyes adjust to the lingering shadows, she realized they were in an abandoned, underground parking garage.
The wolves all looked unkempt and dirty, much like the city’s homeless population appeared. She remembered how Robert had explained the wolves and their chosen targets of homeless and degenerates.
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