“Dinner will be in an hour,” Benedict told us.
Jasper had his arm around my waist, and he turned to me. “Actually, I don’t think we’ll be joining you,” he said.
I looked up at him, confused. “We aren’t?”
“I thought perhaps we’d go out into the village for our own meal,” he said.
I beamed. “That would be wonderful.”
Bridget and I went upstairs. I came and got Lowell from Ingrid and fed him. Bridget played with the baby while I freshened up. Annabelle came in with us and held him while Bridget helped me get changed for dinner. We selected a navy blue evening gown that I could wear with my sapphire jewels. Jasper had given me the set, and I adored it. Once I was dressed and my hair redone, Bridget added just a hint of cosmetics to my face to brighten it.
“You look lovely,” she said.
Jasper knocked on my door, and together we handed Lowell off to Annabelle. She’d spend some time with him and her son, then when it was time for Daniel to go to bed, she’d hand him off to Ingrid until we got back.
Benedict had summoned a carriage for us, and we wrapped ourselves in our coats before stepping out the door. It was a little bit of a journey to get into town, but it was worth it. The town was beautiful, with small shops lining the snow–dusted cobblestone streets.
We pulled up outside a small restaurant. The room wasn’t busy, but we attracted looks. While I’m sure the villagers were used to the wolves, they probably didn’t get many outsiders.
“Duke Wolfric, please, come this way,” said a man who held menus. He walked us back to a candlelit table in the back corner. It was small and intimate, just what I wanted.
“You did fantastic today, Christine,” Jasper told me.
I flushed. “Thank you.”
“I’m only telling the truth,” he said. “I’ve never seen Seth flustered like that. My testimony yesterday wasn’t even close to knocking him down.”
I grinned, and Jasper leaned close to me, his breath hot on my ear. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been more attracted to you.”
Heat ran through my body, settling between my legs. I swallowed, wondering how long it would take us to eat and get back to the castle.
“What are you going to eat?” I asked Jasper, trying to remain collected and changing the subject.
“Get anything but the lutefisk.”
“What’s lutefisk?”
He shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”
I settled for meatballs instead, and they were amazing. I was excited to be trying foreign food for the first time, even if it wasn’t as exotic as Latin American cuisine.
It felt like we couldn’t eat or get our bill fast enough. We kept our hands to ourselves, staying proper throughout the entire meal, but once we got into the carriage, it was a different story.
Jasper’s lips crashed onto mine, and I felt heat again run through my veins. He kept his hand at the back of my head, strong but not painful, holding me close to him. We melded together as I pulled him on top of me on the velvet seat. His body was hot against my skin, his chest hard above me as I pressed myself to him. Supporting himself with one arm, the other hand slid up my legs, tracing small patterns until he reached my pleasure spot. I moaned, panting as he touched me, trying to reach my arm out to stroke him, but I was pinned.
“Oh God, Jasper,” I moaned as he slipped one finger, then a second inside of me.
I spread my legs as far as I could on the narrow bench to make room for his long, rough fingers. As he pleasured me, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close to me as possible through all our layers of clothes. Our breathing was heavy, fogging up the windows in the carriage. I didn’t care. Let passersby think what they wanted. I was in the throes of pleasure, and nothing was going to stop me.
Nothing except arriving at the castle, that was. As soon as we came to a stop Jasper pulled his fingers out of me and grabbed my hand. The two of us rushed inside the castle like newlyweds, up the stairs, and into my chambers.
After ensuring the door was shut tightly, we stumbled across the room, unable to keep our hands off each other. We shed our coats, tossing them unceremoniously on the floor. Standing in front of the fire, our kisses slowed from frenzied to passionate.
Jasper carefully undid each button on my dress, teasing me as he worked his way down my chest. I threw my head back, letting myself surrender to the pleasure. My dress fell to the floor in a heap and I kicked it away. Our lips met again and I reached up, pushing his suit coat off his shoulders. I pulled the hem of his shirt from his trousers and slid my cold hands up his solid chest, fingers running over each and every muscle. Without looking I unfastened the buttons, and Jasper let his shirt fall off his arms. My silk slip pressed against his bare chest, and Jasper grabbed hold of the slip and pulled it over my head. I molded my naked body against his, my cold skin taking in the warmth from Jasper’s body and the fire.
I twisted my hands behind my neck and started unlatching my necklace, but Jasper stopped me. “Keep it on,” he whispered.
I reached down and stroked him through his trousers, and he emitted a growl from the back of his throat. With a flick of my wrist I had him unbuttoned. I hooked my fingers on his waistband and pulled so he was standing naked with me.
Jasper lifted me up, my tiny body in his strong arms, and laid me down on the bed. Before I could protest or formulate words, he was kneeling between my legs. He licked me from slit to clit, and my body spasmed at the sensation. He slipped a finger in me, stroking me from the inside, as he sucked my pearl of pleasure. I was so close to the edge when he stopped and climbed on top of me. His lips met mine in a heated kiss. He gave me a meaningful look and I nodded. In one quick thrust, he was inside me, filling me.
My nails curled into his shoulder as he slid in and out of me. His thrusts were slow and deep, hitting my most vulnerable place.
“Faster,” I murmured. “Oh God, Jasper, faster.”
He obliged, picking up speed, his muscles bulging as he worked. My muscles began to clench around him, and I cried out. My bliss crashed over me, and Jasper’s followed, as he bit his lip and twisted his face into pure ecstasy.
After we’d both had a chance to catch our breath, Jasper rolled off of me, his seed spilling from inside me. I was thankful my cycle hadn’t started back up yet; I wasn’t ready for another baby. Still, I didn’t mind Jasper’s closeness as flesh slid against flesh.
Once my heart rate had slowed a bit, I pulled myself off the bed and pulled on a nightgown. The satin was soft and luxurious against my skin, and I let my hair down. I was sitting on the bed, running a brush through my hair as it fell against my shoulders.
That’s when we heard it.
A scream rang out through the castle. The brush tumbled from my hand and Jasper bolted up in the bed. The scream was accompanied by several loud crashes. Together, Jasper and I raced to the door. He was still shirtless and I was only in a negligee, but we weren’t thinking about that. We rushed into the hallway, where tapestries were knocked to the ground and vases were in pieces. That wasn’t even the scariest thing. The scariest thing was the open doorway several feet down.
The Wentzes’ door.
We raced down the hallway, ignoring the shards of pottery littering the floor. When we made it into the room, my heart sank. Alice was screaming in the corner, tears running down her face. Ingrid was lying on the floor, a puddle of blood pooling beneath her. There was no sign of Lowell.
Jasper knelt down next to Ingrid and I scooped Alice up in my arms as the others rushed in. Conor and Dr. Brighton rolled Ingrid over.
“She has a pulse,” Conor said.
Ingrid’s eyes fluttered open as blood spilled from her mouth.
“He’s free,” she choked out. “He’s free, and he has the baby.”
Chapter Twenty–Five
As the world deteriorated into chaos around me, I sank to the floor. My legs couldn’t hold me any longer. I was paralyzed with t
error, my heart pounding and my breath coming in short gasps. I still held Alice in my arms, but she struggled free and crawled to her mother. I couldn’t chase after her.
Annabelle scooped her up and pulled her away as the doctors examined Ingrid. A few moments later Christoph entered the room and raced to his wife’s side. Assured that the other doctors were doing all they could, he took Alice from Annabelle and sat down, watching the doctors’ every move.
Jasper’s face had lost all color. Upon Ingrid’s revelation he had stumbled backward, and now sat numbly next to me. Neither of us knew what to do, but we had to do something; our baby was in danger. Seth had him, and he could be dead by now. This very thought sent panic through my heart.
I couldn’t breathe.
Between the two of us, Jasper broke his shock first. He moved to Ingrid’s side, trying to keep her conscious as the men examined the wound on her abdomen.
“Where, Ingrid?” he asked, his voice rising in pitch. “Where did he take him?”
“Jasper,” Conor said, voice full of warning. Ingrid could scarcely talk.
“Don’t know,” she choked out before closing her eyes. Her chest still moved as Conor stitched her up.
Jasper leapt to his feet and was out of the room in a blink of an eye. Seth had a head start on us, and we weren’t sure how much it was. Ingrid was in no condition to give us any other information, and so he’d be forced to guess as he tried to track the two down.
Now free of Alice, Annabelle rushed to my side, pulling me close to her, murmuring in my ear, stroking my hair, anything she thought she could do to calm me. I think she was surprised that I wasn’t crying or screaming, but I was simply numb. I couldn’t wrap my head around what had just happened. Just a few minutes ago I had been lying in bed, basking in pure bliss, and now my life had been completely upended again, by Seth.
The men finished their work on Ingrid and carefully picked her up, moving her to the bed. They pulled Christoph aside and discussed her injuries. Her wounds should heal soon. If they didn’t, there might only be one option left, and that was for Alice to have two werewolf parents. Christoph swallowed and nodded, looking over at his wife. She had no color in her face, and she lay there with her eyes closed. Conor asked Christoph if he had anything for pain, just in case, and Christoph nodded.
Christoph cradled Alice in his arms. She had stopped crying once her father had come in, and now sniffled and sucked on a thumb. Christoph brought her over to the bed, and she snuggled up against her mother.
I broke.
The floodgates opened, and sobs racked my body as I watched their little family interact, safe and happy. I might never see my son again. My baby, my precious baby, had been ripped away from me because what, I was too busy fucking his father? If we had come back sooner, if we had skipped the romance, just came and got Lowell, Jasper would have been able to protect our son. What were we thinking, leaving our most precious thing with a woman who wouldn’t be able to defend herself? Stupid, stupid, that’s what we had been.
And it wasn’t just that. I knew that I had only made Seth angrier with my testimony. Had I allowed him to humiliate me into submission, had I refrained from embarrassing him in front of God and everyone else, perhaps he would have left Lowell alone. Now, our baby was in the hands of the coldest murderer England had ever seen.
My baby, my precious baby. I might never see his smile again, the way his eyes lit up when he saw me. I might never feel his heat against me as we curled up under the blankets for the night.
When I had been kidnapped by Seth, I had made peace with the fact that I would never get to see my baby grow up. Then I had been rescued and made it home safely before he came, and my hope and excitement was renewed all over again. Now the rug had been pulled out from underneath me. If Seth had him, there was no way Lowell would be alive for very long. I was never going to see him take his first steps, hear him say “Mommy,” watch him run and play. All of that was gone from me now, leaving a gaping hole in my heart.
I couldn’t breathe.
I wrapped my arms around my knees and rocked back and forth, trying to keep myself from screaming. I had endured many hardships in the past year, but this was my worst nightmare, and now it was coming true.
“They’ll find him, Christine, they’ll find him,” Annabelle murmured as she rubbed my back, but that only made me cry harder. Maybe they’d find him, but if they did, what sort of shape would he be in? Would he be alive still? My gut told me no. Seth was going to kill him first chance he got. And it would be so easy with a small, innocent baby. Seth had killed grown men; he could easily kill a tiny baby. I lost track of the world around me as I sobbed. The girls surrounded me, trying to help, but nothing was going to help until I had my baby back in my arms, alive and safe. The odds of that were miniscule. I was broken, and I didn’t see how I could ever put the pieces of my life back together.
“Christine,” I heard Bridget say, “you need to stand up now.”
I looked up at her. “What?”
“You need to get up. The elders are calling a meeting.”
I glanced around the room to see almost everyone else had already left, but Benedict was standing in the doorway.
“All right,” I muttered. My mind was that of a drunk, unable to grasp onto reality. The girls, mostly Bridget, pulled me up and helped me down to the lounge as Benedict followed behind us. Everyone excepting the Wentz family had gathered together. When we entered the room, Jasper rushed to my side, pulling me from the grasp of the girls, wrapping me in a hug.
“We’ll find him, my darling. I promise we will.”
I swallowed. “I thought you were out looking for him?”
“I was, but I needed to check on you. Almost the entire castle is searching for him. After this meeting is over, we’ll go back out.”
He guided me over to a loveseat and pulled me close as Benedict stood in front of the fire. The elder cleared his throat before speaking.
“We will find him,” he said.
I noticed that there were only a few other elders there, the more decrepit ones, the elder from Scandinavia and the elder from the Middle East. I couldn’t remember their names. In my state, I was surprised I could remember my own.
“Firstly, to the duke and duchess, I want to apologize that Seth managed to escape in the first place.”
“How did he get out?” I asked. My voice was so faint I didn’t think he’d heard me, but his werewolf hearing could pick up even the slightest of sounds.
“During his attempt yesterday, he managed to pull a key ring off one of the guards. The guard didn’t realize it was missing.
“That’s inexcusable,” Jasper said, his voice cold.
“I agree,” the elder said. “We will search high and low for Seth and the baby. We ask that you remain here.”
Jasper leapt off the couch. “I’m sorry.”
“Your Grace, we ask that you stay here.”
“Absolutely not,” Jasper said.
“My lord, you must be here just in case—”
“In case what?” I asked. “In case he comes walking back here?”
“In case Seth comes back to taunt you,” the elder finished.
“I’m not sitting here,” Jasper said. “I’m going to help you look for him.”
“The elders and staff know the house better than you do, Jasper. You all could end up as a liability.”
“Then pair us off!” Jasper almost shouted. “No one gets lost, and there are more ears and eyes available to find my son!”
“Right now, I think it’s best if you wait here.”
“I don’t care what you think is best!” Jasper shouted, a vein in his neck beginning to bulge. He was starting to get angry, and I watched him with a sort of oddly detached fascination. I had never actually seen him truly angry before. He always maintained such a calm, sure countenance.
“Your Grace—”
Jasper lashed out his anger on a nearby vase. It tumbled to the floor, sha
ttering into a million tiny pieces of pottery.
“Your Grace, there is no need for that show of masculinity,”
Jasper clenched his fist, bringing it down on the nearby table, splintering it apart. “Don’t tell me how I need to react,” he said, his eyes alight with fire. “My son is missing, and it was your incompetence that caused his kidnapper to free himself in the first place!”
“Duke Wolfric, you’ll do well to remember your position,” Benedict said darkly. “You may be duke and alpha, but I control the wolves of Great Britain.”
“Do whatever you like to punish me for insubordination,” Jasper growled. “Just find my son!”
The men stood, hair on end for a moment before Benedict’s shoulders slumped. “Jasper, I understand that you’re panicking,” he said softly. “I promise you, we will do whatever we can to bring Seth to justice and to save your boy.”
“Then let us help,” Jasper begged.
Benedict looked at him for a moment before sighing. “All right. As long as you stay with your assigned elder, I suppose we can make it work.”
I stood up from the loveseat. “I’m coming too,” I said, grabbing Jasper’s hand.
He shook his head. “No, my darling, you aren’t.”
My eyes filled with tears I didn’t even know I still had. “What do you mean?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“I don’t care if it’s dangerous!” This time, it was my turn to shout. “He’s got my baby; it’s more dangerous for him!”
Jasper put his hand gently under my chin. “I care if it’s dangerous,” he said. “I can’t lose you both.”
“I won’t survive if Lowell doesn’t,” I whispered to him.
“I will find him, and I will bring him back,” he promised.
“Jasper, I need to help.”
“No, Christine,” Benedict interrupted. “Jasper is right. This is far too dangerous. We don’t know what Seth is capable of.”
The Wolf's Cub (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 3) Page 19