Page 24 of Alpha’s One-Night Stand (Shifters of Clarion #3)

I wish I knew how all of this got so out of control so fast. This Cole asshole has turned everything upside down, and we don’t even know why.

I run through it all in my mind as we rush to the building that Mother took me to before, where the old archives are. I can’t imagine what the motivation for doing this could be, but knowing my mother was captured, I can guess it has something to do with the Table.

Mother had said that if the Table found a problem, they “eliminated” it. I’ve been wondering about that since she said it. Yarra’s mother ran from them when she found out she was pregnant. A person only runs if they fear for their safety. What sins have the Table committed that brought all this onto us?

We walk through the woods along the path and it occurs to me that I don’t exactly know how to get to the church where they are. Mother had used some sort of talisman. I start to slow down around the part of the path I think the magical barrier is and I turn to Yarra and Saffron to tell them, but I see Yarra is looking past me, eyes as large as saucers.

“Oh, God…The church from my dreams.”

Saffron and I exchange a look, then I say to her, “You can see the church?”

“You can’t?” She puts her hand to her forehead in dismay. “Oh, God, I am cracking up.”

“I can’t,” I say. “You’re part witch, so the magic surrounding the church won’t affect you.”

Yarra looks at me, then back at Saffron. She asks her, “Do you see it?”

Saffron shakes her head. “But I’m not really all that in tune with my magical side yet.”

“Okay.” Yarra sighs and looks back over my shoulder. “So, they’re inside this church?”

“I think so,” I say.

She nods, then steps forward. “Maybe I can guide you two in?”

I shrug and so does Saffron. “Sure.”

Yarra takes my hand, then grasps Saffron’s arm with her other hand. “Okay. Right this way.”

We walk, hand in arm in hand and before I know it, the magical veil dissolves around us and we’re standing before the large white church where mother took me before.

“Ha!” Saffron said happily. “It worked!”

“So, it did.” I look down at Yarra and see the utter fear in her eyes. She looks like she’s only seen horrors in this place before now. “Yarra, you don’t have to go any further. You can stay out here until it’s safe. Saffron and I are perfectly capable of handling this.”

She shakes her head. “No. He’s got Nana. I have to come.”

“All right.” I look over at Saffron. “Is he here?”

Saffron lifts her nose to the air, taking a long sniff. “He’s here, all right.”

We walk up to the door and Yarra stays close to me as we enter the church. I can hear her heartbeat beating hard and fast, her fears surrounding her. We traverse the stairs and the hallway to the opening where the hidden door should be. Looks like he left it open for us to follow. We all stop and look down the dimly lit hall and the bookshelves lining the walls.

“Looks like a trap to me,” Saffron says.

“I couldn’t agree more. But what choice do we have?”

“Stick to the shadows,” she says. “We don’t know if he’s watching.”

We enter the hall and step carefully, doing our best to stay out of sight. Saffron slips in and out of the darkness like it’s nothing, sidestepping shafts of light and blending in as if she wasn’t there at all. Must be nice to have such a gift.

Yarra is close to me, holding my hand as we walk. Her heart is pounding. She’s terrified. Can’t say as I blame her.

We reach the small musty room where Mother showed me the book with the Table’s history in it. The book’s gone.

I look around, thinking there has to be more to this area than just this room. There are no other doors, though. I see Yarra lifting the cover of an old painting, stuck between the bookcases, almost completely obscured. The painting is of a woman with long blonde hair and Yarra’s sweet smile and shining blue eyes. She’s wearing the administrative robes of the other founders.

“The missing painting,” she says softly.

I know there are a dozen questions in her mind and I would love to answer them all, but we had a Scarlet to find.

“Saffron,” I say. “Still smell him?”

“Yeah,” she says. “It’s strong too. Like he’s right in the room with us.”

I nod. There must be a hidden room somewhere. Maybe a button—

“You’re here.”

Cole’s voice is right behind me. I turn to see Saffron’s eyes are white again, the devious smile on her face. “Good,” he says through her.

Yarra’s face is twisted in distress. She steps back from Saffron, her hand gripping mine. “Where are you?” I ask.

“I’m here,” says Cole. “Step on the stone next to the podium.”

I turn and see a small stone sticking up next to the bottom of the stand the book was on. I step on, pressing it down into the floor.

The room starts to shake around us, vibrating like a small earthquake. The wall behind the bookstand slides to one side, revealing a large dimly lit room. Wood floors, stone walls, a large ancient bronze brazier hanging over a giant circular table with runes carved along the edge.

And sitting at the table, bound with rope to the chairs they sit on, is my mother, Dean Fowler, and an old woman I have to assume is Yarra’s Nana. They’ve all been gagged, but the second Mother and Yarra’s Nana see us, their eyes widen with terrible fear.

Standing in front of the chair facing us is Cole. He’s leaning with both his palms on the table, his face split into a terrible smile, red hair falling into his eyes.

“Thank you for coming,” he says. “Please. Join us.”

We walk in. I can feel Yarra’s fear as her eyes fix onto her grandmother. The old woman looks frail, her graying hair in a bun, with tendrils of flyaway strands sticking out all over.

Saffron walks ahead of us, her eyes still as white as milk. She walks around the table and sits across from the hostages, next to Cole.

“Chad,” he says, tilting his head and sizing me up with his eyes. “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you, no thanks to your Luna. She seemed pretty intent on keeping you from me for some reason.”

“Let them go,” Yarra demands, her voice firm and angry.

“No,” he responds, but he’s still looking at me. I wonder if he can sense the wolf within me, coiled and ready to pounce.

“They haven’t done anything to you,” she says. “They’re innocent. You can’t just hold people hostage like this.”

He doesn’t say anything, but his smile slowly falls. “Oh, Yarra.” He finally shifts his gaze to her. “Poor little pawn has no idea how she’s been played.”

“Maybe you can enlighten us,” I speak up. I’m taking stock of the room and its size. Looking around quickly for any exits.

“Saffron?” Yarra steps toward the table. “Saffron, wake up!”

“She can’t hear you. She’s mine now.” Cole looks over at her, then reaches out and runs his hand over her red hair. “She is very beautiful. You keep good company.”

“Leave her alone. There’s no point,” I tell him. “Scarlets don’t mix well with other Scarlets.”

“They can if they’re bound and weaker than you are.” The devilish smile returns, and my stomach lurches.

“Why are you doing this?” Yarra says.

“For the oldest reason in the world. Vengeance. My family has suffered at the hands of the Table for far too long. I have been wronged, and I am owed payment. In blood.”

I put my hand on Yarra’s shoulder. I’ve never tried mind-linking with her before. I hope this works.

Keep him talking.

Her head jerks slightly toward me. Then she looks back at Cole. “Vengeance? What could my Nana have ever done to you?”

He looks at Yarra with confusion for a split second. “Your Nana?” He looks over at the old woman, then starts laughing. “Oh wow. That’s . . . that’s interesting.”

He walks over to Nana and leans into her. She flinches away from his face as it gets close to hers. “You want to take off the mask, Nana ? I think the time for pretend is over, don’t you?”

Nana looks at Yarra, her eyes watery. She mutters an I’m sorry through the gag.

Blinding light radiates from Nana, filling the room. I take the split second to step away from Yarra and closer to Cole. When the light fades, Nana’s gone, and in her place is a woman with long blonde hair . . . and the same features as Yarra.

“M-mom?”

She nods, tears rolling down her face.

“How sweet,” says Cole. “I love reunions. It’s too bad my mother’s dead. Right, Jean?”

Mother closes her eyes and looks down, guilt all over her face. Cole walks around to her chair and pats her on the shoulder twice. “It was your vote to ‘remove’ her from the Table, wasn’t it? After you all found out she had given birth to a Scarlet.”

The story Mother told me about the woman who had to give her Scarlet child up for adoption comes back to me. She was so nonchalant about it. What a scandal . . .

That woman was Cole’s mother, but Mother hadn’t said that she was dead.

“I didn’t find out what happened to her until a few years ago,” Cole says. He moves to the chair at the head of the table and sits down. “Started dating a woman who used to be one of you. An old professor, in fact. One night after sex, she told me the story of a woman that ‘disappeared’ at Moonhelm. She even described her to me. When I realized who she was talking about, I questioned her further.” He taps one finger on the table, looking down at it while he spoke. I’m edging as close as I can to him. “I have to say, your staff is very resilient . . . even for wolves. She was no match for me in the end. It only took about three hours to get her to tell me about the Table and my mother.” He smiles sinisterly, his eyes unfocused in some gruesome memory. “I took another five to vent my frustration about it.”

He pointed one finger at Mother. “ You three and the rest of the Table decided to execute my mother unless she could tell you the location of her son. I shudder to think what you might’ve done to me had she told you.“ He glared with a deep frown of disgust. “Barbarians. All of you.”

Mother mumbles through her gag, and Cole rolls his eyes. “I can’t understand you,” he grunts, annoyed, like she was putting him out. He waves his hand. The gag disappears.

“It was you.” My mother’s voice sounds hoarse and frightened. “You killed the other Table members.”

“Yes. I. Did.” He stands and leans into my mother. “You all have a debt to pay. But good news for you. You’re almost paid up.”

I see my moment. He’s leaning over, and I’m out of his eyesight. I change into a wolf quickly. He sees me change just as I start for him, leaping onto the table in a single bound. He doesn’t have time to react. I’m on him in a flash.

We topple down to the floor, and I lunge for his throat. He grabs me by the neck, pushing me back, struggling to keep me from tearing him apart. He’s remarkably strong in his human form. I can barely get a good snap at him.

I finally connect, biting him on the arm. He yells out momentarily and slams his hand against the side of my head. It’s enough for me to release my grip on him. He gets his legs under my stomach and kicks me off. I go rolling over the floor, but I’m back on my feet again. I lunge for him as he gets to his feet.

“Heel!” he shouts, thrusting his hand toward me. A bolt of lightning jumps from his fingertips and hits me, the shock racing through me. Light and pain seize my muscles and sends me flying backward, hitting the wall hard.

I fall to the floor . . . The floor . . . is cold . . . my . . . my muscles . . . heartbeat . . . slow . . .

The darkness . . . the darkness is closing around me . . .