Page 108 of Contested Crown

“I don’t want to see them,” Cade said sharply, “ever again.”

I winced but didn’t say anything. Instead, I headed back to the small park we’d been in earlier. Nothing had changed, and we settled in to wait. Cade got frustrated within minutes and said, “Give me money. We need new clothes.”

Raising my eyebrows, I handed over fifty dollars, which he scoffed at. Then he stalked off, and I watched him go. I had to trust he was safe, even though every part of me wanted to go with him. It was unhinged to leave my mate alone like that when there was so much danger.

Cade returned after twenty long minutes and shook a paper bag. “We need somewhere to change.”

“Okay,” I said. I held out my hand, tugging him across the street with me. “Follow my lead.”

ChapterThirty-Five

The House Bartlett building was aging, but the front was guarded by a keypad. Unfortunately, a keypad was only good if people in the building actually cared about security. We got in by ducking in behind someone leaving.

“Youhaveto be kidding me,” I said loudly, walking through the lobby straight into the elevator. We attracted attention, but that was partially the point. “He thinkswhat?”

After an eye roll, Cade played along. “Apparently, he thinks we’ll do it for twenty.”

“Twenty! I won’t even get out of bed for—” The elevator doors closed behind us, and I pressed every button on the panel. We got off at the third floor and headed for the stairwell.

“Aren’t you worried someone will come looking?” Cade asked.

“They’ll definitely be looking for us,” I said. I pulled off my sweatshirt and gestured at the bag. “What did you buy?”

Cade reached in and handed over a dark V-neck T-shirt and a pair of jeans that didn’t hang off my hips. When I started to put everything on, he pulled a pair of black leather ass-kicking boots out.

I narrowed my eyes. “I know I only gave you fifty dollars.”

Cade looked down at the bag, then pulled his shirt over his head so I couldn’t see his face. With his shirt off, he revealed his chest. My eyes trailed over the ink, the dark lines tattooing his skin. It was so much more than it had been when we’d left House Bartlett.

The blackberry bramble grew over his pale skin. Thorns and flowers stained Cade’s skin, crawling over his shoulder. I couldn’t see his back, but I knew they were growing thick there too. A blade was inked from his collarbone down to his hip, the detailing so specific that I was sure he could draw it and use it.

“I have some tricks up my sleeve too.” Cade quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about how you bought three hundred—” I eyed the leather boots he drew for himself out of the bag. “—four hundred dollars’ worth of clothing with fifty dollars? I can’t really see you using a five-finger discount.”

“Five-finger discount?” Cade raised both eyebrows in confusion. “No. I stole them. Your shirt I paid for because it cost twenty dollars.”

“Wait, I gave you fifty. Where’s my change?” I pulled on the jeans, then the shoes. My feet practically screamed in relief to finally have functional footwear again.

As Cade put on his clothing, I emptied the pockets of the clothes I had been wearing. I tucked the wooden box into the back of my pants. That would be awkward if I needed to sit, but I wasn’t about to leave it behind.

“It’s my finder’s fee,” Cade said. He tugged the collar of his shirt high, almost up to his chin. Wearing formal mage clothing, long slacks and high leather boots, he looked so much like himself that the past few weeks washed away.

We were back to ourselves again, a little bit raw, still uncertain with our new positions, but after all this time, we had come full circle.

“The new ink looks good,” I said.

“It’s coming directly from you.” Cade looked down, wetting his lips and frowning at the ground. “You can’t keep giving me yourself.”

“How about you let me worry about what I can and can’t do.” I waited for him to catch my eyes, for the ice in them to crack, reveal the fear underneath his words. “I can still shift. That’s all that matters.”

“Not if me taking magic from you means hurting you, taking away your life force, or the innate magic of your wolf.” Cade opened his mouth but closed it immediately, shaking his head.

Somewhere above us, someone opened the door to the stairwell, and we didn’t speak. I shoved our old clothing into the paper bag Cade had been using, and he led the way down.

We passed the first floor, and then there was a door that led to the basement. It had a keypad, and I made a face at Cade. We heard another door open above us, and then the footsteps on the stairs disappeared.

“Do you know the code?” I asked. Cade had said this building was owned by House Bartlett, but that didn’t mean he had all the details.