Page 18

Stephen

I sat in my car in the Blackthorn Corporation parking lot, scanning the lot to check that no one was near.

It was early evening, and no one was in sight. I dialed Ben, my best friend and the first shifter to join my fight against Magnus after my mother’s death. Ben was the son of two shifters who had emigrated from Europe, disconnected from their pack’s roots. We had met at university, and his desire to belong to a pack had paired with my need to mobilize my own group of shifters who could move against Magnus.

He picked up on the third ring. “Hey, everything all right, buddy?”

“Hi, Ben. As good as it can be.” I’d already filled him in after Lina demanded I leave Philadelphia upon discovering my role as leader of the rogue wolves.

“What’s up?” he asked, his tone bristling with alertness. I pictured him on his balcony in Astoria, overlooking the Hudson. After university, he’d settled there and shared a condo with Victor. Vic came from a rural pack in Michigan, but due to moving to New York for work after university, had likewise been missing running with other shifters. He and the majority of our other rogue brothers came from the same backgrounds and had joined Ben and me in their quest to belong to a pack in the city. I knew that one day, Vic and many of the others might relocate back to their own packs, but with the loyalty and friendship they’d given me, they’d always have a place with me.

“Magnus has set a date for Lina and his mate ceremony for this Saturday,” I said.

“What do you want to do?” he asked.

“I want you and the pack to be ready to move on him on Saturday.”

“At Blackthorn Villa?” Ben asked.

The ceremony was set to take place at Blackthorn Villa. In some ways, it felt like a bad case of Deja-vu as I imagined the villa decked out once more for the ceremony as it had been years ago.

But something in my gut told me it wouldn’t be that simple this time. There were too many players on the board, with too many secrets and agendas for my rogue wolves to end this so easily.

“He’s suspicious,” I said. “The ceremony’s due to take place at the villa, but I don’t see it being that simple. He’s keeping his cards close to his chest more than ever.” Magnus had told me more about the outcome of the deal with Haldon than he had spoken or directed orders concerning Lina. I didn’t like how quiet he’d gone on that front.

“Do you think he suspects you?” Ben asked with an edge to his tone.

“No, I don’t think so. I’m still tracking Lina and delivering reports, but he’s keeping his own counsel more and more, asking for less from me when it comes to investigating Lina.”

“It sounds like he’s suspicious of your girl,” Ben said.

Ben’s words had the usual wash of protectiveness swirling through me as I thought of Lina. God, I wanted to keep her safe, but she was infuriatingly mistrustful and seemed hell-bent on keeping her own counsel, as much as Magnus was. The last few days of working in our shared office space only seemed to have strengthened the silence and walls that Lina seemed determined to build between us.

My phone sounded an alarm, and I said, “Hold on, Ben.”

I looked at my phone, and an update from my tracking app flashed on my screen. Tit was the one I had attached to Lina’s car. She’d finished early again this evening, ducking out of the office even earlier than I had. Now, as I opened the tracking app and saw her car’s progress leaving the city, I swore, “Fuck.” I held the phone to my ear again. “I’m gonna have to call you back.”

“No worries, bud. I’ll spread the word about Saturday with the rest of the pack.”

I hung up and once more followed Magnus’s orders, following Lina out of town. But frustration shot through me. Did she really think that just because I wasn’t reporting the truth to Magnus she didn’t need to be more careful? With the date of her mate ceremony so close, she should be more careful. She shouldn’t be taking another reckless trip out to her friends.

Then, the thought of little Betty had me worried she might be unwell again. My heart squeezed, and I drove swiftly, not just for Lina, but with thoughts of checking in on the little one.

When I got to the villa, Emily opened the door, hardly blinking as she took me in. “Stephen,” she said. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” She asked wryly.

“Nice to see you again, Stephen,” Matthew said, joining us by the door and schooling his features better than Emily did. She really didn’t look pleased to see me.

“Sorry to barge in like this again. But I need to see Lina.” I didn’t feel the need to elaborate. After all, I’d seen their shared office space and so many of their secrets that they were more than aware of the elaborate subterfuge we were all in.

Betty, wearing a tutu and ballet pumps, skipped over to us. “Uncle Stephen!” She greeted me. “Will you play with me?”

“Sweetie,” Matthew began, “Uncle Stephen’s here to see Auntie Lina. You come down with me and Mommy to the office—”

“I don’t mind,” I interrupted. “Betty can keep me company while I wait for Lina,” I suggested. That same eagerness to spend time with the little girl filled my chest, and relief trickled through me to see her looking so much better. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with health, and she clearly had oodles of energy as she jumped up and down, her black wavy hair bouncing.

Matthew and Emily exchanged an uneasy glance, and then Emily said, “Lina went up for a shower. She shouldn’t be long.”

I nodded. “Betty can keep me entertained, isn’t that right?”

“I’s show you a new dance,” Betty exclaimed, already skipping across the living room.

Emily went to the bookcase, and it rolled away, leaving the corridor to the office bare. It felt refreshing that she and Matthew didn’t bother to conceal the space from me. If they were more accepting of me, maybe there was a chance that Lina would be.

As I relaxed into the space, the memory of sitting beside Betty and Lina washed over me, and for the first time, I was pleased Lina had driven out here. Maybe here, where she felt safe and at home, she’d listen to me and accept my help.

“Be good, sweetie,” Matthew said as he followed Emily down the corridor.

Betty didn’t seem to hear her father, though, and danced over to me until she came to a standstill, blinking up at me with those bright blue eyes—so uncannily like Lina’s.

“Want a story?” I asked.

Betty shook her head. “I want to play—Hide and Seek. You hide, and I’s count. I’s count to ten,” she announced proudly.

I beamed at her. She was so precious. “Aren’t you a brainiac? But you’ve got to give me time to hide. So how about you count Mississippi, too?”

“Miss— sippi?” She asked curiously, stuttering over the word adorably.

“You have to count slowly and say Mississippi after each number—like this: One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi.” I demonstrated.

“Okay,” she answered brightly, climbing up on the sofa and burying her face in her hands as she began to count. “One Miss—sippi, two Miss—sippi, three Miss—sippi, four Miss—sippi…”

I hurried quietly into the kitchen area, pulling open the door to another room. It was a utility room with a washer and dryer and the backdoor in the corner.

Perfect.

A smile crept over my face as I listened to Betty’s endearing counting and the way she diligently kept trying to say the word Mississippi.

I was standing behind the door in the utility room when I heard a soft tread on the stairs. I thought about coming out and announcing myself, but I didn’t want to ruin Betty’s game. She’d been so excited to play.

“Five Miss—sippi…”

I knew the minute Lina heard I was here, she’d have it out with me and send Betty to her parents in the office, too. Selfishly, I savored the little moment of precious fun I got to share with Betty.

“Hey, little Swanling,” Lina greeted. “What you doing?”

“I’s playing hide and seek, Mommy,” Betty said.

My throat tightened, and my heart seemed to explode in my chest.

“Mommy?”

Sparks of knowing fired through me. Betty’s eyes were the exact shade of electric blue as Lina’s. I’d known it deep in my bones already. Betty was Lina’s daughter.

“Six Miss—sippi…” Betty continued.

“Where’d you learn to count Mississippi?” Lina asked, and I could hear the smile in her voice. My heart seemed to strain against my chest.

“Uncle Stephen,” Betty said.

Now my heart was drumming as if it were counting down to the moment I knew I’d be found.

“Seven Miss—sippi…”

“Stephen?” Lina said, her voice taut.

“Eight Miss—sippi…”

“Is Stephen here?” Lina asked, the anxiety evident in her voice even as she tried to make it even.

Betty laughed. “Not here. He’s hiding, silly.”

“Nine Miss—sippi…”

“I think I might have seen him going into the office,” Lina whispered.

“Ten Miss—sippi!” Betty exclaimed. “Here I come, ready or not!”

I heard her little steps hurrying away just as Lina’s footfalls grew louder, but the blood pounding in my ears roared.

In a moment, she pushed open the door.

“Not here,” Lina whispered, pushing my chest and shutting the utility door behind her. She stepped past me, drawing the back door open, and I stumbled out after her, clicking the door shut behind me.

The gentle dusk wrapped around us as I followed Lina into the garden, the air thick with the fragrant scent of blooming buds and the faint hum of the night awakening. We moved past a copse of trees shielding us from the house, and Lina finally turned to face me. Her long hair was darker, still damp from the shower. My pulse quickened as I took in the sight of her, the blue sweater she wore, so soft and inviting that I immediately imagined running my hands over it, feeling the curves hidden beneath.

But for once, my need for the truth was stronger than my want for Lina.

“I heard her call you Mommy, Lina,” I pressed, the fullness in my chest all I was able to feel right now and unable to let this go.

A storm brewed in her blue eyes—a mixture of defiance and vulnerability. Lina’s gaze wandered, her expression drawn tight as if she were searching for a way out of this. “Betty likes to play house. It’s her favorite game at nursery school.” She shrugged as if she could dismiss Betty’s comment so easily. “Sometimes she pretends I’m her mom while Em and Matt are her aunt and uncle…”

My jaw tightened as I realized Lina was leaning into part of the truth to wriggle out of the lie she’d been caught in—she had gotten Betty to call her Auntie when I’d first appeared like she’d made her call Emily and Matthew Mommy and Daddy.

“Her eyes, Lina,” I lowered my voice, feeling the weight of truth crashing down around me. “They’re exactly like yours, the most electric blue I’ve ever seen.”

Although Matthew’s eyes were blue, they weren’t the bright, vivid shade of Lina’s and Betty’s.

The sense of certainty grew as I remembered how obvious it had been the first night I was here. Betty had yelled out for Lina when I’d first arrived. When Betty came downstairs, Lina had been the one to nurse her, taking her temperature and giving her medicine, while Emily became absorbed in work.

Her gaze snagged on mine, and I watched as she swallowed.

“She’s mine,” she finally exhaled, her voice barely above a whisper. Her confession didn’t seem to do anything to relax her, though. Her shoulders and expression both still seemed too tight.

“I knew it,” I breathed, my chest suddenly feeling too tight. “The way I feel about her, Lina, I knew she was yours.”

Now that she had admitted it, her own gaze kept making me remember the way Betty’s eyes lighted up tonight when I’d arrived. And in an instant, a tidal wave of recognition crashed through me, filling me.

Then, that feeling that had awoken again at the sight of Betty, no—at the mere thought of her earlier, sang through me.

“When Betty was ill, I needed to be around her,” I blurted out. “It was like I couldn’t leave,” I added, remembering how I’d been utterly consumed by the need to care for the little girl. I suddenly realized the deep instinct I’d felt toward Betty had been my wolf’s need to protect his young. “And when I saw you driving back here today, I was worried she was ill again, our mate bond tugging at me.” My words spilled out in hushed excitement, both awe and anticipation fizzing through my chest.

Lina paled, and I knew I’d pieced together the last bit of the puzzle about the years she’d been absent. Memories of our time together darted through my mind, and suddenly, everything clicked into place.

“I should have known…” I murmured more to myself than to her.

I have a daughter.

“Betty’s mine,” I said, the truth finally out in the open.

The guarded intensity in Lina’s eyes flared, and she shook her head. But it was a truth I couldn’t unsee now.

“Betty is my pup, isn’t she, Lina?” Now, my own gaze locked with hers, unyielding, daring her to deny it.

Lina considered me for a moment, then swallowed thickly. She held my gaze. “She…is…yours,” Lina said, her voice strained but resolute.

Exhilaration flooded my veins, swiftly followed by that demanding pulse of protectiveness.

But before I could wrap my head around this revelation, Lina said, “I need you to understand something. We’ve been fine by ourselves. I don’t want anything from you.” The words hung in the air, sharp and cutting.

Her words laid her scars bare for me to see—the years of heartache I had thrust upon her by walking away.

“Lina—” I started, but she shook her head.

“I’ve learned to be self-reliant.” Each word dripped with a mixture of defiance and pain, reminding me of the gift I’d held and squandered.

Hurt ratcheted through me, but I knew it was exactly what I deserved. After all, all those years ago we’d been together, we’d made a kid, and then…

I’d rejected Lina.

My chest felt too full, especially as Lina’s blue stare—the exact shade as Betty’s—was fixed on me. I saw her struggling to compose herself, to keep the strong facade she always did in place.

Never before had my regrets felt so heavy as all the years I’d missed out on with her and Betty seemed to accrue in the thick air around us. How was I ever going to make that up to her?

“I’m sorry,” I said. “So sorry I wasn’t there for you both.” I took a deep breath, aching to touch her, but the tightness in her shoulders and expression acted like armor against me.

“Why’d you come here tonight, Stephen?” she asked, changing the subject.

“You know Magnus has me tailing you.”

“So, you’re still doing Magnus’s bidding?” she shot back.

“Still keeping my cover,” I said. “Still being cautious. Something you could do with exercising more of,” I urged. I tried to rein in my frustration and added. “I came to warn you. Magnus is on edge. I don’t like how little he’s shared with me lately.”

“I’ve got this,” she said dismissively. “I know where my mother is, and I’m making arrangements to execute my plan on Saturday. I can handle myself.”

Her obvious unconcern made my stomach clench, igniting my protective instincts all the more. “You don’t understand the danger Magnus poses. He’s ruthless. I can’t let you and Betty stay here, not when—”

“Let me?” Her voice rose with indignation. “Are you serious?” I could feel her anger radiating off her like heat. “For years, I’ve laid the groundwork for this, and now I’m ready to take action, and you want to whisk us away just because you found out Betty’s yours?”

I stepped closer, desperate to make her see sense. “I just want to keep you safe. I came here to persuade you to let me help you, even before I knew about Betty.”

“So, you think I’m helpless?” The fury in her eyes was palpable, like cold blue flames searing me.

“I never said you were helpless!” I shot back, but I could feel the tension building, a wall rising between us. “But I know Magnus—the lengths he’ll go to. My throat tightened, and I forced the words out. “Like he was with my mother.”

For a fleeting moment, Lina’s gaze softened, and I took the opportunity to press my point. “You must know that the moment you walk into that ceremony, you risk everything.”

And I meant it; the thought of her being hurt, of her and Betty being in danger, burned through me like poison.

“I know he’s dangerous—he’s held my mother for five years. But I won’t cower from him or leave my mother to rot.”

My heart sank, the weight of her mistrust pressing down on me all the harder. “You don’t have to do this alone,” I urged, softening my tone and pressing my hand to my own chest. “I want to protect you. You must feel that truth. If you feel even half of what I do right now, you know that.” I let the heat I felt show in my gaze, refusing to let go of her electric blue stare, trying to reach her with the strength of what I felt for her and Betty through our bond.

The atmosphere thickened, charged with our unspoken connection. I could feel it pulling us closer despite the chasm threatening to widen between us.

“I can take care of this,” she reiterated, her tone uncompromisingly firm.

“Lina.” Her name came out as a plea, frustration coloring my tone. In a last-ditch attempt, I said, “Then let me help you strategize. Let us coordinate our attacks together and lay back-up plans. We can pool our resources.” If I made this tactical and strategic, would she come around?

The silence stretched between us, and she simply said, “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” Then she turned and walked away as if we didn’t have a whole past, a kid together, and our mate bond pulling and wrapping itself around us.

But Lina’s resolve was immovable. I stood there watching her strong and slender figure walk away. But I was just as stubborn and determined as my mate, and whether she wanted it or not, I swore I’d fight for her and our family.