Page 72 of White Raven (Nevermore Duet #2)

Her mind was spinning, and she honestly thought she’d puke. She pulled up the search bar on Athan’s phone and tried to find any portraits of Edgar Allan Poe as a child…when she turned it to him, Tony’s already fair skin blanched a sickening shade of gray. It said enough.

“That’s the boy,” he said, hoarsely. “That’s the boy from the pub. How did you get this?” He held the phone like it was the most defying thing he’d ever seen.

“You’re not very tech-savvy, are you?” she smirked, not willing herself to believe what was likely the truth.

“Your father just led you to a treasure trove of family history, Miss Sarah. Whether Athan is here or not…I think you were meant to be here. It’s obvious he wants you to know who he really is.”

“Not one part of me is gonna believe this, Tony. Poe died. He was buried . He—”

“Poe had already been buried in one place, and even though there were witnesses, some say they were never completely sure they moved the right body to his final resting place. A lot of weird shit happened with that.”

Sarah swallowed, turning away from Tony slowly.

“So, are you saying it may not even be Poe resting in that grave in Baltimore?”

The odds of this were insane…

Insane.

“Where are you going?” Tony asked from behind her as she rushed down the ratchety old stairs. It sounded like he was following her. Sarah rounded the landing and down a short hallway near the gift shop to another room in the museum that she remembered seeing information about Poe’s death.

“Died in Baltimore…” she whispered on a shaky breath, skimming through every line.

“October…1849. Cause of death was never determined.” Tony stepped up behind her, watching a few people leave the room.

“He was delirious. Calling out for someone named ‘Reynolds’. They found him in clothes that weren’t his. ”

“Reynolds?” Tony breathed, removing his cap to scratch his head. Sarah looked over her shoulder.

“That’s what it says. You know somebody?”

She wasn’t sure how much more color Tony could lose in his skin. His red hair, and scruff of stubble seemed brighter against the pallor.

“Yeah,” he choked, raising his eyes to hers. “So do you.”

She turned to face him fully then, arms trembling as she crossed them. “Tony?”

“ Decclan …Decclan’s last name is Reynolds.”

“And…that’s about it. You’re caught up. Now we’re trying to figure out the link between Trainor’s case, and Athan’s disappearance.

” Brandon shifted uncomfortably on the couch as Rhaena downed another tumbler of water.

Her captain watched from the adjacent armchair, his muscular arms bulging from his rolled-up sleeves as he crossed them over his chest and studied her.

“And no one knows where Sarah is?” she asked. Her fiance tensed next to her.

“We don’t. And if she reaches out to any of you, I expect word. I need her to know that she’s safe. We’re all on the same side. Foster may not be a welcome presence, but I don’t think she means St. James any ill will either.” She stared at Foley, who looked like he hadn’t slept in months.

“How long have you been here, Malcolm?”

He sighed and shook his head slowly. “In and out…for a while.”

“You should go home. Get some rest. I need it too. I need some time to process all this. Feel out how to live with… whatever I am now.”

“I understand, Gloves. You’ll call…won’t you?”

“We will,” she smiled softly.

He took his cue to leave, and grabbed his jacket, nodding his farewell to them both as he left. Brandon waited a few minutes before speaking.

“Sarah’s in Richmond,” he whispered.

Rhaena turned to look at him. “Foley doesn’t know?” He shook his head.

“I don’t know why Sarah feels so strongly about why we can’t trust our captain…but I’m trying to be respectful of her wishes. That’s her soon-to-be husband she’s fighting for out there. If that were you, I wouldn’t let anybody stop me either.”

“So, does she think he’s out there? In Virginia, of all places?”

“I’m not sure. I’m guessing so, or she wouldn’t have hopped a plane. But Wren was the last one to get word from her. She’s relaying everything as quietly as she can.”

If there was bad news, Rhaena believed they’d know it by now.

And some deep part of her could feel that Sarah was alive, and well.

Her gut told her that it was because of the blood that turned her into a freak of fucking nature.

While Sarah hadn’t actually bitten her, that blood was a hidden lifeline to its donor.

She could feel it in every thrumming vein.

This blood, that filled her with unease, apprehension, and a tremendous lack of clarity…

also filled her with strength…power…appreciation.

Sarah had tried to help. Regardless of her sometimes reckless behavior, her vulgar mouth, and her knack for making their lives complicated, she was a genuinely caring individual.

She fought hard for the people she loved, and she had a will that would power through a hurricane.

For what it was worth, Rhaena was grateful to her.

And deep down, she knew that Sarah would find him.

She’d come back with all the answers. One day of observing gratitude for simply being alive suddenly seemed… possible.

Rhaena met eyes with the man who, even when she refused to notice him, had stuck by her side.

A man who always would, if by no other evidence than the fact that he was sitting barely an inch from a being that could rip him to shreds in a matter of seconds.

She knew full well that in the past few weeks, it had probably crossed his mind more than once that maybe her focus was pulled more towards another man, rather than the one she agreed to spend her life with.

Maybe it was always pulled in every direction other than himself… and far too often.

“How long has it been since we’ve been alone together?” she asked.

“While you were conscious?” Brandon grinned.

That smile made her skin ignite. Made her nipples tighten, and her core awaken. Her heightened senses as a wolf were already a familiar presence, but this—this was twice as potent…demanding.

“Why do you want me, Brandon Jenkins? After everything you’ve seen? After everything I’ve become?”

His smile slowly fell, and he looked over every inch of her face, grazing it with the back of his finger. The tenderness of his touch, and the swooning of his eyes…it wrecked her.

“The complexity of who you are makes up my entire being. The sound of your laugh. The feel of your skin. Your fierce drive, and your sharp instincts. Your arms have never been long enough to wrap around every single one of us, but somehow…somehow you still make sure you’ve got a tight grip on me.

You’ve had it ever since the moment I met you in the academy.

When you noticed me and weren’t afraid to tell a man bigger than you that his form was shit, and that when it counts, life or death wouldn’t care if I’m pretty. ”

Rhaena giggled softly, recalling that first conversation at the range.

“You’re so strong, babe. You’re so strong, and you always have been.

You carry each one of us on your back without complaint, and you make me a stronger man just by being in your company…

but you chose me. You could have had whoever you wanted…

and I’m the one you allowed to call mine.

” His breath hitched, and he swiped a thumb over her cheekbone. “You’re mine , Rhaena Northwood.”

She moved without warning. Without breath.

Without any fucks left to give about the world outside that door.

He took that kiss with vigor, giving back equal force as she tore at his shirt, ripping it from his body.

Rhaena’s body trembled as she climbed into his lap, allowing him room to pull the oversized sweatshirt over her head, her hair still damp from her shower.

“I don’t know this body,” she huffed, breathing wildly. “Please don’t let me hurt you, Brandon.”

He only smiled, his stare smoldering as he met eyes with her. “Oh, no, no…I want you to. Fucking destroy me, Rhaena.”

Their mouths collided again, tongues warring, and air scarce as she pried open his jeans and let him rip her leggings off.

She left him sitting half-naked on the couch, pulling his jeans from his legs and lowering herself to the floor between them as she took his cock in her hand and gripped it tight.

“Fuck,” he whispered, as she flipped her hair over to one side and closed her mouth over the tip. He writhed beneath her while her head moved up and down with her fist, and the salty taste of him devoured her senses. “ Fuck , I’ve missed you.”

It drove her wild, but it wasn’t enough.

His cock left her mouth with a sound pop, and she felt the sting of her claws rip through the skin of her fingertips as she straddled him and fit him inside her.

A rush of untapped pleasure surged through her and her head fell back, eyes drifting closed, while her body swallowed him whole.

He flinched, gasping, and it wasn’t until she felt the slap of his hand around her wrists that she realized she'd scratched a clean cut across his chest.

“No,” she winced, realizing what she’d done.