Page 31

Chapter Thirty

Talia

“ W alk me through that one more time,” I ask Wes, shaking the thoughts of Forrester from my head for the hundredth time.

“I’m so sorry. I am trying to listen, I promise.”

I force my eyes to look at Wes and not in the direction of the back door.

Forrester is fine, Drayton is with him, and by the look in Wes’s eyes, I really need to be paying attention to what he’s saying.

“It’s okay, I know you’re worried about Forr. He’ll be fine, though. With Marcus locked up and the other packs coming to visit, I need to go over a couple security measures with you. There’s also something else we need to discuss as a group when Drayton and Forrester get back.”

"You’re right,” I say, turning to Wes with a smile. “You were saying that I need to stay with at least one of you while the other packs are present, right?”

“Correct. Good to know you were listening a bit.” Wes brushes my hair over my shoulder and winks. “We want to believe all the packs coming won’t harm you, but none of us are willing to take that risk. You must be in sight of one of us, or directly with one of us. No exceptions, Tal.”

“While that sounds like quite the hardship, I think I can manage it,” I assure him with a laugh. “What were you saying about the perimeter though?”

“The team you met with Alaric the other day will be heading the patrols for the perimeter and keeping an eye on the teams below them in rank to make sure that nothing like the attack can happen while our lands are full of other shifters.”

“Okay, that makes sense. Do we think any of the packs are going to try anything while here?” I ask, twirling my hair and resisting the urge to look towards the back door.

Drayton and Forr walk through the back door, interrupting whatever it was that Wes was about to tell me. I jump to my feet, rushing over to the two of them with my heart in my throat. Forrester is the first to pull me into his arms, crushing me against his chest.

“Thank you, baby. I don’t even think you fully understand what you’ve done for me,” he whispers in my ear.

“I’m just so happy I could help you heal.” I snuggle into his chest and sigh with contentment. The urge to heal him is gone, my magic feels settled in his presence for the time being.

“You did really good, beautiful.” Drayton kisses the top of my head while I’m in Forr’s arms before walking further into the house.

Wes yells after him, “meeting in the living room in twenty minutes!”

Drayton waves a hand over his head in acknowledgement, but keeps walking. I chuckle against Forr, then pull away to give my attention back to Wes.

“I’ll see you in twenty minutes,” Forrester mumbles with a kiss to my forehead and follows Drayton into the house.

“Sorry,” I apologize again, my cheeks heating with shame. Poor Wes, I should have been giving him my full attention.

“It’s okay, love. To answer your earlier question, no.” Wes turns the screen of his laptop towards me and points to a list of names. “We have thoroughly vetted all the packs and the shifters that will be attending the meeting. While Alaric and Penn are nervous about the non-wolf shifters coming, I know without a doubt those are the shifters we have to worry about the least.”

My eyes scan the list and I smile when I see Miles halfway down. “I see I will finally be able to meet Miles in person after that awkward mishap with the computer thing.”

Wes laughs while his eyes twinkle with a far dirtier gleam as he recalls the amazing almost sex at his desk.

“You will,” he answers and shakes his head. “Miles is a good guy, I think you’ll like him. He’s a bear shifter from the Carossa den and one of the smartest people I know.”

“Not smarter than you though, right?” I tease with a wink.

Wes scoffs and puffs up his shoulders. “No one is smarter than me, babe. No one.”

“I’m a lucky girl to have the smartest man as my mate,” I say in a lowered tone, leaning towards him.

Wes leans in and grips my chin firmly, yet gently in between his finger and thumb. “Atta girl, baby.”

He winks at me before drawing me in for a slow, sweet kiss that makes my heart race in excitement. We stay like that for a few minutes, just soaking each other in with soft kisses and gentle caresses.

Wes pulls back with a sigh. “I do really need to go through the rest of this with you,” he apologetically murmurs. “Just a few more security measures and then I want to give you a heads up for what the meeting is about.”

“Oh? That makes me nervous.” I laugh breathlessly, my stomach turning in knots.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you nervous. The truth is, I don’t know yet if this is good or bad for us,” Wes explains, taking one of my hands in his. “Someone has been trying to reach you. They claim to be the son of a former Croises member, and he's reaching out on behalf of his mother.”

I freeze from head to toe, my blood feeling like ice through my veins. There aren't any former members. Not ones that are left alive, at least. There was only ever one person that rebelled against them while I was old enough to remember and it was a death sentence for him. The guards talked about their kill for weeks after it happened. There were no traitors left alive. Ever.

“I don’t— That’s not—” I struggle to speak, the thoughts spinning in my head with confusion and fear that suffocate me from the inside out.

“What’s wrong, Tal?” Wes kneels in front of me. He rubs his hands up and down my thighs, concern lining his face. “Do you think it’s a trap?”

“It would have to be,” I whisper in a small, shaky voice. “No traitors are ever left alive.”

Wes cups a hand on my cheek and brushes his thumb along my skin, never breaking contact. “We’ll go over everything as a group. They sent along a few things to prove they were telling the truth. They said those exact words in one of their messages.”

“I don’t understand how it would be possible,” I murmur with a shake of my head. “I’ll listen to what you have to say, though. If you have reason to believe they’re telling the truth, it wouldn’t hurt to talk about it.”

He sits back into his seat and smiles softly at me. “You know I would never put you in danger and neither would any of the others. We’ll figure this out as a group.”

“You’re right. We will do it together.” Straightening my back, I let out a huge breath and smile at him. “Now tell me about these security measures, Mr. Smartest Man in the World.”

My head is spinning twenty minutes later with that boatload of information, but I make my way to the living room for the meeting with my mates. My mates are going a touch overboard with the security plan for this multi-pack get together, yet I honestly can’t blame them. After what happened with Marcus and the Croises cult, I will do whatever they need to have even a semblance of peace of mind.

Forrester is talking quietly to Drayton in the corner of the room when I walk in and I have to stop the small squeal of excitement from escaping when I see them. This feels monumental when they have been at each other’s throats since I met them. Well, Forr was at Dray’s throat, Drayton just wanted to make amends.

“It’s weird, right?” Penn whispers in my ear. His sudden presence makes me jump, but he just chuckles deeply and pulls me into his arms.

I settle against him and look back over at my other two mates. “I think it’s incredible. I can finally see the bond that you guys talked about when they were younger.”

Drayton looks over at me and winks, a small lopsided smile directed at me. Forrester rolls his eyes at his brother, but then turns to me with the same loving look in his eyes.

Goddess, I love these men. They’re all kind, strong, incredible men that make me feel protected and loved every second of every day. What more could I want?

Penn walks me over to the couch and we have a seat, waiting for Wes and Alaric to join us in the living room. I left Wes in the kitchen not too long ago, but he had to run to his office to grab something for the meeting. Probably whatever evidence these people sent to show they are in fact telling the truth. Which I still sincerely doubt.

Alaric walks in next, immediately finding where I am in the room and coming over. Despite me being tucked into Penn’s side, Alaric leans down and kisses me. He smells a touch like sweat and pine, similar to the training circle area. I breathe it in deeply, admiring the way it mixes with his natural scent.

“How’s your team today?”

“They’re good. Prepping for the influx of shifters that’ll be here in a few days,” Alaric answers with a smirk. “They’ve got this. I just needed to bolster their confidence a bit more with some drills.”

Wes walks in and silences everyone by clearing his throat. “Let’s get down to business, we have a lot going on at the moment and not nearly enough time to get it all done.”

“Is this about defeating the huns?” Penn laughs, but promptly shuts his mouth at Wes’s exasperated look.

Looking around I see amusement on everyone’s faces aside from Wes. There must be a joke here that I’m missing. Who are these huns and why do they exasperate Wes?

“Did you have a bad run in with some huns ?” I ask Wes, feeling bad for my mate that they are making a joke about something that clearly frustrates him. “I don’t think it’s very nice to tease him about that,” I say to the rest of my mates.

Wes smiles at me, and shakes his head. “No, they’re just making a reference to a song in a movie. I accidentally quoted the first part so Penn ran with it.”

“Oh.” Warmth fills my face from embarrassment. “Right.”

“We’re still working on catching you up on pop culture.” Penn rubs circles on my hand. “You’ve done so well so far, but there’s a shit ton still left.”

“We’ll watch it later tonight,” Drayton promises with a wink. “It’s a classic.”

Wes claps his hands with a sigh. “As cute as this all is, we do need to talk. Someone has reached out that was a former Croises member and they want to meet with Talia. They say they have important information we’re going to need in the upcoming conflict.”

Alaric grunts in disapproval. “That has trap written all fucking over it. No way is she going to this meeting.”

“You think I wouldn’t verify their identity before even considering this?” Wes growls in anger. "I may not be the pack enforcer like you, but I still take safety seriously.

Especially with our mate.

"

"That wasn't meant as an attack on you," Alaric sighs and rolls his eyes. "Doesn't this just seem a touch too convenient?

It really does look like a fucking trap.

"

"Of course it does, but it has been verified to be true.

The woman that wants to meet us is Miranda Hartfield.

She was a doctor that worked for The Croises during the time of Talia's birth," Wes states, his anger gone and his academic voice back in place. "Her son had to reach out on her behalf because The Croises did a number to her shortly after Talia's birth.

She was by all accounts dead, which is how she managed to get out.

"

Hartfield… Why do I know that name? It’s on the edge of my mind when my mates arguing makes me lose my train of thought. Maybe they mentioned her to me at the facility. My heart races a bit, but I focus back on the argument in front of me.

"By all accounts?

How the fuck is she here now then?

" Forrester asks with a raised eyebrow.

"She says she was saved by a bright light," Wes answers. He shrugs at our confused faces. "She also says the light called itself Adessa.

"

"What?

" I sit up straight, my peryton mimicking my response. Our curiosity is officially perked. "THE Adessa?

"

Wes nods his head and smiles at the spark in my eyes. "I was skeptical still, but I had Miles do some recon for me, including DNA testing, and both her and her son are who they say they are.

"

"Do you think she knew my mom?

" I ask quietly and twist my fingers together.

"She did.

She was the doctor that watched over your mother throughout her pregnancy with you.

She delivered you into this world.

"

All the air rushes out of my lungs, and a tear slides down my cheek. An actual connection to my mother. I absolutely need to meet her, if for nothing else than to get a glimpse into the woman my mother was.

"I want to meet her," I say after a minute. "I need to.

"

"I thought you might," Wes responds.

The others are mostly quiet, but there's an anxious energy in the room. Penn starts fiddling with my hair, and nobody else so much as breathes too heavily. They don't like it.

"Say what you're thinking," I beg, needing to hear any of them say it out loud.

"I still don't like it," Alaric says first, his hands clenched. "They may be who they say they are, but she still worked for them.

We don't know that she doesn't still have ties or affiliations with them.

Hell, we don't even know if she's a good person.

"

"I'm with Alaric," Dray grimaces as he speaks. "She could still hurt Talia, or set her up."

"She can't.

"

I whip my head to look at Wes. "What do you mean?

"

"Miranda is completely bedridden.

While she survived, she's severely disabled from what they did to her," Wes explains. "And judging by her son's anger every time her disabilities came up, I don't think he has any warmth towards the cult at all."

Penn asks the question that's sitting on the tip of my tongue. "What did they do to her?"

"She was partially dismembered and then burned alive."

Bile rises in my throat so fast I can barely hold it back. Tears track down my cheeks at the horror of it all. The cruelty it would take to do something like that to another living being is so far beyond what I can imagine. It's disturbing.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Forrester asks, the rest of us too stunned to speak.

"It needs to happen while all the other packs are here so we can't all go with Talia.

" Wes drops that bomb with a grimace.

"Why does it have to happen during that?

I'm not letting our mate go without all of us there." Drayton crosses his arms, his jaw ticking in frustration.

"Because Miranda is dying and this is our last chance."

"It'll be okay," I assure Drayton and the rest of my mates. "It'll be easier for me to slip out and do it. Plus, if anything goes wrong you can grab everyone already here."

"It'll have to be Forrester and I that go with Talia," Wes says. "The alpha, beta, and enforcer need to stay with the pack while it's going to be vulnerable with so many other shifters here."

Penn groans beside me. "He's right.

We're going to need to be here to keep the peace and keep everyone safe. We have the most authority within the pack and the packlands."

"I don't like it," Alaric growls out.

"Sucks to be you," Forrester throws back with a smirk.

And just like that it was settled. Plans were in motion and things were starting to pick up quickly. A connection to my mother, more information on our enemies, and a chance to get the upper hand in a war we didn't even know existed not that long ago.

Oh Adessa, what have you guided us to?