Brock pulled Jenna a bit closer to him now. “Apparently, you haven’t met the right woman yet.”
“Perhaps not,” he agreed. But his thoughts spiraled back to a moment in time when he had known someone special. Someone who’d made him forget all other women during the handful of days they’d had together. “There was one woman, years ago. A mortal, so no matter how I felt about her, our time together would’ve been short. But she was also married to another man. We spent a couple of weeks together one summer in Greece, before she returned home to America. Home to him.”
Jenna had gone utterly silent. She was staring at him, her brows knit in a pensive frown. “You met her in Greece?”
Zael nodded. “One of the Cyclades islands . . .”
“They met in Mykonos.”
The feminine voice that said the word came from the open doorway behind him. Zael swiveled his head and found a lovely, flame-haired young woman—a Breedmate—standing there. At her side was a large Breed warrior with shaggy dark hair and a web of scars that marred the left side of his face.
“Yes,” Zael murmured. “It was Mykonos.”
Something about the young woman’s face made his breath catch in his lungs. Her eyes were somehow familiar. And the copper color of her hair . . . it was the same fiery shade as the strands that shot through his blond waves.
Jenna rushed over to bring the other female and her big mate inside the room. “Dylan and Rio, this is Zael.”
“I know,” said the woman named Dylan. “I knew who he was the moment I heard his name today.”
She had a piece of paper in her hand. As she held it out to Zael, he realized it was an old photograph.
He took it from her loose grasp and glanced down at his own smiling face. He could still recall the beach that day. Could still feel the warmth of the sun on his head and shoulders.
He could still hear the laughter of the young, vibrant woman who’d taken the picture of him that afternoon.
Zael glanced up from the photo to look at the Breedmate standing before him.
She met his astonished gaze with a sweet, uncertain smile. “My name is Dylan. The woman you knew in Mykonos that summer was Sharon Alexander. She was my mother.”
CHAPTER 26
“I should’ve stayed with him. I shouldn’t have left him there alone with those men.”
Carys sat on the sofa in the Chase Darkhaven, flanked by her mother and Brynne. Also in the room with her were Jordana and Nova. Even Aric was there, no doubt to make sure she stayed put.
“You did the only thing you could’ve done,” her mother assured her. “You said yourself that Rune was the one who told you to leave. He didn’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I should’ve tried anyway,” she murmured, misery running through her veins like acid. “I should have stayed and helped him fight those bastards. I told him I would always stand by him, and I failed him tonight.”
She had regretted leaving La Notte as soon as she’d run out of the place. She should have gone back after she’d called her father for help, but his fear for her well-being had been nearly as palpable as Rune’s. He demanded she return home as quickly as possible. He’d promised her that he and his team were heading out to the club immediately to handle the situation.
She had been home nearly twenty minutes with no word from her father, Mathias, or any of the Boston warriors who’d gone with them.
“Why haven’t they called in yet? They must be there by now.” She pushed herself up from the sofa with a moan. “Dammit, I can’t sit here any longer. I need to know what’s going on.”
Aric’s strong hands were firm, but gentle, on her shoulders as he guided her back to her seat. “Listen to me, sister. You’re tough and you’re Breed, but it would’ve been suicide if you’d escalated things with those men. You saw the scarabs on them. You know what they mean.”
Nova’s gaze was as grim as Aric’s. “It would’ve been worse than death for you, if my father’s men had gotten their hands on you, Carys. Don’t think you would’ve been given any mercy.”
Aric hissed a curse. “No matter how I feel about you being with Rune, the best thing he did was make sure you got out of there safely. For that, I owe him. We all owe him.”
“I know he did it to save me. He let them believe I was a Breedmate, not Breed. He tried to make them think I worked in the club, instead of revealing who I really am.”
Beside her on the sofa, her mother blew out a shaky sigh and hugged Carys close. “My God . . . Knowing what we do about Fineas Riordan, do you realize how close you came to falling into Opus Nostrum’s hands tonight? I don’t even want to consider what they would do to a family member of the Order.”
Carys didn’t really want to think about that either, but what would they do to Rune?
“I never saw fear in his eyes until tonight. He knew those men and what they were capable of. They knew him too—apparently, they know more about him than I do.”
“You’re saying he’s one of them,” Aric said, not a question. “Rune is one of Riordan’s thugs.”
She gave a weak nod. “I think he might’ve been at one time, yes.”
She didn’t want to admit it, but after tonight it was hard to deny that it was possible. The realization was still cold inside her. It was hard to process the fact that some of the secrets Rune had kept from her had materialized as a pack of terrifying thugs bearing the mark of the very criminal the Order was trying to destroy.
“They knew him,” she murmured again. “They said his name was Aedan. He didn’t deny it.”
Nova went suddenly still, almost wooden, where she stood next to Jordana. Her face lost its color and her mouth fell slack. “Aedan?”
“What is it?” Jordana asked her. “Nova, what’s wrong?”
“Aedan is my brother’s name. Aedan Riordan.”
Carys’s stomach bottomed out at the airless revelation. “Oh, my God. He told me there was a little girl . . . that he had a sister. But he said her name was—”
“Kitty,” Nova said. “That’s what he called me. Not Catriona. Kitty.”
Gasps traveled the room. Aric ground out a harsh curse.
As for Carys, she could only close her eyes as the reality sank in.
Rune wasn’t merely one of Riordan’s men.
He was his son.
~ ~ ~
“Not counting the debris and the dead scarab behind the bar, there’s no lingering imprint of violence here,” Mathias said from beside Chase in the vacant arena area of La Notte. “My guess is that they took Rune out of here without a struggle.”
“What about duress?” Chase knew his old friend’s unique extrasensory ability would be able to pick up on psychic echoes of aggression the way other people would notice a bruise on flesh.
Mathias shook his head. “He went willingly from what I can tell.”
“Shit.” About the only thing worse than Carys’s all-too-close brush with some of Fineas Riordan’s men was the possibility that her lover was actually familiar with the son of a bitch too. Familiar enough that he’d walked out of this club with Riordan’s thugs on his own volition.
Chase had been staving off his fury and suspicion from the moment Carys called him for help. Part of him had wanted to believe her, that Rune was in danger—in real fear for his life. It was better than the alternative, at least. But even as she’d told him, he’d had his doubts.
That Rune had given Carys a chance to get away was the only thing that had kept Chase’s rage in check as he’d assembled his warrior team and raced down to La Notte. Now, even that small consideration for the fighter was beginning to dim under the weight of what they’d found here tonight.
In frustration, Chase raked his hand over his jaw. His gaze connected with Nathan’s grim stare where the warrior captain stood with his team.
“If he’s got active ties to Riordan, we can’t afford the risk. There can’t be any mercy for Rune when we catch up to him.”
“Yeah,” Chase agreed. Nathan wasn?
??t telling him anything he didn’t already feel in his gut. As much as it would destroy Carys, the fighter was a dead man if it turned out his loyalty belonged to Riordan.
Even worse, if that loyalty should extend to Opus Nostrum.
To think he’d almost welcomed the bastard into his house earlier tonight.
And Carys . . .
Christ, what would he have done if anything had happened to his daughter? She was terrified and heartbroken now, but if the night had ended differently, she might have been taken along with Rune. She might have been killed—or worse if Riordan’s men had realized who she was.
The thought was still an icy chill under his skin when his comm unit signaled an incoming call. It was the Darkhaven, Tavia’s private number. He picked up, his greeting tense with stress.
“Sterling.” His mate’s quiet, stricken voice went through him like a shot. “There’s something you need to know . . .”
Rage steamed inside his skull as he listened to her explain the shocking revelation that had just unfolded back home. As he ended the call, he couldn’t bite back his anger. It exploded out of him on a curse and a flash of his fangs. “He’s Riordan’s son.”
“What?” Nathan gaped along with the other warriors.
“The fighter. His name isn’t Rune.” Chase practically spat the words. “It’s Aedan Riordan.”
“Aedan?” Mathias’s mouth pressed flat, recognition flaring in his eyes. “Holy shit. Does Nova know about this?”
“She’s the one who confirmed it just now, when Carys mentioned that’s what Riordan’s men called him tonight. The son of a bitch has been lying to her all along. Using her.”
Chase’s blood boiled with the knowledge that for all these past weeks, his beloved daughter had been in the bastard’s arms. In his bed.
He hadn’t liked that idea even before everything that happened tonight. Now, he seethed with the urge to kill the fighter.
Chase started for the club’s exit, his team falling in behind him. “I need to make Lucan aware of the situation. And I want his understanding that when we find Aedan Riordan, no one takes the bastard out except me.”
CHAPTER 27
Alone in her bedroom, Carys changed clothes for the imminent departure to the Order’s D.C. headquarters. The Chase Darkhaven had been abuzz with preparations for the trip since her father had returned from La Notte with his team and Mathias. Lucan had demanded the presence of the entire Boston command center, Carys included.
She knew it didn’t bode well that her father was avoiding her. He didn’t have to say the words for her to understand that he was furious and disappointed in her.
And there was no mistaking his animosity for Rune—or, rather, Aedan.
Carys was angry and let down too. She was confused and hurt. Heartsick and afraid. Unsure what she should feel, after everything that had happened tonight. The complicated tangle of emotions gnawed at her, leaving her numb.
Bereft.
As she fastened the buttons on her ivory blouse and tucked the hem into her camel-colored pants, a soft knock sounded on her door.
“Carys, may I come in?” Nova’s accented voice was quiet, uncertain on the other side of the panel.
Although she wanted to be alone to process all that had occurred, there was only one person in the Darkhaven who could possibly relate to how she was feeling. Carys walked over and opened the door.
Nova smiled sadly, her light blue eyes dimmed with sympathy. “It’s almost time to go. The jet’s fueling up and everyone’s just about ready to head out.”
Carys nodded. “Tell them I’ll be there in a minute.”
“All right, I will.” Nova hesitated, studying her now. “Actually, I came because I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I am,” Carys replied automatically. “Really, I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Nova’s words were gentle. She stepped forward and drew Carys into a warm, totally unexpected, hug.
The kindness made Carys’s breath catch. She hadn’t realized how much she needed the support until she was standing there, trembling in the other woman’s embrace.
“It broke my heart when my brother left home all those years ago,” Nova said as she released her. “The best part of my world was suddenly gone. I imagine that’s only a fraction of what you must be feeling now.”
Carys led her inside the room and they sat down on the edge of the bed. “I feel like a fool, Nova. He lied to me. He left me, and now, to make it all worse, my father and the rest of the Order are talking about Rune—Aedan—as if he’s the enemy.”
“But you don’t believe he is.”
“I know he’s not.” Carys saw the same conviction in Nova’s eyes. “You don’t believe it either, do you?”
The Breedmate’s blue-and-black hair swung against her shoulders as she shook her head. “Aedan may be a Riordan by blood, but he’s nothing like that clan. The brother I knew was strong and noble. A good man. From all that you’ve told me of Rune, I have to believe my brother is still a good man.”
More than anything, Carys wanted to believe that too. And, in that moment, she felt an overwhelming gratitude for Nova’s friendship. It meant the world to know that she had someone to lean on if she needed understanding and support, the same way Rune had looked to his little sister as the beacon of light in his dark existence so many years ago.
She gave her new friend’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “He loved you very much, you know. He regretted that he left you behind and never went back for you.”
It took Nova a moment before she spoke. “Did he tell you that?”
Carys nodded. “When he took me out for our date, Rune told me a bit about how he grew up. He told me there was a fighting pit at his father’s Darkhaven. Rune had been made to fight in it from the time he was a boy. Life or death matches, all for his father’s amusement. For years—until he finally worked up the courage to leave—the pit was Rune’s own private hell.”
Nova closed her eyes as if feeling the pain herself. Her voice was quiet. “I had no idea about any of that. But I know firsthand how monstrous Fineas Riordan can be.”
“When Rune told me about the pit and what he’d done to survive, I couldn’t imagine how he was able to endure it. I asked him if there was no one in that house who cared about him,” Carys said. “And he told me about you. He wanted to protect you from knowing what he was going through. He didn’t want you to see that part of his life.”
A soft, unsteady breath slipped past Nova’s lips. “Aedan made me feel loved when the rest of my existence was fear and pain. He didn’t know what had been happening with me, either. I was too ashamed to let him know. God, how foolish we both were, trying to put on a brave face for the other.”
“You did what you had to in order to protect yourselves,” Carys said. “And, as much as it hurt me tonight to find out the secret Rune was hiding from me, I can’t condemn him for it. I only wish he’d trusted me enough to tell me. He could’ve asked me for help.”
Nova’s gaze was solemn, sad. “Given what I know about my brother now, I think he would’ve left Boston for good, rather than ask for help. Neither of us were taught to reach out to someone else. That’s why I kept my secrets from Mathias as long as I did. I locked myself behind my own protective walls, thinking my past would never find me there. Hoping I’d be safe if I started over, if I pretended everything that had happened to me was just a bad dream.” She let out a humorless laugh. “But you can never outrun your past or the demons that live there. No wall we build is high enough to keep them away. They always catch up sometime. You have to stare them in the face without flinching before they’ll ever let you go.”
Nova was right, of course. And Carys didn’t doubt for a second that if Rune hadn’t already understood that truth, he knew it now.
Her fear for him deepened when she considered that possibility. Her dread grew colder, as heavy as a stone.
In her heart, Carys knew that was why Rune had walked out w
illingly with his father’s thugs. He was going with them of his own free will, most likely back to the hell where he’d been raised.
Back to face the monsters of his past.
Carys could only hope Rune survived whatever he intended to do . . . and pray that the Order hadn’t already condemned him.
CHAPTER 28
Lucan sat at the head of the table in the Order’s massive war room later that night. Seated around him were nine of his district commanders and their mates. Three other command center leaders were dialed in via video displays on the large wall monitors in the room.
As Chase wrapped up his report of what had happened in Boston earlier that night, a few muttered curses traveled the group, but the reaction of the most seasoned warriors was grim silence.
“Poor Carys,” said Elise, Breedmate to Tegan, one of the Order’s founding members. She was also Chase’s former sister-in-law, and a woman who’d endured her fair share of heartache and loss in the past. “How is she handling all of this?”
“I saw her in the drawing room with Brynne and Jordana when we arrived,” said Alexandra. She and her mate, Kade, were the last to arrive, having come in from Lake Tahoe. “Carys looked exhausted, and she was pacing the room like a caged animal.”
Tavia sighed. “She hardly spoke on the flight down. She’s hurt and confused, of course. She’s as shocked as we all are, but she believes in Rune. She loves him.”
Chase scoffed. “She’s blinded by her emotions when it comes to that male. That blindness might’ve gotten her killed.”
“Or maybe it was love that saved her life tonight.” This from ebony-haired Corinne, who was seated beside Hunter, her Gen One warrior mate.
He glanced at her tenderly as she spoke, which was a feat in itself, since the former assassin had been raised by his brutal handlers to think that emotion was weakness. He’d overcome that training, just as Corinne’s long-lost son, Nathan, had overcome similar abuse through his newfound love for Jordana.
“Corinne’s right,” said Tess. “And it’s obvious that Rune—or Aedan—must care for Carys too. After all, he tried to protect her from Riordan’s men.”