“Fifteen years is a long time,” Patrick said slowly. “So, she’s your mate, is that it?”
Eugene’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah. She is. I can’t think of any other reason why I’d still feel this way for her and why I can’t find anybody else that makes me feel like she does. And why, even though it ended fifteen years ago, every time I wake up next to someone who isn’t her, I feel guilty. Like I’m cheating on someone I’m not even with. Goddamn it,” he snarled, slamming his fist into the desk. “What the fuck is wrong with me? Is she my mate or am I just a creepy stalker?”
“You’re drunk,” Patrick said with a wry smile. “And we don’t get to choose our mates. Fiona and I didn’t even get along when we first met.”
Eugene chuckled, remembering just how antagonistic the ‘mom and dad’ of the Blaze Ops had been with each other to start with. For a while there, their rivalry had nearly prevented the team from being formed in the first place. His chuckles died away quickly, though.
“But how can she be my mate if… if we have no chance to be together?”
“Maybe that’s why you need to talk to her, then. Get some closure for yourself. After all, having a mate isn’t one-sided. If she never felt the same way as you, then you’re holding onto something that’s never going to happen.”
Eugene shook his head, hating the way his heart hurt just thinking about this. “It’d be too easy for me to fall in love with her again.”
Patrick sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “Listen. From what you’ve just said, it’s not a matter of falling in love again. It doesn’t sound like you’ve ever stopped loving her. Isn’t that true?”
Eugene hated to admit it, but it was unfortunately true. He sighed heavily as he lifted his hands into the air, staring at them as though he was going to find the answer there. His palms felt heavy with the weight of their emptiness. He wanted to hold Clementine in his arms again. He wanted so badly to hear her say that it was all a lie.
“In two days, Clementine is being sent to D.C. in order to have a full trial,” Patrick said, peering at Eugene with a strange expression on his face. “And from there, it’ll be decided just what punishment her actions deserve… Of course, that is assuming she’s proven guilty.”
“She is guilty,” Eugene spat back. His fires rose, a flicker of hope he knew was too foolish to entertain. “It’s all there. She is guilty, and the trial will prove that.”
Patrick shrugged. “She still maintains her innocence.”
“Of course, she does. Anybody would.”
“You’re probably right. But I still think it would be a good idea for you to see her and speak with her before she’s shipped off. You haven’t been yourself, Eugene,” Patrick said, his voice turning gentler. That was one of the things that Eugene loved about this team. They were all military men, but none of them stuck to their ranks unless it was really important. “You need closure.”
Patrick was usually right about this sort of thing, so Eugene stood. His mouth was a grim line as he nodded. “Right. Then I guess I’ll talk to her.”
“Tomorrow,” Patrick said rather forcefully. “When you’re sober.”
Eugene blinked in surprise. His fires were burning hot enough that he’d forgotten he was drunk at all—the heat had burned away most of the alcohol in his system. “Oh. Right. Yes, that’s probably a good idea… Tomorrow then.”
***
This was a bad idea. Eugene grimaced as Patrick led him through the blank-walled hallway. Normally the Academy wasn’t used for prisoners. Occasionally they needed to keep someone contained, though, so they were kept here. A building well away from the others, away from where students who didn’t know what their school was a cover for would accidentally stumble on it. The apartments behind each of these doors was comfortable enough, but the security was such that nobody was able to get in or out without express permission.
Patrick waved at the guard in front of Clementine’s door and he swiped his card, unlocking it.
What was he supposed to say to her? What could he possibly do to make her understand the depth of the hurt he felt? Would she even care—she’d been cold to him since they reunited, that had to mean she didn’t want anything to do with him. Why couldn’t he just accept that and go find someone who could actually love him?
But what if she was innocent?
He ground his teeth together as he stepped into the room. It had no window, only a naked bulb in the ceiling, a single cot against the wall and a door leading to a small bathroom with a shower. Did Clementine still hate showers?
She sat on the bed, a book held limply in her hands. When she looked up, the terror in her eyes punched him in the stomach. Instantly, a well of protectiveness rose up in him. His eyes swept over her, looking for any sign of bruises or other abuse. When his gaze returned to her face, the terror had melted away to uncertainty.
“Dr. Brown,” he greeted stiffly.
The uncertainty melted away, and her eyes hardened. “I don’t want to see you, Major Coleman. I’ve already said everything I’m going to say, and I refuse to say anything else without my lawyer present.”
Eugene stared at her for a long moment. His heart stuttered, wanting to burst out of his chest and embrace her. She was beautiful, with that womanly beauty she’d barely started developing when he thought he was old enough to marry. Now she was all curves, with naturally red lips and a pink flush in her pale cheeks that made her even more beguiling. He was right—it was all too easy to fall in love with her again, every time he saw her.
“I need to know,” he said, his voice softer than he had wanted it to be. “I need to know for certain.”
Clementine opened her mouth, hesitated and then spat out, “Then read my statement. I won’t say anything else to you.”
Eugene stepped in and closed the door. He was aware of Patrick’s muffled protest, but it had to be just the two of them. “Clementine, please… I’ve read the statement. I’ve seen the evidence against you. But none of it makes sense. I need to hear it from your lips.”
Clementine pressed those lips tightly together and shook her head.
“I’m not here to talk in any official capacity.” Eugene stepped toward her, needing her to understand. When she flinched, he froze. She was afraid of him. Why was she afraid of him? Fury rose, thick and hot, while smoke curled from his nostrils. “Have they hurt you?”
“What? No. No, nobody’s hurt me. Of course, not.” Her brow puckered. “Why would you think that?”
Eugene sank down on the edge of the bed, hiding his face in his hands. “Because you flinched.”
Clementine didn’t answer.
“I thought… if you were afraid of me that meant that…” He glanced up at her. “But nobody has hurt you?”
“No. The Academy isn’t like that.” Clementine wound her fingers tightly together. “If I flinched it’s… it’s because out of everyone, I couldn’t stand it if you didn’t believe me. I didn’t betray the Academy, Eugene. You know me. You know I would never do something like this. What the Pack stands for is horrendous. I don’t know where this evidence came from, but it’s not real. I’ve been framed. Please. Please, you have to find out who set me up.”
He wanted to believe her. It hurt so much, thinking that she could be the traitor. He wanted to say of course, he believed her. He wanted to brush aside his own doubts and promise he would do all he could in order to clear her name.
“Please believe me,” Clementine whispered.
“I can’t.” His voice was strangely hollow to his own ears. “I can’t believe you. There’s too much evidence against you.”
Clementine drew back from him as though he was brandishing a fist at her face. Betrayal was written all over her expression. Tears welled in her eyes.
Eugene couldn’t stand to look at her. Not with this desire to hold her, comfort her, promise he’d find a way for her to be free. He couldn’t stand to be in the same room as her. So, he got to his feet and banged on the door.
He didn’t look back. Not even when he heard the soft sound of a sob.
The door opened and he stalked out, sticking his hands into his pockets. Patrick fell in step beside him, giving him a curious look.
“You were right, I needed that,” Eugene said. “Because it wasn’t that I needed to hear from her at all. I needed to tell her… I needed to say that I don’t believe her.”
Patrick put a hand on his shoulder. Eugene’s fires flickered low. So low he wasn’t sure he’d be able to shift into his dragon form if he tried. But he’d done what he needed to do. Now, he needed to let her go. Move on.
After fifteen years, it was time.
Chapter Three
The worst thing about being framed as a traitor was the fact that nobody she considered her friend believed her. She’d had lots of visitors since she had been arrested for working with the Pack. Everybody had similar lines. They all said how much it hurt. Some of them said they didn’t want to believe. A couple, like Dr. Utopia, a recent addition to the Academy after she had been rescued from the Pack, said that they didn’t believe it—at first.
Slowly, though, one by one, they stopped visiting. They stopped saying they couldn’t believe it. They stopped asking if she’d been blackmailed or threatened. They stopped asking why.
She had seen the evidence against her, and it was damning. If she didn’t know that she had nothing to do with the Pack, she would have believed it herself. In her worst moments sitting in that room by herself with nothing but time to keep her company, she wondered if maybe she had some undiagnosed mental illness that made her black out and do things she wasn’t aware of.
But that wasn’t a possibility. She was far too aware of what she was doing at all times and had never suffered from any sort of blackout. The worst mental health condition she suffered from was an overachiever complex.
She didn’t look at the guard who put the handcuffs on her wrists. Today was the day. She was being sent away, to D.C. There, the judge and jury would take one look at all the evidence against her and sentence her to life in jail. Unless what she had supposedly done was also considered treason? In that case, she might be put on death row.
Clementine had refused to let her lawyer talk about those possibilities, too afraid of what it might mean. She’d put her trust in her comrades, thinking they’d figure out that she really was innocent.
Now, as she was led from the stark prison cell—because it was a prison cell, no matter what anybody said—a lump rose in her throat. Did she have any chance to get out of this? The worst part—other than her friends slowly turning away from her—was the knowledge that whoever had framed her was still in the Academy. Still feeding the Pack information.
But no. That wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part, she couldn’t even think of. She couldn’t forget the look on Eugene’s face when he said he didn’t believe her, but she refused to play the words again in her mind. She was not going to drive herself crazy with her last hope being gone…
Half a dozen guards waited for her as she was loaded into the windowless truck. Among them was the lion shifter Cooper. He glowered at her hatefully, and she refused to meet his eye. She’d performed life-saving surgery on him so many times after his missions turned out more dangerous than expected, and yet here he was. Looking at her like he wanted to kill her.
Not that she blamed him for that. If their places had been reversed, she’d want her dead, too. Any traitor, anybody who worked with the Pack. Hadn’t she said that Utopia deserved death, even after she knew that the other doctor had been blackmailed into helping the Alpha for fear of her son’s life?
She was secured to a hard metal bench, and Clementine’s heart sank a little more. As if this journey wasn’t unpleasant enough.
“I’ve never hated anybody as much as I hate you right now,” Cooper hissed in her ear as the other guards arranged themselves. “If you would just admit why you did it… We all trusted you; how could you betray us like that?”
Clementine bit back the retort she wanted to spit at him. That she wasn’t going to admit anything because it wasn’t true. That he could hate her all he wanted, but that didn’t mean she was guilty. It was useless to try to convince him, though.
Cooper used to bring her flowers and little gifts all the time. He would spend a lot of time in the hospital, eager to spend time with her. It had been so flattering, even if she hadn’t been attracted to him.
Just another person to turn against her. Why did none of them even consider that maybe she had been set up? Did they all really think her so capable of working for someone like the Alpha? Did they really think her morals were so degraded that anything would have her practicing eugenics?
Bile rose in her throat as hours ticked by. Had she worked all her life to get to his point, to be a doctor and help heal people, only for her legacy to end like this?
But Mom and Dad don’t believe it, she thought desperately.
Her hometown was only a few hours away from the Academy. They had been permitted to see her twice since she was arrested. Both of them had cried. Neither of them believed the awful accusations thrown at her. Was she ever going to be able to see them again?
The van veered sharply, throwing Clementine hard into Cooper. He steadied her, a growl in his throat as the van rolled to a stop.
“What’s going on?” he snapped through the radio.
“Deer jumped out in front of us,” came the reply. “One of the tires is blown. We’re going to have to fix it.”
Cooper snarled out a curse, and Clementine flinched. She eyed him warily, wondering if he was going to unleash that infamous temper of his. He glanced at her and a strange look crossed his face. Almost… regret. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared, but it bolstered Clementine. Maybe his anger toward her was more a front than anything else? Maybe he wanted to believe her?
She swallowed. “Um…”
Cooper turned a full-force glare on her.
“I was just wondering… since we’re stopped, can I stand up for a bit? This seat is really hard, I’m getting sore… my feet are a little numb.” Clementine held her breath, hoping that he’d show her a little kindness at least. “Please. I’m not asking to be unchained, I just want to stand.”
Cooper continued to glare at her while the other guards shifted, looking uncomfortable. Clementine slumped back, not looking at any of them. It was just as well. She’d asked, but she wasn’t going to ask again. If there was one thing she was, it was stubborn. Even if the hard bench was cutting into her legs awkwardly and she couldn’t move her position more than half an inch, it didn’t matter—she’d get through it.
And then there were shouts from outside. Gunfire. A bellow.
The guards all drew their weapons. Cooper rose his radio but before he could ask what was happening, the van rocked again. Sparks flew as a deafening blast echoed around them. Clementine was slammed into the hard wall behind her. Black and white spots burst before her eyes.
Howls.
A wolf’s giant head poked through a hole blown into the side of the van. Huge jaws locked on the arm of the nearest guard. He let out a scream that raked across Clementine’s ears as he was ripped away. Cooper swore as the other guards aimed their weapons through the hole and fired rapidly.
The guard who had been dragged away suddenly stopped screaming.
Clementine yanked against the chains holding her. Desperate cries broke from her throat. She reached inside, looking for the familiar, comforting presence of her mountain lion—but only cold emptiness greeted her. The blockers they had her on suppressed her shifting abilities, so much so that she couldn’t even feel her mountain lion.
She was thrown again, as a blast opened up a hole in the other side of the van. Two more guards were dragged out.
“Like fuck am I letting it end this way,” Cooper howled. In the next second, his form had been replaced by that of a giant lion. Clementine threw herself backward, certain he was going to tear her apart.
The sound of fighting was deafening. Clementine jerked and yanked and bit at the chains, all of her efforts futile.
She wasn’t aware of the wolf that entered the van until those huge jaws were clamped down on the chains. Clementine screamed, kicking at it as it yanked her forward. The chains snapped, and it dragged her from the van. Her hands were dangerously close to those killer teeth. Clementine couldn’t think. She tried to kick its legs out from under it, tried to rip at its lip, anything to get it to release her.
It laughed at her efforts, nearly dropping her, and dragged her to the side of the road.
There, one of the wolves shifted back to human form. Clementine screamed, a helpless cry of terror. Cooper and the guards were fighting off other wolves on the other side of the road. The naked wolf grinned down at her as he picked up a gun and pressed it to her forehead.
Her blood ran cold and her lungs ran out of air, her scream still in her throat.
“This is so you can never betray the Pack,” the wolf shouted. Loud. So that Cooper and the others would hear.
So that she could no longer protest her innocence.
So that they’d all assume that the Pack killed her for getting caught.
So that the real traitor would be free to continue spying.
Clementine jerked back as the first shot fired. It rang in her ears. Swiped a burning line down her cheek. She kicked, her chained feet connecting with the naked wolf’s knee. He cried out as he stumbled back, then swore and aimed his gun again.
Red and yellow flames blossomed in the air. Heat burned through the chill autumn. Wolves screamed. Cooper let out a triumphant whoop. Then a dragon was there. He dropped down in the midst of them, huge, clawed hands knocking the wolves aside. Clementine reached for him, Eugene’s name on her lips.
Dragon's Pride (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 3) Page 2
