“Steven was thrilled, of course. He thought I was dead. They all did. Everyone wanted to know where I’d been and what happened, but I couldn’t remember anything. I mean, the last thing I remember is getting ready to go out for drinks with my girlfriends, and then I wake up like this.” She rubbed her stomach and let out a shaky sigh. “The truth is… maybe everyone would be better off if I had died.” Her voice quivered. “Especially Steven.”
“Courtney,” Tatiana said gently. “Don’t say that. You’re carrying his baby. You’re his mate, and he’s obviously crazy about you.”
“I know,” she whispered. “He’s an incredible man.”
“Look—I obviously have no idea what you’re going through. I mean, I’ve only gotten a taste of this whole mate thing, and it’s got my head messed up.”
Courtney studied her closely. “It’s Dominic, isn’t it?”
Tatiana nodded but said nothing.
“I could tell as soon as I saw you together,” she said through a teary smile. Her green eyes, edged with sadness, searched Tatiana’s. “That’s how it should be.”
Tatiana’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” She flicked a nervous glance toward the house and started walking again. “It’s nice to have a friend to talk to. I’ve felt like an outsider, and I guess since…”
“And since I’m an outsider too, you feel more comfortable talking to me?”
“Yeah.” Courtney nodded and let out short laugh. “Does that sound horrible?”
“Nope.” Tatiana smiled and linked her arm through Courtney’s. “Sounds human.”
They walked the rest of the way with Tatiana telling Courtney about Oregon and her practice. She found herself enjoying Courtney’s company and had to agree that it was nice to have a girlfriend, especially one who understood how it felt to be a bit of an outsider.
As they chatted, Tatiana wondered why Layla would keep this information to herself. However, she wasn’t the only one keeping it under wraps. Dominic could have told her about it, but he chose to keep her in the dark too.
Lies. That’s what the woman in the dream said. Tatiana gave Courtney a sidelong glance as she spoke about the baby and the names they were tossing around. She wondered if perhaps Courtney was the woman they had heard in the dream realm last night. If so, was she trying to communicate with Tatiana, or had they gotten their dream wires crossed?
As they walked to the barn with the summer sun beating down on them, Tatiana resolved to find out what else was being hidden. She was tired of living in an uncertain world, feeling like the rug could be pulled out from under her at any moment.
The conversation was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of people shouting and the high-pitched shriek of horses whinnying.
“Something’s wrong in the barn.” She grabbed Courtney’s arm. “Stay here.”
Tatiana ran at a breakout pace, and as she got closer, she was battered by the rippling shock waves of the animals’ agitated energy signatures. She stumbled as the power of their energy knocked the wind out of her and struggled to catch her breath before continuing. When she finally rounded the corner and stepped into the barn, nothing could’ve prepared her for what she found.
Skidding to a halt, her hands flew to her mouth in horror. Spirit, the gorgeous white mare she worked with yesterday, lay on the ground in a massive stain of blood-soaked hay and dirt. Her dark, lifeless eyes stared blankly at the world, and her coat that had been pure as snow was now marred with blood splatter from two gunshot wounds.
Dominic had Matt pinned against the wall by the throat, and Eric, the other Guardian, stood next to them. Both men glowered at Matt through the glowing eyes of their clan. Seconds later, the air in the barn burgeoned with static electricity and a blast of heat as Richard, Steven, and Courtney materialized next to her.
“You should have done a better background check on your employee, Tatiana,” Dominic seethed. He leaned closer, tightening his grip and making Matt’s eyes widen. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have brought a Caedo assassin to this ranch.”
Dominic jutted his chin toward the back of the stall, and Tatiana’s stomach rolled when she saw the message scrawled in blood. Your half-breed women are next.
Chapter 6
If he squeezed Matt’s neck a little more he could kill him. The words on the wall haunted him and made his blood boil. Your half-breed women are next. Dominic growled and fought the instinctive urge to shift into his tiger. Their women—his woman—Tatiana? It would be a cold day in hell before he let anyone lay a hand on her. Just a little more pressure, and Matt would be a nonissue.
However, after seeing the horrified look on Tatiana’s face when she walked in the barn, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He could handle anything except seeing her upset, especially upset with him. He loosened his hold but didn’t let go.
“What the hell is going on?” Tatiana looked frantically between them and the dead mare. “Dominic. Let Matt go. He’s not Caedo. For God’s sake, he doesn’t even know about us.” She looked at the group who had just materialized out of thin air. “Well, he didn’t up until a few minutes ago.”
“What’s going on?” Matt squeaked out. “Tatiana?”
“Quiet,” Dominic growled.
“He killed Spirit,” Eric said tightly. “Dom and I heard the horses going crazy and found him here standing over the horse’s body. Besides, I ran a background check on him, and he’s like a fucking phantom. Hardly any information online. He could easily be a Caedo spy.”
“Not everyone posts their every thought on Facebook, dude,” Matt said.
“You’re not good at this whole assassin thing, are you kid?” Dominic bit out. His eyes glowed brighter. “You’re supposed to not get caught.”
“This is crazy.” Matt looked at Tatiana through wide, frightened eyes. “What the hell is going on? What the fuck are they?”
“Dominic,” Richard said firmly as he stared at the message on the wall. “Let Matt go. Since he is unarmed and surrounded by Amoveo, he’s not going anywhere. Everyone needs to calm down a moment while we look at all of the evidence.”
“Fine,” Dominic rasped. He dropped his hand from Matt’s neck as Tatiana stepped between them and pushed him away. “You’re lucky Tatiana is here. If it weren’t for her, you’d be dead already.”
“Stop it, Dominic.” She shot him a deadly look before turning to face Matt who was shaking like a leaf and looking at them like they were from Mars. Hell, as far as he was concerned, they probably were. “It’s okay, Matt,” she said soothingly. “No one is going to hurt you.”
“Tatiana,” Matt said in a shaking voice as he hugged her and buried his face in her neck. “I didn’t hurt Spirit. I swear to God. I found her like this, and then these guys fucking attacked me.”
A knot formed in Dominic’s gut as he watched Tatiana hold Matt in her arms and comfort him. She released him, turned around, and stood protectively in front of him, her eyes glowing brightly in their clan form.
“Someone tell me what happened.” She looked at Eric, ignoring Dominic. “Matt would never hurt anyone, especially an animal. He’s one of the kindest, gentlest men I’ve ever known and doesn’t have a mean or aggressive bone in his body.” She shot Dominic an accusatory look. “Unlike some people, he’s never killed anyone.”
“I went into town to get coffee because we didn’t have any in the cabin, and I know how much you like hazelnut. I found Spirit like this when I came back,” Matt sputtered, peering over Tatiana’s shoulders. “I freaked out when I saw her like this and dropped the tray of coffee. I went to see if she was still alive, and two seconds later these two tackled me.” He lowered his voice. “What’s wrong with their eyes?”
“Bullshit,” Dominic spat. “There aren’t any other energy signatures on the property except for ours. If another assassin invaded the ranch, we would’ve sensed it, or at the very least, there would be a trail left behind.” He folded his arms over his chest and loo
ked at Richard. “Your Highness, we don’t know this human, and as soon as he shows up, one of the horses is murdered.”
“Yes. That is all true.” Richard looked grim and turned his glowing lion eyes on Matt. “However, I am inclined to believe his proclamation of innocence. Aside from the fact that it’s far too convenient to catch him in the act.” He looked at Eric and Dominic. “Where is the weapon?”
They all looked at each other and then to Matt, who was still cowering behind Tatiana. The horses whinnied and shuffled nervously in their stalls, but Cass trotted up and down the aisle, calming them as he went.
Dominic swore, and his jaw clenched. “He doesn’t have one, and I checked the car too, but nothing. However, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have ditched it somewhere else.”
Stalking toward the stall, Dominic brushed past Tatiana who moved her body in a protective stance in front of Matt. He scanned the area around the horse and the rest of the stall but didn’t see anything.
“I want to go home,” Matt whispered. “I won’t tell anyone about you guys or this place. Please. Just let me leave.”
Tatiana pushed past Dominic and went directly to Spirit’s body. She said nothing but took several minutes running her hands over the blood-splattered coat of the fallen beast with reverent strokes. She squatted by the animal’s head for a moment with her eyes closed, and Dominic’s gut clenched as he saw her swipe at her eyes. Sadness and anger rippled in her energy waves as she stood and faced the others.
“Matt couldn’t have done this.” She walked over to Richard, and her voice remained strong. “Spirit has been dead for hours, and if I had to guess, I’d say she was killed in the middle of the night. Not this morning. Did anyone hear anything last night?”
Dominic locked eyes with Tatiana briefly as his mind went to the voice they heard in the dream realm. Could that have been the mare trying to connect with Tatiana?
“I didn’t,” Eric said. “It probably happened when I was patrolling the outskirts of the property.”
Before anyone could say anything, Tatiana turned and faced Matt with the glowing eyes of her clan. His jaw dropped, and he stumbled backward, bumping into Dominic.
“You’re one of them,” he yelped and attempted to run away, but Dominic grabbed his arm and held him there. “It’s the fucking pod people.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Dominic ground out. “Quit squirming, or you’re going to hurt yourself.”
Tatiana stepped closer and put a hand on Dominic’s arm. Her eyes, now shifted back to their human brown, were locked on Matt and rimmed with sympathy. Her energy waves were colored with sadness, and Dominic knew she was torn up over the way Matt was looking at her.
“Please don’t be afraid, Matt.” She placed her hand over Dominic’s and gave him a slanted glance as she urged him to let go. Reluctantly, he dropped his hold on Matt as Tatiana kept her voice calm and sent out soothing waves of reassuring energy, which helped ease the tension. “I promise I’ll explain everything. No one here is going to hurt you. Isn’t that right, Richard?”
“Absolutely.” Richard’s quiet but commanding tone filled the space. “We have many things to discuss, not the least of which is who managed to get onto the property undetected to slaughter my wife’s favorite mare and threaten our mates? I think we should take this discussion to the Council chamber. I’m sure Matt will cooperate. Won’t you, Matt? Besides, we have a friend who can find out if you’re being truthful.”
Matt said nothing but nodded, clearly aware there was little choice in the matter.
“Tatiana, are the other horses well enough to be let out to graze? I’d rather not keep them in here until we’ve had a chance to clean everything up.” Richard cast a somber gaze at Spirit’s broken form. “I had been keeping them inside until you had a chance to tend to them, but I can’t imagine being kept here with Spirit’s body is good for them.”
“Absolutely,” Tatiana answered but kept her attention on Matt. “Spirit was the sickest out of all of them. Based on the tests we ran yesterday, their feed was contaminated, so letting them out to graze would be a good idea. They’re also quite disturbed by what happened to Spirit, and I don’t want to leave them in here.” She flicked a brief glance to Richard. “Once things are settled, I’ll need to purchase new feed for the others.”
“You’re not going anywhere without me. Especially not after this shit storm,” Dominic bit out. He turned his glowing gaze to the others. “Tatiana is my mate.”
“Son of a bitch,” she breathed.
Dominic spun to face Tatiana and found himself staring into a pair of furious, glowing golden eyes. A growl rumbled in her chest as she inched slowly toward him, and for a moment he thought she was going to kiss him, but instead she hauled off and smacked him across the face. Hard.
No one moved—not even Matt—but all eyes were on Tatiana and Dominic.
“I am not your property to claim,” she seethed. Tatiana poked him in the chest and got in his face, but he held his ground. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to piss on me like a dog, and quite frankly, I doubt it could feel any more humiliating. Not to mention the fact that we have slightly larger issues to deal with than your male posturing.”
Tatiana spun around and looked at the others.
“I would like to take a closer look at Spirit’s body to make sure we’re not missing something. There could be evidence left behind that will help us, but in the meantime, I think we should explain this to Matt before he dies of shock.”
“Agreed,” Richard said evenly. His somber gaze wandered over the group. “I must speak with Salinda. We will convene in the Council meeting hall in fifteen minutes. I will be reaching out to some of the others and ask them to join us. Dominic, I want you at the meeting as well. Eric, I would like you to stand guard outside the facility.”
“Consider it done.” Dominic kept his voice even as frustration clawed at him. He nodded at Matt. “What about him? We don’t usually allow humans in the meeting hall, unless they are part of the Vasullus family.”
“True.” Richard moved closer to Matt, who looked terrified. Richard studied him carefully, his glowing lion eyes flickering to life. “Then I suppose Matt will be made an honorary member of the Vasullus. He’s seen far too much to explain it all away. So I suppose we shall tell him everything. If Tatiana says we can trust him, then that will have to do… for now.”
“That would be a refreshing change,” Tatiana interjected. She flicked an irritated glance to Dominic. “I’d love to hear everything about the Caedo, the Purists, and their breeding program. All of it. I’m sick of getting information bit by bit.”
“The Purists initiative has been disbanded right along with their breeding program,” Steven said firmly. He pulled Courtney into his arms and ran one hand protectively over her stomach. “Their leader is dead, and they’ve lost their resolve. I doubt they had anything to do with this.”
“We shall see,” Richard said quietly. “I will meet you all in the Council chamber in fifteen minutes.” His eyes glowed brightly as he bowed his head, uttered the ancient language, and vanished.
“What the fuck?” Matt whimpered.
Dominic looked over just in time to see him faint and fall into a bail of hay.
“Oh yeah,” Dominic said with a sigh. “He’s going to be lots of help.”
“Shut up,” Tatiana hissed. “The world he thought existed just got ripped away. So why don’t you give him a small break? Huh?”
Tatiana squatted down next to Matt and brushed his hair off his forehead. She whispered his name a few times, but all he did was moan. Cass trotted over and sniffed at his limp hand.
“Let me get him,” Dominic groaned. He thought she was going to stop him, but she stepped aside, allowing him to pick Matt up. The kid mumbled something but didn’t wake up. “I hope he can handle this because the last thing we need is to babysit a human.”
“He’s my friend, Dominic.” Her voice wavered, and her large dark eye
s flicked to Matt. “Although I can’t imagine he’ll want much to do with me after this mess.”
Dominic’s throat tightened as Tatiana’s energy waves, thick with sadness, washed over him. It was unsettling to have someone else’s feelings directly impact his own. How the hell would he figure out how to navigate this aspect of their relationship? Shit. Who was he kidding? He didn’t know how to navigate any of it.
***
After they let the horses out to graze and put the puppy in the main house out of harm’s way, Tatiana followed Dominic and the others. The animals were clearly upset by what happened, and once they were done with this meeting, she planned on connecting with the horses again. Maybe if she could form a psychic bond with them the way she had with Spirit, she could find out who killed the mare. As that thought filled her mind, she stopped dead in her tracks as she recalled the voice from the dream realm last night.
Lies. All lies… Betrayer.
The words haunted her as she realized the feminine voice in the dream wasn’t Courtney or any other person. It was Spirit, and Tatiana did nothing to help her because she was too busy getting it on with Dominic.
“Tatiana?” Dominic called her name, pulling her from her thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
Tatiana shook her head and started walking again. She wasn’t entirely sure about what she heard and decided to wait before blurting out her suspicions. Especially since it happened while she and Dominic were playing the dream realm dating game.
You heard it too, didn’t you? Dominic’s voice touched her mind gently. Last night in the dream realm. You heard that voice in the storm.
Tatiana didn’t answer him but nodded. It was unsettling how in tune Dominic seemed to be with her. How in tune they were with each other.
As they walked across the property, she stole a glance at the men and noticed the startling similarity between them. All three of them, Eric, Dominic, and Steven, possessed a distinctly predatory air. Their energy waves rippled with tension, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, and that had her more on edge than before. Were they in that much danger?
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