She scrolled back and forth, trying to see if anyone had brought in the device or walked to the blast area. No such luck. Everyone who arrived had gone straight to their desks, which was on the opposite side (and was likely why most escaped with just injuries.) The first one in at 7:00 am was an older female, Marilyn Wasser. Her office was on the east corner, with a view of the river. The device was most likely just behind her office, just under the camera, since the south-east corner was the most destroyed area. Rewinding further, she saw that no one had entered or exited for the previous couple of hours.
"Huh?" Alynna's finger tapped on the stop button when a figure appeared in the video. She stopped and noted the time. 2:29 am. Scrolling back a few minutes, she played the tape forward and watched the door open. "Gotcha!" Narrowing her eyes, she could clearly make out the face of the figure. "What?" The figure entered the mailroom carrying a small bag and went straight to the south east corner, disappearing for a second, then coming back into the frame.
"No!" Alynna slammed the laptop lid down. "No!"
"Alynna!" Alex rushed to his wife. "What's wrong?"
The young woman's face was anguished. "It can't be!" she shook her head, and her body began to shake. "I refuse to believe it!"
"What is it? What did you see, Alynna?" He drew her into his arms and his wife clung to him tightly.
"It's..it's..." Alynna took a deep breath. "There's some mistake...."
Alex gently pried her arms away from his waist and sat her down. He opened the laptop and saw the face staring up at them. It was Cady. "No," he looked at his wife. "There's some explanation, right?"
"I think...what do we do, Alex?"
The young man gritted his teeth. "We need to tell Grant and Nick."
"But what if they..."
"Well if she did do this, then we have no choice but to tell them."
Alynna nodded. "Call Nick, I'll call Grant. Don't tell them anything, but we'll show them when they get here. But I'm going to look into her background and see what I can come up with. There must be some way...to explain this."
***
Alynna couldn't get a hold of Grant, which was understandable since he was still putting out fires. Nick arrived at the suite at around 6 pm, looking tired and haggard.
"What's going on?" the Beta asked as he dropped his jacket on the couch. "You said it was urgent?"
Alex and Alynna looked at each other, hesitating. "Maybe we should wait for Grant?" Alynna suggested.
The blonde Lycan shook his head. "He's gonna be tied up for at least another two hours. He's about to go on a major news network to make sure everyone knows it was all a gas explosion. I'm sure you can tell me now if it's that important."
Alynna bit her lip to stop it from trembling. "Nick, this is hard to say...but we know who planted the device."
"Who?" All tiredness left Nick, and his stance tensed, as if ready to spring into action. "And why couldn't you tell me over the phone?"
"I think you should just see it for yourself," Alex gave the laptop to the other man. "Go and press play. We've seen it a million times by now."
Nick took the laptop, opened it and clicked on the play button. Alynna watched as his face turned into a stern, cold mask. The tension in the room became thick and heavy. He scrolled back and watched it once more, then another time. He stood there, motionless for a few seconds and handed the laptop back to Alex. He turned and walked towards the windows.
"Nick," Alynna began. "Say something."
The Beta turned back to them. "Do we have other proof?"
"Y-y-yes," Alynna sounded like she wanted to break down and cry. "Not just for this, but for Blood Moon as well."
"We have footage of her at Blood Moon, spiking drinks. The bartender, well, he seems to have been distracted and she put something from her hand into a couple of trays...I'll show you-"
"I've seen enough," Nick cut him off.
"Her keycard was used to enter Fenrir at 2:20 am this morning, and then exited at 2:39 am, which matches the footage," Alex explained further. Alynna had broken down at this point, and sank down onto the couch. Her husband sat down next to her, pulling her close.
"Do we have a motive?" Nick's voice was cool.
Alex looked up. "Alynna found something...we're not sure, but it's obvious this is all connected to magic and possibly witches." He looked at his wife and she nodded. He continued, opening up the laptop again. "We looked at records of known witches who might live in and around the New York area or mentioned in Lycan records. We don't keep track of everyone, of course, not since the truce, but we did find a mention of witch named Charlotte Fontaine, who tangled with some Lycans back in 1909. She married a William Chatraine in 1920 and had four children, the youngest was named Elise Chatraine. She had two kids, one a Victoria Chatraine. Victoria then married Luther Gray and had one daughter, Cady Elise Gray, before they separated." Alex paused. "She's a witch and we didn't know."
"There has to be some explanation, right?" Alynna hiccuped. "Some...magical explanation? Was she hypnotized? Did the witches force her to do this somehow? Why didn't we know she's a witch?"
"We can't tell them apart from humans," Alex explained. "At least, not until they show their powers." He turned to Nick "Al Doilea, what do we do now?"
Nick's eyes were like glinting shards of blue glass. "Keep trying to contact the Alpha. Don't tell anyone else for now, I'll take care of the rest." With that, he left the suite.
Chapter Nineteen
Cady was bone tired. All the other times she had a ton of work to do, had to finish some project, or organize an event, she thought she was tired, but this was different. It was physically and emotionally tiring, dealing with Fenrir employees and their families. The image of John Burns' wife breaking down and Marilyn Wasser's son crying out in grief was something she'd never forget in her life. And the work wasn't done. There was still a lot to do, but at least the media and the general public seemed appeased that the Fenrir explosion was nothing more than a gas leak. Sure, there were a few fringe media outlets and blogs crying conspiracy, but the major news stations and gossip rags had moved on. Thank god for the surprise celebrity divorce between that Hollywood hunk and his starlet wife.
The receptionist at The Hamilton handed her a set of keycards to her room, which Alynna had reserved for her. She was able to sneak in two burgers from a fast-food place around the corner from the hospital after she met with the families of the employees with injuries, but she was still so famished. She asked the front desk to send her two of the fastest meals they could whip up. By the time she had finished her shower and was slipping into a robe, the room service cart was waiting outside with a dish of beef stew, a basket of bread, a hearty tuna salad and a big slice of chocolate cake. Needless to say, she scarfed everything down in 15 minutes.
A chirp indicating she got a message on her phone interrupted her as she finished off the last of the cake.
Where are you? It was Nick.
Room 3214. She answered.
Cady waited for a few minutes for his answer, but didn't get anything. Hmm. That was unlike Nick, but today was an unusual day for all of them. She pushed the room service cart to the side and reached for her pad so she could check if any more news stories had popped up. A sudden knock on the door almost made her drop her pad. Nick, she thought. He was the only one who knew where she was. She hadn't had time to think about their conversation this morning, but all she wanted was to see him and have his arms around her.
She rushed to the door, opening it without looking through the peephole, not that she needed to. Launching herself at him, she wrapped her arms around his torso, breathing in his comforting scent.
Nick seemed almost surprised, and staggered back slightly, but regained his balance in time. It took a second for Cady to notice that his body was stiff as a board. Probably from today. Without saying anything else, she led him into her room and closed the door behind her, making sure to put the Do Not Disturb sign on the knob.
"How are you?" she asked cautiously. He had walked over to the window of her small room, which had a view of the building across from them. His shoulders were tense and his hands remained still at his side. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
He said nothing, but he slowly turned to her. His face was a stone mask, eyes like hard steel. "Nothing. Nothing at all." It took only two steps for him to cross over to where she was standing by the bed. Looking into her face, he put a hand on her cheek.
There was something off about Nick, but she didn't say anything. Though she craved his touch, she wanted to give him time to process. Closing her eyes, she felt his hands run down her cheek, to her neck and across her shoulder.
"Nick," she gasped when his hand slipped under her hotel robe, exposing her collarbones.
"Do you like that?"
"Hmmm...yes..." she sighed.
"You don't mind," he paused as he wrapped both hands on her arms. "That a dirty, lowly Lycan is touching you?"
Cady's eye flew open in surprise. "What?" Her blood froze in her veins and the bottom of her stomach dropped.
"Don't deny it," Nick's hands gripped her harder. "That's how you witches view us, right? Dirty, filthy creatures?"
"No! What...what are you talking about?" Cady tried to move away from Nick, but couldn't as the Lycan kept his grip strong.
"It's true, right? About your mother?"
"Y-y-yes..." she confessed. "How did you...Nick, please, listen to me-"
"Witch," he spat. "All this time, sitting right under our noses! That was the plan, right? Worm your way into the clan and destroy us from the inside?"
"Nick, let me explain!" Cady wrenched herself away from him. "Yes, my mother is a witch. She came to me a few weeks ago and caught me off guard. She threatened me. No one knew about her, just my father. But I swear, I'm not a witch and I have no magic."
"It doesn't matter. We know it was you. All of it. The belladonna. The bombing."
"What?" Cady asked incredulously. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't deny it, witch!" he accused, cornering her until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed. "We have you on camera, poisoning the drinks at Blood Moon that night and also footage of you planting the device in the mailroom. Your keycard was used to enter the building. I bet you even planned your little 'accident' to misdirect us!"
Cady looked confused. "What? What are you talking about! I would never..." Her brows knitted. "I wasn't even at Blood Moon that night!"
"You said you were meeting your friend there," he reminded her.
She let out a frustrated groan. "I said that because...you were going to dinner with Madison and....anyway," she squared her shoulders. "I didn't go to Blood Moon, I went to The Met Museum! I go there sometimes because that's where my dad and I would go when I was growing up. We both loved the impressionists."
"Stop lying, Cady," he roared at her. "We have you on camera clearly. And the same with the mailroom bomb. It was an Ognevaia bomb you and your witch coven cooked up, but you already knew that. Your keycard clocked you in and then you planted the bomb, it's all on camera."
"There must be some mistake!" She threw her hands up and planted them on his chest. "Please, Nick, believe me."
"What were you doing between 2 and 3 am this morning?"
"I..." Cady stopped. "Oh god..." The wheels in her head started turning. Victoria's call. The meeting at the diner. She was set up. "I swear Nick, if you let me explain, I can clear this up!"
"And how will you explain, my sweet?" he mocked. "I suppose you can't help yourself and who you are."
Cady bit her lip to stop the tears from falling. Nick reacted exactly as she thought he would. Her heart wrenched, seeing him look at her so coldly and with such hatred in his eyes, when it was just this morning he was ready to give up everything for her. "Nick, I swear. I'm not a witch, I know how you feel about witches because of your parents-"
"Don't you dare mention them," he warned. "My grandfather told me that even as they were being burned at the stake, they kept screaming and spitting out, calling my mother and father 'filthy, dirty creatures' and that they deserved to die."
Cady let out a small cry, the tears finally falling down her cheeks. "Nick, I'm sorry..." she reached up and touched his cheek, and he flinched, but put his hand over hers.
"Are you, really?" His voice was so cold, she shivered.
"I..." Cady didn't know what else to do. She leaned in and placed her head on his chest. "I'm so sorry, about your parents. But I didn't do this."
Nick pushed her back until they fell on the bed. He loomed over her, pushing her hair out of her face, his hand playing with the collar of her robe. "Tell me you didn't do it," he demanded.
"I didn't do it," she gasped when he shoved the robe aside, exposing her breasts to the cool air. Her nipples hardened instantly.
"Convince me."
Cady looked up into his eyes, seeing hurt behind his the anger. He never talked about his parents, always claiming he was too young, but it was obvious their death had left a big mark on him. Despite all the things he said, accused her of, she wanted to comfort him and take that hurt away. She did it the only way she knew how. Reaching up, she pulled him down for a kiss, pressing her lips to his.
Nick growled and devoured her mouth, his body coming down on hers. Cady whimpered when she felt his hard cock pressing up against her core, even through the thick robe. His scent filled her nose, and she breathed it in, letting it fill her and surround her. He ripped his mouth from hers. Grabbing her wrists, he placed them over her head with one hand, forcing her breasts to jut out.
"So beautiful," he stared down at her as his other hand captured her chin, tipping it up to face him. "I always thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen."
Before she could say anything, he lowered his head to her nipples, drawing them into his warm mouth. Pleasure shot through her body, and she squirmed as her pussy flooded with wetness. The erotic, tortuous strokes of his tongue made her bones melt and she moaned in pleasure. Nick seemed like a man possessed as he continued to torment her. Her body was craving him, despite what he might think of her now, and she pushed up her hips and breasts at him, trying to get more contact. He let go of her wrists and ripped the robe open.
"Please," she said. God, she was going to die from need. She reached up and put her hands on his shoulders.
"No," he growled. "You don't get to touch."
Her hands recoiled like he had slapped her. More tears gathered in her eyes and she sucked in a breath, trying not to make them fall. A vice gripped her heart, and she thought of the betrayal Nick must have felt, - his parents, knowing about Victoria. She wanted to reach out to him, but knew he wouldn't listen. This was it, this was the end. Her life as she knew it was over and she would take every bit of what Nick could give her, what he had left. Because the truth was, she loved him, always had. And she wanted this, wanted him.
His large hand trailed down her stomach, fingers tracing a path down to her thighs. His fingers delved into her soft, wet folds and Cady gasped as his thumb found her clit, stroking it, making her even wetter. She groaned. "Nick," she pleaded.
He withdrew his fingers, which made her whimper in disappointment. He grabbed her wrists again and pinned them over head. Positioning himself over her, he grabbed his erect shaft and pressed the tip up against her damp folds.
"What do you want, Cady?"
"You," she replied, without missing a beat.
"You want this dirty, filthy Lycan inside you? Fucking you?"
She flinched at the words, but she couldn't do anything but nod as the thick head of his cock teased her clit.
"Beg me for it."
"Please, Nick, I want you, fuck me, please!" She cried out as he buried himself in her, pushing all the way to the hilt. He released her wrists, and risking his anger, she reached up and ran her fingers through his dark blonde hair. She pushed up closer to him, his chest hairs tickling her sensitive nipples. "Kee
p going," she urged.
Nick grunted as he rolled his hips forward, not even bothering to start slow. Instead, he thrust in and out of her in an unfaltering rhythm. "Cady," he whispered with a ragged breath. He pulled completely out of her and then pushed back in. "God, you're so hot and wet and tight. And completely mine."
Cady wrapped her legs around him, not wanting to let go. He hammered in and out of her, pushing her open, her body winding up tightly as the tension built up in her. Nick reached down and stroked her clit as he slammed into her.
She screamed his name, gripping him tighter as he continued to plunge into her. It was such a contrast from that morning's sweet and gentle lovemaking, his hands gripping her so tight she knew they would leave bruises all over, but she reveled in every moment, every bit of friction. Her orgasm ripped though her, exploding in a white heat that made her see stars. As she came down, she felt his body stiffen and his thrusts becoming erratic. He grinded against her, then buried himself one last time into her, body trembling as he came, his seed flooding inside of her. Bracing himself on his elbows, he remained on top of her, his head hung low as he breathed heavily.
Shame burned in her face and she pushed at him, rolling onto her side. God, she had wanted him so bad, despite what he had accused her of doing. What am I going to do now? Did Nick believe her? Would Grant believe her story? What else did Victoria do to convince them?
"All this time...tell me, Cady," he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Was sleeping with me part of the plan? Or was that an opportunity that came along at the right time? That was pretty convincing on your part. I suppose I should be thankful I'm the first one you decided to whore yourself out-"
A loud crack rang through the air as Cady's palm connected with his cheek. "You bastard!" she cried out, her face a mask of hurt. She scrambled off the bed, closing the robe to cover herself.
Blood Moon: Book 2 of the True Mates Series: A Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance Page 13
