by Cara Wylde
“If you don’t mind, may I have a glass of whiskey?” He even smiled a little.
Tristan looked at the attorney as if the guy was the eighth wonder of the world. He blinked rapidly a couple of times, his brain trying to process the fact that someone had just asked him to fetch him a glass of something. He was a lion-shifter. He didn’t take orders, he didn’t fulfill requests. That was why he was the Alpha of his own pride and had subordinates to tend to his every wish. That was why Camille was there. His instinct was to call her and tell her to take care of whatever Mr. Nathan Moore, insert sarcasm here, needed. But then he remembered he didn’t want the attorney to see her. That was why he had ordered her to lock herself up in her lab and stay there until the guy was gone. He looked over to the table, noticed that the bottle of whiskey was, indeed, empty, then sighed and rose to his feet. He didn’t like it, but he would go into the other room and bring another bottle of whiskey. After all, the poor guy hadn’t actually committed a crime. How could he know he was talking to a lion-shifter?
Nathan released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding, and went to work. The real job he had come here for only took a split second and a quick twist of his wrist, but in his mind it had taken the dimensions of a monster. A monster job that would send him right to hell. One day. Yes, he’d go to hell. All he could hope for now was that he’d at least have a good life until the time came. He stepped away from the desk and the screens just as Tristan came back with a new bottle of whiskey. He figured the guy wasn’t the type who poured whiskey for other people, so Nathan took the bottle from him, thanked him kindly, and went to the table to grab a clean glass. He poured himself more than he should have, and gulped it down immediately.
“Is it okay if I give these to Amber myself?” asked Tyler.
Nathan took a moment to enjoy the burn down his throat, then plastered a smile on his face.
“Of course.”
“Great! I’ll drive you back.”
“Oh, there’s no need. I’ll just take a cab.”
“You sure?” Tyler felt like he should do more for the guy who had just helped Amber out of a terrible marriage.
“Absolutely!”
Nathan didn’t wait for Tyler to insist. He just wanted to get out of there. He opened the door and almost bumped into Emil. He knew what he hated more about this situation: he was under the same roof with three strong, muscular men who had kidnapped Stephan Castell and were keeping him prisoner without breaking a sweat. When he wanted to walk past Emil, the man stopped him by placing a hand on his chest.
“I’m sure Rebecca mentioned this, but bear with me.”
Emil smiled kindly, but Nathan knew there was a subtle threat in his smile and voice.
“Not a word about what you saw here,” Emil continued. “This stays between us.”
“Of course, of course. It’s all very clear.”
“Good.”
Finally, he was free to leave this dreadful place. Rebecca Gilbert had added a handsome bonus to his regular fee to buy his silence. She trusted him. If there was anything Nathan truly regretted, was betraying her trust. She was a beautiful, intelligent woman. He had known her for years, they had worked together since the beginning of her career, and she had put all her trust in him even though he was fresh out of college when she had met him. He admired her, loved her even. Not as a woman, but as a sister. A big sister who had always looked out for him. Out on the street, all he wanted to do was to put as much distance as possible between him and the warehouse.
CHAPTER NINE
After Nathan left, Tyler, Tristan, and Emil tried to get more information about the Arte di Calimala from Stephan, but they weren’t as successful. For some reason, Stephan had become more resilient after signing the divorce papers. He acted as if something had changed. He either didn’t have anything to lose anymore, or he had some sort of plan. Tristan got angry and said this was taking too long and he needed to go back to his pride, eventually. He couldn’t leave them without their Alpha for so long. Emil told him they had to be patient. It wasn’t easy for the Order to catch up with the guild, so they had to play their cards well. Who knew when they’d be able to capture another member? Tyler agreed with Emil, and they both calmed Tristan down. By dinner, Camille had figured out what all the other vials contained: bear venom, wolf venom, tiger venom, and only one of them contained a lethal combination of all three types. The red vials were, of course, filled with bear-shifter blood for Stephan. Tristan said he would hold on to them. After all, his witch was the only one who could tell which was which.
“I think he needs another dose,” said Emil right before they sat down to eat.
“That fast?” Tristan still believed they were being too kind to Stephan.
Tyler sighed and grabbed the red phial Tristan had left on the table hours ago. “I’ll give it to him.”
He went into Stephan’s cell and told him to give him his arm. Stephan smiled up at him, but didn’t say a word. It was weird for the two of them to be face to face like that. Tyler held his gaze for a long moment.
“You’re lucky we’re nothing like the Calimala,” he said. “You would have been dead by now.”
“Because I hunt down supernaturals, or because you’re jealous I had Amber all to myself for ten years?”
A rush of adrenaline went straight to Tyler’s head, and he struggled to keep his temper in check. Stephan wasn’t worth it.
“Because you’re scum.” He knelt and sank the needle into Stephan’s arm. “You killed innocent people…”
“… abnormal people. Shape-shifters are monsters.”
Tyler ignored him. “You took a woman who loved you with all her heart and destroyed her life. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that. But in this case I blame myself more. I knew Amber way before you met her. I should have told her who you are. I should have told her she had fallen in love with a murderer.”
“And why didn’t you?”
Tyler hesitated. He pulled the needle out, then looked into Stephan’s black eyes. “Because she loved you, and when she told me you asked her to marry you, I thought you genuinely wanted her. Even though you’re part of the Calimala, I thought you would love and take care of your wife. After all, you bastards value family above all, don’t you? I thought she would be safer with my enemy than with me, a bear-shifter who needed to stay hidden in order to survive. She would have been on the run, and I didn’t want that for her or for her children.” He sighed. “Oh well… I was wrong, and here we are, back to square one. I won’t make the same mistake again, Castell.”
Stephan huffed. He wanted to say something, but then he changed his mind. His dark brows furrowed, and a grimace appeared on his thin, chapped lips.
Tyler stood up and turned to leave the cell. Just as he was opening the door, he heard Stephan moan pathetically.
“Atwood… What did you give me?”
Tyler let go of the door and turned to see what Stephan was talking about. Whatever it was, the man wasn’t joking. The pain and exhaustion in his voice were evident, and they made Tyler’s heart beat faster with anxiety.
“Your dose,” Tyler replied.
Stephan looked up at him. His pupils were dilated, and pure horror was written all over his handsome features.
“No. That wasn’t bear-shifter blood. You bastard, what did you give me?”
Tyler looked up at the camera, hoping Emil and Tristan were watching and listening.
Stephan fell on his side and his body curled up in pain.
“What… what did you… You poisoned me!”
Tyler threw all he had against Stephan out the window and knelt beside him again. He grabbed his shoulders and tried to roll him on his back, but the second their eyes met, he knew there was nothing he could do for him.
“I gave you bear-shifter blood! The vial was red! You saw it was red!”
Stephan moved his lips, but no words came out. His tongue was swollen, and white foam was starting to gather at the
corners of his mouth. Quick spasms shook his body, then he went limp in Tyler’s arms, his black eyes fixed on Tyler’s, but empty, void of the smallest trace of life.
“Castell! Castell, don’t die on me! We’re not finished here, do you hear me?”
It was useless. No matter how hard he shook him, Stephan wouldn’t move. He was dead.
“Shit.”
Tyler dropped the body and jumped to his feet just as Tristan and Emil were entering the room.
“What the hell happened?!” yelled Tristan.
Emil checked for Stephan’s pulse, although he already knew he wouldn’t find it. His wolf senses had already identified the scent of death.
Tyler ran both his hands through his hair, then turned to the lion-shifter and grabbed him by the collar.
“Your witch,” he growled. “Did she replace the drug with something else? She played with those vials all day!”
Tristan’s long, strong fingers curled around Tyler’s wrist. He squeezed him mercilessly, but Tyler didn’t let go.
“What are you accusing me of?”
“Maybe not you, but certainly your witch.”
“If you’re accusing one of my people, then you’re accusing me.”
Tyler pushed Tristan against the wall so hard that his head made a silent thud at the impact.
“She’s not one of your people. She’s a fuckin’ witch! Witches work for the Calimala. I don’t know how you convinced this one to betray the guild, but she’s not to be trusted. I can see it in her eyes.”
“You know nothing!”
Tristan was done with this madness. He used all his shifter strength to push Tyler away.
Tyler found himself flung across the room, and if Emil hadn’t caught him and put him back on his feet, he would have hit the opposite wall, and maybe even gone through it.
“She’s afraid of you,” yelled Tyler. “That woman is not loyal to you Tristan, she’s watching your every move, she’s waiting for a chance to make you suffer.”
Tristan took a couple of steps towards the bear-shifter. His intense blue eyes turned feline when he growled into Tyler’s face: “You. Know. Nothing.” Then, he looked at Emil, who was still behind Tyler. The wolf-shifter was unsure of how to react, and Tristan could tell he was torn between his friend and him. “Emil Severin, our collaboration is over.”
Emil took a deep breath and pushed Tyler aside. No, this couldn’t end like this. Stephan Castell was dead, they had no idea who did it, but even if he had to admit that he, too, thought Camille could be responsible, he didn’t want to provoke Tristan further. He needed the lion-shifter. The Order of the Severins needed Tristan Ward, his witch, and his pride.
“Let’s try to keep our heads cool here,” said Emil in a calculated voice. “We’ve come such a long way… If we hadn’t worked as a team, we would have never caught Stephan Castell.”
“He’s of no use to us dead,” said Tyler. He looked down at the body and wondered how in God’s name he would give Amber the news. Yes, he knew she wanted him to suffer, even die, but he also knew she didn’t really mean it. She was better than that. She was better than any of them.
“You, shut up!” yelled Emil. He understood Tyler’s situation, but he couldn’t risk losing Tristan. They could find out who murdered Stephan later. Now, he had to make sure Tristan and Camille didn’t walk out on them.
Tristan’s cold eyes moved from the bear-shifter to the wolf-shifter, then he turned around and headed to the control room.
“I’ll take care of the body,” he said. “You two just make sure you remove your sorry asses from under my roof in ten minutes straight. If you don’t, I’ll kick you out myself.”
Emil sighed and rubbed his temples. He turned to Tyler.
“Well done, mate. Well fuckin’ done.”
Tyler’s eyes turned into slits, their shade a bit darker now. “His witch murdered our only lead.”
“We don’t know that!”
Tyler folded his arms over his chest.
“Do you have a better theory? Just admit it: you don’t trust her either. You know I’m right.”
Emil stepped closer to Tyler, almost pushing him against the wall. Their bulky chests were only inches apart.
“Do you have any idea what you just did? Tristan’s witch was the only one who could make more pure shifter blood for Amber. Now, your mate is left with the vials Camille had managed to make for her, and the three or four vials Stephan had on him.”
Slowly, but surely, Tyler’s eyes grew wide with realization. His arms dropped to his sides and just dangled there.
“Fuck.”
***
Amber closed her eyes for a second. Tyler had just finished talking, and she needed time to think. She needed time to process the idea that Stephan Castell, her husband… ex-husband… the father of her child, was no more. She was sitting on the bed in her and Ava’s room, and Tyler was sitting next to her. When she felt his arms trying to sneak around her shoulders, she shook her head and stood up. She walked to the window and looked outside.
Tyler’s heart ached. He had kept nothing from her. He had told her how he went to give Stephan his dose, and the man died right before his eyes. He had sworn to her that neither he, nor Emil had anything to do with his death. He could even vouch for Tristan, but not for Camille. Amber had listened in silence, then he felt her building a wall between them. Her refusal to make physical contact scared him. He couldn’t live without this woman, he simply couldn’t. He had to do something to win her back. He had to make it all better.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through.”
“Don’t.”
Amber wasn’t crying. At first, she had thought she would burst into tears, but it didn’t happen. The news of her ex-husband’s death simply left an empty space in her heart. Still, it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t right. She understood now that even though she had wanted him to pay for his sins, she had never actually wanted him dead. For him, death was a small price to pay, anyway. Leaving that aside, she would need time to get used to the new state of things. Oh, and she had to figure out a way of telling Ava. Although her daughter had never been particularly fond of her father, who had always ignored her, Amber knew Ava would suffer.
Tyler sighed, ran his fingers through his messy hair, rubbed his temples, then sighed again. He had no idea how he was supposed to do this. There was no easy way out.
“You’ve probably realized by now… If Tristan refuses to work with us anymore, then his witch won’t make more pure shifter blood for you.”
Amber nodded imperceptibly. Yes, she was aware of this small, yet quite significant detail.
“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, my love!” He jumped to his feet and wanted to hug her from behind, but changed his mind at the last moment. He stuck his fist into his mouth and bit down as hard as he could. “I’m such an idiot! I’m the most stupid, selfish man alive! I wasn’t thinking. Shit. I wasn’t thinking.”
Amber didn’t say anything. She felt very tired. She didn’t need a new dose yet, but the past few hours had taken a serious toll on her and her sanity. Ava. How was she supposed to tell Ava? The girl was with Rebecca, as always. Speaking of Rebecca… Amber owed everything to that wonderful woman and friend.
“There is one solution, though,” continued Tyler.
Amber was only half listening to him, her mind focused on her own problems.
“If you want… When you’re ready…” He paused and tried to find better words. “Only if you think I’m the right man for you… Only if you want to spend the rest of your life with me…” Amber didn’t react, and it worried him. He took a deep breath. “I promise you I will make you happy. I will take care of you and Ava, and offer you everything you want, everything you need. I love you so much, Amber.” He wasn’t getting to the point. He was stalling, and he hated himself for that. “I could turn you.”
Amber came back to reality. She turned around
slowly and looked into Tyler’s eyes.
“What did you say?”
Tyler puffed out his cheeks. He had done it this time, hadn’t he? But what else could he do? He had screwed up with Tristan and Camille. He couldn’t wait for Amber to finish all the doses she had only to slip back into a coma. This time, it might even happen sooner.
“I could turn you into a bear-shifter. You’d be like me.”
Amber shook her head, but didn’t say anything. She had just lost the ability to form coherent sentences. Not even her thoughts could handle the sheer insanity of his proposition.
Tyler stepped closer to her, but was careful not to enter her personal space. No matter how much he wanted to draw her into his arms, caress her hair and kiss her cheeks, he knew Amber was off limits right now.
“You’re my mate, Amber. I’m sure of it. Not many shifters believe in soul mates anymore. When you married…” he hesitated, not sure if it was safe to say his name. “I… I lost all hope then. But you came back into my life, as if it was always meant to happen, as if we were meant to be together. Just think about it. Incredible speed, amazing senses, a long, long life… together.”
Amber kept staring at him as if she understood only half of what he was saying. He was silent for a while. He was probably waiting for her to say something, but for the life of her, she couldn’t convince her brain to cooperate. She didn’t have to make the decision now, did she? There were still a couple of doses left. She had time. She had all the time in the world to mourn her loss, hold her daughter tightly as she told her the truth, wait for her wounds to heal.
“I can’t…” she whispered.
Tyler’s shoulders dropped in defeat.
“Not now. Not yet. I need… time to think.”
A flicker of hope danced in his eyes, but Amber cut things short before he had a chance to say anything.
“Please… I want to be alone.”
Tyler didn’t move at first. It was as if his body didn’t know how to put distance between him and Amber anymore. He couldn’t stand the idea that she wanted him gone. Not completely gone, but out of the room. It hurt. It hurt so badly, and the pain he felt was new confirmation that she was, indeed, his mate. Only that kind of unconditional love could hurt so much.
