Legacy (Blackwater Pack Book 3)

by Hannah McBride

  “Based on what you’ve told me, I believe your mother may have some questions for him. She deserves answers, as do you.” His voice lowered. “Dimitri also told me of your aunt and cousin. Perhaps they need closure as well?”

  I nodded mutely for a second, until my eyes rounded for a second time. “And him?”

  Nikolai grimaced as Elias started being led down to us. “He may yet prove useful.”

  Linden glared at me as he came closer, but the swelling around his eyes dimmed the effect. His skin was mottled with purple and yellow bruises.

  “They’ll be locked away with guards in the back of the plane,” Nikolai told me. “And you see the bracelets? They cannot shift. They are no threat to you, sweetheart.”

  “I’m not worried about them,” I answered honestly as Elias walked by. My eyes narrowed into thin slits as they were led to the plane. “I’m more worried I might kill them before we land.”

  Nikolai tipped his head back and laughed, the sound warm and inviting. “You are most assuredly my daughter.”

  I didn’t hate that, either.

  Ten hours in, and almost everyone was asleep on the plane. Tate was curled up in a ball against the window seat beside me. Across from me, Dimitri’s head was resting on the back of his seat, his eyes closed. Oddly enough, Lulu was sitting to his right, her head on his shoulder as she slept soundly. Our seats were separated by a table that my phone rested on.

  I lit up the screen, unlocking it so I could see the last message sent ten hours ago before we took off.

  SKYE: We’re leaving now. Expect 30 people, not counting Tate and me. I love you.

  REMY: See you soon. I love you, babe.

  I let the phone go dark, wishing I could fall asleep like the others. The cabin had been dimmed a few hours after departure for us, but my mind wouldn’t turn off enough to sleep.

  Half of Nikolai’s council was on this plane, scattered around the plush, spacious interior. It was the same plane Dimitri had brought me to Russia in, but I hadn’t taken the time to really pay attention to the interior. I had been too busy freaking out to appreciate the buttery soft leather, the shiny wood accents, and the gold finishes.

  Blackwater’s plane looked tiny and a little worn down by comparison.

  I was still looking around the plane when my eyes landed on Nikolai’s. He wasn’t sleeping either from where he sat further down the plane on a long couch-like bench.

  Carefully, he lifted Natasha’s head from his lap and stood, sliding a pillow under her head before he headed down the aisle towards me.

  Alexei was across the aisle from me, and his eyes opened at the Alpha’s approach. He got out of his seat and moved towards the rear of the plane while Nikolai sat down.

  “Can’t sleep?” he asked quietly. His accent was a little more Russian now, and I could see he was tired, too.

  I shook my head. “Too anxious.”

  “I’d imagine this is something like Christmas morning for you,” he replied with a smile. “Too excited to sleep because tomorrow holds the promise of great joy.”

  I tried to smile back and failed. “I didn’t have those. Christmas wasn’t a thing we celebrated when I was a kid. All the major holidays were just another day.”

  His mouth flattened. “I’m sorry. I should have known.”

  I reached across the aisle and touched his hand. “You couldn’t have known.”

  “You told me how your mother suffered,” he said slowly, fear and loathing swirling in his eyes, “but you were a child. I would have imagined you didn’t suffer the same fate.”

  I was quiet for a long minute. “Not the same fate, but I was her daughter. Proof that she had violated the marriage treaty between Long Mesa and Stone Valley.”

  “And for that sin they punished you as well?” He breathed the question, letting it hang between us for an agonizing pause.

  “At first I was too young to understand what was going on,” I admitted hesitantly. “I didn’t understand the bruises and why Mom cried all the time. Why everyone in the pack hated us. Why there was never enough food or how people could do nothing while we struggled to survive each day.”

  He stayed quiet, waiting for me to continue with endless patience and zero judgement or pity.

  That made it easier to keep talking.

  “Most of the time it was just us in the omega house,” I said. “But then more were added when … when it became clear that more people wanted to visit my mother than she could handle.”

  His eyes closed in sheer agony for a second, his hand curling so hard around the armrest that the metal groaned and began to twist.

  “None of the other omegas made it,” I added, thinking of Maisie and how scared she had been. “The two left behind after Mom and I escaped were killed for helping us, even though they didn’t. The ones before them died from the abuse or suicide. Mom was the only one who survived.”

  “Because your mother is no omega,” he hissed. “She’s strong. She’s a fighter.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. But she’s also been hurt in more ways than either one of us can imagine. So, if you’re planning on doing what Natasha suggested? On trying to rekindle some kind of connection?”

  “Don’t do it?” he finished for me coldly.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “Be careful. Don’t break her heart any more than it has been. Please.”

  I didn’t realize I was crying until Nikolai’s fingers swept the tears from my cheeks.

  “You don’t think I should let her go? Let her live her own life?” he asked, his voice breaking a bit.

  “Natasha said that out of everyone she knows, you deserve happiness the most,” I replied. “Out of everyone I know? My mom deserves that, too. Maybe what was broken can be fixed, maybe it can’t. But isn’t it worth taking the time to find out? I know that every time Mom was stressed or sad or close to breaking, she touched this.”

  I closed a hand over my own claiming mark, feeling the raised scars. I traced the mark, letting myself relive that night and that moment.

  I met his eyes and struggled to catch my breath. There was so much pain there. So much regret.

  I touched his hand again, gently prying his fingers off the armrest and lacing them with mine. “I don’t believe that the time you spent together meant nothing to her, Nikolai. I don’t believe that you meant nothing to her.”

  32

  Skye

  Lulu scared the hell out of all of us hours later when she suddenly jerked upright with a ragged gasp. Tate jerked awake, my head snapped up, and Dimitri looked ready for war. I must have dozed off myself at some point. My neck ached from how I had been holding it. Rubbing it, I looked curiously at Lulu.

  She pressed a hand against her chest, breathing hard. Her gray eyes were huge, her dark complexion looking slightly ashen. “I need to talk to Elias.”

  “What?” Dimitri frowned at her, shaking off the remnants of sleep. “We already talked to him, Lu.”

  “Explain,” Nikolai said calmly, leaning across the aisle.

  Others who had been sleeping around us were now awake and looking over curiously. Natasha stood up from where she had been sleeping and walked down the aisle, leaning her hip against Dimitri’s seat.

  Lulu swallowed under the new scrutiny. “I need to talk to him. Actually, I need Skye to talk to him.”

  Everyone’s gaze swung to me.

  “Me?” My eyebrows rose to my hairline. “I already talked to him. I’m good.”

  Lulu leaned her forearms on the table. “For whatever reason, Skye means something to him.”

  “Because I’m a damn lab rat to him,” I muttered darkly.

  “No, it’s more than that,” she insisted. “When Dimitri and I were with him, he kept asking about you. He wanted to see you.”

  Dimitri looked at me, his brows pulled together. “She’s right. It was weird.”

  “But why me?” I asked. “I’m no one.”

  Nikolai bristled. “You’re my daughter.”


  “And as much as I appreciate the fatherly pride, I don’t think that’s it.” I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.

  “Actually? That might be it,” Lulu replied softly. Her gray eyes met mine and held. “Skye’s the first female Dashkov that’s been born in over two hundred years.”

  “Princess,” Tate muttered, nudging my side with a smile.

  “Exactly,” Lulu said earnestly.

  “I still don’t get it,” I returned with a shrug. “You’re going to have to break it down for me.”

  But not for Dimitri, apparently, who was staring at Lulu with fascination as understanding dawned. “Because females carry the abilities.”

  Lulu turned and looked at him. “Yes.”

  “It makes sense.”

  Their mouths curved into identical smiles. For a beat, it was like they were in their own world.

  I cleared my throat to get their attention. “Can someone explain it to me?”

  Lulu grinned at me, her eyes practically sparkling with excitement. “Remember how I told you earth magic and women were linked? Because both are the essence of life?”

  “Yeah.” I drew the word out slowly, thinking back.

  “Our abilities are carried from mother to daughter. My abilities came from my mother. Your abilities came from your mother, but also from the females of the Dashkov line. It’s all linked, Skye. You have a connection that hasn’t been tapped into in over two hundred years.” She smiled at me like I was supposed to understand what that meant.

  “Wait, so only women can … do what you do?” Tate interjected.

  Lulu made a face. “Yes, and no.”

  “That cleared up a lot,” Tate murmured sarcastically.

  “Men have abilities, too, but they’re not quite as strong,” Lulu added. “Skye’s bloodline is part of the first shifters, not just the first pack. She’s a direct descendant of the original two shifters, one of whom was the daughter of the strongest Romani ever in our history. That means she’s probably got a little magic in her blood, too.”

  “Which Elias would love to get his hands on,” Nikolai growled, his expression turning thunderous.

  “I’m not magical,” I said quickly, emphatically. “If I had any magic at all, don’t you think I would have used it to get out of Long Mesa before I did? Or to stop people from hurting me and my mom?”

  “Magic isn’t that cut and dry,” Lulu explained. “You may not have even known you were doing it. It could have been a by-product of circumstances around you that you wrote off as a fluke or something.”

  Tate turned and stared at me. “At the Summit. When you and Remy …” She gave me a pointed look, raising her eyebrows. “The bonding wave in Blackwater and at the Summit, remember?”

  “Bonding wave?” Nikolai pressed, leaning in.

  “That sounds fun.” Natasha smirked and winked at me.

  “Mama, please.” Dimitri winced. He rubbed his temple with a groan.

  Natasha sighed dramatically. “How are you even my child?”

  “Wait, what happened at the Summit?” Lulu asked curiously, leaning forward.

  I gave Tate a hard look. Apparently details of my sex life were going to be openly discussed again. Awesome. It never got any less awkward.

  “The first time Remy and I were together was at the Summit,” I said softly.

  Lulu’s head tilted to the side. “But you said that you two bonded in the fall.”

  “We did,” I replied, huffing a little. “But we didn’t do that until the Summit.”

  “Why on earth would you wait so long?” Natasha asked incredulously.

  “Because I spent my life with sex being used as a weapon to belittle, punish, and hurt people,” I snapped, my patience running out as I struggled to keep from blushing. “I wasn’t ready, and Remy was willing to give me all the time I needed.”

  Natasha held her hands up innocently. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

  “But you know how abnormal that is, right, Skye?” Lulu asked, drawing my attention back to her. “To have the wherewithal to wait? Especially for second gens? The Conclave usually turns into a freaking orgy because the second gen bonds are so strong.”

  Natasha grinned. “It is always a fun night.”

  “Tasha, maybe we can curtail the commentary until a time when our son isn’t ready to crawl under a seat from embarrassment?” Nikolai murmured.

  “More like jump out of the plane,” Dimitri muttered, a disgusted look on his face.

  Lulu waved everyone off, focused on me. “Seriously, Skye. You two waiting is like … damn. Your animal instincts should’ve overridden wanting to wait for any reason.”

  I threw up my hands in frustration. “I didn’t even know shifters could bond until I went to Blackwater. It’s not like I had a checklist to follow of what mates do when they bond.”

  Nikolai reached across the aisle and touched my arm. “No one is blaming you, sweetheart. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Of course not,” Lulu agreed firmly. “But it’s just not normal to be able to control your wolf for that long, especially when you’ve just bonded. We’re talking a crazy amount of hormones and pheromones and … regular moans.”

  Natasha hid a grin while Dimitri rolled his eyes.

  “It wasn’t just me,” I said stubbornly, squirming a little in my seat. “Remy put zero pressure on me. He was fine with waiting. I’m the one who made the first move.”

  “A fact that makes me like him a little more,” Nikolai remarked with a half-smile.

  “Okay, but back to this bonding wave,” Lulu said, leaning forward with bright eyes. “What does that mean?”

  “Right after we … you know,” I said emphatically, cringing inside, “twelve pairs of mates bonded in our pack.”

  “And three others at the Summit,” Tate added.

  Lulu whirled on Dimitri. She slapped his shoulder. “Did you know and not tell me?”

  His jaw dropped open. “I was dealing with a lot of shit, Lu. Bombings and traitors and finding out I had a sister.”

  “You should have told me,” she insisted. “Especially when you found out Skye was a Dashkov.”

  He leaned down until their noses were centimeters apart. “And I told you I had other stuff going on.”

  They stared at each other for a minute before, surprisingly, Lulu backed down and turned her face away from him.

  “Skye, this is huge.” She smiled at me, looking genuinely happy and excited.

  “Elias was pretty excited when it happened. Remember? He asked if he could study you and Remy,” Tate pointed out.

  Dimitri snorted. “He wouldn’t shut up about it. Probably jerked off thinking about it.”

  “Okay, ew,” I said, grimacing. Tate shook her head in disgust, the corners of her mouth pulled down.

  Lulu reached for my hand on the table. “Skye, I think he might talk to you. You might stand a chance at getting us more information. We need to know exactly what Norwood is doing.”

  I bit my lip, hesitating. I glanced at Nikolai, not sure why I needed his input. But I wanted it, all the same.

  “It’s your decision, love,” he said gently. “But it may give you a few more answers or help us. You know what’s at stake.”

  “I’ll do it,” I said immediately, picturing Maren. I had to find out where she was.

  “You don’t have to,” Tate said softly from my other side.

  I swallowed hard and looked at her. “I think he knows where Maren is, Tate.”

  Her hazel eyes went wide.

  “Can we do it now?” I asked Nikolai.

  His lips pressed together for a moment before he nodded. “We should land in less than two hours. Would you like me to come with you?”

  “He probably won’t talk with you in the room,” I admitted. I shook my head as Dimitri opened his mouth. “Or you. It should just be Lulu and me.”

  “Your uncle is in that room as well,” he said quietly.

  “I can handle him,”
Lulu promised sharply. “He won’t say a word to her.”

  “Very well.” He stood up and looked at the men guarding the back door. “Let them pass.”

  Tate grabbed my hand as I started to stand.

  “Skye, if he knows where Maren is …” She trailed off with a shudder.

  “I’ll find out,” I vowed, squeezing her hand. I looked at Lulu. “Can I use the bathroom first?”

  “Take your time,” she said.

  “Thanks.” I stepped into the aisle and followed the lights down the back of the plane where the guards were. I gave them a tight-lipped smile and slipped into the bathroom door to the left.

  The luxury of the cabin extended to the bathroom which boasted the usual toilet and sink, but also a standing shower. I used the toilet and washed my hands before splashing water onto my face.

  I grabbed one of the cloth towels folded to the side and blotted my face and neck as I looked at my reflection in the illuminated mirror.

  I looked pale and tired.

  I dropped the used towel into the small hamper beside the sink before curling my fingers around the marble counter and bracing my weight on my arms.

  “You can do this,” I muttered to my reflection, taking several deep breaths.

  I had to do this. For Maren, for Katy, for Tate. For Jayla and Kit.

  If Elias’s twisted fascination with me could help them, I was more than willing to exploit it.

  When I was sure I was ready, I flipped off the light and opened the door. Lulu was waiting outside for me.

  “Ready?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  She nodded to one of the guards and he unlocked the door and opened it so we could step inside.

  I blinked as the overhead lights came on, illuminating the two men inside. Each man sat at his own four-seat table, the set up similar to what I had been sitting at in the front of the plane, but these tables each had an eyebolt in front of the seats. Elias and Linden were cuffed to them.

  The door closed behind us as their eyes opened. Elias looked at me and started to smile.

  Linden sucked in a breath through his teeth and opened his mouth to speak.