In an instant, she found herself back in Huntington Park’s parlor. The room was empty save for herself and Duncan. He seemed discombobulated as his hands searched his own body.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “That feeling passes.” She knew what it was like, the first time. She had been scared Cross might have left behind a vital organ. When she reached out to comfort him, he flinched away from her, and in that moment, it was like her heart ripped in two.
But there was no time to explain, as three more people materialized in the room. Cross, Elise, and Reed stood in front of them. “You’re back!” Julianna exclaimed. “What happened?”
Cross rubbed his hands together. “I had to get Elise and Reed out of there. They were cornered, and we barely escaped the potion they threw at us.”
“We need to go back and kill them,” Duncan declared. “I’m not going to let them keep coming after me.”
“I’m sorry,” Cross said. “But they’re gone by now. Disappeared.”
“They can’t just be gone!” Duncan growled. “Take me back there and I’ll—”
“By now they will be. They’ve found a way to move across short distances,” Cross explained. “It’s a difficult spell and requires three people, plus a lot of blood sacrifice.”
Julianna’s felt a chill at the last two words. The mages really were evil. “What happened? How did you find out we were kidnapped?”
“The mages sent a demand to Lucas to hand over the dagger in exchange for you,” Cross began. “And then he called me. So, I came to Huntington Park to investigate, and sure enough, Elise and Reed confirmed you were gone and weren’t answering your phone.”
“Cross said he could track you with the necklace,” Reed continued. “So, we found out where you were—a warehouse not too far from Brixton—and devised a plan for Elise and I to distract them whilst he rescued you two.”
Julianna remembered the mage’s words, how he knew about the dagger’s time traveling properties. And it seemed, Duncan did too as he turned to Reed. “So, what was the purpose of you lying to us about who you were?”
“Excuse me?” Reed said.
“I know who you really are, Your Grace.”
The entire room fell silent. Three pairs of eyes turned to Julianna. “You told him?” Reed’s eyes burned at her accusingly.
“No,” Duncan retorted. “I had to find out from them.”
The tone in his voice made her throat tighten. “Daly … he found a way to warn them.” Hopefully that was enough explanation for now, because she feared if she said anything else, she would just break down.
“The mages know about time travel,” Cross’s eyes grew steely. “We must protect the dagger now more than ever.”
“Duncan, you can’t tell anyone,” Reed pleaded. “Not your father. Not Henry.”
Realization dawned on Duncan’s face. “Wait. If you’re … if he’s … then you’re also …”
Reed scrubbed a hand down his face. “I know it seems impossible, but it’s true. But—”
“No.” He shook his head. “That’s crazy.” It seemed like it took much effort for him to look at Julianna, but when he did, his expression turned to anger. “All this time! You didn’t say anything about the painting.”
“Duncan, please—”
He pivoted on his heel and stormed out of the room. Julianna stood there for a moment, then ran after him, catching him in the hallway. “Please!” she reached out to touch him, but he flinched away again. “Duncan, listen to me—”
“You lied to me.” He kept his back to her. “You didn’t tell me. That was you in the painting, wasn’t it?”
“I—yes.” While she should have felt relief confessing the truth to him, it only sounded like the final nail driving into the coffin.
“Did you have any intention to tell me?”
What could she say? “No.”
“No? You would have let me believe … after I told you I would always tell you the truth.” His arms were stiff at his side. “All this time, you were lying to me. And you were going to keep on lying to me.”
What could she possibly say? He was right. She was a liar, and she knew all this time she was lying to him about the painting. A lie of omission, but a lie nonetheless. “I’m sorry.”
He let out a huff. “I can’t … I don’t know what to say.”
Say you forgive me. “I … I understand.” Without saying another word, she pivoted on her heel and trudged back to the parlor. Cross, Reed, and Elise were quietly chatting, but they stopped as soon as she entered.
“Oh, Julianna.” Elise came to her side and embraced her. “Is he still mad?”
It was too hard to speak. To breathe. So, she nodded.
“Don’t worry, it’s all a little misunderstanding. Once we explain, he’ll come around.”
“We could make him forget,” Cross said.
“No!” Her throat burned as she spoke, and she couldn’t stop the hot tears from trickling down her cheeks. “Don’t, Cross. Please.”
“There’s … a special potion that could make him forget specific things.” Cross placed a hand on her shoulder. “It would erase certain memories, and he wouldn’t remember the lie.”
But I would. And she couldn’t do that to him. Besides, Duncan’s feelings on the matter were clear.
“We might not have a choice.” He rubbed his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose. “Just think of the repercussions of—”
“He’s my True Mate.” There it was, the admission coming from her own mouth. However, instead of the joy she should have felt, she only felt more miserable because she had driven him away.
Cross’s entire body tensed, and the look on his face became inscrutable. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity until he said, “Then we will find another way.”
Her body felt deflated, like a balloon, and a pain squeezed her heart. “I don’t want to be here, anymore.” Surrounded by the memories, not of the past, but of Duncan. “Please, Cross, I want to go home.”
“I’ll tell the Alpha to send the jet.”
“No.” She gripped his shoulders and looked up into his stormy ocean-colored eyes. “Take me home. Now.”
Cross looked confused, then gave her a curt nod. “As you wish.”
Chapter Thirteen
Duncan wasn’t sure if there was any word to describe what he was feeling right now. He only knew he wanted to destroy something or punch someone. Preferably that tall, handsome man whom Julianna had embraced so eagerly. So, that was Cross. It seemed irrational that he was feeling jealous right now, when his entire belief system was crumbling right in front of him.
He had always thought finding his mate would be simple, just like his parents’ story. Find his True Mate. Fall in love. Get married. Have pups. The End. But no, his life had to have its own damned pilot twists, and a damn big one to boot.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Indeed, he wouldn’t have believed it if he didn’t have the proof sitting in the library back in Caelkirk. No, the lady wasn’t Julianna’s ancestor or doppelgänger. It was Julianna herself. A painting from her time traveling adventures from 1820. The entire time, since she stepped foot in that library, she had been lying to him, and she had planned to continue lying to him, even after everything that had happened between them. Were his instincts wrong, too? Did his wolf recognize the wrong mate?
The animal growled, deep inside him. It didn’t seem to understand what was happening, as it could only express rage because their mate was in distress, and he just let her walk away. He ignored it and headed back to his room—no, wait, all his things were in the room he had been sharing with Julianna. He cursed, then turned around and headed there.
When he entered, he realized he wasn’t prepared for her delicious, honey sweet scent to hit him or the memories of what happened in that room. Despite what he was feeling, his body’s instinct was to yearn for her.
“Duncan
.”
He froze at the sound of the masculine voice. “I don’t really want to talk to you right now.”
“Well, too bad.”
“What? Jaysus Christ!” Reed pushed him inside and then shut the door. Rage burned through his veins. “Don’t think I won’t fight back, Gramps.”
Reed raised one aristocratic eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. If it wasn’t obvious before that he was raised to be a duke, it was now. “Actually, I’m your great-great-great-great—” His nose wrinkled. “I’m not sure how far along we are related.”
This was madness. But the proof was right here. It was strange how Reed reminded him of the old London Alpha, with his dark ebony eyes. “But you’re Oliver’s whatever-how-many-greats uncle. The original Alpha who supposedly died.”
“But I didn’t die.” Reed’s voice was even and unwavering. “They thought I did, but I was transported here a few months ago.”
“Along with Julianna, right? Is she from back then?”
“No. Julianna was accidentally sent back, along with Cross and Elise. They sought me out because the dagger originally belonged to my family, and they needed to get back to this time. I recognized Elise as my True Mate, just as you did with Julianna. Did you feel it too? Like you were being ripped apart and put back together again?”
That was the closest thing he would use to describe the feeling, which only confirmed that Reed was related to his clan. “Aye. And the painting?”
“We didn’t think we’d see it again.” Reed ran his fingers through his dark hair. “It was an Italian painter who accompanied my grandmother. Signore Rossi. He wanted to paint Julianna. Look,” he trained his ebony eyes back at Duncan. “We didn’t mean to lie to you. To any of you. But what were we supposed to say? The Alphas of New York and San Francisco went to all this trouble to conceal my real identity. They feared that if the mages found out that I had traveled through time with the help of the dagger, they would try to use it to change the past.”
“Fat lot that did you,” he huffed. “They found out anyway.”
Reed winced. “Yes. I apologize for whatever hurt you may be feeling. Julianna’s not to blame though. It wasn’t her secret to keep, nor did she want this burden in the first place. It was foisted on her unfairly.”
His words hit Duncan like a speeding freight train. Perhaps he’d judged Julianna too quickly and harshly. Now that he’d had time to think about it and heard the explanation from Reed, he acknowledged the whole thing would have sounded absurd to hear the first time. If he put himself in her position, he would have had a hard time being honest too. “Fuck me. If Lachlan or Da were here, they’d call me a bloody eejit.” He knocked himself on the forehead. “So, Uncle Reed, d’you know any good groveling techniques?”
“Er …” Reed looked around sheepishly. “You should sit down, Duncan.”
“Sit down?” A sense of dread crept up on him. “Why the fuck would I do that?”
“Julianna … she’s gone.”
Gone? “To where?”
“Home.”
“Then there’s no time to waste!” He headed for the door, but a hand on his arm stopped him. “Great-whatever uncle or not, I’ll deck you if I have to so I can stop her before she reaches the airport.”
“No, Duncan, you don’t understand.” He let out a long sigh. “She’s gone home. Is back home. In New York, as we speak.”
He looked at Reed like he had been speaking gibberish. “What?”
“Cross took her home as soon as you left. With his, you know, magic.”
“Motherfucker!” He really was going to kill that man. “I need to go then. To New York.” But New York was a big city. How would he be able to find her? “You have to help me get to her so I can tell her that I’m sorry and I love her!” Bloody hell, he’d been keeping it inside all this time because he didn’t want to scare her off, and now he hadn’t even had a chance to tell her.
“Don’t worry, Elise and I will do what we can. In fact, she was ready to come up here and thrash you if you didn’t come around.” Reed laughed. “And you promise not to tell Oliver and the Alpha?”
“I’ll keep the secret to El Dorado, just as long as you help me get back to New York as soon as possible.”
Chapter Fourteen
While most women would have coped with a broken heart by wallowing in bed and eating a fuck-ton of ice cream, Julianna was not most women. No, she planned to move on as quickly as possible, preferably, right this moment.
Cross literally brought her home to The Enclave, and after a quick shower in her apartment, she took a cab downtown to the Fenrir Corporation Headquarters on Madison Avenue. There was work to be done, though she was still planning to drown herself in a fuck-ton of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream later tonight.
“Jared,” she greeted the longtime Fenrir executive assistant as he sat at the desk outside Lucas’s office. “Is my brother in?”
Though normally unflappable, Jared double blinked before his eyes widened. “Julianna? You’re home! Are you all right? I heard about what happened.”
“Hitched back with Cross.” She tapped her foot impatiently. “Lucas …?”
“You just missed him. He went downtown but will be back in an hour. But he’ll want to see you for sure. We were so worried about you, I’m glad to see you’re all right.”
“Thank you. I’m all good. Cross got to us in time.” She really wanted to talk to Lucas and get her next assignment. Maybe he’d send her somewhere nice, like Hawaii, or Australia. “How about my Aunt Alynna?” As the head of the special investigations unit, Alynna Westbrook was technically her boss too, though she’d been reassigned to Jersey. She should report back to her and see if they needed her for anything.
“I’m afraid she’s with Lucas.”
“Hmmm.” She couldn’t just hang around here. It would drive her crazy sitting around waiting. “All right, I’ll come back in an hour and try to catch Lucas then. Thanks, Jared.”
Heading to the private elevators, she touched the biometric panel that allowed her to access the fifteenth floor, the secret level that served as the headquarters of the New York Lycan Security Force. Back when she first started, she had lived here for an entire year with the other trainees. The place was always buzzing with activity. Maybe she could find a recruit or two to spar with, just so she could expend the extra energy burning inside her. Don’t think of him. But, dammit, telling herself not to think of him only made her think of him. And that was the reason why she kept on the move, not stopping the moment her feet landed in New York because she was afraid that when she did, she would start thinking of what happened, and the dam she had been building up to stop her emotions would just break.
Thankfully, the elevator’s chime announcing its arrival on the fifteenth floor distracted her. She stepped out and headed to the training room. At this time of the day, they were probably doing drills or sparring.
Just as she guessed, the trainees were gathered on the mats, surrounding the two people sparring in the middle. Off to the side, she recognized two people—Nick Vrost, the current Beta of the New York clan, and his soon-to-be replacement and daughter-in-law, Astrid Jonasson-Vrost. Julianna winced as she came closer, noting that Astrid was heavily pregnant and looked like she was ready to pop. She raised her hand to catch their attention as she drew closer.
Nick acknowledged her with a nod, but quickly turned back to the fighters. Astrid, on the other hand, smiled brightly and waved her over.
“Hey, Julianna, I thought you were in Europe or something?”
“I caught a ride back with your brother.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Cross was here? He didn’t even say hi.”
“Oh.” I guess Astrid and Nick didn’t even know I’d been kidnapped by the mages. It had all happened so fast. She could barely believe it was just hours ago she was just walking around Brixton, sharing a meal with—
Stop! Don’t think of him.
“Julianna?” Astrid
looked at her curiously. “You seem dazed. Anything the matter?”
“Er, jet lag.” But her body was wound up. “I was hoping to do some sparring. It’s been a while.”
“I’d partner with you, but,” she laughed as she looked down at her huge pregnant belly, “as you can see, I should have given birth yesterday.”
“How much longer?”
“Doctor says two weeks, but maybe sooner.”
As Astrid smiled and rubbed her protruding stomach, Julianna couldn’t help the ache of longing within her. Her own wolf too, which had been silent until now, yowled pathetically.
No, she would not think about him or pine for him. Not when he was the one who shut her out and refused to let her explain. Unable to look at Astrid, she turned to the fighters on the mat.
Nick had moved away from the two women to observe the trainees at a closer range. The two men circled each other, neither making the first move. They seemed mismatched, as one of them topped the other by a good four inches. His opponent, however, was built like a brick wall, his broad chest and shoulders nearly twice the size of the other. Tattoos covered what was exposed of his enormous arms, and a dark brown beard covered most of his face, though the cocky grin he flashed his opponent was hard to miss.
“Is he from Jersey or New York?” She was pretty sure she’d remember a guy like that.
“Neither,” Astrid answered. “Louisiana. He’s a transfer.”
“Transfer?” she echoed. The New York clan was one of the most difficult clans to transfer to, since everyone wanted to go there, and competition was tough. “Legacy, then?” A legacy transfer was someone whose parent or grandparent had been part of another clan and could then request a transfer from his originating clan. Her Uncle Alex had been one.
“No.” Astrid shook her head.
The tattooed transfer and his opponent finally grappled each other, and they fell to the ground. Julianna had to admit, he moved quick for a man his size. “How did he get into the training group this late in the year?”
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