The scouts, perhaps. Elias was eleven years old. Sending him had been a mistake. Sending Ava had also been foolish. He needed her.
Axel hissed. “Cool down, Toby. Don’t make me remind you where your place is.”
He dipped his head in submission, but Axel saw the gleam in his eyes.
* * * *
Emily woke to Clint’s silent cries as his shoulders shook. His body was huddled in a ball, curled away from her.
Sitting up, she moved closer, and touched his back. “Hey, come here.”
He shook his head. “The nightmares.”
“They’re memories. Push them away and focus on the future. A future with me.”
He rolled, sitting up to scoop her into his lap. “Didn’t want to wake you.”
“I don’t mind. There’ll be times you’ll have to help me with nightmares. We’re both damaged, but we can help each other heal.” She turned in his lap to wrap her arms around his neck. “When the past haunts you, pull me closer.”
“Hard when I keep seeing her battered and bleeding out. I didn’t even consider the possibility she’d live. I should have. She was gone when I woke up in the inferno. Not a charred corpse, but gone from the house.”
“You didn’t know, and if you had stayed to investigate, you would have died. It may be selfish, but I’m glad you got yourself out of there. Otherwise, I’d still be miserable and alone.”
“Never alone again. I’ll find a way to get past this and make you happy.”
“Already happy. I’ll help you move on—with me.” She kissed him softly.
“Thank you.”
Her smile brightened. “Don’t know about you, but I’m starved. I’ll have to go back to the clinic today. Robert mentioned he’d deliver my replacement car.”
Clint nodded. “It’s out front. I imagine he has the keys. I noticed him dropping it off when I first woke from the dreams.”
She caressed his face. “Wake me next time. Don’t suffer alone.”
“Only if you do the same.”
“You have my word.”
* * * *
As Clint took Emily’s plate to the sink, there was a knock on the door. Emily was off her seat before he could turn.
Robert smiled at his sister, dangling a set of keys. “Your new BMW is outside. It’s extra resilient, thanks to some fancy warding from Liz. She says she went above and beyond. You should find yourself safe from nearly anything.”
Grinning, Emily snagged the ring. “She didn’t need to do that.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, she says she owes you though. So whatever you did for her, thank you.” He kissed the top of her head and waved to Clint before vanishing.
She shut the door and turned toward him with a sheepish grin.
“What did you do?” Clint asked with a raised brow.
“Will you keep a secret? From everyone?”
His brow arched. “Of course.”
“Liz was attacked by James the same day I had Christian. Robert was with me, delivering my baby, while James took hers from her body. She’d just found out she was pregnant that morning.”
A growl ripped from his chest. “If that asshole were still alive, I’d rip off his cock and beat him to death with it.”
Emily giggled. “Might have taken some work to actually kill him. There wasn’t much.”
Clint’s eyes rounded. He couldn’t believe she was joking about such a monster.
“Anyway,” she continued, “Liz healed herself, but she’s limited in her abilities. She stopped the bleeding, but she’s scarred. Yesterday I fixed the damage inside. She wants a baby, and I wanted to help.”
“I never knew. She never undressed so I didn’t see the scars. Now I understand why.”
“She’s ashamed. She knows it’s not her fault, but she hates the reminder. It’s why she has a phoenix tattooed across her hips and belly.”
“Heard about the tattoo, never saw it. She was already with Tremaine and Robert. I’m not one to ruin a good thing.”
“You’re my good thing, Clint. So don’t go wrecking us.”
He grinned, hope and love flowing through him. “Never.”
“So, you have to go see the woman who crashed my car?”
He nodded. “If you’d feel better meeting her, you can. Slater should be here any time to pick me up. I might work on the cabin later, but I’m not in a rush to finish that project. Hadraniel has been using Lincoln’s place since he moved in with Victoria.”
“Well, I won’t be back until around five. If you’re not here, I can get in. Like how I opened your cuffs without a key. If you don’t mind…”
He grinned. “That was magic?”
She nodded.
The junk drawer had an extra key. He pulled it out and moved to her. “As my mate, I’d like you to move in with me. You don’t have to answer right now, and you don’t have to say yes. I’ll never pressure you, but I want to be with you, no matter where you are.”
Her face lit up and she threw her arms around his neck. “Really want me here?”
“You want to be here?”
She nodded and nipped his ear. “Isn’t it normal for mates to want to be together?”
“Yes, but you’re a mage, and I don’t know any mages who mated a werewolf.”
Her head tipped to the side. “True. I really don’t care what they think though. You’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.”
“Then here’s your key.”
“Thank you.” She grinned up at him. “The house in Seattle never seemed to be home, and the apartment feels more like a hotel.”
He kissed her softly. “Feels more like home with you here.”
“When can I move my stuff?”
“For now, let’s say after we’ve dealt with the Elm Wood Pack. Things are going to get ugly before we find the solution and we might need an out-of-the-way place. They are a shady bunch, but most of that comes from Axel and Ava.”
“I may not be much of a fighter, but I’ll help any way I can.”
“Need you safe.”
A knock on the door made his heart sink. “That’s my cue. When do you have to be at headquarters?”
She glanced at her watch. “Soon. I need to check on Gina. Robert and I may go into her head to see if we can find any clues about where they’re hiding.”
Clint closed his eyes but nodded while his heart slammed against his ribs.
“Nothing I see will change my opinion of you. I promise.”
He gave her a quick peck as another round of knocking echoed. “Got to get that.” Clint walked over and opened the door. “Hey, Slater. You ready?”
“I am.”
Clint turned on his heel, addressing Emily again. “By the way, Mark is going to be following you. He’s a close friend, and I swear he won’t harm you.”
Emily smiled. “If he’s your friend, maybe he should ride with me. I need to get better acclimated to your world.”
Mark hurried up the steps with a funny look on his face. “I don’t mind hanging back if you’re more comfortable.”
“No, that’s unnecessary. Besides, this way you can relay any information we get to Slater.”
“If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Clint couldn’t help it, he had to say his piece. “Keep her safe. And if you frighten her, so help me god, I’ll destroy you.”
“Easy, man. I won’t let anything happen, and I’m not making a move on your girl. It’s clear you two are mated. By the way, congrats, dude.”
“Thanks.” He turned to Emily. “Bye, Em.”
She wrapped her arms around him and leaned up to whisper in his ear, “Love you.”
“Mmm, love you too, Sunshine.”
“See you later.”
“Can hardly wait,” he murmured before taking a quick kiss and backing out the door.
Slater chuckled as they started down the stairs. “Come on, loverboy. Let’s pay Ava a visit.”
Clint couldn’t help b
ut shudder. He glared at Slater. “I wish I’d killed her.”
“Yeah, and I agree. Though I’m hoping we can get some information out of her.”
“All right.”
* * * *
Emily smiled nervously at Mark. “Mind if I drive? Apparently my new car has extra wards.”
He nodded, a cautious look on his face. “Sure. But, Emily, if I make you uncomfortable, I can drive myself.”
She shook her head. “Clint trusts you, so I do too.”
Mark chuckled. “I don’t know—he did growl a warning at me when he left.”
“Don’t all wolves get growly about their mate?” she asked smugly.
“True.”
“You ready?”
“Let’s go.”
Emily followed him out, locking up before running to her new car and jumping in with a grin. She loved to drive and let her mind wander. This BMW was the same make and model as her last.
She glanced over as the engine purred to life. “How long have you known Clint?”
“Since he crashed a stolen car into a tree fourteen years ago.”
Her brow arched as she glanced over before pulling onto the street.
“He’d been shot with a silver bullet. You might have noticed the scar on his chest and shoulder? Lucky bastard had some chipped ribs, and was bleeding internally.”
She shook her head. “How did he survive?”
He shrugged. “We can heal the damage, but it’s slower. Clint has more strength in him than he wants to admit. He drove until he couldn’t. Luckily, he made it here.”
“Indeed.”
“He was a mess. Didn’t trust any of us at first. Or maybe himself. He didn’t want to be alone with anyone. Not even Slater.”
“I’m glad you all found him, took care of him.”
“Me too. I can’t imagine the shit he went through. And he was a kid, barely eighteen. Even before that bitch turned him, he’d been through tough times.”
Emily nodded. “You two build houses?”
A smile spread on his lips. “Yeah. We got started with another guy. Edmond moved away after his mate died. We had learned everything we could from him, so took over the business. We’ve built a fair share of the houses out here, including the one you’re in.”
“I wondered about the detailed work.”
“Ask him. He could talk carpentry for hours.”
“I will.”
Mark told her about their current projects, about Clint, about himself. She found it easy to listen to him. And he wasn’t bad to look at, though he didn’t turn her motor like her mate.
Chapter 16
Ava sat in her cell, staring at the wall. The sheriff had already laid into her again. She ignored him, and the giant werewolf they sent in to intimidate her. Considering they were feeding her real meals, and offered her a change of clothes, she knew they wouldn’t turn around and torture her.
Axel, on the other hand, would likely rip her open and let the wolves devour what they could without killing her. That was a thought better forgotten.
The cop standing at the end of her cell stared at her with a frown. “I don’t understand,” he muttered. Something snagged his attention, pulling his gaze to the opposite corner of the cell.
No one else was in the room.
The guy creeped her the fuck out. He mumbled and talked to people she couldn’t see. He was some kind of caster, but she couldn’t tell what.
His magic smelled wrong—like death.
Dark eyes darted across the cell as he pushed hair out of his face. “You sure?”
Why in the hell do they have a cop who’s fucking bonkers?
The door slammed open and two sets of footsteps approached. The crazy cop looked over with a raised brow. “Hey.”
“Got anything useful, Erik?” the alpha asked. Clint at his side made her heart race, but there was something different about him now.
Erik shrugged. “Maybe. Some of them definitely blame her. A few say she’s scared of Axel. That she carries out orders because she loved him once, and she’s afraid for her own life.”
Clint shook his head. “Does that even matter? She’s killed dozens, and that was just in the two years they kept me. She’s the one who fucking gnawed on and changed me.”
“Because she was ordered to.”
“Oh, no. Axel was nowhere to be found. She was horny and attempted to seduce me at sixteen years old. When I turned her down, she picked me up like a rag doll, threw me in her car, then ripped me open. All because I wouldn’t touch her.”
Erik looked back into the cell. “You were a different story. She’d had her heart ripped out by Axel earlier that day.”
Ava cringed. There was no way he should know about that.
Clint snarled, shaking his head slowly. “Doesn’t excuse the fact she enjoyed my pain. She enjoyed making me scream for my death.”
The alpha’s eyes blazed to hers. “That true?”
Ava nodded. The beautiful boy had turned her down and she snapped, wanting to bring him as much pain as possible for denying her.
Erik shook his head. “Slater, she may have enjoyed it at the time, but over the years, she’s changed. She wants free of them.”
“Doesn’t mean she’s changed enough to be welcomed here,” Clint argued.
Ava drew a heavy breath and walked to the bars, looking into his eyes. “I was wrong. Axel gets in your head, twists reality around, and your humanity drains away. He does everything to maximize pain.”
“You only want off the hook,” Clint spat.
Ava jumped at the harshness of his words, but she didn’t argue. “I fully expect a death sentence. Doesn’t change the fact I regret much of what I’ve done over the last two decades. And you’re right, there was a time I enjoyed hurting people. That stopped when I realized I was trapped in a sick cycle with no way out of the loop. Axel destroyed the person I was long ago, because I was stupid enough to fall for him.”
“That’s the problem. You fell in love with a fucking monster.” Clint slammed his hands against the silver bars. He didn’t even wince at the instant sizzle before he dropped his hands to his sides. “You’re the one who turned me. I was sixteen fucking years old. You enjoyed torturing me, no matter how much you regret it now.”
Slater pulled Clint back with a heavy sigh. “No one is going to let her walk out that door. Nothing she says or does wipes out the wrong she’s done.”
Clint nodded, growling, his eyes bronze like his wolf’s.
If the bars weren’t in the way, he’d exact his revenge, and a part of her wanted that end. Better than sitting in this purgatory, waiting for Axel to find her and put her through true hell.
“Where does Axel have your pack holed up?” Clint asked.
Hope flickered through her. Maybe he’d end Axel, releasing her from this nightmare. “An abandoned military bunker near Juniper Dunes Wilderness. Chances are they’ve moved since I disappeared. Several scouts are missing. We can’t find Elias. And I don’t imagine anyone’s too pleased with what was done to that poor girl.”
Clint growled, reaching through the bars, but Slater pulled him back.
The alpha commanded, raising the hair on the back of her neck. “We’ll deal with her later.”
Clint glared daggers at her. “Fourteen years she put up with your sadism. Whether or not she remembers anything, you dehumanized her. It’s a damned miracle I got out of there.”
“You’re lucky,” Ava agreed. “Most of us wish we had an escape. Complain, you’re beaten to a pulp. Complain again, Axel lets the hungriest wolves tear you apart.”
“Fuck you.” Clint stormed out.
“Why did you stay?” Slater asked.
Erik spoke up. “The spirits say she didn’t have a choice. She was in too deep before she realized how bad it was. Axel has a dozen wolves he trusts on the outside of the community. The rest are kept in cages most of the time.”
Ava’s mouth dropped open. “How do you know all th
is?”
“The dead talk to me. You have spirits who follow you around. A lot of them, in your case. Some straight-up hate you, others understand why you did what you did. Doesn’t excuse you, but it might earn a chance to make up for it.” Erik turned, and walked out the door, leaving Slater alone with her.
“You don’t want to let me go,” Ava told Slater. “Clint’s right. I started this journey enjoying what I did. I can’t say I wouldn’t again. Some of what I’ve done I regret, but not all of it.”
Slater snorted. “We aren’t releasing you. I’ll let the Silver Council decide what to do with you once we’ve taken care of Axel.”
There was one thing she needed to know. “The girl. Is she all right?”
“She will be. She has the proper care now.”
“What Axel did to Gina sickens me.”
“What you did to a sixteen-year-old boy is no better than what Axel did to Gina. You put both Clint and Gina in Axel’s hands.” With that, Slater walked away.
Ava collapsed on the bed under the weight of her own guilt.
* * * *
A busy city rushed by below her window. Gina stared at life flowing on while she was lost. She couldn’t remember anything prior to being put to sleep the night before.
The door opened and the air charged, awakening her senses.
“How are you feeling today, Gina?” the pretty woman asked. The man with green eyes had called her Emily. She was warm, like sunlight.
Gina turned, smiling. “I’m better, Emily. My memory…” She shook her head and shrugged.
Someone stepped in behind Emily and Gina’s heart paused a beat as she looked into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. A deep calm flowed over her as she fell into his stare.
He didn’t make a move other than his lips tilting in a friendly smile.
Emily looked from her, to him, and back. “Gina, this is Mark. He’s a friend of Clint’s.”
“The man with green eyes?” she asked with a smile, forcing her attention to Emily.
“Yes. You don’t even remember Clint’s name?”
Blissful Agony Page 13
