He just watched her, hurt and confusion mingling together in those honey colored eyes.
“I just, it’s getting too confusing,” she said. She knew it wasn’t fair. That she’d just felt the same love for him and wanted to say it despite it being ridiculous. But hearing it, having it stated aloud, that was too much.
Being with him had been everything she’d dreamed of, but it couldn’t just go on this way. They were from different worlds, and her world was bound to catch up with them eventually. She’d tried not to think about it. She’d wanted just a few moments with the man who felt she was the other end of his red thread. But hearing him say he loved her made it impossible to live in a dream.
“I’m still not ready to be your mate,” she said. “I can’t. Not until I know what the future holds.”
He nodded. “Then just know I love you, no matter what happens. You’re it for me, Lacey, or Matt, or whoever you are. You’re my mate, my queen. And in the end, we’ll be together. I know it.”
Her heart clenched. She wished she could know the same thing. She wished she didn’t get the sense that something dangerous was closing in. She wished she could tell him she loved him, too. But that would make everything so final, and she wasn’t ready for that.
She wasn’t ready to be loved. Not until she knew she was out of danger. So she stood there staring at him, not knowing what to say to his declaration. Not knowing what to do about the situation.
And then her phone beeped. Her heart jumped and she rummaged in her bag. She’d gotten a new phone before leaving, and only one person had the number. One person she was close to, who knew she was leaving and was always on her side.
One person who promised not to contact her unless it was completely urgent. Her cousin, Fifi.
She flipped open the phone to find a text from him telling her to call him when she got a second.
Damn, she didn’t want to leave things like this with Thor, but she knew Fifi didn’t play around, and would only bother her if it was an emergency. She sent Thor a pleading expression, begging him to understand.
“Go,” he said, waving a hand.
Her heart thudded painfully but she nodded. They’d have to work out whatever was between them when she got back.
* * *
She walked out of the cabin and into the night air. It was dark and crisp and the mountains smelled different at night. All her senses were on alert to make sure no one was out here. When she didn’t sense or scent anyone, she lifted the phone to her ear and hit the call button.
Fifi picked up on the first ring. His deep voice was reassuring and alarming at the same time. “Hi, girl,” he said. “How’s it going?”
She glanced around her once again with a hand over the speaker. Then she answered. “It’s going okay.”
“They’ve found you,” he said. One simple word, but it meant so much. It meant the fairytale of the last few days was over. It meant she was right to walk away from Thor when he said he loved her. Maybe her gut had known something she hadn’t.
“I know,” she said. “I had a feeling.”
He exhaled against the speaker and the phone cracked. “I’m sorry hon.”
She sighed. “It’s okay. So what happens now?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t tell you to come back because they still plan to marry you off. Make you disappear. If they know what they mean to do next, they haven’t told me.”
“Oh,” she said.
“But they aren’t going to do something that draws a lot of attention,” he said. “So it’s best to probably just wait it out and call their bluff. They don’t want your new pack seeing it and then word getting out that they can’t control their own family.”
“Right,” she said. “The reputation of the pack is everything.”
“Right,” he said. “So I guess the only answer is me coming out there to protect you.”
“No,” she said, leaning against the side of the house and keeping her voice low. “You can’t. You can’t put yourself at risk like that.”
“Lacey, I’m one of their assassins. If they’ve sent someone after you, I’m the one who can take them on.”
“I can’t ask you to.”
“You’ve never needed to,” he said softly. “You’re the only one who has ever understood me. My best friend. I’m not letting them do this. If someone is coming for you, I’m going to be there.”
Her eyes watered. Fifi, real name Felix, had been one of the only people who knew who she was. And she’d known who he was. When others had seen a boy, he’d known she was a girl controlled by her father. When others had seen a feminine, tall, ridiculously beautiful man, she’d seen a man who lived to carry out missions that no one else could handle.
Because Fifi had a unique alpha power: the ability to put people (and shifters) to sleep.
Her family was full of unique alpha powers. They’d been bred from pure alphas for centuries and some of the most powerful gifts could only be found in their line.
But she knew what the Tribunal had on Fifi, and she couldn’t let him risk it. “I can’t have you come out here, Felix,” she said.
“Uh oh,” he replied. “Using my full name. You’re serious.”
“Yes,” she said. “I want you to stay away. Stay safe.” She was one of the few people who took Fifi seriously and understood the man behind the mask. He had enough problems without running after her.
Years ago, when she’d gone to that mansion to watch Thor and the others compete in that alpha challenge, Fifi had come to watch over her, to be a bodyguard and protect her secrets. Misty had found her out, coming in when she was changing, and they’d made a sort of friendship right then. One of her only girl friends, though she hadn’t really kept in touch over the years.
Fifi had been with her then. Had been with her for many missions. But she wasn’t Matt anymore. She wasn’t important to the Tribunal anymore. It wasn’t safe for Fifi to guard her anymore.
“So you really don’t want me to come,” he said quietly.
“No,” she said.
“Too bad,” a voice called out in the night. She glanced up, realizing the noise had come from the woods in front of her and not from her phone. “Because I’m already here.”
14
He was tall, unbelievably tall even for a shifter, with long, pale hair bound in a loose ponytail and ephemeral features that nearly glittered in the moonlight. His body was lean and strong, but she knew how deadly it could be. But his grin… His grin was all Fifi. Devastating and sardonic and strong all at once. He strode toward her lazily, hands in the pockets of that white linen suit he liked to wear, and she was all at once incredibly mad at him for coming and intensely relieved to see him.
It was a little like coming home.
She ran to him across the grass, throwing out her arms to grasp him in a tight bear hug. He reached down and lifted her up and hugged her to him for a moment. Then he released her and wrinkled his nose.
“You smell,” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Like wolf.” He looked up at the cabin ahead of him. “Who are you staying with? I only knew you’d sought out an alpha. Someone who owed you a favor. I had a guess…” The cabin door banged as someone opened it too quickly and she heard footsteps pounding behind her. A low growl in the distance.
She turned to see Thor striding from the house, looking angry at the fact that Fifi was holding her. “Shit,” she said, looking at Fifi helplessly. Fifi simply set her aside and rolled up his sleeves.
“Don’t hurt him,” she said.
Fifi raised a blond eyebrow. “Getting feelings for the mutt, are you? I always knew something was weird about you two. You fought too much at the mansion.”
She flushed. “I know. Everyone has already pointed that out. What are you going to do?” She turned to stand next to him as Thor stalked toward them. When he jumped into wolf form and ran forward, she put a hand over her face. She could try to call him off but she had a feeling it would be fruitless.
“Thor…” she said.
Thor sent her a glance but then focused back on his prey: Fifi.
Fifi leaped elegantly forward into his wolf, leaving his clothes behind on the grass, and the two wolves met in the center of the clearing, tussling under the moonlight. She ran forward, not knowing if she had the energy to discharge her alpha power again.
“Stop!” she called out. “All of you, stop!”
But they kept tussling. Fifi was having a more difficult time than she would have expected. Normally he’d have the other wolf firmly by the scruff of his neck, but Thor was putting up a better fight than she would have thought, given that he wasn’t a trained assassin.
He was pure alpha, and it showed in the strength and speed of his movements. When it looked like he was bout to get the upper hand, Fifi sent her an exasperated look and she nodded, giving him permission to put Thor to sleep.
The scent of lavender filled the clearing, a pleasant but menacing smell slightly tinged with musk and woods. Thor sent her an alarmed glance and let out a low growl as he fought the urge to sleep, but then the huge wolf went silent and fell to the ground beneath Fifi.
Fifi used a paw to turn him over and check his pulse. Her heart caught in her throat and when he nodded that Thor was fine, she felt like she could finally breathe again. Why did she already have to care about him so much? She strode forward to where Fifi was transforming and putting his clothes back on. He draped his jacket over Thor’s transforming body, but not before taking a good look at it. Fifi liked males and females, and Thor was an amazing specimen.
She growled as she ran for Thor’s pants and told Fifi to look away as she put them on.
A low growl sounded, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in anticipation as a low, furious voice spoke.
Fifi tossed his hair over his shoulder and looked up at the figure approaching out of the darkness. Lock was tall. Not as tall as Fifi, but with the anger emanating from him at this moment, she wouldn’t bet against him in a fight.
“What did you do to my brother?” he asked, flashing a fang and shedding his leather jacket. Beneath it he wore a worn tee shirt with a skull on the front in black.
Fifi grinned. “Lock, nice to see you again. Last time I believe it was…oh yes, I was saving your butt.”
Lock’s expression just darkened and his eyes lit on Matt’s hands on Thor. “Get your hands off him. I knew you were a betrayer. I knew you were—”
Fifi was there at the next second, holding an arm around Lock’s neck as Lock growled in frustration.
“Be careful what you say to my cousin. It’s thanks to her I didn’t kill your dumbass brother for attacking me over nothing,” Fifi said, stroking a long finger against Lock’s face.
Lock’s amber eyes flashed in the darkness and he turned to look at Fifi. “Your cousin? I knew you two were related, but I had no idea…”
“What you don’t know could fill a book,” Fifi said, keeping his arm around Lock’s neck. “So maybe just shut up and let Lacey explain.”
“Lacey?” Lock asked, looking her up and down curiously.
“Her real name,” Fifi hissed, letting the other alpha go.
Lock brushed himself off and picked up his jacket as he walked over to Thor. He knelt beside his brother to take his pulse and then breathed out a sigh of relief when he found he was fine. When Lock turned to Matt she saw sweat sheening his forehead and worry lines beneath his eyes. Lock truly cared for his brother.
“I wouldn’t let anyone hurt Thor,” she said.
Lock was silent for a moment, ran a hand through Thor’s tousled hair, and then pinned an accusing glance on her. “You mean, no one except you?” he asked.
“No. What do you mean?” she responded.
Lock looked down at his brother again. “You mean, you actually plan to leave the Tribunal behind and live out here in the middle of nowhere with my brother?”
“The Tribunal is no home for me, now,” she said, coming forward so she could touch Thor as well, ignoring Lock’s possessive growl. “And it’s beautiful out here. But if I do leave, it will be to avoid hurting him. Not to hurt him.”
Lock’s expression changed slightly and he frowned. “I’ve been fucking everything up since I came back here, haven’t I?”
“Yes,” Fifi said sardonically.
Matt laughed, nodding. “But that’s okay. Thor’s pretty good at it as well.”
“What do you mean?” Lock asked, standing and lifting Thor in his arms like he weighed nothing.
“I mean, he’s used to putting his foot in it a lot as well, so I bet he’ll be quick to forgive you.”
Lock paused halfway to the cabin. “And you? Will you be quick to forgive me?”
Fifi snorted. “If she is I won’t be. Someone’s got to keep an eye on your ass.”
“And you’d be more than happy to do that, wouldn’t you?” Lock mumbled.
Fifi just laughed and followed them back to the cabin. When they got there, Fifi held the door open and Lock walked in and deposited Thor on a couch. He looked so peaceful while sleeping. It wasn’t until they were all seated and quiet and the door to the outside was shut that Lock suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked between them, scenting the air.
“You two had sex, didn’t you?”
She flushed deeply. Damn being a wolf and having absolutely no privacy. Any animal in the vicinity would be aware of what had happened. But she had to remind herself that there was nothing to be ashamed of.
“We were just testing our compatibility,” she said. Taking a taste is more like it, she admitted to herself. “After all, we are considering each other as mates.”
“An odd pairing if I ever saw one,” Fifi muttered.
“Damn straight,” Lock said. “Wait.” He sat up straighter in his chair. “What do you mean? We have full alpha blood, nearly as pure as yours, I’d wager. Though I’m guessing you know that.”
Fifi stayed silent and Matt looked at him curiously. “What is it?” she asked.
Fifi frowned. “I don’t know, Matt. There are things you shouldn’t know about the Tribunal. Things you can’t go back on knowing, things you can’t do anything about even if you do know.”
“I want to know,” she said.
“Yeah,” Lock said. “She wants to know.”
Fifi sighed. “First, I want you to know I was never a part of this. I just know it happened, because with my training it’s not hard to put together. Secondly, the Tribunal hasn’t done this with any other generation. It happened because of your father.”
“What?” she asked. “What happened?” Her stomach twisted with dread and she glanced at Thor, hoping whatever Fifi told her wasn’t going to make everything between them impossible.
“When your father was growing up, there was a squad,” he said.
“What kind of squad?”
“They made sure that several threats were eliminated.”
“What do you mean threats?” Lock asked. “My parents were innocent of anything but being strong enough to attract your notice. And what about Misty’s parents? I thought you were friends—”
Fifi put up a hand to silence them. “Some of this I’ve only learned in the last few years. For instance, after you were captured and I heard them speaking cryptically about your bloodline. Anyway, if you think your parents were totally innocent, then you only got half of the story.”
“What do you mean?” Lacey asked, wrapping a hand around her waist as if it could soothe away the nervousness coiling inside her with every word.
“Several clans were planning to overthrow the Tribunal,” Fifi said. “By force, if necessary. They’d found out that a plague that affected females in particular had been released by the Tribunal on accident. But the cure wasn’t released with it. Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t evil, what they did by not addressing it and saving wolves. I’m not saying their motives were pure, as I’m sure they didn’t fail to notice the benefit to them if other packs lost alphas. But
the original plague wasn’t meant for wolves at all. It was meant for humans. It was meant to easily kill those who sought out our kind and wouldn’t relent.”
Matt’s mouth gaped open. She’d thought she’d been privy to so much of the Tribunal’s inner workings, and she had, regarding the present. But she’d been naive about the past. About the murmurings and the rumors she’d heard.
“So they killed my parents to shut them up, because my mother was a scientist at the lab that leaked the virus. She knew what had happened,” Lock said.
“No, they killed your parents because they were afraid that all of wolf society would be lost in a war with itself. It seemed like the lesser sacrifice. Misty’s father worked in the same lab, and he was aware as well. That’s why your parents were working together.”
“How come you never told me this?” Lacey asked, blinking away tears of anger at her family.
“I didn’t see any point,” Fifi said. “You were their puppet, and you were happy, at least as much as you could be, until they turned on you. And then there was no time. And what’s done is done. What is the point of rehashing it?”
“Justice is the point of rehashing it!” Lock said, and Lacey had to agree.
She nodded. “They can’t get away with it.”
“They’re going to have to,” Thor said, sitting up groggily and rubbing his head. He glanced around until his amber eyes rested on Matt, and then he calmed. “Because I’m not letting you go back there. Any of you.”
“Oh?” Fifi asked. “And you’d stop me?”
“If you were going to tell them where she was, yes.”
“No,” Fifi said, shaking his head and folding his arms. “When I go back to that glass prison, I won’t take her with me. It’s mine and mine alone.”
Lacey’s heart ached for him. For the fact that he knew just how evil the Tribunal was but couldn’t do anything about it. He had to stay, he had no choice. But he’d come here for her, to defend her if needed, knowing that for him, he’d have to go back there at some point. He wouldn’t have a choice.
She gritted her teeth. The whole thing was so fucked up. Had become so dark.
Alpha Defender Page 10
