Matthew wanted to believe that. "Thank you, doctor."
The doctor excused himself, telling them he was going to check on Catherine again once she was settled in the ICU.
"You should probably get some sleep. You've had a long day," Jason said. "You can stay with me, I'm closer."
“No,” Matthew said. “I’m staying here.”
“You’re a mess—”
“You need to rest—”
“You can’t do anything—”
“STOP.”
Five pairs of eyes turned to Luke. He stood up, his arms crossed over his massive chest. “He should stay if he wants to,” Luke gruffed. “I’ll be here.”
"You don't have to stay," Matthew said.
“You know I don’t sleep anyway,” Luke retorted. “If you don’t want these guys to force you to go home, then you’ll let me stay with you.”
“Fine,” Matthew relented.
Luke nodded. “Good. You all should go home.” He turned to Jason. “Matthew won’t be going to work tomorrow. You know what will happen if the CEO of Lennox doesn’t show up at the office.”
“Panic,” Jason said. “‘Matthew Lennox will be there, bright and early.”
“Sybbie,” Luke said. “Try to see if you can contact Hank and Riva. They should know what’s happening.”
“Already on it.”
Luke nodded to Nate and Ben. “The mines. You guys are in charge. Keep things going and everyone calm.”
"Of course," Ben agreed, and Nate nodded.
“I’ll come back in the morning with some fresh clothes for you,” Kate volunteered. She wrinkled her nose at Matthew. “And deodorant. Don’t want Catherine smelling you after what you’ve been through today.”
Matthew smiled. “Thank you, Kate.”
They all said their goodbyes, and, soon, Luke and Matthew were alone.
“Thank you, Luke,” Matt said, as they sat down.
Luke took the bench opposite him. “It’s gonna be a long night. If you want to close your eyes, go ahead. I’ll wake you up if anything happens.”
***
Matthew didn’t think he was that tired, but as soon as his head hit the pillow one of the nurses had brought him, he fell into a deep sleep. He had never shifted between his human and dragon form so many times in one day, and it had taken its toll on his body. A couple of times, he heard the footsteps of passing nurses, but someone, Luke most likely, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and he went back to sleep.
The smell of fresh coffee perked up his senses. He opened his eyes and quickly closed them again as the fluorescent light overhead nearly blinded him. Sitting up on the bench, he rubbed a palm down his face.
“You look like shit,” Kate said as she plopped down next to him. Sybil sat on the other side and gave him a reassuring hug. “Here.” She dumped a bag on his lap. It was warm and smelled like fried dough.
Surprisingly, he didn't feel like shit after a full night's sleep. His mind was clear. But he was definitely hungry. He reached into the bag, grabbed a donut, and ate it, and then another and another, until he finished the entire bag. Kate handed him another bag, though this one had fresh clothes and, as she had promised, deodorant. A nurse led him into an empty room, where he used the bathroom to take a quick shower and change.
When he got back from the bathroom after washing up, Kate, Luke, and Sybil were already on their feet, and Dr. Parry was there.
“Mr. Lennox,” Dr. Parry said. “The nurses told me you stayed all night. There was no need for that.”
“How is she?” he asked, urgency in his voice.
“She’s stable. That’s about all I can tell you.”
“Isn’t there anything else you can do?” he asked, his hands fisted at his sides.
“At this stage, it’s a little too early to be discussing further treatments. She’s not out of the woods quite yet, but we can talk about—”
“Excuse me, doctor,” a voice from behind them said. “I don’t think you should be discussing a patient’s treatment with non-family members.”
Matthew froze. The voice was familiar and, at the same time, not. The accent was posh and refined, the tone biting. He swung around, and his heart stopped.
Standing in front of them was a cool, blond beauty, dressed in a white wool coat, stiletto heels, and hair done in a sophisticated updo. As he focused on her face, blue eyes stared right back, piercing straight through him.
His eyes and brain were battling with his dragon. Not our mate. Matthew didn’t know how long they all stared at her with stunned looks on their faces.
“C-C-Catherine?” Sybil managed to choke out.
She shook her head. “No, I’m Christina. Catherine is my twin sister.” She turned to Dr. Parry. “I’m here to take her home.”
“Home?” Matthew said, trying to control his anger.
Christina ignored him. “I’m her next of kin, so I’ll be in charge of her care. Is there anywhere we can speak in private, doctor? Away from these strangers.”
“I … uh …” Dr. Perry looked at Matthew with hesitation in his eyes.
"I could show you my passport," she added. "But that would only confirm what's obvious."
Dr. Parry shook his head. “I’m sure it’s fine. We can, uh, go to one of the meeting rooms.”
“Wait, you can’t just leave us out of this!” Matthew growled. His dragon was furious and wanted to turn its anger on this … impostor.
“Matthew saved her,” Sybil pointed out.
Christina whipped around and pinned Matthew with her gaze. “I know who you are and that your name is all over this hospital,” she sneered. “But, legally, you have no connection to her. So please just leave, and I’ll take care of my sister. You’ve done enough.”
Dr. Parry gave him an apologetic look. “Right this way, Ms. Archer.”
"It's Stavros," she corrected and allowed Dr. Parry to lead her away.
“Holy shit,” Kate said. “Catherine has a twin?”
“Apparently,” Sybil said. “Did you know, Matthew? Of course not. So, who the heck is she, really?”
Matthew’s jaw hardened. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. Catherine is not leaving.” At least, not until he had a chance to see her. “I have to talk Catherine somehow.”
They went to James Lawton’s office to see if he could do anything.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lennox," he said in an apologetic voice. "You know I'd do anything I can for you, but this is a legal matter, and, as a family member, she does have rights. Perhaps you could consult your lawyer?"
Matthew got on the phone with Sorkin, but he didn’t have any good news for them either. “Legally, we have no standing. If Ms. Archer’s sister wants to take her to another medical facility for treatment, then she has every right to. We could argue that it would be better for her health to stay here, but I need a courtroom and a judge.”
“Do what you can,” Matthew said, trying not to sound desperate.
They ended up losing the whole morning running around, trying to find a way to get more information about Catherine's condition or ways to see her. But Christina must have gotten to the administration, as every nurse and doctor they tried to talk to immediately shut up, citing privacy laws. They didn't even know if she was conscious, though a kind nurse had reassured them she was alive and stable.
“Who the fuck is this woman?” Kate huffed, kicking a nearby garbage can.
"Maybe we can sneak into Catherine's room?" Sybil asked.
It took a lot of legwork (and bribery), but they found out her room number. When they reached it, there was a very large, imposing figure in a suit standing guard in front of the door. The man’s face was drawn into an intimidating, cold scowl and anyone passing by the room avoided looking at him or even getting near him.
“Wolf,” Luke growled.
Kate and Sybil stopped in their tracks and looked at Matthew.
“What the fuck is a wolf doing there, standing guard?” Kate asked.
It seemed like there were more layers that hid Catherine's true identity than Matthew thought. "I don't know."
“Wait.” Sybil grabbed her phone and tapped on the screen. She showed them the grainy photo on her phone—an older, dark-haired man with an arrogant expression on his face. “Stavros. As in, Aristotle Stavros.”
"What? The Greek billionaire?" Kate said. "And Alpha of the Lykos Pack?"
"Uh-huh." She scrolled further on the screen. "Hmmm … there's not much about him. But then he's known to be very secretive. A recluse. No one's seen or heard from him in years."
“Is Catherine a wolf shifter?” Sybil asked.
“No way,” Kate said. “We all would have known. She can’t hide that.”
“I don’t care,” Matthew interjected. “I just want this over with. We have to find a way into that room.” Preferably one that didn’t involve him turning that wolf bodyguard into ashes, but he wasn’t picky at this point.
“Alrighty then,” Kate said, cracking her knuckles. “Let’s go find that biotch, and Luke, when she comes around the corner, you grab her—”
“We are not getting rid of her,” Sybil said.
Kate snorted. “We’re only going to keep her away until Matthew’s convinced Catherine that they’re mates and she agrees to marry him and pop out a dozen baby dragons.”
“Why Kate, I never knew you were a romantic,” Sybil said in a sarcastic tone.
“Pfffft.” She picked at an imaginary piece of lint on her jacket. “I just don’t want a grumpy dragon moping around that castle.”
"Hold on. Kate's got the right idea." Matthew said. "We just have to distract her for a couple of hours and then get rid—I mean incapacitate—the wolf guard."
“I may have an idea,” Sybil said. “We’ll need some help, but I bet we could pull it off.”
"A plan?" Kate said. "Like when we were kids, and we tried to steal the Verona Mills mascot?"
"Something like that," Sybil said with a twinkle in her eye. "Christina can't stay in the hospital forever. With Catherine's condition, she probably needs to stay for a while, plus they probably have some plan to transport her. We have to find out where Christina is staying and how she got here. Then, we keep her away, and take down the guard."
“With what?” Luke asked.
“This is a hospital,” Kate said. “Don’t worry, I know how to get into the storage room and get the right drugs to knock him out.”
"Why would you know how to do that?" Matthew asked.
"Oh Matthew," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "You could only dream of the things I know how to do."
***
They’d been running around the hospital so much that Lawton offered his office as a sort of meeting point. Sybil called around, and it didn't take long to get more information about Christina. A private jet registered to Stavros Shipping landed at the Verona Mills airport this morning. There was also a "C. Stavros" staying at the Ritz Ski Resort about thirty miles out of town, near one of the more popular skiing slopes in the area.
“I just saw Christina leave,” Kate said, as she rushed back into the room. She’d been following Christina around the hospital. “I bet she’s on the way to her hotel, but we know she’ll be back at some point. Now, I have several ideas on how we can keep her away.”
A lightbulb lit up in Matthew’s head. “I know how. Jason.”
“Jason?”
He nodded. “He’s already pretending to be me at the office,” he said. “He can keep the charade going. He can stake out the Ritz, and if he sees her leaving, warn us and intercept her. Pretend that he wants to talk or something.”
“Brilliant,” Sybil said. “Call Jason and let him know the plan. Once we know she’s secure, we’ll figure out how to get into that room.”
“This is a crazy plan,” Luke said.
“No, it’s brilliant,” Kate said. “Come with me, Luke. You’ll be my lookout while I raid the supply room for whatever drugs I can get my hands on. Worst case scenario, I’ll dump an entire bottle of Ex-Lax into a cup of coffee and flirt with him a bit to get him to drink it.” The two of them walked away, leaving Sybil and Matthew alone.
“This is going to work,” Sybil assured him.
Matthew said nothing but nodded. He sure hoped so.
Chapter Sixteen
Catherine felt like she was swimming in a vat of molasses, going in and out of consciousness like her head was bobbing up and down in the dark, syrupy liquid. There were voices, lots of voices around her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Her body felt numb, but as she began to wake up, the pain started to creep in. I was shot.
Her mind began to piece things together. The Brotherhood attacking them. Andrei. And Matthew’s dragon.
God, he was a scary beast. But he'd come for her. To rescue her. Where was she now?
The scratchy sheets under her fingers and the antiseptic smell gave it away. The hospital. How did she get here?
She tried to sit up, but a pain in her side forced her back down. It hurt terribly, but at least she was awake and alive. The low light in the room made it difficult to see what was around her, but the call button just above her head was like a beacon. Before she could reach for it, a growl and then a thud from outside made her stop.
Alarm bells in her head made her freeze. For a second, she thought she was in danger. That the lions were still after her. However, when the door opened and a familiar figure walked in, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Matthew," she rasped out, realizing her throat was dry and itchy. She braced her hand on the mattress, so she could prop herself up and reach for the glass of water she spied on the table beside the bed.
"Catherine? Are you awake? I—what are you doing?" Matthew sprinted toward her.
“Water.”
Matthew grabbed the glass and held it to her lips. The liquid felt soothing as it went down her dry throat.
“Slow down,” he said. “You might choke.”
She finished half the glass before she allowed him to take it away. God, even swallowing was tiring, and she fell back on the bed. Matthew moved closer to her and placed his warm palm on her cheek. That felt good, too.
“I was so afraid I’d lost you,” he whispered. “When I saw those men—”
“The Brotherhood,” she said. “What happened?”
“I took care of them, sweetheart,” he said, his voice going cold. “They’ll never bother you again.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I believe you,” she said. “But I should probably explain. And tell you the truth.”
“Shhhh …” he soothed. “The only thing that matters is that you’re alive and you’re going to be okay.”
“Please, I need to tell you the truth,” she said. “I don’t want to go on lying to you. I can’t.”
Matthew brushed her hair aside and then laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Alright, sweetheart. You say what you need to say, and I’ll listen.”
She let out a deep sigh. "Where do I begin? My name isn't Catherine Archer. At least, not anymore. When my stepfather adopted my sister and me, we changed it. To Stavros."
“The Greek Billionaire.”
She nodded. "He's a wolf shifter. Alpha of the Lykos Pack." She paused. "I was seven when my biological father died and left us penniless. My mother didn't have a choice; she accepted a position as a tutor to Aristotle Stavros' three sons. He and his wife had recently divorced, and he wanted someone to look after his children since he traveled a lot on business. He wanted a female tutor, someone who could teach them manners and graces. Of course, my sister and I came to live on Lykos as well. That's the island where the pack lives."
“How did he come to adopt you, then?”
"Well, the short story is Ari fell in love with Mama. She was his mate, as it turned out. His first marriage was an arranged one, to build an alliance and produce strong children." She bit her lip. "For a while, we were happy. Ari adopted us, and we started calling him Papa.
I had three older stepbrothers who I adored. And then Mama got pregnant. She had a baby girl." Her throat closed, and the tears began to form in her eyes. Matthew slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it.
“You don’t have to—”
She shook her head. "No, I need to tell you the rest. So you'll understand. When it was time to have the baby, Mama wanted her born in England. They fought about it, but he eventually relented. He loved her that much. So our youngest, Cordelia, was born in an English hospital." The stench of the antiseptic seemed to burn her nostrils, but she continued. "After giving birth, Mama grew weaker. The doctors didn't know why she wasn't recovering; it had been a normal birth." The memories came flooding back. Of that sterile, dull hospital. Of watching Mama wither away. "It turned out some anti-shifter group found out Mama had given birth to a wolf pup. They got one of their own inside the hospital and were slowly poisoning her and Cordelia. Cordy was a shifter; she recovered. But Mama …"
She didn’t even realize it, but she was sobbing now. Matthew drew her into his arms and let her cry.
“Then what happened?”
Catherine swallowed audibly. "Papa … he went insane with grief. Took me, Christina, and Cordy back to Lykos. Shut himself and us away from the world. He wasn't going to let anyone harm us. We didn't leave for years. We had private tutors, doctors, anything and everything we needed, flown into the island. Lykos became a mini-city and we had every luxury you could think of, although for a while it was more like a prison." Her voice was bitter now. "Papa never would have let us leave if we didn't convince him that Mama would have wanted us to go to boarding school and university in England. She'd been a teacher, after all. So, he let me and Christina go to London." She smiled. "Christina hated it. She had fully embraced being part of the Lykos Pack, even though she was human. After she finished her degree, she went right back to work for Stavros International. I loved London. Loved the entire scene. I loved the freedom. I wanted to stay. I found a job I liked and this amazing apartment in SoHo for cheap.”
“So why did you run away?”
"Well, the job that I enjoyed and paid well? Papa had cashed in some favors to get it for me. Even had some of his guys working in the office to watch me. That great deal on that apartment? He'd been paying a significant portion of the rent. And he had bought the apartment across from mine, so he could put a security detail on me 24/7. My entire life was a lie, another prison Ari Stavros constructed."
The Blackstone Dragon Heir: Blackstone Mountain Book 1 Page 13
