by Vyne, Amanda
“What we do know is that at some point she was sent to this research facility in Death Valley. According to Dr. Mahoney’s initial workup, there are signs of genetic alterations, which may include manifestations of all species.”
“In order to mate with Agent Merrick, she would have to be partly Drachon.” Brim turned his gaze on the doctor. “Does that mean they made her into a crossbreed?”
Dr. Mahoney was shaking her head. “It’s impossible to change her to a different species altogether. At this point, there are notable manifestations of characteristics known only to other species of the Arcane. I will be able to determine more when Ms. Schaffer wakes up and I am permitted to do a more thorough analysis.” Her sharp clinical eyes shot an accusation at Raife.
Raife moved in his seat, his heavily muscled frame restless with the veiled threat to his mate. Intellectually he knew the doc wouldn’t harm her, but his dragon prickled at the detached method the doctor dealt with her unconscious body.
“Throttle back, bro.” The voice was harsh as it rumbled across the familiar mental connection. Raife flicked his gaze to Tag.
The man had his elbows on the table with his hands folded together. His head was bowed, but his eyelids lifted for just a moment to meet Raife’s gaze.
The pupils were slitted.
Cutting a curious glance at Dr. Mahoney, Raife pushed his dragon farther back beneath the veil of humanity that shrouded it. Surely Tag wasn’t fool enough to get mixed up with the mysterious doctor. Not that he had much room to breathe, let alone talk, when it came to inappropriate mates. Yet, inappropriate mate or not, Tag would never be able to completely bond to a mate. Not anymore.
Forestor cast pointed looks at them both. The aura of power that always cloaked the Guardian swelled, and Raife took it for the warning it was.
“Our main objective at this point is that facility, and, at this moment, Ms. Schaffer is our best source of intel on it. This is why as soon as she is well, and provided she is willing, I’m making her a part of this team.”
Raife shot up in his chair. “With all due respect, Forestor, no fucking way.”
Forestor’s eyes snapped to his. They were hard. Unyielding. “I realize this is a difficult time, Agent. But there are possibly more innocent people in that facility. Right now, your mate is the best chance we have of getting them released.”
“I don’t give a damn.” Raife paced back to the window, his dragon clawing at his guts. “She’s not to be involved in this at all. She’s been through enough. She’s not up to this.”
“There may be other females in there.” Brim’s riotous anger rolled over them. “Would you keep from others that which you covet for yourself?” He rocked back with a sigh. “Fuck, Merrick, we’re dying out here. If there are more females, she may be able to help us get them out safely.”
Raife spun on his heel and looked down the table, fists clenched at his sides. “I forbid it. She’s not strong enough. I won’t let her risk herself.”
“You know I’m all Team Merrick and shit, but you sound like a damn Neanderthal.” Kel dropped her boots to the ground and leaned forward in her seat, a frown creasing her pixie face. The only female on the team, she was hell in heels with a mouth like a chainsaw. “Please don’t tell me you got images of bare feet and tacky-ass aprons? Let the chick decide for herself.”
Raife turned his burning eyes on the tiny woman. They paired up on assignments. She was the closest thing he had to a sister, and he respected her opinion, but this time it was more than he could accept. The instinct to protect Katya was just too strong. “I can’t.”
“Hell, Merrick,” Kel snarled, her dark eyes intense. He knew she carried her own demons, most of which had eased after she’d found her own mate this past year. “She’s had everything taken away from her. At least give her back some control over her life. She has the right to that.”
“She’s mine.” The admission was guttural, torn from him. He wasn’t letting her anywhere near that place again.
Dr. Mahoney pulled a comm device from her hip and glanced down at it. Her eyes were mocking when she smiled coldly back at him. “Well then, Agent Merrick, you should take better care of your possessions. Your weak little female rendered one of my assistants unconscious, stole her clothing, and disappeared.”
Chapter Nine
Gone.
Katya turned a tight circle, her gaze sliding from one familiar corner to another. She’d grown up in these rooms. Everything that meant anything to her in the twenty years she’d lived with her uncle had been carefully tucked into the corners and drawers and closets of this suite.
Now it was just gone.
Like the person she had been.
Morning sunlight angled through the bare windows and gave the room a starkness that echoed right through her. Wandering from one room to another, she trailed her fingers over the immaculate white walls. Eight months ago, they had been a soothing pale blue. Her favorite color. It was like she had been erased. Reaching golden shadows brushed the tip of her borrowed white sneakers, and she walked into the wash of watery sunlight.
It felt good on her bare arms and face as she stepped up to the french doors leading to her private balcony. A hidden part of her she tucked away in these rooms. At sixteen she’d started to notice a difference in herself, characteristics others of her kind did not have. A significant decrease in sun sensitivity. She’d begun to show a mild telepathic ability. Keener sight and hearing. She’d held them close, careful to not expose herself to anyone. It was just one of many secrets she’d kept. Even from Raife. Had he found out? Was that why he’d sent her to that research lab? Had he even been the one to send her there? She just wasn’t sure anymore.
And what about her uncle?
Was Raife correct? Was her uncle somehow responsible? She didn’t want to believe that, but it didn’t appear as though he expected her to return.
Swinging the freshly painted doors open, she stepped out onto the stone trellis and looked down into the perfectly landscaped yard. How many times had she stood on this exact spot overlooking her uncle’s property? It looked the same and yet not. It didn’t look like home anymore.
There was no such thing for her now.
Down at the edge of the property near the iron fence was a realtor’s sign.
Loss clenched painfully in her chest. Where had her uncle gone? Was he even aware that she was missing? During the months she’d spent at that damn research lab, she’d always worried about her uncle. What did he think happened to her? Had he searched for her? Was he still searching for her? Why wasn’t he here?
There had to be an explanation that made sense. A reason he’d left. A reason she’d been callously tossed into that place. Raife swore he wasn’t responsible, but she didn’t want to believe her uncle was either.
She would go to the Bay House citadel. She’d spent half her childhood there. The elders were like extended family to her. They had to know where her uncle was. They had to know something.
Smoothing her hands over her disheveled hair and straightening the simple cotton scrub top, she shimmered to the citadel antechamber. It was a completely enclosed entry room just outside the gates of the citadel. The citadel itself was protected from unauthorized visitors just shimmering in because every wall, ceiling, and floor was beautifully inlaid with silver. As a child, the beauty and the extravagance of it had awed her.
The Sanguen guard behind the desk was smartly dressed in a black suit. He impassively glanced up when she appeared, his emotionless eyes traveling over her, taking in her strange clothing. She didn’t recognize him. She had been hoping it was someone who knew her.
“May I help you?”
Katya angled her chin up under his gaze. He didn’t betray his disdain—no proper Sanguen would dare show emotion—but she felt it all the same. “Yes, I would like to speak to Elder Grayson.”
“Elder Grayson?” His voice rose just a tiny bit, and his eyebrows lifted a notch. So much for Sanguen showing
no emotion.
“Yes, my name is Katya Schaffer. Please notify him. He will want to see me.”
At least she hoped so. It had been months since she’d seen Elder Grayson. Of all the elders, he’d been kindest to her, almost grandfatherly. As the guard called up to the citadel, Katya looked down at herself.
What would she tell him? She was wearing oversize scrubs and too tight white sneakers. She looked like what she was – an escaped patient in stolen clothes. She felt like an escaped psych patient in stolen clothes.
The guard looked her over curiously again and motioned to the door behind him. “If you please.”
Katya trailed him through the familiar tunnel. It was daytime, and the citadel was structured to protect its inhabitants and visitors from the harmful rays of the sun. The tunnel was a mosaic of color and light, and it fed right into the receiving room, where she was met by another well-dressed man.
“Have a pleasant visit, Ms. Schaffer.”
Nodding to the first man, she followed the other up a flight of stairs and across a hardwood floor inlaid with a sunburst pattern. Her sneakers made soft snicks of sound as she was led down halls and around corners to the personal greeting room of Elder Grayson.
Folding her hands calmly together, she waited for the elder. She felt like an interloper, pretending to be the girl who had once moved comfortably through these halls, secure in her place here. Now she was this other person, in stolen clothes. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.
She had to know what happened. She had to find someone she could trust.
“Katya.”
Spinning on her heel at that distinct voice, tears burned her eyes as she saw the familiar face of the elder. “Elder Grayson.” Swallowing hard, she pushed back the urge to run to him. He wouldn’t appreciate the display of emotion, but it took every ounce of control to walk slowly to him and take the hands he extended in greeting. “I’m so relieved to see you.”
That sounded calm…enough.
For one moment, she saw something flash in the older man’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced with that soft grandfatherly look she’d craved as a child. He pulled her to him, his weathered hands reaching out to cup her face. “Is it really you, my dear?” His gaze roved over her. “You have been missing for some time. We had almost lost hope. Your uncle will be so relieved to hear of it.”
Before she could respond, Elder Grayson motioned to the silent attendant who stood near the door. “Please have a room made ready for the child and notify Elder Schaffer of her presence.” He turned back to her, his hands gripping hers tightly. He took in her attire. “We have been so worried for you, my child. Your bloodmate will be so pleased to hear you have returned to us.”
Katya shook her head in confusion; the room tilted for a brief moment and righted itself. “Wait.” She tried to pull her hands free, but he held them in a strong grip. “Uncle is an elder?” Her uncle had been a well-respected Bay House diplomat but nowhere near the line of accession for elder. “My bloodmate?” Katya echoed dumbly as Raife’s words came back to her.
He was supposed to marry you into some snooty House in Wales.
Elder Grayson frowned at her, his deep eyes reflecting the faint strains of worry. An uncharacteristic display of emotion. “Yes, don’t you remember, my child? We celebrated his ascension days after we announced your upcoming blood bond. It was a solid match. The Anglesey House in Wales?” He angled his head down and searched her eyes. “I sponsored the motion with the council myself. I admit I was surprised your uncle had arranged such a distant match for you, as much as he doted on you.”
Katya felt the heavy strike of her heart in her chest. Her uncle had arranged the match. He was an elder? Her head began to ache. The last thing she remembered was being in Raife’s apartment with him. He’d started getting so distant, pushing her away, and she’d been desperate to understand – to reconnect.
Her temples throbbed as she forced the memory to the fore. She remembered kissing him, feeling a terrifying draw to him, to burrow inside him. An incredible fire that burned through her. Then darkness. And she’d woken up in hell. Could there have been more she was missing. How?
“Is everything okay, my dear? Your uncle will be here in moments. We will get you settled and call the House doctor.”
Katya jolted out of her thoughts and gave the elder a wan smile. His dull gray eyes had lost some of their softness. Inside her, there was a swelling, broiling sense of danger. Something was wrong. Certainly she hadn’t lost so much of her life? “Thank you, Elder.”
The door swung open, and she looked up to see her uncle walking swiftly to her. He pulled her into his arms. “Katya, my niece. You are safely returned.” He pulled back to look down at her, his green eyes meeting hers. Silver winged the sides of his dark hair. He looked nothing like her and often told her she favored her father in looks, a marshal from a Midwestern House. She couldn’t remember either of her parents. Her uncle was her only family, this House all she knew. “When we were notified you had been taken by Rebels during the trip to your new House, we were greatly saddened.”
Katya frowned, her hands gripping his. “Rebels?” She wasn’t completely unfamiliar with them. As a child, she’d often overheard the Elders speaking about the Rebels, rogue members of the Arcane who’d banded together after being expelled from the Alliance to thwart the power of the Triumvirate. Why would they have kidnapped her?
His eyes met Elder Grayson’s over her head. “Don’t you remember? You left with your bloodmate, and he notified us that your flight had been hijacked by Rebels. We expected a ransom request but none came.”
Katya glanced back at Elder Grayson. Confusion swirled through her, strong and oily. The older man came to her. He stroked a wrinkled hand down her hair, once a coveted gesture to her as a child craving affection. Now it felt superficial. What was going on here? “What have they done to you, my child? Do you have no memories of the past several months?”
“My memories of the last few months are very vivid, Elder Grayson.” Her voice was tight and thin.
The two men exchanged another glance, and the tension escalated until it crackled.
Her uncle Canton sighed. “They must have done something to affect your memories. I feared this. It is why I arranged a bond with a House far from this region. I feared they would target you.”
“Who? The Rebels?” Katya remembered the endless injections in the research lab. Surely they hadn’t affected her memories. She distinctly remembered waking up strapped down and every word of Dr. Rupple’s welcome speech. He was human. Why would a human doctor be working for Rebels? This didn’t make sense. “Why would Rebels even be interested in me?”
“I fear your parents’ activities may be at the root of this.”
“My parents?” A chill brushed over her skin. She glanced back at Elder Grayson and returned her gaze to her uncle. What were they talking about? “They were killed by a Sanguen with blood dementia. You told me yourself.”
“We were trying to protect you, my child.” Elder Grayson’s eyes were cloudy with compassion. “They had come to our region to seek sanctuary. They’d been aiding the Rebels in the Great Lakes House region. When the Great Lakes doyen issued an order of execution on them, they ran. Your mother contacted your uncle to petition the Bay House for sanctuary.”
“My parents were Rebel sympathizers?” She had almost no memory of her parents. Just wisps of sensations. The sound of her mother’s voice. The feel of her father’s beard. Almost everything she knew of them was from her uncle.
“I’m afraid so. There were killed by Rebels before we could bring them in. We were lucky you were not a victim as well.”
Katya narrowed her eyes on her uncle. “But Raife said they were killed by a blood-demented Sanguen. He – ”
“Raife Merrick is a Drachon. Drachon have no loyalty to anyone but themselves. They cannot be trusted. I allowed your association with him only out of reticent gratitude for saving your life and because he seeme
d to ease your transition. You are a woman now, Katya. Not a child.”
Katya frowned at her uncle’s clipped, impatient tone. She’d rarely heard him use that voice and never with her. His green eyes seemed cold as he stared at her. She retreated a step.
“Do not worry, Katya.” Elder Grayson laid an arm around her shoulders and turned her to the door. “Ease yourself, Canton. The child is confused. We cannot even begin to understand what she has undergone these past months. You do not want to cause her any further agitation.” The elder’s hand rubbed her shoulder, his voice soothing. “You are back with us now. We will see you are taken care of.”
Heart thundering, Katya glanced around the room. Her muscles tensed with the need to run, to escape the sensation of being trapped that had her chest constricting and her breath hissing in her throat. She had to calm down. Raife claimed he’d returned her to her uncle, that she’d been mated to a Sanguen from Wales. Could she have lost that time completely? Her mind reached for any recollection of the things they described, but the horrid memories of the past several months were too painfully clear to be delusions and did not include Rebels or a bonding ceremony.
No, an overwhelming sense of urgency consumed her. She’d spent the past several months being stripped down to her bare instincts, and right now they were screaming that this was all wrong. She needed to leave. Now.
“No.” Katya wrenched away from the two men and eyed them warily as she back away.
“Katya,” her uncle said softly, his gaze once again flicking to Elder Grayson before he smiled gently at her. “You have obviously undergone a terrible trauma. Just calm yourself. We will take care of everything. You have nothing to fear now that you are back with us.”
Katya shook her head and turned back to the door she’d come through but came to a sudden stop when the door opened and a man in a navy button-down shirt and khaki slacks stepped inside. The Sanguen concept of a combat uniform. If it was possible, her heart sped up. Pivoting on her heel, she started to run for the opposite door, but it was soon filled with another man. The House marshals? Why would the House marshals be here? They were the enforcers of the House.
