“Hi.” I blinked back yet more tears, begging, begging, begging that he wasn’t another enemy.
“I missed you so much.” Swiping his calloused thumb over my cheek, he rubbed away dirt as if I was six years old again and making a mess in his office. “Look at the state of you.” His deepvoice caught with emotion. “I’ve been waiting for you ever since Dil said you were coming.”
Lucien groaned softly behind me.I really need him to stop touching you, Rook. He balled a shaking fist against his belly.The possessiveness is killing me. I’m either going to burn him alive or drop dead on this ice.
Tugging gently out of Frank’s embrace, I grimaced a little in apology. “Sorry, Frank, I just—”
“It’s fine.” Frank eyeballed Lucien as if he could hear our silent conversations. “He can’t stand another person touching you. I figured that would happen the more entwined you got. It’s just as I predicted all those years ago.”
“Wait. What?” Fear struck my heart. “What do you mean?”
What does he mean...all those years ago?Lucien snarled in my head.
“I have no idea,” I replied. “Maybe he means—oops.” Flinching, I shot Frank a look.I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
Lucien bared his teeth.I know you want to trust him, Rook...but I’m not so sure. He’s looking at us as if he knows far too much.
I agree. I nodded, making Frank narrow his eyes.
He studied both of us. “Interesting. So the synergy isn’t just physical, but mental.”
“What?” I wrinkled my nose, trying to follow.
“Has it become spiritual and emotional too?” Frank waved his hand. “What am I saying? Of course it has. I’m sure those neural and cellular pathways were formed the day you met.”
Something tightened around my throat. “The day we met?”
“Yes.” Frank nodded sagely. “Right here. In the lab.”
“Eh...” I blinked.
Lucien gave me an incredulous look.What?
The urge to ask my CEO a million questions swarmed me, but...Lucien was right. What if we couldn’t trust him?
Pushing past us, Dillon stalked into the hut and stomped his boots free from snow. “Because you won’t tell him and I’m sick of watching you both fade before my eyes, allow me to break the ice, as it were.” Pointing at us, he said, “I think they’ve turned telepathic. Pretty sure they’re dying too. The cat is sentient. The Requiem gene is in full swing. And the level of power they have destroyed an entire mountain range in China. Oh, and their blood is somehow black.”
Heading toward the single elevator that was the only thing inthis tiny hut, Dillon added, “They also won’t hesitate to kill anyone who threatens the other, so...I suggest you all remain friends. Keeps my job simple, as well as the panther’s.”
Whisper huffed as if agreeing with Dillon, showing a hint of fang for Frank’s benefit.
“Hey.” I scowled. “What happened to being on my side and protecting our secrets?”
“Iamprotecting you. Starting with giving the benefit of the doubt to the very man who loves you like his own daughter. The one man who can hopefully save your life. However.” Dragging his finger over his throat as the elevator pinged and the metal doors opened, he pointed at Frank in warning. “If you hurt them, I’ll hurt you. Got it, Frank?”
Frank didn’t seem afraid or even shocked by Dillon’s revelations. “Yes, yes. You can hang, draw, and quarter me if I so much as give her a papercut. Now come in, come in.” Bustling me inside the hut, Frank waited for Lucien to step over the threshold, then eyed up Whisper as the panther joined us in the small space. “Well, I never.”
The massive panther padded silently to Lucien’s side, his hackles raised.
Frank closed the door, blocking out the glacier and relying on a single lightbulb swinging above. He couldn’t take his eyes off Whisper. “He’s even more magnificent than I imagined.”
A soft growl rose in volume the longer Whisper stared at Frank, almost as if he remembered him. His tail stiffened and the hint of fang became a full snarl.
“You’re alright, you stupid beast.” Lucien placed his hand on the panther’s scruff, grabbing a handful of fur just in case. Speaking to Frank, he added, “He won’t hurt you. As long as you don’t hurt us.”
Frank didn’t reply, hypnotised by the glowing golden eyes of the giant predator.
Whisper grumbled as if tempted to ignore Lucien’s command and eat my CEO but then Frank held out his hand, allowing Whisper to sniff him. “You remember me, don’t you, boy?”
