Page 59 of Titan’s Mate

“Okay then. Let’s go talk to Brandon.”

The crew quickly put together a plan to search Raines’s old compound. They had rough plans from the aerial surveillance Remy had done before their final battle with the panthers, and it was in two sections—one military-style area that had headquartered the clan’s warriors and their criminal business, and a larger residential area for the civilians.

“Anything Raines wanted to keep hidden, away from his lieutenants or anyone who might want too much power, would likely be kept in his personal quarters in the civilian section,” Brandon said. “But if we all go, there will be enough of us to search both areas.”

“I’ll come with you,” Tyr said. “If the remaining rogues didn’t find the artifacts, it’s likely to be because there’s a protection spell on them. Titan should be able to sense the artifacts—or at least the spell hiding them—since they belong to his clan. And as a dragon, I can sense them too, so that means you’ll have one of us in each group.”

“Then we’ll go tomorrow,” Brandon said. “If everybody’s in, let’s get our gear ready.”

Chapter 26

The rogue panthers’ old compound was about forty-five minutes away from Farville, deep in the woods. Nobody talked much on the drive out there.

Mari was nervous, even though Remy and Tyr’s reconnaissance flyover had showed no vehicles or activity at the site. The crew was still treating it like a military operation: weapons, a full comms system with earbuds and backup radios, and electronic surveillance-detecting equipment so that they could find out if there were any communications coming in or out of the compound.

Everyone else seemed to be used to this kind of thing, but Mari wasn’t. Titan had insisted she come, though. She knew he didn’t want to let her out of his sight, just in case. After what had happened to his clan, he couldn’t tolerate even the remote possibility of her dying without him nearby.

Neither could she. So here she was, in the back seat of Remy’s truck, pressed up close to Titan and trying to ignore the fact that she was wearing a bulletproof vest and everyone around her was in military gear, bristling with weapons.

Jaeda was driving, with Remy in the passenger seat. He had his laptop open, ready to check the readouts from the anti-surveillance equipment. Callie, Brock and Nick were riding in the truck bed.

They were following Brandon’s truck, which held Brandon, Kitty, Colt, Damien, Lila, and Tyr. Brandon’s group would search the first section of the compound—the headquarters near the gate.

Further inside, another fifteen or twenty minutes away, was the civilian area—where Raines and his officers had lived, and where their harem of females was kept, with their cubs.

Harem. Just the word left a bad taste in her mouth.

But that’s where the artifacts were most likely to be, so that’s where the larger group was going, with her and Titan.

Mari’s head throbbed. She’d had a headache all day, but she hadn’t said anything because Titan had enough on his plate without her freaking him out even more. It was probably just tension, anyway. Tyr had checked her out before they left, and said she was still okay.

Only… what if she wasn’t? What if this was the day the barrier broke and the brain grape popped? Then they’d have to make a choice. Stasis, if they could find the artifact. Or bonding, with all the risks that held. Or she could just accept her fate, and let Titan be free.

She looked up at the strong, determined, loyal, caring man sitting next to her. He was doing this for her. They all were.

And she knew, deep in her heart, that even if she accepted her fate, he would never be free. He wouldn’t even try. He’d follow her all the way into hell, or the realms of the gods.

She slid her hand into his and he looked down, giving her that little smile she loved. But it didn’t hide the sadness in his eyes.

If the worst happened, she just hoped Brock and the crew would let them go. Because if they tried to stop the curse, the demon could kill them all.

The front gates of the compound were locked, and Damien got out of the back of Brandon’s truck to shoot the locks off. When they were open, he gestured at the security cameras on the gateposts and up in the trees.

Remy tapped the keys on the laptop. “The cameras started putting out a signal when we drove up,” he said. It was odd, hearing his voice in her earbud at the same time he was talking in the front seat.

“But I can’t tell if anyone is actively monitoring it. They may have just never been taken offline. If they’re motion-activated instead of continuous, then the batteries could still be good even after all these months.”

Brandon’s voice came on. “We can’t assume no monitoring, though. Everyone, proceed as if you’re being watched, and as if we could be attacked at any moment.”

Attacked? Mari’s bear grew alarmed. Attack is bad.

Titan will protect us. At that exact moment he did his mind-reading thing and put his arm protectively around her.

Colt said, “Remy and I will keep monitoring communications bands.”

“Roger that,” Brandon said. “Deploy.”

They drove through the gates. There were four Quonset huts, two on each side. Brandon pulled his truck over and parked. Remy kept going.