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Maddox pulled away only to growl at the goddess. I guessed he could see her now. She’d probably revealed her presence just so she could say stupid shit like that and be heard. She certainly got the rise she’d wanted out of Maddox.
Before either of us could get off the floor, Ryder returned. His shoulders were slumped low, a look of apology on his face.
“I lost him. I’m not sure what happened.” Ryder looked back over his shoulder like he couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here.
Maddox peeled himself off me and stood so he could offer a hand down to me. When he pulled me to my feet, he yanked me tight to his chest and sighed deep.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said.
Hel guffawed beside me.
I corrected myself. “This shifter has a passive ability that causes you to forget about him. It’s happened to me a few times.”
That’s why the emergency calls had ended so abruptly. Vince shredded the threads of fate around him, and it seemed that even phone calls were bound by such things. When he appeared, the calls ended because they no longer existed. Not even a recorded message could remember him.
“Are you going to catch the wolf that you unleashed upon humanity?” Hel asked haughtily.
I cut her a sidelong glare. She was the sassiest person I’d ever met, and that said a lot considering that I’d also knew Vi. The two of them in a room together would have brought on another apocalypse.
I wasn’t going to go straight for Vince. Not yet, at least. I had to find out who Maria was and why he couldn’t find her. The answer was obvious at this point, but I needed to make sure. If there was a chance that I could contact Maria’s spirit, then maybe I could ask her for help.
Curling my hands into fists against Maddox’s chest, I realized that I couldn’t grab at his shirt…because he wasn’t wearing one. My cheeks warmed as my entire body became aware of the naked man pressed against my side. Need blossomed in my core even though I knew I needed to focus on the task at hand.
I loved this stubborn, stalwart man, but I was never going to get the chance to tell him. This was a truth I would have to keep shoved down deep, locked away so that I would never get between Maddox and his fated mate. If we could stop Vince from tearing any more fate threads, then Maddox would have a chance at true happiness in his future.
It sucked that it wouldn’t include me, though. Over and over, I was forced to come to terms with the reality of my situation. As a Reaper, my life had already been decided for me. Those fate threads were woven deep into the fabric of the universe. I doubted even Vince could break them.
I desperately wanted to call bullshit and defy fate. I had before. Today, I’d decided to take matters into my own hands and act in my own best interest. It wasn’t something I’d ever done before.
But this wasn’t one of those cases. If I selfishly clung to Maddox and tried to claim him as my own, then he would miss out on his own happiness. I had to sit this one out. It hurt, but I put my hands to his chest and pushed myself away.
“I need to see if I can contact the other side,” I declared to set my own mind back on the task at hand.
Ryder put a hand on Maddox’s shoulder. “Up for a hunt? I’ll call the Pack and see how many I can get together. We can cover more territory that way.”
Maddox nodded and turned to me one last time. I had to look away. There was no way that I could look him in the face after that kiss and not want to keep him here forever. The pain of the day gathered around my heart and squeezed it tight.
“You’re bleeding!” Maddox reached for my chest.
I looked down to find that my shirt was stained red. Much of it had dried, but fresh blood turned the fabric a bright color and stuck it to my chest.
Maddox snarled and bent at the waist. When he threw me over his shoulder, I let out a startled yelp. Maddox carried me away from our duties. I gave Ryder and Hel an apologetic look.
I thought she’d be annoyed, but Hel seemed curious. Her gaze was on the back of Maddox’s head. I watched her lift a bony hand and wriggle the white fingers in the air like she was pulling them along guitar strings.
It wasn’t until we rounded a corner that I realized what Hel was doing. She’d been looking at the threads of fate to see where they led. More specifically, she’d been looking at Maddox’s fate threads. It made me wonder if his were tied to me.
I wanted to rush back out and ask Hel what she could see that I couldn’t, but Maddox stepped into the bathroom and kicked the door closed behind us. When he set me down onto the edge of the bathtub, he pointed down for me to stay.
“Use your words like a big boy,” I said under my breath.
He turned heated eyes on me. The man should have been terrifying. He’d grown wider since becoming a shifter. His muscles were toned and much bulkier than they’d been when we’d first met. Scars crisscrossed his body now. I could tell some were from recent fights, but there were some slick, puckered scars that made me wonder if he’d been shot in the past.
Maddox wasn’t the kind of person one laughed at. Yet, here I was poking the beast with my attitude. And he took it, biting his lower lip to keep from smiling as he shook his head.
He knelt and pulled out a first aid kit from under the sink. “Take your shirt off.”
“You’re not even going to buy me dinner first? I mean, I’d even accept a drink.” Despite my teasing, my cheeks turned red-hot.
