AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Luca nodded, sitting up with the blanket still around his lap. “Yes,” he rasped out. “Shifted… last night.”
Kieran broke into a wide grin. “Congrats.”
Synora approached Holly and knelt next to her. “Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes tracing over Holly’s face, which she was sure was puffy and with red-rimmed eyes from crying.
Holly nodded. She was okay. For now. She bit the inside of her cheek. She still had to tell her mates what she had found last night, and hopefully they wouldn’t hate her. But if they did, she was still going to deal with her papa’s treason. It might not have been her fault, but it was her responsibility to clean up.
Kallan crouched down in front of her. “I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time.
Despite herself, Holly let out a grin that Kallan returned. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was too harsh last night.”
“No.” Holly stopped him. “You weren’t. I needed to hear that. I failed you all last night and hurt you, and for that, I’m so very sorry.” She looked at each of them. “I do want this—want you all. I… I’ve never had relationships before, and I didn’t realize how messed up my childhood made me when it came to relating to others. It was always easier and sometimes safer to manage others’ emotions, especially my papa’s, and that’s what I defaulted to. But I know now that was wrong, and I’m sorry I hurt you before I realized it. I went back to my house last night to confront my papa about his behavior.”
“You went alone?” Kallan interrupted, worry darkening his eyes.
“Brother, let her finish,” Kieran chided, and Kallan looked sheepish.
“I did. But Papa wasn’t in his study. They were both asleep. So, I might have done some digging based on your suspicions.” Holly looked at her hands and then back up at Kallan. “And you were right. I found documents and the missing ingredients in a secret cabinet in his study. There was a spell hiding it, but I broke it.”
“You what?” Kallan interrupted again, and Kieran sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes at Holly and holding up his hands in a “what can you do?” gesture. Holly smiled at him, hiding a laugh at his antics.
“Are you okay?” Synora asked. “You shouldn’t have gone alone.” Synora looked at Kallan, who nodded his agreement.
“I’m okay,” Holly said. “He wasn’t there. I never ran into him.”
“I don’t like that you took the risk,” Kallan said, “but I’m glad you’re okay. And I know you can handle yourself.” Holly’s eyebrows shot up. She would never have guessed those words would come out of his mouth.
He grinned wryly at her expression. “Trust, right? I’m still learning. Forgive me for last night?” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have said those things or been that harsh.”
Holly knew they had a long way to go. She did with all her mates. But she wanted them—wanted this. So, she took one of Kallan’s hands in hers and squeezed it. “Forgiven,” she said. “We’ll work on the trust thing. Now, do you want to know what I found?”
Kallan quirked his lips in a quick grin and nodded.
Holly dug around in her satchel and found the documents. She handed them to Kallan. “Do you have the ingredients in there too?” Kieran asked, looking at her satchel as if it would explode at any moment.
“Not all of them,” Holly said as Kallan rifled through the papers. “I didn’t want to make him too suspicious. I took Ligamen and Fortis so he wouldn’t be able to use them to build another ultimate weapon, but…” She looked at Luca. “There were other things hidden in the hoard. Weapons. And Luca thinks he might have taken them.”
“We didn’t find any weapons in the hoard,” Synora said, her brow creasing in worry.
Holly bit the inside of her cheek. “What should we do now?” she asked Kallan, putting her trust in him as a commander to come up with a plan.
“Do you think the documents and ingredients are enough proof for your uncle?” he asked her, taking her input into consideration.
Holly bit her cheek as she thought. “I want to say yes, but my papa is very smart. He probably has a contingency plan in place if they were to be found. I think we might need a confession.” She winced, knowing her mates weren’t going to love this next part. “I think I should wear a recording orb and confront him about it.”
Synora and Kieran immediately voiced their displeasure, with Luca adding his own emphatic “No!” but Holly held Kallan’s gaze. He frowned but didn’t protest, and Holly knew he found the wisdom in her answer.
“I agree,” he said, holding up a hand when Kieran turned on him. “I don’t like it, but I agree. Right now, he doesn’t know what we’ve found. If he finds the papers and ingredients missing, he’ll clam up or, worst case, run. If Holly can catch him off guard, he might confess something he wouldn’t otherwise. That being said”—he turned and looked at Holly—“I really don’t like this, as it puts you in danger. Are you sure your uncle won’t believe the papers and ingredients?”
“I think Uncle Frederick might, but the rest of the Realm won’t. My papa has created a pretty extensive network of friends and people who owe him favors. I think we need irrefutable proof,” Holly said.
“I don’t like this.” Kieran folded his arms. “What if he already knows? What if he hurts you?”
“I don’t think he’ll hurt me.” Holly let out a wry laugh. “He still finds me valuable right now.” She nodded her head at the papers Kallan still held in his hands. Kallan handed them to Kieran, who scanned them and then handed them to Synora.
“How about this?” Holly thought aloud. “What if one of you went to get Uncle Frederick fifteen minutes after I enter the house? That will give me enough time to get started on the confession, and by the time he gets there, he can help if something were to go wrong.”
“The rest of us will wait right outside,” Kallan said, holding up a hand when Holly went to protest. “It’s the only way it happens. We need to be close enough in case something goes wrong.”
