AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The realization that Taryn of Autumhart was perfect hit him so quickly that he sucked in a deep breath as his chest twinged painfully. There would be no better mate for him than Princess Taryn of Autumhart. The wolf told him this, and he knew it was true.
But his thoughts about how perfect Taryn was, brought other, darker thoughts to mind.
Thoughts about the notes.
Menacing anonymous notes. The notes started showing up a while back. They’d appeared in random places at random times. The content was always disturbing and clearly meant for Taryn. So far, he’d been successful at keeping the existence of the messages away from Taryn’s awareness.
Who had been sending the notes? He had no idea, but he would find out. It was only a matter of time.
His phone vibrated. Declan grabbed it and ducked into the bathroom so he could talk and not wake Taryn.
“Someone set the vineyard on fire,” Hanna told him. No hello or good morning. His sister dove right into the news. Her voice was cold and businesslike. “The northeast quadrant,” Hanna added. “Those grapes were set to be harvested in the next few weeks. Someone was trying to dent the inventory, and that’s exactly what they did.”
“On my way,” Declan told Hanna. His voice was tight, though devoid of emotion. He needed to reassure Hanna that he was taking this seriously and he was on the move. “You’ll be working with Taryn today at her apothecary,” he added at the end of the call.
“I understand,” Hanna said.
“Thank you,” Declan answered. “Oh, one other thing. Do your best to get to the apothecary before Taryn does, just in case. Take an enforcer and station them in the back office. Put the enforcer’s sharp eye on the cameras.”
“Of course,” Hanna answered. “You’re very thorough.”
“I have to be with you keeping me on my toes,” he replied.
Declan hung up the phone and hurried to get dressed. Then he returned to the bathroom and called several enforcers to meet him at the burnt portion of the vineyard. He tried to do all this quietly, to not wake Taryn. When he came out of the bathroom after the last enforcer call, Taryn was sitting up in bed looking at him.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Is my latest problem that obvious?”
“Clearly, something went down, and you are up and riled, My King. You are in a full-blown alpha-male mode right now. I can feel it in the air.”
Declan turned and faced her straight so there would be no misgivings or misunderstandings. Sweet heavens, she looked beautiful staring back at him, sleepy eyes and frumpy bedclothes.
How…when…did I get this lucky?
“Someone set the vineyard on fire,” he told her. “I am quite sure it’s out at this point, but I need to see what was done.”
“That’s horrid,” Taryn answered. He could see surprise and concern on her face. “The whole vineyard or just part of it?”
“A section of the vineyard that had been producing grapes and was going to be harvested soon.”
“What do you think they want?” she asked.
“They clearly wanted to get my attention or hit my inventory levels.”
“Who is it?” Taryn asked. “Who burns grapes?”
“Someone who is foolish enough to think they can hurt me,” he said. “You are safe. I will keep you apprised as I learn more, that I promise.”
Taryn didn’t say anything but slid out of bed and dressed.
“What are you doing?” he asked her.
“I’m going with you, My King. Someone hurt your inventory to hurt you. I am your betrothed, and I’m going with you.”
“No need, Taryn. What I need most is for you to carry on like nothing happened. I don’t want this episode to get more attention than is necessary. Go to work, go to your apothecary. Your work is important. Hanna will be there with you today. Make today the best possible workday, please.”
“As you wish,” she answered. Declan didn’t miss the slight anxiety in her voice.
