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There were board games and books on the shelf in the living room, but both Cary and Ava shook their heads when I asked if they wanted to play something.
So there was nothing to do but sit and wait. Ava and Cary had positioned themselves awkwardly on separate couches. I didn’t know what was going on with that, so I plopped myself down next to Ava.
I attempted more small talk, but we were all too tense. Now that we were no longer in motion and didn’t know what was happening outside, it felt like the entire world was holding its breath. Time had slowed to a crawl. I wasn’t a patient person, so the silent waiting drove me slowly mad.
“So, tell me about the Palace,” I asked. Both Ava and Cary startled, as if both their minds had been elsewhere.
“Why?” Cary shot back. He was watching me closely and appeared wary of my question.
“Because Maia is my brother’s mate, so I consider her a sister now. Plus, I really like her. Trouble seems to follow her and I want to know what we’re up against.”
Maia was a leggy blonde bombshell, utterly oblivious to her own charms. Despite everything she had endured in life, she had a quiet strength and was innately kind. Her nature drew people in, even me. She was like the yin to my loud, bratty, yang energy. I instantly knew we would be tight the moment I met her.
“Is it just the one guy from the other night stalking her, or is it more than that?” I pressed on, ignoring his reluctance. They were my only source of information right now.
“Ronan is psychotic and obsessed with Maia,” Cary finally answered with a frown marring his perfect face. Yet, some of his wariness eased as he relaxed back into his chair. “If he suspects she’s here, he won’t stop until he has her. As bad as he is, though, it’s not just him. I’m pretty sure other people at the Palace are studying her somehow. They watch her closely. I don’t think they’ll let her go easily, either.”
Ava was staring at an old sepia photo of a barn on the wall, and fidgeting with a bracelet on her wrist. “Maia’s story isn’t ours to tell, but there’s something going on underneath the fake glamor at the Palace. There’s a lab underneath the building. She’d never tell me what happened whenever she disappeared, but I’m pretty sure they took her down there. They seemed to single her out.”
Cary looked shocked before his eyes narrowed on Ava. “How do you know that?”
Ava just shrugged as her gaze met his briefly, and skittered away again. My heart sank. I grabbed a cushion and hugged it to my chest, needing to hold on to something and not able to hug Maia right now. One psychotic guy I could handle. I’d done it before. This was much bigger.
I suspected Leif knew something about it already. He’d been cagey when I’d asked questions recently and he never usually held anything back from me. He had to know avoiding my questions wouldn’t keep me out of this, though.
I wished Maia had trusted me enough to tell me about it. She’d only mentioned the attempts at forced matings the night we’d hung out and talked, but we’d only just met the day before. I hoped one day she would tell me all of her story.
“And you guys? Will the Palace come for you?” I knew it wasn’t any of my business, but I had a healthy fear of the Palace and I believed in knowing your enemy.
Cary just scoffed at me. “They don’t care about me. I exist purely for entertainment.”
His words were flippant, but there was a thread of pain there, running underneath the surface. It was clear in the way his body tightened as he spoke, his fingers gripping the edge of the couch, as if he were bracing himself.
“You’re so much more than that, Cary.” Ava said with quiet conviction, as she held his gaze briefly.
Cary went still, and the existing tension in the room heightened with sparks of something raw and undefined. His scent bloomed in response to her words as he got up and walked stiffly over to the door. “I can’t breed, so as far as the Palace is concerned, I’m not important.”
I didn’t push him, letting him have the small bit of distance he clearly needed.
“They watch Ava too much as well,” he said over his tense shoulder as he scanned the trees outside, bringing the conversation back around. He attempted a casual pose, leaning against the door frame. But it fooled nobody. “They’ve left her alone so far, but they want something from her. I’m sure of it. If they come for Maia, they’ll come for Ava, too.”
Bear suddenly stilled in the middle of the living room and went on high alert. His tail dropped, his ears swiveled, and his posture stiffened. Making my response to Cary freeze in my throat.
Bear stalked to the door, head butted Cary out of the way, and looked uphill as he scented the air. Then the hackles on his back rose, and he growled deep in his chest, giving me chills, before he took off. He leaped over the porch railing and raced up the hill.
Before I could even get off the couch, I heard faint screams echo from the fields at the top of the hill. My blood turned to ice in my veins. Dave was up at the main gate.
I instinctively bolted to the door to take off after Bear, but then remembered I was responsible for two others who were in an incredibly vulnerable position. Cary and Ava didn’t know the layout of the farm or friend from a foe out there, and I needed to keep them safe.
“Shit,” I swore softly as I turned to Cary. “Stay here-”
“Don’t even think about it,” Cary warned as he cut me off abruptly. “We’re coming with you.”
He pushed out the door with a determined set to his shoulders and looked towards where Bear was rapidly disappearing around the bend in the path. I glanced at Ava as she moved up beside me, but she just shrugged. Well, okay then, we were all chasing the crazy dog. I’d take the heat from Damon for it later.
I grabbed Ava’s hand and glared at Cary. “Stay behind me until we know what’s going on.”
He didn’t look happy, but his gaze landed on Ava and he nodded. I pulled Ava past him, but kept her slightly behind me. There was no way I was letting her out of my reach if danger was brewing.
