“Yes, yes, of course.” Chloe quickly rang them through and sent them on their way with all the politeness of her customer service persona as she could manage.

  But the second they were gone, she couldn’t remember what they looked like even if she tried. Her mind simply wasn’t on work today. It was elsewhere.

  On Linden.

  More accurately, it was on the fact he hadn’t shown up for dinner. At her place. Dinner he’d said he would be at. The same dinner where she’d decided to reveal to him that she liked him. Cared for him.

  Chloe had taken her time, done her hair, even put on a bit of makeup and a cute summer dress, in hopes of impressing him. But he hadn’t been there. He’d abandoned her.

  Was it for the same reasons again? Had he somehow sensed that she was going to confess her feelings? Would that have scared him off? She’d thought he was mostly past that. That things between them were good, and if anything was holding them back, it was her. Not him. But this mysterious disappearance had her wondering if she’d read the situation wrong.

  Maybe Linden had been simply hiding it better than she thought. Keeping it from her. Which brought about a whole new set of questions. If he was changing his mind again, or if he was hiding it from her, after saying he’d told her everything, was that someone she wanted to be with?

  That was the real distraction, because their entire budding relationship revolved around that. If this was going to be what she was signing up for, then Chloe was going to void that contract here and now. Linden was a wonderful man, but if he was never present, then this wasn’t going to work, and it was better to nip it in the bud now.

  All of which served to leave her feeling numb, disassociated from her body, and oblivious to what was going on around her while she ran through scenario after scenario, trying to decide what she should do.

  Should she go over there? Track him down, force him to at least talk to her and let her know what was going on? Or did she respect his desire for distance, and just wait for him to message her again if he was interested. Which one was the right choice, to show that she liked him, was interested, but wasn’t crazy?

  This is why people hate relationships. Just come out and say it already. Whatever it is. Just put it out there and let things develop around it.

  “Chloe.”

  “Hey,” she said, Sydney’s familiar voice worming its way through the fog, catching her attention. “How’s it going?”

  “I’ve had better. But it seems that goes double for you,” her friend said. “What’s going on? You look…distracted.”

  “I am,” she said. “Lots to think about. Lots going on up here,” she explained, tapping the side of her head.

  “Well, that’s a nice change from the usual,” Sydney joked.

  “Ha ha,” Chloe deadpanned, not reacting to the quip.

  “Oh, this is serious. Alright, time to tell soon-to-be-Mama Sydney all your problems. What’s up?” Sydney grabbed an empty box, flipping it upside down and taking a seat next to her friend, back to the market, blocking Sydney’s view. “Come on, spill.”

  “Linden didn’t come over last night.”

  Sydney sat up straighter. “He was supposed to?”

  “Yes.” Chloe hadn’t told Sydney about her plan, her intent to reveal her feelings to Linden. She did now though.

  “I see. Nothing this morning either?”

  Chloe shook her head. “Nothing. Radio silence. He’s ignoring me, but I don’t know why.” Her eyes came up, seeking explanation. “What did I do wrong?”

  Sydney was quiet for a moment, but Chloe barely noticed as her own mind continued to spin, generating new thoughts as quickly as she could acknowledge the last one.

  “Whatever, I don’t need him,” she said, sucking in air through her nose. “I made it this far in life on my own, I don’t need to expose myself to this kind of hurt. If he doesn’t want to be with me, then I’m not going to sit around and mourn him. No ma’am. Gonna pull myself up and do this on my own!”

  Sydney was nodding, letting her go on for a bit. But, Chloe noticed, she wasn’t really being all that supportive.

  “Is there something you’d like to say?” she offered, looking at her friend expectantly.

  “Uh, yeah. Listen. You know I’m proud of you, happy that you believe in yourself, etc. All that stuff. You know that, right?” Sydney was fidgeting like a mad woman.

  Sydney never fidgeted. She was up to something or knew something.

  “You’re about to tell me something I don’t want to hear, aren’t you?” Chloe asked, forcing her temper down, though it still raged in a ball deep in her stomach, unable to be extinguished completely now it had been roused.

  “Um.” Sydney hesitated, looking skyward.

  “This isn’t like you, Syd, what’s going on?” Chloe forced herself to relax into the chair. Whatever it was, it was bothering her friend.

  “This is one of those things,” she said quietly. “It’s not my place to tell. But at the same time, you need to know.”

  She chewed on her lip for a few moments while Chloe waited with growing tension and nervousness. What the hell did Sydney know that she wasn’t saying?

  Chloe leaned in close. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

  “Okay, you can’t ask me questions about how I know, or what it was about, or details, okay? You have to promise me that, because I can’t tell you.” Sydney looked at her imploringly, eyes searching for the words that would set her at ease.

  “I promise? I don’t really know what I’m promising, I guess. But I do. Now tell me what it is you know already!” she exclaimed, then looked around to see if anyone had heard the outburst.

  They were alone, thankfully, most of the shoppers in the market sticking to the larger booths instead of her smaller one, as was usual.

  “Okay fine,” Sydney said, exhaling sharply in relief. “There was a huge fight at the farm last night. Maybe he’s busy dealing with the fallout of that. It might be that he’s not ignoring you but hasn’t been able to get away.”

  She looked away quickly, unwilling to meet Chloe’s eyes, her fingers tapping repeatedly against her thigh.

  “A fight?” Chloe gasped. “What? About what? I…oh,” she said in a small voice, trailing off. “That’s what I can’t ask you about, isn’t it?”

  Sydney nodded, but didn’t speak, still looking away.

  “Okay. Um. Can I ask you if you if Linden’s okay? Do you know that?” It bothered her a little that her first reaction was to worry for his safety, but even if Linden had decided to ignore her, she still didn’t want him to suffer injury in a fight. That just wasn’t who Chloe was as a person. She didn’t really have a vindictive bone in her body.

  “I don’t think he was among those hurt,” Sydney replied quietly after a minute.

  “But people were hurt?”

  “Yes.” Sydney sat upright. “I can’t tell you anything more, Chlo. Please. You have to understand I shouldn’t have told you this much.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, reassuring her friend. “I appreciate what you did. I won’t reveal that you told me.” Her face hardened. “Besides, the jerk still has a cell phone, doesn’t he? He could have called. Texted. Anything just to say he’s okay but something at the farm came up.”

  She glared at Sydney, though she wasn’t mad at her friend. Instead, Chloe was seeking agreement and reinforcement of her opinion.

  What she got was intense discomfort.

  “Right?” she prodded. “There’s no reason he couldn’t have done that, is there?”

  Sydney grew acutely more uncomfortable, shifting back and forth in her chair. “Chloe,” she pleaded silently. “Please. I can’t.”

  “Whatever. If he doesn’t care enough to even text me, that’s his loss,” she decided.

  Sydney just kept on staring out into the market, but Chloe no longer cared. This wasn’t on Sydney to resolve. Linden was just as capable as Sydney of picking up a phone and using it. If she didn’t warrant that high of a rating in his life, then too bad.

  It was time to move on. Put her focus back on the farm, where it should really have been all along.

  32

  Logan may have confined him to quarters, but in reality, in the farmhouse, it was being confined to his ‘room’. Singular. It was perfectly fine for sleeping, but it was otherwise useless.

  Not for the first time, Linden found himself longing to be back at Moonshadow Manor, the centuries-old home of House Canis. There, he’d had true quarters. A bedroom, shower, study, and a large common room with kitchen, all to himself. He could have lived in confinement there and not felt claustrophobic.

  The farmhouse, on the other hand, was driving him slowly insane as he lay back on the bed and tried to count the bumps of the popcorn ceiling for the fiftieth time. It was impossible, he’d determined, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing else to do but fret and worry about Chloe and doing that just wasn’t going to help.

  The longing for her was increasing with every hour, and it grew faster if, like the first half a dozen hours, he spent it thinking about nothing but her. Of course, the next twelve he’d spent either sleeping or in a huge depression about the deaths and pain he’d caused his fellows.

  That hadn’t helped much either. There was nothing Linden could do about it. He’d screwed up and screwed up so horribly badly that he was surprised they had let him live, even for now.

  It won’t last long. Maybe a few months at most. Then they’ll enact punishment and bye-bye to Mama’s favorite son.

  It would have been much easier if he’d been able to simply contact Chloe. To send her a message that he was okay, but that he wouldn’t be coming back. Ever. That it wasn’t her fault, but life had taken him far away for the foreseeable future. That he regretted it, wished her all the best, but had no choice. Or something like that.

  Then she could move on knowing it was other circumstances, ones beyond her control, that had prevented anything from happening between them. She could live her life without further sadness or depression.

  It would have been a lie, but in a case like this, where she’d done absolutely nothing wrong, Linden would have put aside his usual compunction against lying and done so for the greater good.

  Now, unfortunately, she would be forced to live with the unknown, without any idea of what had happened to him, where he’d gone. All she would know, is that—like an asshole—he’d missed her plans, because he’d spent the last thirty-six hours or so rotting in his room. Even if she came over to the farm, everyone would say they didn’t know where he was.

  It would hurt her and knowing that she would be in pain from this perceived betrayal infuriated Linden, leaving him to lie on the bed in raging impotence.

  The door opened.

  There were no locks, but the two guards posted outside the door with uranium-infused blades were a perfect deterrent even if Linden had been considering escaping. Which he hadn’t. The radiation the blades would spew when unsheathed was instant death to shifter DNA, causing their skin to blacken and die almost instantaneously. Their biggest weakness.

  Not that I have any intention of fighting against them. I did this. I will pay penance. It is only right.

  “Linden.”

  He sighed as the guest revealed themselves to be none other than Logan.

  “If you’re here to give me some kind of speech about my sins, save it,” he growled. “I’m well aware I fucked up. That people died because of my actions. I’m not stupid, Logan. I don’t deserve to live, and even if I did, nobody here would want me.”

  Logan came into the room, closing the door behind him anyway. Not that it mattered, the walls were thin enough that everyone could hear what was being said anyway.

  “You would be surprised what people will or won’t want,” Logan replied. “Many who have mates recall how it blinded them during the pursuit. How it altered their perception of things, made their decision-making faulty and untrusting.”

  “This isn’t making me feel any better,” he said bitterly.

  “It shouldn’t,” Logan told him. “I expected more from you, Linden. I’m disappointed in you.”

  Closing his eyes, Linden tried not to react. If there was one thing worse than having someone mad at you, it was having them be disappointed in you. That one stung far worse than any hatred ever could.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, unable to contain his anguish. “I just assumed they would be arrogant enough to reveal themselves to any of the farmers. I never thought there was any danger. I was so stupid.”

  “Yes,” Logan said bluntly. “You were stupid. Deadly stupid. But you also arrived and helped turn the tide. Things were as close to evenly matched as could be. I think we surprised them with our strength. They came in expecting to run over us, but we had more numbers than they were prepared for. You turned up, freed a few and turned the tide. Don’t discount that.”

  “Please tell me you don’t actually think that makes up for it.”

  “Of course not,” Logan snapped. “Only if you had been doing your job and warned us so we could prepare, would make up for it. But what I’m saying, is that if you hadn’t shown up, there would be more dead. Perhaps all of us. For that, at least, I’m grateful, even if it doesn’t exonerate you.”

  “I’m not sure if you’re making this better or worse,” Linden said bitterly.

  “There is one question that remains unanswered,” Logan said.

  “What?”

  “How did they know where we were?” Logan asked softly. “How did they know, Linden?”

  “I don’t know. I told you that already.” He frowned. “Wait, why are you asking me that?”

  “Many are saying you turned on us. That you turned traitor and gave us up.”

  Linden flew to his feet, stopping an inch away from Logan, staring eye to eye with the alpha, his body quivering with a rage that built into a towering inferno, filling his eyes and every muscle in his body.

  “You tell them to come ask me that themselves,” he hissed. “Come call me a traitor to my face. The cowards.”

  “They had to know somehow,” Logan said, unfazed by the display.

  “It. Wasn’t. Me,” he growled, his voice surprisingly loud. “I may have fucked up, but I would never purposefully expose us to an attack. That’s insanity. Why would I return and face death, then? Have them explain that.”

  Logan watched him unflinchingly.

  “Someone else did it.”

  The alpha nodded slowly, accepting his words, though Linden could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced. That, perhaps, hurt worse than anything else so far. Knowing that the others believed he would purposefully betray them.

  “I had to ask,” Logan said, pulling the door open, and disappearing without another word.

  Linden snarled in anger, picking up the heavy wooden dresser and hurling it at the doorframe.

  It broke wide open, taking the door with it as it split into individual pieces, spilling wood and his clothing out into the hallway beyond. A second later, both guards charged into the room, knives drawn.

  “Relax,” Linden said, putting his hands up. “I’m just angry.”

  Aren’t I? That’s all that was, right?

  Outside, Logan looked back into the room, shook his head, and then disappeared. The two guards stood their ground.

  “I told you, I’m not trying anything. Just taking out my anger.”

  After all, what else was he supposed to do? What else could he do?

  I could leave. Leave this place. Go to Chloe. Tell her the truth. The whole truth. We could run away from here, live together somewhere. Just the two of us. We could be happy…

  And at least that way, only the shifters would hate him. That was better than they and Chloe hating him.

  Linden made his decision in a split second. The nearest guard looked over at his partner, and Linden lashed out, kicking his leg out from under him.

  “Hey!” the second guard shouted and charged.

  Linden’s other foot flicked a piece of wood from the shattered dresser at the guard’s face, forcing him to bat it aside. He smiled as the guard used the knife-holding hand to swipe at the projectile, instinct telling him to use his weapon when under attack.

  That left the blade out of place across his body. Linden grabbed the forearm as it came close, twisted and then cheated, using the guard’s momentum against him as he fell backward, flipping the guard through the air and into the far wall. The shifter went through drywall and halfway through the exterior before he stopped.

  “Traitor!” the first guard snapped, lunging at him.

  Linden felt the tip of the blade nick his stomach and a second later, agony erupted through his midsection. He wanted to do little more than curl up into a ball and scream in pain, but there was no time for that.

  A vicious downward chop momentarily numbed the guard’s arm, forcing him to drop the knife. Linden bodily heaved the man backward and then double-punched him in the chest, hurtling the guard back through the flimsy exterior wall and out into the hallway.

  By this point, shouts were going up around the property. There was no time to waste. Linden flung himself through the open window, ducking into a roll as he fell two stories and came up on his feet, racing away from the farmhouse and out into the night as people tried to figure out what was happening.

  A few seconds later, he heard the alarm go up, but it was too late. He was already out among the fields, his head-start too much. They would never catch him, they had to know that. Their priority was still preparing to evacuate, to get out of the farmhouse before the loyalists returned. If they spared any manpower to come after him, they would be dooming themselves.

  Linden ran onward, heading in the exact opposite direction of Chloe’s farm. He had to convince them he was more concerned with escaping than going anywhere. If he could deter them from sending anyone after him, then he could eventually slip back around and get to her.

  The stars shone overhead, but to the west, he could see clouds moving in—which made sense he thought, for the air was thick with the smell of ozone.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22