âI hope you are not meaning to tell me that you are with a child,â Castiel sighed,
as if he was already bored and Roxanne was hesitating to start talking. However,
he stopped the men who wanted to take her back, and Roxy knew that this was
her chance. âI am already aware. You donât seriously think that you are the only
spy I sent there,â the fox king added.
âThis may be your child,â she still said out loud in the hope that it could change
anything in his eyes. But they still remained the same stormy grey colour she fell
in love with. And not a muscle on his face flinched.
âHighly unlikely,â he said, and her face fell. âBut itâs good that you are pregnant.â
His last words suddenly gave her hope and she looked at him again through her
lashes. âYou think so?â Roxy forced a little smile and saw him smirk.
âOf course,â he let out a laugh, âIf itâs a wolf, then we can use him in a when itâs
born to claim Thornâs pack and territory if we canât do that now. But if we are
particularly lucky, it will be a hybrid like you are. And this opens a window of
possibilities for us. Especially if the baby inherits your siren genes. Those are the
most useful for us, donât you think? Every fox can imitate a scent given to them,
but only a siren can seduce a person in a way that they never even suspect a
thing. Your work with Brayden Thorn was not bad in the first phase. He never
even doubted that you were his mate.â
She swallowed. The future that he pictured for her child wasnât the one she
wanted. But his cold gaze made her forget about all that quickly. Right now, her
own survival was more important. Castiel wasnât the most forgiving leader. And
she made a big mistake today.
âSo?â he raised his brow to demonstrate to her that he was losing his patience.
âI have access to all the money of the Silver River pack,â Roxy reported,
âMoreover, Brayden made sure that his ex didnât even get a penny for her pack.
She would be done very
fast.â
âIs that so?â Castiel chuckled, âI think you are underestimating Riannon Michaels
again. But never mind. Letâs go.â
He motioned for her to follow him into his office, and she tried to match his pace.
There, he opened the laptop on his desk, and she knew at once that he didnât
want her to waste any more of his precious time.
With shaky fingers, Roxanne logged in to Braydenâs internet banking account
and
stepped away.
âIs that it?â Castiel took the laptop back and circled the table to sit in his chair. He
âThatâs all there was after their divorce,â she told him, and he looked at her
curiously, but a few seconds later he burst out laughing. He laughed and he
laughed, wiping his tears with his hands. All the while she stood in front of him,
trembling. She never saw him like that. And it
was scary.
âAfter the divorce?â he repeated as he ran his hand over his hair, âYou must be
kidding
me!â
She instantly knew what he was thinking. And she wasnât so sure anymore about
anything.
âI bet she took care of it prior to the Summit,â Castiel said nonchalantly as he was
typing
something on his computer.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âYou give her too much credit,â the words slipped off her tongue before she could
stop
herself.
âI see her for what she is,â the fox king retorted, âThat amount is hardly enough to
run a pack of their size. There is no way their budget was this bad...â
Roxy gritted her teeth. This could only mean one thing potentially. That Riannon
already
took care of that. And that she and her pack werenât in trouble at all.
âAnyway,â Castiel closed his laptop, âthat was something. But it doesnât change
much for you. You disappointed me, Roxanne. Your reckless behaviour cost me
my plan. And for what? Did hormones make you stupid all of a sudden?â
âapologise, my king,â She dropped to her knees. But this time she didnât cry.
Castiel wasnât Brayden. He would never buy that. And letting out her siren
pheromones on him could be deadly, since he wasnât a fool and would know
what was happening. She tried that with him once and it almost cost her her life.
So, she was aware that her best chance was to offer him her loyalty and
submission.
He could still use her and this was her best bet.
The fox king stood up and walked towards her, lifting her chin in his warm hand.
She leaned into his palm with her cheek, closing her eyes just for a second and
then looking back at
him.
âWhy did you really do it?â he asked, and she knew better than she couldnât tell
him the truth about how Riannon made her feel jealous. So, she went for a lie
that sounded appropriate
given the situation.
wanted to bring her to you. The trap was perfect. But it went to hell when the
lycans appeared.
âIs that so?â he traced her lip with his thumb, and she was tempted to suck it in
and try to seduce him. But it was still too risky, considering his mood.
âOf course,â she nodded and in just a second he was already grabbing her neck
and squeezing it so tight that she had no air to breathe.
âThen why did you forget to mention such a small detail that her wolf is back and
that itâs f***ing glowing!â he snarled at her and a single tear trickled down her
chin.
She didnât tell him that, because as long as Riannon had no wolf, Castiel wouldnât
consider her for anything serious. She didnât tell him that because she knew that
wolf was a special one. And Castiel would want to have her now. Everyone would
want her if they knew.
But she couldnât say that.
âI thought you knew,â she let out a weak squeak and he let go of her, throwing
her to the
ground.
âAnd as you can see, I do know,â he chuckled. He seemed to be in a good mood
just from talking about the Luna and Roxanne hated it.
âI am so sorry,â she muttered, looking at the floor and hearing him sigh.
âYou are lucky that you still have some use for me,â he told her and she did her
best o hold back her tears, âYou are still going to help me to get what I want...â
***
Maya was curling up in her chair, hiding her head somewhere in her knees. She
couldnât bring herself to go down and look at her brotherâs body. She couldnât
believe that he was simply lying there, no life left in him.
âYou need to eat something,â Reid kneeled before her and she refused to look at
him. Everything was wrong. His every touch was bringing tingles to her body,
tingles that were tempting her to close her eyes and give in to her desires.
But how could she be happy now when her baby brother was dead? Dean was
the only real family she had left and she didnât protect him. Riannon warned her
about Roxy, but she still didnât pay everything enough attention. And she even fell
for a trap, which left Dean alone in the clutches of the evil omega. . It was all her
fault...
hard, yet he stayed by her side, trying to help her the best he could. He wasnât
giving up on her and she did not feel like she deserved it.
âYou need to eat for your strength,â Reid told her and brushed his hand over her
leg
softly.
âYou donât understand,â she said quietly, hiding her puffy face from him.
âMaybe I donât,â he sighed, trying to find her eyes to look at, âBut I can imagine.
Just like you only had Dean, my only family that is left is my nephew Kyle. The
one that your friend Riannon saved.â
She sniffed, trying to control her tears. Although that didnât seem possible
anymore.
âThat day, I wasnât there,â he continued, making soothing circles over her bare
skin with his thumbs, âWhen I heard about the attack, I was blaming myself for
leaving him in that school. For not being there when I had to be. But you know
what Riannon told me back then?â
Maya looked up at him so that she could see his face.
âWhat?â she asked.
âShe said that we cannot blame ourselves for what others did. It wasnât my fault
that the rogues decided to attack the school that day,â Reid stretched his hand to
caress her cheek and was pleased when she did not flinch away from him, âAnd,
Maya, it wasnât your fault that this fox tricked and killed your brother. You cannot
hold yourself responsible for that.â
âShe warned me about her,â the girl muttered, âBut I...â
âYou couldnât know what she would do and when,â her mate stopped her, âYou
did your best. And I am sure that if your brother was here now, he would tell you
the same.â
âI donât know what to do next,â she confessed weakly and bent towards him. Reid
did not let that opportunity slide and caught her in his arms, pressing her tight
against his body and lifting her up.
âOf course, you know what to do next,â her mate assured her, âYou are a Beta.
And you are strong.â
She locked her eyes with him for the first time and the determination in him made
her
believe in what he was saying. He was right.
âFirst, you will get your strength back,â he murmured as he moved her to the bed,
âAnd then you will help your Alpha to avenge your brother and stop that b*tch
once and for all. So that no one suffers the same destiny as him from her filthy
hands.â
and she couldnât afford to be a mess now. She couldnât afford to fall apart and
she sure as hell
couldnât let Roxanne keep hurting the people that she loved.
âIâll bring you something to eat.â Reid smiled at her, caressing her cheek and
neck, âYou need your strength.â
He stood up and was about to leave when she caught his arm. He turned to look
at her, doubt evident in his eyes. But she pulled him closer and he obeyed her at
once.
âThen give me strength, Reid,â she stood up before him and tore the fingers off
the shirt that she was wearing, not bothering unbuttoning it properly, âThe way
only a mate can.â
âAre you sure?â he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat at the sight of
her. All they shared before that was a passionate kiss. And now she was offering
herself to him. âI donât want to use your moment of weakness to my advantage.
You are vulnerable now...â
âAnd you are my mate,â she took a step closer, placing her palm on his chest
right where the heart was. âIf anyone can make me strong now if anyone can
heal me... if anyone can make me forget... It would be you, Reid. Give me the
strength. Be with me.â
âYou donât need to ask me twice, kitten,â he picked her up gently and placed her
back to the bed, climbing on top of her, âI was born to cherish you... And this is
what Iâll be doing my whole life.â
***
Riannon was lying in Gideonâs arms, exhausted from what seemed to be a never-
ending day. They did not talk but the way he pressed her against his body and
was stroking her hair and arms was telling her more than any words could.
She felt Onyx shift inside of her every time his fingers were touching her skin. It
was the true mate bond, and it was so new for her. Despite being madly in love
with him, only now she realised that she couldnât experience all the intensity of
their connection before her wolf was
back.
Yet before she could explore that more, Ria knew she had to do one thing.
âOnyx,â she called for her wolf mentally and this time she responded at once, âI
want you to tell me who killed me and everything else that the Moon Goddess
told you.â
NOTE: Hi, sorry for the late update today. I think I mentioned already that I am
back to my studies after covid and because of that updates will probably be at
random times now. But will try to keep them daily until the end (hopefully this
month). Would you help me to name this chapter as well?