Chapter 11

Lydia jerked awake, the nightmare still haunting the edges of her mind.

"You okay?" a sleepy voice asked. Beck.

Beck rubbed circles on her back, reminding her she was safe in Alaska, not fighting the wolves in West Virginia. She tucked her face against his neck. She had never slept with anyone other than her cousins, and that was when they were younger. When his hand stilled, Lydia assumed he'd fallen back to sleep, but within seconds, he was on top of her, and a few seconds after that, he was inside her. Lydia was thankful for being on birth control to ease the pain of her periods because that made spontaneous sex a thing of beauty instead of waiting for Beck to roll on a condom.

Beck took her slowly, as he had the last couple of times after their mating frenzy. When they both found their release, he kissed her nose, then climbed off the bed. He turned on the faucet in the bathroom, and she waited patiently.

Even after another nightmare, Lydia was at ease for the first time in three weeks. She ran her fingertips over her neck where Beck gave her his mating bite. She had always dreaded doing the biting because she didn't want a mouthful of blood, but when it came time, the thought didn't even cross her mind. Now she understood the allure of vampires. And when Beck impaled her with his fangs? Damn. She had heard the bite enhanced the sexual experience, and boy had it. The water shut off, and Beck returned with a washcloth. She admired his wide chest and thick thighs. Her mate didn't have a six pack. His stomach wasn't flat, and she thought it was sexy as hell. He tenderly cleaned their mixed release from between her legs, then tossed the cloth on the floor. After stretching out next to her, he twirled a fingertip around her navel. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, and Beck pressed his forehead there.

"I never fed you last night."

Lydia scraped her nails across his scalp. "We were kind of busy."

"What do you want to eat? If you don't want what's here, we can go out and get something."

You. Lydia had never given a blowjob, but she wanted to with Beck. She wanted to please him in every way possible. She knew the mechanics and had even practiced on a glass dildo because silicone tasted gross. "Whatever you have here is fine with me as long as it's normal food."

"Normal? What kind of food do you think I keep on hand?"

"Rudolph? Or Bambi?"

Beck leaned over and blew a raspberry on her stomach. "You're ridiculous. While I have eaten Rudolph a few times, it's not something I buy. I prefer possum and groundhog."

Lydia smacked his bicep. "Hard limit, My Bear. Hard. Limit."

Beck stood and pulled her to her feet. "Speaking of hard…" His cock was still half erect. Lydia gripped its girth and gave it a squeeze.

"I'll take care of this after we eat. I promise."

Beck shoved his nose against the mate mark. "If you take care of me every time I'm hard, we'll never get anything done. Now, how do you like your eggs? Or I can make omelets."

"An omelet would be great. Just so you know, other than exotic wild animal meat, I'm not picky. You want some help?"

"You can start the coffee."

Beck pulled on his jeans, going commando underneath. Since he had ripped her panties the day before, Lydia did the same. Beck didn't bother with a shirt, so she slid hers on without a bra. At some point, they would need to return to the lodge where her things were. "What's the plan for today?" She followed him to the small kitchen, and when he pointed to the cabinet above the coffee maker, Lydia opened it to find filters and a canister of Columbian.

Beck got the makings for omelets out of the refrigerator. "After we eat, I'd like to return to the lodge. Not only are your things there, but it's closer to Boyd. If Carleigh and Dooley manage to get some usable intel, we won't have as far to drive."

"Sounds good." Lydia got the coffee going, then leaned against the counter to watch as Beck made quick work of their breakfast.

"If you want toast, bread's in that cabinet there." Beck pointed with the spatula. He had paid attention to what she ate the previous morning. Lydia did love toast. She got the bread down and popped two slices into the toaster. She found a knife while waiting, and when it was ready, she dropped in two more pieces while she buttered the first two. Beck slid two perfect omelets onto plates at the same time she buttered the last two pieces. She poured them both a cup of coffee, and Beck got some milk out of the fridge for hers. They sat at the small table, their knees bumping in the close quarters.

They made quick work of their food, and Lydia helped wash the dishes since he didn't have a dishwasher. Afterward, Beck found a shirt, and Lydia slipped her bra on beneath hers, then they put on their socks and boots. Beck grabbed his phone off the nightstand and turned the ringer back on.

"Any messages?"

"Nope, so let's hope no news is good news."

Lydia didn't have any either. She checked her pockets to make sure her cards or key fob hadn't fallen out. As he helped her into her parka, she thought about the leather jacket she'd ordered, glad she had it shipped to the lodge and not the office. They decided to leave Beck's truck in Seward and take the rental to Sterling since it was similar to other vehicles on the road, therefore less noticeable. They were halfway to Sterling when Lydia's phone rang. Since Beck was driving, he pushed the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel.

"Hey, C."

"Good morning, Cuz. Are you with Beckett?"

Beck responded, "I'm here, Carleigh."

"I'm afraid I don't have good news. There were a couple more messages between BC and Sterling. I called Dooley because they were in French this time. Dooley translated them loosely, but neither of us have figured out the true meaning. Beck, do you know anyone named or nicknamed Canary?"

"That doesn't ring a bell. What did the message say?"

" ‘ Canary ventured into the black wild,' or something along that line. And the other one said, ‘The porridge is too cold.' If we're still thinking along the Goldilocks line, then the too cold porridge belonged to the momma bear."

"And that could be referring to Amara." Beck slapped his hand on the steering wheel.

Lydia placed her hand on Beck's thigh. "C, there's a photo of Chloe on the company website. Get with Tabitha and have her create a prosthetic."

Carleigh stopped typing. "Beck, do you have any voicemails saved from Chloe?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"We'll need it to create the voice transmitter."

The leather steering wheel squeaked from Beck gripping it tightly. "I don't want you impersonating her, Sugar. It's too dangerous."

Carleigh coughed, trying to cover a laugh, but she kept any smartass comments to herself. Lydia would hear about her nickname later when Beck wasn't around.

"Let's have the mask ready as a backup since we have no idea what or who we're up against. I still think we should confront Boyd."

"Speaking of the male, your toys should be at the lodge soon if they aren't already. There are several bugs and cameras you can place around the house where Boyd is hiding out. Maybe whoever he was arguing with will come back, or he'll talk to someone on the phone, and we can listen in."

"Can't you hack his cell phone?"

"If he's using one, it's a burner, and I haven't been able to lock onto it."

"Carleigh, Chloe isn't answering her phone. If I give you the number, can you pinpoint the location?"

"I can try. If it's turned off, I may get close to the last place she was when it was on."

Beck rattled off the number, and clicking came from Carleigh's end of the line. "Okay, that's all for now. Let me get to cracking, and I'll holler back in a bit." Carleigh disconnected, and Lydia tapped her fingers against her thigh. Something about the coded message was niggling at her brain.

"I'm sorry," Beck said.

Lydia angled her head, studying her mate. "For what?"

"Getting you caught up in my family's drama."

Lydia placed her hand on Beck's nape and squeezed. "Well, My Bear, this isn't unusual when my Clan finds their mate, but the drama is usually on our end. At least with the last couple of generations. Our retired King's mate, Kaya, tried to arrest him for murder before they got together, and Kaya was shot at and abducted. Connor, the one with the vision of the wolves in South Carolina? He was taken as a child. That's where he met his mate, Alyssa, when she was also kidnapped. Carleigh's mom was wrongfully arrested and thrown in a Super Max prison. Cailín's dad was poisoned and left for dead. I told you about my grandparents being kidnapped. When my mom went after them, she ended up in a Cairo jail. Those are a few instances, and there are plenty more. What we're going through? It's our initiation into the fated mates' club."

"Damn. Has any of your Clan found their mate without issue?"

"Sure, but their stories aren't nearly as exciting."

Beck glanced over at her, his mouth turned up on one side. "You think this is exciting?"

"I probably shouldn't, but when you grow up with Nikolas and Sophia Stone as parents, you kind of want that same epic love story. I would like to stay out of jail, though."

"I wouldn't know what that's like. With Amara being Queen, there was no love in her relationships. She wanted offspring, not someone to rule alongside her. Males like Boyd go into the relationship thinking they'll be the one to change her mind. When that doesn't happen, they either move on gracefully or stage a coup."

"What about your father? Is he in your life?"

That got a grin out of Beck. "We talk often, but I haven't seen him since I moved to Alaska. He was one of those who moved on gracefully. Last time I spoke to him, he mentioned a human female he's smitten with."

"Can he choose her as a mate? Or is that something bear shifters don't do? Choose humans?"

"We can, but when you live for hundreds of years, taking a human as a mate is hard because their lifespan is short in comparison. Our mating bite isn't the same as a Gargoyle's."

Lydia almost told him about the serum her Aunt Lucy developed that prolonged the lives of human mates, but since it sounded like early days in his father's relationship, she kept it to herself.

"Maybe once this is over, we can take a trip to visit him. Have you ever been to Canada?"

"Nope. When Carleigh called about the cryptic messages, Cailín and I rock-paper-scissored for Alaska, but we decided going on this quest together was safer than going alone."

"Yet there you were outside Boyd's rental. Alone."

Lydia wiggled her bracelets. "I am armed at all times."

"Like I said before, unless those magical weapons of yours turn to ice instead of steel, all they'll do is piss a bear off."

She hadn't tested whether they would turn to ice, but Luna said it was all about intention when it came to the weapons. Maybe she should call the witch and ask.

Beck's phone rang. Since it wasn't connected to the Bluetooth, he told Lydia to see who was calling. "It's unlisted," she told him.

"Same as last night. They didn't leave a voicemail then. Let's see if they do today. If it's even the same caller." Lydia stared at the phone, waiting. After a few seconds, the voicemail indicator chimed. "The code is 9173," Beck instructed. Lydia lowered the volume on the radio, typed in the code, then hit the icon to listen.

"Beck, help." The female's voice was barely above a whisper. If Lydia hadn't been a Goyle, she wouldn't have heard it. She turned the volume all the way up, but there was nothing but static. She pressed the arrow to play the message again.

"Is that…?" She was going to say Amara, but Beck asked her to play it one more time.

"I can't tell. Amara, Chloe, and Delaney all sound similar when they're speaking in a regular tone, but whispering? Fuck, that could be any one of them."

"Are you sure it isn't Delaney? I mean if they all sound alike…"

"I'm assuming it's not since she isn't missing. And how the fuck am I supposed to help when I don't know where they are?"

Lydia replayed the message, focusing on any background noise. "There's nothing but static after she speaks."

Beck pointed out the window at the snow flurries blowing erratically. "That's not static. It's wind."

"Okay. At least we know whoever it is isn't out in the wilderness, right? Or they couldn't use a cell phone."

"No, but they could use a satellite phone. We all have them in case of emergency. I doubt it's one of ours since the call came in as unlisted."

"Still, let's get those numbers to Carleigh so she can track them, just in case."

"If you look in my contacts, they're all listed under the company's name." Beck tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel. "Goddess, what is going on?" he muttered. "I could see Boyd reaching out to Chloe or Delaney for help since Valerie dismissed him, but I cannot see either one of them siding with him against Amara, even if he is their father."

Lydia placed Beck's phone in the cupholder. "Maybe he kidnapped both Amara and Chloe? There was someone at the house with him that night, so it looks like he has help. Would he demand a ransom for them?"

"I wouldn't put it past him, but Delaney said she hasn't talked to him, which I find hard to believe since he was coming out of the building where our office is the morning he ran into you."

"Could she be lying?" Lydia didn't know the female, but she had sounded unhinged while yelling at Beck.

He ran a hand across his hair. "It's possible, but I can't imagine why she would."

Lydia could imagine it along with all types of scenarios, none of which Beck would want to hear. Being the archivist for her Clan, Lydia had read through quite a bit of the history. Her job was to keep records of not only births and deaths, but also details of how mates met. How Kings were either passed the crown from their father or challenged for the throne. Power and greed were mighty influencers. Lydia prayed Beck's sisters weren't caught up in either.