Chapter 8

Lucian turned back to his dual monitored computer system to watch Zenya. How sad was it that he—one of the most powerful alphas on earth—was reduced to watching his fated mate from afar? Every day he told himself he would wait until she had returned home and then take her from her nest. But taking her when she was surrounded by people was problematic. Her home was cozy; there was no better way to describe it. Her cottage was light-filled, imbued with peace and happiness. Didn't she know she could bring that to him and to their people at Ice Storm?

She was just returning home when something about the way she moved caught his attention. She didn't move with her usual grace and fluidity. There was something slightly agitated and clumsy in the way she was moving. Lucian perked up and watched her more carefully, a slow, feral smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

It would appear she had received his anonymous text and that his plan to oust her from her comfortable little hidey hole was working. He had a momentary pang when he wondered if he had done the right thing. Lucian shoved it away. It would be so much easier to swoop down, scoop her up and return her to Ice Storm if she wasn't snuggled in her little nest. She needed to be home. She needed to be with him.

Zenya dropped her door keys and had to retrieve them before she opened the back door to let herself inside. She went to place her purse on the washing machine as she always did and missed it. It, too, hit the floor, spilling the contents and she stooped down to retrieve all of her items.

Walking through the living room instead of going into her bedroom to change as she normally did, she paced the floor. At one point she swiped at her eyes. Were those tears she was wiping away? Lucian growled. Who had made her cry? It occurred to him he was the most likely culprit. If it was anyone but him, they would pay for it dearly. His text appeared to have worked to flush her out, but he hated knowing he had made her cry.

If his plan to take her back home was to work, he could do nothing but watch as she prepared to leave. She walked into the bedroom, returning from her closet dressed in what appeared to be her favorite leggings and tank top, tossing her favorite slouchy cardigan on the bed beside the large tapestry carpet bag. Zenya began layering clothes and small personal items into it. Was she bolting or something less nefarious?

If she'd only packed clothes and makeup, he would assume she and her friend Liv were heading out for the girls weekend they'd been planning. Only it wasn't the weekend, and if that was it, she wouldn't be taking mementos from her home along with her.

Lucian was picking up the phone to call Zaiden, when it buzzed. It was Zaiden.

"Lucian? Is this a good time to talk or are you too busy drooling over my sister? I don't know how funny I'm going to find that when you two are actually together."

"I do not drool, just watch her longingly with growing lust." If Zaiden could give him shit, Lucian could return the favor.

"You do know I can't unhear that right?"

Lucian chuckled. "Before you start, do we have access to your sister's text messages?"

"We should. Hang on, let me pull up her texts." There was a slight pause. "Shit."

"Tell me."

"Zenya received a text message from a blocked number asking if she'd had any contact with you."

"Yeah, that was me. I wanted to flush her out—get her away from her home and friends. I think it will make it easier to get her to the plane. Did she contact anyone after I sent the anonymous text?"

"Yes. It looks like she contacted the Shadow Sisters and they're pulling the plug on her life out there. Sending that text was brilliant in an underhanded and sneaky kind of way."

Lucian chuckled again. "I know she won't think it was fair to her, but I figured it was the most expedient way to get her moving. I was growing tired of waiting."

"As her brother I feel I should point out that she was happy there. Even though she hasn't been there all that long, she was building something…"

"I know, but the plan was always to bring her back home regardless of whether she wanted to or not, and she can build what she likes at Ice Storm."

"I doubt that she'll agree with your point of view."

"Probably not, but it is what it is. I am her fated mate," said Lucian with a certain degree of finality. "We are destined to be together. I have been far more patient with her than most alphas would have been."

"You know until you said that, I hadn't really thought about it that way. You're right. I know few men who would have given her that time in California, and I've been a little surprised at how indulgent you've been."

Before Lucian could respond, something on the monitor caught his eye. "Hang on. She's on the move. I need to go after her. I'll call you once I'm able to follow her. Oh wait, was there anything you needed from me?"

"No, just my regular check-in. Things here are running smoothly, but then they always do. You have made sure our people know what is expected of them and then you leave them to do it. You're always there if they need something, but for the most part our people have all the advantages of a clan and very few of the drawbacks."

"What drawbacks?"

"Well, you can be a bit surly at times, and some of our people are more than just a little bit intimidated by you. But then, they don't know your sunshiny personality as well as I do."

Lucian snorted. "Smart ass."

"Better than being a dumb ass."

Lucian ignored him. "I'm heading out to the SUV. I'll call you when I know anything."

He headed out to the SUV, turned the tracking device he'd placed in the Jeep on and followed her discreetly. She pulled into the back of the clinic going inside, reappearing quickly with the bobcat in the crate she used to transport it. Once she had the crate secured, she glanced around the parking lot, got back in her Jeep and headed out of town. Lucian began to follow her again.

The phone rang. "Lucian? It's Zaiden. You need to know law enforcement is crawling all over this part of the peninsula and Kodiak Island."

"Any idea why?"

"It seems some humans have gone missing. Zak Grayson has asked if some of our people can aid in the search. The last thing any of us need right now is for humans to discover shifters."

"True enough. Give Zak whatever help he needs: people, provisions, whatever."

"I also just got off the phone with Reynolds. He's requesting our assistance in Resistance matters. He acknowledged he hadn't fulfilled his end of the bargain. He also pointed out that it hasn't been a month, so he isn't in breach of his agreement with you. But things here are heating up. I think getting my sister back to Ice Storm is the right thing to do. Things up here are about to get dicey. I'd feel better not only if you were home, but if Zenya was. Patience be damned. If you hadn't been there in North Carolina keeping an eye on her, I think I might have gone and fetched her home myself."

Lucian thought for a moment. "You're right; I'm needed at home, and so is your sister. I'm going to wait until she's stopped, and then I'll step in."

"The pilot?"

"I'll let him know to be on the alert, but until I know where she's headed, I'm not going to be able to decide how to get her out."

"For what it's worth, I don't think telling her you've basically been stalking her for a few weeks is a good idea."

"You might be right about that," Lucian chuckled.

"I definitely wouldn't mention the tracking, listening devices, and cameras you installed."

"What can I say? I'm a man obsessed."

ZENYA

Zenya drove on and off the Outer Banks, taking special care to keep an eagle eye out for anyone following her or anything that appeared to be amiss. So far; so good. Once she was on the mainland, she headed for the ferry terminal that would take her to Hatteras Island. After parking her Jeep, she walked upstairs to the outdoor deck and looked toward the island, wondering if she would ever see it again.

The island was home to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was a tall brick structure—rising almost two hundred feet above the island. This was the second lighthouse built on the cape, casting its first warning light in 1870. The original lighthouse had not proved tall enough and had been torn down after the current one became operational. The beacon on the cape protected one of the most dangerous sections of the Atlantic Coast of North America. A coastline that had been witness to hundreds, if not thousands, of shipwrecks in the area, giving it the gruesome nickname of ‘the Graveyard of the Atlantic.'

Once the ferry was docked, she drove off and headed for the lighthouse. This time of day and year, it was not likely to be crowded. She glanced at the clock in her dashboard and saw she was a little ahead of schedule. She'd taken a leash that she'd been using with the bobcat at the clinic. She should have time to let him get out and stretch his legs. Lucky was an intelligent creature. He seemed to sense, almost from the beginning, that she only wanted to help and had become accustomed to being on a leash.

Reaching the lighthouse, she chose a parking space away from the other cars and managed to get the adjustable slip lead on Lucky before letting him out. He hopped out of the crate as if going for a car ride was the most normal thing in the world. The sunlight was dying as she began to walk him. Zenya threw back her head, allowing the ocean breeze to catch her hair and send it swirling around her. She tried not to think that this might be the last time she got to enjoy this place that had become home.

Pushing her hair out of her face, she tried to figure out who had found her, and how? Had she made some kind of mistake? She hoped if she had, the Shadow Sisters could tell her what she had done so she didn't do it again. She took Lucky for a leisurely stroll, smiling at how normal it seemed for a white tiger-shifter to be walking a wild bobcat on the beach. Nothing to see here, she mused.

She returned to the Jeep, fed Lucky, and then took him for another short walk. Returning to her vehicle, she secured Lucky in his cage. She then moved her car over closer to the lighthouse where it would be easier for whoever was coming to help to find her. It would also make it more difficult for anyone who meant her harm to take her against her will.

She waited, closing her eyes for just a moment to rest them. It had been a long and stressful day, and her contacts were irritating her eyes. As she did so, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and a feeling of dizziness and disconnectedness swept over her like the tide rolling in from the sea—rhythmic and unrelenting. She didn't need his scent wafting on the breeze or to open her eyes to know he was here. Quickly, she calculated the odds of getting away. They were nil. He was stronger and faster than she was, and there was no way she was leaving Lucky behind.

"Hello, Zenya."

She opened her eyes slowly and turned to regard him. "Lucian. I'd hoped to never see you again."

"Your feelings are misguided. We will be happy together."

He held out his hand; she pushed it away. Zenya stepped out of her Jeep and walked to the back.

"I'm not leaving him here," Zenya said, grabbing the crate and her bag.

Lucian said nothing but tried to take both the crate and the bag from her grip. Zenya relinquished her bag but not the crate. He nodded and then indicated a black luxury SUV. He opened the back, placing the carpet bag inside and stepping aside so she could place Lucky's crate inside. Lucky grimaced and hissed at Lucian.

"He doesn't like you, either, and he barely knows you."

"Don't, Zenya. I won't rise to your bait."

Closing the hatch of the SUV, Lucian helped her inside, buckling her seatbelt and closing her door before going around and getting in behind the wheel.

"Charlie?" he said, after initiating a call on his cell. "We're headed your way. We should be there in about two hours." Lucian ended the call.

"I don't suppose you'd let me leave them a note that I'm being removed to Ice Storm."

"No, I wouldn't. Whoever is coming from the Shadow Sisters will be able to figure that out, but I'd prefer not to give them any kind of heads up."

Realization dawned. "It was you, wasn't it?" she asked, looking at him.

He really was a gorgeous man. Tall and muscular with ice blue eyes and dark hair. For most women, he would be considered perfection. Zenya wasn't most women.

"Yes. I wanted to flush you out."

Zenya leaned against the window, closing her eyes. He'd outsmarted her. She sank into herself and retreated from the world. She refused to answer any of his questions or make small talk. She ought to be grateful he was at least trying to be cordial, but she wasn't. The life she had planned for herself was over… at least for now.