15. The Cockroach

15

The Cockroach

Their first meet-and-greet went as smoothly as could be expected. They were all seated at a long table in the settlement meeting hall, and people were invited to line up and go down the table, spending a few moments with each of them.

Gabriel’s Polaroid idea had taken on a life of its own, and they now had a box of printed Polaroids beside each of their chairs and a stamp at the table. One of them would randomly decide to hand out a signed Polaroid and would stamp the fan’s hand to signal to the others that they had received one. In this way, the photos became collectables. People would be able to trade them and sell them to try and make complete sets.

Moses and Oscar had been seated on either side of Isobel, and by the end of the day, her elbows were sore from trying to nudge them into polite responses. Not even friendly, just polite . Since Niko was at the other end of the table, he was a completely lost cause.

“Carter, it’s good to see you again!”

She quickly pulled her elbow out of Oscar’s side, not that he seemed to notice it was there, and blinked at Moses and Theodore’s father, who had just taken a seat at the table across from her.

“H-hello,” she stuttered.

Moses leaned into her space, giving his father an exasperated sigh, his hand slipping to her thigh beneath the table in a seemingly unconscious gesture.

“I told you we’d see you tonight,” he said. “You shouldn’t be lining up like a fan, Dad.”

“But I am a fan. Benjamin Kane,” he added, holding out his hand for Isobel to shake. “We’ve met, but you might not remember.”

“Of course I remember.” She shook his hand as Moses rolled his eyes.

“Can I have one of those photo things?” Benjamin asked, as Cooper tapped Moses’ shoulder, directing his attention back to the poor girl sitting opposite him.

“Oh, sure.” Isobel dug into the box.

“Can I have two?” Benjamin amended. “One of each of my boys?”

“Sure.” She grinned, plucking out one featuring Moses and hunting through the stack for Theodore.

Benjamin leaned over the table, peering into the box. “Actually, could I?—”

“Just give him one of each,” Moses grumbled beneath his breath. “He wants to put them on the fridge.”

“Oh, can we have one of each?” the girl across from him chirped.

“No,” he snapped.

Isobel elbowed him.

He didn’t react.

“I—”

“You elbowed me,” he finished. “Yes, I saw it.”

“Saw it or felt it?” she asked, aware that Benjamin’s eyes were darting between them.

Moses smirked, choosing to ignore her. She finished picking out each of their photos and handed the stack over to Benjamin, who slipped them all into his pocket.

“Kane,” a voice boomed over her head. “Nice to see you again.”

Benjamin stood, reaching out to shake her father’s hand, and Isobel propped her elbow onto Moses’ part of the table, resting her chin in her hand. He was just staring at the poor girl still opposite him, waiting for her to speak.

“Are you coming to the afterparty later?” Isobel asked, forcing a soft smile.

“Yes!” the girl squeaked. “I’m going with my friend. We got sponsored!”

A ding rang out, the bell hit by Niko at the far end of the table. However long he took is how long they all took. He had already been lectured several times for hitting it too early, and now he was on a timer. Cooper tapped the back of his chair when it was time to hit the bell.

“I’ll see you there!” the girl gushed, moving to the next seat.

Benjamin shifted to sit before Moses, and a woman moved from Oscar to Isobel, spilling a number of objects onto the table for Isobel to sign.

When they finished up, it was with a lot of stretching, groaning, and cracking of knuckles.

“Back to the cars,” one of the assistants called out, clapping her hands. “You’ve got a few hours to shower, change, do a quick live, and then we need to be back for the party.”

“Why would we change?” Theodore asked, stretching his arms behind his head, his shirt riding up enough to distract Isobel from his question.

She wondered how he would react if she stepped into his space and teased her fingers along the sliver of golden, muscled skin.

“You’ve been touching those people all day,” the assistant mumbled back thoughtlessly, flicking through her tablet.

Theodore’s jaw almost cracked, and Oscar cocked his head at the woman, looking at her very intently. It was like he was memorising her face. Adding her to a mental list of some kind.

“Let’s go,” Braun slapped Cian’s and Kilian’s backs, brushing past the assistant like her comments meant nothing to him. “Cars are waiting.”

Isobel was tipsy.

She had stuck to her two-drink limit like a good girl, but it didn’t seem to matter. The two glasses of champagne hit her empty stomach with all the subtlety of an entire bottle.

“I want to thank everyone who participated in Eleven’s first stop on their settlement tour.” Cooper was speaking into a microphone at the front of the meeting hall. “I wanted this tour to be about more than just their first album, which Orion will be releasing to the public after the break. I wanted it to be about building meaningful relationships within the Gifted communities. So thank you, Gifted, for your energy, your presence, and your positive words on social media. Let’s keep this momentum going as we move forward. Thank you all!”

He raised his glass, but Isobel didn’t raise hers. She stared at her father, who was, in turn, staring at Cooper. Kalen had come up with the whole idea, and Braun had organised and funded the tour, but Cooper had basically just taken credit for all of it.

Kalen was used to that sort of thing—he showed no reaction whatsoever—but Braun was not used to people taking credit for his ideas. He was in a sour mood as the party dragged on and chose to leave in the car Isobel had slipped into instead of the car with his team and Cooper.

“Surprised?” Isobel asked him as he stared stoically out of the window.

They were travelling in black vans, large enough for a few of them to transport their entire group. Elijah, Gabriel, and Kilian sat up the front, Oscar and Niko in the back. Cian was beside her. They were able to fit everyone except Kalen and Mikel since Theodore and Moses were spending the night with their father.

Braun sat by the door, Teak beside him, her head lolling against the seat. She had followed Braun almost mindlessly, and Isobel had a bad feeling that she had started taking more than just the surrogate pills. Her father turned his head to look at her.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Cooper.” She folded her arms stiffly. You’re the one who hired him. Even after all these months, she was still pushing and prodding him, secretly hoping he would explode. It didn’t make sense, but it did. It was safer to believe he would never change. Then, she couldn’t ever be let down.

“Bet you’re surprised he turned out to be this much of a cockroach,” she pressed.

Braun’s heavy brows scrunched in. “You’re not?”

Her laugh was humourless. “No, I was very surprised. But I’m not the one who hired him.”

“I hired a drunk who knew how to manipulate people into doing what I wanted and didn’t need micromanaging. He got the job done.”

“He was— is —an abusive asshole. You can’t get rid of him, and he isn’t done climbing.”

Braun nodded thoughtfully, that deep slash of a frown still etched into his features. “For now.”

Teak murmured something, her head slipping down and landing against Braun’s shoulder with an audible thump. Braun turned that same frown on her, but Isobel slipped forward in her seat, reaching out a hand.

“Could you … just let her sleep?” she whispered.

“She’s high as a fucking kite,” Braun growled, causing Cian to stiffen beside her, ready to intervene. “Are you supplying more than just the pills?” He turned his head just enough to glare at Isobel.

“No.” She was too worried to be angry.

He let out a heavy sigh, turning back to face the front.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” she added, her whisper so low she almost thought he didn’t catch it, but he did, because he jerked his head in a short, sharp nod.

“She had a mate,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper to match hers. “What happened?”

“The officials happened.” Cian was the one to answer, his words a quiet snap.

One of Braun’s assistants was driving the van, so nobody of consequence was there to overhear them … but assistants could be bribed or threatened. It was better to guard their secrets as though everyone would betray them.

“The pills might not be enough on their own,” Cian murmured. “She might need a surrogate.”

“She needs a detox.” Braun’s top lip lifted in the semblance of a snarl.

“She needs support,” Isobel argued. “And a surrogate, like Cian said. It’s just … I don’t know how to approach her. I thought she would come to me when it was safe to speak, but she isn’t.”

Braun hauled the bond specialist into his arms when they arrived, stepping out of the van as Isobel hovered around him like an annoying, concerned little bee.

“I’ve got it,” he said, frustrated. “We can’t call a doctor or any other guest to the hotel, but this isn’t my first rodeo with an addict.”

“She’s not an addict,” Isobel hissed from between her teeth.

The Alphas began to crowd around her, Niko stepping in front of her, Oscar hovering a few steps away and glaring at him.

“Calm down, you lot. I’m not going to hurt her.” He smirked, pushing into the hotel, the assistants fussing around him and running ahead to open doors for him. He barked out orders for them to fetch what he needed, and then he strode up the stairs to her room, the bond specialist like a small ragdoll in his arms. She seemed to have lost her handbag, so he took her to his own room instead, laying her out on the bed.

Once done, he stalked back to the door, closing it in Isobel’s face. She slapped her hand to the door, cursing loud enough for the sound to carry through to him, but he could also hear the Alphas cajoling her away.

“He was telling the truth,” Niko’s muted voice reached his ears. “He’s not going to hurt her.”

Interesting .

He returned to the bed, dragging both hands down his face. The summer break had been his only free time between movie projects. And this was how he had chosen to spend it.

The little bastards weren’t even grateful, but that was okay. He had some atoning to do; he knew that. He checked Teak’s pulse and listened to make sure she was breathing before turning her onto her side. And then he got into bed, stretching out along the other side.

Surrogating wasn’t an exact science, but everyone seemed to agree on one thing at least— someone was better than nobody, and an Alpha was the best you could get. He reached out, plucking at her limp arm until it flopped behind her to the bed, and then he covered her cold hand with his.

Her memories were fuzzy, and it took him a few minutes of concentration to get into her head—which was normal for him. What wasn’t normal was that even once he was inside, things were still blurry. He closed his eyes, letting image after image assault his senses.

Her head was full of a woman with dark eyes ringed by silver. A big smile. Straight, white teeth. That smile took over her whole face. She was littered with silver piercings and dripping with dry humour. She loved loose fabrics and how they rippled around her as she danced in the kitchen. She always danced when she cooked.

She made everywhere feel like home.

She never stopped laughing.

Until the day they took her away.

Her name was Charlie.

“Carter?” An assistant poked her head into Isobel’s room just as she was about to step into the bathroom to change for her gym session with Kalen. It wasn’t for another hour yet since she was in the second training group, but she didn’t feel like wearing her dress anymore.

“Yes?” She backtracked to the door.

“Do you mind coming down to the conference room for a minute? We’re trying to plan out the rest of your outfits for the meet-and-greets.”

“Oh, sure.” She dropped her gym clothes and followed the other woman back down to the first floor.

Cooper was waiting at one of the make-up tables, flicking through photos on a tablet.

“Ah, there you are, Carter. Sit, sit. We have a few options to choose from—all the outfits are on the way. We figured it would be easier to have them shipped to Hudson and then taken by courier to the hotel.”

Isobel jumped as the assistant backed out of the room, the door closing heavily behind her. She debated making up an excuse, but the sharp, impatient look in Cooper’s eyes warned her not to try and shirk his presence, so she squared her shoulders and moved to sit beside him at the table, shifting her chair back to gain some distance.

Guys? she called through the bond.

No answer.

They were too far away.

Cooper slid her the tablet and a bottle of water. “There are quite a few options, but we only need seven more dresses, so narrow it down for me.” He stood, rolling back his narrow shoulders. “I’m going to get a drink, you want one?”

“I’m fine with water,” she answered, quickly snatching up the bottle.

He shrugged, leaving the room, and she immediately deflated. This wasn’t a trap. This was just work. She began to sort through the pictures, unable to help the spark of happiness that this decision had been left to her. The dresses all came with designer tags and, in some cases, notes from the designer on how they created the dress with Isobel in mind. She wasn’t sure how long it took her, but she was drained by the time Cooper returned.

“Finished?” he asked, a strange smile on his blurry face.

She pressed against her eyelids, wishing she could rub her eyes, but she was still wearing her make-up and dress from the afterparty. When she opened her eyes again, it was even worse.

The whole room was spinning.

“I …” Her voice didn’t sound right; her tongue was too thick and clumsy.

She reached for the water bottle he had given her, but it was empty. She didn’t even remember drinking it.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Cooper said, sitting against the desk in front of her, flicking the tablet out of his way. “In another thirty seconds or so, you’ll pass out. Not all the way, but just enough.” He picked up the empty water bottle, shaking it tauntingly in her face. “A lovely mix of Rohypnol and ecstasy.”

He stood, tossing the bottle to the floor, and then he grabbed her by the arms and tossed her over the desk. Tears were falling down her face and she couldn’t find her voice, but he didn’t immediately touch her. He seemed to step back.

“I’m going to take photos of you, Isobel.”

She tried to shout, but her throat refused to cooperate.

“And then,” he continued, and she heard his belt being unbuckled, “you’re going to do everything I say from here on out, or I’m going to release those photos.”

She had to do something, but she could barely move. She couldn’t shout. The Alphas couldn’t hear her through the bond.

Her hand was stuck beneath her chest, and she was able to slowly shift her fingers against the stones of her sternum piercing, laboriously counting down the line as Cooper’s belt hit the floor and he began to fumble with her dress, shoving it up past her hips.

She tried to press against the stone with all her might and was rewarded when her head cleared, her body falling back into a chair.

Cooper was gone.

Kalen’s stone had worked. She has rewound time.

She picked up the bottle on the table, her hands shaking.

It was empty.

Fuck .

She pounced for the door, falling through into the corridor. Her legs were weak, and she was growing tired. It was only a matter of time before her vision would get blurry again. She took the stairs two at a time, accidentally smacking into the wall at the top of the staircase when she was unable to slow down. She jerked open the door to the first room and fell inside.

“The fuck?” Oscar glanced up from his phone and pulled out his headphones. “I’ll call you back, Squirt.” He tossed his phone to the bed and was at Isobel’s side in a second, helping her to her feet. “What happened? Why can’t I feel you through the bond?”

She opened her mouth to tell him but realised she couldn’t.

He would kill Cooper.

He wouldn’t even think twice about it.

They had gotten away with a lot, but there was no way they were getting away with killing their Orion representative. So she said the first stupid, idiotic thing she could think of.

“I took too much … emotion.” She weakly thumped her chest. “You know.” She swallowed, feeling sick. “Gonna pass out.”

Gabriel? She tried to reach him through the bond, desperation crawling up the back of her neck.

I’m here , he answered. Why can’t I feel you through the bond?

Cooper drugged me. I’m in Oscar’s room. Rohypnol and ecstasy. You can’t tell anyone. Promise me. I’m going to pass out.

For a moment, Gabriel couldn’t move. There was too much rage, too much violence, too much urgency flooding through his body.

I’m coming , he sent to her through the bond.

But he wasn’t. He was struggling . He couldn’t move. He was worried that if he did, he would march straight past Oscar’s room. He would hunt down that piece of shit.

Go to Isobel , he ordered his body, but his mind was focussed on Cooper and how he would tie the man to a chair and start with his fingers. He would remove them one by one. And then his arms. His ears. His eyes. He would never touch her again. He would never look at her again. He would never hear her beautiful voice again.

And then he would remove Cooper’s fucking dick and shove it down his fucking throat so that he would never be able to say her name again.

Ash spilled across the back of his tongue and black spots danced over his vision.

He wanted to destroy.

To kill.

To taste blood.

He pulled out his phone, his fingertips darkening.

Gabriel: Help. Don’t come alone. Keep Oscar and Niko away.

Elijah glanced at his phone, alarm tightly seizing his body. “We need to go to my room now,” he barked, interrupting the gruelling gym session Mikel had been putting them through.

He took off for the stairs, passing a confused-looking Cooper in the hallway. Mikel followed without question, Kilian and Cian right behind him. Luckily, Oscar and Niko were in the second training session with Kalen and Isobel, so he didn’t need to worry about them. He burst into Gabriel’s room and found him with two belts locking his ankles in place and another two wrapped around his wrists.

His eyes were pitch black, and he was trying to tear through the belts with his teeth. The first was already in tatters.

“Mate,” he growled in a voice that didn’t belong to him.

“Jesus fucking Christ, okay.” Mikel slammed the door, and they spread out around him.

“Mateee.” Gabriel snarled and snapped at the belts, his voice otherworldly and rough.

“I can’t feel Isobel through the bond,” Elijah said without taking his eyes off Gabriel. “On the count of three. Three?—”

They all pounced. Ferality didn’t make an Alpha stupid. Gabriel was pinned beneath them, and Mikel yanked a handful of zip ties from his pocket.

“The fuck do you have those for?” Cian huffed out as Gabriel began thrashing like crazy.

“In case this happened,” Mikel grunted. “Careful of the claws!”

They managed to secure Gabriel’s wrists using every single one of the zip ties Mikel had been carrying, but their hands and arms were scratched up and bloody, dripping onto the carpet, which was thankfully dark.

“Isobel,” Elijah prompted them, urgency making his skin itch.

Mikel shook out his hand, muttering, “Sorry about this,” before he punched Gabriel. Once, twice, three times. It took a few heavy blows for him to stop trying to sink his teeth into Mikel’s fist with every swing.

As soon as Gabriel slumped over, Mikel shot up, tugging out his phone. “Kalen?” He stuck it to his ear. “We need to find Isobel. Gabe went feral. I’ll stay here with him?—”

Elijah quickly hissed, “We can’t tell Oscar or Nik?—”

The door opened, Niko halting in the doorway, his eyes settling on Gabriel and widening.

“Niko,” Elijah finished.

“The fuck?” Niko demanded.

“Stay here,” Mikel ordered him. “We’ve knocked him out, but I ran out of zip ties. Elijah, go and find Isobel. Make sure she’s protected. Cian, go find Oscar. Make sure he’s okay. We don’t know what set Gabriel off. Kilian, go get your phone and call Moses and Theodore and check in with them. Just to be safe. Kalen?” he barked into the phone. “I’m on my way to you."

He managed to say it all without lying and triggering Niko’s ability.

They left Niko in the room, and Kalen met them in the hallway.

Mikel put his finger to his mouth, and Kalen nodded as they walked to Oscar and Moses’ room. Before they could come up with a plan, the door was yanked open, revealing a scowling Oscar.

“Took you long enough,” he growled out. “You could have at least replied to my messages in the group chat.”

Elijah stepped behind Kalen, yanking his phone out of his pocket to check the messages.

Oscar: Isobel passed out.

Oscar: She used her Sigma power too much.

Oscar: Did she try to make Teak better without any of us noticing?

Oscar: Why the fuck is nobody replying?

Elijah winced. Moses and Theodore hadn’t seen the messages yet, but they would freak out when they did, so he quickly tapped out a response.

Elijah: Everything is under control .

But everything was not under control because Isobel wasn’t unconscious due to her Sigma power. From what he could tell, she had lied to Oscar and told the truth to Gabriel—and the truth had been bad enough to trigger Gabriel’s ferality.

Niko and Oscar couldn’t know—and neither could Theodore and Moses.

Luckily, Mikel caught on quickly.

“Gabriel went feral when he read your messages,” Mikel lied through his teeth. “You’re one of our best fighters. I need you in there in case he wakes up. He’s knocked out right now and Niko is watching him.”

Oscar ground his jaw, looking like he was seconds from refusing, though he finally noticed their torn-up, bloody arms.

Mikel didn’t give him a chance to argue. He barked, “Now,” in Alpha voice.

As soon as Oscar left the room, Elijah kicked the door shut and locked it.

Kalen had moved to the bed without anyone noticing. He straightened away from Isobel as they all gathered. “She’s breathing, but her heartbeat is too slow for my liking. What’s going on?” He directed the question to Elijah, his expression tight.

Kalen was their leader, the highest in the ranking that naturally formed between them all, so Elijah could feel his domination spilling out like a physical force through the room, a rough wall of concrete that grated against his bones. He may have appeared calm and collected, but he was anything but.

Elijah quickly took stock of the others: Mikel wore his tension on the outside, unlike Kalen. Cian had shoved up the sleeves of his sweatshirt and tied his hair back, streaks of blood in the strands, revealing that he had done it after the fight with Gabriel. He looked ready to go another round. Kilian had his arms crossed and didn’t seem to realise he was bleeding onto his shirt. His eyes were fixed on Isobel like he could somehow figure out what was wrong with her if he just looked hard enough.

“It wasn’t her Sigma power,” Elijah said carefully, testing their reactions. Other than snapping their eyes to him, they didn’t react at all. “Gabe sent me a message asking for help. He told me not to come alone and not to bring Oscar or Niko.”

There was a muscle ticking in Mikel’s cheek. “So Gabriel knows what happened to her.”

“And whatever it was, it fucking unhinged him,” Kilian finished.

Elijah gave a short nod, and they all turned back to the bed. Isobel moaned, her finger twitching.

Kalen crouched by the bed, gripping her hand. “Can you hear me, Illy?” He deliberately made his voice a soft, deep croon.

Isobel’s hand visibly twitched in his.

“Can you squeeze my hand, sweetheart?” Kalen asked.

Her fingers jumped, but it was the smallest movement.

Elijah fell beside Kalen, peeling back her eyelid. Her pupils were blown wide.

He snarled, jerking back from the bed. “I’m going to?—”

Kill him .

He managed to cut himself off just in time.

Isobel had been drugged, and there was only one culprit—the one who had been skulking around downstairs like he was looking for someone. Fucking Cesar Cooper.

There was a reason Isobel had only told Gabriel.

“What?” Mikel demanded, sharp gaze narrowing on Elijah, a demand swelling in the back of his throat.

“It’s a bond side effect,” Elijah lied. Fuck fuck fuck . “I read about it once. The person turns unresponsive, but they’re still technically conscious. It should wear off by morning. I’ll stay with her and monitor her to make sure it doesn’t turn into anything else.”

He cut a quick look to Kilian, hoping the other Alpha would be able to understand his unspoken demand.

“I’ll stay too,” Kilian said.

The others didn’t look like they were about to budge, but Kilian had picked up that something else was going on, and he forced out a grim smile. “She’ll be embarrassed if we all just stand around and watch her like this. We’ll turn out the lights and go to bed like normal, but we won’t fall asleep.”

They knew he had a point, but Kilian could sense he hadn’t swayed them, so he added, “We have to protect Gabe too. And clean up the blood.”

“Fuck,” Mikel growled, pointing to the bed. “Look after her.” He spun for the door, jerking his head at Cian. “Let’s go.”

Kalen didn’t move, his attention bouncing between them. “You’re lying,” he said quietly. “This isn’t a bond side effect.”

“It’s not.” Elijah sighed, levelling Kalen with a look that he hoped spoke volumes. “But if I tell you what happened, you’ll blow our whole operation.”

Kalen looked at Kilian pointedly.

Elijah shook his head. “Kilian isn’t leaving her side until she opens her eyes again. And when she does, she’ll convince him not to react. Your anger will get the better of you. Trust me, Kalen.”

Kalen winced, turning his eyes to the ceiling, already fighting for control over himself. “Someone hurt her.”

“Nobody hurt her,” Elijah said. He was fairly sure of it. Isobel could use all their abilities for a few minutes, and Cooper had looked confused as hell. She could have read his mind, read his intentions, or subtly used Elijah’s own power to persuade him to leave the room. She could have rewound time or turned invisible while he wasn’t looking.

He didn’t know how, but she had gotten away and was in the process of running away—that was why she had run into Oscar’s room even though Gabriel was the only one she wanted to speak to. Oscar and Moses’ room was the first in the hallway. Still, he wasn’t always right about everything, which was why he was waiting for Kalen to leave the room so that he could check and make sure.

“Nobody hurt her,” he bluffed again, threading his tone with iron because Kalen still seemed to be wavering. “You have to trust me,” he insisted. “She’s safe. She’s okay.”

A snarl ripped from Kalen’s throat as he stalked from the room without a word, slamming the door behind him.

“Help me,” Elijah demanded of Kilian, returning to the bed again.

“What do you need?”

“I need you to check that she hasn’t been assaulted. I’ll let you do it—I think she’d be more comfortable with you.”

Kilian’s pale eyes dug into his. “What?” he finally croaked.

Elijah felt his hands trembling now that he had partly dealt with the situation. He shoved them into his pockets. “Help me or get out,” he growled. “I need you to keep it together, keep your shit under control, and do not fucking leave this room.”

“AS IF I WOULD LEAVE HER SIDE,” he shouted, veins thickening near his temple.

“That’s the opposite of keeping your shit under control,” Elijah hissed.

Kilian backed away, hands up, shaking his head. “Fuck you. Fuck. Fine. Fuck .”

“Where are you going?” Elijah demanded.

“To wash my fucking hands,” Kilian spat, spinning and throwing open the door to the en suite.

As soon as he was alone with Isobel, Elijah realised it was becoming difficult to breathe. His air passage was constricting, growing narrower and narrower until he could barely sip in air. He collapsed against the side of the bed and tried to gently place his forehead against her chest.

Breathe , he pleaded with himself. Just breathe .

The scent of sweet cherries rushed over him. Much sweeter than usual. He shuddered, the sensation like cool, sticky juice licking over his fingers. She smelled sweet enough to drink, and he closed his eyes, lost to the sensation of this languid scent as he finally pulled air back into his lungs.

“Are you okay?” Kilian asked, a touch landing gently between his shoulder blades and rubbing back and forth.

Silently, he shook his head.

He was far from okay.

Gabriel had trusted him with this, and she had trusted Gabriel with it.

If she had wanted to throw away their careers and endanger all their families, she would have pressed Theodore’s or Moses’ stone instead and ripped Cooper apart herself. He had to at least hold on long enough to speak with her.

“Just tell me what to do,” Kilian said. “I’m not bleeding anymore.”

Elijah didn’t lift his head or open his eyes. He couldn’t. He needed to keep breathing.

“Take off her panties and check for any signs of blood or fluid. Check for redness, swelling, or bruising.”

Kilian didn’t move to obey, his hand still on Elijah’s back. He was frozen.

“And if I find any of those things?” he demanded, losing the softer tone he had momentarily laboured over.

“Then someone dies tonight. I’ll do it myself.”

“Good.” He lifted his hand away.

Elijah felt Isobel’s body shift beneath him as Kilian got onto the bed.

“I’m not watching,” he said into her skin, hoping she could hear him.

She had probably been given a combination of ecstasy and something else if her euphoric, drowsy scent was anything to go off, so if she were aware enough to hear him, she wouldn’t care. But that was now. In the morning, she would very much care, if she remembered.

Kilian made a small, soft sound in the back of his throat. “She’s a little wet, but otherwise no.”

“That would be the ecstasy,” Elijah said. “Let me know when I can look again.”

“You’re fine. Ecstasy?”

Elijah pulled up his head slowly. His chest immediately tightened, but his throat didn’t close up again.

“Do you mind?” he asked, slipping his hands beneath Isobel’s body.

“I think I might.” Kilian winced. “I need her too.”

“Okay, move for a moment.”

Kilian shifted off the bed and Elijah gently placed Isobel onto the middle of the mattress. “Her shoes,” he pointed out.

Kilian immediately began removing her heels. Elijah pulled her upright, holding her up as he worked to tug her dress out from beneath her butt and over her head.

“Shirt,” he demanded next.

Kilian pulled his off while Elijah still held her up with one arm, flicking her dress over the side of the bed. He tugged Kilian’s shirt over her head and then tucked her beneath the covers, turning her to her side and pulling her body back into his. Kilian hit the switch to send the room into darkness before he slipped beneath the covers with them, tugging her limp leg over his waist, his head nudging beneath hers.

“I hate this,” he whispered. “Even when she’s asleep, she still wriggles and squirms all over the place.”

“I know,” Elijah breathed, his throat threatening to close again. He quickly ducked his head to her hair, sucking in her scent again.

Sweet, unharmed cherries.

She was okay.

But she wasn’t right . His Isobel was a wriggler. He watched her when they had their movie nights. He was always on the floor or the chaise or the sofa, but he watched her shift and sigh and seek heat from the bodies either side of her.

Usually, he hated watching it. He hated that none of those bodies were him.

Tonight, he would give anything to watch it on repeat.

“Cooper drugged her, didn’t he?” Kilian whispered roughly, finally figuring it out.

“You said you wouldn’t leave her side,” Elijah warned.

“You really think I’m stupid enough to kill him without a plan and fuck up all our goddamn lives?” Kilian shot back, still in a whisper. He would never shout so close to Isobel, not with her skin a breath from his mouth.

“You would have if I had told you immediately before you’d had time to think,” Elijah countered.

He was silent.

Elijah was right.

Isobel was smart enough to keep this from everyone who would react based on their emotion alone.

He inhaled her again, his hand settling into the dip of her waist. She was so tiny. So fragile. So soft. So his .

And Cooper was so dead.