Chapter 22

Slipping into the massive library, with shelf after ornate shelf of beautifully bound books, I sigh.

Tyson may have his reasons, but giving away my presence feels like the ultimate betrayal. My head is spinning. I've gone from almost begging him to take me and claim me as his on the dining table, to wondering how we can ever come back from this. If we all survive.

Which seems doubtful.

Groaning in frustration, I pull out a few more modern titles and move to a huge, plush chaise lounge facing the picture window, looking out at the dark forest beyond. I sink further into the cushions, drag a blanket over my legs, and close my eyes.

Tyson's meeting Lee's father tomorrow night. It will either all be over, or Noah and I will be on the run again. And if we're on the run, Tyson will more than likely be dead.

Maybe we need to go further this time. Asia. Australia. Somewhere he'll never find us. But even as I think the words, and attempt to plan our escape, I laugh darkly to myself. Lee's dad will find us eventually. There isn't a hole deep enough or dark enough for us to hide in forever.

The hardwood floor creaks outside the door, and I sigh, too tired to fight with him again. "Tyson, I asked you to leave me alone."

Nothing. Is he just going to stand there all night?

"Tyson, I said…" I'm about to ask him to go when the door opens and Tyson's tantalising scent doesn't hit my nose. I jump when a wet nose nuzzles my open hand, poking against my palm. Flinging my eyes open, I sit up, sending books crashing to the flooring.

"Seth! You scared the life out of me!" I hiss quietly, not wanting to cause a commotion that would attract Tyson's attention.

In wolf form, Seth plonks down on his haunches beside me, and tilts his head.

"What? I'm not hiding. Or sulking." I blink rapidly, surprised by his intense scrutiny.

Seeming to make a decision, he leaps onto the seat beside me, specifically made for just one, and curls up, settling on top of my feet. He's big for his age, but feeling like he's just as worried about Tyson as I am, I push my fingers through his thick coat, and he rumbles in content.

"You're not a bad wolf. But you are heavy."

Still, he doesn't budge, just perks up his ears and tilts his head to the side, watching me intently. I suppose if he's been living with only Tyson as his role model, he might not have a solid understanding of how to behave like a normal person. So, returning to my book, I wait to see what he does. He must have had a reason to seek me out.

"Thank you for giving him blood. He wouldn't be able to fight without it."

Seth's voice startles me and I curse, looking up to see a young, lanky boy, sitting with legs folded where his wolf was just a moment ago. Yanking off my blanket, I toss it at him and close my eyes while he wraps it around his waist. As heat crawls up my chest and neck, a blush spreads across my cheeks, and I hope Seth thinks it's from the fire burning in the hearth and not the heat in my belly.

"That's not the only reason I did it, but I'm glad he's looking a bit better." And boy does he. "If you're worried about him, you should tell him. He'd want to know."

Tyson seems to have adopted these two boys, perhaps seeing two young men like himself without anywhere to go. I'm tempted to ask Seth how he ended up here, but I don't want to pry. He can tell me in his own time.

"Then he'll make me stay here."

While I'm furious with Tyson for setting this plan in motion without including me and without a more elaborate strategy, I don't want him to die. Not at anyone else's hands, at least. And I definitely don't want these boys to be left on their own. Or to be hurt in the fight.

"As well he should. You're a strong wolf, but the man Tyson's meeting is dangerous, and he won't be alone."

Threats apparently have no meaning for Seth as he lifts one narrow shoulder and drops it again, pursing his lips in contemplation.

"All the more reason I should go."

His logic is faultless so I need to take a different tactic.

"What about me though? I can't go. If you leave, too, I'll be unprotected." Playing the damsel in distress card, laying on the guilt like only a mother can, I wait to see if it has the desired effects.

"Lucian will be here," he replies quickly, but when I look at him dubiously, he twists his mouth in irritation. "But he's just a vampire. A wolf will get past him no problem." Nodding, I agree with his assessment. "You need another wolf here."

"I think I do."

Reluctantly, he tips his head. "Fine. I'll stay. If you promise you will, too."

Clever boy. Seth scooches forward until his soft brown eyes peer up at me from only a couple of feet away.

"I can tell you like him. You're only pretending that you're not sure, and that you're upset he's doing all this, but deep down you know. Why not just admit it now before he leaves?"

Why not, indeed.

Because I'm mad at him for making plans without me? Because I'm afraid that in trying to save us he'll ruin my life all over again – by dying? Much as I loathe to admit it, Seth's right.

"Seth, can you leave me to think for a while?" I ask quietly, and he nods, shifting back to a lithe wolf without another word and slipping from the room.

In the peaceful silence of the library, I let my mind drift to thoughts of what I'd like my future to look like. I'm afraid to imagine Tyson in it. For so long, it's just been Noah and me. He's growing up so fast. It won't be long until he's off living his own life, heading off to alpha school under Blake's patronage.

If I'm honest, in every vision, I see Tyson. He's my mate after all. Living life without him already seems inconceivable; but, he's a vampire now, too. Would we still have been fated for each other if we'd met after he was turned?

Maybe it doesn't really matter.

The fates have decided he's the one for me, and it feels like they got it right.

Maybe without constantly having to worry about being found, I could be happy.

For the first time in years, I'm still alone but with friends I can rely on. Max, Matt, and Raiden are taking care of Noah. Tyson's right; he's safe with them. If a vampire, a bear-wolf shifter, and a witch can't protect him, neither can I; we'd be done for no matter what we do.

And Tyson?

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd give his life for mine. And by going to this meeting, that might be exactly what he's doing.

In the early hours, I creep up to bed without having seen Tyson for the rest of the day. But later that night, as has become his routine, Tyson stops by my door on his way down the hall. This time, I could swear he leans his forehead against my door. With something that sounds like a muttered apology and a deep breath, he moves away, his usually confident stride sounding weary.

That's no way to go into battle, because that's what this will be.

Slipping under the covers as dusk settles over the gnarled and twisted trees outside, my mind drifts back to Seth's warning. If Tyson goes to face a pack of wolves and never comes back, is this the way I want to leave things? Absolutely not. Tomorrow, I need to make sure he drank enough blood.

Sighing, I twist and turn, the sheets tangling around my waist and between my legs as I drift fitfully in and out of sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I dream of how he pinned me down, except, in my visions, he doesn't let me go. The slight scrape of his teeth along my neck and the thought of his thick cock rubbing against my clit have me practically purring as I dip my hand between my thighs, trying to relieve the ache there.

It's getting too hard to be close to him and not act on these desires. I want him to feed again, but more than that, I want to experience all of him.

Maybe I just need to stop fighting fate.

A sense of calm washes over me as I let that thought sink in. Give myself to him. Let him claim me. Let him show me how good being mated to a man like him could be. Let him mark me and feed before he goes off to exact revenge on my behalf and rid us of the death sentence that's been hanging over our heads.

If he's willing to die for me, it seems like the least I could do. The fact that I'm desperate for the pleasure I know he'll give me is just a nice perk.

In the morning, I'll find Tyson and speak to him, tell him how much I want this to work – but that's not going to happen if he's dead. We need help. We can draft some reinforcements from the Steel pack, the council, whomever. I can convince him to wait until he has back-up to face Lee's dad.

With a smile on my face, I snuggle down into my pillow and melt into the plush mattress underneath me. The stress I've been holding onto floats away, and my eyes fall closed.