Chapter 28

Sitting in the window seat in the huge drawing room, I have a perfect view of the front lawn.

An old, leather-bound book detailing the previous alpha's family tree and the pack history sits open on my knee, but I can't focus on the pages. It's dark now; Tyson has been gone for hours and is far enough away that I can't get any read on him through our fledgling, one-sided bond.

"We should have gone after him," I mutter, my knee bouncing up and down as I stare at the clear sky.

It's the tenth time I've said it, and just like all the other times, Lucian doesn't move from his spot at the door, except to refold his arms across his chest and roll his eyes.

"I've managed to evade Lee's family for a long time. Sneaky is my middle name. We could have helped," I argue.

Seth snorts from his spot on the floor at my feet. He hasn't been more than three feet away from me since Tyson left. They're taking their sentry duties very seriously.

"Tyson worrying about you would not help." Lucian looks slightly more sympathetic now as he stares down at me. "The best thing you can do is stick to the plan."

He's pretending to be calm and entirely focussed on his role, but he's not. Repeatedly, he checks the time, which seems to have ground to a halt. Lucian wants Tyson back soon just as I do.

"Except there is no plan, as far as I can tell. Or not a good one anyway," I mumble. Drumming my fingers on the windowsill, I close my eyes and try to reach out again, desperate to hear or feel something from him. I should have marked him so we could mind-link. This is madness.

"If I promise not to leave, will you at least go out and see if there's any sign of Blake?" Even I know that's a bad idea. It defeats the entire point of the wards. Lucian scoffs and doesn't even dignify my question with a response.

"Fine," I huff, "but this is ridiculous. We can't just sit here."

I don't really want to leave. I'm fully aware that if I chase after Tyson, and get myself caught, not only does Wilson no longer need Tyson alive to give him my location, but if he works out that we're mates, he could use me against Tyson. And Noah.

Fuck, I need Blake to get here and fast.

The moon is big and bright, bathing the forest in an eerie glow. There isn't a puff of wind, like even nature is holding its breath, waiting to see what happens. My skin itches with the need to do something other than sit here. I'm about to push to my feet when Lucian sighs, and comes to sit near me.

"Did Tyson tell you how Seth and I ended up here?"

Shaking my head, I sit back, keen to hear this story, a welcome distraction from my fretting. Lucian frowns and stares around the old house.

"The alpha who lived here fell for a vampire. Delilah. They were together for years. You won't find that in your book, but it's true." Lucian's gaze lands on the page and he scowls, looking away. "She adored him, but he felt it was wrong for the leader of the pack to have a vampire as his partner, so he ended their relationship. It broke her heart. When he met someone else, she used to watch the house at night, listening to them talking and laughing, trying to work out what this other woman had that made her the better pick."

Lucian stares out into the darkness, the red rim around his iris glowing in the dim light.

"One night, the alpha stormed outside. Accused her of being obsessed with him. Told her what they had wasn't love, just lust. That her bite tricked him into thinking it was more, and he wanted her gone. And that this was never her home, only his." His voice is dull, monotone, and it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Seth gets to his feet and moves closer to me, perhaps sensing my unease. "She was with child, but he denied them both, refusing to believe that a wolf could get a vampire pregnant."

"What did she do?" I whisper, imagining I have a good idea where he's going with this. "She must have been devastated."

"She did nothing, but feeling the burn of her tears and the pain in her heart, every vampire from the neighbouring regions descended on this place and ripped him to shreds. They swore that any other who tried to lay claim to her home would suffer the same fate."

Nervously, I glance out the window at the darkness. Is that what Tyson meant about danger lurking outside? Is that the reason for the wards?

"That's why Weston hasn't fully absorbed this place into his territory. He's afraid of her, and the others," I conclude, not blaming him one bit. I'm regretting sitting in the window now, perched here like the lady of the manor. They could be watching.

Lucian nods. "He hopes that with the passage of time he'll get control of the area, but for the moment, he leaves the vampires that come and go alone, and they don't turn on him."

Smart man. I wouldn't mess with them either. Tyson's speed is unnerving. I don't think I'd like to have a determined coven hunting me down.

"But what about the woman? Where did she go?" Is she gone, or is she watching now? Maybe she likes Tyson and that's why he's allowed to stay. The thought sets my teeth on edge. He's mine.

"Delilah tried to live here for a while, on and off for years, but it was too hard. She felt guilty, and everything reminded her of his betrayal, including her son. She needed to get away. So, when Tyson offered to mind the house, and her son, while she pulled herself together, she grabbed it with both hands." His gaze is fixed to the floor now and it doesn't take a genius to work out who the son is in this scenario. "The witches heard, and when they were having some issues with a feral young wolf they found in their care, they came to Tyson for help, too. And Seth never left."

The amulets to hide his scent. The wards. "No witch would have helped Tyson conceal himself, or protect him when he was threatening Blake and Zoe." I couldn't work out why a witch would be helping a man hell-bent on killing his brother and taking a pack. They probably knew nothing of his real intentions.

"No coven would, except they were looking out for Seth. We don't know where he came from, but the assumption behind his refusal to shift is that something traumatic happened. They were worried someone might come looking for him." Lucian briefly looks me in the eye, then turns to stand watch.

"So, basically, we're all the castaways. And evil lurks at every turn. Is that the moral of the story?" I ask, now not only worried about Tyson and Blake, but about vampires attacking me for being in this house, and someone coming to take Seth.

"The wards are strong. Nobody will get inside here that we don't want to." The confidence in Lucian's voice is reassuring, but I've been around long enough to know there is a way around everything. "And Tyson isn't alone out there. Vampires are romantics at the heart of it after all."

I'm about to ask what exactly that means when I see a pair of eyes shining from the trees outside. A wolf approaches cautiously, sleek and dark, like a ghostly shadow it sweeps across the treeline before I lose track of it.

On my feet in an instant, I press my fingertips to the window trying to see where it's gone. Is it Tyson? Blake? Turning, I'm about to run for the door when Lucian blocks my way.

"No." His tone is firm and I bristle at being ordered around by someone half my age.

"It's Blake. I need to convince him to come after Tyson with me." Stepping to the side, I go to move past but the vampire is far too quick and he blurs to block my path once more. We don't have time to waste. More than frustrated, I growl at him, panic building inside me.

"Lucian, I have to talk to him! What if he leaves? He has to help me. Tyson could be hurt; I can't sit here and do nothing. Blake will know what to do!" Desperation makes me raise my voice but Lucian remains calm, while Seth stands at my side.

"You can't go outside." Folding his arms, Lucian tries to look like he's in charge but his concern for Tyson shines bright in his eyes despite his firm words. "I'm just doing what Tyson asked, Mandy."

I know he is. But what if it's Tyson, injured, and he's lying in the grass outside bleeding to death because we won't open the door and have a sniff. My wolf is screaming at me to go to him, to make sure he's okay. He would never leave me out there. And if it's Blake, there's no time for scouring the area for threats. We need to move.

With a huff, I drop my eyes to the ground and let my shoulders sag. Turning back to the window, I sigh loudly, defeated, and Lucian pats my shoulder sympathetically.

"I know you're worried, we all are, but this is his plan. He wants you s–" Lucian doesn't get to finish that thought. Spinning, I shove him hard and he stumbles to the ground, tripping over Seth who's behind his legs, and the two of them get tangled up on the ground. He's fast but I'm pretty quick myself. Before he can get to his feet and chase me, I've yanked open the front door.

Taking a deep breath, I scan the pitch-black forest for any other signs of movement, but I don't see a thing.

"Tyson?!" I yell, fear clogging my voice. What if he can't answer me back? I look at the ground, just the far side of the threshold. Logic tells me abandoning the protection of the wards is stupid, but I don't think I can stay indoors waiting any longer.

"I think we should go back inside." Despite my antics, Lucian"s voice is patient.

"No," I reply stubbornly, waiting to catch another glimpse of the wolf. Was it my imagination? The breeze is blowing the wrong direction and I can't get a scent. But if I went outside, a little closer…

Lucian and Seth close ranks, moving in tight on either side of me. Seth on four paws as always, grows low and threatening at the darkness. The hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Something's not right.

The moment I realise I've made a mistake, the wind shifts. As I step back, tugging the boys with me, the whiff of expensive aftershave hits my nose and I can't distinguish whose scent is buried underneath. It's not Blake, or Tyson, that's for certain. The black shadow suddenly appears from below the porch and vaults over the railing. With lightning speed, it launches itself at me but the ward does its job, blocking the entrance, and repels the animal which snarls viciously as it lands in a heap on the decking.

Startled, I stagger backwards as the wolf morphs into a large man who slowly stands and straightens.

"So, you must be the infamous Mandy?" That voice, I recognise it.

Seth growls, so I place my hand on his back, keen to avoid him drawing the wolf's ire. Heart pounding, I stare up into the smarmy smile of a man who's sure he's got the upper hand. He's the only other person who knows where I am.

Alpha Weston.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now leave, please. You can already see you're not getting in here."

Westons beady eyes drop to the wolf stuck to my leg and he laughs darkly, dragging his gaze up my body and back to my face.

"Wilson was right. You were carrying a pup."