Chapter 93
Mira
“Julian.”
It wasn’t even a question. The word left my mouth as a confirmation for the fear I’d been harboring since I escaped that building and had to leave the him behind. I didn’t even realize how much I was haunted by it until his name was said aloud again.
“What time did they leave?” I asked, my body was electrified. “Did they say anything? Did he speak? Was he okay?”
Dominic put his hand on the middle of my thigh. It was a firm, in a way that offered security and comfort without taking ownership.
“He wasn’t hurt, if that helps,” Beatrice moved closer to me, a caretaker by nature in tending bar and fostering a community with so many patrons. “He looked scared, like we all were, but strong. They’re not treating him badly, if that’s any comfort.”
I exhaled, and Dominic softened his grip on my leg. His hand slipped lightly down my thigh as it slid away and into his own lap. His eyes were trained in front of him, but his pulse was quick in his neck.
“Thank you.”
I touched my knee to his and kept it there. How funny that no one else knew of this entire conversation we were having without them.
“That’s good to hear, thank you,” I said to Beatrice.
The more I looked at this woman, the more I wanted to tell her all my secrets and listen to her advice. Her hair looked brown but was auburn in the light, and her pale green eyes were pools you could drown in. I wondered what kind of magic she possessed, because there was no question that a spell was being cast.
“Can I make you some tea, dear?”
The question was so subtle that I wasn’t sure if she said it out loud or in my head.
“I have an herbal blend,” she said, a secret in her voice.
I nodded, a sleepy smile on my face. “That would be lovely.”
She went through a door I hadn’t noticed before, presumably to put a kettle on.
“What just happened?”
Dominic was staring at me, confused and amused. I stretched my face from it’s bewitched position and looked back at him.
“Nothing,” I said, shaking it off. “There is more mystery here than we know.”
“Here?”
“Never mind.”
This time I placed a hand on his thigh, an assurance that we were back on the same page about our mission here. It didn’t hurt that I had been thinking about touching his thigh since his hand left mine.
“If they were here last night, that’s a small radius of movement for them to travel,” Dominic said. He placed his hand on mine and held it in place. It felt like a business deal and also the most intimate act. “We’ll get a team out asap to start sweeping the region, and warn the other Packs. I’ll call Brooks now.”
His hand went up my arm as he stood, then he walked away from the bar to make the phone call. Beatrice returned from out of nowhere with a steaming cup of earthy tea. It was the most pungent and most delicious thing I’d ever tasted.
“He’s a good one, you know,” she said to me as I cleared my sinuses and headache with her brew. “They all say so.”
“What?”
She gave me a knowing look. “That man might change the world,” she said prophetically, “and the chances are much higher now that he has you.”
I had no answer, and she didn’t need one.
“We should get going,” Dominic said as returned, placing his hand in the middle of my back. “Beatrice, please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. Regardless of Pack status, this establishment should be respected and protected.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she said with a smirk.
On the drive back we were all quiet, tired from the outing and it was barely midday. Lucas was focused at the wheel, and Wyatt watched the scenery and gave occasional directions. Dominic was pensive, but alert to my movements and mood.
“I think I should stop by,” I said, not feeling the need to explain.
“Brooks?” Dominic asked.
“Yes.”
“I told him you might want to,” he said, not looking for accolades. He simply knew me. “We’ll drop you there. Unfortunately I should get back to the Pack and start giving orders.”
“Would you like Wyatt with you?”
Once again he knew my thoughts. I nodded, keeping my eyes locked on his.
“Wyatt,” he said to the front seat, “you’ll go with Mira, if that’s alright with you.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Wyatt responded from the front seat.
His eyes found mine in the rearview mirror, and I felt that he would have come with me even if Dominic hadn’t asked him to.
We arrived at the Brooks compound, and Dominic walked with us to meet the Alpha. They shook hands, and then I shared an embrace with my former pack leader.
“How is she?” I asked quickly.
“She is doing well, much better,” he said to me. “The herbals you recommended have done a great deal to alleviate her nightmares.”
“I’d like to see her.”
Dominic went back to Lucas in the van, and as I watched him go I felt the chasm open between us once again.
I followed Brooks through the houses, many of them looking new with the improvements made since the Rogue attack. He told her I was coming, giving her the opportunity to decline talking to me if it would be too stressful. I was relieved that she wanted to talk with me, and was hopeful that my plan would work.
I found Rae in the parlor of the Alpha mansion, a small cutting platter of snacks and refreshments on a low coffee table. She wore a baggy sweater over loose jeans, and I wondered if she was trying to hide or if her clothes no longer fit her.
“Mira!”
She stood and practically ran to me, catching me off balance as she threw her arms around me.
“Thank you for coming,” she continued, pulling out of the embrace and walking me towards the sofa. “They told me you knew… um, you knew something about Julian?”
“Yes,” I said with a sigh, “though I have to be honest it isn’t much. We know where he was last night, and we’re sending out scouts to see if we can track where they went next.”
“I hope they find him,” she said looking down, “I feel so guilty, I got out, and he…”
“It is not your fault,” I said taking her hand, “nor mine, as I have to remind myself.”
She nodded, looking slightly comforted.
“But,” I went on, “I have an idea, something we might be able to do to help. Right now.”
Rae’s eyes lit up. “I’ll do anything!”
“It seems you two are Fated Mates,” I said slowly, “and you said you had moments of communicating telepathically, without speaking.”
Rae nodded again, her eyebrows meeting as she listened.
“Do you think you can reach him now?”
She looked frightened for a moment, then sad, then determined. Her jaw was set as she nodded at me.
Then she closed her eyes, focused.
“Just think about him,” I coached her, feeling inexperienced myself. “Imagine you were speaking normally, but direct your intention right into him.”
She squinted harder, then her eyes flew open.
“I…”
“It’s okay, it might take a few tries,” I said, my hand gently stroking hers.
Her eyes closed again, longer this time, then once again flew open as she gasped for air.
“What? What is it?” I asked her, reaching for her face to calm her as she panted hard to steady her breath again. “Rae, did you find him?”
“Yes,” she said, near tears, “I found him. I told him we were going to come save him.”
“And? Did her respond?”
She nodded, the first salty drop falling down her cheek.
“He told me he didn’t want to be saved.”
