Chapter 407

Mark stays close at Rafe’s heels as he storms through the palace. Rafe glances back over his shoulder with a frown.

“You can go, Mark,” Rafe snaps, annoyed. “You’ve got your stupid protection necklace. No one’s going to snatch you away.”

“I can’t go, Rafe,” Mark snaps back, surprising Rafe by how much his brother’s voice matches his own these days, in timbre as well as snappiness. “Mom says you have to babysit me, so here I am. Waiting to be sat.”

Rafe turns and gives Mark a little shove on his shoulder. “Would you take this seriously for one minute!?”

“I am taking this seriously!” Mark snarls, casting one hand out to the side. “Do you think this is easy for me, being forced to tail along with you even though I’m useless? Do you think I’m not worried about Jesse and June and Ariel!?”

Rafe growls, because he knows his brother is. “Yeah, well, you could make fewer jokes. Or you could try harder to learn how to do something -”

“I’m not good at this stuff, Rafe,” Mark growls, hanging his head a little. “Not like the rest of you are.”

Rafe closes his mouth at that, looking at the shame on his little brother’s face. Because it’s true – Mark has always had more trouble with self-discipline than he and Ari and Juniper have. Mark is…easily distracted and doesn’t respond to the pleasures of hard work and achievement like the rest of them do.

Rafe’s wolf bites him, hard, on the inside. You need to be kinder.

Rafe sighs and nods, knowing that he’s right. It’s just…god, he’s so angry these days.

But…taking it out on Mark is not okay.

“I’m sorry,” Rafe says, rueful, stepping closer to Mark. “I’m being a jerk. It’s…good to have you here.”

“You’re lying,” Mark murmurs, scuffing his foot against the floor. “You don’t like me. You don’t want me around. Only Ariel does.”

“I like you, Mark,” Rafe says on a sigh, utterly truthful. He does like Mark he just…god, he hasn’t made a lot of space in his life for his little brother, has he? “Come on, walk with me, not behind. Mom sent both of us on this task, not just me.”

Mark lifts his head a little, a smile pulling at one corner of his lips. And then he nods, the two brothers starting off down the hall until they push through a door into a wide room full of computers and papers and mail.

And at the center of it all stands Luca Grant, who looks up at them, his face very exhausted and serious.

“Hey, Luca!” Mark calls, striding forward with his hand out to clasp the boxer’s. Rafe scowls a little, thinking that Mark’s a bit of a traitor for accepting Luca back into his heart as easily as Ella did. Rafe and Dominic are…not there yet.

“Hi,” Luca says, smiling warmly at Mark and shaking his hand before turning to Rafe, his face becoming more serious. “Um, hey. Rafe.”

“Grant,” Rafe says, tucking his hands behind his back and speaking quite formally. “Mom sent us to check in on things here, to see if any information has come forward.”

“Um, not that I’ve seen,” Luca says, running his hand through his hair and looking around at the chaos of the mail room, where people are rushing to answer phones and check emails and sort through a great deal of mail. They set up a tip-line for any information and a great deal has been coming through, not much of it useful. “It’s…a lot, but we’re managing to get through it.”

Rafe had been surprised when his father had accepted Luca’s offer to help. Rafe had been snarling at Grant the moment Ella brought him into the room, ready to rip his head off. Despite Ella’s calm assurance that Luca wanted to help, Rafe just couldn’t get the mental image of Ariel bleeding and crying in Ben’s arms on Luca’s bedroom floor out of his mind.

But Dominic, even if he’d been equally enraged, had accepted the offer of help. “We need every competent man at his moment,” Dominic had snarled at Rafe’s protest, baring his teeth at his son, letting him know that the issue was decided.

But to Rafe’s relief, Luca had been banished away from the family to this job. An important job, but certainly one where Rafe didn’t have to interact with him much.

Until, of course, his mother kept finding pale excuses to send Rafe down here, eager for the two to find common ground.

“Can I help with anything?” Mark asks, moving around Luca’s desk and beginning to sort through some of the messages.

“Some personal things came through for your mom and dad,” Luca says, friendly, handing Mark some folded pieces of paper and envelopes. “You could take these up.”

“You did security sweeps on those?” Rafe snaps, lifting his chin at the mail. “Ensured it was all safe?”

Slowly, Luca turns his eyes to his former friend. “You know I did, Rafe.”

Rafe bares his teeth a bit. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure I really trust your word when you say you’re committed to keeping the royal family safe.”

Luca drops his head, ashamed, knowing that there’s nothing he can say to make it better. That Rafe is right – no matter his reasons for it, he did leave Ariel alone and vulnerable.

Mark looks anxiously between the two, torn. Because even if he is of course on his family’s side…his heart goes out to Luca, who looks so forlorn, and is trying so hard to make amends.

“All right,” Rafe snaps, nodding to Mark. “Anything else, Luca?”

“Um, just this missive,” Luca says, reaching for a pink scrap of paper on the desk. “From that Hank guy – letting your mom know that he’s coming in via helicopter tomorrow with a report on The Community – that place Jackson is from. He says he’s hoping he’ll be able to have an audience with her, but he understands if she’s busy.”

Rafe rolls his eyes a little and takes the piece of paper. “I can’t believe Hanks asking for that at a time like this,” he murmurs, tucking it into his pocket. “But mom will make space for him. She always does.”

He turns away, waving to Mark to come with.

“Rafe!” Luca calls out behind him as the Sinclair boys move towards the door.

Rafe sighs, but turns.

“Please,” Luca says, holding out a pleading hand. “Can we talk? I’m – I’m so sorry, man –“

“You know, things might have been different,” Rafe interrupts, harsh. “If you’d been there on that battlefield? If you’d been holding her hand, like Jackson was?” Rafe shakes his head, anger welling in him.

Luca takes a deep breath, dropping his eyes and leaning hard against the desk in front o fhim.

“We can talk when she comes back, alive and safe,” Rafe snaps, turning away. “Until then, I don’t have a god damn thing to say to you.”

He strides from the room.

Mark hesitates for a second, looking between Luca and the door, worried and torn. Because…even though Rafe is right, Mark’s wolf scratches at the dirt of his soul, urging him to realize that somehow Rafe is being unfair. That Luca could have helped – but his presence on the battlefield…

Would it truly have prevented Ariel from being taken?

But whatever the answer is – if there even is one - Mark turns to follow Rafe, knowing that even if he is being unfair, Rafe is still his brother. And his allegiances, always, are with his family.

“See you soon, Luca,” Mark calls to the boxer as he goes, feeling sorry for him.

“Yeah, you too, Mark,” Luca murmurs. After a second of standing very still he sighs, getting back to work.

Gabriel shifts us back into the hallway outside my door, which is bustling with people. Gasps echo around us as Gabriel angrily shoves open my bedroom door, striding into the room and slamming it shut behind him.

Two more gasps sound as Gabriel strides across the room and tosses me hard on the bed.

“Oh, Ariel,” Pippa moans, dashing immediately for me.

But Gabriel steps in front of her, blocking her hard with his arm. “You will leave my Luna where she is, Pippa,” Gabriel snarls. “Especially considering that it was you who let her out.”

“Don’t you dare touch Pippa,” Elias snarls, stepping forward and grabbing Gabriel’s arm, hauling him away. “That is my fucking Luna, who is carrying my child.”

I snarl at Gabriel, sitting up on the bed and pushing myself back so that my back is against the cushions and the headboard. “Leave Pippa out of this,” I snap. “She didn’t do anything. I tricked her so I could escape.”

Elias steps close to Pippa, wrapping her up in his arms, looking anxiously between Gabriel and I.

“You think I am a fool, Ariel,” Gabriel snarls, stepping closer to me and leaning over the bed to glare into my eyes. “You thought that you could go flitting around the castle as much as you wanted, and that as long as I caught you running around the exterior fence in the Dark Lands that I’d think you were trying to escape. I know you went for the ambassadors. I know you spoke with one of them, or else you’d never have gotten to that part of your plan.”

Inwardly, I curse my grandmother for giving me a mate who’s not only completely evil but smart enough to see through my plans. God, couldn’t she at least have been cool and given me a dummy?

“You have embarrassed me for the last time,” Gabriel growls, leaning closer and raising his hand, the threat to strike me real. I lean away, genuinely afraid, my hand going to my jaw. Because if he hits it again – I don’t think it would stay intact –

“Gabriel!” Elias barks out, horrified.

Gabriel stays his hand, but doesn’t take his eyes from me. “I have important things in the works tonight. And you will fall in line, Princess, and be the utter picture of what an Atalaxian Luna is meant to be when I bring you out in public this evening.”

I stare up at him, hate in every line of my face.

“And if you don’t,” Gabriel says, quite soft. “I will not only beat you until your entire body is black and blue – but I will kill each and every one of those Moon Valley ambassadors in front of your eyes. One by one. Is that clear?”

He snarls once more before he turns and stalks from the room, leaving me panting with fear.

“Oh, Ariel,” Pippa whispers, climbing onto the bed and scooting close to me. “Oh, darling, are you okay?”

But I can barely pay attention to her ministrations as I shift my eyes to Elias.

He looks at me, terrified, a silent question on his face.

I just nod, slight enough that Pippa doesn’t notice my confirmation.

That Ben is here with the Ambassadors. And because of my actions today, his life is on the line.