Cassian watches us thoughtfully from the chair beside Marcus’ bed, looking like he hasn’t gotten a single minute of sleep. “He’ll be safe in the townhouse,” he tells me.
I don’t like it. It kills me to leave Marcus’ side when he’s hurt, even if he isn’t one of my alphas. Even if I wish he could be.
Finally, I sigh and nod.
“It’s you I worry about,” Cassian says with a frown.
I rub my arms, trying to banish the early morning autumn chill in the infirmary. “Marcus is right. As long as I keep Willow in sight, Rad won’t try anything. As long as I don’t provoke him. He has a surprise for me,” I murmur. “He’s excited about something. I wasn’t able to figure out what, but I suppose I’ll see today.”
“I hate this,” Cassian growls. “Something has to be done.”
I nod, exhaustion sapping the fight from me. Cassian is right: something has to be done, but I’m too much of a coward to do it.
* * *
Cassian drivesus to the parking lot near the omega residences, and we pile into my cottage so I can take a shower and change clothes. I slip into a modest, refined wool dress, desperate to shake the chill that’s settled into my bones, but I know my shivers have nothing to do with the cool autumn morning.
I wake Marcus after I’ve done my hair and put on my makeup, and the two of us set out toward the gates in front of All Saints Hall.
Cassian hangs back while Marcus passes me off into Willow’s care, but I know he’ll help Marcus back to his car and to the pack house as soon as we’ve pulled away.
Only, it’s not just Willow waiting for me at the gates.
“It’s good to see you back on your feet, Haley,” Rad says evenly, but there’s a smirk in his eyes that makes anger curdle in my belly. “There’s been a change of plans, beloved,” he says, nodding to the limousine parked behind Willow’s sleek sports car. “You’ll both be coming with me.”
I shoot Willow a quick look, but she merely arches an eyebrow.
“Leave your phone with your honor guard,” Rad tells me.
Apprehension makes me tense, but I dig my phone from my bag and pass it over to Marcus.
Rad comes up to me and looks me over, from the toes of my nude heels to the soft curls of my hair. He smiles down at me, a sinister glint in his eyes, and then draws his fingers down over my collarbone.
I jerk back, but he hooks his fingers in the collar of my dress and pulls me closer. His fingers travel lower, brushing against the top of one of my breasts before he draws his hand from the front of my dress, my tracking charm between his forefinger and thumb. He fists his hand around it and yanks, snapping the delicate chain. It bites against my skin as it breaks, and I would wince, but I’m frozen, rooted to the spot by the audacity and ownershipof his touch.
Marcus lets out a low growl, and I catch Willow touching the back of his hand in warning before he can launch himself forward at Rad for touching me in such a proprietary manner.
Rad smirks and drops the broken necklace in Marcus’ hand, then offers me his arm.
I take it reluctantly, and he guides me into the back of the limousine, shooting my honor guard a final look of smug superiority over his shoulder. Willow takes a seat beside me, blocking Rad from sitting beside me, but he seems content to sit across from us.
It’s only when the door closes that I realize the back windows are fully tinted. I can’t see a thing through them, not even Marcus’ face as we pull away.
If Willow has any objection to the change in plans, she doesn’t voice it, and it doesn’t show in her serene expression. I settle back into the seat beside her, but anxiousness racks through me, making my scent turn acrid.
Rad makes a show of drawing in a deep breath and then smiles beatifically at me.
My heart kicks in my chest when I feel the limousine’s wheels rumble over the ramp to board the ferry to the mainland. I had expected that we’d take a meal somewhere in downtown Fairhaven, but if we’re headed to the mainland…
I swallow hard, and Rad watches me closely, taking in my fear with that same satisfied smile.
After we disembark from the ferry, we drive for another half hour—or at least, that’s my best guess. I’ve lost all sense of time and have no way of telling it.
Finally, the limousine rolls to a stop and the driver comes around and opens the door for us. Rad exits first and offers me his arm. I have no choice but to take it.
The pale autumn sunlight burns my eyes after the dark interior of the limousine, and I squint, trying to gain my bearings. We’re in front of a long, three-story concrete and steel building with multiple wings, in a clearing surrounded by the pine woods that sweep through Maine and New Brunswick. Based on the length of the drive, I suppose we could be in either.
My affinity skitters through my mind, and I look out around the vast clearing, seeing man-shaped shimmers, almost like heat signatures.
