Everything is the matter right now, but I shake my head. “No, I’m fine.” I send him some assurance down our bond and cross the room to press a kiss to his temple. “I promise. You go ahead. I’ve got a hacker to track down first,” I say with a smile.
I find Simon where I usually find him: in the library hunched over his laptop. There have been ten more missing persons reports in the last day, and five altercations in the streets when the armed squads stole omegas away from their packs. Even with proof that they were mated, the omegas were still taken off the streets.
“Simon?” I drift into the room as he looks up from his laptop. “Cass needs us. Saints know he’d neversayso, but he does. Will you come to my nest?”
Simon snaps his laptop shut. “You’re right. I’ve been so focused I’ve barely felt him through our bonds lately.”
“He’s been locking my bond with him down. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s doing the same with yours.”
Simon shakes his head with a frown. “Damn it, Cass. Yes, let’s go.”
We find Cassian already in my nest, standing amid the blankets and gazing around the cozy space, though his expression is blank. He’s still hiding from us, still keeping his emotions out of our bonds.
Simon and I approach him slowly and drag him down to the mattress of my nest, each taking a side of him. I curl up in front of him, while Simon rests his head on his shoulder and loops his arm around Cassian’s waist.
“Cass,” I say, looking up into his dark eyes. “You’re safe here, with us. Please, for all our sakes, just… just let go.”
A few tears streak down his cheeks, but he shakes his head. “I can’t. If I do, that makes it all the more real.”
“You’re allowed to be scared,” Simon says quietly.
Cassian swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I am. I’m so scared for my family. And I feel bad because it’s all I can think of some days. But you both need me.”
“And you need us,” I reply, tracing his jaw with my fingertips, leaving my honey and vanilla scent behind on his skin. “We’ve both been remiss as mates lately, but we both love you so damn much.”
Cassian squeezes his eyes shut against the threat of tears as I wipe away the few he’s already shed with my fingertips. He shudders at the touch, and that’s all it takes. He weeps in our arms until he has no tears left to cry, shaking as he clings to both of us as though we’d float away otherwise.
“Love you,” Simon murmurs to our mate, long after Cassian’s tears have dried.
“Love you more,” I tease gently.
“Oh, is that how it’s going to be, then?” Simon asks archly. “I think kisses are the only way to settle this.”
“You’re on,” I challenge Simon, an impish smirk on my face.
Cassian laughs at that, and the sound is so welcome that I nearly weep.
I spendmy Friday morning being tutored by my generous professors. They’re patient with me as I scramble to catch up, giving me the time and instruction I need to further my understanding of the material. I appreciate their help more than they’ll ever know, though I express my gratitude effusively.
Professor Grafton waves me off. “We’re just doing our jobs, Miss Rose. Our job is to teach, and so we teach. You’re making admirable progress already. That alone is reward enough for spending extra time on your lessons.”
Though I’ve vowedto be brave and steal information from my father’s head, I’m tense as Marcus, Cassian, Ian and I make our way across campus to where Magical Medicinals is being held. Ian and Cassian send reassurances down our bonds, but it does little to quell my fears.
I steel myself, biting my lower lip. I can do this. I can take what we need to fight back from my father. This is the moment I’ve been training for. I’ve spent hours upon hours training to read reticent minds, all in pursuit of reading my father. I skim his thoughts the moment I walk in the door and am rewarded immediately: his success rate is improving, and he’s proud.
I gasp at that, and my father turns to me, a wry, wickedsmile on his face. “More than you bargained for? I think you’ll see that I am. So good to see you again, daughter.”
Ian lets out a low growl, staring my father down as Marcus and Cassian move to stand in front of me.
My father raises a blond brow as I slip into his thoughts again.
Your pitiful pack won’t be able to protect you forever. I will have your affinity for Baphomet’s Prince, or you’ll die in the process.
I recoil and quickly take my seat beside Alyssa. My father huffs out a laugh and shakes his head.
This is too easy.
By the time we’ve reached our practicum, I’m exhausted from trying to read him, digging deep into his mind. But I don’t slip from his head empty-handed. Twenty-one alphas have been granted stolen affinities. The Prince intends to raise his army when they total fifty. Fifty affinitied commanders for his brutal army. My father knows that it’s a longer timeline than the Prince wanted, but he’s been so pleased with my father’s progress. If only he had my affinity, too…
