“Oh, my God.” Caitlin’s tea cup clattered to the floor, the liquid seeping into the deep blue carpet. “I think I know why they did it.”
“Changed their name?” Eli sat up a little straighter.
“All of it.” She reached for Liam’s hand, bringing it to her heart as her knuckles whitened. “The Thirteen were so angry when Fergus couldn’t work the spell to take an elemental’s power a second time. They compelled him to their…compound, I guess ya’d call it…and he shoved me in the boot of his car and brought me with him.”
“Breathe, luv.” Liam pressed a kiss to her temple. “He’s gone and he’ll never touch ya’ again.”
“I know.” Her eyes held so much love for the beta wolf, and she swallowed hard and returned her gaze to Eli. “I don’t know how long we were there. Days. They locked us in this dark cell underground when they weren’tpunishin’us for failin’.”
What did this have to do with his parents? He wanted to ask Caitlin to get to the point, but the air elemental was so shaken, he kept his mouth shut.
“It must have been a full day or more,” Caitlin said, “when someone finally brought us water. A man. In his mid-to-late-forties, maybe. I begged him to help me, to help us, but he shook his head. That’s when I saw his eyes. They were blank. Just like Fergus’s when the Thirteen compelled him.”
Eli held his breath, afraid he knew exactly what she was going to say next.
“That man was your father, Eli. I’d bet my life on it.”
Chapter Nineteen
Eli
His father had been with the Thirteen. Even hours later, after Farren had demanded he rest—in her bed—he was still reeling. He tried to stay awake, to sift through his memories in the hopes he could find some reason—any reason—for his father to be working for the Thirteen. To be their what? Prisoner? Servant? Puppet?
Not long after the sun went down, Farren slipped into the room and lay down next to him. “I need you,preciosa,” he whispered. Gathering her close, he ran his hands down her back to cup her arse, and she groaned.
“Shite, Eli. The moon is so close.”
Their connection was the only thing holding him together. “Touching you makes me feel whole again, even though everything we learn, all the spells I try, each new mark on my body takes another piece of me.”
“We have time. Until morning. No longer.” Easing herself on top of him, she kissed him, offering him exactly what he needed without words. Their coupling was slow, tender, and beautiful, and Eli took his time tasting her, tracing patterns on her clit as he pumped his fingers inside her slick heat. When she keened his name, he heard so much more than her release. He heard her heart. She’d given herself over to him completely, and he suspected Farren Denair had never planned to do anything of the sort. With anyone.
After they were both spent but nowhere near sated, he drew the blankets around them while she skimmed her fingers over his chest, soothing the twinges of pain from the new markings he’d taken on this morning.
“Mara suggested we try a casting at six,” Farren said softly. “The moon will be at her apex then, which could bring about extra power. We should head downstairs soon.”
“I wish we could stay here. In bed. Just like this.” Pressing a kiss to her neck, he relished the tiny sound, almost a whimper, that escaped her lips. “But that won’t protect Mara or help me find my da’. If he’s even still alive. Still…himself.”
“Fergus had moments of clarity,” Farren said. “Durin’ the hours he worked on me, carvin’ that feckin’ sigil into my side, he’d swing from truly mad to almost…sane. Full of regret, knowin’ exactly what he’d done—what he was doin’. If yer father was—is—under the Thirteen’s control like Fergus was…all we have to do is break whatever spell they’re usin’ to compel him. I can’t say what his mind will be like after so many years, but if he’s alive, we’ll free him.”
Eli buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent, memorizing it in case he couldn’t give her the promise she needed in the morning. He wanted to. His every instinct was telling him to accept the mating. Caitlin had shared her story with him this morning to distract him from the pain. How she’d almost mated with Liam eleven years ago. But then Fergus had come for her. How even after Katerina had locked her memories away, given her a new name, she’d still known that something in her life had been missing. How she’d eventually found her way back to Liam.
“Elementals, we don’t feel the matin’ as strongly as werewolves do. But the signs are there, if ya’ look for them.”
“What signs?” he asked.
“Trust yer own heart, Eli. When ya’ realize ya’ need Farren like ya’ need yer next breath, that’s when ya’ can be sure.”
He already felt that way. Perhaps even more since learning about his father. But was that his own pain getting in the way?
“Eli?” Farren wriggled until her back was against the headboard and waited for him to join her. “I know ye’re not ready. Werewolves…I told ya’ how my wolf is a part of me and I’m a part of her?”
He nodded, sensing her emotions so easily. How she struggled to give him what he’d asked for when her need was almost overwhelming her.
“On the full moon, she’s at her strongest, and even though I can remain in this form, her instincts are so easy to give in to. But Icanfight them. I’ve a bag packed, and if we’re not off to Scotland, I’ll keep out of yer way. Sleep at my office or shift and let my wolf run all night long. What I’m tryin’ to say is that I won’t abandon ya’. Ever. For the rest of my life, I’m yers, even if ya’ decide ya’ don’t want me.”
God, he ached to tell her not to worry. That he’d mate with her and spend the rest of his life wanting her. Could he? Even without knowing what tomorrow held for either of them?
He took her hands, so much smaller than his own, and marveled at the contrast. Hers were soft, delicate, pale. His were weathered and rough from his work and carried the rich, dusky bronze of his father’s skin tone. Despite being from different worlds, despite not knowing werewolves had existed three days ago, he felt more himself with Farren than he had in his entire life.
