We sat back down, and I dove right in, telling them all about the job the Premier had hired me to do, how Sage’s scent and picture had affected me from the beginning, and that it wasn’t until I’d smelled her perfume without the charm that I recognized who she was. But by then, Victor had claimed she was his, and there was nothing I could do.
My dad listened to the whole story with his eyes closed and arms crossed, grunting and nodding his head along occasionally.
“But how can he think she’s his mate?” Maia asked from beside me.
I told them my theory, the one I’d come up with at the bar with Garrick. Only unlike my werewolf handler, neither of them thought it sounded so far fetched.
“The bond Corvane’s claiming has got to be fucked up if she ran,” Maia said. “So whether it’s the heart or something else, you’re right—they aren’t true mates.”
“You may be a disappointment, but I don’t think you’re stupid enough to mistake something like this,” my dad added.
I couldn’t keep the sneer off my face. “Gee, thanks.”
My sister had always been in my corner, but I had to admit I was a little surprised my dad wasn’t skeptical, at least in this. Even if mate bonds were sacred, he was hardly one to hold anything above reproach.
I knew it was too soon to think the hard part was over, though. He would never help anyone, even his own son, out of the goodness of his heart.
So I braced myself for his conditions.
“Alright, so you’ll need some assistance in getting her out of his clutches,” he said, stroking his chin as he thought. “Considering she already ran once, I’m going to assume he’ll be moving her location soon.”
“If I were afraid my not-a-mate would try to escape again from my hidden apartment, I’d want them as close as possible at all times, so I could keep a better eye on them.” Maia tapped her fingers on her leg as she thought. “He’s probably going to take her to the Premier’s Mansion.”
“Extraction from the Mansion is going to take some serious manpower and planning,” my dad continued. “We’ll need to know the layout, where he’s holding her, the schedules of Corvane and the staff…”
“Definitely can’t go in flames blazing,” Maia said. “A shoot-out with the Dragoviches atThe Sugar Palaceis one thing, but this is a Premier on his home turf. We need to get inside undetected. I’ll see if I can’t find us an opening.”
Maia was so much better at this than me.
Because if I hadn’t had Garrick holding me back, I would have been dumb enough to challenge Victor to a fight right then and there in his apartment. I was strong, but even in his weakened state, he was still the strongest vampire in Lundaria.
The room was silent for a moment, and then my dad grunted. “Well, this probably explains what happened to Ulfic.”
I looked up in confusion. “Wait… Corvane was involved in that?” I’d heard that Ulfic was found dead in Noctis but had always figured the alpha’d partied a bit too hard and had left it at that.
He grunted again. “Corvane was the one who killed him, only I’d never known how or why. But a mate bond certainly explains how he was strong enough to rip an alpha werewolf apart. And probably why, too. Ulfic must have discovered his secret.”
I cursed myself for not seeing it sooner. “Not just that, he attacked her. She’s covered in werewolf bites.”
Seeing all of her scars, knowing the pain she must have been in… fuck, I felt like even more of a failure. Even if it had happened before I’d known her. I couldn’t believe how much of my life had been wasted, both here and out there chasing low-level scammers and crooks, when I should have been looking for her.
Maia shivered in disgust. “Fuck, I can’t even imagine. That poor woman. I mean, not that I wanna defend Corvane at all, but I kinda get why he’s been keeping her in hiding if that was the kind of shit he was trying to protect her from.”
The growl that escaped my chest shook the room, and she held up her empty hands to placate me, bowing her head insubmission. “Sorry, sorry. She’s your mate, I get it. She shouldn’t have been locked up in the first place.”
My dad, however, couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “I have to say, I’m pleased to see your mate’s awakened your alpha dynamic, son. Because it’s about time you embraced it.”
My sister and I both tensed, readying ourselves for whatever was coming next.
“You’re asking for a lot, but I’m willing to help you, as long as you finally return here afterwards and continue as my number two, preparing to take over when I’m ready to retire.”
“Figures,” Maia grumbled under her breath.
It was as much as I’d feared, but no less than what I’d expected. I’d never wanted this life, but if it was between my freedom and Sage, I was choosing Sage.
“Fine,” I replied, starting to rise. “So let’s—”
“Ah, not so fast.”
