Chapter 28

Kade was gone.

Thalia barely registered the mobile phone falling from her fingers and clattering to the floor or her legs giving out underneath her. Kade was gone. He was dead and Thalia had been clueless.

She had barely known him and yet Thalia's heart was shattering like thousands of pieces of glass. The agony of loss radiated through her like a bullet wound, bleeding poison into her veins and paralysing her mind. It didn't feel real. They had only just found each other against all the odds and now Kade had been snatched away.

Thalia remembered the last morning Kade had been here, the warmth of his lips on hers as he kissed her goodbye and how he promised he would be back. His large hand had cupped her cheek and she had fallen into those grey eyes willingly. She had wanted to remember every little detail about them while also hoping that time would pass quickly so she could gaze into her mate's eyes again.

Now she would never see him again. She would never get to listen to his heartbeat or run her fingers through his hair. Kade was gone and Thalia was now truly alone in the world.

At some point tears had begun to fall. Fat salty droplets rolled unrelentingly down Thalia's cheeks to soak her top. The initial shock wore off then and a scream of grief ripped out of Thalia, body slumping down onto the floor as she sobbed. She wasn't sure how long she lay there, letting the tears fall as the gravity of the situation sank in. Her body had fallen still and yet her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, each tumbling away until all that remained was the singular thought playing over and over again like a broken record.

Kade was gone.

Her fingers slowly moved towards the abandoned mobile phone that lay beside her. Before she could process what she was doing, Thalia was typing in a number that she had forced herself to remember over the years but hadn't yet called. She wasn't even sure if the number still worked but it was all Thalia had left. She had no mate, she was still in danger of being found by Dante and she was pregnant with twins. She couldn't stay here much longer and she didn't even know if she would be accepted by her mate's pack and she wasn't ready to find out.

Someone answered the phone after just two rings.

"Parakaló?" The male voice grunted, oozing authority and professionalism.

"Bampás?" Thalia whimpered, fresh hot tears filling her eyes.

"Pios íne, parakaló?"

"Bampás, it's me. Thalia."

"Thalia?" Alpha Castor Georgiou sounded shocked, the very breath in his lungs purged at the sound of his daughter's voice. "Goddess above, is it really you?"

"It is." Thalia replied, sniffling as the familiar voice of her father began to soothe her heartache.

“Oh my sweet girl!” Castor rejoiced, voice thick with emotion. “Where are you? Your brothers and I will come and get you.”

“You can’t.” Thalia whispered. “I’m not in Greece anymore. I don’t think I’ve been in Greece for some time now.”

“Then where are you?”

Thalia wanted to blurt it all out. She wanted to tell her father where she was and what happened. She wanted him and her brothers to come rescue her and take her home where she could live out her days in quiet peace. She wanted to tell them how she had met mate but that he had been cruelly snatched from her before they could complete the bond. She wanted to tell him he was going to be a grandfather. But she couldn’t do any of those things. If she told her family about the babies and her location then she would be putting them in danger. What if Dante found out she was alive and used her family and pack to lure out? Already calling her father was too much but she had so desperately wanted to hear a familiar voice.

“Thalia?”

“I don’t know exactly.” Thalia replied, trying to force some brightness into her voice. “North of England I think. I’m at some caravan park but that’s all I know. You can’t come and get me. It’s too dangerous.”

“But we can protect you. Your brothers can protect you.” Castor urged.

“It’s too dangerous.” Thalia repeated. “There are forces much deadlier and stronger than us involved and I won’t let anyone be hurt because of me. I just wanted to tell you that I’m okay. I got away and I never stopped thinking about you.”

“Will you stay in touch at least?” Castor pleaded, making Thalia’s heart break all over again.

“I will. I promise.” Thalia replied quietly.

—

“Sir?”

Lucien glanced up from his book to meet the expectant eyes of his personal assistant. The willowy young man waited until he was given permission to continue talking before taking a few steps into the large study, shadows cutting across his nervous features while his employer watched him with those eyes that gave away nothing and the slight tilt of his lips that was far from friendly.

“There’s been a development with Lieutenant Kade.” The young man started. “He’s dead.”

“Dead?” Lucien raised a dark eyebrow.

“Yes sir.” The personal assistant nodded, licking his lips nervously. “The trackers found his body just five miles off of his pack’s territory. It appears he has been shot.”

“And where is Lieutenant Kade’s body now?” Lucien asked as he closed his book and set it next to a glass of brandy on the side table.

“The trackers brought him here. He’s in the garage.”

Lucien was quiet as he rose from his seat and pulled his obsidian suit jacket back on. He only had to motion towards the door for his personal assistant to lead the way out of the splendid study and down to the large garage. Sterile light filled the space, highlighting the rows of black vehicles and the four trackers waiting patiently for their employer to arrive. None of them said a word as Lucien strode in, his eyes finding the body bag immediately as it lay in the back of one of the SUVs.

Inside, Kade’s pale corpse lay motionless, blood, dirt, bone and brain matter crusting over his white skin. There were plenty of wounds on the body from road burn, gashes and signs of broken bones but none stood out so prominently compared to the bloody hole in the middle of Kade’s forehead. Lucien had no doubt that Kade was missing half his skull if he turned him over but that didn’t really matter. They didn’t need all of him to make this work.

“We’re going on a road trip.” Lucien finally spoke, shutting the boot of the SUV and turning to look at the five expectant faces waiting for his commands. “You three will take this vehicle. Perkins, you’re with me in the other vehicle.”

Kade’s death certainly put a spanner in the works but this was a spanner that could be removed. Lucien knew just the person to help him as well and he knew it wouldn’t be very difficult to get the assistance he needed. Emotional blackmail was a brilliant thing. Of course he’d rather not be wasting time with this but as it turned out, Kade had become a rather important player in this game. Without Kade, Dante would find it easier to locate Thalia and his hybrid offspring. That couldn’t be allowed to happen unless they wanted to witness the end of humanity. Lucien might not care too much for the politics of good and bad, but he had been employed to keep the balance and he was going to do just that.

It was well past midnight by the time the two SUVs bounced and rocked over the rough and unkempt road towards the small cottage that sat alone against a sea of black. A single light glared from above the front door signalling life existed inside the rundown dwelling. Before they had even rolled to a stop, the door had opened and the harsh mean eyes of the elderly witch were boring into them, a cigarette balanced between her fingers, the burning tip glowing brighter every time a breeze caught it.

“Stop right there.” Dagmar snarled when Lucien reached the boundary of her home. “Come any closer and I’ll send you back to whatever rock you crawled out from under.”

“Now Dagmar, is that any way to greet a visitor who means you no harm?” Lucien replied, smiling lightly but with all the cheekiness of an imp. “I need your help with something.”

“Pfft!” The old witch scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not helping you, angel. Now piss off.”

“Not even if it’s to do with William?”

That had the witch’s attention, her body stilling as she regarded the man before her. She had known what he was the moment she saw him and had no doubt that he couldn’t be trusted simply because of that. However, there was an interesting amount of sincerity in the fallen-angel’s eyes to have Dagmar reconsidering. Angels were not known for letting people read them so easily so it really had to be something for this one to be letting Dagmar see his intentions written on his features so clearly.

“You can confer with your gods if you like but something tells me you already know what is happening and needs to be done.” Lucien continued. “My brother is looking to wage a war that will kill billions of people as well as dismantle the balance of good and evil as we know it. No one will be safe if he succeeds. Not even your precious gods. Lieutenant Kade can help prevent that but not if he’s dead.”

“Dead?” Dagmar barked. “What do you mean, dead?”

“Well it would appear that your ward got himself killed.” Lucien replied unapologetically. “So I was hoping you could bring him back to life.”

“Where is he now?”

“In one of the cars.” Lucien motioned. “You can see him if you’d like.”

Lucien didn’t think Dagmar would agree so he found himself somewhat surprised when the old woman stepped off the porch and made her way along the stone garden path until she was at the gate that stood between herself and the fallen angel. Lucien was only too happy to step out of the way and let the witch pass, the old woman being a bee-line for the vehicle in which the werewolf’s body lay. Sure enough, inside was Kade’s lifeless form. Lucien couldn’t help but watch curiously as Dagmar took in the sight of the male she had helped raise, now nothing but a decaying shell. He wondered if she would show any kind of emotion to the sight and yet Dagmar remained impressively stoic, her steel blue eyes and pinched mouth giving nothing away as she examined the body carefully.

When the sight had indeed been enough for her, Dagmar stepped away, walking back towards the cottage.

“Alright, bring him inside.” She glared at Lucien as she passed him. “And no funny business or you’ll regret it.”