“Do you want to speak to her? She can hear you,” Amara asks, holding the phone out toward me. I take it from her as I pull a shirt over my head and slip on some brand-new underwear.
“Hello?” I ask, concerned when he says nothing.
“You’re okay?”
“Yep,” I answer awkwardly with Amara’s eyes roaming over my bare legs, making me self-conscious.
“I will come to get you soon. And stay away from my sister,” Thaddeus snaps.
Amara grabs the phone from my hand. “She is fine. I promise to take good care of her,” Amara purrs at him. I can feel his rage hit me through the bond.
“Amara, I am warning you. Hang on; I have another call coming through.” He is silent for a second and then he speaks again. “Why is Bianca calling?”
“You better take that; I know it is important.”
I hear him sigh.
“Fine. Hands-off, Amara, and I am sending Orion to get her,” he tells her and hangs up the phone.
The thought of Orion coming to get me makes me queasy because that means we will be running. Amara puts her phone on the charger, hops in her bed and taps the space beside her. I climb in, a little worried after Thaddeus said I should stay away from her.
“Why does your aunt think my scent is familiar?” I ask her.
“Because supernaturals only have to smell a scent once and they won’t forget it, like how humans get Deja vu; that’s what your scent did to her and my father,” she answers.
“So, do you know why?” I ask, wondering if she has the answer, seeing as she can see the past and future.
“Yes, but it is best left alone for now. Thaddeus can answer that when he comes here.”
“But Orion is coming to get me,” I tell her.
“That doesn’t mean I will let him leave with you, Evelyn. If Thaddeus wants you, he will have to come to get you. It’s about time our family reunites,” she tells me.
Letting her words sink in, I ask another question that has been eating at me ever since Thaddeus said it. It makes me worry about exactly how safe I am with his sister. “Why did Thaddeus say to stay away from you?” I ask, getting comfy.
“He worries for no reason. If I wanted you, I would have you,” she says, not adding anything else as she flicks the lamp off. The room is plunged into darkness. I find the aromatic smell of lavender in the air quite relaxing, and it doesn’t take long to fall asleep.
T
haddeus
As soon as I hang up on Amara, I call out to Orion. He walks over, looking bored.
“Go get Evelyn. She is at mom and dad’s,” I tell him, and he nods wordlessly, already turning around to get his coat. Ryland walks over to me where I am leaning against the kitchen counter. He presses his body against mine, and I instantly relax as his scent overwhelms my senses.
“You know Amara won’t hurt her,” he tells me as he kisses my collarbone.
I groan and grip his chin to kiss him. His tongue instantly darts into my mouth, making me moan. One thing about Evelyn is that she is making me sexually frustrated. Holding myself back and being gentle is an unnatural experience for me. I want to mate with her, but at the same time, I know she will give in when she goes into heat.
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I want Amara around her when she goes into heat,” I tell him.
Orion walks out to join us. He kisses Ryland on the cheek and when he is about to give the same kiss to me, I rip him towards me, forcing my tongue in his mouth. He kisses me back just as forcefully and passionately until he pulls away from me.
“You better call Bianca back,” he says, right as he walks out the door to retrieve our mate.
Sighing, I pull the phone back out of my pocket. My eyes scan the screen until I find Bianca’s number and hit the dial. I place the phone to my ear, and she answers after the first ring.
“Finally, Thaddeus. Why didn’t you answer?” she asks, and I can hear the concern in her voice.
“Sorry, I am dealing with Amara kidnapping my mate,” I snap back.
“She is fine; she is asleep with Amara,” Bianca tells me, worrying me even more. I don’t like the idea of them sleeping in the same bed.
“What did you call for?” I ask, already tired and wanting to get this conversation over with.
“I actually called about Evelyn.”
“What about her?”
“I recognized her scent, and so did your father.”
“So, what’s bad about that?” I ask, growing confused.
“How old is Evelyn?” Bianca asks me, making me wonder where she is going with this.
“Twenty-one, why?”
“Where were you twenty-one years ago, Thaddeus?”
“Geez, Bianca, I don’t know. I don’t keep track of every place I go,” I tell her. As much as I love and respect Bianca, she’s starting to annoy me with the stupid questions.
“Well, I will answer that for you, then. I couldn’t recognize where I had got her scent, before your father recognized her as well.”
“And?” I ask when she goes quiet.
“You destroyed the town just outside of Parse. Your father and I were tracking you. We were trying to catch up to you as you decimated that town.”
“Your point, Bianca? I ain’t got all night.”
“Fine. We heard a baby crying amongst the rubble when we came through that town. Your father and I dug through it and came across a man and a woman – dead. It was some old house on the outskirts of the town. We only stopped when we heard the cries. Since the man and woman were both dead, we took the baby. We took her to a convent and left her in a basket in front of the small cathedral.”
My blood runs cold as her words set in. What are the chances of coming across a baby, and not just any baby, but my mate?