59|Are You Ready

59|Are You Ready
~Serena~

Crimson liquid swirled towards the drain, a contrast to the pearl white shower floor at Spade’s apartment. 

I don’t know how I got here, but I know where I’ve been. Alister is dead, for real now, and he can’t come back from the dead anymore, but the bastard didn’t leave without ripping my heart into pieces.

My daughter is alive.

Was it really just a plot? Alister would spit out any lies just to save his skin.

The skin on my fingers was wrinkled from staying too long under the shower. The water had gone cold and run clear a long time ago. The stain of Alister’s blood on my fingers was history.

I turned the shower off and dried my skin, stepping out to my room with the towel wrapped around my body. My stomach growled as I got dressed in a white loose shirt and joggers. The clothes I brought with me for the job of finding whoever killed the girls at Alpha Seth’s pack were still inside my duffle bag. I stared at it, lost in my thoughts. 

Who would’ve thought of a scheme like Alister did? He killed those girls, copied the MO of the case I solved in The North, just to drag me here.

My stomach growled again, and it was my only motivation to come out of my room and search for food. I was so lost in my head that I didn’t feel Declan come here. He was sitting on the barstool with Spade in the kitchen, and a handful of bottles of beer dotted the kitchen island.

Both men turned in my direction, their eyes blown wide with worry. It’s still a strange sight to see these two in one room without Declan trying to rip Spade’s head off. The first time Declan was here, he looked like a wound rope, ready to snap with one wrong word from Spade. When did they become besties? Is Declan not jealous of Spade anymore? I don’t know if this was a good thing for me or not.

I shrugged their concerned looks off and went to the fridge, rummaging for anything I could fill my stomach with. 

“Alpha Seth had sent us our payment,” Spade murmured as the doorbell rang. “We ordered in so we could celebrate.” The comical excitement in his voice was meant for me. Real Spade. Like an older brother urging his younger sibling to try to forget about their problem for a while and eat like kings. He always said that food and booze could make any problem go away.

The scent of pepperoni, cheese, and pineapples instantly permeated the air when Spade opened the door. The vegetables inside the fridge, which I was eyeing, suddenly appeared bland to me.

I sighed and straightened up, turned to watch Spade lay out four boxes of pizza and six Chinese takeout boxes.

“Take three beers from the fridge,” Spade beckoned me. “Declan was boring me to death. I’m glad you finally came out.”

I rolled my eyes at him and followed suit, bringing three cold bottles of beer to the glass coffee table.

It felt like it was an eternity ago when I last sat on this couch. We were still trying to understand who killed those girls, and now we already know who did it, our bank accounts are a hundred thousand dollars fatter.

We stuffed our mouths with food for a while and talked about things that didn’t really matter. For a moment, we were three people who were just eating pizza and Chinese takeout, and not shifters who just solved a case of girls with drained blood and bite marks on their necks.

“I’m going to bed,” Spade said once we finished the food on the table. The foods were divided equally into three. It felt like I hadn’t eaten in days, and my tummy still had space for beer.

‘Are you going to be alright?’ Spade murmured through the mind link.

It was time for Declan and me to discuss things, and Spade was giving us the space that we needed. ‘I’m good,’ I replied.

“Good night then,” Spade said and headed for his room. ‘I’ll be in the city. Call me if you need anything,’ he informed me before he jumped out of the balcony of his room.

He could’ve used the elevator like a decent human being. It’s not like Declan wouldn’t hear him jumping out of his balcony, but Spade would be Spade. He’d do things that made him look cool in his POV.

Declan and I sat across from one another. He was on the last of his beer bottles. I lost count of how many bottles I had drunk already, but I still don’t feel the alcohol’s effect on me. “You need a refill?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

He came back with two beers, then sank back in his seat with a sigh. “Are you ready to talk?”

I looked up at him, tracing the insides of my teeth with the tip of my tongue. “I think so, yes.”

Declan mulled over what he wanted to talk about. “What are the chances that our daughter is still alive?”

I wasn’t surprised that that was how he wanted to set the tone of this conversation. He handled himself so well. My revelation was intended to hurt him, but he didn’t respond as I was expecting him to.

“10-90,” I mumbled. Alister is one scheming bastard, and he probably blabbered that lie just to mess with my head. He knew that I would kill him, no matter what he said to me.

“I’d take that 10 percent chance,” Declan said. “I don’t have much time left in this world, but I would spend my remaining days searching for our daughter.”

He meant those words not to swoon his way to complete the mate bond, but as a father who didn’t have the chance to save his pup five years ago. It was in his eyes, and it swirled into our connection. Declan might not have been a good husband to me, but I am sure he’d be a good father.

“What about this Kaya?” he asked. “Do you know where she could be?”

I lowered my gaze at the beer bottle in my hand, playing with the perspiration on the crystal. “I have no idea where she could be. She should be dead by now, like Alister.”

The wheels on Declan’s mind shifted loudly. “I will use all my connections to find her. Just give me any details you have of Kaya, and I will try to find our daughter.”

Heart racing in my chest, I gaze up at him. “We will find our daughter,” I said. Declan gaped at me, his ocean eyes hesitating. “I want to find out the truth.”

“We need to work double time,” Declan murmured. He had already accepted that I would never complete the bond with him.

“No, we don’t,” I mumbled. “We need to plan our moves meticulously if we are to find Kaya. And for the sake of finding our daughter, I will let you mark me.”