He had photos of us.
Photos that had been taken years ago, long before Mom died, before the kidnapping. My instincts about Lucas Watson had been right from the start. I fucking knew that there was something wrong with the way he suddenly wormed himself into our lives.
He lied to all of us.
It had me wondering if what he had told Ariana were true or not. Had his mother really taught him how to fight and about Lycans?
There was a possibility that Lucas was exactly like Conner.
But then why had he saved Ariana and why was he going through so much trouble to assure her safety?
*Because he’s her mate. Because he’s your mate. *
I pursed my lips as I turned into the drive.
If I wasn’t so aware of the mate pull, I would’ve thought that he had lied about that too.
Halfway up the drive, I switched the lights off. My heartbeat increased the closer we got to the house. I hoped that everybody was still asleep so they wouldn’t see us pulling up to the house.
It had been a mistake to go to his house without taking anybody with us. Things could’ve gone differently. I shuddered as I thought of how easily Samuel could have overpowered us.
*Yeah, look where that stupid mistake got you. Now you have a dead body you need to take care of. *
Parking the car in the same spot it had been in when we took it, I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath which I slowly blew out.
Lucas had asked Ariana to get the first-aid kit because he knew that his stepfather wasn’t going to get up again. Ariana had unknowingly killed him. Should we tell her? I wanted too but he had made a good point by pointing out how badly she would handle it.
“Eva?”
I squeezed my eyes closed for a few seconds before I got out and walked over to her side of the car. My eyes instantly dropped to her lap when I opened the door.
Lucas was unconscious but his chest rose and fell softly in a steady rhythm. The relief that flooded me when I realized that he was going to be okay, made me frown.
After what I found, I shouldn’t be feeling anything.
“Get out,” I ordered her.
Ariana carefully raised his head and slid out of the car. “How are we going to get him inside?”
Ignoring her question, I leaned over him and slapped his cheek. Lucas’s brows furrowed but he didn’t wake up, so I repeated my action but slapped him a little harder.
“Stop!” Ariana hissed as she grabbed my arm.
I pushed her aside. “He needs to wake up,” I told her.
“He’s passed out!”
Ariana grabbed hold of my arm again and managed to pull me a few steps back. I glared at her.
“He’s too heavy for us to manage on our own.”
“I’ll wake him.” She took a step towards the car but I stopped her. “Let me do it, Eva.”
“There’s no time for your gentle shit,” I growled.
I turned and leaned over him again. Just as I was about to slap him, Ariana gripped my shirt. I pushed her away with another low growl. She stumbled, and would’ve hit the ground if Grayson hadn’t suddenly appeared behind her. He easily caught her and gently set her aside.
“What are you doing?”
My heart dropped to my stomach when our eyes locked.
Busted!
***
“Do you have any idea how badly the two of you messed up?” Dad asked calmly from his spot on the couch.
He was beyond furious, but he was trying to stay calm for Ariana’s sake. With cheeks flushed red with colour, hands clenched into tight fists, and eyes as dark as midnight, Dad watched us.
Granddad stood near the door, frowning down at us in disapproval.
Next to me Ariana shifted, making me glance at her. Her hands were twisted in the hem of her shirt—her tell-tale sign of nervousness.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Dad growled, losing some of his restraint.
“Lucas was in trouble,” Ariana said softly.
“How do you know that?”
She swallowed loudly. “I-I just knew.”
“Ari—”
“Have you marked him?” Granddad interrupted Dad.
“No,” I answered for her. “It’s not like she actually can.”
Besides, I would’ve known if she marked him.
“There’s a lot of ways to bond with your mate without marking them.” Dad’s eyes stayed glued to Ariana for a few seconds before he looked away. “You should’ve woken us.”
“It wasn’t Eva’s fault,” Ariana said, surprising me. “I woke her up. She wanted Grayson to drive us but we couldn’t find him so I forced her to drive me.”
Dad’s lips twitched. He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. Before anything else could be said, Grayson appeared in the doorway.
A shiver of fear raced down my spine when his crimson eyes locked onto us. His top lip curled over his canines as he growled.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” he exploded.
“I—”
His low growl instantly silenced her. “You were careless! Nobody knew where you were staying and—”
“Nobody saw us,” I told him.
His eyes narrowed but he remained silent for a few seconds. “I can’t deal with you right now,” he hissed. “Go to your rooms and stay there. Your meals will be taken up to you.”
“You’re going to lock us up like prisoners?” I asked him as I jumped to my feet. “You can’t do that!”
“This is my pack, my house and until you learn to think about anybody but yourselves, you will stay in your rooms.”
“You can’t—”
“Your fucking stupidity put my pack in danger!” Grayson yelled.
“It’s going to be Eva’s pack soon, isn’t it?” Dad asked him.
Grayson’s only reply was to throw me a glare before he stormed away.
***
I glared at the woman as she walked out of the room.
We had been ordered to our rooms and Dad had been the one to escort us. He hadn’t said a word, but I could tell that he was thinking about Ariana and maybe even Lucas. Or was he thinking about Grayson’s reaction to his question?
My stomach twisted in panic when I considered the possibility of Dad actually finding out that I lied. I knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, essentially when Oliver was killed.
Nobody would find out if Lucas disappeared from our lives.
I frowned as I started pacing. My mind was racing with different ways to get rid of him.
The only thing I could think of at the moment was to expose him. Dad wouldn’t allow him anywhere near Ariana if he found out about the pictures.
My steps slowed and came to a sudden stop when I remembered the fact that we had a dead body to get rid of too.
I could tell Dad about it and then casually mention the pictures but then we would have to give them explanations.
There was no guarantee that Dad would be the one to go to the house either. He could mention it to Grayson and since it was his territory, Grayson could easily take over.
Would Grayson tell us about the pictures if he found them?
The low growl that came from my stomach reminded me of the breakfast that had been delivered a few minutes ago.
I needed to go back to Lucas’s house to get those photos before anybody else found them.
And take care of the body.
I took a seat on the edge of the bed and stared at the closed door. All I had to do was wait until it was dark enough to sneak out and go back there.