After having a long hot shower, I sit on the bed while drying my hair as Ryna brings in a tray with bacon, eggs, and coffee and sets it on the bed in front of me.
“I figured you’d be hungry. Enyo refused to eat unless we let her out,” he says as he steals a piece of bacon.
“What’s been happening while I’ve been… busy?” I ask with a flush, embarrassed by Enyo and the side effects of going into heat.
“Nothing much, really,” he shrugs, taking another piece of bacon.
“Hey! You should have gotten some for yourself if you were hungry!” I laugh as I take the tray away from him.
“I wasn’t hungry until I smelt yours,” he says, pouting.
I burst out laughing at his distraught expression. “Here,” I say, handing him the plate of bacon back.
“Thank you,” he says with a grin.
‘*What happened with Alpha Damon and Alpha Costas? Do we know anything more*?’ I mind-link.
‘*Gino couldn’t get into the club without being seen. They met for about two hours, and then Alpha Costas left. Alpha Damon stayed for another hour before he left to return to the territory*.’
‘*What was he doing for the other hour*?’ I ask, confused.
Ryna shrugs. ‘*No idea. Gino didn’t see anyone else go in*.’
‘*Hmm. Okay. What about Noah and John*?’
‘*Noah’s fine. The Doc checked on John again. He’s healing okay. We do need to decide what to do with him, though. We can’t hold him forever*.’
‘*Do you know if he has family we could send him to*?’ I ask, taking a large drink of coffee.
‘*He mentioned his grandmother lives in Georgia. We could send him down there*?’
‘*This could be a good opportunity to get Noah out of harm’s way as well,*’ I suggest. ‘*We could ask him to take him*.’
He nods in agreement. ‘*I’ll get Gamma to set it up. He should be able to get them out with no one knowing*.’
I sigh with delight as I start eating the scrambled eggs, starving from not eating for three days.
‘*We need to talk about something*…’ Ryna says, a serious expression on his face.
‘*What is it*?’
‘*Your roar*…’
‘*What about it*?’ I ask, confused.
‘*I’ve never heard anyone roar like that. No one has. Enyo’s roar caused structural damage to the bunker. Noah even heard it all the way up at the cabin, and it’s piqued Alpha’s interest*.’
‘*I don’t know what to tell you, Ryna. I’ve only done it once before, when I received the video of Andreas and I found out we lost Doctor Shields*,’ I explain.
‘*I remember, but this one was bigger. Could it be because of the chosen stuff*?’
‘*It could be, but I honestly don’t know. What did Alpha Damon say*?’
‘*It wasn’t what he said, but how he acted. He looked scared. And I wasn’t the only one that noticed. He was in the main room of the bunker, talking with some of the senior warriors. Then, when you roared, his face paled, and he backed away from the door like it was on fire and almost fell over himself running from the room. Since then, he’s kept his distance, but he’s had Beta Michael keeping an eye on you*.’
‘*Why would he be scared? He’s the Alpha*.’
‘*I don’t know, Athena. But none of the other warriors acted like he did when you roared. Tony overheard some of the warriors talking, and they felt like he showed weakness. They’re not sure if he’s Alpha material. And him not coming to training for months isn’t doing him any favors. An Alpha should be there training harder than any of us*.’
‘*I wonder what that’s about. Does Beta Michael attend training*?’
‘*More than Alpha Damon, but not as much as a Beta should be, either*.’ ‘*I don’t get it. Do they think they’re untouchable? And now this meeting with Alpha Costas. It’s all so bizarre*.’
‘*Agreed. We all need to be on high alert and watch our backs. Are you still going to take the Delta position*?’
‘*I think now more than ever that it’s a good idea that I do. Something is going on here, and I want to know what it is*.’
‘*I agree. You should see if you can meet with Alpha and start as soon as possible. It would be a good chance to see if he says anything about what happened*.’
“I’ll go and find Laura and see if he’s available,” I say as I finish the last of my coffee and eggs.
“I’ll take this back down to the kitchen,” Ryna says, and puts everything back on the tray. “There might be more bacon.”
“You’re gonna get a bacon belly if you keep eating like that,” I laugh as I follow him to the door.
“I’ll go for a run and burn it off, okay, Mom?” He laughs.
“Be back before dinner, darling,” I mock him, kissing him on the cheek, and then I head to the stairs at the other end of the hall and go down to Laura’s office.
When I knock on the closed door, I hear muffled voices and furniture scraping. After a few moments, I hear Laura call for me to come in. I slowly open the door, the musky smell of arousal fills the air, and her small office looks messy, with papers and pens on the floor from her desk.
“Is everything okay, Laura?” I ask as I bend down to help her pick up some of the things on the floor.
“Yes, Athena, thank you,” she says as she stands up, places papers on the desk, and straightens her skirt and top.
“Are you sure? I could have sworn I heard someone else in here.” Setting the rest of the papers on the desk, I step back, looking Laura over. I realize she’s missed doing up a couple of buttons at her bust, and I clear my throat and point it out to her.
“Oh, Goddess, how embarrassing,” her face flushes as she buttons up her blouse. “Yes, I’m fine. I was just…”
I put my hand up to stop her. “You don’t need to explain,” I smile. “I was just wondering if I could speak to Alpha Damon sometime today?” I ask.
Her face reddens further, and she opens something on her computer. “He’s available at three. Does that work?”
“Yes, that’s fine. Thank you, Laura,” I smile and turn to leave, but I catch the faint scent of someone else in the room and look over at the closet. I stop for a moment and listen, and I hear another heartbeat besides mine and Laura’s. I take another deep breath through my nose and realize the scent is familiar. I turn my head back to Laura and smile. “See you later!” I wave and leave her office.
I rush over to the small supply closet at the end of the hall and close it just enough so that I can see out, and then I wait. Ten minutes later, I see Laura’s office door open, and Alpha Damon comes out and walks across to his office.
‘That bastard. What kind of Alpha cheats on his mate?’ I think angrily. Listening for a moment to make sure no one is coming, then I leave the supply closet. I look at my watch, and it’s only 12 p.m., so I decide to head up to the cabin and see Noah.
#
“I wonder if Luna Cassia knows,” I say to Noah.
He takes a sip of his coffee, then says, “She should. If you could smell him in the office, she’s probably smelt her on him. But not just that, she’d be able to feel it through the mate bond.”
“That poor girl…”
We sit in silence for a few moments, the sound of the crackling fire filling the room of the cabin. I take a deep breath, place my coffee on the table, and turn my attention to John, who is sitting on the old couch by the fire. “So, John. Ryna said that you have a grandmother in Georgia?”
“Yeah…” he says, unsure of where the conversation is heading.
“When’s the last time you saw her?” I ask.
“It’s been a few years. My mother didn’t get along with her. Why do you ask?”
“You can’t stay here forever, and we can’t risk you getting back in with Derek,” I explain. “You’re going to end up dead. So, I thought we could get you to Georgia and get you away from all of this.”
His eyes light up, and he smiles widely. “Seriously? You’re going to let me go?”
“As long as you promise me you will stay out of the hunter world,” I warn. “You have to keep your nose clean and get your life on track.”
“I promise you, Athena. The only reason I was with Derek was because I had nowhere else to go. I don’t want that life. I don’t want to be the person I was turning into,” he says seriously.
“It’s settled then. Alex will organize to get you and Noah to Georgia,” I smile.
“Can I talk to you outside, Athena?” Noah asks.
I nod, and we stand up from the table and go out into the fresh snow. “What’s up?” I ask.
“Why am I going to Georgia?”
“I want you out of danger as well, Noah. We don’t know if Derek or Alpha Damon know about you, and his is the best way I can think of to keep you safe.”
“No. I’m not leaving,” he growls.
“You have to. Please, Noah. If anything happened to you because of me, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”
He stares at me for a moment, then nods. “Fine. I will do this because you’ve asked me to. But I promise you, Athena. I will return,” he says defiantly.
“What? No. I can’t have that. You need to stay as far away from this place as possible.”
“I have to return, Athena. I don’t know what it is, but my instincts are telling me to protect you. To follow you. That my place is here, with you.”
“What? Noah…” I trail off awkwardly.
“Not like that,” he laughs softly. “You exude this power that is… exhilarating. Being around you has opened up parts of me again that I thought were dead and buried after I lost Sara and the baby. So, I will take John to Georgia and return as soon as possible, because I don’t know what the Moon Goddess has in store for you, Athena, but I want to be around to see it,” he smiles and places his hand on my shoulder.
I sigh and return his smile. “Okay, Noah. If that’s what you want, I will accept that.”
He hugs me hard and kisses my temple. “Andreas may not have been my brother by blood, but he was my brother. You were his mate, and that makes you my sister, Athena. You have amazed me in the short time I’ve known you, and you’re stuck with me, kiddo.”
I squeeze him hard, tears streaming down my face. “Thank you, Noah.”