Destiny Concealed, page 5
“I don’t know why I’m thinking about Alex now, but he consumes my every thought, every second of my day. I can’t shake him from my memories, and honestly, I hope I never do,” Saskia said, talking down into her tea.
“You think you’ve made a mistake mating Ezekiel, don’t you?” Saxon asked.
“Yes and no. Zeke is a good wolf. He treats me well. He doesn’t push me into doing anything I don’t want to do, but always at the back of my mind, I’m worried that he could change his mind about me, about deciding to stay here in Buxton. He could make us pack up and leave tomorrow, and I would have absolutely no choice in the matter.”
“And you’re worried he’d do that?”
“If he finds out about Alex, he might. I mean, I haven’t seen or heard from Alex in over a year now. I assume he’s still living in town, but maybe he’s moved somewhere else. In any case, I can’t image Zeke wanting to stay in the same city as the man I…” she paused, unsure what to say next.
Saxon took another sip from his mug after blowing gently over the surface. “What was it about Alex that attracted you so much?” he asked, seeming genuinely curious.
“I don’t know how to explain it really. His soul…spoke to mine, I guess.”
Saxon nodded, frowning a little. “I’ve never experienced that so it’s a little hard for me to understand.”
Saskia took his hand in hers and squeezed gently. “You will someday.”
He laughed gently. “I wouldn’t count on it. Our name has been tarnished permanently by our parents’ actions. I’m not expecting any female to want me.”
Saskia’s heart ached for her brother, and she was once again reminded of what a great guy he was. “So what do you think I should do?”
“Well, you could tell him and wait and see what the consequences are.”
Saskia shook her head resolutely. “I can’t. If I tell him I love Alex, he’ll move us away from Buxton for sure.”
“Or you can pull yourself together, forget about Alex and focus on the male in your life now. Zeke is honorable. He has a good bloodline and your mating has helped to repair the rift between us and our old pack.”
Saskia swallowed roughly over the lump that had formed in her throat. “What if I can’t?” she whispered, placing her mug down onto the new coffee table in front of her. “What if Alex haunts me until the day I die?”
Saxon put his mug down and took her hands into his. “Then I suggest you get very good at pretending Zeke is the only wolf for you. Let’s face facts here: Alex hasn’t contacted you in over a year. He hasn’t tried to come around and see you. He hasn’t turned up at your work. Maybe he’s respecting your decision to move on.”
She nodded, whispering, “He is an honorable male.”
Saxon squeezed her hands. “Honorable, yes, but not in your life. Don’t throw away what you have with Zeke on a hope. For all you know, he’s found another woman to share his life with.”
Saskia knew he was trying to soften the blows, but that thought had entered her head before; however, she had banished it before insidious roots of doubt could form. She let out a deep breath. “I know you’re right, Saxon, but somehow my heart and my head are telling me completely different things.”
Saxon was quiet for a moment. “Let me ask you this: who has been there for you the last year? Who has cared for you, fed you, clothed you?”
“Ezekiel, of course.”
“Then be logical about this. Alex is gone, but Ezekiel is here. Don’t throw everything away for a human.”
Saxon was right, of course. Her eyes alighted on her watch and she stood up suddenly. “Oh! I have to go,” she announced. “I’m going to be late.”
“Where are you meeting Zeke for dinner?”
“He got a reservation at Valentino’s.”
Saxon whistled through his teeth. “He’s putting in the effort.”
Saskia nodded, but she knew once she got to the restaurant, all she would be able to think about was Alex. That was where their first date had been…where their only date had been. Plastering a false smile onto her lips, Saskia collected her handbag and slipped it onto one shoulder.
“Thanks for the talk, Saxon.”
“Anytime, sis.”
She turned to leave when Saxon called her name. She faced him once more and waited.
“I just want to tell you how awful I feel for pushing you into mating Ezekiel. It was for the good of the pack, but I still feel like a bastard for doing that to you.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t anything I wasn’t prepared to do. My sense of honor would have gotten to me in the end anyway. You just shoved us along a little faster.”
Standing up onto her tiptoes, she kissed her brother on the cheek and left the apartment feeling slightly lighter than she had before. She had finally reached a conclusion. She wouldn’t tell Ezekiel everything. Why rock the boat when Alex wasn’t even in her life anymore?
Saskia arrived at Valentino’s at the same time as Zeke. She resisted the urge to pull away as he gently guided her through the restaurant, past all the other diners with eyes appreciatively appraising Zeke at her back.
“Here’s your table for the evening,” the maître d’ said, pulling Saskia’s chair out for her. Her heart beat erratically against her ribs for a second as she realized they’d been seated at the exact same table she and Alex had shared before.
“Is something wrong?” Ezekiel asked softly into her ear. She shook herself a little, shrugging off the haunting memories.
“I’m fine.” Taking the proffered seat, she turned to look at the menu that had been handed to her. Zeke took the seat opposite her so he was facing the door.
“You look nice,” he commented congenially.
Saskia glanced up from her menu. She didn’t. She was still in the dove-grey pencil skirt and scarlet blouse she’d worn to work that day. “Thank you. You do, too.”
Ezekiel smiled at her, reaching across the table to touch her fingers. Letting out a breath, she smiled back at him then resumed looking at the menu.
Their server came and took their orders and while they waited for their drinks to arrive, Saskia physically felt the uncomfortable silence settling between them. Her mate cleared his throat suddenly, drawing her eyes up to his face.
“How was your day?”
“Fine. Yours?”
He gave her a sad smile. “Busy.”
Saskia nodded and began playing with her fork, straightening it then moving it around again. Their drinks finally arrived and she gulped down her wine until Zeke’s raised brow stopped her. With a small embarrassed smile, she put her nearly empty glass down and waited.
“The reason I brought you out to dinner tonight was so we could talk, Saskia,” Zeke said, his fingers idly playing with the label on his boutique beer bottle. “I know something’s wrong, and I want to help you with it. Now before you tell me it’s nothing, let me just say that whatever you have to say to me could never make me love you any less.”
Saskia’s eyes darted to his face, seeing his sincerity mirrored in his eyes. He truly did love her, and she realized with unshakeable clarity that she did not share the same feelings for him.
Steeling herself, she looked her mate in the eye and smiled. “It’s nothing, really. It’s just that the last year has been a rollercoaster ride for me. First, it was the suitors then the fight then…” she hesitated. What she was going to say was, “Alex giving up on me completely.” Instead she said, “Getting mated to you.”
Ezekiel gave her a genuinely warm smile in return for her admission. “Getting mated to you was the best day of my life, but I can see how strange and overwhelming it must have been. You’d been living with your brother all that time, and then you had to live with me and keep a house and everything else.” He frowned, pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and let out a breath. “Anyway, it’s been a rough year for you. I get that you’re still adjusting, but all I ask is that you let me share the burden. I’m your mate. I’m here for you through thick and thin.”
He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze and Saskia returned the gesture. “Thanks, Zeke.”
His smile reached his eyes. “Anytime.”
Casey got up to stretch her sore muscles again. Alex was still on the bed, still unmoving from when her brothers had thrown him on there.
After much debate, her alpha—who also happened to be her father—agreed to let Alex stay until he finished the Change. Judging by his almost comatose sleep, she knew he wasn’t far from it.
Walking the perimeter of the room, she shrugged her shoulders and did some lunges to stretch out her stiffening muscles. Dropping down to the floor, she did fifty push-ups before flipping over onto her back to do the same number of crunches.
She’d always believed physical strength was a necessity. She never wanted to be underestimated by anyone—especially an enemy.
“Saskia, wait,” Alex mumbled suddenly. Casey jumped to her feet and approached the bed. Alex was shaking his head frantically, sweat beading on his forehead and neck. His eyelids were still firmly shut, but his lips were moving.
Dragging the chair she’d just vacated a little closer to his bedside, Casey sank down onto it and watched him with fascination. Who was Saskia?
“Saskia, please. Give me…chance.” Alex groaned and finally lay still, his tightly fisted hands relaxing once more. Casey watched as his breathing eased. Alex’s eyes opened slowly, his hazel irises focusing on her. He frowned and brought his hand up to his temple.
“Headache?” she asked brightly.
Alex groaned. “Not so loud.”
“I’ve got aspirin for you.” She helped him sit up and gave him the two pills and a bottle of water. Alex took them from her, dropped them into his open mouth and cracked the seal on the water bottle.
He drank thirstily, not stopping until the bottle was empty. She took it from his hand and placed it back onto the rickety bedside table. Alex lowered himself back down onto the bed, his eyes warily watching her.
“Who’s Saskia?” she asked.
“How do you know about her?” he demanded angrily.
Casey put her hands up in the universal sign for calm-the-fuck-down. “You were just moaning her name in your sleep.”
Alex’s cheeks immediately flamed with color, causing Casey to giggle.
“I wasn’t moaning her name,” he spat when she wouldn’t stop laughing.
“How would you know? You were asleep.”
He glowered at her. “You’re really irritating. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“All the time,” she grinned. “So, who’s Saskia? Your girlfriend? Your wife? No? Your lover?”
Alex snapped his teeth at her—a very wolfish gesture—and turned over onto his side so his back was to her. “What are they going to do to me?” he asked.
“Keep you here until you go through the Change.”
He barked a harsh laugh. “My change into a wolf, you mean?” Sarcasm dripped from every word, but Casey ignored it just like she always did.
“That’s the one,” she replied happily, sitting back in her chair and propping her legs up against him. “You’ll get the pleasures of having fur and fangs and all those good things.”
He snorted. “I don’t believe you.”
“What? That you’ll be changing soon or about werewolves in general?”
“Both,” he spat back petulantly.
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but both things are very, very true. You saw my brothers shift. There’s your werewolves-aren’t-real theory shot out of the water.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know what I saw.”
Now it was Casey’s turn to snort. “Bull. Shit. You know what you saw. Your brain is just making you believe it was something else.”
“Werewolves aren’t real. Neither are vampires and fairies. They’re figments of a deranged mind.”
“Whatever,” she replied. He’d see soon enough. “So, who’s Saskia?”
“I don’t want to talk about her,” he growled back.
After a long silence, she asked, “Alex, where do you live?”
“Buxton.”
Buxton was like the center of Helheim Wolf Pack territory. “Whoa,” she breathed.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “It’s nothing. It’s just where we found you…you’re a long way from home. Your family must be missing you.”
“I don’t have any family to miss me.”
“Friends?” she ventured.
He shook his head slowly.
“Well, what about work colleagues? Surely your boss must be missing you by now.”
“I am the boss.”
“Own boss, huh? What do you do? Run your own business or something?”
Alex didn’t reply, so Casey pushed his legs where her feet were resting. Eventually he sighed and answered her.
“I’m a cop.”
“Oooo, what kind of cop?”
“A cop who doesn’t like answering the questions of a deranged little girl with brothers the size of small cars, that’s what kind of cop.” He sucked in a breath. “Just leave me alone, Casey.”
“Umm, ouch. Okay.” She dropped her feet to the floor and moved to the door. “I’ll be back to check on you again soon.” Alex rolled over and stared at her with hollow eyes. She pointed her finger at him and made a little circle with it. “Yeah, all this anger and hostility are classic symptoms of an impending shift.”
Without another word, Alex rolled over again. Casey tapped on the door three times and was let out. Hunter was on guard duty this time around.
“How much longer?” he asked, his eyes raking her body to see if she’d sustained any injuries while being in the same room as Alex.
“An hour. Maybe less. He’s really irritable.”
Hunter smiled, revealing one dimple in his cheek. “Maybe he’s irritable because he’s been talking to you.”
Casey slugged her big brother in the chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” With a wink, she turned around and made her way up the stairs.
SEVEN
Saxon had walked Saskia down to her car, making sure she was safely driving away before going back upstairs. He’d been surprised to see her there, and even more surprised she’d told him as much about her feelings as she had.
Climbing the stairs up to the apartment, he realized that although he had made the right decision by Saskia in biting Alex, it was a gamble. There was still no guarantee that he would come back for her. There was a chance he might already be dead from the Change.
He knew Saskia was having second thoughts about her mate, and that he, Saxon, was the reason she was having them. If he hadn’t been so damn bull-headed about the whole getting mated thing, she wouldn’t have settled. But the reality was that Alex wouldn’t have been an appropriate choice for her. He was human. She was not.
Unlocking the apartment door, he pushed inside and looked around. Why the hell was he bothering to hang around? Getting changed into a pair of dark jeans and a white button-down shirt, he slipped his feet into a pair of boots and grabbed his keys.
Out on the street, he shoved his hands into his pockets to blend in with the other humans huddling against the cold. The bar he was heading toward was as seedy as shit, but it was a place where he could keep his head down and not be bothered. All he wanted to do was try to get good and wasted.
A warm wall of stale air and spilled beer hit his nostrils when he opened the door. Stepping over the threshold, his eyes scanned for threats before he slumped down onto one of the stools at the bar.
“What’ll it be?” the bartender asked in a bored voice. Saxon looked up into his face. He was thin with a beaked nose that only made his face look longer than it really was. His flannelette shirt hung off his shoulders, his cheap jeans equally as baggy.
Brushing his mousy-blond hair from his eyes, the bartender snapped, “I haven’t got all night.”
“Jack. Straight up.”
The guy grunted and pulled a dirty glass from under the bar top. The bottle of Jack was next. He emptied the rest of the bottle into the glass and pushed it in Saxon’s direction.
Picking up his drink, Saxon drained it in one swallow, the bartender’s bug eyes watching him the whole time.
“Another?” he grunted.
Saxon placed the glass down onto the bar a little more forcefully than needed and winced. “Keep them coming.”
The human grunted again and shuffled to the other end of the bar to get another bottle of whiskey. Saxon kept his head down while he waited, but it wasn’t too long before he smelled the overwhelmingly strong perfume of a female approaching him.
“Fuck,” he said in a hushed breath, lifting his eyes to check on the progress of his drink. Damn, the guy was still trying to fit the pourer into the top of the bottle.
An arm slid over his shoulder. Saxon couldn’t stop the growl from coming out, feeling it vibrate past his tightly-pressed lips. The woman hesitated for a moment.
“Did you hear that?” she asked in a low voice, her lips brushing against the shell of his ear as she spoke. He ground his teeth together and shrugged out from under her.
“Hear what?” he snarled.
“It sounded as if a dog just growled.”
Great. Just fucking great. “You’re hearing things.”
Saxon still hadn’t turned to look at her, and by the way her fingers flexed into his shoulders again in an attempt to draw his attention, it was bothering her.
He was just about to tell her to fuck off when the bartender came back over to stand in front of him, the bottle of Jack in his hand. Saxon watched him pour another drink for him, the guy’s eyes fixed on the female draped over Saxon’s shoulder. She must have been showing a bit of skin.
“Thanks,” Saxon mumbled, taking a long drink from the glass. The bartender moved to walk away, but Saxon called him back. “Leave the bottle.”
The male’s brow arched over one beady eye, but he nodded and left the bottle on the scarred bar top less than an inch from Saxon’s bunched up fist.
