Chapter 233

Heather

The morning woke me up six hours later. The light cut through the curtains in Brent’s tiny cabin, and I was still exhausted, but I had to deal with everything. It was time to get up. I needed to grab some food and start digging up everything I could about Astaroth.

Brent was sleeping soundly next to me. His soft, even breaths told me that he was in deep REM. The cabin was basically a studio apartment.

Along the back wall was a kitchen with a breakfast nook. The countertops were wood instead of granite or laminate like the ones in other houses I’d been to, but they worked for the cabin. I could sneak and make breakfast, but that would make too much noise and I wasn’t sure if there was any food stocked. Plus, I didn’t want to wake Brent, and if I was being honest, I didn’t really feel like cooking again. Not when the cafeteria was a short walk away.

My stomach rumbled as I thought of devouring a mountain of pancakes and bacon. I rolled over, trying to muffle the sound with the mattress. I was debating whether or not to sneak out of the cabin when one of our cells started vibrating.

Claudia.

I jumped out of bed, tossing things around and trying to find where I’d put my damned phone in my panicked haze. “Damn it.” I muttered to myself.

“It’s mine.” Brent’s voice was groggy with sleep.

“Hello?”

“Welcome home,” Mr. Langdon said.

It wasn’t Claudia. I slumped to the floor for a second before starting to gather up the mess I’d made.

“Thanks. What’s up?” Without our bond, I wouldn’t have even noticed a twinge of annoyance in Brent’s voice, but it was there.

“Can’t I just call to say hi?”

I wondered if Mr. Langdon knew that he was annoying Brent.

“Sure.” Brent paused to answer me through our bond. He totally knows.

Other than you, he’s probably the person who knows me best.

Interesting. Sometimes the bond was extra handy. I not only got to know my mate better, but I also got the benefit of his knowledge about other people and things.

“So, what’s going on?”

“We’re having a meeting this afternoon.”

Who was having a meeting?

“Who is?” Brent said, echoing my thoughts.

“The Cazadores, what’s left of the Seven, and a few others.”

Brent sat up. “A meeting like that would’ve taken a while to plan.” And really well timed. I wondered if they knew at least part of what Eli had told me yesterday.

“It did. I started organizing this meeting three weeks ago and had it set for next week. But with Muraco’s death, we moved it up. Flights are getting in this morning. Meeting’s at three.”

Brent glanced at me and I gave him a nod. Yeah. Of course. There was no question that we’d be going.

“We’ll be there.”

“Good. I’m heading to breakfast. Hopefully I’ll see you there.”

“Possibly.”

Possibly? Was he kidding? We’re totally getting food. I’m starving.

I know. I can hear your stomach from here.

“Good,” Mr. Langdon said.

The line went dead and Brent set down his cell.

“How much do you think they know?” I asked as I sat on the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know, but I agree with you. It’s really well timed. They have to know that the Seven is broken, but they might not be aware of what that means.”

“Telling them is going to be fun.” My tone dripped with sarcasm. I’d been in a room with the Alphas once before, and to say that it’d been intense was a gross understatement.

“I’ll be there with you.” He reached for my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Is the pity party over yet?”

“Yes.” I hoped that was true, but Eli’s parting words had left me terrified.

“You shut down on me last night, and I didn’t like it at all.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” I just needed a second to catch my breath.

“I know. I was there, listening in on your thoughts. What Eli said really did a number on you.”

It really did. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about what he said, and how this whole thing with the demon seemed so hopeless and…” What cost would I pay to save everyone? I didn’t even want to say it through our bonds. I didn’t want to think about it at all, but I had to. What was I going to—

“Don’t,” Brent said. “Don’t go there. Not yet. We just got home. We haven’t even started to fight Astaroth. And I’m not about to blindly believe Eli. You shouldn’t either.”

I knew that. I really did, but the fear was still there, hovering over me and I couldn’t shake free of it. “I just keep thinking what if—”

“You can’t live your life by what if’s. Only what is.”

I fell back against the bed. “You sound like my brother.”

“I like West. Smart guy.”

It was good that Brent and my brother got along. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if they didn’t because West wasn’t just my brother. For the longest time, he’d been my best and only friend.

He scooted closer to me. “Just don’t shut me out again. It wasn’t cool.”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t do it on purpose.” My stomach rumbled again, and I pressed a fist into it. “I hate to say it, but—”

“We have to get up and get you some food.”

“Yes, please. Are we okay?”

“Yes.” He brushed a kiss against my lips. “We’re okay. Just don’t do it again, please. It was miserable.”

“Okay.”

He slid off the bed. “Let’s get going. I bet the chef will even make you some Benedict.”

If the grumbling stomach wasn’t enough, my mouth started watering at the thought of eggs Benedict. Or biscuits and gravy. I could eat the shit out of that. Or even—

A stomach rumbled and it wasn’t mine. “All your

thoughts about food are making me hungry,” Brent said. “And I ate dinner.”

“I didn’t?” I distinctly remembered sitting at the dinner table in the cafeteria with him and Xander. With food. I couldn’t say what kind, but there had to have been food.

“Yes. There was food. Pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy. Fried okra. Biscuits. You didn’t take more than a few bites. Xander and I kept trying to get you to eat more, but you mostly just moved the food around on your plate.”

Huh. That was weird, but given my state of mind, not at all surprising.

I was wearing one of Brent’s T-shirts and a pair of his boxers, which meant I was going to have to find something else to wear if we were going to the cafeteria. I slid off of the bed to dig through the mess I’d made of our suitcases, looking for a pair of yoga pants. We hadn’t had time to unpack and I’d pretty much taken all of my clothes with me on our honeymoon.

I finally found a pair of pants that didn’t smell and grabbed one of the screen-printed T-shirts I’d made myself. “I’ll be ready in five,” I said to Brent, but he hadn’t gotten up yet. “What are you waiting for?”

“Nothing. I just like watching you rush around.”

“What?” Why?

He shrugged. “If you don’t get it, I don’t think I can explain it to you.” As he got up from the bed and started digging through his drawers, I totally started ogling his muscles. He grabbed a shirt, his arm flexing, and suddenly I didn’t care so much about getting food.

He looked over his shoulder at me and winked.

Oh, come on. He was messing with me? “Point made.” I’d showered before bed, which meant my hair was knotted and looking crazy, but I could skip that whole rigamarole for now. I’d have to come back and get presentable before the meeting but I had hours to do that. I pulled on the yoga pants, ditched the shirt for bra and my Rabbit in the Moon shirt, and was ready to roll.

I twisted my hair into a double knot. It was long enough to stay, even without a rubber band or clip. Now, if only I could find my cell phone.

I circled, trying to spot it, but finally gave up. “Can you call my phone? I…”

Brent had a curious look on his face. “Is that some sort of tribal alien on your shirt?”

I glanced down, and laughed. I guessed that’s what it looked like, but it was actually a logo of an EDM group I loved. “It’s actually a rabbit.”

“A rabbit?”

I put my hands on my hips. “You don’t know.”

He grinned. “No. But I love that you’re going to tell me about it.”

“Good. Because that’s totally what I’m going to do.” He threw something at me and I caught it. My cellphone. A few months ago, this would’ve been met with great celebration and more than a few pats on my back, but my reflexes had gotten so good, it was almost like cheating. “Thank you. Rabbit in the Moon is a DJ and live performance group. West found them when he was searching for info on Chinese folklore about a rabbit who lived on the moon and shared it with me. They don’t perform very much anymore, but I really dig Floori.d.a.” I grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the cabin. “We’ll listen to it during our run.”

“Can’t wait.”

I paused. “Did you really not know about Rabbit in the Moon or are you just trying to cheer me up by making me focus on something that’s not about demons sucking my soul to hell?”

He laughed. “You don’t have to ask. If you want to know, you have a very easy way to find out.”

I rolled my eyes and took a peek in his head. I didn’t have to search hard. He was pretty much thinking the answer at me without sending the words. You didn’t know! This was a first. Even though we had the same taste musically, his knowledge was way more extensive than mine. But you were trying to distract me.

Anything to get you to respond. I didn’t like how you checked out last night. It was like you weren’t even there. I’m trying to keep the mood light this morning, he said as we walked out of the cabin. That guy really messed with you.

I didn’t mean to check out that much. I just needed to process.

But you forget that you’ve got me. We’re a team. Astaroth doesn’t know who he’s chosen to mess with.

I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him down to my face. Thank you. I pressed my lips against his and for a second, truly lost myself in the heat of his kiss.

By the time we stopped kissing, I was out of breath. I pressed my head against his chest and he rubbed my back.

You have a lot of friends. Don’t count us out before the fight’s even started.

I nodded. You’re right. I just have to get Claudia and Lucas here.

They’re probably already coming.

I hoped so, because Claudia hadn’t even returned one of my million phone calls.