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27
Evelyn
The air was so charged I could feel the electricity coursing around us. It was hard to not let it affect me as I rubbed my hands over my arms, but it was useless. Ever since we’d arrived at the house Adryan had been using as some kind of battle setup half an hour before, things had been so tense you could have cut a knife through it.
Cian hadn’t even wanted to come back, demanding he was taking me someplace else, a hotel for the time being until I could heal. That was his only concern. Me. Always me.
But Adryan convinced him to come back, to gather weapons and supplies I may need, reminding him the rental car was still here.
So here we were, congregated in what I assumed used to be a living room but had been gutted, with walls removed to make more space. Everyone watched Odhran warily as he paced back and forth in the corner of the room, no longer nude after Adryan gave him a pair of black sweats and a gray T-shirt.
It wasn’t lost on me that Cian kept his body in front of mine, as if protecting me because he could sense how unstable Odhran was. And then Odhran stopped pacing and glared at Cian for a moment before speaking in quick succession, his Gaelic booming in the small room.
“I kno’,” Cian said.
“I may be versed in many languages, but my Gaelic is rusty as fuck, boys,” Adryan said as he leaned against the wall, one ankle crossed over the other, his hands shoved in his pockets. “And I’m pretty sure your mate doesn’t speak a lick of it.”
“That was the closest I’ve ever been tae my mate,” Odhran growled in English this time. “Ye slaughtered all of them.” He looked at Cian and then moved to look at Adryan. “Ye fucking killed every last one of them before I could question what they knew about her.” He ground his teeth. “Ye both took away the opportunity of me gathering more information tae get her.”
Adryan pushed off the wall and stared at Odhran. “I hate to be the one to point this out, but that human could’ve just been talking out of his ass, man. You don’t even know if they still have her. They knew her name, yeah, but that could be easily accessible if they did some digging, and we know these fuckers are aware of a hell of a lot about the Otherworld. Also, we know there is a traitor among our ranks.” Adryan shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’m not trying to be a dick here, but I am pointing out the obvious. Even if we hadn’t slaughtered all of them—which I’ll remind you needed to be done—it didn’t mean you would’ve been able to get any information from them.”
Odhran started growling and took a step toward Adryan. The last thing we needed was a full-on war between the “good guys.”
“Adryan,” I said in a stronger voice than I felt at that moment. “Didn’t you say you captured some members of the Assembly from the warehouse? Couldn’t you take Odhran there with you to see if they know anything?”
Adryan slowly looked at me and smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. He knew what I was trying to do, how I was interjecting into this conversation to smooth things out. And I had a sneaking suspicion he wanted things to escalate. I had no doubt in my mind that Adryan reveled in bloodlust and battle, and I couldn’t imagine that in his position as the leader of the vampire clan, he got to see much action. He probably doled out orders instead of getting his hands dirty.
And as if he read my mind, as if my words were written right across my face or shouted in the room, his eyes flashed red, and he grinned broader, inclining his head as if he was agreeing with me or approving of my conclusion.
“We’ll find her. I’ll help ye find her,” Cian said in a steady, calm voice. “Ye helped me protect my mate, came with me tae America tae find her. I’ll do the same.”
Odhran was shaking his head before Cian even finished talking. “As much as I love ye like a brother, my family, and know ye’d die helping me, ye have yer own mate. Ye stay here tae protect her, tae live the life we both have been denied for so long.” He ran a hand over his blond hair and exhaled, staring at the floor before muttering, “This is my journey. I’ve been searching for her for decades, and I have tae do this for my own sanity.” He lifted his head and slammed his closed fist on his chest over and over again. “I’ve never been this close before,” he said with passion and a fire burning in his eyes. “And I will no’ leave without her this time.” His voice was so loud and sure, his words echoing and shouting in the room.
I felt tears gather in my eyes before slipping down my cheeks.
“This is what my life is about,” Odhran said when I could see Cian was about to argue. “She’s the only thing that matters, and no one will tell me different, Alpha of the Guard or no’. I will no’ leave without her this time,” Odhran kept saying over and over again, as if he was convincing himself, a mantra, a promise he made, because it was clear he was broken inside.
Odhran closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, and I could see he was trying to gather his control. My heart was pounding, and I placed a hand over it. I felt so much emotion right now, not just because of all the stuff that had happened with me, but also the stuff that was continuously happening with all of us. Odhran was in pain, and a part of me knew what that felt like, because there had been a moment after I’d been taken where I felt that gaping hole of losing Cian and knowing I may never see him again.
“I will no’ go back tae Scotland.” Odhran opened his eyes and stared at Cian, and there was so much pain in his expression that my breath caught as I felt Cian’s body tense farther. “I will no’ go back until I can bring my mate back with me.” Odhran looked at me as I stared around Cian's arm. “Ye kno’ how it feels, brother.” Odhran addressed my mate but kept looking right at me. “Please donna try tae reason with me.” He glanced back at Cian then, his jaw clenched as his pain washed right away, and his resolve settled in its place like a burning coal. “Because right now I canna be reasoned with.”
Cian didn’t say anything, but he did give a slow nod in agreement. Odhran exhaled once more and took a step as if to walk past us when the sound of the front door opening and commotion coming our way had everyone freezing.
Weapons were drawn, Cian was shoving me more firmly behind him, and I held my breath.
“What the fuck, James?” Adryan prompted in a dangerously low voice as two vampires stepped into the room, one looking like he’d been tortured and barely hanging onto life.
Everyone stepped away from the vampire named James as he tossed the other man to the ground.
“You and Matteo get into a car fight?” Adryan’s words could have been construed as teasing, but the way he snarled them and curled his lip as he stared down at the barely moving man revealed the truth of where his emotions were at.
James took a step back, and his focus was on the vampire named Matteo. He bared his teeth, his fangs elongated as he hissed out, “Interesting story.” James looked up at Adryan, but the vampire leader didn’t show any emotion. He just stood there as if he was bored. And as the seconds ticked by, I could see the annoyance move across Adryan’s face
“Well, are you going to fucking tell me, or is this a cliffhanger?” Adryan asked once again in a bored tone.
There was only the subtlest tightening around James's mouth as if he was bothered by the abrasive tone Adryan threw out, but other than that, he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
“Went with the cleanup crew to get the bodies of those Assembly assholes,” James said and spit down on Matteo’s prone body. “Found one of the human’s still alive.” Adryan lifted an eyebrow but said nothing else. “He wasn’t alone,” James continued, but there was barely leashed fury in his voice. “Found this fucker trying to help him.” He used his foot to roll Matteo over so he was now supine, and it was the first time I got a good look at his face.
