Page 49 of Sight of Fate

Ronan: Been a little busy. Kian disappeared. Have you heard from him?

Kian’s part of his brood, along with Alejandro. The three of them have lived together for centuries. They were originally part of the vampire king’s personal retinue, but when he was overthrown, they refused to give their allegiance to the new self-appointed king. Eight hundred years later, they still live together, but now they use their skills to investigate supernatural cases. I frown. It’s not like Kian to be out of touch.

Teague: How long has he been gone?

Ronan: Three months. Got a lead on a technowitch and his family who disappeared outside of Oak Vale.

Teague: Odd coincidence. Our seer disappeared, and we’ve got a lead on a dragon being held captive. I’ll drop you the info.

Ronan: …

Ronan: Damn. There’s something going on. We’re working at least twelve disappearance cases. Alejandro and I will be there tomorrow. We want to be in on this one.

Teague: Can always use the help. Bring the damn whiskey with you.

I’ll ask Ronan for the mate info later. Shooting off a text, I send him the information along with photos of Charli’s sketches from earlier. Macklin intends to head out to Ames’s place later to ask what he knows about Mavros. An ancient ice dragon, Ames leads the clan here in Greystone and serves as the head of the worldwide dragon council. Plus, he keeps a record of every dragon on this earth.

Twelve missing cases plus the three we know of—Mavros, Raine, and the girl. Brings the total to fifteen. Sixteen if you count Kian, and those are only the ones we know are missing. I slide through the photos of Charli’s drawings from earlier. Sterile halls. Medical equipment. Captives. This is organized.

Movement catches my eye, and I turn toward the monitors to watch as Macklin walks Charli to her door, then hands her the bags in his hands. Her brow puckers, and she shakes her head several times, but Macklin’s face tells me he’s not budging. I chuckle. It’s obvious she’s trying to pay for the clothes. Wait until she finds out we instructed Victoria to outfit her with an entire wardrobe.

Our door opens a minute later, and Macklin strolls into the room, a small, satisfied smile on his face instead of the broody expression he usually wears. I haven’t seen him this light-hearted in decades. He needs her.

“Good day?” I ask, keeping my tone bland.

He settles across from me on the sofa, a contemplative expression on his face. “Mmm hmm.”

“Ready to tell her?”

He stubbornly shakes his head, and I blow out a breath.

“Your call.” As much as I want this for them, it’s not as if I can force the issue. Although he knows I won’t stop pushing him.

I fill him in on my call to Ronan.

“We should call around to the other Vales. See if they know anything,” Macklin says, pulling out his phone. “What’s the count?”

“Possibly sixteen that we know of, but based on her sketches, they’ve got facilities up and running, which means this is bigger than we think,” I growl, hating the idea of someone hunting us.

Seven o’clock on the dot, I knock. The door swings open, and for the first time in my very long life, I’m speechless. Expecting to see my shy, innocent mate, I’m blown away by the siren standing in her place, wearing a daring green silk blouse, the tiniest damn skirt, and boots that make her legs seem a mile long. A glint of gold draws my eye to the deep V of her blouse and the hint of curves showing on each side. I silently groan, tempted to bend her over and lick a line down the center of that tantalizing “V” as my hand slides between her legs.

“You’re absolutely stunning,” I rasp, as the image continues to play in my mind. Fuck me. Pretty soon she’s going to see exactly what I want to do to her.

Her light green eyes widen, and a blush steals across her cheeks while her gaze unconsciously slides over my body. “Teague.” Her voice is breathless and full of need.

My name on her glossy pink lips is like a match, and I shove my hand in my pocket to hide the very physical inferno raging inside me. Taking a deep breath, I push my desire and the need to claim her back behind the wall.

Her hair moves, revealing her forehead. “That looks amazing. Barely a scar.”

Her blush deepens, and she peers up at me from her long dark lashes. “Thank you.” She nods. “It’s really crazy how fast Joy’s treatment worked. Like a miracle.”

“Or magic,” I say nonchalantly.

She blinks. “I didn’t think about that. Wish I’d had this long ago.” Her lips curl down at the corners as if she’s thinking about the past. A second later, she shakes it off. “You look incredible.”

Killing me. I grin in response and do a little twirl in front of her to jokingly show off my tailored black suit and dark charcoal grey button down. “Hmm, thank you. Do you have your lodestone?”

When she nods and taps her purse, I take her coat and hold it out for her. She turns her back to me and slides her arms in, then lifts her tousled curls from inside the collar. I inch closer and inhale the delectable scent, teasing my senses. Instead of her usual light vanilla, tonight’s scent is a combination of darker, seductive notes that make me want to skim my teeth across her sweet body to see if she tastes as good as she smells.