Chapter 23 Three Minus One
Wynn
“Home sweet home,” Marlow declares as the cabin door swings open and he strides inside.
Looking around, it doesn’t seem as cramped and cutesy as it used to. The carved figurines and landscape paintings are familiar and refreshing. Home sweet home indeed.
“I almost missed it,” I say.
"Really? Because I enjoyed central heating and warm food."
"Roughing it isn’t so bad."
He snorts. "That’s all thanks to you."
I head for the couch and sit down while Marlow looks around, crossing the room in a few strides and then heading to the bedroom. “Iggy, you back yet?”
No response. Maybe he’s enjoying a long flight. Could we have round two before he returns?
First, I need a moment to relax. I tip my head back against the couch and close my eyes. Despite all the downtime involved in hiding out, being on the run means the stress never ends. It’s exhausting.
“Someone should probably unpack some of the crap we got from Bane and Josh,” Marlow says.
I say nothing, waiting for him to figure it out. I know the perfect demon for the job.
He sighs. “Yep, that’s what I was afraid of.”
Marlow carries the bags to our bedroom, unpacking without complaint. Wow, have I really domesticated the demon?
Wait a minute. Marlow went to the bedroom, not our bedroom. It's not ours.
…Oh, fine. Who am I kidding? 'Our bedroom' has a nice ring to it.
It takes a second for the scent to register. Something foreign lingers in the cabin, though it doesn’t strike me as totally wrong at first. It’s a scent I've picked up on before and recently too. What is that?
I open my eyes and see it. A white piece of paper sits propped against a bowl on the coffee table. Shit, that definitely wasn't there when we left.
"Marlow,” I call out. “There’s a note."
Something in my voice must get his attention because it doesn’t take him long to join me.
"What the hell are you—oh."
I'm staring at the page, not letting it out of my sight for a single second like it might rise up and attack. What a rude wake up call. We aren't two lovers enjoying a romantic getaway. Marlow's a fugitive and I'm his accomplice.
And someone discovered our hideout.
Marlow is the one who finally reaches for the paper. He scans it silently and whatever message waits there drains the color from his face. His grip slackens and the page drifts down.
I snatch it mid-fall, crumpling the edges as I catch it. My stomach tightens, already knowing something terrible waits.
“Surrender yourself,” it says. “You have twenty-four hours.”
The scent clicks into place. The detective. He tracked down our hiding spot. But that's not all he uncovered. The next words make my blood run cold.
“If you turn yourself in, you and your gargoyle can go to prison together.”
~
Wynn
Marlow snatches up the flashlight on the coffee table, charging toward the door.
I jump up to follow. "Where are you going? We can't charge in blind. We need a plan."
He spins around, wild-eyed. "I promised to protect Iggy. We're partners. I have to get him back."
"Nobody's abandoning Iggy." The thought makes me sick. "But if you rush off in a panic, you’re playing right into the detective’s hand.”
"What else can we do?"
"Sit down," I say.
Marlow shoots me a murderous glare. "If you tell me to calm down, I'm going to strangle you."
I raise an eyebrow and stare him down. “Stop and stay still so I can concentrate and see if the detective left a trail behind."
He blinks first and drags himself over to the couch. I try to block out all his agitation and focus.
Harper's scent lingers on the note. I get up, searching for the same smell, alpha and crisp and natural.
I circle the cabin and catch traces where he prowled around, investigating our space.
But it's not enough. He covered his tracks like the seasoned hunter he is.
The note reeks of him because he didn't bother masking it—probably torn from that little notepad he carries everywhere.
But beyond that? Nothing. No trail leading away from the cabin. No hint of which direction he went next. This option is a dead end.
"Well?" Marlow demands.
I shake my head. Nothing.
He's up in a flash. Out of productive tasks to accomplish, he settles for something destructive. Marlow’s boot slams into the coffee table, scattering several knickknacks. Carved figurines go flying. Some of the decorative pots shatter.
This is the first time I've been tempted to join him and break things too.
Marlow runs a hand through his hair. “How the hell did he even know about Iggy?”
“You open passageways to other worlds and summon what lurks in the shadows,” I reason. “Harper isn’t stupid. He suspected you had help breaking out of jail and found a way to reveal your hidden accomplice.”
Now Harper has all the power. Marlow would absolutely surrender himself to get Iggy back. But all that will do is put them both in prison. We have to clear Marlow's name. We must find the real killer.
"We need to end this," I say. "The solution is the same.
Find the real killer, clear your name. The only part that's changed is our timetable.
" We were going to wait until the next fight night, a time when the pack would be busier and the Iron territory would be full of guests.
Instead… "We need to sneak into the heart of the territory tonight. "
It's not the best option. We have meager cloaking protections from Josh, which are intended to hide us on the periphery of the territory, not the center. He hasn’t finished the stronger protections yet and was also researching ways to sharpen Marlow's awareness so he could track down the person he followed here.
But now Harper's forcing our hand. We have to pray Marlow can locate the right person on his own if we get close enough.
It worked when Iggy was close enough to an item from the underworld.
This has to work too; there are no other options.
Maybe we don't need extra help—not if we're right about where the real killer is lurking. At the Alpha's house.
All we have to do is make it there and find out.
Once we get a plan together, we get to work. Changing into dark clothes, hiding our scents, readying the magic we do have. It feels good to do something, even if it still feels like we might be walking into a trap or not seeing clearly enough.
But we can't do nothing. Neither of us are comfortable betting with Iggy's safety. We have one chance to help both the gargoyle and demon. One chance to find the real killer and end this for good.
~
Wynn
After we prepare, there's nothing left to do but wait until nightfall. Still a bit of time left until we need to get moving.
I sink back onto the couch, studying the note again.
It turns out the detective's ultimatum is a gift that keeps on giving. The front is addressed to Marlow, the back to me. No doubt about it since it reads “To Wynn Blackwood.”
“To Wynn Blackwood: Whatever he told you is a lie. Save yourself before it's too late.”
Damn, detective Harper’s good. He put all the pieces together while hunting Marlow.
Harper found the cabin and knows Marlow’s been close this whole time.
Only someone who knows the pack’s capabilities and the territory could manage that.
Put that together with me disappearing at exactly the same time as the escaped prisoner and not being reachable and it all leads right back to me.
I've got my own message for the good detective—mostly angry growling and two letters starting with ‘F’ and ending with ‘U.’
But Harper’s just doing his job. He thinks Marlow is a killer who needs to be stopped. That doesn't mean I like him snatching up the gargoyle. I wish he'd found me instead. At least I had a chance at standing up to him.
I keep staring at the note. I shouldn't let the words bother me. There's no truth to them. I know that... Being lied to isn't the problem. Marlow thinks we're mates. If he wasn't being honest, he would’ve claimed he Recognized me and we were absolutely meant to be.
Marlow told me what he knows. The problem is that neither of us know for sure. Still.
Why haven't I Recognized him as my mate?
Recognition should be simple, catching a glimpse of something genuine from the one meant for you.
There have been so many opportunities. Marlow’s one of the few people who have seen my real talents as a wolf and appreciated them.
I've watched him with Iggy when that cocky smirk melts into something real.
I hunt for that certainty, that bone-deep knowledge that screams mine. It never comes.
"You're not listening to that bastard, are you?" Marlow's voice comes from above me.
I jump, so lost in thought I didn't even notice him. "No! Of course not!"
"You wanna try that again? I doubt you could sound more unconvincing if you tried, but hey, I believe in you. Give it a shot."
The venom in his voice catches me off guard. "Marlow..."
"Don't worry about it." His face looks hard when I crane my neck up. "We don't really have time for this anyway."
"We aren’t leaving until the sun sets," I point out. By the time we get across the forest to the edge of the inhabited area, it will be dark. "We still have time."
For a minute, I think he'll pretend he hasn't heard me or create an excuse to flee. Instead, he drops down on the other side of the couch, and we both twist to face each other.
"You were right not to trust me after I played you," he says, getting right to it. "But has anything changed? Do you think I’m still the same lying demon?"
"It's not that simple. I don't think you lied about our connection, but you could be wrong."
"Jeez." Marlow winces, looking like he regrets ever sitting down.
Feeling guilty, I force myself to continue. "You know it's true. Neither of us has Recognized the other. With everything we've been through, why haven't we?"
"How the hell should I know? I never even believed in any of this shit until…"
"Until?" I press when he cuts off.
Marlow scrubs a hand over his face, looking exhausted. "I don't know how any of it works."
I bite back my impatience, desperate to know how he was going to finish that sentence. But I also know how stubborn he can be. He won’t offer it up. He’s shutting down. Not a good sign.
I sink back against the cushions, curling my hands in my lap. "I know you believe it's a possibility that we're mates. So do I. But you also told me you aren't interested. Has that changed?"
Actually, if he's still dead-set against having a true mate, that could explain why we haven't Recognized each other. If one party isn't willing or able to see the truth, it can hinder things.
"Wynn, I’m not in a position to promise anything.
” Marlow's voice drops lower, his eyes fixed on the cabin's dusty floorboards.
“If we can't clear my name, I'm going away for a long time.
I can't sweep you off your feet and tell you everything will be alright.
I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if we're the real deal. "
"But are we something? Anything?" I whisper.
"I don't know."
Oh, this infuriating man. "How can you not know? Take an educated frigging guess."
He shrugs.
"That's it? Seriously?" Fuck. Things may not have changed for him, but everything's different for me. The idea of us as mates once seemed laughable and impossible.
Now it's all I crave. The thought of his hand in mine, his scent lingering on my clothes, laughing as he pretends to be some tough heartless demon instead of an unconventional protector who helps the vulnerable.
"I don't have answers for you, Wynn." He takes one look at my face and sighs. "What, you think I'm being a dick? I see it differently… What if we aren’t mates?”
"Believe me, I worry about that constantly." The only reason it hasn't kept me up at night is because it's surprisingly easy to fall asleep next to him.
"Yeah, and that's what worries me." His fingers drum against his thigh in a restless rhythm. "I matter to you because I'm the man who might be meant for you. What if I'm not? Where does that leave me?"
The implication there stings. "You think I'll abandon you or hand you over to the authorities?"
"No, I know you won't do that. But it doesn't mean you'll stick with me either," he continues quietly.
"What if I'm not that guy you're waiting for?
If he comes along, it's bye-bye Marlow. We had some fun, went on the run together, but hey, destiny is calling, and the next thing I know, I'm history. "
"Marlow..."
"I'm sorry, but I can't give you more," he says.
I didn't notice it before, but he seems sad about that.
"Not unless I know you want more from me, regardless of who I might be.
" He spreads his arms out wide. "You may not know who I am to you, but you know who I am.
You've gotten closer to me than anyone in any reality ever has.
Either that's enough for you or it's not.
So once you figure that out, let me know. "
He stands and strides past me toward the door.
"Wait, Marlow…”
"We've got a job to do," he says, looking out the window. "It's sunset."