Chapter 6 Theodore #3
The projector screen flickered before displaying an email. The sender line read “Alexander Thorne,” with the subject line “Pack Gathering - Attendance Request - Please Read.”
The room fell silent as we all read the message that appeared on screen.
Dear Nephew,
I trust this message finds you well, though I suspect my name in your inbox comes as something of a surprise after all this time.
Know that there are still members amongst the pack who miss both you and Rory greatly.
I write to formally invite you both to attend our Spring Equinox Gathering next Friday.
Your mother specifically requested your presence, as there are important pack matters that require the attendance of all Thornes by blood.
Many other packs will be in attendance—for the Equinox falls on a full moon.
It will be the first such gathering in nearly two decades.
I understand there have been “difficulties” in the past, but family obligations transcend personal grievances. Alpha Edina has declared this a mandatory summons for all pack members, regardless of current standing.
You’d be welcome to stay within the estate in the days leading up to the event. Should you decide to attend or not, my door remains open to you both, as it always has been.
Please confirm your attendance by Wednesday.
Your faithful uncle,
Alexander Thorne
“Mandatory summons,” seethed Kit. “Like she can wave her wand and have us magically appear. I wish Alex had told her where to stick her invitation.”
“I need to go to Scotland,” Rory said, his voice unnervingly steady as he stared directly at Kit, chin tilted upward in defiance.
“But… how do we know for sure all this is connected to Dev?” asked Priya.
Rory’s arm flew towards the screen. “Really? Dev goes missing, and his phone just happens to ping back to life for a few minutes right by pack land? It’s too much of a coincidence, Pri. Come on.” He looked to Kit. “We have to go.”
Kit’s face drained of colour. “I… can’t,” he whispered, deep remorse etched into every line of his face. His hands were trembling slightly at his sides, a sight so disconcerting I found myself shifting uncomfortably in my chair. “I can’t do that. I’m sorry, Rory. But I can’t.”
“But—”
“You shouldn’t go either,” Kit interrupted, voice unsteady. “It isn’t safe.”
Rory’s jaw set in his special stubborn way. “I’ll go alone, then.”
The room erupted into chaos. Priya immediately protested that Rory couldn’t possibly go alone, while Flynn suggested that he’d happily accompany him, only to be roared at by Seb.
Felix resumed his frantic typing that I suspected was merely pretense.
Eventually Sebastián shouted over all of them that he needed everyone else here in London, that they couldn’t spare a single person with everything else happening.
I stared at Rory—his blond hair sticking up in defiant tufts, the flush of determination colouring his cheeks. A man who was willing to walk straight into the lion’s den for his twat of an ex-boyfriend. The same ex he believed traded him in for a prettier model. Yet here he was…
“Please, Rory,” said Kit, his voice cracking slightly. “Don’t do this.”
The fear in his voice startled me. What could possibly be so terrifying about his childhood home in Scotland that he couldn’t even consider returning for his younger brother’s sake?
As if answering me, Rory’s thoughts crashed into my mind—pure terror, his mind a scattered mess of fragments.
…can’t face her alone…won’t survive it…she’ll destroy me…they’ll all see how broken I am…
The raw fear in his thoughts was so visceral it made my stomach clench. Behind all his bravado was someone genuinely terrified of facing whatever awaited him in Scotland.
“I’ll do it.”
The room fell silent. It took me a moment to realise those words had come from my own mouth.
Everyone stared at me as if I’d grown a second head. Rory’s mouth actually hung open, which would have been satisfying under different circumstances.
“I’ll accompany Rory to Scotland to support the investigation. With appropriate compensation, of course.” I flicked my eyes to Seb, who nodded once. “Double should just about cover it.”
Double my typical wage wasn’t nearly enough to spend days on end trapped in close quarters with Rory Thorne, but it would have to do.
“You’d do that?” Rory’s eyes were wider than saucers, and I glared at him before he started profusely thanking me or something equally horrifying.
I nodded once. After all, my mother could use the extra money to finally renovate her garden like she’d been talking about for years. Plus, I’d never been to the Scottish Highlands—in fact, I’d barely been away in years. Not that this was going to be a holiday, of course.
Kit approached me, squeezing my arm with surprising gentleness. “Thank you. I won’t forget this.”
I swallowed down the urge to promise him that Rory would be safe with me. Because where Rory was concerned, I’d make no such promises.
“When can we leave?” Rory asked, suddenly perking up like a puppy offered a walk. His eyes were alight with purpose, all traces of his earlier distress vanishing.
“I need to call my boss and make up some sort of emergency,” I said, already mentally drafting the conversation. In truth, I’d never asked for time off before, and still had most of my holiday days banked up. DCI Harris would probably fall off her chair when I requested leave.
“Monday?” Rory looked so bloody hopeful that I found myself nodding.
Shit. I’d just willingly volunteered to go to the furthest northern location in the UK with the person who hated me most in the world. What the hell was I thinking?
“Brilliant!” Rory clapped his hands together. “That gives us tomorrow to prepare everything. Felix will pull up every map of the area, and I’ll have time to find my kilt—”
“Your what?” I choked.
“My kilt,” he repeated, as if I was the one being ridiculous. “Can’t show up to a formal Highland pack gathering without proper attire. It would be like you turning up to a crime scene in your underwear.”
Felix snorted from behind his laptop.
I rubbed my temple, already feeling the familiar pressure of a headache building. This was madness. Complete and utter madness.
And yet, as Rory’s face continued to beam over at me as if I were his saviour, I couldn’t quite bring myself to dread it.
“So it’s settled,” Seb announced with finality. “Rory and Maxwell will leave Monday for Scotland to infiltrate the gathering and gather information about Dev Bassi.”
A moment of silence settled over the room as the reality of the plan sank in.
“Though…” Rory said, his brow furrowing as he looked between me and Sebastián. “How exactly is Theo going to get into a pack gathering? Human outsiders won’t be welcome.”
“Right,” I said. “I can hardly introduce myself as a police escort.”
“But…” Rory’s cheeks flushed slightly as he glanced around the room, then back to me. “Well… I mean… you could pose as my boyfriend?”
The words hit my brain like they were travelling through mud, each syllable taking an eternity to register. When they finally connected, I felt as though someone had pulled the floor from beneath me.
“B-boyfriend?” I croaked out, my voice embarrassingly strained.
Priya and Flynn both dissolved into poorly concealed sniggers. Flynn even had to turn away, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
My mouth went desert-dry. Could I take back my offer? The thought of pretending to be romantically involved with Rory Thorne made my stomach twist into knots I couldn’t begin to untangle.
“Would that be a problem, Detective?” Seb asked, one eyebrow arched perfectly. Was this… entertaining him?
I fought against the heat creeping up my neck and into my cheeks. “No,” I managed, straightening my tie unnecessarily. “I’m just wondering about our capacity to pull that particular element off.”
Priya cleared her throat, looking between us with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Well, if you’re going to play boyfriends, you’ll need to work on your chemistry. We can have a trial run, if you like. I’ll give you marks out of ten.”
I shot her a withering glare, but she continued undeterred.
“Lovers tend not to stand two metres apart at all times,” she said, gesturing to the considerable gap between Rory and me. “Perhaps try being at least thirty centimetres close to each other? And maybe stop scowling at him quite so much, Maxwell.”
Flynn leaned forward, joining in with enthusiasm. “You’ll need pet names too. Maybe not “dickface.” Just saying.”
“And physical affection,” Priya added, her eyes twinkling. “A kiss on the cheek could be quite effective. Perhaps you could have a practise now? Try not to growl at him, Rory.”
The room erupted into laughter. Even Sebastián’s lips twitched at the corners. I silently begged the hotel’s foundations to collapse and end this torment.
Rory remained unusually quiet. No snappy comeback, no mocking grin—nothing. My eyes drifted to him, finding his expression unreadable, his gaze fixed on some invisible point on the wall.
Against my better judgement, I let my barriers slip just slightly, reaching toward his thoughts. I needed to know if he was completely repulsed by the idea, so I could refuse the assignment without causing a scene.
But when I brushed against his consciousness, I found his mind curiously blank, as if he’d retreated deep within himself. What di—
A jolt shot through me, like touching a live wire. The sensation wasn’t painful but intense. Rory’s head snapped up, his eyes locking with mine as if he’d felt it too.
The room faded away as we stared at each other.
No, that definitely wasn’t repulsion radiating from him.
It was something else entirely.