Chapter 14 Theodore
Theodore
Hours later, we collapsed into the cottage living room, a tableau of muddy exhaustion.
I sank into the armchair, my muscles protesting every movement.
Rory sprawled across the sofa, one arm flung dramatically over his eyes.
Felix hunched over his laptop at the dining table while Priya perched on the floor, her back against the wall.
“I could murder a cup of tea,” Felix mumbled, not looking up from his screen where Dev’s phone sat connected by a tangle of wires.
“On it,” Priya announced with surprising vigor, pushing herself up. “I have loose camomile in my bag. Perfect for stress and exhaustion.”
“I’ll just have one of the normal teabags,” I requested.
“No, let me make everyone this. You’ll love it.”
I lacked the energy to argue further. She clearly wanted to read everyone’s leaves—I’d have to wash my mug out before she could.
The cottage fell into weary silence, broken only by the gentle clicking of Felix’s keyboard and the distant whistle of the kettle. My eyes drifted closed. I was going to need to take an actual holiday when I returned to London, to recover from all this.
“Oh!” Felix’s exclamation jolted me awake. “It’s working!”
We all gathered around his laptop where Dev’s phone screen, still in an evidence bag, had flickered to life, displaying a lock screen with a photo of a sunset over London.
“Do you know his password?” Felix looked to Rory.
For the first time since finding the phone, Rory’s face brightened. “Yeah, I still remember it!”
I passed him a plastic glove, and he carefully slid the phone out, placing it on the table.
Rory’s fingers hovered over the screen. “It’s his mum’s birthday and the last two digits of his postcode.” He tapped in the sequence, then frowned as the phone vibrated and flashed red.
“Incorrect password,” Felix said, rather unnecessarily.
Rory sighed. “He’s probably changed it to his new boyfriend’s birthday or something,” he said moodily.
“Don’t worry about it,” Felix said quickly, already connecting another cable. “I don’t actually need the password. Give me twenty minutes, and we’ll be in.”
I accepted the steaming mug of tea that I didn’t actually want from Priya. “You’re not reading my leaves.”
She pouted, eyes wide with mock innocence. “What about if I get to see, but I keep it to myself?”
“No.”
“But what if it’s helpful for the investigation, Maxwell?” Rory chimed in.
I glared at him. “Keep out of it. And you should use these twenty minutes to call Kit. He keeps texting me. He’s going mental.”
Rory groaned. “He’ll just beg me to come home. He’s so tightly wound about this whole thing.”
“I was surprised when he refused to come with you,” I admitted, blowing on my tea.
“It’s okay. I understand it would be too much for him. Kit’s…” Rory paused. “He’s sensible to stay away.”
“Kit had an equally tough time growing up here?”
“Oh yeah, for sure. He refuses to talk about it, and as a kid, I didn’t see it that way at all.
I thought he was loving life—golden child, favourite of the entire pack, future alpha—had it all.
Even popular at our local high school. Played football, made girls drool, you know, the lot.
” Rory’s voice softened. “I used to think it was so unfair. Me, hating everything about my life, thinking I was a broken thing until I finally got my ADHD diagnosis, whereas he just sunnily breezed through everything.” He stared into his mug.
“But looking back at it through an adult lens, and from the brief things he’s said…
he had a tough time of it, for sure. I mean, obviously there’s a reason why he ‘randomly’ upped and left one day. ”
“Hmm. Well, you need to go call him,” I said firmly. “Go on. Go.”
Rory’s eyebrows shot up, his lips curving into a smirk.
“God, you’re so bossy,” he said with an exaggerated eye roll, his tone carrying more than a hint of flirtation that made my pulse quicken.
Something must have shown on my face because he immediately straightened, clearing his throat.
“Right, then. I’ll go upstairs. Be right back. ”
As his footsteps retreated, I drained my tea in three long gulps.
The second I set the empty mug down, Priya’s eyes lit up.
“No, Priya.”
“What if I massage your temple for you?”
“No.”
“What if I promise not to tell Rory about that adorable little smile you give him when he’s not looking?”
Every molecule in me froze, ice cold.
“What?!” I managed, heart seized into a tight ball.
“What if—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I shoved the mug toward her, desperate for any distraction from what she’d just said. “Fine. I don’t care. It’s all rubbish anyway.”
I glanced at Felix, wondering if he was listening. As he was shaking with suppressed laughter, I’d say he was.
Priya turned the mug three times counterclockwise before peering inside. Her face remained completely blank. After a few more seconds, she silently placed the mug on the table.
“Well?” I snapped.
“What?”
“What did you see?”
“I thought you said it was all rubbish? Why would you want to know what I saw?”
I glared at Priya, trying to push past her innocent expression to the thoughts beneath. But all I encountered was an absurd mental image of yellow rubber ducks floating in a bathtub, complete with little sailor hats. One of them was smoking a tiny pipe.
“I didn’t know you were such a fan of rubber ducks,” I said, rubbing at my temple as the beginnings of a headache formed.
“Sure you don’t want that head massage?” she asked sweetly, wiggling her fingers.
“No thanks,” I muttered, reaching for my phone. The last thing I needed was Priya’s hands anywhere near my head while she was broadcasting rubber ducks doing the backstroke.
“Five minutes or so,” Felix announced, not looking up from his work. “The encryption’s tougher than I expected, but I’m getting there.”
I nodded and stepped away, scrolling through my missed calls. Several from Seb. Brilliant.
I called him back, moving toward the kitchen.
“Teddy!” Seb answered immediately. Hearing my code name coming from him felt odd, after all Rory’s teasing. “I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday!”
“Sorry, Noctule,” I said, keeping my voice low. “We were busy searching the woods. We’ve found Dev’s phone.”
“I gathered as much from Magpie’s messages. I tried to call last night to tell you they were on their way, but you didn’t answer.”
“Sorry about that. Reception’s spotty out here. Anyway, Magpie thinks he can crack the phone in the next few minutes. After that, they’ll probably need to leave. To be honest, I was surprised to see them on our doorstep after you said you couldn’t spare anyone for this mission.”
“Well, that was before you sounded the alarm about Terrier’s pack knowing your identity, but most importantly, knowing that you’re a telepath. My mind is still reeling from that news.”
“I know,” I said. “I suppose they could have immediately run the plates on my mother’s car, and then linked her to me, if they have access to that level of resources, which they probably do. But as for the telepathy…”
“If I thought Terrier would actually follow the instruction, I’d order you both home. I don’t like this, Teddy. I don’t like this at all.”
“Me neither.”
“Keep me informed, and your phone off silent.”
“Yes, boss,” I said jokingly, as I never called him that, even though the others did.
He made a sound that might have been a laugh. “And Terrier hasn’t sent you grey yet?”
“Oh, he’s sent me completely grey. I’ve aged about fifty years.”
After a chuckle, Seb hung up.
“We’re in!” yelled Felix, and the sound of Rory’s footsteps bounding down the stairs quickly followed.
We gathered around Felix’s laptop like pigeons fighting over a chip, jostling for space in the small cottage living room.
Rory ended up smushed into me, his breath hot across my collarbone as he leaned forward to see better.
The bright fabric of his shirt pressed against my arm, causing gooseflesh and making it nearly impossible to focus.
My mind quickly wandered to last night—his mouth on me, the softness of his hair between my fingers—and heat rose to my cheeks. Not now, for god’s sake.
A fragment of anxious thought drifted into my consciousness:
…too close, everyone’s too close, I can’t think properly when they do this…
I glanced at Felix, noting the tension in his shoulders and the way his hands had stilled over the keyboard.
“We should give Felix some breathing room whilst he works his magic.” I stepped back and gave Rory and Priya a meaningful look.
The other two budged back by approximately five centimeters. I continued to glare at them until they finally gave him space. Felix’s shoulders immediately relaxed, and I caught the grateful look he threw my way.
“Right, then.” I cleared my throat. “What have we got, Felix?”
“He’s got a million missed calls. From Rory, but also someone named Sakshi.”
“That’s his alpha,” said Rory.
“I’ll open his texts.” Felix tapped the screen, bringing up a cascade of Dev’s message threads.
“Jesus,” I muttered, scanning the names. “He’s been busy.”
Dozens of different contacts populated the list—all names I didn’t recognize, but the breadth of Dev’s communications was staggering.
“Oh! Click on Ezra,” Rory instructed. “His new boyfriend. Look, he hasn’t opened the last message.”
Felix obliged, and the screen filled with their conversation. At the top sat the same photo we’d seen at Ezra’s flat—Dev standing with Bradley and Brody outside a building. Beneath it, Ezra’s final message glowed accusingly:
Ezra
Really, Dev? You chose these two to mess around with, out of all people? And to think, I almost believed that lie about your sick mother. Don’t bother coming to my flat. If you want your stuff back, I suggest you look in the bins outside my building. It’s where you belong.
Beside me, Rory let out a snigger, his shoulder shaking against mine.
I turned to him. “Is that appropriate right now?”