Chapter 6
“It’s so nice of your cousin to let us have the party at her place last minute,” Stella said to Charley.
“I know. I’m so glad Astrid and Zac let us have it here.”
Devon had originally planned to have the get-together at his penthouse in Manhattan, but thanks to the press surrounding the building, they had to make other arrangements. Thankfully, Charley’s cousin and her husband owned a house in the Hudson Valley, a few hours away from New York City, and they offered to host.
“Yeah. And this house is really stunning.”
House was an understatement—this really was more of a mansion, which their host explained had been built by one of the famous robber baron families in the 1800s. Stella felt like she had stepped back in time into the gilded age as soon as she entered the gorgeous manor house.
Charley sighed. “And the best part is, no paparazzi.”
Stella wrapped an arm around her. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this.”
“It was bound to happen, and I have no regrets—I really do love Devon. I just wish it had been on my own terms, you know?”
“Don’t worry, we’re all here for you.” Stella squeezed her shoulders. “I’m just glad you were able to get away without anyone finding out.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“How did you manage to escape from those vultures, by the way?”
Stella herself had been whisked away in such a secretive manner, like she was in a spy movie. Devon had hired a different security company—since the press were able to connect the dots from Charley to Lone Wolf Investigations, they couldn’t use any of their vehicles or agents—to drive Stella from Queens to Hudson Valley in an unmarked vehicle.
“With all those eyes on you, I’m surprised you guys didn’t get tailed all the way here.”
Charley chuckled. “I’ll tell you about my Uncle Daric and his son, Cross, sometime. When you’re not dealing with all the long-lost brother and Lycan stuff.” She nodded at the room. “And all of that.”
The party itself was being held in the ballroom—an actual, honest-to-goodness ballroom—filled with Charley’s many relatives, plus a few people who she assumed were Devon’s friends because she’d been introduced to at least one famous person, the Renée Rose, pop superstar diva.
Needless to say, Stella had been overwhelmed—there were so many of them, and she’d really only had her parents for her entire life—but all of them had been warm and welcoming.
Well, almost all of them.
Despite herself, Stella glanced across the room—toward where Cliff stood by the window speaking to one of his female cousins from West Virginia. Her heart sank at the sight of him, and she cringed inwardly at her own behavior.
Yesterday, for just a brief moment, she had thought there had been something between them. He was so gracious after she’d wrongly assumed he didn’t know anything about music, and after that, he seemed so different, especially while they were playing the piano together.
Afterward, she even thought that he was going to kiss her. She would have let him, too, if they hadn’t been interrupted. Excitement and giddiness had coursed through her for the rest of the night and throughout the dinner, and she had been touched by his heartfelt apology.
But something happened at some point, and by the end of the dinner, he’d treated her with the same coldness as he had when they first met.
She was still confused by it all.
Or I was just imagining things.
Though, she didn’t know what was worse—that she assumed that he was attracted to her or that he had been, and somehow she’d done or said something to turn him off.
Maybe she just had that effect on men as evidenced by her most recent forays into dating.
“Champagne?”
Stella took a second to recover as she focused on the flute of bubbly in front of her, held up by one of Charley’s male cousins.
“Thanks, er …” She searched her brain for his name—he was handsome, like many of the men here, with longish red-blonde hair that was all spiked up—but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember it.
“Jacob,” Charley supplied.
“Jacob.” Embarrassment made Stella’s cheeks warm. “Sorry about that.”
“Nah, you’re fine.” Jacob chuckled. “There’s over two dozen of us here, sometimes I forget everyone’s names too. Or at least I want to. Here.” He pushed the champagne flute closer to her face. “You really need to take this.”
Stella didn’t miss the emphasis nor the way he nodded at Charley, so she guessed the “big” moment was coming up. She took the flute he offered.
“Wait.” Charley frowned and glanced around as other people were being offered champagne. “I didn’t realize we were celebrating something.”
Jacob winked at Stella. “Oh yeah.”
“There you are.” Devon appeared behind Charley and placed an arm around her shoulders. “Come on.”
“Come on? Where are we …” She trailed off as Devon led her to the middle of the room.
Stella watched, excitement building in her. This was it. Devon was going to pop the question. It seemed like a dream seeing this moment, and to think she had almost missed it. In the past few days, she’d come to grow closer both to Charley and Devon, so being part of this felt so special.
“Good evening everyone.”
A hush fell over the entire room, and everyone turned their attention to Devon.
He continued. “First of all, thanks to everyone who made it here tonight, despite the change in venue. And thanks to our hosts, Zac and Astrid for letting us crash their place for the evening.” He nodded to the couple, who waved at them from the side. “I’m so glad you all could make it and that you were all able to meet my sister, Stella.”
Another blush crept over her cheeks as everyone raised their glasses toward her.
“Thank you for being so kind and gracious to her, and to me, especially to Mr. and Mrs. Forrest.” He gestured to Charley’s parents, Evie and Connor. “And finally … thanks for keeping this all a secret.”
“Secret?” Charley looked at him. “Keep what a secret?”
“I know I said this party was for Stella so she could meet everyone. And that’s partly true. After all, we can’t celebrate the fact that I have my sister here with me today without the person who made it happen.” Devon’s mouth spread into a wide grin. “I’m so grateful for you, Charley. If we never met, I wouldn’t have found Stella. I wouldn’t have found my family.” He smiled toward Stella, which sent a flood of warmth through her chest.
“Perhaps it was meant to be, seeing as you’re my True Mate, but regardless, words can’t express how much I love you and how thankful I am every day I have you. And soon we’re going to have our own family, so I thought we should make it official.”
Charley gasped. “What?”
Disentangling himself from her, Devon got down on one knee and produced a blue velvet box from his pocket. “So, Charley Tala Forrest, will you marry me?”
Charley sucked in a breath. “Yes. Of course!”
A cheer went up throughout the room as the happy couple kissed and embraced. Everyone quickly crowded around them to offer their congratulations. Stella hesitated, not sure if she should do the same but couldn’t really do anything since there were so many people around Devon and Charley.
“Go on, get in there,” Jacob urged. “You’re gonna be part of this family soon, so you better learn how to fight.”
“A part of this family?” That thought never even occurred to her. “I’m just … I’m no one.”
He grinned at her, then shook his head. “Nuh-uh, no take-backsies. As far as we’re all concerned, you’re already part of this family, seeing as Devon and Charley are True Mates. But, since you’re new, lemme help you out.” He gently placed a hand on her lower back and pushed her forward as he used his other hand to shove people out of his way.
The strangest sensation prickled at her neck, like someone was looking at her, which was silly because everyone was looking at her since Jacob was loudly telling people to move away.
“Coming through, coming through!” When they drew closer, he whistled at the woman embracing Charley. “Stop hoggin’ her, Lizzie.”
The redheaded woman released Charley and whirled around. “Oh, hey runt, didn’t see you there.”
Jacob blew out a breath. “I’m like, over a foot taller than you.”
“And I’m still your older sister, so, nyeh.” The redhead—Lizzie, who Stella now recalled was another of Charley’s cousins—stuck her tongue out at him, then turned to Stella. “Sorry you had to be left alone with him.”
“No worries. Congratulations, Charley,” she said as she hugged her future sister-in-law. “And good job, Devon. See, I told you she’d say yes.”
“You knew too?” Charley’s eyes widened.
“Yeah.” Devon drew her in a for a hug. “Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for inviting me. I’m glad I could be here.” While she was elated for Devon and Charley, a small twinge plucked at her chest. Perhaps it had always been there, but the excitement of everything had made it easy to ignore. But it remained there, persistent, telling her that while she was happy, not everything was quite right.
Because she wasn’t here.
This was a moment they—she, Devon, and their sister—should have celebrated together.
“Stella.” Devon’s hand gripped her shoulder. “I know.”
Her eyes quickly met his—and saw the understanding there.
She’d always been easy to read, she supposed. “No, please, let’s not talk about it now,” she whispered.
“What—” Charley’s head ping-ponged between them. “Oh, right. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, this is a happy occasion.” Stella put on a smile. “Let’s not spoil it.”
“We’ll find her.” Devon’s tone was so confident, she almost believed it would happen. “Right, Lizzie?”
“Lizzie is the hacker who found you,” Charley explained.
“Oh. It was you?”
“Yep.” Lizzie’s blue eyes twinkled. “And I swear to you, I’m working on finding your twin night and day. It’s my top priority.”
“Hey, if you’re a genius, how did you find Stella so easily and not her twin?” Jacob asked.
“I am a genius.” Lizzie scowled playfully at her brother. “But searching into government databases is the absolute worst. The systems are often outdated, record-keeping is sloppy, and those old computers are a bitch to deal with. Literal bitches sometimes, and you won’t believe the things they say to me. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen.” She tapped at her chin. “I do have a different theory.”
“What is that?” Devon asked.
“I hate to say it, but it’s either her records are still on paper in a file cabinet somewhere which means I won’t be able to access them or … they simply don’t exist.”
“But why wouldn’t there be any records of her?” Stella asked. “I mean, if they have mine, shouldn’t they have hers too?”
“I don’t know, I’m sorry.” Lizzie smiled at her sympathetically.
“You’re doing your best,” Stella said. “Thank you for that.”
“It’s driving me crazy, not knowing. I’ve tried everything.” Her lips pursed together. “I mean, short of putting your face out there on a missing persons poster and pasting it up all over.” She laughed aloud. “But I promise, I’ll keep trying.”
“Thank you, Lizzie, you’ve done so much.” Devon said. “I really do owe you a lot.”
“You’ve already paid me with unlimited front row seats to your concerts,” she said with a laugh. “Now, I’m starving!” She placed a hand on her belly, which Stella just realized, had a small, but noticeable baby bump. “Where is my fiancé? He said he was going to make a plate for me. I’ll see you around. Jacob, let’s go, I think Mom said she wanted to talk to you about something.”
“See you around, Stella.” Jacob waved goodbye as Lizzie dragged him away.
“I—” She stopped short, as that strange sensation at her neck returned, and this time, she quickly found the source—and her heart jumped into her throat as her gaze clashed with a pair of familiar bright green eyes. Cliff glared at her, eyes blazing and jaw clenched, before he turned away.
What the heck did I do?
“Stella? You okay?” Devon asked.
“Yeah, um … I’m sorry I put a damper on things.”
“No, you did not.” Charley hugged her again. “I’m just so happy. I mean, I know we’re already having a baby and all, I didn’t need a ring.”
“I know, but I wanted everyone to know.” Devon frowned. “I’m just glad the press didn’t ruin this surprise.”
“Well, we weren’t exactly being discreet backstage.” She lifted an eyebrow at him, and he could only grin at her.
“I’m not the noisy one.”
“Ahem.” Stella smirked at them. “Get a room, you two.”
“Oh, I plan to.” He waggled his eyebrows at his fiancée. “But, you’re leaving in a few hours, so let’s enjoy the rest of the party.”
Stella did enjoy the evening, and she got to know more of Charley’s cousins, aunts, uncles, and extended family. She also no longer felt eyes on her—Cliff’s, to be specific. Since she didn’t find any trace of him anywhere, she assumed he had left.
She told herself she wasn’t disappointed—just that the thought that she might have done something to offend him that made him leave early niggled at her. But, she didn’t want to let that put a damper on her remaining time with Devon and Charley.
They stayed at the mansion that night, and the next day, Devon rode back with her to JFK so she could take her flight back to Vegas. When they pulled up to the departures area, he pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry I can’t go in with you.”
“You didn’t have to come all the way here.” Her heart felt heavy at the thought she wasn’t going to see him again for a while. “Will you come for a visit?”
“I will.” He kissed her forehead. “I have a couple of West Coast stops on my tour; I’ll get away as soon as I can.”
“Just give me call. Bye, Devon.”
“Bye, Stella. Safe flight.”
After one last hug, she let herself out of the limo and thanked the driver as he handed her her bag.
The flight home was long, but uneventful at least. As soon as she entered her house, melancholy washed over her. She should be glad she was home, in her own house, surrounded by her things, and that she’d be sleeping in her own bed tonight.
But things were different now.
“It’s not right,” she muttered to herself as she plopped down on her couch.
Lord help her, things weren’t the same anymore. How could she pretend things were all right, that she could go on with her life, knowing her twin sister was out there without a clue that she and Devon existed. What if she wasn’t as lucky as Stella? What if she’d gone into the system like Devon? While Devon’s life hadn’t been as easy as Stella’s, girls who went into foster care usually had it worst.
I have to do something.
Something Lizzie said last night had stuck in her brain. About the one surefire way they could find her sister—or at least the modern, more efficient equivalent of a missing persons poster.
Mind made up, she grabbed her purse, took out her phone and placed it on the coffee table so the screen and camera faced her. Pressing the record button, she sat back and began to talk.
“Hi, my name is Stella, and I’m an adoptee. Recently, I found out that I have a twin sister, so I was hoping someone out there could help me find her …”
* * *
For the next two days, a sense of foreboding followed Stella like a dark cloud. She hadn’t told anyone she knew about the video she uploaded to various social media sites—not her parents, and definitely not Devon or Charley. Consulting any of them would have made her chicken out, but she had been careful to never mention Devon or about them being found in the train station in LA so that no one would make the connection.
She wasn’t even sure if anyone had seen the video yet. Though she had had her social media accounts since college, she stopped being active on them when she started her job at Crestholm. There were a few shares from her old classmates, but that was about it.
On the third day, however, something must have happened—perhaps the right people saw and shared one of her videos because when Stella woke up that morning, she suddenly had thousands of views and dozens of DMs in her socials. There were some obviously fake ones pretending to be her sister or family, a few nasty and gross ones, but overall, she was touched by some of the messages that offered their support or help. With so many messages coming in, it would have taken all morning to respond to each one, so she put her phone on mute and got ready for work. She would deal with that later this evening, and she could forget about it for now.
News must have traveled fast, however, because as she walked down the busy hallway of Crestholm’s main building, Stella could feel the stares and hear the whispers around her.
“… dude, that’s definitely her ….”
“… adopted ….”
“… the music teacher ….”
Devon had mentioned that as soon as he found out he was a Lycan, his supernatural began to kick in. He and Charley had warned her about enhanced senses—she actually wondered if the reason she had perfect pitch was because of her Lycan abilities—but she didn’t realize that amplified hearing would have a downside.
Hopefully, that video was not a mistake.
“Hey, Stella,” Tyler greeted from where he stood by her desk in the faculty offices.
Oh Lord, help me.
She had gone straight into her classroom after arriving this morning, hoping to avoid any of her colleagues, but then she remembered she had left a workbook she needed for her fourth period class at her desk.
“Tyler.” Hopefully, that sounded as unenthused as she had thought it did. “I was just looking for my?—”
“So, that was you, right? In the video?”
“What video?” Maybe he would go away if she played dumb.
He chuckled. “Of course it’s you.” Shaking his head, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I had no idea you were adopted. I’m so sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” She shrugged his hand away. “My parents are the most loving and generous people.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” He put his hands up defensively. “I mean, I’m sorry about your sister. That you were separated and all.”
The mention of her long-lost twin mollified her—somewhat. Definitely not enough to continue this conversation. “If you’ll excuse me, I should get my stuff, or I’ll be late for class.”
Stella had hoped things would get better, but they did not. The following day, she had received even more disturbing messages on social media, plus the buzz around school grew even louder. A few students who were adoptees themselves came up to her to share their stories, which she appreciated as she was always open to listening to students.
However, her cell number had somehow gotten out, and now she was receiving calls—a lot of dumb prank calls, but also now local media people were calling her, trying to get her to do morning talk shows and interviews. While going on a few shows or maybe even getting the word out through newspapers would help the story spread faster, this wasn’t exactly what she was hoping for. All she had wanted was for someone to see her video and her face and maybe someone who knew her sister would see it.
Or maybe that her sister herself would see it and reach out.
Not even her work provided her respite. As if her current students whispering to each other wasn’t enough, students who weren’t even in her classes kept “accidentally” entering her classroom just to check if she really was the woman in the video.
Fed up, Stella grabbed her things and headed to the faculty break room.
“Stella! I’m glad you’re here.”
Not again, she groaned at the sound of Tyler’s voice. This time, he was surrounded by a group of teachers as they drank coffee by the lounge area.
“I was just … going to grab a cup before I went back to my classroom.” She could always lock it between periods, she supposed.
“Oh, Stella!” Jane Fenton, the English teacher, hurried over to her side and grabbed her hands. “I just wanted to tell you how brave I think you are, putting yourself out there to find your long-lost family.”
“Er, thanks?” She tried to pull her hands away, but Jane only held her tighter and dragged her toward the others.
“Tell us all about it!” The rest of the teachers nodded. “How did you even find out you had a twin?”
At that moment, Stella felt like the proverbial deer in headlights—she couldn’t tell them the real story, because that would reveal too much info about Devon and the Lycans.
“It was one of those DNA website tests, wasn’t it?” Harry Johnson, the math teacher interjected.
“Yeah! That’s exactly it.” Thank the Lord that Harry being a know-it-all worked to her advantage. “I found a long lost … relative who pointed me in the right direction.”
“Have you tried looking into your records?” Jim Fowler, the football coach, asked. “Surely you can get a judge to grant you some kind of order so you can find your sister.”
Another teacher said, “If you need help, I know a lawyer.”
“My husband can?—”
“There’s also?—”
“Hold on now.” Tyler held up a hand. “I think Stella’s feeling a bit overwhelmed.” He placed an arm around her, which made Stella’s stomach curl. “We can use your support though. We’ll get through this.”
“We?” Stella was so caught off guard, she couldn’t help but say it aloud. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
“If you’ll excuse us ….”
Tyler steered her away from the others, but before they could even reach the door, she tried to shrug him off. When that didn’t work, a vibration rumbled across her chest that she was pretty sure Tyler had heard. It made him drop his arm to the side.
“Did you tell them anything about us?” she asked.
He leaned forward. “Is there anything to tell?”
“No, but …”
But what? It wasn’t like Tyler was telling everyone about her personal business—she had done that herself with that video. “I need to go.”
By the time Friday evening rolled around, Stella completely regretted her decision to release that video. The situation at work did not improve. She could barely use her phone now as messages and calls kept blowing it up. Students would just whip their phone out and take photos whenever they ran into her. The local news stations and papers had grown quite insistent as well, and one of them even called the office since she had shut off her phone. She had a sinking feeling that the headmaster would be calling her to his office at any moment.
I have to get out of here.
Mind made up, she ended her last class early and said goodbye to her students, then bolted out the door seconds before the dismissal bell rang. She hurried out to her car before anyone had a chance to stop her.
A profound sense of relief washed over her as soon as she reached home. The moment she stepped inside, she threw her shoes off and sank down on the comfy couch, closing her eyes as she let out a groan.
I should have thought this through.
But it wasn’t like she could do anything about it now. There was no putting the genie back in the bottle, the best she could do was deal with the situation now.
The doorbell rang, making her spring up to her feet.
“Hold on!” she called as she scrambled toward the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw a woman she didn’t recognize standing on her porch. “Who is it?”
“Hi, Stella! I’m Gina Sherman, and I’m a reporter from the Nevada Herald. Do you have time to talk about your viral video?”
Ugh. “Sorry, I’m busy right now!” How the heck did this woman find her home address?
“How about another time? Are you busy this weekend? Maybe you can sit down with me and?—”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Sherman, I’m just not ready right now.”
“Then why did you put out that video?”
“I just thought … I didn’t think it would go viral so quickly. I just want to find my sister and make sure she’s okay.”
“Can I quote you on that?”
Stella fisted her hands. “I’m sorry … please, I need some time.”
“I can help you out, you know,” Sherman insisted. “If your story goes national, more people will see your face, and you’ll be able to find her.”
“I know.” But Stella just wasn’t ready. “I just … I want to figure out what I want to do first, okay?”
After a brief moment of silence, Sherman spoke up. “All right. I’m leaving my card on your mat. Please call me when you’re ready.”
“Thanks.”
Lord, if this is what the local news people did, who knew what would happen if she made national news? No wonder Devon and Charley hated the press.
Perhaps she could still do something about this. Or maybe her video views would eventually die down.
But for now, she needed to get away.
To Momma and Papa’s.
Her parents would always welcome her no matter what, and they might even be able to give her some good advice.
Mind made up, she packed a bag, got into her car, and began the long drive up to Keywoods. Visiting them on the weekends was something she did once a month or so, but usually she left right away from work. Driving on the highway at night with nothing but open desert around her creeped her out.
Stella stopped for gas about halfway, then continued on her way. As she cruised down one of the longer stretches of the main highway, two lights appeared in her rearview mirror. The headlights grew larger and brighter as it came up behind her.
“Ugh, just go around me.” She released the gas to slow down, hoping they’d take the hint. The other vehicle, however, did not overtake her nor did it slow down—the engine revved harder as it sped up toward her.
What—
Stella screamed as her car spun out of control when the other vehicle crashed into her. Her brain rattled in her skull as she was shaken like a ragdoll. Somehow, she managed to hold on to the wheel and stomp on the brakes, sending her car skidding across the sandy desert before it stopped. The world spun around her as she leaned back, trying not to throw up. She closed her eyes.
What happened?
Before she could figure it out, the car door opened. There was a short ripping sound and Stella found herself yanked out of the driver’s seat. When she opened her eyes, she was blinded by bright lights.
“Who—stop!” She screamed as an arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her up in the air. “No!”
Stella twisted her body and jerked it back and forth, but the arm around her was like a steel band. Besides, she was still dizzy from the accident, and moving around only made the world spin harder.
“Get her in the trunk,” a low, raspy voice said.
She let out another scream as she was tossed into the trunk of a car. When she tried to get up, pain exploded up her jaw on the right side of her face. Before she could protest or shout, another blow to the cheek sent her staggering back. The crack of bone had been unmistakable, and she curled up into a ball in agony.
Stella could only cry as the vehicle began to move. Who were these people? What did they want with her? What were they going to do to her?
Fear took over, and she imagined all the things they could do to her. Oh Lord, she would never see her parents again. Or Devon or Charley or her future niece or nephew. Or?—
A low rumble interrupted her thoughts, making her pause.
“It’s … you?” she coughed out.
Another rumble, one she translated as a yes.
Her imaginary friend.
No.
Her wolf.
A warm, pleased emotion spread across her chest. As if it had been waiting for a long time to be acknowledged. Something—like a hand—prodded and pushed at her, telling her to get up.
Bracing her palms on the floor of the dirty trunk, she pushed herself up on her elbows. Blinking, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. She let out a gasp as her surroundings appeared in front of her. It wasn’t like a light switched on and everything was clear. But she could make out shapes in the dark—better than she usually could.
She felt another push.
I can’t get up, this place is too small.
Another emotion rushed at her—urgency, but also encouragement. Like her wolf was telling her not to give up.
She blew out a breath, wincing as her cheekbone throbbed. But she ignored it for now.
Concentrate … how can I get out of here?
“Aha!”
An idea popped into her head. She recalled that modern cars had some sort of emergency release lever in case anyone got trapped in the trunk. It took her only a few seconds to locate it right by the lip. Holding her breath, she pulled on it and felt the latch give, and air rushed into the trunk..
This was it. Now or never.
They weren’t going at breakneck speed, but it was still fast enough that Stella’s heart pounded in her chest as terror filled her at the prospect of what she had to do. There was only one way out of this, but it wasn’t going to be easy, and she could get hurt.
Still, it probably didn’t compare to what those men might have planned for her.
And so, she jumped.