Chapter 14 #3
“There’s a room at the end of the east hall. It has a lot of boxes of books, and shelves, and I could make it cozy with a fire, and there’s a big chair, and a view, and it’s quiet, and I could take up a ton of blankets and things to make it comfortable for you.”
I knew I was rambling, and his chin came up slightly. “What about my family?”
“Fuck them,” I said. “Nothing changes. I’m going to protect you; I’m going to find a way to get you somewhere safe over the border, and you’ll have your baby, and then you’ll have a happy fucking life. Okay?”
He was startled, but then he nodded. “Okay.”
Now what? Distraction. He was too pale and shaky, and exhaustion marked his skin with bruises under his eyes.
“The library probably needs the windows cracked and the dust gone,” I blurted, and he started. Way to mess with the nervous omega, idiot. “But if you want somewhere to be that isn’t your room, it’s there.”
I took him along the corridor to the final door after the kitchen, opened it, and stepped back so he could enter the space first. What he didn’t know was that there was a panic room right behind the second bookcase—the first thing I’d added from Raff’s plans.
Two armchairs faced the window, placed there by Raff when we’d moved in. The window faced north, toward the tree line, with the mountain behind it.
Soren stood in the doorway and smiled at the view.
Happy. Omega. Mine. My wolf offered, which wasn’t helpful.
“I’ll get blankets,” I said. “The chair on the left is deeper, so probably better for your back.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“Open any boxes; there are all kinds of books, my… Raff… he was big on books.” He threw me a glance, but I wasn’t ready to discuss Raff with him.
I crossed to the taller bookshelf against the far wall and pressed my thumb to the underside of the middle shelf.
There was a quiet click, and the entire unit released, swinging slowly away from the wall on concealed hinges. Soren’s eyes widened.
“This is the panic room,” I said. “It has reinforced walls, independent ventilation, enough food and water for a couple of weeks, blankets, a radio, first aid kits, a tunnel leading out to a fully equipped camouflaged and scent blocked staging area with another smaller safe house, more like a cottage, and comms in it to call for help.”
I stepped inside, flicked on the lights, then showed him the control panel beside the door.
“If you ever need it, close the door and hit this. It’ll deadbolt from the inside; head downstairs; there’s another door there; the code for both doors is 18166.
That’s RAFF in numbers, okay? No one gets in without the override, and only you and I know that code. ”
“Okay.”
“We’ll add some baby stuff in case, but I hope you never have to use it,” I said as I swung the bookcase back into place until the lock engaged with a solid click. “If anything happens while I’m outside, or if you get scared, this is where you go. No hesitation.”
He nodded, and I gestured at the nearest chair.
“I’m going out to run the east fence line,” I said. “Patrol. A few hours, maybe less depending on the snow.” I stopped. His chin had dropped. “What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m fine here.”
“Soren.”
“I’m fine.” He didn’t want me to go. I almost told him I could skip patrol, and the thought stopped me cold.
Three years, and I hadn’t missed a run. The fences still needed checking.
Cameras still failed. Trees still came down across the perimeter.
So why was I suddenly looking for reasons to stay here with him?
Because he needs us.
“I’ll be on the fence line,” I said, giving no room for argument, then softened when he seemed stricken. “Not far. If anything changes with you or Asha, you open the door and shout, and I’ll hear you. I’ll find panic alarms for the next time I go out; I know I have them packed up somewhere.”
He nodded, staring at the books with an uncertain expression.
“That’s where I’ll be.” I crossed to the window and pointed at the tree line east of the house, where the fence turned north. “You’ll see me shift back before I reach the yard.”
He stared at where I was pointing. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he said. Then, gestured at the chairs: “Who is Raff?”
“I need to patrol,” I said, already overstimulated by even being in this room, and evading the subject like a boss.
Fuck. Raff, I miss you.
After setting a fire in the old grate, I left Soren in the library with the mountain view in the window and the snow coming down, and I closed the door on memories I didn’t need today.
My wolf was already pulling toward the door before I hit the stairs, impatient to get this over and done with and get back for Soren. I needed the cold air and the distance and the clean hard work of the fence line, he needed…
Our omega.
Usually, we disappeared into the trees without another thought, but not today. Before we reached the first fence corner, he’d already stopped, one paw up, and three times he stared toward the house.
Turning back toward Soren. Stay. Protect. Home.
“We have to work,” I told him. But the truth was, I understood him completely, and I’ve never patrolled so damn fast.
A voicemail was waiting for me when I got home.
Static crackled for a second before Ronan’s voice came through, rougher than I’d heard it before, as though he was walking while he talked.
“Cass, it’s me. Don’t call back. I won’t have this phone by the time you hear this.
” There was a pause, followed by the sound of wind rushing across the microphone.
“I’ve identified our omega as Soren Kastor.
The files we recovered weren’t complete, but there was enough.
Birth records. Family trees. Breeding agreements going back generations. ”
Fuck, if he’d found that out, then others could too.
Hunters maybe.
“It’s the Kastor family. If Soren Kastor’s alive, every family connected to that network will already know he’s missing.
Not to mention whoever the fuck the father of the baby is.
” More harsh breathing. “Shit, Cass…” Wind swallowed part of the next sentence before his voice came back.
“The bounty won’t stay local; hell, it won’t even stay regional.
Every family with money, influence, or a claim to that bloodline will be looking for him now.
” I knew that. Some hunters would want the child, but others might want to stop anyone else from getting her, either.
He fell silent for a couple of seconds, and I thought the message had ended, then he coughed, and when he spoke again, his voice was rougher.
“Talk to him, Cass. His brother Emric is the Patriarch, and he’s privately throwing millions at anyone who can find Soren and the baby.
I think he’s connected me to the ORT, but I’ve managed to drag him off in the wrong direction for the moment, but that’s all it is, a delay.
He’s got unlimited money, unlimited reach, and he’ll burn through anyone who gets in his way.
The ORT… there’s a leak… I don’t know where to even start searching, but Raff filed plans on the house okay, so if someone looks hard enough…
Fuck I have to go. Whatever you’re imagining…
” He paused. “Think bigger. It’s worse.”
It was way worse, and I’d already come to that conclusion myself.
Without a legitimate pure-blooded heir, the Kastor empire would begin to rot from the top down.
Their claim to leadership would be challenged, rival bloodlines would seize the opportunity, and the power the Kastor family had spent a lifetime consolidating would start slipping through the new Patriarch’s fingers.
And Raff had registered the house with ORT?
Of course he had, his grand plan was for it to be on the Haven Network, but surely no one would have looked at the plans since he died?
The recording clicked off without a goodbye.
Too many questions, too much to worry about.