Chapter Twenty-Four
Someone Should Really Kill Noah
LIAM O’CONNOR
I become a silent sentinel in the encroaching darkness outside Rachel’s apartment above the coffee shop. From the moment Aiden deposited Gen inside and closed the door, a supernatural void swallowed every sound from within. Gen’s heartbeat was abruptly cut off. Her sighs, her whispers are eliminated as if they didn’t exist.
If I hadn’t known Rachel was a witch and had some understanding of the magick they could weave, my worry would have swelled into a tide of dread. Instead, I chalk up the unsettling silence to their desire for privacy.
As the first strokes of dawn paint the sky with hues of gold and crimson, Noah walks over from the opposite end of the alley and leans against the back wall of the coffee shop next to me. “The witch did something to the apartment before we got here. It was the same yesterday. Couldn’t hear a damn thing.”
I stare straight ahead, impassive as the cold stone against my back. I have no interest in conversing with Oliver’s vindictive muscle, especially after he’d gone out of his way to antagonize me and Gen during the last moon run.
“Not curious at all what they’re talking about up there?”
I remain silent. Maintaining zero eye contact.
“What’s your deal, O’Connor? Jealous of your alpha getting that hot snack for a mate?”
Do. Not. Growl. Do. Not. Growl.
It takes everything in me not to rip his fucking throat out, but I refuse to rise to his bait. I already ruined it with Aiden. Making this situation worse by revealing my secret to Noah will only make everything harder for Gen.
“You know,” I say, turning to look at Noah. “It seems to me that you’re the one obsessing over Gen. I’m just here watching out, following my alpha’s orders.”
A low growl rolls up from Noah’s throat and I swallow my wolf’s instinct to react. I have to get through the morning. The wedding. And then I’ll be free.
The promises I whisper to myself are hollow, even as I cling to them. Never seeing Gen again. Never setting foot in Ash Hollow again. Never crossing paths with the witches again.
It’ll be easier after today.
I know that statement is a lie, but it’s all I’ve got.
A rattle at the top of the staircase draws my attention. Happily, I turn away from Noah, my gaze drawn to the sight of Rachel and Gen walking down the stairs, each clutching a large duffel bag. Emma trails right behind, cradling a long white garment bag.
The wedding dress again. Fuck.
My throat constricts.
Am I really going to watch my mate walk down the aisle and marry my cousin?
Fuck.
I roll my neck, cracking a few vertebrae, and head toward my truck.
Gen avoids making eye contact. Not even Rachel speaks to me, her usual bubbly energy subdued and sad.
Noah makes an innuendo-filled crack about Aiden getting his hands on her tonight.
Nobody reacts.
The women keep walking like he’s not even there.
The silence is eerie. There’s no celebration today for any of us.
I slide into my truck, my fingers curling around the cold, familiar grip of the steering wheel. I start the engine and maneuver onto the street, my gaze solidly fixed on Rachel’s car. We move slowly through the streets—six blocks to the town square.
Colorful banners flutter in the early morning breeze, the white chairs and the floral arch emanate happiness and joy, worlds apart from the mourning in my heart.
Rachel parks her car and I park mine only one street over. They unload their bags and quickly disappear into the nearby dressing tent.
Another vehicle pulls next to Rachel’s, and my pulse quickens. It’s Aiden.
I start to cross the road, but pause when Meredith emerges from the ladies’ dressing tent and intercepts him. I halt mid-stride, rooted to my spot on the sidewalk.
Aiden’s clenched fists and Meredith’s sharp gestures cut through the morning tranquility. I can’t make out the words, but the tension radiating from their body language is palpable.
As quickly as it had begun, the argument ends. Meredith turns abruptly. She walks back to the dressing tent, leaving Aiden alone, simmering with residual anger.
I move to approach him, but the heat in his angry gaze stops me cold. The conversation I avoided yesterday is happening now.
“How could you not tell me she’s your fated match, Liam?” A mix of betrayal and anguish lace his words.
My heart pounds heavily in my chest. I know I’ve hurt him by lying. Damaged the trust between us. I honestly thought it was the best option. “There’s too much at stake. Gen and I both agreed.”
His response is a low, threatening growl. “I’ve lost a mate before, Liam. You don’t understand what this will do to both of you.” His words ring true, a chilling confirmation of my own fears.
“This is what has to happen. I’m leaving after the wedding, Aiden. I’ll be gone and you can take care of her and the valley and the coven.” The words taste like ash in my mouth, but I force them out, a desperate attempt to convince both of us.
The pain is a jagged, steel blade slicing through my chest. I want to rip my clothes away and run in the face of what I know will be an unbearable loss. But I stand tall and face my cousin’s scrutinizing gaze. His lips press together into thin lines.
We stand there, wordless, until he finally nods, the motion almost imperceptible. “Very well.” Reluctance darkens his voice. But I also see resolve, which is what makes him a good alpha. An alpha I don’t deserve. He turns on his heel and strides away, leaving me alone with my bleeding broken heart.
For a moment, I’m lost in the hollow silence he leaves behind. Even though the square around me bustles with life, with the trappings of a joyous occasion, all I feel is an empty abyss yawning wide, waiting to devour me. My heart clenches at the sight of the dressing tent and the obvious lack of laughing and joy.
People are walking all around me, but all I want to hear is her . I listen for her unique heartbeat and hold my breath, savoring the connection between us—slight as it is. It will only remain another hour or so.
Once she’s bonded to Aiden I’ll lose that connection to her and all that will be left is pain instead of hope.
A cold, hard object presses against the small of my back, ripping me from my focus. A shiver snakes down my spine, and my wolf’s hackles rise in instant alarm. I don’t need to turn to know the object is a gun, nor do I need to look to know it’s Noah holding it.
“Quietly now.” His voice slithers into my ear. “Or she’ll pay for it later.”
The way he mentions “she” sends my heart into a frenzy, its frantic rhythm echoing a sharp pang of fear in my chest. There’s no mistaking it. Gen.
He heard my conversation with Aiden.
A quick sweep of my surroundings reveals the harsh truth—escape isn’t an option. The stern faces of Oliver’s enforcers surround me, their eyes as unforgiving as the steel pressed against my spine.
My wolf thrashes within me. But with every snarl, every plea for violence, I tighten my grip around its fury. This isn’t our battle to win, I remind it. Gen’s safety...that’s the only victory that matters now.
I allow Noah to lead me away, steering me from the square, from the heartbreaking sight of the wedding-to-be. An ache builds in my chest, a slow throb of dread and despair that has nothing to do with my physical state. This isn’t the first time such a scenario has crossed my mind—that Oliver would find out about our mate bond.
Gen knew it too.
It’s why she fought so hard to keep our connection a secret.
But this...this might make it easier. If I’m gone for real, she’ll be able to grieve, she’ll heal and eventually move on, right?
The beast within me howls at the thought, but the man knows the bitter truth. It’s better than a life lived with the overwhelming desire to kill my cousin.
Strong hands force me into the back seat of a sleek, black SUV. My wolf surges to the surface again, wanting to lash out, but I force it back. It takes all my focus to sit there, back straight, my gaze fixed on the man now sliding in opposite me.
Oliver.
His ice-cold eyes bore into me, a smirk playing on his lips. There’s a certain satisfaction in his gaze, a twisted delight at my predicament. It chills me more than the barrel of Noah’s gun ever could.
“So,” he begins, breaking the smothering silence that fills the vehicle. “I hear you and my daughter have been keeping quite the secret.”
I meet his stare unblinking, a silent battle of wills.
Disgust twists his features, turning his smile into a grimace. “Whatever plans you had with Imogen, consider them ruined. I will have your pack bound to me as soon as the wedding is over.”
I swallow and take several shallow breaths. Bind the pack? Oliver becoming our alpha wasn’t part of the arrangement. Aiden never would have agreed to this.
A cruel sneer curves Oliver’s mouth. “I always get what I want, O’Connor.”
A brief nod is his command to Noah.
I barely have time to react before a crippling wave of pain detonates in my temple. The world lurches and spins. My vision blurs, my mind spirals into a hazy darkness, and the last thing I see is Oliver’s villainous grin.