Page 50 of Forever Mine

“E, he wears their symbol. I think he is.”

“Who's Larry?” I asked.

“Larry, Dave, and Martin are three allies of mine. They are friends. Humans. They give me heads-ups on pack movements. They are the ones that alerted us to the Bulgarian traveling with my brothers during our mating challenge period. Remember?”

I nodded my head. I did. Patrick's asshole of a father actually sent one of Patrick’s own brothers to challenge him for Elise during their mating period. It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever heard of. When a small group arrived with him, a Bulgarian spy had been among them. Westin was at war with the Bulgarians. Kelsey, whose given name had been Elena, was originally from the Bulgarian pack. She was one badass Pack Mother for us, but the Bulgarians were still hellbent on finishing what they had started so long ago. It led to war between the packs. Patrick's father, Alpha of the Irish Clan, had sided with the Bulgarians.

“They also helped me save Elise. They had been monitoring the Bulgarians that kidnapped her last year. That's how we met. I knew they were part of some secret society, and that they have been terrified that their people would find out they broke their law and interacted directly with a shifter. It's apparently part of their greatest code. I didn't know what the faction was called or even how many there are. They refuse to share any details, only information that can help with security of our pack.”

“So this guy just approached you at some party and told you all of this?” Elise questioned in disbelief.

“Jacob sent him.”

“Jacob? Wait, Maddie's Jacob?” Patrick asked, trying to keep up.

“Yes. Jacob and Annie are part of the Order of the Verndari,” I said.

“They never knew about me,” Maddie said. “Apparently when I was attacked, there was a pack of out-of-control tiger shifters doing terrible things to people. Like they did to me, or that's what they assumed. They thought Oscar was half tiger, but never suspected I was wolf.”

“How is that even possible? You lived with these people. They had to have known. You couldn't have just gone all those years without shifting. How did you do it?” E asked skeptically. “´Here, hold my baby. I need to go for a few hours walk in the woods?’”

I glared at my sister.

Maddie shook her head. “I've never shifted, so it's never been an issue.”

Elise's skepticism turned to complete shock.

“I told you, it's complicated,” I said.

By “complicated,” I hadn't meant Oscar. I already loved that kid and as far as I was concerned I'd be the only father he ever knew. I paused for a minute in that thought. Father? I let it hang in the air of recognition. Yes. I already considered him family. My kid. I was a father. The thought gutted and elated me at the same time.

When I had said complicated earlier, though, it wasn't about Oscar, it was about Madelyn. If she truly had no wolf, then how could we possibly complete the bond? Her human teeth wouldn't be sharp enough to pierce my skin in the exchange of blood that came from marking either other and beginning the lifelong bond between mates. I hadn't begun to push the issue because a part of me feared it wasn't physically possible for us. I knew I would still be committed to her and Oscar in the same way for the rest of my life, but I still wanted the full package. I just didn't see how it was ever going to work like a normal mated pair.

I hadn't even noticed that I wasn't the only one who had fallen quiet, lost in my own thoughts, until Patrick cleared his throat. “So, aside from being aware of the Verndari and now knowing the sign they wear that identifies them, what further knowledge do we have from this?”

“Yeah, we've known about them, maybe not their name, but them, for the past year.”

“And you never thought to tell anyone?” I questioned.

“Kyle and Kelsey are aware. We decided it was best not to alarm everyone unnecessarily. If they are truly just observing, and have for thousands of years, what difference does it really make?”

“Not even the council knows?”

Elise and Patrick both shook their heads as I tried to absorb it all. I wasn't sure how I felt about my siblings keeping such a massive thing to themselves. I could sort of understand, I guess. I mean, I had chosen to come straight to Patrick with the information, instead of alerting every packmate I crossed paths with on my return home.

“The way he spoke, and warned me of danger, I can't help but think there's more than just observation going on. He made it sound like there was a divide among his people: those holding to the old ways and watching and helping—he called them the guardians—and those wanting to research us to better humanity with modern technology.”

Elise gasped. “Raina! Patrick, you don't think?”

He shook his head no in reaction, but slowed it to a questioning shrug.

“What about Raina?” I knew she was Kelsey's Bulgarian aunt, and the only Bulgarian allowed in Westin territory.

Patrick filled us in. “Raina was supposed to arrive in time for Zander's birth. Larry warned us a small group of Bulgarian women arrived in San Francisco and were thought to be heading for us, a few months ahead of his due date. Raina was confirmed to be in the group, but they never arrived.”

“Kelsey's been sick with worry. It's been over a year since anyone's heard from her. You don't think?” Elise questioned.

“I don't know, but by the way he spoke, I wouldn't exclude the idea that the Verndari have her.”

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