Page 53 of Shattered Illusion

The receptionist on the main floor screeches an unholy sound as I run past her, heading straight for the bank of elevators. A threat of security reaches my ears, but I ignore her, slipping through the silver doors before they close.

My finger repeatedly mashes the button for the top floor because where else would the man whose name is on the building keep his office. Crappy elevator music grates on my earsas the silver death trap ascends the floors, my foot tapping in dismay at how slow it’s moving.

The metal box shudders to a halt, a ding sounds in the small confines, and finally, the doors part, admitting me to a large, open-concept floor. My gaze zeros in on the only wooden doors in the entire place, and my stomping footfalls echo throughout the office.

Once again, I go to bypass the receptionist’s desk, but before I can, a chubby, older witch jumps out from behind it, blocking my path. Bringing my lycan to the surface, I let my eyes flash silver again, hoping the portly woman gets the hint, but she stands taller, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asks in a nasally tone, her foot tapping incessantly on the floor.

Is this witch fucking serious?

“My sister is in there.” I point toward the frosted glass wall behind her.

“I’m sorry, sir. But you must be mistaken. Mr. Pennington is currently in a meeting with Mr. Luka. If you give me a moment, I can see if I can pencil you in sometime today.”

“No!” I bellow, my rage getting the best of me. I know my sister and my mate are in there. I can feel them both like an extension of my own body. “Listen here, witch. Get the fuc?—”

“Hud?” The door behind the witch opens, my sister’s trembling form taking up the doorway. Relief hits me square in the heart to see her unharmed. But from my vantage point, I can’t lay eyes on my mate. My lycan roars in my head, chanting her name over and over again.

The witch spins around, clutching her chest. “How? How did you get in there? I haven’t left my desk for one second. Except… Oh. Oh. Mr. Pennington is going to fire me.” The old witch continues to ramble, shaking her head.

“Mari.”

The witch finally stops her crazy mutterings and steps away from the door, clearing the path to my little sister. I pull her into my arms, feeling a small weight lift from my shoulders. Mari is okay. She’s here. She’s unharmed.

“I’ll fucking kill ‘em,” I growl into the crown of her head, earning myself a watery giggle. My sister is a strong wolf. One of the strongest she-wolves that’s been born in a long time. And to hear her sniffle tells me this whole thing really shook her up.

“I think the demi-god will beat you to that.” My back goes ramrod straight at her words. I don’t know why I didn’t think he’d be here. Bailey is his mate, too. He’d want to make sure she was okay after the ordeal they’d been through.

But what I can’t seem to figure out is why they ended up here, of all places.

“And Bailey?” I ask quietly, afraid my mate may run at the sound of my voice.

“She’s okay, Hud. Pretty beat up, but she’s okay.”

“Can I see—” Marion knows me well enough to know exactly what I’m asking.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” She pulls away, her lips tipped down in a frown. She blindly reaches back for the door and closes it softly. “I know she’s your mate, Hud. But I think she and Mr. Pennington and possibly Luka are dating.” My lycan rattles the confines of his cage at the news of the vampire with my mate. “And after what happened, I don’t know if she’d want to see you.” She winces at her own words.

Fuck.

Marion’s right. Bailey’s been skipping my class—the only time I’d see her since the demi-god put a stop to me stalking her in the halls. If my mate wanted to see me, she’d actually show up for class. And I can’t even blame the demi-god, the vampire, or anyone else for that matter. I’m just hoping that one day, she may decide to show up so I can do what I should have done in thebeginning. And that’s to help her find her animal. Or animals—plural.

And how do I know that? Because after Jasper ripped me a new asshole and booted me from his office with one last threat to keep her existence quiet, I went into research mode. I can still vaguely remember a time when Curiomancers were everywhere. Until they weren’t. Slowly, they started disappearing. And then, one day, they were just gone.

One good thing I can say is that I was never part of the manhunt toward her kind. My father—may he rot in hell—was. He hated anyone that had more power than he did. Hell, he tried to take my sister and I out of this world because we were both immensely more powerful than he was. After I slashed his throat, I took my sister and ran. Neither one of us had any business being a part of a pack that was okay with that.

“Come on, Hud. We need to go get my car, and I just want to go home.”

“Yeah, alright, Mari.” She skirts around me, heading toward the elevators, but my feet refuse to budge. Not when my mate is on the other side of the door. Injured. Again. She won’t want to see me. Marion is right about that. Even though I’d kill to hold her in my arms and see with my own eyes that she’s still alive.

Placing my forehead against the door, I vow here and now to protect Bailey until my dying breath. And even then, I’ll protect her from across the veil so she lives a full and meaningful life that her ancestors never got.

And if my beautiful mate wants nothing to do with me?

I’ll still do it for her.

It’s the least she deserves.

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