Page 81 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“There’s something I need to tell you too, and I’m afraid it’s not good news either.”

That stopped the moment of frivolity dead in its tracks.

“What is it?”

“Lucien is missing. Samuel found signs of foul play in his apartment, and no one from Caelestis has seen or heard from him since the castle attack.”

I drummed my fingers on the windowsill, thinking. “I can’t imagine Christian is too happy about that. He hates being out of the know. He’ll feel like Lucien got taken on his watch.”

“He’s a butler, not a babysitter. Lucien is a grown man, and I trust that he can fend for himself under normal circumstances.”

The long pause that followed left a gaping maw for the fact that we both knew these were anything but normal circumstances. I closed my eyes, rubbing between my eyebrows at the piercing headache that was starting to develop.

“He has also missed the last several council meetings.”

I swore. “So, what do we think? Did Petró’s people sweep him up, or someone on the council who was looking for more information on our harboring an adult omega?”

“We don’t know yet. Samuel’s still following the trail, but the preliminary findings aren’t good.”

“Fuck.”

“That about sums it up, yes. This is a real mess, Reed. And I hate feeling trapped, like I can’t go out and face it head-on.”

I looked down at Fiona, and I couldn’t help but put myself in his shoes. I wasn’t happy she had a birth control rod in her arm; that was unwelcome news, which we’d have to discuss at some point.

But deep down, as troubled as I had been that she’d kept that tidbit from me, I couldn’t lie and say I hadn’t been relieved to hear it anyway.

Bringing another omega into this mess before it was settled was anything but wise. A problem for another time, though. We had more immediate issues to handle.

“How are you feeling about having your mate with you on this mission? I can send someone to pick her up and take her back to Alaska, if you’d prefer.”

It was my turn to sigh. “If I thought she’d go for it, I’d say yes in a heartbeat. It makes my skin crawl to think of her getting anywhere near a vampire nest, but she’s too damn stubborn for her own good. She’s going to stay with me.”

“You’ll keep her safe. I have no doubt of that.”

I would. Even if it cost the mission, and that was the part that wasn’t acceptable, that I couldn’t say out loud to my Alpha. My best friend? Maybe. But not my Alpha.

“I will. Get some rest, and I’ll let you know how our first contact goes.”

“You do that.”

The line clicked, going dead as I watched the unbroken desert roll by outside the window and considered where my loyalties lay. There wasn’t even a question.

* * *

We pulledup to the hotel around noon, the heat a striking contrast to the cold nip we’d left behind in Italy.

I woke Fiona, and we moved quickly from the car to the safety of the hotel lobby. It was one of the few neutral zones in Vegas, owned by a warlock instead of a vampire and open to any supernatural species with money to spend. Luckily, of that, I had no shortage.

We had the penthouse suite, the entire top floor of the building, with access only through a private elevator and twenty-four-seven security. Augmented by my own for the duration of our stay, of course. I wouldn’t accept anything less with Fiona along on the trip, and I’d paid triple to have it vacated early for our abrupt arrival.

“Xeor Blaise, funny meeting you here,” I drawled, finding the warlock himself standing in the lobby to greet us. His thick head of dark hair was perfectly styled in a preppy wave to one side, his tawny skin offset by perfectly straight, white teeth. He had all the flair of the French on his father’s side, but none of the understated taste. The suit he wore was a gaudy purple velvet, a silver pocket-watch chain hanging from one pocket instead of a square like a low-rent magician, when he was anything but.

“It’s not every day I have to bum-rush someone out of my penthouse suite for the only furry restaurant mogul around, now, is it? How do you manage the hairnets?”

“Hilarious as always, Blaise. You know damn well most of my organization is fully human. Is our suite ready?”

“Of course! I’ll show you up.” He waved us toward the private elevator, and my security detail from our follow car let themselves into the security office behind the check-in desk.

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