Page 71 of The Delta's Rogue
“I have a few ideas for where they can stay, but you don’t need to worry about that at the moment.” He reaches for the doorknob, then pauses and glances at me over his shoulder. “Is your lycan under control now?”
I swear my lycan rolls his eyes at Wesley. “Yes. We’re both calm and aware that it isn’t Dominic’s fault that our… that Sarina is in danger.”
I know he clocks my slip of the tongue, but he says nothing and opens the front door.
We’re greeted by low voices tumbling through the house from the living room and the scent of fresh wood burning in the fireplace. A female with a head of wild red curls flings herself into Wesley’s arms before he can get the door shut, completely unfazed by the blood and dirt on his clothing. Haven clutches Wesley’s face in her hands, examining the already healing bruises from the few hits I got in during our tussle.
“I’m fine,” he reassures her, lowering her hands from his face and kissing her knuckles. “Stop stressing. It’s not good for the baby.”
“I wouldn’t have to stress if you didn’t do dickheaded things, like beat up your brother.” She steps backwards, out of Wesley’s arms, and strokes her massive baby bump.
“Seb can’t hurt me.” He winks at me.
I hold my hand out to him like I want a handshake. “Want to bet on it?”
“Absolutely not.”
Haven glances at me as Wes wraps his arm around her waist and guides her back into their living room. “Are you okay?”
I give her what I’m sure is an unconvincing smile as my answer and follow them through their house.
They’ve only lived here for a year and a half, but already they’ve made it into a home. Photos of the two of them are in every room, mixed in with framed copies of their letters to each other from their childhood, all of it creating a story of true love and pure happiness.
The living room is warm from the small fire in their gorgeous stone fireplace. It’s late spring, but the evenings are still cool. The fire casts a cozy, hazy glow over the room and its occupants.
Dominic seems more relaxed here, sitting in an armchair with a glass of water in his hand, staring out one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the fireplace. Nolan and Cassandra sit on the hearth, her hand on his knee and his dark-bronze fingers playing with the ends of her long golden-brown hair. Cavalier—Haven’s half-wolf, half-husky—lies at their feet, wearing his lilac tutu like he always does. Rune sits on the large couch, between Landon and Steele, and Riven leans against the wall behind them with his arms crossed.
Wes leads Haven to the armchair that matches Dominic’s and helps her sit, then stands behind it, leaning on the back.
“Where are Reid and Taryn?” I cross the living room and plop down on the hearth next to Nolan.
“They had to get Savvy from Reid’s dad and take her home. It’s her bedtime,” Dominic replies.
“Did you get to see her yet?”
He shakes his head and sets his water on the side table next to his chair. “They’re going to bring her by in the morning.”
I glance around the room at everyone. My eyes lock with Wesley’s for a moment. He nods, giving me permission to take the lead.
A rush of gratitude towards him floods through me. He has no obligation to take a step back on this mission, and I wouldn’t protest if he insisted on maintaining his image as the alpha for it. But he doesn’t, which means more to me than he realizes.
“What have you done so far to find Sarina?” I ask Dominic.
He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Not much beyond retracing our steps from last night. Once we were one hundred percent confident she was missing, I contacted King Malachi, and he sent us here.”
“Why us? Why not ask other members of the guard? Or other royal pack members?”
“Like I mentioned before, your pack has many gifted members, and you knew—know—Sarina. And this mission doesn’t exist. No one knows about any of it.”
I rub my chin as he speaks, trying to think of what we can do.
The king and the royal pack have more resources at their disposal, but we can’t utilize any of them, which means we’re left with our own talents, resources, and pack members. But even though we’re not the royal pack, Dominic is right. We have many gifted members—an oracle, the daughter of Selene, a healer, a hybrid…
“Does Maya know a spell we can use to try to locate her?” I ask Haven.
I don’t know why I never thought of it before. Or once we learned, after Wesley and Haven’s wedding, that Maya was half witch. Probably because, by that point, I was so used to doing it mostly on my own and to keeping the details of my search hidden from everyone. If I’d asked Maya for help, she’d have spilled the beans to Haven, and Haven doesn’t keep secrets from Wesley.
Which is how it should be between mates: honesty and transparency, always. No secrets, no lies. Just pure and complete trust.
