Page 95 of Sergi
She stood and picked up her duffel before turning to stare down at him. The red glow of her wolf lit her hazel blue eyes, leaving an interesting shade of violet. She ran a finger up his arm then down his cheek. “Behave yourself.”
She strode away with the confidence of a shifter, stopping to share words with Cadfael and a mixed group of shifters and vampires before they disappeared beyond the divider.
Between her words and her intimate gesture, Sergi couldn’t decipher what Alex was thinking. At first, he’d thought she was saying their future would be nothing more than compatriots in war, but now he wasn’t sure. The trail of her finger still burned his skin, leaving him more confused than before they spoke.
Now, he remembered why he’d stayed away from relationships.
I buriedmy grin as Cadfael and I returned to our seats in the front cabin. A year ago, I’m not sure I would have been able to hide it from my uncle, who seemed to read my expressions and hear my thoughts. A year of disguising my emotions from my captors gave me a skill I hadn’t known I was missing or needed.
I gave my uncle a warm smile when he glanced up, and I swallowed a retort while he gave me a long perusal.
“You were gone a long time to change.” His gaze became more studied. “Is everything alright?”
I waved him off as I dropped into my seat, holding back a stab of temper that surprised me. “Surely, you don’t have to worry about my safety on your own plane. Cadfael and I stopped to talk to the other shifters. I met the two surviving wolves you sent in after us.”
His expression became unreadable, and I closed my eyes and sighed. There wasn’t anything I could tell him that would remove his guilt, but I tried anyway.
“It wasn’t your fault. It was vital to find the lab. They were doing so much more than we suspected. If you hadn’t teamed up with House Trelane, I would still be a captive. I can’t say I didn’t walk away without some trauma, and I can handle it, but not if I have to worry about you, too.”
His gaze softened, but he looked away. “Let’s discuss this when we get home.”
I shrugged and picked up one of the magazines I grabbed from the rack by the door. Maybe I could catch up on what I’d missed this last year during the long flight home. I’d been nervous during the van ride, worried I might have a breakdown on the plane. There were still many hours left in the flight, so toosoon to tell. It was more likely my subconscious was waiting for me to fall asleep and would greet me with nightmares.
My thoughts drifted to Sergi, and he’d said something that I couldn’t shake. My captivity might have temporarily taken my freedom, but I’d been on a mission. Watching Sergi endure Gheata’s torture and listening to him as he shared a previous captivity while on a mission—always searching for a way out and never giving up—somehow eased my burden.
My deepest fear wasn’t of recalling what I’d endured but of falling asleep and seeing the faces of the shifters who didn’t make it out. Those who died horrible, painful deaths at the whim of vampires. It was easy to hate all vampires until one saved my life—twice. When I walked through the cabin earlier, I’d expected to see shifters sitting with shifters and vampires sitting with vampires, and while that was partly true, I had to admit there were many more shifters than vampires on the plane. Still, I was amazed by how many were co-mingling and talking while sharing food and drink.
Had that much changed in the year I was gone? I’d never paid attention to the work my uncle was doing or the secret meetings that Braden, his Beta, refused to speak of. If I had to guess, those sessions involved the groundwork he’d been building with Trelane. There was something rotten growing in the vampire Council, and I wondered if the evidence we’d gathered would have any impact or if it would quietly disappear. If there was a war coming that impacted shifters, I had some catching up to do.
I grinned as I flipped a page. There was one male who could help with that. It was difficult to look at him without remembering his hands on my skin or the wild sensations that spiked my passion when his fangs traced where his lips had been. The simple act of his laying a hand on my bare hip had sent shivers of excitement through me.
All I’d needed had been an amazing one-night stand to block out my year of loneliness. No matter how many times I told myself I should walk away, there was something about Sergi that spoke to my wolf. Calmed her anxieties. I wasn’t ready to let go, not when every instinct said to follow where it went.
I closed the magazine and considered getting a cup of coffee when I noticed my uncle watching me, his brows furrowed in thought. Good grief. I’d spent years proving I was of value to the pack. I wasn’t that little orphan pup anymore, yet it appeared we were back to that again. All those lonely nights in my cell, I imagined running into his arms so he could save me from all the bad things. It surprised even me that a vampire might heal me faster than family.
“I thought this might be a good time to review the results of the raid.”
I glanced up to see Devon Trelane. He nodded to everyone before his gaze settled on my uncle. “Now that everyone has eaten, I’d like to review the raid before the lights are turned down for sleep.”
“Excellent idea.” My uncle stood and stretched. “I would like to hear more myself. Let’s meet at the conference table.” He turned to the three of us—Cadfael, Carlos, and me. “Join us.”
He followed Trelane to the table, and the three vampires who’d been sitting with him, including Sergi, met us there. I sat to the left of my uncle at one end of the table, and Sergi took a seat at Trelane’s left at the other end. Everyone else grabbed an available chair. I kept an eye on my uncle, curious how he would play this, and hoped he’d leave whatever issue he had with Sergi out of the discussion.
Everyone was already quiet, but I felt their eyes on me as I laid all the vials on the table. Trelane focused on the items, and his eyes glowed like silver ice before settling into his stunning baby blues. When I laid the USB drive next to them, I heard aharsh intake of breath, though I wasn’t sure who it came from because my gaze slid to Sergi, who gave me the briefest of smiles to let me know he was there if I needed him.
“Let’s get started.”
I was surprised when it was Trelane who said the words. Then it dawned on me. House Trelane was preparing for war against another vampire House. It was his team who planned the incursion into the lab. And it had been Sergi who endured the torture until Trelane’s team could arrive. This was his mission. My uncle partnered with him, but he’d succeeded leadership to Trelane. Interesting.
Bella passed a tablet down to Sergi, who placed it in front of him, nudging it until it sat squarely in front of him, but he didn’t turn it on. Bella and Trelane both glanced at each other and then at the closed tablet. It was odd, but Sergi didn’t seem to notice, his focus had turned to the vials.
After an uncomfortable silence, Trelane cleared his throat and turned to me. I tried not to squirm under his inquisitive smile. “Alex. Do you feel up to telling us about your time at the lab?” His tone was soft and pleasing, as if trying to calm a child or perhaps a traumatized person. At first, it rankled me, but then Sergi’s stories returned, and I understood. Trelane had sent Family on many missions over the centuries, some who’d suffered in captivity. He didn’t know me any better than I knew him, and he didn’t want to push me.
“Of course, that’s why we’re here. Where would you like me to start?”
Trelane smile remained. “Perfect. I wouldn’t have expected anything less. Let’s start from the beginning.”
It took an hour for me to tell my tale up to and including the first couple days cleaning Sergi’s cell. I stopped frequently to answer questions ranging from how the shifters were housed, to the setup of the labs, to the security protocols.
