Page 56 of Stitched Up in You
“Use what to locate them?” I ask.
“The mayor wants you to attend a gala in your honor?—”
“For what?”
“If you’ll stop cutting me off, this conversation will go a lot faster,” Mikael utters, deadpan.
“Fine, get on with it,” I tell him, making use of the time to glance through the crowds for Bernadette again.
“Pelican Group is on the list of attendees. If we announce your betrothal and have the human attend the mayor’s event, we can kill two birds with one stone. Collect everyone who’s used the serum and hack into their system simultaneously.”
I imagine for a moment Bernadette at a black-tie event, and lead fills my gut. “Not happening.”
“Well, you’d better try to make it happen. It’s the best advantage we can take and is only a week away, giving us just enough time to get the teams back in place. We spoke to our ghoul at the mayor’s house, he says the mayor wants to useyour engagement to sway this year’s vote. It's because he will get exclusive interview time with the media stations. The mayor is sending them invites to make it a controlled affair for your good deeds. Every broadcast station in the country has emailed and come by with gifts, but they’re already speculating you’ll refuse to talk to them.”
“They’re right.” I have no intentions of pandering to anyone.
“Either way, we have to use it. You’ve no choice. We won’t get another opportunity with them all in one room,” he mutters, as if it’s a foregone conclusion.
I realize I may very well be forced to parade her in front of thousands of people, and just the idea makes my skin crawl.
Thunder rolls in the distance as if to echo in response.
“Security will be at its highest during the event, no one will be unaccounted for?—”
“Fine,” I say. I’ll do whatever is necessary to get the moonflower back. My mate notwithstanding, is the only thing that truly matters or is important at this time. No matter how my instincts are rearing to scour every inch of the valley until I have her back, the clock is ticking on the human’s timeline, and they have mere days before going feral. Chills wrack up my spine, the want for her far greater than the urge to find the serum. Fuck.
“How long do we have?” I ask.
“Given the twelve-week gestation period, we have just enough time to keep them all from going feral. If you’ll approve the operation, I’ll see that the men are in place.”
A streak of black dashes across a tall green hill in the distance, toward the mansion. My gaze narrows at the hellish horse.
What is he doing this close to the village?He never likes to get close to any other kind, it’s why his stable has been moved and rebuilt all the way across the mansion’s estate, the bastard. He neighs and tosses his head up and down.
“It’s in a week?” I ask, knowing he will know I’m asking about when the gala is.
“Five days,” he says.
“Sort it and send me the details. I’ll handle the human.” I end the call and pocket my phone, heading toward the open field in the distance where Brom stands as if waiting.
A few moments later, Brom’s massive hoofs clop loudly across the asphalt covered street as I grip his black mane while trying to find Bernadette. Something inside tells me she’s still here, but where could she be?
“Find her Brom, and you’ll have all the candied apples you want come morning,” I tell him, and he gains speed.
Unexpectedly, he cranes his neck, and I dig my heels into Brom’s flanks as we make another gallop around the small-town square.
I’m an idiot for losing her to begin with, an idiot for allowing her to ever leave the house.
I have only a split second to readjust and tighten my thighs as Brom rears unexpectedly, squealing in the air as he does, and I cling to his thick black mane. I give him his head, sensing he knows something I don’t, and he veers his large head and barrels down a side-street, one I walked down just moments ago. I frown when a glimpse of Bernadette’s fiery hair just as Brom pulls to a stop in front of the bookstore.
“Were you in there this whole time?” I ask, an emotion I’ve not felt for a long-time seeping through my bones as I look at her standing on the storefront steps.
Relief courses through me at the sight of her cherubic face, only to be next squashed by fury. I claw at the tight leash on my temper, almost imploding when I get a look at who she’s been spending her time with.
This is why I couldn’t find her.
Lightning cracks the sky and thunder booms as I lose my composure.
