Page 131 of Moonlit Nights & Northern Lights
“Well, I don’t remember attacking you. Honest.” Dev’s gaze flicked between Rory and me. “My most recent clear memory is waking up outdoors, alone, completely disoriented. No idea how I got out or how much time had passed. I was wandering through the Highlands until I heard voices—you two. I could smell you, Rory, and I couldn’t believe it was you.” Dev’s voice grew softer, tinged with something approaching wonder. “Finding you felt like a miracle. Though I still felt weird. Like I was watching myself from outside my body.”
“I still can’t quite believe we found you,” said Rory, as he stared at Dev like he was a rare treasure. “I thought you might be…”
“What about Sakshi?” Dev asked suddenly. “My alpha—does she know what’s happened to me?”
“I’ve been keeping her informed,” Rory replied. “She’s worried sick, obviously. But your pack couldn’t venture into Thorne territory themselves—not when my family are famously hostile to outsiders.”
Relief flickered across Dev’s face. “Good. She’d have my head if I disappeared without a word and didn’t tell her where I’d gone. She’ll be so grateful for you coming up here.”
“Just in case this wasn’t obvious,” I said, “it was Rory who insisted something was wrong. The moment he realised you’d gone silent on social media, he was adamant you were missing. Then,when Felix found your phone, he demanded we needed to come up here as soon as possible.”
Dev blinked, and for a moment his eyes glistened as if he was fighting unshed tears. The expression was almost cartoonish in its earnestness—like something from a sickeningly soppy romantic film before the two characters kiss and declare their undying love to one another.
“Really, Rory?” he said, his voice basically a squeak. “I… don’t know what to say. Thank you so much.”
It was so tempting to read Rory’s thoughts, but I barely needed to—joy radiated from him in warm waves, like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, rich and golden and utterly genuine.
“Of course,” Rory said softly. “I wasn’t about to let you get kidnapped. Especially not when we started all this together.”
Dev’s free hand reached toward Rory, fingers stretching as far as the handcuff would allow. Another stupid stab of jealousy punched me in the gut. It was the way they looked at each other—like they shared some secret language the rest of the world couldn’t understand, Dev commanding Rory’s complete attention.
“Dev, we interviewed Ezra Houston, to see if he had information on your whereabouts. Unfortunately, as you’ll see when you get your phone back, he was sent a picture of you meeting those two men—Bradley and Brody—by a friend he had following you. He’s sent you a rather angry message about it. You might want to contact him sooner rather than later.”
Dev didn’t look concerned, or upset. Instead, he rolled his eyes. “God, he does have a flair for drama. I’ll ring him.”
“Is it safe for Dev to be here?” I asked Rory. “At this cottage?”
My question had absolutely nothing to do with wanting Dev gone as soon as possible. Obviously.
Rory chewed his lower lip. “There’s a chance my family don’t know he’s here. He didn’t come to the gate first, like Priya and Felix did. Depends how closely they’re watching the cameras scattered around their land. Though there’s always a chance they might smell his scent…”
“Well, Isuggest Dev returns to London, immediately,” I said. “Killigrew Street could organise medical tests to see what they can find—check if there’s any trace of drugs still in his system. Blood work, brain scans. Everything they can.”
“What? No way.” Dev rattled his handcuff against the banister for emphasis, the metal clanking against wood. “I’m not leaving yet. Plus, I feel fine now.”
“Well,” I said through gritted teeth, fighting to keep my voice level. “We should see what Sebastián has to say about all this.”
…Sebastián Salazar has no control over me, and neither do you, dude…
I sighed, dragging my hand through my hair. The conversation felt like it was spiralling in circles, and my head still throbbed from where Dev tried to kill me last night.
“Do you have any idea what they’re actually doing with the shifters?” I asked him. “Humans researching, maybe? Keeping you all drugged so you couldn’t shift and hurt them?”
Dev’s face went blank. “I honestly don’t know. That’s why the three of us need to go find that building. The one listed as Highland Heritage Foundation. There’s a good chance I was kept there. It’s our best lead.”
“Absolutely not,” I snapped. “We’re waiting for Felix to send over everything he can about the building first. Plus, the three of us can’t go charging in there without backup—they could be armed.”
Dev’s face shifted, something haunted flickering across his features. He pressed his free hand against his stomach, as though fighting nausea.
“Once,” he said quietly, “I woke up and could smell death. Proper death. Not just… not just animal blood or anything. Human death. It was everywhere.” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “Maybe I don’t want to go back there.”
Well, why don’t you just bloody well head back to London, then?
The thought blazed through my mind before I could stop it, accompanied by a surge of frustration that had nothing to do with the case and everything to do with the way Rory kept looking at Dev like he’d hung the moon.
“Maybe we should all head back,” I said aloud, though even as the words left my mouth, I knew what Rory’s response would be. “Now we’ve located Dev—”
“No!” Rory’s voice cracked like a whip. “It’s the Spring Equinox tomorrow.” He turned to Dev. “My pack are hosting a gathering. Fuck knows what its true purpose is.”
