Page 34 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“I’m—”

“Yes, you are.” Pertusio glares at me. He’s the finest doctor in all of Glyden, perhaps the city—I don’t know. He worked with me to find the best medics for theCentauri. He did wonders for me then, and I should trust him now. Being a leader means trusting in those with the knowledge you don’t have. “You can ditch the straps. I’m guessing Nico isn’t going to drift off to sleep in the ambulance.”

“No.”

The nurse takes the straps off me. I bend my elbow. The bandages around my wrists are thick. They are cloth strips rather than the Hydro-seal. I can’t help but touch my left one with my right hand.

Pertusio stops me. “Try not to touch your wrists or your ankles. The Arg-leth is still dissipating into your system a little at a time. Pressure there will give you a big dump all at once. Let’s try to avoid that.”

“Okay. I’ll leave them alone.”

He’s visibly shaken, like me agreeing with him catches him off-guard. “Good. I’ll be by the apartment to see you later today. We’ll arrange for staff to see you there as well. Hopefully, staff you’ll be more mindful of.”

“Right.” But the person I want to see taking care of me isn’t here.

18

CASTOR

Ishut the door to my old bedroom. Alder’s in Soren’s old bed. Nico’s in mine. Mother’s apartment, even with her children moved out, has a bustle about it. Her head butler Augustine is running around, coordinating the staff. Mother has seven mates in this apartment and eight in the one below it. I grew up here, but it’s not something I hope to recreate in my adult life. I like a moment alone to breathe.

My block dings. It’s an agent we have living in the United States, a representative of Glyden Mining. My cousin, Dad’s nephew Lucius, lives in New York and deals with the office there. He’s grown accustomed to all things human. I sent him a text when I bought Annabelle a ticket, and he arranged for a bodyguard to pick her up at the airport.

Now his message says, highlighted in red:Contact me soon as possible.

Fuck. I open a few doors, going down the hall, but every room I check has someone in it. This place is massive, yet it’s like all 30,000 Glyden Dome members have decided to hang out in my mother’s apartment today. I open the door to Kai’s old room.

A housekeeper looks up from washing the floor. “Sorry, sir.” His voice rises. “Do you want me to come back another time?”

“No, I was just looking for a quiet space.”

He breaks out into a smile. “Good luck. I can come back later. Really, it’s not a problem.”

“No, I think I’ll head downstairs.” I maneuver through the apartment, dodging several of my mother’s mates, my dad, and my sister. In the elevator, I push the button for the floor my apartment resides on, but when it stops, I push the button for the sea floor instead. Annabelle’s apartment.

Shockingly enough, my biometrics still open the door. There are boxes stacked tall on one side, just like when I came down to tell them that Nico was being taken away. Damn. Seeing my best friend kneeling in his own blood on the floor remains seared into my brain. It will always be there. I’m so angry at them. At the way we live. We’re supposedly more evolved, more advanced scientifically, yet we let this go on. It spurs me even harder to become king. To take the helm and change the way we act.

Block in hand, I call Lucius. He picks up immediately. This can’t be good. Unease curdles in my veins. Is it something about Annabelle? “Lucius?”

“Just heard from the agent. A wolf shifter. They came highly recommended. She didn’t get off the plane.”

“That’s got to be wrong. We took her to the airport ourselves.” But we didn’t take her to the gate. I didn’t watch her board. Oh, I followed the plane’s status. It took off a few minutes late, but it landed on time.

“It’s not wrong. The agent even hacked into the airline’s system. She didn’t board. Or try to change the ticket.”

“Fuck. Does he know where she went?” I’m gripping the block, and while they are durably made, Nico has broken multiple over the years. The case makes a distinctive groan, and I ease up on it.

“No. But he’s working on human closed-circuit televisions at the Athens airport. Unless you want him to report her as abducted to the humans?”

“No. Fuck. Let me know when he comes through with something.”

“You could use our tech.”

“And admit to someone here that we don’t know where Nico’s mate is? No. Let’s see what this wolf shifter can do.” Damn it. I shake my head. “I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know if we run it here.”

“Okay. Up to you. I’ll have the American link up with their European team. They’ve got an office in Rome. Their guys should be there within the hour.”

“Good.” It’s not good. It’s freaking horrible, but there’s nothing I can do about it at this point.

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