A tear escaped the corner of his eye at the memory of the hope that had been stolen from them.
Raymond had been certain Lauren could be saved when he came to Arthur with the plan. All Lauren had to do was convince the Breed to fall in love with her; that was all it took for the Mating Heat to begin. Then Lauren would be cured. They were certain that soon, she’d be healthy again.
Until Lauren had called while on her honeymoon. The very day after her marriage. She’d been sobbing, swearing she’d sensed Chelsea’s thoughts with her new husband. She swore she remembered the feeling from her youth, when she’d met another member of the family whose thoughts of her had been incredibly distasteful. She’d been upset for days.
Hysterical, inconsolable, she swore Chelsea had called to Cullen’s recessed animal for that split second, and that animal was bonded to her.
Lauren’s gift hadn’t been strong enough to read whatever the thoughts were; she hadn’t been strong enough to be healthy or strong enough to ensure
that Cullen mated her so she’d live.
Chelsea had taken it all.
She’d taken Lauren’s ability to read projected thoughts, her health, her strength, but worst of all, she’d taken Lauren’s mate, leaving her to die.
Did Cullen really think that bitch would be allowed to live?
Chelsea had to pay for letting Lauren die, just as Cullen had to pay.
Hell, no one would have cared if Cullen took the little whore to his bed if he’d just healed Lauren. Lauren’s dreams had been to marry Ranger, to give him children and live her life with him. A healthy life.
They hadn’t asked Cullen for that much. All they had asked was that he heal the wife he had sworn to protect.
“Do you believe me now?” Ranger asked from the darkness behind him. “What are we going to do, Arthur?”
Arthur sighed wearily. “Did you take care of the custodian who let you into Morales’s cell?” he asked, watching the light and shadows from the house across the street.
“He’s dead,” Ranger assured him. “I put the bullet in his head myself.”
“Then we’re safe,” Arthur said softly. “And we can make Cullen and Chelsea both pay for allowing our Lauren to die. Now they’ll both have to suffer for what was taken away from us, Ranger.”
Both of them.
CHAPTER 22
From Graeme’s Journal
The Recessed Primal Breed
—Ever vigilant
—Always searching
Each sight, each sound, every scent that touches its senses is a piece of information, an instinctive puzzle the Primal pieces together. He’s always searching, always waiting, existing for but one reason.
The survival of his mate . . .
The next night Cullen eased from the bed, the restlessness plaguing him, refusing to rest. Next to him Chelsea slept deeply, her breathing slow and even. Physical and emotional satisfaction surrounded her, as did peace. She wasn’t just calm, she was at peace, and sensing that filled him with pride. Now, if only he could still the deepening sense of something not quite right, that warning energy that he couldn’t find a cause for.
Rising from the bed and retrieving the clothes and boots he’d shed earlier, Cullen dressed quickly, silently, before making his way from the house.
Darkness closed around him, shielding his presence. The dark clothing he wore blended into the shadows, hiding him from normal eyesight and ensuring that he blended into the dark. As he freed the Primal senses, the scents surrounding him flooded his mind. And there were so many scents.
This was why so few Breeds lived within cities, he knew. There were too many scents. It made it difficult to distinguish individual smells unless the Breed knew what to look for or had already scented the prey.
Tracking through the night, he made his way around the block, house to house, finding nothing to trigger suspicion or that primal warning again. Until he reached the ravine at the back of his property. There, he caught a smell he knew shouldn’t be there.
Ranger.