Besides, he had a place of his own in mind. The house he shared with Evangeline in Wolf’s Creek would be too obvious, so that one was out, but the cabin… apart from his pack and his mate, no one had ever been there.
It was the cabin his father had offered up to Maddox and Evangeline for their honeymoon. Even though their wedding had been intimate—with Colt as the only witness at a quick courthouse wedding—his parents arranged for the newly married pair to spend a week at the cabin just outside of Woodbridge, the town where Maddox and Evangeline had met.
It was pack property, set beyond a small mountainous area, with plenty of land to roam on—and as much privacy as they would need for the final claiming that would make their bond permanent.
They never made it to the cabin. A freak rainstorm seemed to follow them through the trees and onto the narrow path that led through the mountains. With less than fifteen minutes left before they would’ve arrived at the cabin, the road gave way, the car ran through the old guardrail, and the crash tore Evangeline from his arms for the next three years.
No one would think he would take Evangeline there. Even Maddox thought he was tempting fate. But he had to do it.
It felt right.
Colt tried arguing. Of course he did. Maddox hadn’t expected anything less. If he allowed him to, Maddox did not doubt that Colt would run out to Grayson and bring Evangeline back as easily as if he was picking up a gallon of milk from the corner store. He had to think quick, which wasn’t easy considering his head was still foggy and running on whiskey fumes.
“I need you to do a huge favor for me.”
Colt hesitated, obviously torn between wanting to do whatever he could to help Maddox and suspecting that Maddox was just trying to get him out of the way. His brother was smart like that. And while Colt already called Terrence and arranged for the cabin to be empty—without telling his father exactly why—he was wary of what other favors Maddox would need.
He sighed. “Okay. What is it?”
“Hunt down a witch.”
Colt’s brilliant blue eyes went suddenly icy. “What’s the catch?”
“Catch? Well, you can’t actually hunt the witch, for one. It was a figure of speech.”
His brother huffed. “It’s not nice to tease the wolf.”
“I mean it, Colton. Once I get Angie”—because now that he signed onto this plan, it wasn’t an if he went after her again, but when—“if you’re right, if there’s magic at work here, I’m gonna need a witch. If a witch can remove a bond, maybe they can figure a way to put it back the way it was on Angie’s end.”
It made sense to him. Maddox figured, if the government witches could take bonds away, he could pay a freelance witch even more to replace it. There wasn’t time to seduce Evangeline, to remind her why she fell in love with him in the first place, and rebuild their mate bond. He didn’t want to wait a second longer than he had to because, every second he wasn’t with her, was another second that Adam might be.
It was as sound a plan as he was going to get. The D.P.R. wasn’t going to help him. The Bond Laws left him with his paws tied. He needed that consent decree signed, the bonding license filed, which meant he had to do whatever he could to bring that bond back. It could only be notarized when both mates swore that there was a bond.
A witch was his last hope.
“Maybe get in touch with Cilla, if she’s still around, but I’m not picky,” Maddox said. “Anyone who knows the craft and can help me. I’ll get the diamonds if you get the witch. I want the best and I trust you to do that for me.”
Sending Colt to find one was a stroke of genius to his still half-inebriated brain. Not only was Colton the only one he could trust to be his partner in this crime, but—in the very likely scenario the plan got shot to shit—he didn't want his brother around for any of the fallout.
His parents were safe. After twisting his brother’s arm, Maddox got Colt to swear he wouldn’t tell Terrence and Sarah Wolfe about his sighting of Evangeline until Maddox had claimed her for real. The days following the car crash were hazy, but he knew how much it killed his parents to watch him voluntarily walk into the Cage, knowing there was little chance he’d ever walk out again. Until he was sure that he wouldn’t be going back, he refused to give his parents hope that things would be different. That they would be better.
It was for the same reason he refused to let them visit him when he was incarcerated. Maddox had only endured Colt’s monthly visits because he knew that his brother would’ve torn down the damn place brick by brick if they tried to keep him out.
After all Colt had done for him over the last three years, Maddox owed him everything. At the very least, he wanted to make sure that Colt didn’t get mixed up in his desperate scheme.
Even if it was his idea in the first place.
“Take Dodge with you,” Maddox suggested, bringing up Colt’s best friend. Dodge McCoy was a ghost with magic of his own. He could go invisible, walk through doors, and never forgot anything. Ever. “Maybe he’ll help.”
Colt’s expression shut down. “Dodge doesn’t leave the Bumptown much anymore.” He paused for a moment. Then, in an emotionless tone, added, “It’s getting closer.”
Maddox winced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Hey, I always knew he had an expiration date. I mean, he’s a ghost. He died once.”
“Maybe the witches will be able to help him, too.”
“That’s what I thought.” Colt shook his head. “He tried. No luck. When it’s time, it’s time. Dodge always knew that.”