He turned the page. More writing, but a drawing caught his eye in a lower margin, making his breath stop for just a moment. The drawing was intricate and detailed, like his mate had an artistic hand to go with her scientific brain. It was of a necklace, and the jewelry hanging under the golden chain was the face of a wolf, staring out at him. It could have been his own wolf. Trent touched the lines of the drawing in wonder, his finger tracing the circle of the delicate chain.
He turned the page, then turned another, then another, until he found another drawing. This was also a necklace, but instead of the face of a wolf this hanging jewelry was an angel with flowing hair and bowed head and bright wings… exactly like the angel on the back of Ella’s pendant, and Heather’s pendant, andalltheir pendants. Trent’s heart began to trip-hammer in his chest, as he was unable tonotmake the connection.
The One True Mate prophecy had not said anything about pendants or what they were for, but out of the seven females who had been found by their mates so far, all of them but Cerise, Rogue, and Leilani had pendants. Rogue had brought two stolen pendants with her when she mated Mac, but she said neither one was hers. Cerise’s pendant had been taken to the Pravus by that evil motherfucker, Grey himself, when Khain had snatched him up a few months before.
Trent stared for a long while, asking himself dozens of questions… did this mean that she washismate and she was wrongfully in this world and he needed to bring her home? He knew what thedragenwould say: thedragenwould say “it didn’t mean that,” thedragenwould say “all worlds call to each other,” the dragen would say some other stupid shit that made perfect sense and no sense all at the same time.
Trent snapped the notebook shut. Right at that moment he didn’t care what thedragenwould say. He knew what hewanted, and what he wanted was this female.
He looked at the notebook, flipping through the pages. Then he tossed it on the desk and riffled through the items on her workspace.
First, he needed to know her name.
He realized hedidknow her name. He’d heard the other Trent shouting it as he lay dying.I’m sorry, Rowan,he’d said.
Rowan.It was beautiful. Like her. He tasted it. He whispered it to himself.Rowan.
And her last name?
He slid a drawer open silently and found file folders. He pulled a few papers out at random until he found it.
Rowan Atenboro.
His eyes continued reading while his brain turned the name over a few times. Rowan Atenboro.Hismate his body said.Nothis mate, his brain tried to say.His mate,his body insisted.
Other words on the page registered in his brain. The wordvaccine, Deaden Curse,and an obvious ingredient list. Trent stopped reading quickly. He put the paper back in the drawer. He slid the drawer shut silently. His mission was important, he had no doubt, but his mate was more important. From now on, his mate took precedence over everything in his life, even his duty.
He would complete this mission. But first he would figure out what to do about this female.
Trent picked up another notebook, intending to leaf through it, looking for anything useful, anything that would tell him what Rowan was about, who exactly his matewas, and anything that he should already know about her.
Trent sensed a change in his mate’s breathing. He slowly turned in the chair, afraid of what he would see. She was awake and looking at him. From across the darkened room, he could not sense her emotional state, but he felt a tugging at the very center of him that made him know one thing for certain.
He would do whatever it took to get her home with him … or even to stay here with her. He only had to figure out how.
She sat up and the blankets fell off her.
“Why are you looking at my notes?” she said softly.
Trent did not know how to explain himself. He had no excuse. He could not tell the truth and it did not matter anyway, these were her things and he should not be touching them without her permission.
Words tumbled out of his mouth. “I need your vaccine ingred—” He stopped talking abruptly, realizing he did not have any idea of what he could say. It was best to give it up completely for now, at least until he had a bit more of a handle on this world and this female. He stared straight into her eyes and spoke evenly. “I shouldn’t have looked though, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry.”
She only stared at him for a long time, and then she said, “You’re right, you shouldn’t have.” Her voice was still soft, but now it was also speculative, like she hadn’t expected that from him, like maybe she was even anticipating some sort of a trick from him.
It hit him suddenly, just how unprepared he was to talk to her aboutanything… unless he tried to explain who he really was.No,he decided quickly. It hadn’t gone well with Troy, he could not expect it to go any better with her. He would just… give it some time. He would wait, he would watch, he would strategize.He would come up with something.
Outside, the sky was getting lighter, but slowly. Rowan stood and put her white lab coat on over the clothes she’d been sleeping in. She poked her bare and beautiful toes into her flat shoes and then lifted her chin at him.
“Get back in bed,” she said. “We start your tests now. And take your uniform off. You aren’t anything but a patient while you’re here, understand?”
Understand? No, he did not understand. But he would still do what his mate asked of him. He had to suppress a grin at the command in her voice. It made naughty thoughts slide through his head. Thoughts of getting in close to her. Of touching her. Of her touching him. Thoughts of pleasing her… thoughts he’d never had in his life. And still, they came so easily, so naturally, so smoothly.
He knew just what he would do. Touch her. He knew just where he would touch her. Everywhere. He knew just what kinds of noises he wanted to tease from her. Soft sighs and shivery oaths of pleasure.
Trent rubbed a hand to his face, feeling thick growth there. Rowan cleared her throat, making Trent realize he was standing and staring. He cleared his throat back.
“Hot in here,” he said, for no reason at all… except…holy shit.
