Page 91 of Cryptic Dreams
“Cheeky little thing.”
“So you’ve said.”
Shaking my head with a grin, I get to my feet and reach for the throw at the end of the bed; the need to care for her still strong, but my gears have begun to turn as Zephyr has grown careless with her thoughts. Thoughts I hear clearly as she grows tired once again. “I’ll let Orion know you’re on the mend. He’ll want to see for himself…” My eyes flick to hers as my mate shakes her head, not ready for the visit as her own plans form. “When you feel up to it then. He and Aries can take the guest room. I’ll inform them of your progress, get them situated for the day, then I expect you to make room for me in that bed.”
Zephyr arches a brow as I cover her up. “Do you?”
“I do. It’s not in my nature to fuss over anyone but after the hell we’ve experienced in such a short while, the need to fuss overyouis so great that I shall put my primal instincts on hold long enough to do just that.”
“I feel special,” my mate says with a tired giggle as I bend down to press a kiss to her forehead, a smile touching my lips as her eyes drift closed.
“I shall return quickly.”
Zephyr’s mumbled response has my anxiety finally dissipating as I take my leave, and while I have every intention of returning to lay with her while she sleeps, I have another task to complete first. One she created a need for as her tired mind tried to race.
Which is why I quietly open and close our bedroom door, step into the hall and hold up a hand the second I’m rushed by mate’s cousins. “I want the others who were given orders to exterminate Zephyr and I while we were in town.”
Orion blinks at me, his mouth agape, as Aries frowns. “Why?”
“Wasn’t sure you noticed that,” Declan says as he leans at the top of the stairs. “They were at the meeting.”
“Okay…” Orion looks between us in confusion. “I’d like those assholes to pay for what they tried to do to Z, what they did to Jonah, too, but this is pretty fucking—”
“It is notrandom.”I wave him off as I head down the hall toward my mate’s previous room. “They were at the meeting as afuck youfrom Atticus. I noticed but said nothing as to not worry Zephyr. And now that our gentle breeze has shared with me her gifts—”
“You want to get any and all information you can without her using them,” Orion says as he hurries after me. “Because Z wants to—”
“Use her gifts to help!” Aries whisper-shouts as I throw open the door and all but shove them inside. “And after seeing what happened tonight, you don’t want her getting hurt. God, you really are a softy, aren’t you?”
Instead of denying his claim, I scowl at them before slamming the door in their faces, then quickly turn to Declan. “Speak with the others. I’ve taken care of two of my sire’s hitmen already, which means there are at least six more.”
“All of whom were at the meeting.” He nods as we quickly move down the stairs. “Most of them were drivers or servants for the other high ranking members.”
I nod as we move through the library toward the far wall, pulling a phony book from the shelf in order to open another secret room—Declan’s room in my home, which is also essentially our war room—before my friend goes inside. “If he wants to play silly games by putting his hitmen in my face, so be it. We shall return thefuck youby leaving theirfaceson his front stoop, but I want to use our methods of extraction first. If I do not need to involve my mate outside of what she has already seen, that is how I’d like to keep it.”
Declan smirks as he flips multiple switches then faces me. “Do I need to worry that Aries was right?”
With a frown, I huff, “What in the bloody hell does that mean?”
“You going soft.” He chuckles as I scowl. “Never thought it’d happen, that’s all.”
“I’m only mildly offended by that. You know me better than most, Declan of Rindoon, and considering our shared history, you’re lucky that’s all I am.”
My friend rolls his eyes. “Which is why I knowsoftis the last thing you will ever be, even when your mate is concerned.”
“Exactly.” Because Zephyr will be the only one to know my tenderness, it is for her alone, but her ideas of using her gifts to help me and my cause will have me anything butsofttoward her. If anything, the notion of my mate becoming involved in my schemes on that level will add a sharpened edge to my already cutthroat inclinations and even my gentle breeze may take the brunt of it at times. Just because we’ve mated does not mean I’m no longer a bastard, I’ve been one far too long for that to have changed my ways. “Now, fetch me those morons Hans used to try to have us killed so that I may remind you who you’re dealing with.”
Declan goes to close the door but stops and regards me, his deep green eyes scanning every inch of my face. “You’re still going to let her help, aren’t you?”
And because I was wrong in saying Orion and Aries are myonly friends, because this male has been a true friend for multiple centuries, I give him a curt nod. “What Zephyr has seen, what she knows even if it’s jumbled right now, means that she will insist on helping.”
“But if you can limit that, you’re going to.”
“In any way I can.”
“Which is why we are to wrangle the other conspirators.” Declan nods his approval. “We’ll have a go at them before she can think of doing it herself.”
And that simple statement has my worry growing once again. “Contact the team. Give my orders. I shall want to put things into motion as soon as dusk falls.”
