Destiny's Choice (29 page)

“What do you mean?”

“Come here.” He beckoned her closer, holding out the box. “There are pressure pieces on the sides. Put your fingers on them” He showed her where then put his own fingers on the others. “On three, we press them at the same time, okay?”

She nodded, her topaz eyes alight with excitement.

“One…two…three.”

As one, they pressed the pieces in, making the top of the box open like a starburst.

“That is simply fascinating.”

“Look inside the box, sweetheart.”

When she spied the object resting on black velvet, she gasped. “Oh, Roan.”

He pulled the necklace out, making sure the box was safely put back on the table.

“I saw this
on
the
internet the
other day and it made me think of you.” The chain was white gold with a one carat square cut Peridot stone surrounded by round half carat topaz stones
. It was also perfect to wear as a wolf. Since Lupus couldn’t wear rings and bracelets, the chain was long enough to stay on during the shift
. “Seeing you now, I realize that even though I love the Lupa you have become, it was the Lupa who had these coloured eyes that I fell for. And regardless of their colour now, that woman is still there.”

She blinked. “You love me?”

“With everything I am.”

“Oh, Roan. I…”

“Shh.” He placed a finger over her lips. “I know its too soon for you, that you’re not ready. But a lot has happened and I promised myself that when you came back to me, I would tell you my feelings regardless of what yours were. So, no pressure, sweetheart. We have plenty of time.”

Actually, it was seeing the necklace and wanting to gift it to her as a First Mating gift that made confessing his love her for possible. He didn’t want to spring the L word on her out of the blue the moment she
came back to him. But he did want
to make it special. So when he saw the necklace, it offered the perfect opportunity.

She smiled behind his finger then took his hand. “Yes. We do.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “Now, you going to put your gift on me or keep holding it?”

“Minx.”

Holding her hair out of the way, Roan put the necklace around her neck and clasped it in the back. When she dropped her hair, Roan admired the picture she made.

“Beautiful.”

He then took her mouth in a blistering kiss, wanting nothing more than to drag her back to their room and make love for the rest of the day. But he promised a tour and a tour he would deliver.

Pulling back, Rivera groaned. “Mmm. More.”

“Tour.” He grabbed her hand and led her outside.

“Do we have to?” She came up behind him and breathed into his neck.

The hell with it. The whole tour could wait. “Come on. I’ll show you the hayloft first.”

“Hayloft, huh?” She giggled as they practically ran to the barn. “Do tell.”

“It’ll be better if I show you.”

He showed her for nearly two hours before they were sated enough to come down for lunch and finish the tour.

The next several days were filled with laughter , making love, and making plans. The last due to Rivera finally seeing what happened in the clearing and agreeing about her uncle Phillip. The only thing she said about her parents was that she was glad it was over. It was better than Roan expected and more than Ian and Lillah deserved. She felt bad for Mikeal and his brother, Nicolai. Roan explained that he and Mikeal had finally talked. He didn’t hold Roan responsible for Boone’s death. Boone was the one to blame for that. After killing that young woman, it was like
he’d committed
suicide. With Pack Law stating he would forfeit his
life, it was the same thing. Mikeal
was currently with his family, trying to unravel the mess Boone had made.
Being one of the ten families, Mikeal and his father were happy to help Roan
,
in any way they could. And
they were
glad the families were gone. Mikeal’s father had never liked the responsibility anyway.
Steven
was with him as back up and because Roan
,
knew he needed a friend.
Roan had also assigned them the task of getting updates from the ten families, Morgan and Kyle
,
especi
ally. Roan knew Mikeal was feeling guilty about Boone because he
felt
he could
have done something. But Roan wasn’t about to let his friend go down that road.
He’d let
him stew for a bit, then he was going to put his foot down. As for Phillip, after delivering the proposals from the ten families, he seemed to disappear. Not even his parents knew where he was. But like a bad penny, Roan just knew he would show up
s
ooner or later.

Chapter
Ten

Rolling over, Roan reached out to pull Rivera close. He came up empty. Sitting up, he noticed the covers thrown back on her side of the bed and the bedroom door open. He smiled, getting out of be
d thinking she may have gone dow
n to the kitchen for a late night snack. Feeling a little peckish himself, he followed her scent to the kitchen only to be brought up short by a scent that didn’t belong.

“Roan!
”

Quickly sending out a mental call to everyone in the house, Roan raced to the front door. Not bothering to open it, he used his power to push it out of the way. Once on the front porch, he spotted Rivera’s limp body slung over Phillip St. Paul’s shoulder. There were two small wol
ves him. One black and one brown
. Along with two large men he’d never seen before. They smelled
almost
like Pack, but Roan would have remembered these two if they were. Phillip was about to put Rivera in his car when Roan shouted.

“Phillip!”

“Oh, dear.” He laid Rivera down gently on the hood of his car. The two large men flanked him, the two wolves moving far to the right side and out of the way. “I was so hoping my little concoction
would’ve worked better. But then, smoke is not the best carrier. Back to the drawing board.” He shrugged.

Through their bond, Roan couldn’t tell if Rivera was hurt, but he did know that her sleep was not natural. Whatever “concoction” Phillip talked about was probably the cause. Roan hoped it didn’t cause any damage. Phillip was already on dangerous ground as it was for taking her. If she was hurt, the man would die.

“Return my True
Mate
and you’ll live this night, Phillip,” he growled as the others joined him on the porch.

“Seems the gangs all here,” he quipped.

“
Give Rivera back.
You know what I’m capable of, Phillip
,” he warned
.

“I’ve seen what you can do, yes
. But you have no idea just what I’m capable of, do you?”
His smile was pure evil.

It was that smile and the unknown that had Roan staying his hand. Even with all his abilities and those of the others behind him that he was closest to, none could stop a bullet. Or a bomb. Phillip could have either
or
both. 
W
ith all the bodies and the wind, his nose couldn’t pick up anything. He needed
to discover just what Phillip’s agenda was. Maybe when he let his guard down, the muscle at his side distracted, Rivera could be rescued. Until then, he needed to be calm and smart about this. He felt anything but.

“I see kidnapping with a little B and E are skills acquired somewhere. As for the rest, no. No clue.” He crossed his arms, going for casual. And to keep from tearing into the man.

“Kidnapping is such an ugly term.” Phillip’s frown was mocking. “I prefer the term borrow. Or in this case, leverage.”

“Leverage for what?”

“Well, you froze all my accounts
.
” Eyes so like Rivera’s widened, Phillip’s chiding tone belying the anger Roan knew he felt. He was catching whiffs on the ever shifting wind. “I can’t very well finish my research without money
.
An
d considering Rivera was my first test subject, well…I thought I’d kill two birds as it were.”

The gasps and growls behind him made the outrage Roan felt but couldn’t show all the more poignant. Phillip wanted him to lose his temper, to try something. Roan wasn’t going to oblige him. He wasn’t about to risk Rivera’s safety over what may or may not be true. But if it was…Before he could finish that thought or even respond to Phillip, the l
ittle brown
wolf raced up to Phillip with hackles raised.

“She’s the first?” He snarled. “You said I was the first. The only one of the lot to survive. You said I was special!”
His voice was that of a young male.

Phillip let out a long suffering sigh. “Oh, Bailey. I always had a feeling that naivety would be your downfall. A shame really.” He shook his head.

“But you lied. You said I was first
. That I was special,” Bailey whined.

Phillip sighed again then looked to the large male on his right. “Max.”

In a move belying the big man’s size, Max grabbed Bailey by the throat and began to slowly choke him.

“No!”

Before Dane could use his powers or even run to the young wolf’s rescue, it was over. Max snapped Bailey’s neck then threw the body to the ground like so much garbage.

“What a pity,” Phillip tsked as he shook his head again.

“I see I can add murder to that list of skills. Though I have the distinct feeling you’ve honed that skill quite well.”

Roan could feel the rage bubbling under his skin. The door to his powers
were
wide open. It wouldn’t take much to concentrate that power and burst the bastard’s heart. But something was
off about all this. His instincts were screaming it. And this whole kidnapping. Now that he really thought about it, it was as if Phillip wanted to get caught. Freezing his accounts aside, the man was resourceful. The amount of m
o
ney and how he accumulated it attested to that fact.
Yes, there was definitely something more going on here than kidnapping. He just needed to be patient. And after that. All bets were off.

“Murder? That’s quite harsh considering the blood on your hands. Alpha,” Phillip sneered. “But then, I don’t have Pack Law to hide behind when it’s time to take out the trash.”

Roan felt the others stiffen with affront, a few low snarls coming out. He sent them soothing thoughts, letting them also know he had the situation well in hand.

“My conscience is perfectly clear on what’s best for the Pack, Phillip,” Roan calmly replied. “But this little show of yours isn’t about me, is it? So let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Why are you here?”

Phillip cackled. “Always the direct approach. It’s one of the main things I’ve admired about you, Roan. Very few could pull it off without sounding ridiculous.”

“I’ve had plenty of practice,” he said dryly with a shrug.

“I bet.” Phillip snickered. “As for putting on a show, you’re half right. The kidnapping was real, of course. When you said Rivera
was in the Pre-Transformation coma, I was intrigued. But then I found out that not only had she survived, but gotten stronger, well, I just couldn’t resist. She is my first success after all.”

“So you mentioned. Though I fail to see how you could be responsible for her parents conceiving.” His tone was chiding.

“Oh, not in the way would you would think,” his reply was condescending. “You see, my dear departed sister had a thing for human males. Rivera wasn’t the only child
she conceived. There were four others from three different males. Unfortunately, Rivera was the only one to survive. 
A
s a stipulation for keeping that little secret, Lillah and Ian agreed to let me conduct a few tests.”

“You were responsible for the torture she went through?” Roan tried to keep the growl out of his voice. He really tried. But seeing as this piece of waste was responsible for his True
Mate
’s pain and suffering, he couldn’t manage it.

“Please. I’m a scientist.” He stood straighter and sniffed disdainfully. “Everything I’ve done has been for my research. If others got hurt along the way, well, sacrifices must be made.”

“Ruining and destroying innocent lives isn’t a sacrifice, Phillip. It’s called playing God no matter your so call research. And that’s a position you have no right to assume.”

“Don’t lecture me about having a God complex, Roan LeGuer,” Phillip snapped angrily. “Every Alpha ever born has played that role for the good of the Pack for ages. Some were just better at hiding it than others. But the outcome has still been the same. I’ve just gone in a different direction instead of using Pack Law and Pack responsibilities to keep all the good little wolves in line.”

“And just what direction would that be?”

“Why, making my own Pack using human/Lupus hybrids.”