Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Much love,
Celia. “
“That’s it? That’s all she has to say? After everything we went through together?” Fierce demanded. He raked a hand through his hair. “How can she talk about ‘all the adventures we had together’? Adventures my ass! We were nearly fucking killed—several times! We love each other!”
“Apparently not enough,” Hold heard himself say. He still felt cold inside—as though a thin layer of ice was slowly covering his heart.
Celia was gone and she hadn’t even stopped to say goodbye. Instead, she’d left them a note—a cool, calm little note that gave no reason for her departure and wished them well, as though they were all work colleagues that had been to a team building exercise together instead of three people who were desperately in love. It said nothing of the nights they’d held her between them, the pleasure they’d given each other, the way she had given herself so freely to him and Fierce just the night before when they had Claimed her sexually…
“Something’s wrong! Something happened during that last wormhole ride!” Fierce exclaimed. “She changed—something got broken to her brain. And you just let her run off, back down to Earth while she was all messed up!” he shouted, poking a finger at Doctor Olivia.
Doctor Olivia drew herself up and glared at him.
“I understand that you’re upset right now, so I won’t call security—or my husband, Commander Baird,” she said. “I will tell you that Celia seemed to be perfectly sound cognitively when I examined her. I wouldn’t let a patient who was impaired in any way leave the Med Center.”
Hold realized that it was time to step in before his hot-headed brother caused a serious problem. Kindred warriors were extremely protective of their mates—even when it came to other Kindred. If Doctor Olivia felt the need to call her Beast Kindred husband to deal with Fierce, there was going to be bloodshed.
“Of course you wouldn’t, Doctor Olivia,” he said, stepping between her and Fierce. “We know what a consummate professional you are. Celia must have had a reason to leave us, and that reason lies with us—not with you.”
“Thank you for understanding.” Her face went from stern to sympathetic as she looked up at Hold. “I can only imagine how hard this must be for the two of you. I’m so sorry she left but she was determined to go.”
“Well, I’m determined to find her!” Fierce exclaimed.
“She asked us not to come after her,” Hold reminded him. “She chose Peter—not us, Brother.”
“Fuck that!” Fierce growled. “Come on—we’re going down to that big, ridiculous domicile where we first picked her up. I’m going to get to the bottom of this if it fucking kills me!”
49
FIERCE
But to Fierce’s dismay, there was no one at the huge, showy mansion on Bayshore Boulevard. He pounded on the door and looked in every window but the place was dark and deserted. There weren’t even any of the stinking Earth vehicles that ran on fossil fuels parked in the circular driveway. It was as though Peter Thielgood—that fucking human rat—had packed up and left the place for good.
“Where else can they be? Where did he take her?”
Fierce paced in front of their long range shuttle, running his hands through his hair. He felt half crazy with worry and anger. How could Celia leave them like this, after they had Claimed her? And she had consented to being Claimed, he reminded himself. How could she give up on their love? Or had she never really loved them at all?
No, that’s not true! The way she gave herself to us last night…she couldn’t fake something like that. The emotions we saw on her face…those were real! I know they were!
“There must be a reason she did this,” Hold said, breaking the agonized silence. “Something we did—something we said.”
“Maybe it’s just because the little human fucker is rich,” Fierce growled, looking up at the huge, ostentatious domicile.
“No, I don’t think that’s it.” Hold shook his head. “It goes back to what Celia told us back on Tranq Prime—that he wanted her when no one else did. Maybe she feels loyalty to him. He was there before us, Brother.”
“But he treats her like shit! And so does his family!” Fierce growled. “We saw it in the dreams we shared with her!”
“It must be our fault somehow.” Hold sighed. “There must be a reason she left us.”
“You are correct, Warrior.”
The powerful feminine voice surprised both of them. Fierce looked around and saw that Hold was doing the same. But there was no one to see—just the feeling of an all-powerful presence surrounding them and the presence was most definitely female.
“The two of you are very close to losing the female I set aside for you,” the voice continued.
“Goddess?” Hold fell to his knees and Fierce followed his brother’s lead. It could be no other, he realized—it must be The Mother of All Life speaking to them.