Tempestuous Miracles (11 page)

Mirian opened his eyes, his brow furrowing in an obvious display of confusion. "Frey? What happened?"

"You were in a car accident." Frey hesitated, wondering how much he could tell Mirian without agitating him excessively. "Do you remember?"

Mirian blinked a few times, his gaze still fixed on Frey's face. Frey saw the moment when Mirian recalled what had occurred. His beautiful eyes flashed with heartbreak and he seemed to crumple in on himself. "Yes. I remember."

A single tear slid down his cheek. Frey sat on the edge of the bed and brushed it aside. He wished he could have held Mirian, but he was very aware that, despite his Bearer nature, Mirian was still in a serious condition.

"I'm here for you. No matter what, just remember that."

Mirian shot him a shaky smile. "I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left like I did."

"Don't apologize. You couldn't have known what would happen."

"That's definitely true." Mirian reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly, as if seeking an anchor. "They were... They were experimenting on me, Frey. I don't even know what they did to me. I don't know what is happening."

Even if Frey had feared something suspicious was going on, he hadn't expected anything like that. He couldn't even imagine how betrayed Mirian felt.

He didn't have the courage to tell Mirian everything would be all right. Some things couldn't be fixed, no matter how hard you tried. It was perhaps that inability to speak that made him act the way he did next.

Sliding away from the bed, he removed his clothes, moving quickly so as to not to make it in any way sexual. As soon as he set the garments aside, he shifted into his wolf form.

It worked. Mirian blinked when Frey—now in his animal shape—curled next to him on the bed, but his surprise quickly disappeared. His tears dried as his slender fingers combed through Frey's fur. "You're soft," he commented with a tiny smile.

Frey nuzzled Mirian with his snout, wordlessly telling his mate exactly what he had before.
"I'm here. You're safe. We'll get through this."

Somehow, the presence of the wolf did what a vocalized sentence couldn't have accomplished. Mirian relaxed against the pillows and closed his eyes. Four words escaped his lips, barely audible, but more precious than anything he could have said. "I love you, Frey."

Frey couldn't speak, so instead he licked Mirian's fingers and willed Mirian to understand. Despite the fact that they had yet to complete their bond, Mirian appeared to hear him. All tension drained out of him and he finally succumbed to slumber. And as Frey watched over him, he knew he would give everything he had to help Mirian heal after this betrayal. He could only hope it would be enough.

Chapter Eight

A few weeks later

"Outrage explodes: Miracle Labs magnate arrested for experimental Bearer drugs"

The title of the newspaper article did little to truly illustrate the chaos that had followed the revelations of what Duke Lamine had been up to. Mirian skimmed the article, smiling slightly when he saw it quoted Julian.

Julian had been careful not to mention him by name, but he'd still made the seriousness of the matter eloquently clear. "The drugs were meant to develop something reminiscent of mind control," he had stated. "My mate's pack has encountered similar substances before, although on that occasion, the drug was heat-inducing, not a suppressor. We believe that the scientists who created these substances mean to use Bearer instincts to manipulate us. It is sickening."

What Julian did not say was that testing on Mirian's genetic material and the suppressors he'd used had confirmed Mirian's worst fears. The medicine had indeed changed him, leaving effects that could no longer be removed. But the Miracle Labs scientists had not realized something very important. They could not force a Bearer to imprint on a random individual if the Bearer in question already had a bond that surpassed that.

The end result of the experiment was Mirian's slight psychic link to Frey. Sometimes, when he allowed himself to see the matter with any degree of amusement, he admitted that it was in fact a miracle. All things considered, he could have ended up in far worse circumstances.

He didn't want to think about the most terrible part of it, the consequences that no one could change or avoid. He would never forget that fateful conversation he'd overheard—it had hurt him more than the following car accident—but neither could he let the betrayal rule his life.

Mirian set the newspaper aside and let his mind slide over the part of his consciousness that naturally reached out to Frey. They still hadn't mated—Frey was adamant that they needed to wait at least until Mirian recovered completely, both physically and emotionally—but even so, every day that passed made Mirian feel even more connected to Frey.

It was just as well, because today, his mate had gone to meet with his family. They had agreed that it would be better if Mirian stayed home, but Mirian still missed his werewolf.

Fortunately, Julian was, as always, there, providing him with both a goal and a distraction. No sooner had Mirian finished the article than Julian entered the kitchen, already engrossed in studying something on his tablet.

It was a familiar sight—Julian was nothing if not a workaholic, but his Bearer instincts and the pregnancy made him hungry at all hours of the day. It cheered Mirian up considerably. "Hello, Julian. Can I help you with something?"

Julian looked up at him and shot him a wide smile. "Oh, I didn't know you were here. Actually, yes. Are you doing something next Saturday? I spoke to Ariel and she's thinking of setting the opening of the new shelter for then."

"That was fast, but then, I'm not surprised. Of course I'd love to be there."

Ariel was the only one who had not known about the suppressors, and the deal Mirian's father had made with the proverbial devil. She'd felt hurt and betrayed as well, but she'd immediately channeled that anger into the countless projects Julian had going. Her motherly nature made her ideal for being in charge of the Bearer shelters.

In an unexpected twist, the woman who'd been driving the car that had hit Mirian had also become involved in the project. Her name was Helena and she had been so moved by Frey's visible grief at Mirian's injury that she had refused any sort of compensation for the damages to her car, even if the police had cleared her of any responsibility in the incident. Her interest in Mirian's well-being had led her to learn about the project for Bearer shelters. Now, she was perhaps the only non-Bearer pure-blood Mirian could call a friend.

Meanwhile, Julian was busying himself with rummaging through the fridge. "I don't know if I'll be able to be there," he said as he retrieved some sandwich fixings. "The full moon is coming up again, and Roman might be too restless."

"That's understandable," Mirian answered. "Your pregnancy is..."

He trailed off when a strange sensation rushed over him. Suddenly, he felt lightheaded and dizzy. The gleam of Julian's blond hair turned almost blinding, the balance of colors dancing, twisting into a nauseating kaleidoscope. It was a good thing that he'd been sitting down, otherwise he would have fallen over. And for crying out loud, who'd turned up the thermostat? He was so hot he felt like he might melt into a puddle.

Julian's concerned voice snapped through his trance. "Mirian? Mirian, are you all right?"

Julian's gentle fingers landed on Mirian's bare arm, and Mirian reacted on instinct. He slapped Julian's hand away and reeled back so suddenly his stool fell over.

He only realized what he'd done when he'd put a good couple of feet between him and Julian. Belatedly, he managed to answer, "I... I don't know. I can't... I can't think."

Much to his relief, Julian didn't seem shocked or offended. "It's all right. Breathe. Don't be scared. You're just in heat."

In heat. Oh, okay, that explained why he felt like he was burning up and why he was inexplicably starting to grow slick between his ass cheeks. He only reacted to Frey that way, and Frey wasn't here.

A sense of panic and desperate lust filled him at the thought. Frey wasn't here! That wasn't right. Mirian needed him, needed his scent, his strength, his touch. He couldn't do this without Frey.

But Mirian trusted Frey. He had doubted Frey once, and it hadn't worked out that well, for any of them. Frey would come to him. Mirian just had to be patient.

He mumbled something vaguely apologetic to Julian and stumbled out of the kitchen. He made a beeline for his room and took refuge inside. His knees gave way almost instantly, but he managed to drag himself to the bed through sheer stubbornness.

Once there, he used the time he had at his disposal to get rid of the clothing that now felt scratchy on his oversensitive skin. Now naked, he curled around a pillow and focused on his connection to Frey.
Come to me, my mate. Come to me. I'm waiting.

****

"Oh, son... We would have been here sooner if we'd known."

Frey endured his mother's embrace, as ever comforted by her familiar scent. She fussed over him just like she had when he'd been a pup, petting his hair and whispering soft words of comfort in his ear.

Once she finally let him go, she offered him a drink from the bar of their hotel room, which he took just so that he could have something to hold onto. "How is he?" she inquired. "How is your mate?"

"He's recovered from the accident," Frey answered, "but we're still looking into the rest of it."

Behind his mother, his father cleared his throat, looking awkward and out of place. To his credit, he didn't ask if Frey was serious about this. He had apparently realized Frey had been telling the truth all along.

"Do you think you could get him to see us? The first impression I made wasn't exactly positive."

Frey's mother glared at him, which made Frey silently pleased. She and his father weren't mates, but she was one of the strongest females in their pack, and as such had been chosen to bear the next Alpha. Even after all these years, she still carried a lot of authority, and Frey suspected she'd made life for his father extra difficult after he hadn't returned from the trip.

Frey would have in fact liked for Mirian to meet his mother, but now was not the best time. Mirian was still dealing with the aftermath of the new revelations that had changed his life. It was part of the reason why Frey hadn't even spoken to his parents about this whole thing. He had known he couldn't ignore his own pack forever, but he'd set all that aside so that he could focus on Mirian alone.

His father was just as stubborn as Frey, so if not for the explosion of the Miracle Labs scandal, this conversation would have probably been delayed even more. However, they had probably guessed Mirian was the Bearer who had been experimented on. It wasn't that hard a leap to make. Duke Lamine's arrest had appeared on all the news channels. Proctor has surprisingly been the one to go to them and notify them of his father's actions. The evidence gathered from Miracle Labs was such that they didn't even need Mirian to testify. It was likely Proctor's way to try to make amends with his son, but Frey knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Either way, it was better not to burden Mirian with extra attention from people he wasn't sure he could trust. This arrangement wasn't perfect and it reminded Frey of the last time he'd been in a hotel, but it would have to do.

"Thank you for your concern," he said. "I appreciate it. But Mirian needs time. This suppressor thing... It hit him hard."

Just as he was about to change the subject to something less delicate, he was suddenly hit by what he could have only described as an explosion. It didn't exactly hurt. Instead, it seemed to sink into his bones, reaching out to his wolf, luring and enticing the beast.

Frey couldn't quite figure out the reasons behind this, but he knew it was connected to Mirian. The last time this had happened, he'd pursued it only to find his mate bleeding out on the cold tarmac. It wasn't the same this time around, he knew, but by now, he was conditioned to panic whenever something wasn't quite right with his mate.

The glass dropped out of his hand, shattering on the wooden floor of the room, but he ignored it. "I have to go. Mirian... He needs me."

His parents didn't try to ask any questions. They let him go without comment, acknowledging his need to be with Mirian.

He'd have probably done something really crazy—like shifting in the middle of the street once again—if not for the fact that he felt Mirian reach out to him. The half-bond pulsed with need and trust, and Frey finally understood. Mirian was in heat.

It wasn't exactly surprising. They had known it would happen, especially since Mirian had stopped taking the suppressors. Julian had offered him a different brand of medicine, but Mirian had understandably refused. The day Mirian had made that decision, Frey had known they would have to brace themselves for the consequences.

There was no doubt whatsoever on what would happen. There hadn't been for a while now. Frey half-wished he'd had the courage to take the step before Mirian's heat forced them to, but in the end, it didn't really matter.

The drive to the Montblanc pack house was filled with desire and anticipation. Frey was grateful that he didn't run into any traffic, because in his state, he was liable to react poorly to something he'd normally take in stride. Thankfully, Roman had taken the time to teach him a few tips about navigating through the city with ease, and this shortened the trip significantly.

There was nothing particularly different about the mansion today. The same staff guarded the entrances and allowed Frey in with barely a glance. The house itself was for the most part quiet, although Frey could hear the distant echoes of voices and laughter.

By some miracle, Frey managed to avoid any of the other inhabitants of the mansion and rushed to Mirian's room. He and Mirian had separate quarters, an unfortunate necessity Frey had insisted on so that Mirian would have space of his own. Now, Frey couldn't imagine why he'd waited for so long to begin with, because the moment he stepped through the door, he was struck by the most alluring aroma he'd ever scented in his life.