The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx (11 page)

on and shaking the location of his dad out of him.

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75

Now that they were here, though, Preston couldn’t help but be

worried. Layton had promised no harm would come to Rhys’s father,

but could they really guarantee that? Preston himself wanted to kick Romaine’s ass. His actions had caused Layton great pain, and no

matter what Layton said, Preston couldn’t forgive that.

The door opened just as Rhys readied himself to knock. Preston

was surprised to see a woman there. She almost glowed, the rays of

the winter sun making her blonde hair look like a halo. “What a

surprise. Come in, Rhys, come in. Romaine didn’t mention you were

coming.”

Rhys seemed uncomfortable. “He didn’t know. It’s a surprise.”

“How lovely.” She beamed at them. “And you brought guests,

too. Please, everyone come right in.”

She didn’t ask any questions, nor did she check their identities.

Instead, she ushered them in a large receiving room, where Rhys

finally made the introductions. “This is Ysanne Arceneau, my father’s mate. Ysanne, my friends, Skylar and Byron Cunningham, Morgan

and Layton Pierce-Cunningham, and Garth, Nicolas, and Preston

Mckenna.”

“Pleased to meet you.” She beamed at them, her smile so sunny

Preston wondered how it hadn’t melted the snow outside. “How did

you meet Rhys?”

“Rhys’s brother, Alexis, is my mate,” Morgan explained. “So,

we’re sort of extended family.”

“We want to consult Dad on something,” Rhys added.

“I see.” She eyed them all and sighed. “But how rude of me. I

haven’t offered you anything. Would you like some refreshments?”

“Yes, thank you,” Skylar replied.

Ysanne brought them all drinks, and Skylar took a sip of his own

then said, “You have a lovely home.”

Preston watched in awe as Skylar engaged Ysanne in

conversation. Skylar had an uncanny knack for socializing, and

somehow, even if everyone else remained silent, the seahorse

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managed to draw out of her that she was Sidhe—Seelie, as she put

it—and she’d been mated to Romaine for ten years, give or take.

Preston wondered if she had anything to do with the spell. She

was a Sidhe, and Rhys had said that one of them had been involved in it. Somehow, Preston couldn’t see this innocent, angelic woman as

doing anything like that, but appearances could be deceiving.

As enlightening as the conversation with Ysanne ended up,

Preston began to get restless. It was getting late, and Romaine still hadn’t shown up.

As if guessing Preston’s thoughts, Byron interrupted the merry

chat between Skylar and their host. “Where is your husband, if I may ask?” he asked the Sidhe.

“Oh, he took our son skiing.” Ysanne giggled. “I’m not much for

the sport myself. I’d much rather stay home and read. But the two of them love it.”

Great
.
A son
. The guy really was a family man. Preston now had trouble creating a picture of Rhys’s father in his head. He wondered what Romaine would tell them and if he would lead them to the

others. He wondered why Rhys’s father had cast the spell in the first place.

At last, it seemed that his questions would be answered. Preston

sensed someone approaching outside, and a few minutes later, two

people entered the house. They came directly into the receiving room.

Ysanne rushed to greet them.

Preston took advantage of that to study the duo before they could

do the same. He identified Romaine as the older of the two. Romaine

kissed Ysanne’s cheek and, as the Sidhe directed her attention toward the second new arrival, scrutinized them with keen eyes. As soon as

he noticed the Cunninghams, he froze. Obviously, he remembered

what he’d done.

When he broke away from his mother’s embrace, the younger

man studied them curiously, as if he’d never seen a shifter before.

Perhaps he hadn’t. This place was very reclusive. Romaine didn’t

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77

allow him to continue his examination for much longer. “Go to your

room,” he ordered.

“Papa?” The younger man sounded confused. “What’s the

matter?”

“Just obey, son,” Romaine said.

Romaine’s son shook his head. “At least let me talk to my brother,

will you?”

“Now is not the best time,” Romaine protested.

“But it is.” Byron got up and gave the incubus a predatory look.

“I’m sure your son would love to hear all about your past activities.”

He walked toward the two men and idly wrapped his arm around

the shoulders of Romaine’s son. “We’ll all have a nice chat here.”

Terror filled Romaine’s eyes. “Leave Chantay out of this. He

hasn’t done anything wrong.”

He moved toward his son, obviously meaning to free the youth

from Byron’s grip. Predictably, he froze before he could even touch

Byron. The shark smiled pleasantly. “Of course he hasn’t. We’re just talking.”

Ysanne seemed to have realized she’d made a mistake in allowing

the strangers into her house. “Mr. Cunningham, please,” she said

weakly. “I don’t know how we wronged you, but Chantay is not to

blame.”

It was highly unlikely that Byron would listen to anything she

said. Clearly, the Cunninghams were furious on Layton’s behalf. But

Preston’s mate was intent on keeping his word.

“Father, please,” Layton said. “Mr. Arceneau is right. It’s not his

son’s fault.”

“No, it’s not,” Byron replied. “But I’d just love to see how he

feels when his offspring suffers.”

“Byron.” Skylar’s voice was barely audible. “Let’s hear him out

first, okay?”

If there was anyone on the world that could influence Byron, it

was Skylar. Indeed, Byron seemed to calm down a bit. He released

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Chantay, and Preston half expected the young man to take heed of his father’s warning and rush off. He didn’t. Instead, he glowered at the gathering. “What in the world is going on? Who are you people?

Rhys, who did you bring here?”

He actually sounded hurt, and Preston didn’t envy the incubus. He

wondered what he’d have done had he been in Rhys’s position.

Would he have risked it all to help Layton, who was, in a way, a

stranger? He didn’t know. In many ways, incubi were still a mystery

to him.

“I think you should explain, Father,” Rhys said. “And no one is

going to be harmed, as long as you cooperate. I have Layton’s word

on that.”

Romaine didn’t seem convinced, but when Byron released him, he

no longer looked so panicked. He took a seat as far away from

Preston’s group as he could, and his mate and son plopped down next

to him.

The incubus stole a look toward his family. “I don’t want Chantay

to hear this.”

“Too bad,” Morgan offered. “He deserves to know.”

Preston was growing irritated. They’d been understanding enough

with the incubus. Preston had no intention of hurting the man’s

family, but he wanted to find out who was behind the spell. He very

much doubted Romaine would have any personal interest in hurting

the Cunninghams.

“Just talk already,” he said. “We’ve been patient enough. Why did

you cast a spell on my mate? What do you have against him?”

The blunt questions made Romaine wince again. For his part,

Chantay looked shocked, but Preston could no longer bring himself to care about this family’s sensibilities.

“It was never about Layton,” Romaine finally said. “The fact that

the spell was on him turned out to be just a bonus.” When Byron

tensed, ready for attack, the incubus hastily added, “Not for me. For the people who hired me.”

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79

“Who hired you?” Garth asked softly. “And if it wasn’t about

Layton, what was it about?”

“About you and your family.” Romaine’s gaze went to Preston.

“Do you really think it’s a coincidence that your mate fell in love with your brother? It was engineered to be that way.”

Preston gaped at the man. “But why?”

“To hurt you. To hurt your brother. Layton would always be

between you two, and it was only a matter of time until you’d be at

each other’s throats. At one point, you might not have been able to

control your beast, and you could have even killed your own brother.”

“I’d never do that,” Preston shot back.

“Oh, no?” Romaine arched a brow. “What if you saw them

together, every day? What if you felt them fucking, every night? You might not do it now, but that sort of thing can drive a shifter crazy.”

Preston remembered how he’d felt when Layton had kissed

Corbin. It had been only a kiss, and still, it had angered him so much, made him so nauseous. Just the idea of Layton sleeping with Corbin

urged his beast to attack.

Thankfully, Layton was there. He pressed closer to Preston, and

his presence gave Preston a measure of calm.

“Who was it?” Nicolas finally asked. “Who did this?”

“Does the name Bella Valentino sound familiar?”

Preston froze. His father looked sick and his adoptive dad angrier

than Preston had seen him in a long time. Preston was only thankful

he’d managed to convince Corbin to stay behind and oversee their

father’s responsibilities. He had no idea how his brother would have reacted upon hearing this.

Bella Valentino. Preston hadn’t heard that name in a long, long

time. The last time he’d seen the person in question was when he’d

been only a child, before Layton had even been born. Preston

remembered that day well. She’d come to see Preston and Corbin

while they’d been out in the park with their new adoptive dad,

Nicolas. She’d told them they’d always been a burden to her and their
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father nothing more than a trophy. Then she’d disappeared, never to

be seen again. Bella Valentino. Preston and Corbin’s mother.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Romaine chuckled, but the sound was bitter.

“Well, you have powerful enemies, Mr. Mckenna. And you know

what they say. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

“But how could she recruit you and all the others?” Rhys inquired.

“She might have been angry, but you should never have abused your

power like that.”

“I had no choice.” Romaine looked away. “I was desperate, all

right? My son was growing up away from me, and my mate was

withering away without me. How could I say no?”

Preston was officially confused, but Ysanne clarified things. “My

family never agreed to me marrying Romaine. Incubi are demons and

my kind are Seelie. We don’t mix. I was forced to separate from

Romaine, and for ten years, I lived only for my son, the last thing I had left from the man I loved.” She paused, suddenly looking very

old. “I have no idea how this woman got him to help her with this

spell you mentioned. Until now, I never knew what Romaine even did

to convince my father to leave Chantay and me alone. “

Layton’s emotions echoed through Preston. Layton felt a strange

sense of kinship with Romaine and his family. Clearly, they’d been

victims as well. But at the same time, neither Layton nor Preston were willing to trust them just like that. They’d be given the benefit of the doubt, for Rhys’s sake, but if it turned out they’d lied, all bets were off.

Preston’s dad seemed to believe at least part of the story. “That

sounds like something Bella would do,” he said. “All right, then.

Whether you were forced into it or not, you must know where Bella

and the rest of the people who participated in this plot are.”

“I’m not sure about anyone else. Hell, I don’t even know their

names,” Rhys replied. “But I have the address of Ysanne’s father. He can probably tell you more.” He paused and gave Preston and Layton

a regretful look. “I swear to you that what I did then has been one of
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81

my greatest regrets. I’d hoped that one day, your love would be

stronger than the spell. It seems I was correct.”

“My brother, Alexis, helped,” Rhys explained. “The spell was

frayed, and Alexis’s magic shattered it.”

“Well, I’m happy for you. I know what it’s like to be separated

from one’s mate. I don’t wish it to anyone.”

As approachable as the words made Romaine seem, Preston

wasn’t willing to stick around and tell stories. “The name and address, please,” he said.

“Ignace Girard. He lives in a mansion in Paris. It’s a fortress.

You’ll never get inside unseen.”

Byron snorted. “We’ll just see about that. No one messes with my

family.”

* * * *

As Romaine had told them, the Girard domain was strongly

guarded, to the point where Layton wondered what in the world the

Sidhe were hiding. According to the incubus, Girard was an

influential family among the Seelie, but they were also known to have some shadier dealings with the Dark Sidhe, the Unseelie.

Layton’s father didn’t seem at all concerned. Layton was not

surprised. His father had once immobilized an entire carrier ship

single-handedly. But that ship had been one of humans. The thing that worried Layton most was the Sidhe used magic. His father’s powers,

while quite incredible, came from a different source. Layton was