The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx (16 page)

The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx

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He’d never quite understood the dynamics of the Cunningham

family. Skylar and Byron were so very different that sometimes

Preston had wondered how they made their relationship work. But

Layton was a lot like his shark father, and Preston realized that

Byron’s behavior was something natural for them.

The hug was brief but strong, and then Byron released Layton

from his embrace. “Go on,” he said. “Go pack. I want you out of here as soon as possible.”

Wordlessly, the two of them obeyed. Preston felt a little like a kid being sent to his room, but he admitted that he saw the reason in

Skylar and Byron’s plan. The image of his mother stabbing Layton

refused to leave his mind, and he shuddered, knowing just how close

he’d come to losing Layton and their child.

His lynx paced angrily inside him just at the memory, and he had

the urge to hunt his mother down and tear her throat out. Layton

squeezed his hand, his voice slipping in Preston’s mind.
“Don’t think
about it anymore. It’s done. We’re fine.”

Yes, the injury had healed, but it had been a close call. How could

Preston just let it go? Of course, if he wanted to be perfectly honest, committing matricide wasn’t something he felt comfortable with, not

now when he was supposed to begin a new life with his family. In the end, he didn’t have much choice. Instead of attempting to find the

prisoners, they went and packed. One hour later, they said good-bye

to Layton’s parents and headed out of the Pierce mansion, together

with Preston’s dads. Preston took one last, long look at the

Cunninghams and wondered if this was the last time he would see

them. He banished the thought, hoping his mate had not caught it.

Layton offered him a small smile.
“It’s all right,”
he said through their bond.
“I trust my father. He won’t allow anything to happen.”

Preston did his best to empty his mind of all thought. He didn’t

want to think that not even a strong shifter like Byron Cunningham

could control all circumstances. He didn’t want to believe that his

family might not be the same after all this.

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Leaving Paris brought both a relief and an additional doubt.

Preston might have gone back ten times had he not been in charge of

Layton. Oh, he could trust his father with Layton’s care, but his dads were still shaken after what had happened to Nicolas. It was unfair to ask anything like that of them.

At last, they drove up to the private airport where they would find

the plane that would take them back home. Layton was very quiet all

throughout the trip. In fact, none of them spoke much, other than

occasional comments from Garth and Nicolas. A second car followed

behind them, carrying a few guards and a still-unconscious Rhys.

In the end, there was nothing either of them could do. They

boarded the plane and waited together while the staff finished the

preparations for the flight. At last, the aircraft took off, and Preston closed his eyes, relaxing for the long flight. He hoped that, by the time the flight ended, he’d stop seeing images of his mate’s scarred face and blood.

* * * *

Bella Valentino struggled with the bonds keeping her

immobilized, silently fuming to herself. How had the plan gone so

wrong? She’d been convinced Adele could easily take on Byron

Cunningham’s offspring, especially with the help of their allies. The warlock child in particular had been a great addition to their party.

Unexpectedly, however, Layton and Preston had found the strength to

escape and stall for long enough, allowing their parents to return.

She still didn’t realize how the Cunninghams had even known

something was wrong. Adele had been so careful. She’d hatched the

perfect plan. Where was the beautiful Sidhe now? What had they

done with her?

She was so lost in her anger that the sound of the cell door

opening took her by surprise. Skylar Cunningham stepped inside,

looking glum. “Hello, Bella.”

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“You little bitch.” Bella growled at him. “What did you do to

Adele?”

“You care more about that Sidhe than you do about your own

children. Hell, you hate your children. Why, Bella?”

She snorted. “They betrayed me. They chose that idiotic

hummingbird over me. I’m their mother.”

Skylar shook his head. “No, you’re not. You stopped being their

mother a long time ago.” He gave her an unpleasant smile. “You

don’t even realize how Byron and I figured out our children were in

danger. Well, a true parent feels that sort of thing, Bella, and you never were one.”

“Shut up,” Bella spat at him. “You have no right to lecture me.”

“I beg to differ,” Skylar answered. “Either way, it’s not why I

came here. I just wanted to show you something.”

At one sign from Skylar, several guards entered the cell. They

grabbed Bella, and while she tried to struggle, she had no chance of freeing herself. Skylar led them out of the previous room and into one on a different corridor. One of its walls was transparent, allowing the people present to see in the adjacent area. It was a setup created for interrogation purposes and Bella couldn’t contain a shudder,

wondering just why Skylar had a room like this in his house. She

could only guess that, due to the business the man’s husband ran,

some adjustments had been made.

Much to Bella’s glee and distress, she saw Adele in the adjoining

room. However, Byron Cunningham was with her, his imposing body

dwarfing the much smaller Sidhe woman.

“So tell me, Adele, what did you hope to achieve with this? Why

the elaborate ruse?”

“I already told your children. It’s quite easy really. You shifters

deserve to be wiped out. Magical creatures have the power. They just have to be united. A war would have done that.”

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Bella attempted to free herself from her guards, kicking and

screaming. Adele didn’t seem to hear her, but on the plus side, she

was also unharmed.

“Why did you bring me here?” Bella asked Skylar. “What’s the

point of your little game?”

“I just want you to listen,” Skylar replied with a small, sad smile.

As if on cue, Byron asked Adele, “So why involve Bella

Valentino? What use was she to you?”

Adele laughed. “Bella? Oh, she was easy. She told me exactly

what I wanted to know and pointed me in the right direction. Her

knowledge of the shifter world gave us invaluable information.” She

paused and smirked. “And she made for a nice pet.”

Bella couldn’t believe her ears.
Pet?
No, that couldn’t be right.

She cared about Adele deeply, and the Sidhe had returned her

feelings.

“This is some trick,” she shouted. “You’re trying to fool me.”

“Shifters don’t have magic,” Skylar answered. “You know that.

Now be quiet and listen.”

And Bella did listen. She listened as Adele explained just how

little she thought of Bella. “She, like all of you, is an animal. The fact that she was willing to betray her kin just on my whim clearly attests to that reality.”

Byron shook his head and, much to Bella’s dismay, changed the

subject. “Who else was involved in this? How did you even know

Layton was Preston’s mate?”

As more and more questions were asked, Adele clammed up,

refusing to offer any answers. “You won’t get more from me, shark,”

she said. “You and I both know you can’t kill me, or you’ll end up

with a war on your hands just the same.”

Bella didn’t get to find out Byron’s answer to that. Skylar turned

toward her and gestured the guards to take her out of the room. “I

believe you’ve heard more than enough,” he said.

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As she was taken back to her cell, Skylar joined her one last time.

“You chose the wrong side, Bella,” he told her. “Adele Mercier was

right about one thing. You betrayed your kin, and while you might

have been fooled by the Sidhe, you still have to pay for it.” His smile turned unpleasant, almost dark, and for the first time, Bella was

frightened for herself. That expression didn’t suit the usually kind Skylar, the one she knew from her years spent at Garth’s side.

“Don’t worry. You’ll never see Adele again. I’ll make sure of

that.” He leaned in closer and whispered, “You’ll never see the light of day, either. I don’t take kindly to people who hurt my children.”

And with that, Skylar turned his back on Bella and left the room.

The guards secured Bella’s bindings and followed behind their boss,

abandoning her to her loneliness and despair. Telling her about

Adele’s betrayal had been Skylar’s revenge, and she had no doubt that he would do exactly what he’d said. In listening to Adele’s traitorous promises, Bella had forfeited her life and dignity. She only hoped that one day, Adele got her just desserts as well.

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Chapter Seven

A few weeks later

Layton leaned over the toilet seat as he emptied the contents of his stomach for the third time that day. It was actually quite shocking, since by now, there was nothing left to throw up. His stomach,

however, disagreed, as the dry heaves clearly proved.

Finally over the fit of nausea, Layton got up on shaky legs. He

reached for the sink and washed his face and brushed his teeth. His

mate appeared in the doorway just as Layton turned off the water.

The concern on Preston’s face never failed to make Layton feel

warm inside. “I told you I’m fine,” he said brusquely. “You didn’t

have to leave the office to check up on me.”

Preston cupped his cheek gently. “How could I not?”

Layton rolled his eyes but leaned into the caress. Hand in hand,

they left the bathroom and went downstairs.

The Cunningham mansion was a blur of activity. Ever since

Layton’s parents had disappeared less than a month earlier, friends

and family had popped up to make sure Layton managed to deal with

everything Skylar and Byron had left behind. Layton’s adopted

grandparents, Malcolm and Yuki, had returned from their self-

imposed exile, and many of Layton’s friends had jumped in to help.

Between him and his brother, they dealt with every business under

Cunningham control, the agency which Skylar led, and the

reinforcement of defenses in case a war against magical creatures

happened. The events in France were not common knowledge for

shifters, but Layton had told the principal of the academy, Sara

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Huitzilin. She had agreed to briefly shut down the university to allow for an updating of security.

With so many things to do, it was easy to lose track of time. To a

certain extent Layton felt grateful for it because that way, he wouldn’t think too much about the increasing risk that his parents might be

dead. Sometimes, he saw staff giving him and Morgan looks of pity.

Their friends and mates knew better, though, which was why they’d

become invaluable.

As Layton and Preston headed back toward his office, they were

intercepted by their friend, Reed. Reed was the adopted son of one of Skylar’s good friends, Shiloh, and in the past weeks, the swan had

worked with Layton in organizing the defenses of not only the

Cunninghams, but also the werewolf packs in the area.

“Hey, Layton, you gotta come see this,” Reed said.

He looked pale but somewhat excited. Layton was confused. Had

there been news of his parents?

“What’s going on, Reed?”

Reed pulled them in the office, and Layton gaped as he saw a light

shining over his desk. Okay, that hadn’t been there ten minutes ago

when his stomach had once again rebelled. He gave Reed a look of

confusion. “What in the world is that, Reed?”

“I haven’t got a clue,” the swan said anxiously. “I thought the

entire estate was surrounded by wards and magic couldn’t get in

here.”

Layton had thought that as well, but apparently, he’d been wrong.

He eyed the ball of light with suspicion. “Get Alexis. He might be

able to tell us.”

No sooner had he finished the phrase than he sensed the incubus

approach, as always in Morgan’s company. Alexis looked, to put it

bluntly, harassed. He was officially the consultant on magical issues and the liaison with other incubi who’d come to lend a hand with

securing the place. Between that and still caring for an increasingly agitated newborn, Alexis didn’t seem to be getting much sleep.

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“Where is it?” he asked as he reached them.

It was more or less a rhetorical question as clearly, the incubus

sensed the source of the magic. He peeked into the office, his

eyebrows shooting up. His tense stance relaxed a little. “It’s a

message,” he explained. “A magical message.”

“A message,” Layton repeated in disbelief. “Who the hell would

send a message here?”

“Well, you won’t know until you open it, I guess,” Alexis

answered. “It should be safe, but there are no guarantees, not with this.”

Layton made a move to reach for the orb, but Preston cut him off.