Nicole took it with a look of confusion. Yet before she could ask what was going on, Alicia had unclasped her necklace with the Slade crest, and brushed some earth away to reveal a lock hidden in the ground. She pressed and clicked the crest and two doors formed and lowered slowly, connected to the chain in Nicole’s hand. They revealed a hole resembling an entry to a cellar. Alicia helped Nicole inside and when both of their feet hit the floor, tugged on the chain so the doors retracted back up. The chain retreated back up into the ceiling of the tunnel they were in. “It spins as it goes back up. It shakes the dirt back over the doors as it goes around and around, so it’s as if nothing happened,” Alicia explained, leading the way along the dimly lit tunnel. Crude lamps were dug into the walls every fifty metres or so, some were blinking. “Had to be careful when building this. It runs off the estate’s power, so couldn’t draw too much or it would alert someone.”
“You built this?”
“Yup. Just under eight months it took me. It comes out at my bathroom. Wilson thought I was just being a demanding bitch when I said I wanted my en-suite. I wouldn’t leave him alone about it until he finally relented. He thought I wanted men to do it, but I just wanted no one to question why I was spending so long in there and no one came in to bother me, which was most important. I made such a fuss and then it looked like nothing was being done. Little did they know I was actually underneath my bathtub hollowing out all this.”
“Why didn’t you tell Wilson?” Nicole asked, using her hand along the wall for guidance in the dark. “Didn’t you trust him?”
“I loved that man, faults and all. I trusted him but I couldn’t rely on him. He drank too much. I could always see him spilling the truth out when he was drunk to some underling. Or worse, to Creed. This was my idea and mine alone. I wanted a place I could go, to bring Nick if things got really bad. Ironically, when they did get really bad this place was of little use. The mansion was completely overrun and I needed to get him far away as quickly as possible. Out of the country, not just the mansion. The Sikorsky was his best chance. Besides myself, I could only trust my cousin Alex to look after him.”
“I met her. She was lovely. Well, from the little I could notice.”
“That’s right, I forgot you met each other. Even when we were kids, she was always looking after people. I hated putting that on her, but you do what you have to for the ones you love.”
“Including starting a war?”
Alicia stopped just before the stairs to her bathroom. Turning to Nicole, she tried to guess her tone and found what she felt was an answer. Nicole knew this is what Alicia would think to do for her son. War. For an innocent baby. Tynan would never give him up after going to such trouble. And there was no way in hell Alicia would let him have the baby. A war between a grandmother and a tyrant would cost lives. But at the core was the life of a newborn boy. It was overwhelming. And terrifying.
“Whatever I need to do to bring our family back together. I will level the place to get him back.”
“Ours?”
“If you want it. You have more than one wolf who loves you and wants you safe. I’m not your mum, but I hope you can learn to treat me like a grandma one day.”
Nicole gave a trembling smile, thanking her without words. They came up under her bathtub, the entire thing shifted to the side over their heads. Alicia went first, then lifted Nicole up and out, leading her out of the room and down the hall. Alicia thought to be careful, but the fact was it didn’t matter if they were seen, just as long as her secret passage had closed, and it had.
Alicia followed the sounds of the most voices, which seemed to gather in the old war room. With a slap of her palm, the door popped open. “Excuse me, gentlemen!” Alicia snapped, marching forward. “What is being done to bring your Alpha back home?”
The room had roughly ten occupants. All looked up. Some looked surprised, others curious, the rest dropped their heads to continue on with whatever they were doing. “Nothing,” Alistair replied. “As per our orders.”
“What?” Alicia replied.
“We were contacted by Radha. Talia is safe and we were to do nothing.”
“Where is she then?”
“She’s probably still there. Nursing her wounds and how stupid she was, coming this close to starting a war. That has been looked over, and we are now aligned with House Ross.”
“You mean this house submitted to him…” Alicia closed her eyes and held a breath. “I told her to stay here, but she’s her own person.”
“Who risked the lives of all in this house on a foolhardy adventure, playing hero with her idol?”
Another stood up and faced Alistair. “You forget you are speaking to Alicia Slade?”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Alistair replied, still looking at her. “That name may have meant something once, but no more. You come here demanding answers we really have no obligation to give you. This isn’t your house anymore. This isn’t even a house with the way it is lead…” he finished with a sneer of disgust. “One barely past her teens with extraordinary strength does not make an Alpha. And her mother that beds as many virile wolves as possible does not make an
