“No need.” He pushed himself off the metal bars of Georgie’s stall. “The nearest bus station’s in town. You’ll probably have to connect through Louisville to New York. I’ll give you enough to get there, plus extra for whatever else you need.”
She stared at him as he walked past her, all the way to the doorway. “You probably won’t want to ride with me, but I can borrow one of the lodge’s trucks and drive you to the station.” He stopped before he exited and said to her without turning his head, “You comin’ or not?”
Despite her heart thumping wildly in her chest, she marched after him.
Chapter Eight
Cross kicked one of the overturned boxes in frustration. “Goddammit!” Another hard punt sent it flying toward the wall and smashing into pieces. This was all my fault.
With a sigh, he sat down on the last remaining box—the only one he hadn’t overturned or smashed yet—and buried his face in his hands. His inner wolf cried woefully.
The last three years of his life had been spent in deception, and it was finally catching up with him. He’d been lying to his father, to his mother, his colleagues, his Alpha, and everyone else. He knew exactly where the ring was, but he didn’t tell them. Sabrina’s life was more important than anything in the world, and he’d sacrificed everything so she would remain safe.
All this time, he thought he was doing the right thing. As long as he kept this secret, then Gunnar’s vision would never come true. He’d asked his brother several times, but so far, Gunnar had yet to see the premonition again, and so he kept up the lies. He and Jonathan had been so careful. Thought of any eventuality. Made sure there were no holes in their stories.
But what they didn’t expect was for Sabrina’s memory to return. That wasn’t supposed to happen. He and Jonathan made sure of it. The mages had no idea that Cross knew about her, and they checked in with her father several times. Of course, Jonathan couldn’t remember any of those times. Another part of their plan.
After bringing Sabrina to Kentucky, Cross had spent the last two days going back to every single mage hideout, stronghold, and sanctuary he and the rest of the Guardian Initiative had raided and destroyed, trying to find a clue or any indication on how they could have found out about her and what else they knew. Now, here he was, in the outskirts of Moscow, ransacking the last mage headquarters he and his father had succeeded in raiding for any clue as to what the mages knew and what their plans were. He’d combed through the entire place, but found absolutely nothing.
Give us the dagger. Or your mate dies.
The mages somehow discovered that Sabrina was his mate. He’d thought of all the terrible things they could do if they did get to her, but he didn’t even think they would bribe him so he could steal the dagger. Two birds with one stone, indeed.
Daric was confident the Lycans would prevail because they had defeated the mages thirty years ago. But Cross wasn’t feeling so optimistic now. Was Gunnar’s vision inevitable?
He pushed himself up to his feet and wrung his hands together. No. They could still change the future. He had to believe that, and he wouldn’t give up now, not after last night. There had to be a way.
Focusing his thoughts, he reappeared seconds later inside the cabin. The empty cabin, it seemed. It was dark outside, so maybe she had gone to the lodge to have dinner with Silke, since he had not provided her with any food.
After a brief check outside to make sure she wasn’t there, he transported himself to the main lodge, in the hallway outside the manager’s suite.
He knocked on Silke’s door and heard her call out, “Just a minute.” A few seconds later, she poked her head through the open door.
“Cross?” A frown marred her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Is Sabrina here?” he asked. “I should explain a couple of things to her.”
“No, why would she be here?” Silke crossed her arms over her chest. “You were the one who brought her back to the cabin.”
“Yeah, but I left for a couple of hours and I just came back. Cabin’s empty. Figured you might have invited her here for dinner.”
She shrugged. “Well, I haven’t seen her since this afternoon at the stables.”
A pit began to form in his stomach and his inner wolf’s ears tipped forward. “Where could she have gone to? She doesn’t know the area. Where has she been in the past two days?”
Silke thought for a second. “Only the lake and Ransom’s. She went over there when the pipes broke.”
He didn’t waste any more time and headed to Ransom’s cabin, not even bothering to appear outside. Ransom, Hardy, and Bo all jumped to their feet and let out defensive snarls when he appeared in the living room.
“What the fuck!” Ransom cursed. “Never fucking do that, man.”
“Where’s Sabrina?” he asked.
“How the fuck should I know?” Ransom growled. “You said you’d take care of her.”
Ransom’s words made his chest tighten. Yes, that’s what he was supposed to do. Take care of her. Of his mate. “She’s not in the cabin or at Silke’s.”
“Well, she ain’t here either.” Hardy took a menacing step forward.
If Cross had the time to spare, he would deck the other Lycan just for being alone in the woods with his mate. Or bring him to Timbuktu and leave him there. His wolf very much liked all those ideas, but that wouldn’t help him find Sabrina, so he told it to quiet down. “Did Silke tell you what happened this afternoon with Logan?”
“No.” Ransom gritted his teeth. “But you’re gonna tell me now.”
He relayed a quick version to them of the events at
