“Ohhhh.” She closed her eyes and threw her head back as he plunged into her again. “Cross!”
Chapter Twelve
Cross was sure it was nearly dawn when he finally let Sabrina sleep. Having waited three years before making love to her, he was determined to make their first night together pleasurable, his goal being to give her as many mindless orgasms as he could manage.
After the first two rounds, he let her doze off, but the sight of her gorgeous body in bed when he came back from a trip to the bathroom aroused him so much, he had to have her again. So, he woke her up by tasting her again, the look on her face of surprise turning to pleasure would be burned in his mind forever. He couldn’t resist her and was determined to make up for lost time.
Carefully, he slipped a hand to her middle. It seemed impossible, but he knew that a new life was taking root in her womb. This was meant to be, he knew it in his heart. He had no doubt she would be a good mother to their pup. His wolf agreed with a knowing snort, and he laughed inwardly, letting his animal gloat about being right this time.
A buzzing sound invaded his thoughts, and he realized his phone was ringing. Hopefully, it would be Lizzie or Jacob or someone from the Guardian Initiative Headquarters. They had spent the whole day planning, yesterday, though they still hadn’t found the mage headquarters. Lizzie said that Jonathan’s information definitely helped narrow it down, but it would take some time to untangle the web the mages had weaved. Meanwhile, he, Lucas, Daric, and Alynna Westbrooke, the co-leader of the Guardian Initiative, had taken stock of their assets and fighters and tried to put into place a plan of action that they could immediately deploy once the location was found. They would have very little time to strike, so all the preparations now would save them time later.
The buzz from the vibrations didn’t stop, so he got up and padded quietly over to the chair where he had hung his jeans before going into the shower. “Hello?”
“Cross, its me.”
“Gunnar?” he whispered. “What is it?”
“I need to talk to you,” he said. “Can you come here?”
“Of course.” Glancing over at Sabrina, he could see that she was still fast asleep. “Give me a minute.”
His inner wolf wasn’t happy to be away from their pregnant mate, but this was his brother. He slipped his shirt on, hopped into his jeans, then in a split second, he transported himself to the cabin. Gunnar was already seated on the couch. “What is it?” he asked as he strode over and sat next to him. “Did you have more visions?”
He nodded. “It’s a different one. I think this one’s about the artifacts.”
“The artifacts?”
“Yes. I don’t think this was the future either,” he said. “It’s from the past. Everyone’s wearing strange clothes.”
“The past?” Gunnar had never had visions from the past before. “What was it about?”
“In the vision, there was a mage. He was wearing the usual red robe, but everyone around him was wearing strange clothes and speaking a foreign language, though I can understand them for some reason. The ring is on his finger.”
“Magus Aurelius’s ring?”
He nodded. “Anyway … he had this other man hanging upside down, his blood dripping down into a gold cup. The man was still alive. The mage dipped the ring into blood. Then turns around and there’s a woman. She’s pregnant and she’s crying … begging for her mate’s life. The mage touches her and then … she falls over dead. The man hanging upside down is screaming …” He grabbed handfuls of his hair. “Oh God, oh God!”
Cross slipped a hand around his shoulders and pulled him close. “It’s okay. Gunnar … shh.” He ran a soothing hand down his brother’s back. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream?”
Gunnar shook his head. “It couldn’t have been. I’ve never told anyone this … but I don’t dream. Not anymore.”
“But what does your vision mean?”
His brother stared up at him, his brown eyes glassy. “Don’t you see, Cross? The ring … it has the power of death and life, right? I think … I think when the ring is dipped in double Alpha blood, it can kill anything. Even a True Mate.”
His heart stopped in his chest. “It can’t—Are you sure?”
“I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but what else could it be?” he said. “We already know what the dagger can do when infused with double Alpha blood.”
Indeed, they did. “What if you’re wrong? What if it was only a dream? Is there a way to be certain?”
“You know I can’t be certain,” Gunnar said. “But that’s the only logical explanation.”
If that was the case, then that meant no one was safe. Not even Sabrina. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know.” Gunnar buried his face in his hands. “But you can’t let them win.”
“We’re going to strike first,” he said. “We spent the whole day yesterday putting a plan together. The only thing we have left to do is to find out where the mages are hiding out. Then, we’re going to put an end to all this.”
He waited for Gunnar to say something about the plan. When he remained silent, Cross asked the question he’d been dreading to ask. “Has your premonition changed at all?”
“I haven’t had it again, but as soon as I get one, I’ll call you or Dad.”
“All right.” He got up, then stopped. “Gunnar, why did you call me just now and not Dad?”
“I don’t know.” Gunnar lifted his head. “I just felt like … like you needed to know it.”
Cross searched his brother’s face, trying to see if he was telling the truth. There was something about this whole thing … maybe he should trust Gunnar. He hadn’t led them astray yet. “All right. Is there anything else?”
“Yes.” Gunnar stood up. “After you do what you need
