Chapter Sixty-Two
Catherine had to skip to keep up with Graham’s determined strides. She tried to stifle a laugh each time Graham would glare at any male looking in their direction. The only other way he could act more primal is if he threw her over his shoulder to carry her the rest of the way into the packhouse. He shoved the front doors open and didn’t stop, refusing to allow Catherine’s scent to linger even a second longer than necessary. Graham’s notorious frown deepened when they passed anyone in the hall until they arrived at the alpha’s office.
Catherine hoped he’d relax once inside but instead his grip on her hand tightened along with every other muscle in his body. His frown turned to a scowl and his forehead creased. Catherine pulled on his hand, nodding to Lucien and Jensen as they passed. She sat down on the couch and urged him down with her. He placed his arm on the back of the couch and pulled her impossibly closer til she was practically in his lap. She placed a hand on his chest to appease him and focused her energy to the spot above his heart.
He let out a slow breath and his muscles loosened.
“Well, let’s get on with it,” Graham said with defeat.
Jensen sighed. “We’re waiting on two others.”
“Who?”
At that moment the door opened. Chloe came in first, her face red and unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. Behind her Stuart strutted in with a proud smirk on his face. Graham’s body locked up once again and Catherine felt his skin shiver beneath hers. Chloe sat in the guest chair a few feet away from Lucien who gave her an appraising look. Stuart stopped in front of Graham and Catherine. His eyes shifted between them.
“That’s where I sit,” Stuart said.
Graham glared up at him. “This isn’t high school. Find another chair.”
Stuart took a step closer and leaned down into Graham’s face. “Move.”
“Get fucked. What are you even doing here? You know none of this will concern you starting tomorrow,” Graham growled.
“I’m still Beta, Dick. If I command you to move, you move. Now…. move,” Stuart commanded, his voice deep and sinister in a way
Catherine had never heard.
Graham stared at him for a minute before he scoffed and dusted his sleeve. He held his hand up to his ear. “What was that?”
“You fucking…”
“For Goddess sake, sit down Stuart,” Lucien said with a yawn. “Don’t ruin this evening’s entertainment by getting killed in the
matinee.”
Stuart scoffed and shoved away from Graham. He took a chair sitting along the wall and dragged it across the wooden floor with a terrible screech. Once Stuart was seated, Jensen let out another sigh and sat roughly in his chair. He propped his head up on his hands. His eyes shifted from one person to the next, finally deciding to settle on Lucien.
“Where would you like to start, Lucien?” Jensen asked.
“Perhaps we can start with why the little witch over here thought it would be wise to traipse around your daughter’s head?” Lucien asked, sliding his eyes toward Chloe. Chloe turned scarlet under his scrutiny. “And why you agreed to it,” Lucien added, glancing between Graham and Jensen.
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Chapter Sixty-Two
“It was my decision,” Catherine said.
Lucien chuckled. “Darling, you are far too young and inexperienced to be making such decisions.”
“Watch it,” Graham warned to which Lucien rolled his eyes.
“This practice has been used for centuries. Catherine was aware of the dangers, Lucien,” Jensen supplied.
“How could she be aware of all the dangers when you aren’t aware of all the dangers?”
“What are you talking about?” Chloe asked.
Lucien took a moment to gaze over Chloe’s physique. “Because, dear child, the man you are dealing with is about as educated and powerful as one can be. He knows more about Catherine’s condition than anyone, even myself. I’m guessing, the memories you accessed were shared with him and his magical henchman. I bet he even realized mid-memory what was going on. Isn’t that right, Kitty Cat?” Lucien asked, tilting his head toward Catherine with a teasing smile.
“Do not call her that,” Graham growled, pulling Catherine even closer.
Jensen cleared his throat. “Chloe said you changed your memory, is that true, Catherine?”
Catherine nodded and Jensen’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t believed it at first. “Someone said the word ‘mate’ and I remembered Graham and then everything else came flooding back. In my last memory Dom… He realized I was in my own memory. He knew I’d found my mate, that we hadn’t marked each other and that it was Chloe who helped me.”
Chloe gasped and covered her mouth.
Graham pivoted to look down at her. “Did he say he knew I was your mate?”
Catherine shook her head. “He just said to tell my mate he would see him soon and plans to steal me back.”
Graham growled low and terrifying. “Like hell.”
Catherine smiled and rubbed her hand along his chest.
“How is it you know all of this, Lucien?” Jensen asked.
Lucien gave everyone a brilliant smile, loving how the conversation was centered around himself. “I heard you were having a rogue problem,” Lucien began.
“We are not having a rogue problem,” Graham corrected.
“No, no, of course not, and neither did the other four lycan packs over the last five years…” Lucien said, smile still in place.
“The other packs dealt with rogue issues?” Jensen asked.
Lucien nodded. “Started four years ago with Gerald, then Elliot, Dane, then me…”
“You?” Graham asked, sitting up straighter now.
Lucien chuckled. “My second-in-command wasn’t as capable as I thought. If you recall, I’m still looking for a replacement…”
Graham chuckled darkly and shook his head.
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Chapter Sixty-Two
“What happened during these occurrences?” Jensen prodded further.
Lucien reluctantly took his gaze from Graham back to Jensen. He shrugged. “Four rogues to start along the perimeter. It would gradually scale up to between eight or twelve. We would lose their trail within a few miles.”
“Did they have tongues?” Stuart asked, trying to get involved. Catherine had completely forgotten his existence.
“No, they did not, Little Beta,” Lucien said as if giving him a star on his kindergarten paper. Stuart rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed.
“How did the incidents resolve?” Graham asked, leaning forward.
A
“Without any bloodshed, actually,” Lucien admitted. “At some point, a rogue would get in. There would be evidence of some tampering in the alpha and beta’s offices and then the rogues would disappear.”
“They were looking for something and when they didn’t find it, they moved on,” Jensen guessed.
“What would be missing?” Graham asked.
“Nothing was taken, but the files pulled out were of new pack members,” Lucien supplied.
While Jensen sat back in his chair and shook his head, Graham’s entire body became stiff with tension. He ran his hand through his
hair.
“What is it?” Stuart asked.
Lucien chuckled. “Challenging Graham will probably be the best thing that’s ever happened to this pack.”
“Lucien,” Jensen warned. He turned to Stuart. “The timeline, the locations in which the packs were hit being west to east, the fact that they were looking for someone new to the pack…”
“Catherine,” Lucien supplied. “They’re looking for Catherine.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Stuart laughed. “Why the fuck would anyone want her? Because she’s a half-breed? Because she can’t shift? Because she’s the abandoned daughter of an alpha?”
Graham shot up but Catherine expected it and got up with him. She put herself in front of her mate and pressed her hand to his
chest.
“Shut the fuck up, Stuart. You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jensen said, his own canines slipping free.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” Chloe said.
“Shut the hell up, witch,” Stuart hissed.
“Outstanding proof you don’t deserve your position when you talk down to people so much more powerful than yourself,” Lucien
taunted.
“I don’t want another word from you, Fossil,” Stuart yelled.
Graham’s eyes were pitch black, his jaw locked tight and his skin vibrated as he considered starting the challenge early. Catherine again focused her energy on keeping him calm. She kept her back toward the others and closed her eyes to concentrate.
Chapter Sixty-Two
The voices around her raised as they fought over her importance in the rogue matter and how her gift might manifest. Jensen wanted Catherine taken away and protected. Lucien thought she should go back with him to his pack for safety and training. Chloe argued she could help Catherine herself, that what she witnessed was more powerful than some of the elders she’d known and they could use her for so much progress in the world. Graham wanted none of it, her powers weren’t even revealed yet, he was her mate and could protect her.
Catherine fought for her calm energy to win out over the mounting tension. Soon she felt Graham’s body loosen. She opened her eyes to find him looking thoughtfully down at her. Within a minute the voices around her also lowered. She felt herself becoming drained. Her eyelids drooped while the energy of the room lightened. Everyone was talking in normal voices. Jensen even cracked a genuine laugh at something Lucien said.
Suddenly Graham gripped her wrist and ripped her hand away from his chest. Catherine took a step back and the energy in the room snapped. The light mood evaporated into nothing and the yelling began again, now directed at Chloe for even thinking going into Catherine’s head was a good idea. Graham kissed her knuckles but his grip on her wrist remained. She furrowed her brow and he shook his head slightly.
“So what does this all mean?” Stuart barked, rubbing his temples.
“It means, Little Beta,” Lucien grimaced. “Catherine is an important pawn in whatever Dominic DeAngelo has planned. It means that her gift will be extraordinary, if her little show wasn’t proof enough.” Lucien gave Graham and her a wink, letting them know he, at least, noticed her effect. “It means that Dominic knew in order to have her gift revealed, she would need to be marked by her fated mate and that he somehow knew it would be a lycan. Hence why, after she left, he sent his little untraceable rogue army through every lycan pack searching for her. It means that Blackmoore better prepare for war because Dominic DeAngelo is a patient man but as soon as Graham marks her, we can expect him to make his first move.”
Surrendering to Destiny
