Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen
Catherine sighed when the door to her room opened and broke her concentration. She kept her eyes closed and tried again to feel the energy around her. When she felt nothing, she fought the urge to scream. She clenched her fists instead. The action caused the black stone bands around her wrists to bite into her skin. Dominic had placed them around her wrists before she’d stepped off the plane. Chloe had a pair to match.
The magical properties within the black stone kept her from casting or feeling her gift. What no one realized, however, was that the bands also prevented her from releasing her energy. The chaotic anger, the darkness, thrashed, morphed, and expanded inside her without any relief. The moment it broke free would spell disaster for anyone in close range. She only hoped Dominic was standing front and center when it did.
“Catherine,” a familiar voice said above her.
Catherine opened her eyes to find Chloe sitting on the bed beside her. Chloe smiled but the gesture only made the bruising around her face and the redness of her eyes more pronounced. Her face was gaunt and her body looked as if she’d gotten several rounds of chemotherapy. Chloe placed her bony hand on the one Catherine had resting on her stomach.
“I can’t find him,” Catherine whispered, fighting the sting of tears in the corner of her eyes. “I keep trying to meditate, hoping he’s sleeping and…”
Chloe held a finger to her mouth and shook her head. She pointed to the corners of the room to remind Catherine there were cameras focused in on them. Catherine shivered.
“What are you doing here?” Catherine whispered.
Chloe’s mouth pulled to the right. “Getting you ready for dinner.”
Thirty minutes later, Chloe and Catherine were led through the halls of their new prison by four wolves: two in the front, two behind. Catherine adjusted the spaghetti strap of her evening gown as it threatened to fall down her shoulder again. True to his nature, Dominic had picked a navy blue evening dress with a plunging neckline and a bare back. Her face felt heavy with makeup yet her head felt light due to the unauthorized haircut she’d received while passed out on the plane.
Catherine brushed her fingers through her hair that only fell halfway down her neck. Dominic told her they needed her hair and blood in order to carry her scent toward MoonStone. Catherine knew Graham wouldn’t believe it. She just hoped he could find her before the full moon. Catherine tried to push her hair out of her face but the new length prevented her from keeping it back. Her frustration morphed into claustrophobia and her heart skittered when she couldn’t even control where her own hair went. Chloe reached over and took her other hand.
“It looks great,” Chloe whispered.
Catherine sighed. “Shame.” Catherine squeezed Chloe’s hand and lowered her voice. “Have they hurt you badly?”
Chloe gave a shaky smile. “Curtis has figured out a way to drain me without my permission. Something the other witch working with Dominic taught him. He lost a large portion of the power he had remaining by pulling that stunt at the party last week. What he’s siphoning now is only a fraction of what he really needs to keep himself from dying. I’m just waiting for the right time.”
“To do what?”
Chloe sighed. “Get him to think I’ve given in and take the cuffs off.”
The wolves continued down the long wooden corridor and down a flight of stairs. Catherine kept her head on a swivel, identifying rooms within open doorways and possible exits. She hadn’t been confined to her room but she remembered all too well the consequences of running through a door before knowing if it had been cursed. There was only one way to test it and she was not desperate enough to try just yet.
The wolves walked up to a door and then shifted so they could open it. They held their hands out. Catherine and Chloe entered. The dining hall was the same as the rest of the house; wood on wood. In the center of the room, atop a large mahogany rug stood a table long enough to seat a dozen people.
Catherine glanced around at everyone already in attendance, Dominic sat at the head of one end with his Beta, Stuart, Marty, and Curtis. Beside them she saw Alpha Gerald, his daughter Morgan and one of the tributes she’d been trapped in the MoonStone packhouse with, Julia. There was only one other person there she didn’t know but recognized. He was human, wearing a very expensive suit and had the expression of someone who got exactly what he wanted. He gave off the air of superiority that comes from great power. A politician, maybe?
“Well, isn’t this lovely.” Catherine was the first to speak. The darkness within her soared and clouded her vision. She narrowed her eyes at everyone. “A room full of traitors.”
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Dominic laughed and stood. “Take a seat, ladies. I’m sure we all
Catherine turned and started to tow Chloe toward the other end of the table where there were two empty seats beside each other.
“Uh, uh, uh,” Dominic tsked. “I’ll have my Luna beside me. Chloe can sit next to her brother. I’m sure they have a lot of catching up to do.”
Catherine’s hands fisted but she decided to not fight back. She scraped the chair back and sat between Dominic and Stuart. Stuart’s shit-eating grin widened as he slung his arm over the back of Catherine’s chair.
“Stuart,” Catherine muttered.
“Sis,” he cooed.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” she said, looking not just at him but Morgan and Gerald. Morgan gave her a proud smirk and a little wave. “What is it you’re getting out of this deal, Gerald?”
“Alpha Gerald to you,” Gerald barked.
“Haven’t you heard?” Catherine asked. “I’m to be Alpha Queen very soon, so who should show the other respect here?”
Dominic chuckled as he sipped some of his whiskey. “Coming around I see.”
“Not in your life,” Catherine growled.
“Seems someone has recently found a pair of balls,” Stuart laughed.
She glared at him. “Yeah, I picked up the pair you left on the challenge field after my mate forced you to submit without even having to shift.”
Dominic slammed his hand on the table. He shook his head before screwing a smile on his face. “We’ve discussed this, Catherine.”
She clamped her jaw together so tight she felt one of her back molars chip. The doors in the back of the room opened and several servants raced in to serve their dinner: steak and potatoes. No one spoke, but everyone’s eyes circulated around the table. Catherine took two bites of her au gratin potatoes before recognizing the taste of copper. She glanced up at Dominic who winked.
“Where’s Leonora?” Catherine asked, sitting back and shoving her plate aside.
“Who’s Leonora?” the human asked.
“She was the mate the Moon Goddess thought to give me,” Dominic explained with a roll of his eyes. He turned to Catherine. “She’s lived out her usefulness. I suspect she’s in Blackmoore in a dank cell… if her brother didn’t gut her for treason.”
“Graham wouldn’t do that,” Chloe interjected. Curtis laughed.
“So you strung her along for years just to have access to me? You didn’t even know I’d end up in Blackmoore,” Catherine argued.
Dominic nodded his head from side to side as he cut his steak. “True. But her mission was never to get access to you. It was more…” He looked upward for words. He shrugged and went back to his steak. “Experimentation.”
“Experimentation,” Catherine repeated.
“Right. I needed to make sure that after you found your ‘fated’ mate that I could still have you and father your children. That’s why I never rejected her, in case we arrived at the same crossroads I’d be prepared,” he explained.
Catherine’s skin prickled with unease. “You forced her to mate with Benji and have children while still attached to you just to see if it could be done?”
“Forced? No. I’ve never forced Leonora to do anything against her will. Merely asked,” Dominic said with a smile.
Catherine’s stomach churned as she thought of the triplets and their father. She closed her eyes and vowed she would never tell anyone how deeply Leonora’s betrayal went. Stuart stood and walked from the room, allowing Catherine to see Julia for the first time since sitting down. The last she heard of Julia was the night she and Miranda tried to escape. That night Dominic had chosen to take Julia on a run, the implications of what else he intended were
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clear. Several conversations started around the room and while Dominic spoke to his Beta, Catherine took the opportunity to lean toward Julia.
“Julia, are you okay?” Catherine asked.
Julia raised her eyebrow. “Uh, yeah?”
“Has he kept you here all this time? Did he not let you go? If you’re in danger, I can help get…”
Julia started to laugh. The laugh was soft, child-like at first, but it eventually grew to a full cackle. With her head held back, Julia wiped her eyes. The other people at the table watched them now. Finally Julia stopped laughing and took a sip from her water. She propped her elbow on the table and gave Catherine a look of delight.
“How’s Timone?” Julia asked, bringing Catherine up short.
“Wha…”
“Timone? Oh and little Toma? Last time I saw him he was just starting to look like a man worth fucking. Of course, as his step-mother it might not have been appropriate.”
Catherine’s mouth fell. “You?”
Julia winked. “I’m not a wolf, little girl.”
“She’s one of the most renowned blood-practicing witches on the continent,” Chloe explained.
“Most renowned? You’re going to make me blush,” Julia beamed.
“Most evil,” Chloe clarified, clenching her fork tightly in her hand. Catherine understood her anger. Julia hurt Chloe’s mate and Catherine worried what would happen if Julia obtained that information.
“Then what do you have against Graham?” Catherine asked.
“Catherine…” Dominic warned.
She arched an eyebrow in challenge. “Did I say something wrong? Does everyone at this table not have something against my ma… Graham?”
Julia giggled. “Graham’s not my concern. Dominic and I have a deal,” Julia started.
“Julia, careful,” Dominic warned.
“I help him complete this little ritual he’s been cooking up for a quarter of a century and in return, I get Muriel.”
“What do you want with him?” Catherine asked.
“To fulfill the prophecy he once foresaw: A father killed by his daughter.”
“How… poetic,” Catherine breathed, rubbing her temples.
