Chapter 12
Carly’s eyes cracked open to the reality of a splitting headache and a light all too bright. The sun was out and that meant a brand new day. She quickly closed her eyes again and tried to figure out the last several hours. There was a big gaping hole in her memory where last night should be. She could remember talking to Ariana alone and that was it.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again to find out where exactly she was laid out. She recognized the inner walls of the room she was using at the trailer. Ok, all good signs, she thought, there was nothing to panic over. Her eyes continued to take in the familiar setting until her eyes landed on the body next to her on the bed.
Marc was asleep and shirtless beside her. She was too scared to peek under the covers to see if he was as naked on the bottom as he was on the top. If her own lack of dress was any indicator, she had a good reason to be scared.
Not a good sign.
EIGHT HOURS EARLIER
The primary objective was finding Bradley and hopefully the answers to some very complicated questions. Marc sat Kid and Ariana down to explain what he knew for a fact and what he and Andrew suspected.
There were three attacks that they knew of; Ian’s murder, Livvy’s attempted kidnapping, and Carly’s slew of bad luck coming from the cops arresting her for first degree murder and the hunters trying to track her down to add to their body count.
Ariana tapped her fingers rapidly on the table top. “Are sure are you that the hunters are after her?”
“They’d know she escaped police custody and would want her found. As we all know hunters don’t want to sit down and have a chat. I wouldn’t send the pack underground if I didn’t believe there was a threat.”
Ariana held up her hands. “Relax. It was just a question.”
Marc continued. “Andrew tracked down the location Bradley’s been seen in. I was headed that way this morning.”
“We can do that.” Ariana offered.
Marc was tempted to believe he hadn’t woken up from last night, that instead the whole day was some crazy dream. Sadly, he knew his luck didn’t work that way. Everything was real. “Because that went so well before? You both have too much history with the guy.” He included Kid into that statement. “I know something about strategizing too. The better idea is if you stay here with Carly while I go track Bradley.”
The new Ariana, the panther/warrior with no ties to the girl she used to be, liked to argue. She wanted to be right and when she wasn’t, it left a sour taste in her mouth. Her expression was tight but nonetheless she agreed with his plan. “We don’t know how far this heat thing runs. You should take Kid with you. He can wait in the car and keep lookout while you talk to that son of a bitch.”
Marc nodded with agreement. “Now we have a plan.” He felt better when he had something laid out with structure to follow. “Meet me out front in five.” He told Kid before leaving his seat around the table.
Carly was asleep on the couch completely oblivious to what was happening all around her. The cousin she wanted to meet so badly was just in the other room with probably just as many questions as Carly herself had.
Marc was worried for the widowed mate. She had enough on her plate with the love of her life being killed and being on the run from the only life she’d ever known. She didn’t need a heat cycle throwing her system out of whack. Marc knew enough about the woman to envision her horror when she remembered all the things she said to him under the spell of her cycle. It wasn’t pretty.
Marc went to his room to call Andrew in private. He sat down on the bed while the other line rung. He hoped by this time tomorrow they had the latest threat neutralized and the pack could be on their way back home. He didn’t like being separated from them.
“Hello?” Andrew answered.
“I hope your day is fairing better than mine. Guess who paid me a visit today?”
“The tooth fairy?”
“That would’ve been a welcomed surprise. Ariana and Kid are here and on top of that Carly’s in heat. Do you know what that means?”
“Your life officially sucks?”
“I’m way past that check point.” Marc ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I need a vacation.”
“Somewhere with no pretty blondes and forbidden mates.” Andrew laughed.
“You’re no help. Why do I bother calling you?”
“Because I’m your best friend and I’m all you got. About Carly’s predicament, I actually just finished some reading on that. I found some information when I was searching the symptoms you told me about.” Andrew’s laughing fit melted away as he fell into his usual position as all knowing beta.
“Did you happen to find a way to turn it off?”
“No, where’s the fun in that? She’s going to have to wait it out or give into it. If she mates once under the full moon cycle, the side effects will stop until the next full moon.”
Dread filled every fiber of Marc’s body. “And if she doesn’t mate?”
“She’ll be in heat every night until the new moon and you’re the bastard stuck with her. I don’t envy you.”
“What would you do in my shoes?”
“Probably drop her off at a nunnery.”
“Well, I’m going for the second best thing. I’m leaving her with Ariana while Kid and I go track down Bradley. I want you to track down everyone for a check in and make sure everything is clear. After that, find out what Jax is up to. I don’t like that he’s alone with Livvy with no back up.” It was foolish of Ariana not to consider that but then again, Marc was in no mood to argue the point. He’d rather go a few rounds in hell than face the frustration that was Ariana Ellis.
“Aye, aye, boss.”
Marc pocketed the phone. He dug into his suitcase and pulled out a pouch containing a few weapons his father gave him for his eighteenth birthday. He preferred to fight with his claws but when facing an enemy such a Bradley, backup wouldn’t hurt and Kid didn’t count. He was a whiz at computers and more then held his own in a fight, but he was still a child.
Marc also had no doubt that Ariana would kill him if anything happened to her son on his watch.
Back in the living room he was surprised to see Carly sitting up with a clear expression. “You look better.” Marc commented.
“Yeah, I don’t feel much better.” Carly rubbed at an ache on her temple. “You’re leaving?” her grey eyes dropped to the bag in his left hand.
“Ariana is going to stay here with you while we go talk to Bradley.” He motioned to himself and Kid, who was standing by the door waiting.
Carly looked apprehensive about the decision. Ariana was standing off in the corner of the room ignoring her newfound cousin, something Carly quickly noticed. The only person in the room she remotely knew was leaving her. “Ok.” Her voice was meek at best. “See you later.”
Marc inwardly cursed. He was supposed to be turning around and leaving for the greater good of his loved ones, so why wasn’t he? He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sad look on Carly’s face. She wasn’t feeling good and she was going through something no one could help her with. It wasn’t fair and she needed a friendly shoulder to lean on.
Marc wanted to be that shoulder and if the full moon wasn’t just around the cloud ready to shine at her brightest he would’ve stayed.
He looked at Ariana and found her watching him. “Call me if anything out of the ordinary happens.”
“She’ll be ok. Make sure you do the same.”
Marc followed Kid down to the car. It was time to put his hat in the game and forget about the little blonde he wanted to protect.
The ride was quiet for the first ten minutes.
“So,” Kid began. “That was a little tense.”
“What was?”
“You and Carly. She’s really pretty.”
“She’s also Ariana’s cousin.”
“And that makes it a little icky. I get it.” Kid nodded along with every word, his green eyes peered out the window for a spit second before his curiosity kept getting the best of him. “But if she wasn’t, you’d allow yourself to like her?”
Marc chuckled. “You’re smart for your age but talking to a fifteen year old about my love life isn’t a pastime I want to indulge in.”
“We have an hour before we get there and I’m the only one here.” Kid said, suddenly reminding Marc of Jax at that age.
“We can talk about something else.”
“We could but your stuff is so much more interesting.” The young boy teased with a sloppy grin on his face.
“You need to get out more if I’m your source of entertainment.”
“And you need to work on evading uncomfortable questions if this is the best you’ve got. Good thing we’re not supposed to be perfect.”
~*~
Carly was trying to ignore the sledgehammer some evil little monster in her head was banging down over and over. The pain was intense enough that every few seconds she winced, something her cousin took notice of.
Ariana was trained to detect little details after all. “You don’t have to put on a brave front. You can tell me if something is wrong.”
“I’m fine.” Carly was trying to hold on to some dignity. Ariana was standing there with her sword strapped to her back looking like a freakin’ superhero, while Carly felt like warmed garbage. “What made you come all this way?”
“When Andrew told us that Marc was looking for hunters I figured he needed all the help he could get.” Ariana shrugged as if to say there wasn’t much reasoning to her motives.
“What about your family? Are they safe?”
“They are. How much do you know about them?”
“Marc told me about your mate and your little girl. What made you decide to name her after your mom?” Carly knew her cousin grew up with no knowledge of her true heritage, her biological parents that adored the very air she breathed.
“I’m not very clear on all the details because there’s still missing pieces to my memory. I know Hal told me about my real parents and when it was time to name the baby I wanted to include both my moms. You knew her well, my mom?” The hard mask that clouded Ariana’s face started to soften. She was eager to know more about the family she was robbed of.
“She was one of my favorite people in the whole world. I used to sneak out of my bedroom and run down the street barefooted to your house. I used to help rock you to sleep.” The tears she struggled to hold back did wonders worsening her headache. Those memories were part of a lifetime she never let herself think about often because of all the sorrow and regret within them. She was only seven years old at the time, but Carly believed she could’ve done something to save her aunt and cousin from the fate they suffered if she had just tried.
Ariana stepped away from her position at the door, she stood there as if she was waiting for a threat to break it down and charge at them. Now she joined Carly on the couch. “Where’s your mom now?”
Carly’s heart broke with a fresh cut right through her soul. “I tell anyone who asks that she’s in Arizona and I visit her every chance I get.”
“She’s not?” Carly shook her head no. “Where she is?”
“From the moment I met Marc, he knew I was hiding more than I was saying, even after I told him about my mate, he never completely gave up his suspicions. I’ve lied about my mother and I’ve lied about what I know about the day your parents were killed.” Carly turned to face Ariana, her hazel eyes familiar as they were the shade of both their moms. “I’ve been looking for you my whole adult life. I was there when they took you.”