“My car died a few miles from Cody. But Lucius came along, and he stopped to give me a lift, so don’t worry about it.”
The dread returned full force. “Noah, I don’t want you anywhere near him! I don’t believe he’s changed, at least not enough for it to be safe to be alone with him.”
“He seems sincere, and I really want him to get to know me. For your sake, Nix. I honestly think we can all get along, even if he’s acting a little weird.”
The words hit Nix like sledgehammer between the eyes, and he nearly stumbled and fell. “Weird how?”
“I don’t know. There’s this hum of energy coming off of him, almost like he’s Fae. But not.”
“My father is not Fae. Get away from him, Noah! Right now! Are you in the car with him?”
“No, he’s looking under the hood and I’m in the car. Why?”
“Noah, baby,” he entreated. “There’s something very wrong. Get away from him, please, and stay on the phone. I’m on my way.”
“What? I—” There was a scuffle, and Noah’s voice was replaced by the one Nix feared.
“Hello, son. I’m going to take good care of your boy.”
The line went dead.
Yelling for his teammates, Nix ran for the hangar. Once there, he pressed the emergency button inside. Aric, Micah, Jax, and Kalen came running. Others followed, but they were closest.
“What’s going on?” Aric snapped.
“My father, Lucius Monroe. He’s dangerous, and he has Noah.”
Not another word needed to be said. They’d find him, but he prayed they wouldn’t be too late.
Only they didn’t. They found Noah’s car, standing empty by the side of the road, but no clues as to the other vehicle or which direction it had gone. Nick arrived on the scene and placed a call to his friend Sheriff Jesse Deveraux. The sheriff and a couple of deputies helped them scour town, but it seemed Noah and Lucius had vanished into thin air.
“Someone had to have seen them,” Micah said. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
Nick nodded. “I agree.” He placed another call to Jesse, then hung up. “Jesse’s going to have his deputies find your father’s hotel room and check it out. Let’s do one more sweep of the area, and if we don’t find anything we’ll have to go back until we figure out what the hell is going on.”
Fear liquefied Nix’s guts. He didn’t know which was worse—knowing his father had his mate, or imagining what could happen if they didn’t find them in time.
*
Noah awoke on a cold stone floor, shivering. He was in some sort of barren room, which was smelly and dank. A basement, it seemed. When he tried to move, he found himself bound, hands behind his back, ankles tied.
What the hell had happened?
He remembered driving away from the compound, hurt and angry. That much hadn’t changed. Then his car had died in a lonely spot a few miles from town.
The man with the tats. Lucius Monroe. Nix’s father, but something seemed off about him.
If so, I’m in deep shit.
He’d seemed nice enough, making small talk and offering a ride into town. Noah had been so upset at that point, he’d gratefully accepted. Then he’d finally answered Nix’s call, and Nix was frantic. As soon as Nix had started yelling, the man had returned and got inside the car.
He’d turned to Noah, a malicious smile on his face. He’d taken the phone from Noah’s limp hand, waved a palm in front of Noah’s face. And I went out like a light. He spelled me. So, he has some sort of power, too. Why did Nix claim he doesn’t?
The door to the room creaked open, and heavy boot steps approached. There was no point in pretending sleep, so Noah struggled to sit up. Lucius crouched next to him, grinning.
“Have a nice nap?”
“Fuck you.”
“Maybe later. You’re quite a find, leaving your compound all alone and unprotected, especially with those new powers shining like a beacon. . .Halfling.”
He stared at the man. “How do you know about my new abilities? Which aren’t much of anything, by the way. So if that’s why you took me, you wasted your time.”
“Like I said, they’re a beacon. You’re more powerful than you think, and with a master like me to help you focus and channel them, you’ll be even stronger.”
“Well, you’re not mastering any part of me, so scratch that idea, fucker.”
“Oh, I think you’ll change your mind. I won’t even need to resort to violence to make you see my way of thinking.”
“Okay, I’ll bite,” he said, trying to keep the fear from his voice. “Why not?”
“Because I’m not Lucius Monroe,” he said, smiling. “I’m someone much, much more powerful than the pathetic human whose body I borrowed.”
The air around the man shimmered, and he changed. While the man was still tall, the bulk of muscle became slender. His facial features were refined, even gorgeous in a Goth way. He had black hair past his shoulders and catlike eyes. Every fingernail was tipped in black. He sort of reminded Noah of an evil version of Kalen.