Black Orchid (Svatura) Read online

  Desmond clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Well, let’s get to it. What do I need to do?” He looked back and forth between Adelaide and Griffin.

  “You do nothing,” she said. “Just sit there while I try a few things. Let me know if anything hurts or feels odd.” She patted the space beside her.

  He quirked an eyebrow. “Odd how?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never tried something like this before. You may not feel anything.”

  “All right.” Desmond moved over to the couch and flopped down.

  Adelaide took a deep breath. She already had her power turned on. She’d managed to break Ariel’s connection to Maddox’s pack. But her attempt to reconnect her and Nate’s relationship had failed miserably. How on earth did she force a line to materialize where none existed?

  She saw Desmond’s link to the Vyusher as a line that just sort of faded into nowhere since no other pack members were close by. Reaching out, she felt a wave of relief when she was able to grasp it.

  “Huh,” Desmond grunted.

  “Okay?” she asked him, her concentration still focused on the strand of light in her hands.

  “Yup. Just tingles a bit.”

  Adelaide nodded. “Griffin, come stand closer,” she instructed, not looking up. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him move over.

  She pulled on Desmond’s wolf-pack relationship and dragged it to Griffin. But when she touched it to him, nothing happened. Adelaide bit her lip and tried again. Nothing.

  She sat back with a frown. Maybe…

  Reaching out with her free hand, she grasped the thread of friendship already connecting the two men. They both grunted this time. Adelaide tried to force the two lines to connect. Again, nothing. Finally, she tried her only other idea and attempted to connect the thin, white strand to the spot on Griffin near his heart from which all the other relationships originated. .

  “That feels warm,” Griffin’s voice echoed in her mind.

  Adelaide held still, willing the warmth to fuse the relationships. But after a good five minutes, nothing more happened.

  Shaking her head, Adelaide let go with a deep sigh. “I’m sorry,” she thought to Griffin.

  He padded over and bumped her with his shoulder. “It’s okay. Worth a try.”

  Aloud she said, “We could try it with Ellie sometime. And I can think of other things to try. I’m still relearning this power, after all.”

  Adelaide wanted to cry. Even in his wolfish form and trying to put a brave face on it, Griffin’s despair was obvious.

  “We’ll get it figured out eventually, Gaston.” Desmond clapped Griffin on the shoulder.

  Griffin nodded. “I’ll call Charlotte to come get you.”

  “Nah, don’t bother. She’s busy shuttling folks to Maddox’s old base in Texas.”

  Adelaide glanced between the two. “What old base? Why?”

  “We discovered the location of Maddox’s forces last year and tried attacking him there. But somehow he knew about it and attacked us the moment we showed up,” Griffin explained.

  “We won?” Adelaide asked, frowning.

  Desmond shook his head. “No one really won that one. But we discovered quite a bit about Maddox.”

  “Is that when we found out he’s a dragon metamorph, like Ellie?”

  “That… and that she can’t beat him on her own when he’s in that form. He’s massive and incredibly powerful.”

  Adelaide chewed on her lower lip. Nate was with Maddox right now. She didn’t like thinking of the danger in which he was deliberately placing himself. She hopped up and wandered to the window, sort of hoping to see Nate approaching already. He hadn’t been gone that long really, but still…

  “And why are the Vyusher going there now?” she asked.

  Desmond stretched out and crossed his ankles. “Maddox abandoned that base after the fight. We’ve been keeping an eye on it, but there’s been no activity. Although we don’t really hope to find anything, Selene thinks it’s safe to explore and worth the try.”

  “Ah. Makes sense, I guess.”

  “So looks like I’ll hang out here with you guys for a bit.” Desmond grinned. “What’s on TV?”

  Adelaide grimaced. “No TV, no internet.”

  “What do you do for entertainment?”

  “Well, Digory, there’s these things called books…” Griffin said, his tone dry.

  Desmond clasped his heart. “Was that a joke? Good on ya, buddy. I didn’t think you were capable.”

  Griffin snorted.

  Desmond swung his gaze to Adelaide and then glanced over her shoulder to the landscape outside. “I do hear that you have an excellent sunset view.”

  Taking the hint, Adelaide gave him a soft smile, grateful for the distraction. Besides, the brilliant sunsets were one of her favorite parts of living here. “I’d say that you should check it out, but we’re being careful about who might be seen from my windows.”

  Desmond smiled. “No worries, little lady.” Then he sobered. “But living like this isn’t living. Someone’s gotta take that bastard down.”

  “Or die trying,” Adelaide muttered, as she cast another worried glance out the window.

  Chapter 26

  Thanks to Maddox’s teleporter, Corin, Nate found himself suddenly standing in the middle of the Outback. Unfortunately, Corin had brought Dave along too.

  Nate cocked his head, as if he were hearing Adelaide. “She’s calling me,” he said. “I’d better go.”

  “Run along, then,” Dave said. He gave Nate a cold smile. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  Nate jogged off, as if he weren’t in too much of a hurry. But once he was far enough away from Dave, he put on a burst of speed to get back to the little Outback house where Adelaide waited. Talking to Sheila had taken longer than expected. But he needed to warn Adelaide about what Maddox had said.

  The sun was just setting, casting a red-orange glow across the land as he walked inside the house.

  “Adelaide? Whoa—” A large wolf rose from the floor where he’d been curled. “Hey, Griffin. You drew family duty tonight?”

  “Adelaide’s up in the loft.”

  “I’ll be right down!” she called.

  Nate glanced toward the stairs as Adelaide appeared. She smiled when she saw him, relief in every inch of her face. Nate again felt the sting of guilt that plagued him every waking moment since realizing the truth of his betrayal. He didn’t deserve the smiles she bestowed on him with such stunning ease.

  Blinking to clear his thoughts, he turned back to Griffin. “It’s a good thing you’re here anyway. Wherever our family is tonight, pull them back to the castle. Immediately.”

  “Why?” Adelaide asked as she came to stand beside him.

  Nate didn’t have to say anything. Griffin had already pulled it from his mind. “A possible attack?”

  “What?!”

  “Did I just hear the word atta—”

  Nate swung around to see Desmond descending the stairs. But before Nate could say anything, Desmond froze in his tracks. Then suddenly he leapt through the air and shifted mid-jump, tackling Nate to the ground.

  “Stop!” Adelaide screamed.

  Before Desmond could go for his neck, Nate used his strength to throw the wolf across the room. He hit the wall and then crashed to the ground.

  As Desmond stumbled to his feet, Adelaide jumped between them. “Nate’s helping us!” she cried.

  Desmond rose up and growled.

  Nate was not at all happy Adelaide had placed herself between him and an animal who could rip her to pieces. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him protectively. “You touch her, you die.”

  That seemed to pull Desmond up short. He stopped mid-snarl, and tipped his head to the side. Then he glanced at Griffin, who had yet to say or do anything. Everything had happened too fast.

  After what appeared to be a telepathic dialogue, Desmond’s body wavered, and he shifted back into his human f
orm. “Sorry, dude.”

  Nate gave him a nod but said nothing. He let go of Adelaide and moved over to the window to look outside. “We’re being watched. I got here ahead of him. We probably have about twenty minutes.” Unless Corin teleported him over, but Nate didn’t think they’d risk that. He turned back to face them. “You guys need to leave. You need to check on your people.”

  “Our people,” Griffin corrected softly.

  Adelaide crossed her arms over her chest and glared at all three men. “Focus here, guys,” she said. “What’s this about an attack?”

  Nate glanced at Adelaide’s distraught face. “Maddox told me that I needed to keep you away from your family tonight.”

  “Shit,” Desmond muttered. He looked at Griffin. “Can your telepathy reach them from here?”

  Griffin shook his head. “But I’ve got Charlotte coming now.”

  Nate frowned. “Do we have people somewhere they could be in danger?”

  Griffin nodded. “They’re at Maddox’s old base in Texas.”

  “We’ll help—” Adelaide started, but Griffin cut her off.

  “No. You stay here or Maddox will know Nate tipped us off.”

  Before Nate or Adelaide could say anything else, Charlotte appeared in the room. “Adelaide, keep your mind open for me,” Griffin said before he, Desmond, and Charlotte disappeared.

  Nate froze, and he knew that all the blood had drained out of his face. He felt as though a giant fist had just punched him hard in the gut. Charlotte. Memories assaulted him – clear this time, instead of grey and hazy. She was his adoptive mother, and he hadn’t seen her since he’d left with Talia and Maddox. He didn’t count the night he realized the truth and the entire family had showed up in this room. He hadn’t looked at anyone but Adelaide. He couldn’t.

  But tonight, the moment Charlotte had seen him, she’d mouthed his name. He’d seen the pain in her eyes and the hope. The pain he’d put there with his betrayal. The hope worried him. He couldn’t guarantee that Maddox wouldn’t take advantage of his apparent weak spots and brainwash him all over again.

  Charlotte had smiled at him just as she’d disappeared, the one she’d used when he’d been a little boy and had done something naughty. Nate bent over, put his hands on his knees and tried to breathe.

  “Nate?” Adelaide’s concerned voice brought his gaze up to her.

  He held up a hand when she made to approach. Cowboy up, dude, he thought to himself. Inhaling a big breath of air, he stood. “I’m okay.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Nope.” He gave her his best carefree, happy-go-lucky grin. “All good.”

  Instead of smiling back and accepting him at face value, which most people did, Adelaide stepped closer. “I can tell you when you don’t mean your smiles.” She lifted her hand and brushed her fingertips over his eyes. “It doesn’t show up here.”

  A new sensation clenched Nate’s gut. Desire. He trailed his gaze over the contours of her face. Fate had picked him an angel for his te’sorthene. And he’d destroyed the most perfect gift a Svatura could ever be given. Circling her wrists with his hands, he pulled away from her touch.

  Disappointment shadowed her eyes, but then she tipped her chin up stubbornly. “Nate… what do you see when you look at me?”

  Nate frowned his confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you see your enemy?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Do you see your te’sorthene?”

  Nate slowly shook his head, reluctant to hurt her but unwilling to lie. “I see memories of you. Of us together. But many of them are still sort of faded. They don’t seem real. And I don’t feel what I remember feeling.”

  “But you feel guilty.” It wasn’t a question.

  Nate shrugged one shoulder. “Wouldn’t you?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” she murmured. “But I can tell you what I see.”

  “Yeah? Is it a hunk and a half with a swagger?” He flexed a bicep.

  Adelaide chuckled but didn’t drop it. She tapped a finger on her temple. “No memories, remember? So I see only what I know about you now. I see the man who despite his original goal of seducing me and, well, whatever was supposed to come after that, couldn’t do it. I see the man who’s risking his own life to prove his worth, not only to his family, but to himself. I see the man who helped me tame the beast inside. I see…”

  She paused, took a small breath and continued. “I see the man who kissed me silly, igniting feelings that I still can’t seem to get a handle on, but then walked away from me, regardless of his orders to seduce.”

  Her words touched something deep down inside him. Pulled to her by some invisible string, Nate leaned down until their lips were a hair’s breadth apart. He inhaled her, a heady combination of vanilla and sunshine and lemon. “You don’t know how much I want to repeat that kiss right now.”

  He pulled back. Her sigh of disappointment feathered over his face as he did. “But - especially because of your memory - it would be taking advantage of you. And I refuse to be the cause of pain for you ever again.”

  “So no kissing?”

  “No.”

  “That’s a pity.”

  She gave him a small grin and moved over to the couch.

  “Anything from Griffin?” Nate asked.

  She shook her head. “Not yet.”

  She looked so worried that Nate sat beside her and took her hands, giving them a squeeze. “They’ll be okay.”

  “I hope so.” She sighed. “Can we talk about something else? Get my mind off things?”

  “Sure.”

  Adelaide scooted around to face him and curled her legs up under her. “Tell me about your memories of Charlotte and Dexter.”

  Nate gave her a pained look. “That’s not exactly a happy topic for me, Princess.”

  She tipped her head. “The memories are happy, even if your present situation isn’t.”

  “I suppose,” he muttered.

  “Please. I don’t remember them at all. I’d really like to know.”

  Chapter 27

  Nate scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “Don’t you need to be listening for Griffin right now?”

  Adelaide wrinkled her nose. “I’m open to him – I think. I’m not always sure I’m doing it right. Besides, I can either sit here and worry, or I can get my mind off what might be happening while I learn about some of our history.”

  Nate sat back and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He debated saying no, but in the end, he could refuse this woman nothing. “Okay. What do you want to know?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know what questions to ask, since I know nothing about it. Start at the beginning.”

  “The beginning,” he mused. “So, you’ve got to understand that many of my memories are still pretty hazy.”

  Adelaide nodded. “Okay.”

  Nate sighed. “Charlotte has always been in my life. She knew my parents. Apparently, she knew my father first… for quite a few years before he met my mother. They were both Svatura. I don’t remember how they met. They started traveling together for safety.”

  “But nothing happened between them?”

  He shook his head. “No. She says he was more like an older brother.”

  “And your mom?”

  “She was just a normal human. A village girl they met in England. She knew about Charlotte and my father and their powers but was too in love with him to care.”

  “Something happened to your parents?”

  Nate paused, not really seeing Adelaide as he filtered through the fuzzy images and words in his head. “Charlotte told me that my mother died in childbirth having me. My father was so heartbroken that he went a little crazy, started drinking, picking fights. A man in a village shot him over a card game.”

  Nate glanced at Adelaide. Would he have felt the same if he’d lost her while their te’sorthene bond was in place? He suspected that he would, and the ever-present ache insid
e him swelled.

  “So Charlotte watched over you?” Adelaide asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  Nate nodded. “She’s the only mother I ever had. We had no money, no friends, no family. Charlotte moved us to London and started sewing to support us.”

  “When did Dexter come into the picture?”

  Nate grinned as flashes of the stocky, gruff man who’d become his adopted father flipped though his mind. “I was about eight years old. He came into Charlotte’s shop one day, all dressed up in these fancy duds. Dexter’s mother could turn things she touched into metals, including gold. Dexter can too, although I think the gold ability came later. Anyway… he had lots of money. But he took one look at Charlotte and that was it.”

  “Love at first sight?” Adelaide smiled and sighed.

  Nate chuckled. “For him, yes. Charlotte took some convincing. But eventually she agreed to marry him, and he whisked us off to America. Charlotte insisted on keeping up her sewing. That’s how she later met Lucy. They worked together as seamstresses.”

  “Ah. So that’s how our families joined up?”

  Nate nodded. As he talked, the images in his head had become clearer, sharper. And warmer. Adelaide had been right…. It helped to talk about it. It helped him remember better, but it also forced him to focus on the happiness in those thoughts and not just the guilt. He’d been loved and happy. And his family had truly cared for him. Maybe he could get there again.

  Adelaide picked up a pillow and hugged it to her chest. Nate waited for the question he knew was coming next. “Do you remember meeting me?”

  Nate took his time answering, comparing the woman before him with the images of a younger Adelaide in his mind.

  “It was about 1930. We went over to your apartment in Chicago. I walked into the house only to immediately see this girl with sunlit hair. But I couldn’t see your eyes.”