Chapter 109

Lionel’s POV

“This first trial is a test of connection.”

Nan and I stood before the same stranger as before.

His business card having identified him as: William Holder.

Mr. Holder had immediately responded to Nan’s request. Making sure we understood the gravity of the situation. Answering our every question about what the trials would entail.

I did not like what I heard.

I also had no choice in the matter. The trials were meaning to be demanding. Difficult.

A true test to relationship.

This first would be centered on my adequacy.

“How well do you know Nan?” Mr. Holder asks emotionlessly.

“Better than I’ve ever known anyone.” I instantly reply.

“We shall see.” He proclaims gravely. “You have until the next night to find her.”

“I won’t need it.” I say cockily. Confident in my abilities.

“Nevertheless, you shall have that time. Are you ready, Ms. Lupa?”

Nan nods. “You can do this.” She tells me.

They were gone in a flash. ‘Magic,’ my wolf snarls. ‘A dirty trick.’

It makes things more difficult. There would be no scent trail to follow. I refuse to be dissuaded easily.

All I had to do was find Nan. That would allow me to pass the first trial. It should be easy enough.

At least I had thought so.

The first place I checked was the mansion grounds.

It is our home. The place where our children sleep and grow. Nan’s home.

Where else would Nan’s mind be?

My search of the rooms proved to be futile. I did not catch a whiff or glimpse of her. She was not there.

It stumped me at first.

‘I thought this was about connection,’ I thought. ‘Where else would Nan feel such a strong connection to?’

I was becoming a little unsettled. I did not trust this stranger despite scenting his honest intentions. A glance at the clock told me I had wasted at two hours of my 24-hour limit.

I forced my wolf to settle down. I had time. It would not do me well to panic.

I took 30 minutes to plan my next move.

‘Connection,’ I think. ‘What places hold a connection to Nan?’

I begin my list.

Her old apartment.

Her sister’s homes.

The local park she used to take Patti.

The list was depressingly short. Nan so rarely mentioned her past. Preferring only to dwell on the future.

Our home and daughters being the main focus point for her.

I had genuinely thought she would hide somewhere on the mansion grounds. Hiding herself cleverly. Ready to smile at me when I look up a tree or somewhere as equally mischievous.

The bond in my chest continued to tug. Letting me know that thought is wrong. I did not want to traverse all over the city.

I would for Nan.

I am proven wrong once again.

She is nowhere to be found. Her sisters only reluctantly allowing me to view their homes. My actions still unforgiven in their eyes.

It makes my anxiety worse. Had I made a mistake? Would Holder hurt Nan?

‘Think, Lionel.’ I berate myself. ‘Think…’

This is a trial of connection. A test of my knowledge of Nan. One I was failing.

What did I know about Nan?

I knew I loved her.

I knew I did not want to spend the rest of my life without her. I knew Nan was the Moon goddess in mortal flesh in my eyes. I knew Nan was an amazing mother.

I knew these things…but they were all superficial. All of it centered on how I felt. On how I saw Nan.

Nan is so much more than just me.

Nan is kind. She tries to see the best in people. Even when others did not extend that same grace.

Nan is intelligent. Nan often sees things from angles I have never considered. People that tried to deceive and trick her often found themselves caught in traps of their own making.

Nan is mischievous. She started many an arguments between people who were fooled by her ‘ignorant commoner’ façade. Her eyes sparkling like rainbow skies after a long rain.

Nan is a protector. Her every actions geared toward protecting our children. Often at her own expense.

Nan is steady. The calm to my raging anger. A few soft touches and understanding tones the voice of reason in our household of three hot-headed wolves.

I was nearly in a trance by this point. Meditating on everything Nan was. Opening my senses wholly to the tugging I feel in my chest.

My wolf was calm in turn. A completely new sensation. I could feel it’s feral energy lightly herding my thoughts into certain directions.

My wolf and I were completely in sync for the first time in…ever. This was not control. This was relinquishment.

Nan is…Nan is sad.

She tried her best to hide it. Always smiling. Refusing to show her soft underbelly.

I saw it anyway.

It was there in the tightness of her voice whenever she spoke of childhood memories. Whenever the world spat in her face and she pretend that was okay. Whenever she spoke of her family and the distance in her relationships from her wolf-less status.

Her family…my wolf rumbled in approval.

I suddenly knew exactly where she was. Of course I did. Where else would she be after everything we have discovered?

I allow my inner wolf to take charge. To let the bond blindly lead us through the city. I am surprisingly at ease for not having iron-tight control of myself.

I walk up the steps of her childhood home. The front door already unlocked. I follow the bond through the house until I come across the master bedroom.

Nan is sitting on the covered bed. Directly in the center of the room. Turning her mother’s necklace over and over in the palms of her hands.

She does not look up. “I knew you would get it.” She says warmly.

“Once I thought about. Then I knew there was nowhere else you could possibly be.”

I join her on the bed. Knocking our knees together playfully. A half-smile steals across her somber expression.

“I can’t help but wonder,” Nan begins. “If they had an idea about any of this.”

“I don’t know.” I reply carefully. “Did you ever ask your sisters…”

It is a delicate topic. One that I know Nan has been dreading. I have been sensitive about bringing it up.

“Dena knew I was adopted.” Nan says blankly. “She was too old not too know.”

“Kay?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Kay was only two or three. No old enough to question why there was suddenly a baby in the house.”

“Did she have any answers?”

Nan’s eyes shut tightly.

“No.” She whispers. “Mom and dad never told her anything…why would they?”

There is a bitterness to her scent now. Anger and hurt. “I’m sorry.”

“I want to say it’s fine. That I should have known I would not find anything. But…”

She takes a shaky breath. “I just want to understand.”

I can only hold her in my arms. She sinks into my embrace. Her shoulders dropping as she does.

She does not cry. ‘Tears are beyond her now,’ I think. My wolf is unhappy about her pain.

I do not try to wrestle it down. I understand now that it is better to share control rather than take. My wolf would never harm her.

My wolf feel as though it is stretching. Not trying to burst out. Just to reach.

As though it could touch Nan if it only tried. That it could comfort her. It’s strange.

It’s almost a physical feeling.

Nan and I gasp at the same time.

She pulls back to look at me with wide eyes.

“Did you…” I pant.

“I felt that. I can feel you.” Nan says.

“It’s like you are nestled against my ribcage.” She says wondrously. “I’ve never felt it before…not like this.”

I laugh. “That’s what it always feels like to me.”

“It’s so intense. Like a I am carrying a piece of you with me at all times.” She chokes out.

“Why do you think fated mates are so important? There is a reason people do not fight against fated mate bonds. You kind of are carrying pieces of each other with you…”

I resist the urge to jump when I hear the sound of Mr. Holder’s voice to the side of us. I growl a little. Pulling closer as she too jerks.

“You have passed the first trial.”