Caleb was in a foul mood.
He ignored the calls as long as he could, taking his ti to enjoy the morning buried deep inside his wanton wife.
The two of them were equally guilty of their shaless behavior. Though the venue had changed from the forest to the treehouse, Caleb and Ashleigh had barely spent a mont not indulging their desires.
He had lost count of the number of tis. All he knew was that their need for each other was insatiable.
But the calls didn’t stop, and eventually, Galen ca to their door.
Ashleigh lay on the bed, curled in the blankets, as she mournfully watched him put clothing on.
Rationally, she knew they needed to return to the world and their duties. But she still craved him.
As he pulled up his pants, she was tempted to rip them down and take matters into her own hands.
“It’s hard enough to push down my own need,” Caleb growled in a husky voice.
Ashleigh looked up to see the faint glow in his eyes and the heavy chest falls of holding back. She chewed her bottom lip with an impish grin.
Caleb growled and turned toward her, ready to remove the clothing he had just put on. Surely, they had ti for a quick round.
He moved toward the bed, and Ashleigh pulled back the sheets, drawing a hungry growl from him at the sight of her naked body.
The sound of the door opening drew their attention.
Ashleigh quickly pulled the sheet back to cover herself. Caleb turned with a snarl.
“Alpha Caleb! I am done waiting!” Galen shouted from the door. To his credit, he turned away from the bed.
Caleb snarled and grabbed Galen roughly by the shoulders.
“How dare you!”
Galen pushed Caleb away, just enough to force his release. Caleb looked at him with surprise.
“You are not the only one with soone to protect!” Galen growled.
Caleb furrowed his brows.
Ashleigh gathered the sheets around her and got up from the bed.
“Ren? Bell? What happened? Are they ok?” she asked.
Galen took a deep breath.
“Roman’s alive.”
***
As Ashleigh opened the door to the small conference room, she heard part of an ongoing argunt.
“It is not safe,” Axel growled.
“I understand the concern, but we don’t know that he even cares about anymore,” Bell said. “Maybe with bond severing, he has moved on.”
“Bell’s right. He doesn’t care about her,” Alice said as she looked at the laptop in front of her.
“See?” Bell said.
“But there’s no way he moved on,” Alice added, giving Bell an apologetic look.
Bell sighed and sat down at the table.
“How do you know?” Ashleigh asked.
She moved further into the room as Galen entered behind her, imdiately moving to Bell’s side and putting a protective arm around her. Caleb shut the door behind them.
“Real answer?” Alice asked.
Ashleigh and Alice looked at each other, and a silent conversation was had between them.
‘Will you believe anything I say?’
‘I’m willing to listen.’
Alice licked her lips and then turned her full attention to Ashleigh.
“Roman is not just any old psycho. He’s been a monster since he was a child. It’s why Tomas tried to hide him away. Before he t Bell, he had hurt people and mutilated them. But Axel was the only one he ca close to killing.”
Axel clenched his jaw as she spoke.
“After Bell ‘died’, Tomas sent him into the world. And out there, he made a na for himself among the humans. He beca a serial killer.”
Ashleigh swallowed.
“I’m sorry to say it,” Alice said, glancing at Bell, who gave her a sad but knowing look. “But every one of them was just another version of Bell.”
“Goddess…” Ashleigh whispered in disbelief.
“Doesn’t that just prove the mate bond was driving him?” Caleb asked. “He thought she was dead, but she wasn’t. The bond persisted, so he saw her in those won and killed them when they weren’t her.”
“Yes,” Alice nodded. “But you are ignoring the part where he killed those won.”
“I just an that it was the bond driving him, so it is possible that he doesn’t have that sa drive anymore.”
“You don’t understand what I’m saying,” Alice sighed and took a deep breath. “He killed those won because they weren’t Bell. Because he could.”
Bell let out a shaky breath.
“She’s saying… that he couldn’t kill because of the bond. It forced him to care in so way about my life. So, he killed the ones that looked like . And now… without the bond….”
“As ssed up as it is, the obsession he felt for Bell kept his darker impulses reined in. Focused entirely in one direction, but one that kept him confined.” Alice said.
“So now…” Caleb whispered.
“Now, he’s free,” Alice sighed. “No longer caged.”
The room was silent, each processing the information in their own way. It was Axel that broke the silence.
“Tell them what he sent you,” he said quietly.
Ashleigh looked at her brother. She could see a rage that boiled beneath the surface.
Alice handed the note to Caleb. He read it and then gave it to Ashleigh. She read the ssage, feeling a chill down her spine.
“What is the deal between you two?” she asked.
Alice swallowed. She glanced at Axel. She could see that he wanted to know even more than Ashleigh did.
She took a deep breath.
“I’ve known him in so way or another since before I beca a wolf,” Alice said. “He was my first playmate. I didn’t know that for a long ti. Holden started the Bitter Night before giving my wolf.”
Axel sat down beside her and put his hand on her back.
“From what I rember, after he attacked Axel, he really beca interested in . I didn’t scream or cry. He tore at my flesh, broke my bones. But I was just grateful that Axel had gotten away.”
Alice swallowed.
“I’m not sure what the relationship between him and Holden was exactly; they hated each other, but they had so kind of arrangent between them since early on. So, he ca around the lab a lot. He helped them train in pain managent.”
Axel took a deep breath and turned away.
“He used to sleep in my cell when they would reset . I’m not sure why Holden allowed it at the ti. Maybe he didn’t realize how Roman saw until it was too late. In Roman’s own words, he mourned . Every ti.”
Alice touched Axel’s leg. He looked at her and pressed his forehead to hers, a comforting gesture for both of them.
“When he t Bell, he told about her. Those mories I only saw recently. He told about finding his mate. About trying to understand how he could feel what he felt. It was painful to him.”
“He loves you….” Bell whispered.
Alice swallowed and then took a deep breath.
“In so twisted way… that seems to be the case.”
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