When we arrived in London there was a job to be done and it was nice having a strong partner like Arthur to rely on. The way to London was longer it seemed than our original flight to Australia.
I was tense worried about Tally and where she could possibly be. Arthur clung to me the whole trip. I knew the reasoning even if he did not. Sadly it hit me that he may even think he was growing feelings for me, when it was strictly the changes my body was going through.
I burst into Emory's apartment. Rage boiled in me until I opened his door and the feeing of grief overwhelmed my senses. I smelt his despair and it was crippling.
I wanted to feel sorry for him but I remembered he had to be the reason my sister left.
"What the fuck happened?" I stood over him as he lounged on his sofa drunk off his ass.
He threw his hands up.
"Hell if I know. The night before was fine, she had trouble shifting and the moon was trying to coax her wolf out. I had to lend a hand but finally she was able to change. She fell asleep afterwards and was fine the rest of the night."
"What do you mean she had problems shifting?" Arthur stepped into the apartment.
"What do you mean you leant a hand?" I put my hand up to silence Arthur.
Emory shrugged. "She couldn't change. She tried but I was afraid she would hurt the baby. So I had to get her out of her head so she could shift."
"How did you accomplish that?" I growled.
"The usual way a man gets his woman to calm down," he cocked an arrogant black eyebrow.
"Haven't you hurt her enough?!"
Arthur seemed concerned and butted in.
"Is her wolf trying to leave her?"
Emory shrugged again. "If she would get out of her head...."
"She's been through hell!" I shrieked. "Of course her wolf is trying to leave. This bastard kidnapped her and chained her up."
"This again..." Emory growled.
"Yes, this again," I hissed. "You were supposed to protect her!"
"I did what I could fucking do!" He jumped up and roared. "You were given sanctuary in England with your father, but I was forced to stay behind and deal with John as best as I knew how. All that time protecting Tally from real Bastards was no easy feat! Having Tally under my nose 24/7, and not being able to touch her, was torture; worst than anything John subjected us to."
"And how tough was it for you, being John's prized warrior?!" I stood toe to toe with the second largest and strongest wolf in the world.
"Did you ever wonder how I became his prized warrior?" Emory whispered. "It takes fire to forge steel."
"I'm quite adept with fire," I knew my eyes glowed. "As you well know."
Arthur could tell he was not privy to our shared past. But he had to stop the pissing contest.
"Both of you, heel," Arthur snapped. "We need to figure out if Tally is safe. That's our main priority."
"Wherever she is, Sean has something to do with it," Emory snapped. "Your father picked her up around noon. An hour later I lost her thoughts. Though she was keeping her mind pretty clear until then. She knew what she was doing. She wanted to leave."
"Where would she go?" I asked Arthur.
"The crone," Arthur realized.
"Your grandmother?"
He nodded. "She's the only other omega I've ever heard of. If Tally has gone to her, we won't find her until she wants to be found."
"Why?!" I asked.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because she resides in the Fae world. Time goes by faster there and the veil keeps us blind."
"So she could be having my child at anytime and I won't be there," Emory hissed.
I wanted to double over from the grief coming off of him.
"At least she's safe," I tried to alleviate his worry but it seemed to only set him off.
I watched as his eyes became glossy. I had to leave before he shed a tear.
"Let's leave him," I whispered to Arthur. "I'm sure he needs time to come to grips with this. Perhaps needs to come to grips with his actions that led to this mess."
I left before Arthur responded. It comforted me knowing Tally was safe and with Arthur's grandmother. She was away from this world and we all knew it was for the best. A part of me worried I would never see her again. She might never meet my child and I would never see hers.
Cold wind hit my face and I knew November was going to come to an end soon. The cold of London seeped into me like a cold wet blanket.
"Was that necessary?" Arthur growled exiting his beta's apartment building.
"Excuse me?!"
"He just lost his mate and child, was now the time to hit him with past bullshit?" Arthur tried to stare me down.
"You have no idea what our pasts were like so you have no right to talk about our connected bull shit!" I tried to walk away from him but he grabbed my arm.
"You are wrong on all accounts, lass." He whispered in my ear. "I have the most right to know about your baggage. As for Emory I cannot imagine the pain and grief he is bearing right now. The last thing he needs is you tearing him down for it."
I tore my arm out of his grasp and kept walking. I knew the way home and even in the frozen temperature I would have rather walked than gotten into a car with him.
But little did I know he turned around and went back to speak to Emory as I made my way down the cold London streets.