I threw up my hands in frustration. “I didn’t even know shifters could bond until I went to Blackwater. It’s not like I had a checklist to follow of what mates do when they bond.”
Nikolai reached across the aisle and touched my arm. “No one is blaming you, sweetheart. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Of course not,” Lulu agreed firmly. “But it’s just not normal to be able to control your wolf for that long, especially when you’ve just bonded. We’re talking a crazy amount of hormones and pheromones and … regular moans.”
Natasha hid a grin while Dimitri rolled his eyes.
“It wasn’t just me,” I said stubbornly, squirming a little in my seat. “Remy put zero pressure on me. He was fine with waiting. I’m the one who made the first move.”
“A fact that makes me like him a little more,” Nikolai remarked with a half-smile.
“Okay, but back to this bonding wave,” Lulu said, leaning forward with bright eyes. “What does that mean?”
“Right after we … you know,” I said emphatically, cringing inside, “twelve pairs of mates bonded in our pack.”
“And three others at the Summit,” Tate added.
Lulu whirled on Dimitri. She slapped his shoulder. “Did you know and not tell me?”
His jaw dropped open. “I was dealing with a lot of shit, Lu. Bombings and traitors and finding out I had a sister.”
“You should have told me,” she insisted. “Especially when you found out Skye was a Dashkov.”
He leaned down until their noses were centimeters apart. “And I told you I had other stuff going on.”
They stared at each other for a minute before, surprisingly, Lulu backed down and turned her face away from him.
“Skye, this is huge.” She smiled at me, looking genuinely happy and excited.
“Elias was pretty excited when it happened. Remember? He asked if he could study you and Remy,” Tate pointed out.
Dimitri snorted. “He wouldn’t shut up about it. Probably jerked off thinking about it.”
“Okay, ew,” I said, grimacing. Tate shook her head in disgust, the corners of her mouth pulled down.
Lulu reached for my hand on the table. “Skye, I think he might talk to you. You might stand a chance at getting us more information. We need to know exactly what Norwood is doing.”
I bit my lip, hesitating. I glanced at Nikolai, not sure why I needed his input. But I wanted it, all the same.
“It’s your decision, love,” he said gently. “But it may give you a few more answers or help us. You know what’s at stake.”
“I’ll do it,” I said immediately, picturing Maren. I had to find out where she was.
“You don’t have to,” Tate said softly from my other side.
I swallowed hard and looked at her. “I think he knows where Maren is, Tate.”
Her hazel eyes went wide.
“Can we do it now?” I asked Nikolai.
His lips pressed together for a moment before he nodded. “We should land in less than two hours. Would you like me to come with you?”
“He probably won’t talk with you in the room,” I admitted. I shook my head as Dimitri opened his mouth. “Or you. It should just be Lulu and me.”
“Your uncle is in that room as well,” he said quietly.
“I can handle him,” Lulu promised sharply. “He won’t say a word to her.”
“Very well.” He stood up and looked at the men guarding the back door. “Let them pass.”
Tate grabbed my hand as I started to stand.
“Skye, if he knows where Maren is …” She trailed off with a shudder.
“I’ll find out,” I vowed, squeezing her hand. I looked at Lulu. “Can I use the bathroom first?”
“Take your time,” she said.
“Thanks.” I stepped into the aisle and followed the lights down the back of the plane where the guards were. I gave them a tight-lipped smile and slipped into the bathroom door to the left.
The luxury of the cabin extended to the bathroom which boasted the usual toilet and sink, but also a standing shower. I used the toilet and washed my hands before splashing water onto my face.
I grabbed one of the cloth towels folded to the side and blotted my face and neck as I looked at my reflection in the illuminated mirror.
I looked pale and tired.
I dropped the used towel into the small hamper beside the sink before curling my fingers around the marble counter and bracing my weight on my arms.
“You can do this,” I muttered to my reflection, taking several deep breaths.
I had to do this. For Maren, for Katy, for Tate. For Jayla and Kit.
If Elias’s twisted fascination with me could help them, I was more than willing to exploit it.
When I was sure I was ready, I flipped off the light and opened the door. Lulu was waiting outside for me.
“Ready?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She nodded to one of the guards and he unlocked the door and opened it so we could step inside.
I blinked as the overhead lights came on, illuminating the two men inside. Each man sat at his own four-seat table, the set up similar to what I had been sitting at in the front of the plane, but these tables each had an eyebolt in front of the seats. Elias and Linden were cuffed to them.
The door closed behind us as their eyes opened. Elias looked at me and started to smile.
Linden sucked in a breath through his teeth and opened his mouth to speak.
Lulu spun to face him. “Silence.”
His lips mashed together and his eyes bulged as he tried to talk through his closed mouth. A few strained grunts were all he managed to get out.
Lulu walked forward, pausing in the aisle space between their seats. She glared down at Linden. “You will be quiet during this meeting. I’ve bound your lips together. You can try to pry them open, but you’ll leave yourself a bloody mess if you succeed. And if you manage to open your mouth, my next trick will be to have you chew off your own tongue.”
He glared at her, but slumped back into his seat with a huff.
“Wise choice,” she replied coldly before moving to sit in the section with Elias. She slid into the seat by the wall of the plane.
There were no windows here. Just two clusters of tables each with four seats that looked decidedly less comfortable than the ones we had, and a row of seats along the back.
I slipped into the seat next to Lulu, directly across from Elias.
“Skye,” he whispered. “How are you?”
“Not pregnant,” I spat back.
His lips twitched. “Pity.”
“Where’s Maren?” I demanded.
He blinked slowly. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t,” I said sharply, slapping a hand on the table. “I know you know where she is. Where all the missing women are.”
He sighed deeply. “Skye.”
“They took kids, Elias. Took them from the school that you worked at.” I glared at him across the table, wishing I could slap him or hit him.
My wolf would’ve been happy with killing him.
“That was never my intention,” he admitted quietly. “I understood why Damien sequestered the girls in our pack, but taking children from other packs was not something I approved of. He’s done much I haven’t approved of.”