Chapter 323: Sister Stuff


    E


    “I wonder what Cora’s up to,” I sigh as I stand by the window rocking Rafe, who his crying a little and


    fussing in my arms. I know that he doesn’t need anything – he’s been fed, burped, changed, and


    everything else a baby could want. He’s just crying to cry, and I give a defeated little sigh, smiling at


    him and knowing that he just has to take a minute to work it out.


    Sinir, sitting on the bed with papers spread out all around him, nces up at me. You haven’t had


    any word from her?” he asks.


    “No,” I reply, shaking my head. Thest thing I heard was from the guards, who said they got separated


    form Cora and Roger by a sh flood. I’m…worried about her.”


    “You know Roger will take care of her,” Sinir says passively, flicking through the papers, looking for


    one in particr.


    “I know,” I sigh, bobbing Rafe in my arms. “But even Roger can’t protect against the forces of nature.


    It’s just so strange – they’re only three hours away, and they’re apparently caught in some kind of


    hurricane? And we’ve got sunny skies?” I turn again towards the window, frowning. Something that


    feels uncannily like my mother’s gift pulses inside me, making my wolf turn towards it in attention,


    cocking her head to the side curiously. But neither of us know what to make of it, so I sigh again.


    Rafe lets out a little wail then, working one of his little arms free of his nket and waving an angry fist


    in the air.


    “Oh baby,” I murmur, leaning down to give him a little kiss. “What do you have to worry about? You’re


    not stuck out in a storm. You’re here safe, with mommy!”


    “Maybe he’s picking up on mommy’s anxiety,” Sinir says, standing up from the bed anding next


    to us, reaching for the baby. “Maybe he feels it down the bond


    “Don’t me me for your child’s bad attitude,” I say, joking and handing Rafe over into his father’s


    arms, whose size remind me again of the tiny delicacy of my baby boy “He gets that from your side. I’m


    no crybaby”


    Sinirughs, rocking the baby in his arms, and Rafe quiets almost instantly, his yowl softening to an


    angry little murmur “Why,” Sinir asks, “do you always suggest that his undesirable qualitiese


    from me? Ie from excellent stock”


    “Hecause,” I say, standing on tip toe to look down at my baby’s perfect little face, raising a hand to tieke


    his belly a little I’m jealous, a bit, that he quiets so readily in his father’s aums, but not jealous enough


    to take him back if it means he’ll cry. Alongside the jealousy, there’s also a part of me that loves Rafe’s


    connection with his father, that he like me – findsfort in the Alpha’s arms “My gic line is that of


    a perfect Goddess You can’t beat that ”


    “You have a father too, you know,” Sinir reminds me.


    “Yes,” I say, grinning up at him. “A king. I win. Again.”


    Sinirughs, opening his mouth to retort, when we hear a little knock at the door. We both turn to it,


    Rafe settling down morepletely now, and Sinir’s mouth drops at little to see his father there,


    wheeling forward.


    “Am linterrupting?” Henry asks curiously.


    “Dad,” Sinir says, smiling and moving forward. “No- but how-how did you get up here?”


    “E’s excellent lift system,” Henry says, as if it’s obvious. He looks to me then. This chair is really state


    of the art,” he says, gesturing to the chair I ordered for my bed rest. Tll really have to consider one of


    these for myself.”


    “E,” Sinir says, frowning at me. “I thought I told you to arrange to get rid of the chairs. And the lift.”


    “But Henry needs them!” I say, grinning widely to hide the fact that Ipletely ignored thatmand.


    Sinir groans, tilting his head back, realizing he’s never going to get his house back to the way it was.


    I pat him on the arm, knowing that it’s the right choice Henry should have free run of the house, and if


    I’m ever pregnant again.


    “It’s very practical,” Henry says, raising his eyebrows at his son “But I came up with information,” he


    says, pulling a folder from the little pocket by his side, “on the cult that Roger and Cora discovered*


    “Oh,” I say, moving behind his chair to look over his shoulder, eager to know more. Sinir likewise


    steps forward, a protective hand on Rafe as he leans forward “What did you find?”


    “Well, unfortunately, that the cult is alive and well It actually makes sense that the book that Cora and


    Roger found was so old, because the Monastic Cult of the God of Darkness secrecy. As the book


    reports, they never write anything down and pass all of their traditions from brother to brother. This has


    allowed them to operate in the background for decades,rgely unnoticed. It’s actually rather a miracle


    that that book reported anything about them – our best guess is that, in fact, the schr who wrote it


    must have been an ex- member of the brotherhood themselves.”


    “Wow,” I say, looking between Henry and my mate. “But they’re still…operating? In secrecy?”


    “In full force, apparently,” Henry says, looking up at me and tapping the report. Then he looks at his


    son. “Your investigative team did quite well once they had this lead. The Cult has, by necessity, had to


    start leaving a bit of a trail on the dark web and other such underground spaces, in order to


    “And these men,” Sinir considers, standing and rocking the baby absentmindedly. They’re


    responsible for switching the sperm that brought E and I together. They, for some reason, wanted


    Rafe to be born.”


    “Indeed,” Henry says, raising his eyebrows. “But it is particrly curious that they showed their hand a


    bit in sending a robed member to do their work. The high-ranking members of the Cult who wear the


    robe are, apparently, notoriously reclusive. It is perhaps to our luck that the man who tricked Cora –


    and,” he shifts his gaze to me, “who has been, apparently, following the two of you your whole lives, is


    a high-ranking member of the cult. If it had been a in-clothes member, we may never have been


    able to discover who was behind this.”


    “Why is that, though?” I consider,ing to stand at Sinir’s side and folding my arms over my chest.


    “Why didn’t they send someone in normal clothes?”


    “I don’t know,” Henry says, with a shrug. “Perhaps they needed someone with a particr affinity for


    magic, or someone with great strength. We know, for instance, that the Goddess’s priests were keeping


    an eye on you. It is likely that they needed someone very strong to evade their detection.”


    I nod, considering that that makes sense, and look up at my mate. His eyes, however, are fixed steadily


    on his father.


    “What is it, dad,” Sinir says, his tone suddenly sharp. “What is it you’re not telling us?”


    Surprised, I look back at Henry, curious. There’s nothing on his face that speaks any secrecy to me,


    and I look back up at Sinir, confused.


    Henry sighs, though. “I should have known that you’d see through me, Dominic,” he murmurs. “You


    always could read me like a book.”


    “Out with it, dad,” Sinir says, his whole body tense now. I nce at Rafe, registering that he’s fully


    asleep, and can’t help myself from noting that he’s certainly not letting his father’s clear anxiety affect


    his own moods, as he does mine. I purse my lips at my baby and then turn my attention to my father-in-


    law.


    “Your intel has spoken to an escaped member of the cult,” Henry says. “The man insists on being


    anonymous, but he was willing to divulge some of their practices.”


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    “Well that’s wonderful,” I say, hope blooming in me. “That’s so helpful -”


    “It is,” Henry says, looking up at me, his eyes still worried. “We’re grateful for that, of course, but…”


    “Dad,” Sinir growls at Henry’s hesitation, annoyed now at the further dy.


    “All right, Dominic,” Henry says, putting his hands up and sighing. “It’s just – he told us that their


    standard method of operation is to y the long game – to ce a member of the cult within the


    target’s inner circle. To spend months, if not years, bing a confidant of the target, bing a best


    friend or a member of the family. And then, when the Cult decides that the time is right, that person


    strikes. The victims are…almost alwayspletely blindsided by the betrayal.”


    “Oh my god,” I gasp, looking between Henry and Sinir. “This means…it could be


    someone we know and love? Someone close to us?”


    “Yes,” Henry concludes, nodding slowly. “It is very likely that the Cult has been working for years to


    bring about the birth of this child. And we still don’t know why they wanted Rafe to be born, and for you


    to be his particr mother and father, but we do know…”


    “That if they’re working that hard,” Sinir says, picking up his father’s line of thought. That they’ve


    certainly ced someone within our inner circle who is seeking to betray us.”


    –


    “Oh my god,” I say, my hands flying to my mouth in shock. And then I wrack my mind, wondering who


    on earth it could be. But no onees to mind everyone I know and love none of them could be


    involved in such a nefarious scheme to steal my baby away


    Right?