Olivia's gaze sharpened. "Maybe you need to take a minute to get things straight."
Zoey shook her head. She turned, left the room and fled the underground facility. When she reached the street pavement above, she broke into a sprint and ran blindly, tears on her cheeks.
Chapter Twenty One: Declan Betrayed.
At Site Z, Declan barely made it through his first meeting without dancing in his seat. He was beyond thrilled to know that Zoey was here. His father's support of the Cambion-hunting group she wanted to form left Declan feeling as if there was some sort of hope for her fitting into his world, or perhaps, combining their two worlds in a way that they were able to deal with.
Assuming Olivia didn't activate his soul-mate while he slept. That was still an issue Declan didn't know how to fix.
He paused in the middle of the hallway, his headache pounding. He sipped from his water bottle, unable to shake the pain. It had been gradually getting worse for two days. While he wanted to blame the Sucubatti's air ventilation system, he found himself unable to understand why the headache wasn't better, now that he was here.
With a shake of his head and another gulp of water, he continued down the hallway, towards the small dorm room where he'd left Zoey. He entered and smiled.
She was waiting for him, naked in bed, on her belly, with her ankles apart and her ass in the air, a silent invitation to fuck her.
Just like Heidi used to.
Declan shook his head, seeing his ex-lover there for a second, before his mind cleared to show him Zoey once more. The headache was messing with him.
"Hey," he said. "Love that you're ready for me."
"I thought you might," she whispered, smiling at him. "I've been waiting for you to come back."
He stripped off his clothing and crossed to her. He touched her and almost stopped. He hoped the strange sense he felt this morning wouldn't return, not since their rite was complete. The sensation he wasn't touching his soul-mate was strong, even when clearly he was. Their bond wasn't channeling her desire or his; it took closing his eyes for his body to accept its fate of fucking her.
Declan wasn't certain what to think. There were moments he thought he'd die if he didn't touch her and those when he touched her and felt no appeasement of his restlessness. He still felt the need to touch his soul-mate.
As if this weren't happening. But it was. He was between her legs, kissing her shoulder, testing the slickness of her core with his finger before he slid his penis into her.
He was here. This was happening. She was already moaning his name.
Why didn't it feel right, when it felt like heaven an hour before?
Declan fucked her leisurely, gently easing in and out of her body as she writhed beneath him. Her hair flickered from brown to blonde, and he closed his eyes as he moved in and out, not understanding what was wrong with his head or why their connection wasn't flaring to life.
She came fast, and he rolled her onto her back, entering her once more to finish himself off. She nibbled his ear and murmured his name. Like this morning, he couldn't come again. He didn't understand it. His head pounding, he settled on top of her finally and fluttered kisses across her face. She was too far pleased to notice that he was still aroused.
It was her, but it didn't feel that way. He felt guilty again, wondering why he wasn't able to find satisfaction, even with his soul-mate. Or at least, he couldn't find it all the time. As it was, he was happy most of the time. Maybe that was good enough.
"What the fuck?"
Declan twisted, too late to hear the door open or deflect the blow aimed for his head by the irate speaker. Pain smashed through his head, driving him almost to unconsciousness. It sounded like there was some sort of fight going on in the distance, though he wasn't able to see anything at the moment.
"Declan?" someone called.
He groaned, head hurting even worse than it had been. The shouting at the edge of his mind quieted, and someone propped up his shoulders. Cool water slid down his throat. He blinked away the dark.
"What the fuck happened?" Liam held him propped against one knee. Declan became aware of his ass, rendered cold against the concrete floor. He was covered from the waist down in a sheet.
"You tell me," he grunted and pushed himself up. "I'm fucking Zoey one minute and then bam."
"Zoey?"
Declan rubbed his temples. "You know, my soul-mate?" he demanded impatiently.
"Zoey isn't here," his father's voice carried a sharp note.
Declan stared at the shape of his father, which took up the doorway. One of his father's large hands was wrapped around the neck of a female, who clenched a sheet around her.
"Heidi?" Declan asked, confused. His eyes went to the bed. It was empty.
"I think we have an issue," Ethan said.
"What the fuck is going on?" Declan asked. He rose, holding the sheet around his hips.
"Get dressed, son. Your new duties need you focused."
Even Declan didn't want to be on the receiving end of the stern look his father gave Heidi. The two disappeared from the door, and Declan looked at Liam.
"Vikki tore out of here like a bat out of hell," Liam said. "She was fucking pissed. I settled her down, but I guess it was too late for you."
"She hit me?"
"Yeah."
"Why?" Declan touched the tender back of his head.
"Because your soul-mate is her best friend, and you were fucking someone else." Liam was gazing at him grimly.
"I haven't fucked anyone except Zoey since I started the rite."
"That wasn't Zoey in your bed. Even I could see that."
Declan stared at the bed. He'd seen Heidi and Zoey in his bed, but blamed it on his headache. The same thing happened this morning, when he thought Zoey's eyes had turned green. He spent an hour fucking her then. If it wasn't Zoey, who was in his bed?
He opened himself to the bond and grew tense. Zoey's emotions were all over the place. Meltdown was not the word for this; he couldn't read anything in the jumble. Either she knew he slept with someone else, or something was very wrong, wherever she was.
"Where's Vikki?" he asked suddenly.
"Probably on her way to get Zoey. Something fucked up is definitely going on," Liam said.
"I have to find her." Declan took a step and wobbled.
"Put some clothes on. I'll go with you."
The idea of his Zoey with another man made him want to kill something. But he'd actually been the one to fuck someone else. The girl who didn't handle change well was not going to live through betrayal.
His head aching, Declan dressed fast and was pulling on a jacket, ready to leave, when his father reappeared in the doorway. He had no way to explain to Zoey what happened or why he was sleeping with Heidi. He didn't understand it himself, but he had to find her.
"Water bottle," Ethan said. "Where is it?"
Declan pointed. His father crossed to it. Instead of drinking from it, he sniffed it. Declan exchanged a quizzical look with Liam. Declan's father crossed to him next and gripped his jaw. Irritated, Declan pulled away.
"Your pupils are huge," Ethan said finally. "You've been drugged."
"Drugged," Declan repeated. He took the water bottle and sniffed it. The faint, bitter scent was familiar, but he wasn't able to place it. "I've had a headache for two days."
"Not to get into your personal business, but did you know you were fucking Heidi?" his father asked with concern.
"No."
"From what I pulled out of her mind: Olivia sent another Succubus to your apartment this morning and Heidi just now."
Declan felt sick. He didn't just cheat on his soul-mate with Heidi, but with two women!
"Dad, I don't remember anyone else being here," he said in a hushed voice. "I thought they were Zoey. What the fuck is going on?"
"Vikki handed me this before she bolted," Liam said, handing out a small bottle. "She said Zoey sent it for Declan. No explanation."
Declan took it and opened it. One sniff, and he handed it to his father.
"She figured it out," Declan said. "Maybe this is what made her kill Julius as well."
"I'll have the lab take a look at it," Ethan said.
"I have to find Zoey," Declan said and started towards the door.
"Wait, Declan," his father said. "Right now, I need you to stay put."
"No way. I don't know how to fix this, but I need to tell her before someone else does!"
"Declan!" His father's voice was grim. "Tommy called when I was with Heidi. Olivia showed her footage."
Declan froze. His chest was tight enough to hurt.
"You were blind to whomever you were fucking, but the camera was not. Olivia set you up," his father continued calmly. "She had Tommy standing there when she showed Zoey the video, no doubt to make sure you got the word as well. I don't think Zoey reacted the way Olivia wanted, because the IAB just started a manhunt for her."
"We let Vikki leave, so we can track her," Liam added. "I'm sorry, Declan, but Zoey fucking disappeared off the radar."
"I need you focused here," his father said.
"I want to kill that bitch Olivia," Declan said between clenched teeth. His emotions were raw, tumbling. Rage was as hot as the guilt that made his eyes sting.
He fucked up. Bad. Zoey was just starting to trust him. The cold fear that trickled through him was unlike anything he'd ever felt.
"Calm, son," his father said, planting a hand on his shoulder. "Your first duty as Chief Enforcer: figure out what happened. Strip Heidi's mind and use that knowledge to corner Olivia. It's how this game is played."
"It's not a game," Declan whispered. "I can't lose Zoey."
"You won't, but you have to play the game," his father stressed. "Liam will track Vikki to Zoey and keep an eye on them."
Declan's mind began working again, registering his father's rationale. Whatever Olivia was doing, she was dragging him and Zoey into something much larger than the death of an Incubus and making him screw someone other than his mate. She was setting them up for a worse fate, one that involved his kitten, the secret weapon Olivia somehow knew how to activate.
As much as he didn't like what he heard, he knew his father was right. Declan had the power of the Incubatti security arm at his disposal now; he was able to use that to dig deeper into this disaster than he ever could alone. Not only that, but he had the ability to use all the resources of the Incubatti to protect Zoey, until he figured out how to counter Olivia's unknown plans.
He met Liam's gaze. His brother was grim.
"Go, Liam," Declan said grudgingly. "Report everything."
"Will do." Liam strode away.
Declan watched him, entrusting his brother with the fate of his soul-mate. The pain building inside him was unlike anything he had experienced before, though it was similar to what he felt as a child when his mother died. He faced his father, whose features contained a combination of compassion and resolve.
"Paul and his Cambions are looking tame, compared to Olivia," Declan said with effort. "You were right about the threat from the Sucubatti. I didn't expect to have two fronts to watch."
"You can handle them, Declan. You wouldn't be in your position, if I thought otherwise. The best way to help Zoey now is to uncover the truth."
Declan nodded. "We might need to pause our plan, until we find out what the link is between Olivia, Zoey and Julius. I'd rather face one enemy at a time, if at all possible. Your allies on the Council will be willing to let me do what I must?"
"When I'm done talking to them, they will."
Declan wiped his mouth. His eyes strayed to the bed again. He had no clue if he should try to talk Zoey down from what he sensed through their bond. She was hurting, and he didn't think anything he could say would help her.
It made him hurt worse. For the first time in his life, Declan had no fucking clue what to do.
Chapter Twenty Two: Zoey Rogue.
Zoey was only half-aware of where she went. A victim of her emotions, she let her body go on autopilot. When she knocked on Eric's door sometime later, her whole body was shaking from cold she didn't feel.
He opened the door. Warmth and light spilled onto her, and she squinted at him.
"Zoey," he said, surprised.
"I left something here that I need," she said, pushing her way in before he, too, could reject her.
Eric didn't object. Zoey's gaze skimmed over what appeared to be movie night, complete with a bowl of popcorn and Tory, who looked shocked from her seat on the couch.