Miriam wondered just how much she should tell Seph. They were best friends, but in a way, she wanted to keep Io all to herself a little longer. At least the juicy parts.
“Come on, Miri. It’s obvious something happened between you two.” Seph paused. “I have to live vicariously through you, Miri. What’s it like to be a mated female?”
Io had called her Miri. The thought made her grin. Outside her father, only Io and Seph did that. Only they were so casual with her.
Taking a deep breath, Miriam said, “God, Seph, he’s so wonderful. He’s perfect.” She spoke wistfully. “He treats me like I’m a normal person, not the
king’s daughter
.” She made air quotes as she said it. “And he’s such an incredible kisser.”
Seph swooned, her eyes going dreamy and misty all at once. “I knew he would be.”
Miriam nodded, blushing. “He showed me things, too.”
Seph bit her bottom lip conspiratorially, as if she realized that no one else knew what Miriam was about to tell her. “Really? Like what?” Then she gasped and looked at her with shock. “You didn’t…? He didn’t…. You’re not de—?”
“No, no!” Miriam waved her hands in front of her. “We didn’t have sex. He didn’t deflower me or anything like that. But….” she looked down. “We touched. A lot.”
They scooted closer to each other as if they were about to share state secrets.
“He touched me…you know…down there.”
Persephone was a virgin, too. All the liaisons’ unmated daughters were. It was strictly forbidden for any of them to have relations before being mated or wed. Which technically meant that Miriam could have sex now, because she was mated, wasn’t she?
“What was it like?” Seph said.
Miriam traced her finger over her comforter. “It was incredible. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
Seph sighed wistfully, and Miriam could almost hear her thoughts. She had been close to being wed, but what Seph really wanted was a mate. She wanted to feel that magical connection that Miriam now had with Io. With Arion, she had been willing to sacrifice the greater dream for the smaller one, but now that Miriam had told her about Io, it was clear Seph desperately wanted the same.
“I’m sorry, Seph.” Miriam wished she could do or say something that would make Seph feel better. “Your male will come along someday. I know it. And it will be worth it.”
“I don’t know. I’ll probably end up being what humans call an Old Maid.”
Miriam placed her hand over Seph’s. “No way, Seph. You’re too pretty.” She smoothed her other hand over Seph’s long, blond hair. “No, you’re beautiful. Look at you.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not a male.” Seph flashed her a cockeyed smirk.
“Whatever.”
The two sat silently for a minute then Miriam said quietly, “We’re going to try to convince my father to put me in Io’s care.”
Seph’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. “What?”
Miriam nodded, biting her lip. “You can’t tell anyone about this, Seph. You have to promise me.”
Seph crossed her finger over her chest. “I promise. We’ve been friends forever. You know I won’t say a word to anyone.”
Miriam knew she wouldn’t, and she nodded. “Okay, so…we’re going to use the approach that Io can treat my addiction. He was an addict, you know.”
Seph gasped. “No. Really? He was?”
“Yes.” Miriam nodded. “Last year, he was strung out worse than I am.”
“And he quit?”
“Yep.”
“How?”
“His friend helped him.” She refrained from bringing up Arion’s name. She didn’t want to upset Seph.
Seph pursed her lips. “And the plan is for him to help you?”
“That’s the plan. Io is supposed to be working out the details with his boss. Hopefully I’ll hear something soon, because I won’t make it long without his help.” She lifted the bottle of water that had been sitting beside her.
“What’s that?”
Miriam took off the cap and sipped, scrunching up her nose. “It’s a tonic that curbs the symptoms of withdrawal.” She remembered her powerful reaction to the detox from the day before. She didn’t want to go through that again.
Seph pinched her thumb and forefinger over her nose and swayed backward. “Phew! It stinks.”
“Yeah, I know. But it works.” She put the cap back on the bottle and set it aside.
“When are you supposed to hear from him?”
“I don’t know, Seph, but this plan
has
to work.”
Not only did Miriam want to be with Io again, but he knew how to care for her. She had already drunk half the tonic he had sent home with her, and the rest wouldn’t last another twelve hours.
“He knows how to rehab and help me through the withdrawal. I’m afraid if I can’t get back to him soon….” Her voice trailed off as she looked away and began chewing on her thumbnail.
Seph looked down uncomfortably when Miriam glanced toward her again.
“You know, I think it’s time for us both to get off that shit,” Seph said, her lips turning up into a reluctant smile. “I was going to tell you when I got here…but then we started talking about Io…and, well….” She shrugged and looked down.
“What?” Miriam said. “What’s going on?”
Seph frowned and took Miriam’s hands. “You scared me last night. Damn it, Miri, but I thought you were going to die.”
Miriam felt bad for putting Seph through last night’s hell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I promise I’m going to try to quit. If I’m allowed to go back to Io, I’m sure I can make it happen.”
“I know.” Seph took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I know you can.” She smiled. “And so am I. I told my dad last night that I want to be admitted into AKM’s treatment program.”
“Really?”
Seph nodded. “Seeing you like that, and knowing that could be me.” She shook her head. “We have to quit, Miri. Both of us.”
“Yes, we do. And I’m proud of you.” Miriam was truly happy for her friend, but sad for herself. “At least your father listens to you.” She looked down at her hands, frustrated that everyone else seemed to have a father willing to listen to them while her dad was…Hitler.
Her father wanted to pretend everything was perfect bliss in the royal home. He refused to notice how destructive Miriam had become, and instead of treating her like a daughter, he treated her like a convict.
Miriam had started using cobalt to get her father’s attention. She readily admitted it, especially after Io’s little provocation last night. And not just get his attention. Miriam wanted him to actually care. She wanted her father to
see
her,
hear
her…to show he still
loved
her and that she wasn’t just another minion to order around and rule.
Talk about a backfire. Taking that first hit of cobalt had been a major fail. The second hit had been even more stupid. By the third, Miriam had been totally addicted. Cobalt was nasty shit. Getting off it would be a major ordeal.
“I know you’ve got problems with your father, Miri.” Seph took her hands. “But at least you’ve got a mate, right?”
Good old Seph, always trying to look at the bright side and cheer her up.
Miriam nodded. “As long as my dad doesn’t kill Io when he finds out what’s happened.” Miriam didn’t deny how messed up this situation could still become.
“He won’t. He can’t. Surely, he’ll recognize the significance of a mated male’s claim.”
Miriam rolled her eyes. “This is my dad we’re talking about, Seph.”
“True, but….” Seph paused. “Everything will work out. I know it.”
Miriam wished she had Seph’s confidence, because at the moment, she felt like everything was about to fall apart.
A couple of hours before dawn, Io paced up and down the hall, his phone in his hand. Why hadn’t anyone called him, yet?
The door opened and Micah walked in with Trace.
“What the hell?” he said, spinning around to glare at them. “That door was locked.”
Trace tapped his temple and grinned.
“Oh, I see. Another one of your fancy abilities, I presume?” Io shook his head. The more he learned about Trace, the more he realized he knew very little about how powerful the guy was.
“Yep, Trace is full of tricks,” Micah said, walking toward him. “I need a favor.”
Did Micah even acknowledge that he had broken into his house? “How ‘bout you go back out and knock like a normal person?”
“No time for that.” Micah grabbed his arm and led him toward the back of the house.
What was so urgent that they couldn’t even knock? “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.” Micah directed Io into his den and pushed him into his chair behind his oversized desk full of laptops, keyboards, and monitors. “I’ve got a job for you. Something you can do while you’re waiting for little Miss Firecracker to return.”
Io frowned, but Micah had a good point. He needed something to keep himself busy, and from the looks of things, it would involve working on his computers, and if anything had hope of taking his mind off the agony of being separated from his mate, it was his computers.
“Okay. So what’s up?” he said.
Trace sauntered in and sat down on the couch. Micah joined him.
“Gina Carano,” Micah said.
“Who?” The name sounded familiar, but Io couldn’t remember from where.
“The female who tried to perform open heart surgery on Sev with a bullet a couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh, yeah. Her. What about her?”
Micah leaned back and rested his arm over the back of the couch. “I want you to find her.”
“Say again?”
“Find her. Contact her. Get her ass back here.”
This was an unusual request. “Would you mind telling me why the sudden urgency?”
“Malek needs her.”
Either Io was completely out of touch, or Micah was delusional. He looked back and forth between Trace and Micah and saw no hint of psychosis.
“I’m not delusional,” Micah said.
“Get out of my head.”
“Yeah, that’ll happen.” Trace said doubtfully.
“Can you find her?” Micah was all business.
Io was the best at digging up intel and hacking systems. “Sure, I can find her. If she wants to be found.”
“Make sure she wants to.”
Io still didn’t understand the urgency. “Why is this so important? What’s she got to do with Malek?”
“I think she’s his mate.”
Okay, hold the phone while a bombshell drops in my office.
“Come again?”
“You heard me.”
So this explained why Malek had been walking around like a member of the pissed off walking dead for the past couple of weeks. AKM seemed to be in a mating boom, and ol’ Malek looked to be next on the list. What was up with that?
“How will Sev react to this?”
“Who cares? If she’s Malek’s mate, we need to get her back here. He’s not doing so hot.”
“Jesus.” Io fired up his system. “You heard she had a fling with Sev’s father, Lakota, right?”
“Yep.” Micah took out his phone as it beeped, read the screen, then punched in a number.
“Lakota won’t be happy to see her back here after what she did to Sev.”
“He’ll get over it.” Micah turned his attention to his phone. “Hey, babe.” He had obviously called Sam. “No, I’m at Io’s house…uh-huh…do you need me?” He paused. “Oh?” His eyebrow arched with interest then he chuckled darkly. “You are, huh?” Micah shifted on the couch. “So, you
do
need me.”
Awkward.
Trace looked out the window, and Io typed in his password.
Micah chuckled again. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up and looked at Io. “I’ve got to run. My mate requires my attention.” He grinned and glanced at Trace. “You coming?”
Trace stood up and followed Micah to the doorway. Then Micah stopped and turned back toward Io. “Text me when you find her, but get her back here. I don’t care what it takes. Tell her Sev changed his mind and decided to press charges if you have to.”
Io smirked. “I’ll leave that part to you. How’s that?”
“Fine. Whatever. Just find her.”
As the two left the den, Io realized that Micah would make a good team leader. What an odd thought. Before Sam, he had been the loosest cannon in the history of loose cannons. He had been an asshole loner who nobody liked, but in the weeks since meeting Sam, he had changed. Micah was turning into someone who commanded respect and displayed sound judgment and concern for his peers. All qualities necessary for a leader, and even though he was constantly in the minds of those around him, he rarely, if ever, used what he found in their thoughts against them, and he never used others’ thoughts for his own personal gain. He kept his mouth shut and didn’t reveal secrets when it would be so easy for him to do just that. Io had never thought he would like Micah, but for the first time he felt like he and Micah might actually be able to get along…maybe even be friends.
“Wouldn’t work!” Micah called from the front hallway.
“Huh?” Io frowned.
“You and me being friends,” Micah called back to him. “It wouldn’t work, you homophobic bastard. I’ve fucked guys.”
Io heard the hint of humor in Micah’s voice. “Yeah, well I seem to be finding a guy’s sexuality and what he does with his own dick more and more unimportant these days, Micah. But then again, I’ve got the feeling you already knew that.”
A dark chuckle came from the foyer. “Yep. I’ve caught that, but I’ll still ride your ass about it.”
Io had to laugh. “Fuck off, shithead. Go home and make your woman happy.”
Micah and Trace both chuckled. “I plan on it,” Micah said.
The front door opened and closed, and Io heard the lock engage as he began his search. This would help keep his mind off Miriam. At least for a little while. Because he sure wasn’t going to be able to sleep until he had her back here, and pacing endlessly was just going to wear out his carpet.
Now, where could he dig up info on Gina? Pulling up AKM’s record of her arrest would be a start. He would find something there to go on, then connect the dots and follow her trail. If Gina really was Malek’s mate, Io could understand the importance of getting her back. The way he was suffering, he could only imagine what Malek was going through.