CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Beth sat bolt upright in bed, not sure what it was that had woken her. Her heart slammed into her chest repeatedly, the bedroom door slowly swinging open.
“Beth?”
It was Sarah. Beth let out a long breath, relief flooding her. “Sorry, come in,” she replied, wiping her eyes.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Sarah replied, walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed. “Are you OK?”
“I just woke with a fright,” Beth explained, wondering why Connor wasn’t next to her. “How are you feeling?” Her eyes roved over Sarah’s pale face, taking in her red-rimmed eyes. Obviously Sarah had been crying.
“Sore,” Sarah replied with a wry smile. “But I’ll recover.” She touched Beth’s hand. “I’m glad you’re still here.”
Frowning, Beth stared at her, uncomprehendingly. “What do you mean?”
Sarah lifted one shoulder. “I told Connor that you’d leave. I thought you’d be gone, on your way to try and take on Stephen yourself.”
“Oh.” Shame flooded her soul. Had Sarah expected her to go? Expected her to try and get Thomas back. The weight of responsibility crept back onto her shoulders. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be!” Sarah exclaimed, leaning forward. “What I mean is that I’m glad you’re still here. I was so worried you’d go on your own and get yourself hurt. Stephen doesn’t sound like the kind of man who keeps his promises.”
“He’s not,” Beth muttered, passing a hand over her eyes. “I’m sorry about this, Sarah. If I had just gone with Stephen the first time he came for me, then this might not have happened.”
Sarah’s chest rattled, surprising Beth. “Don’t you even think that,” Sarah answered, firmly. “No one deserves to be treated the way you have been. I’m happy you’re here, Beth, do you hear me? I’m glad that you came, glad that we realized the truth about your situation because we can help you.” Her voice softened. “You’re in the White Fire pack now, Beth. We stick together.”
Tears pricked at her eyes again. Every time she felt the responsibility, it would be taken away from her again by Connor and now Sarah. She’d thought that Sarah would blame her for Thomas’s kidnapping, but she’d come to tell her the exact opposite.
“We’ll get Thomas back together,” Sarah finished, wiping her own eyes. “I just wanted you to know that I don’t want you to go up against Stephen on your own. I probably should have told you that last night but . . .” Waving a hand, she trailed off.
“I understand,” Beth murmured, truly grateful that Sarah had taken the time to come and talk to her. “I suppose I’d better get up now.”
Sarah smiled at her and got off the bed. “Connor’s waiting for us in the office,” she replied, walking to the door. “He’s got breakfast too.”
“He didn’t sleep?”
Sarah shook her head. “I think he’s got too much on his mind. I’ll see you down there, OK?”
Beth managed a watery smile, waiting until Sarah had closed the door before getting up to wash and dress. The face that looked back at her in the mirror was pale and wan, reminding her of the person she'd been when Stephen had her under his full control. Sarah was right, Beth didn't want to go back to that. Her entire being recoiled at the idea. With Stephen, there was pain and only pain. Absolute obedience was required, otherwise there would be severe consequences. Cringing at the memory of how he'd beaten her once, of how she'd longed to die such was the pain that racked her body, Beth closed her eyes and attempted to control her breathing. Seeing Thomas's finger on the floor yesterday had brought back all kinds of memories, and none of them good.
“If you stay with the pack, you can stop him from hurting anyone else,” she told her reflection, lifting her chin and forcing her tears back. “If you go back to him, there’s no guarantee he’ll give you Thomas anyway. You know you can’t trust him, Beth.” She recognized that her go-to position was always just to do what Stephen said, but that she didn’t have to feel that way anymore. Connor was with her. Sarah was by her side. She was part of the White Fire pack, and that meant doing things differently.
Instead of being forced to obey, this pack talked and discussed and supported each other. No one barked orders, no one inflicted pain if they didn’t follow through. There was respect and kindness, not anger and the threat of torture. Beth had battled with herself for many hours against what she wanted to do over what she knew she needed to do. Going back to Stephen on her own wasn’t an option. Connor was right when he’d reminded her that she’d promised to stay by his side. Beth wanted to hold herself to that.
“You are White Fire,” she said to herself, walking out of the door and down stairs. “Not afraid, not punished. Cared for, respected, trusted.” Settling her shoulders, she drew in a breath before pushing open the office door and walking inside.
“Beth!” Connor caught her around the waist and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “How are you?” His eyes searched her face, worry evident in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” she murmured, pressing a hand to his cheek. “I missed you last night, though. You didn’t come to bed?”
"I couldn't," he muttered, stepping away and leading her to the table where there were fresh coffee and bagels waiting. "I had to think."
Sarah poured them all a cup. “What did you decide?”
Beth watched Connor draw in a long breath. “I decided not to contact Ross,” he said heavily. “I mean, I called his cell and left a message, but that’s all I’m going to do. If he were closer, I might be able to communicate with him as shifters, but he’s too far away.”
Swallowing the sudden ache in her throat, Beth tried to sound confident. “You don’t think we need them?”
Connor took her hand from across the table. “I think we can manage this on our own,” he replied, firmly. “Ross, Jenny, and Ash are trying to get those other shifters out, the ones you said were back at the house. I think it’s important that they do that.”
Sarah let out a breath. “So, you’re planning to take on Stephen yourself.”
“No, not himself,” Beth interrupted, the words coming out of her mouth before she’d even realized she was speaking. “I’m going with him.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “I thought you might.”
“And, of course, I’m coming too,” Sarah responded with alacrity. “I can see you’re both going to tell me I shouldn’t and that I need to stay home to recover, but I won’t listen to it. The shifter I love is out there, and I’m going to do whatever I can to get him back.”
Beth couldn’t help but smile softly at the emotion in Sarah’s voice. She’d expected nothing less from her, even if she did have a terrible looking bruise marking from her ear to the top of her eyebrow.
“Are you sure you’re going to be up to it?” Connor asked, gently. “You’ve got a lot of recovery to do.”
Sarah nodded, glancing down to keep her tears at bay. “I want him back, Connor,” she murmured. “Don’t ask me to stay.”
Looking from Sarah to Connor, Beth smiled at him when he caught her eye, giving him a quick nod. She knew Sarah could hold her own.
“Remember I’m still useless,” she said quietly, holding up her arm. “With this cast on, I still can’t shift. I mean, I could, but—”
“You’d just injure it again, probably worse this time,” Connor finished, his eyebrows drawing together as he frowned. “That’s OK, Beth. We’ll be just fine with myself and Sarah able to shift. To be honest, I’d rather keep you as far away from Stephen as possible, anyway.”
“So, what’s your plan?” Sarah asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “All we know is that he wants Beth to go to the Old Church.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Connor replied, picking up a bagel and beginning to butter it. “We’re going to have to pretend that Beth’s ready to meet him, that we’re willing to do the exchange.”
Beth swallowed hard, her stomach swirling as she thought about facing Stephen again. “Then you should pretend you don’t want me,” she mumbled, thinking hard.
“What do you mean?”
She looked up at Connor. “You know the truth about my past with Stephen and you’ve accepted me into the pack,” she said, slowly. “If Stephen knows that, I suddenly become much more valuable. It might give him more to bargain with.” Nausea climbed up her throat. “He could use how you and I feel about each other to his own advantage.”
Sarah nodded slowly. “But if we make him believe that the only reason we wanted to keep Beth here was so that she would talk about Davidson and Stephen’s plans, then he’s possibly more likely to just get on with the trade.”
Glad that Sarah knew what she meant, Beth let out a long breath, fighting panic. “I hate the idea of facing him again, but I know I can do it if you’re there with me.”
Connor thumped the table with his fist, making her jump. “No, that won’t happen.”
Staring at him, Beth frowned slightly. “No? What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, you’re not going anywhere near Stephen,” Connor growled, his eyes glowing with a sudden fire. “It’s too dangerous.”
“But he’ll know it’s not me,” Beth protested, glancing at Sarah who had an equally confusing look on her face. “He’s bound to know, Connor.”
Shaking his head, Connor looked at Sarah. “Sarah will be you.”
Beth blinked a few times, before putting her head in her hands. “I don’t understand, Connor. Stephen’s a shifter, he’ll be able to tell by my—by Sarah’s—scent.”
“I could wear your clothes,” Sarah said quietly. “And stay out of the wind so my scent doesn’t travel too much.”
Connor grinned at them both. “Exactly. We don’t need to pretend for too long. Just long enough to make sure that Thomas is there.”
Beth wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that plan, knowing what Connor was going to say next.
“Once we know Thomas is there, then we’ll launch our attack,” he finished, sitting back in his chair.
“While I stay out of sight,” Beth muttered, darkly. “It’s not fair on the two of you, Connor. I’m as much a part of this as you are.”
He reached for her hand again, waiting until she looked at him before he spoke. “I know that,” he said softly. “But you have to realize just how much danger you’re in, Beth. If he gets you, I don’t think he’ll give you up without a fight. I can’t risk you getting seriously hurt.”
“And what’s our plan with Stephen?” Sarah interrupted, forcing the two of them to look at her again. “Capture or kill?”
Beth’s chest rattled immediately, her wolf howling for Stephen’s blood. “Capture,” she replied, through clenched teeth. “My wolf wants the opposite, but I’m not a killer. Let Ross decide what to do with him.”
She saw Connor nod his agreement, his own jaw clenched. “We’ll head out this evening,” he said quietly. “It won’t take long to get there.”