Chapter 10

Dixon gripped Melody’s hand in his and pounded on the door with his other. This was the only place he could think of that would level the playing field. He was man enough to admit when he needed help. He wasn’t sure how much help Bac would be willing to give him, but hopefully enough to give him some time to figure out what to do.

Mating with Melody had been the most amazing thing to happen in his life, and there was no way in hell he was going to let some piece of shit Fae take her from him. She hadn’t told him much, but the look in her eyes, hollow and filled with worry, was enough for him. Anything that made his mate unhappy was enough to make his lion go nuts.

“Open the door, dammit!”

He heard heavy footsteps right before the door swung open to an angry bear.

“What the hell, Dix? You coulda called.” He rubbed his eyes and narrowed them on Melody. “And why the hell did you bring an Elf here?”

“She’s my mate.” How was it his friend knew what Melody was just by one look?

The man’s eyes raised. “Your mate?”

“Yes, my mate. Let us in. I’ll explain everything.”

Bac sighed, letting out a small growl but he waved them in. He stepped out of the way of the entry to his home, but Dixon noticed his rigid form. Seemed his one and only friend didn’t much care for the Fae. “You better have a good reason for bringing her here,” he muttered.

His friend plopped down in a recliner that had seen better days. “Sit.” He ran his hands through his graying hair. “Explain.”

Dixon led Melody to the couch and they sat down. Nerves pricked down his spine when he realized she was eyeing Bac like she knew him.

When she jumped up from the sit next to him and covered her mouth with her hand, he knew for sure that his mate recognized the large man.

“Oh, my gosh, Bac!”

His mouth opened but he snapped his lips shut and nodded.

Dixon was confused. “You know each other?”

Melody nodded. “He used to work for my father.”

“Until he banished me,” Bac replied.

The look on his mate’s face was telling. Her face went pale and he could see how perplexed she was. Like Bac shouldn’t be sitting before her.

“It wasn’t him. We thought you were dead, too,” she said in a whisper.

His friend sat up straight and glared at Melody. Dixon tensed, wondering what was going on.

“You mean after my mate was murdered and your father sent his brother to do his dirty work. But Talbot let me go. Told me to leave Faerie and never step through the portals again.”

Melody’s body shook and she shook her head too fast. “No, my father loved you and Maria like family. He wouldn’t have done that.”

“That’s what Talbot said. I saw no reason not to believe him.”

She flinched. “My uncle is a thief and a liar. He’s taken over everything.” Tears fell from her eyes and she stepped closer to Bac before she went to her knees in front of him grabbing his hands as if she couldn’t believe he was really there.

“I can’t believe you’re alive. Father sent out search parties for you. We thought you died too. That’s what Uncle reported. Said it was an accident.”

Bac chuckled, but Dixon knew that laugh. His friend was not happy.

“No, he sent me here—” he waved his hand around the house “—without Maria. Talbot found her body, said how sorry he was for my loss, but then he told me everything. How your father had her killed and had sent him to end my life, too, but he didn’t feel it was necessary. That I was free to go.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Melody replied. “I swear we didn’t know.”

“Seems your uncle planned everything.”

“Yes, it seems so. He’s ruined everything and now he’s trying to force me to wed Sirk.”

Dixon rose from the couch and pulled his mate from the other beast. HIs lion wasn’t happy she was touching him. He didn’t like how familiar they were with one another. “What’s going on?”

Bac looked at him, and a sheen of tears filled his eyes. “I watched this girl grow up, and her sisters. I worked faithfully for the royal family, until Maria was killed and Talbot sent me here. I’ve never gone back.”

“You lived in Faerie?” Dixon was starting to get a bigger picture of what was going on. His friend had a whole different life before they’d met. And all this time they’d been friends, he never, not even once, mentioned that he worked for the Fae.

“Yes, and we protected the royals, seemed I failed my duties since I’ve heard they are gone now, too.”

“You didn’t fail.”

“You’re in trouble?” he asked Melody.

“Yes, I left, but Haven and Hanna are still there. Webb is after me—to take me back, but I can’t go back there. I won’t wed Sirk. But Uncle Talbot won’t see it any other way. He said if I didn’t, then he’d make Haven.”

Back growled. “That man took everything from me. But Webb—didn’t your father raise him? Surely he wouldn’t help the man?”

“Yes, he’ll have no choice but to bring me back. We don’t know how far Uncle has gotten to him. But it seems he’s been in control of everything much longer than I knew.”

Dixon let the two speak. He was learning more by listening than he could have imagined. The history between Bac and his mate shocked him, but that his friend was holding a grudge against the very man who was trying to take his mate away might work out for them better than anything. He found it strange that the one person he knew and trusted had watched his mate grow up. It couldn’t be a coincidence. It was far too close to home for that. Plus, Dixon didn’t believe in coincidences.

***

Melody couldn’t believe her eyes. At first, she thought they were playing tricks on her, but then she studied the man and realized—she knew him. He was the only shifter she’d ever been around, besides his mate Maria. He served her father faithfully until he disappeared. She knew of Maria’s death, but Uncle Talbot certainly made sure to get rid of Bac, too. Now she wondered just what else he’d done.

“Did he kill my parents, too?” The question slipped out without her meaning for it to. Thoughts swarmed her mind and she tried to remember everything. Uncle Talbot is the one who had told them.

Bac shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him, little one, but I doubt there is proof.”

She held back her tears realizing the very person who promised to protect her was probably the same man who had taken her parents from her. She couldn’t breathe with that knowledge. Why would he kill his own family? None of it made any sense. “Will you help us then?”

Her old companion shook his head. “Now, I can’t get mixed up with you all again. I’ve already lost too much, but you can stay here, that’s the most I can offer.”

She understood. Now that she was piecing everything together, she realized that her uncle was far worse than she thought. “I understand. I’m hoping I can talk some sense into Webb. He loved my family. Maybe Talbot has something on him. Maybe he’s threatening him.”

Bac shrugged again, and she knew she was lucky he was even letting them stay. He could have kicked her out and left her to the wolves. But she understood why he didn’t want to help. He’d already been hurt too deeply by the Fae. If she was correct then her uncle had not only killed Bac’s mate Marie, but there was a strong possibility he’d killed her parents, as well. She shuddered. Talbot was far more dangerous than he led on. She’d always thought of him to be strange, but never once did she think he could kill. What was the point in killing Maria and sending Bac to the human world? He had to of been threatened by the shifters. Maybe that was the only way he could gain control of her parent’s land. Piece by piece she was starting to figure it out.

Dixon listened to them talk. She knew he was confused, but she couldn’t believe that Bac was alive. Her father mourned him just like one would a brother. She didn’t understand why he hadn’t just gone to her father. He would have explained everything. It wasn’t even a month later that her parents ended up in an accident. Their bodies too damaged to heal. It all came back to her uncle. He’d been scheming all along, and now Melody realized that he wouldn’t stop, but what did he want? Their family wasn’t worth much anymore. As far as she knew, he’d used all their resources to keep their land. It was why he was trying to marry them off to other wealthy Fae from different territories. He made it sound like he was doing everything he could to make sure she and her sisters were taken care of, but now she questioned all of it. Her uncle had too many secrets.