“And Headquarters and the attack? The Holt female?”
Cord stopped for a second, his eyes closing as he thought of what had happened at Headquarters and how he had left Tegan. “She’s not in danger.”
“She is an Elite Sentinel; she will always be in danger.”
“That’s what she said,” Cord said with a small smile in remembrance of the black-haired beauty.
“Does she know of the Mark?”
Cord straightened and looked at the Dark Prime coolly. “No.”
“Where are you going?”
“Away. I need to think. I need to know what bearing the Mark means.” Cord sighed. “I need to study this more.”
“You are needed here. You are being accused of heinous crimes, Cord. Youneedto defend yourself!”
“I need to do a lot of things,” Cord admitted. “But staying here is not one of them.”
“And what do I tell your mate? Yourbondedmate?” Lucas asked desperately, trying anything to get the impulsive Castor to stay.
“Tell her I…” Cord trailed off with a frown. “Tell her nothing. I will tell her myself when next I see her.”
“You’re making a mistake.” Lucas frowned.
“You said it yourself, Prime, I’m impulsive.” Cord grabbed his bag and was gone.
Lucas cursed in the empty room before striding over to the door and opening it to reveal Prime Castor Garrick and Cornelius.
“You could not hold him?” Cornelius asked derisively.
“He has great power. The Flare burns bright within him, it always has,” Lucas answered sharply, his dislike for the Elder barely concealed.
“Did you question him about the attack?” Garrick asked quietly as his fingers trailed over Cord’s desk.
“He was not involved.”
“You believe him?” Garrick asked.
“I do.”
Garrick nodded. “As do I.” He rubbed his forehead as he thought about it all. “How in Harrian’s name do we convince the others?”
“I do not know.” Lucas sighed again as he thought about the whole mess.
“Why are you so sure he is innocent?” Cornelius looked between the two Castors.
“Because he is not your son,” Lucas bit out as he left the room, eager to put distance between himself and the loathsome male in Cord’s room.
“I wouldn’t touch any of his belongings, Elder,” Garrick said with a mock bow. “His traps are clever and, more often than not, painful.” With a grim smile, he too left the room.
Cornelius stood in his son’s room, taking in the textbooks, the spell components, the neatly made bed. The room was sparse. It held no family memorabilia and could have belonged to anyone. Grunting in discontent, Cornelius went to leave the room when he spotted it, tucked in a corner of the bookshelf.
Walking over to it, he carefully pulled the book from the shelf, and a smile crossed his face as he read the title:A Lycan’s Adventure. Not a smile of remembrance as he looked at the children’s book, his smile widening as he opened the cover, but a smile of triumph.
Cord,
To keep with you always and know I am with you, even when I cannot be.