Since that technique hadn’t worked, I placed my hands flat on the wall, feeling the texture of the wallpaper, and continued to breathe. Friday, that meant it was almost the weekend when all my men would be home. I wondered if Spencer had made plans for us to do something fun? Thinking of them helped more than I had expected. I recalled their features, scents, and the feel of their touch that I loved. When I felt the panic slipping away, leaving me exhausted and wrung out, I took one step forward and brushed out my skirt, not looking either man in the eye.
“It would be best if people I didn’t know refrained from touching me,” I explained, trying to show that I was calm once more. “If you will lead the way, Arthur, I will follow right behind you.”
“I apologize for upsetting you, Miss Cambrie, and will ensure the staff knows to avoid any more such incidents,” Arthur said, his voice cool and detached. “It would seem both of us were ill informed about a few things,” he muttered more to himself than to me.
He started down the hall, and I swiftly moved to be right on his heels, giving the guard who fell in behind us no reason to interact with me. After a panic attack like that, I couldn’t handle another one so close. They seemed to get worse when they happened too close together. Arthur didn’t venture far, only four doors down, before he opened a set of double doors.
This new room looked like a cross between a classroom and a small library, with lots of open space. There was a large wooden desk with a chair behind it and a smaller desk in front that was clearly meant for me. A chalkboard hung on one wall while the others were covered in bookshelves. There was a small round table with two chairs and a loveseat near a fireplace. Fireplaces seemed to be a common feature in this house, though none of them were lit.
“Please take a seat at the desk, and I will hand you some tests. They will cover a gambit of subjects. Please fill out what you know and leave those you don’t. Once you are finished, I will look over them as you prepare tea for us,” Arthur instructed.
“When you say serve tea, do you mean hot tea?” I asked as I took my seat at the smaller desk.
Arthur set the thick stack of papers in front of me, lifting a brow in surprise. “Surely you’ve at least had hot tea before.”
“My father drank coffee, and so did Mom. Sometimes, Mom would make me hot chocolate but all of that stopped when she died,” I explained.
“When did she pass?”
I bit my lip and started to pluck at my skirt. “When I was eight.”
“You were under that brute's care alone since the age of eight?” Arthur snapped, making me flinch. “Good god it’s a miracle you haven’t lost your wits completely. Let’s start with these tests, and I will make a list of etiquette subjects that we can go over. That will help me determine just how basic we need to start.”
“Why are you teaching me all these things?” I asked, peering up at the butler.
“All Omegas are taught how to serve their pack in every way possible. Plus, you, dear girl, have no idea where you truly come from. Your family line has been built from greatness. You, the only heir, will also bring greatness to your family with the pairing of an advantageous pack and the offspring you shall have,” Arthur shared, making me feel like I was some lost princess or something. “Now no talking, this will take you as long as it takes to get through all the sheets.”
He pulled a stopwatch out of his pocket and clicked it. “Begin.”
Chapter 2
Ahandranovermy back, stirring with such a gentle touch I smiled.
“Cambrie?” I murmured as I blinked my eyes open.
The hand paused, and I found Spencer sitting on my desk, looking down at me with sad green eyes. “I’m sorry love, it’s just me.”
Groaning as I sat up, my body not happy with me falling asleep in my home office, I reached out and grabbed my Beta’s hand. “Don’t say that Spence, waking up to you is something I always look forward to. Forgive me and my sleep-addled brain.”
He squeezed my hand reassuringly. “It’s fine, I’m not upset. I would be waking up praying this is a nightmare myself. What were you doing in here all night? I figured you wanted some space but I didn’t think you’d sleep here.”
I tugged him onto my lap, which was slightly awkward since he wasn’t much smaller than me, but I needed to hold him. After losing my sister as a young man, then having Cambrie stolen out of our own home, I needed to hold my remaining loved one close. Spencer didn’t say anything or push me to talk. He just wrapped one arm around my neck and held me to his chest. I took deep breaths of his bright citrus and coconut scent that I enjoyed immensely, helping to ground me in reality.
“Alton, over the years, has gathered so much information on the Council of Four and its members. He’s convinced that within all the shady deals they’ve made, there has to be something we can use to get them out of office,” I finally shared. “While I have time off from work, I figured it would be best to put it to good use.”
“You think they took her while we were at the Capitol Building?” Spencer questioned. “Why would they tell us they would collect her next week and then steal her out from under us? We were going to give her to them.”
I looked up and met his gaze. “No, we weren’t. There was no way any of us would allow Cambrie to be taken by those people. She isours.No one else willeverlay a finger on her once she’s home safe where she belongs.” I paused and spoke the words that echoed deep in my soul. “When I find out who took her I’m going to ruin them, destroy whatever life they have, and smash it to pieces.”
Spencer leaned his forehead against mine. “Oh my love, do not make promises like that, because you never break them and one like that might break you in the end. We are not like Yoram and his lackeys, who will crush those weaker under their boots. Everything we’ve ever stood for has been for people like Cambrie. That’s why we are going to do this right, Marius, you hear me? All of us will work together, find the truth and bring it to light where they can’t hide in the darkness anymore.”
While I knew what he was saying was true, the rage that boiled inside me demanded that I take more drastic action.How could he say we wouldn’t crush them? Was he just willing to let this slide? What if we never got her back?
“Aren’t you angry?” I demanded, my tone sharper than I meant it to be.
While I was slow to anger and could take the hits as needed to a point, once I reached that point, my temper was something to be feared. The last time I lost complete control was after they found my sister's body and had no leads to where she’d been or how she’d died. That day, I let the anger win, and I sent a police officer to the hospital. Embers of that same fury were rekindling, and I feared I wouldn’t be able to stop it, or worse— that I wouldn’t even want to.
Spencer’s hand grasped my face, and for the first time ever, I saw a look of rage that matched my own. “Am. I. Angry? What the fuck kind of question is that, Marius?” Spencer snapped, his tone icy with malice.