“Oh, Father,” Finn starts to lament. “May you lend me thy rosy perfume?”
My father’s lips tug slightly into a grin.
I see my mother and Rosalee exchange another glance. It slowly starts to dawn on me. Could it be? We have no time for that now, though. I’m scared that Annalise will fall asleep again.
Dante seems to shove his surprise and the lingering scent aside, too, taking Rosalee’s place. She willingly stands up, obviously relieved to know that her daughter will be well again.
I notice how my lovely mate keeps her eyes closed. She is so close to falling asleep yet battles against it.
“All right, Annie,” Dante says, his voice low and warm. As always, I’m amazed by his people skills. Aryanna can do that too. It’s why we Alphas need our Betas so much. “When you were in that basement, I’m sure you heard them talking, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but it didn’t make any sense.”
“All right, let’s start a bit earlier. When they brought you to that house, more wolves were there than the few we captured.”
She nods.
“How did they react when the men brought you there?” he wants to know.
“They were not talking much…” she pauses. “No, wait, they were talking before but stopped talking when they saw me. A few of them were scared.”
“They were scared of you?”
“No,” her breath goes heavier before calming down. “They were scared of their leader, the one you killed - though I’m sure he wasn’t the one really in charge - and a few of his men. Some of the others looked at me.” A pause. “Like they didn’t want to be there. Two of them were speaking quietly.”
“What did they say?” Dante asks.
“That they wanted to die.” She furrows her brows. “They… they didn’t touch me… didn’t even look at me… It was only the three wolves in the basement who did.”
I frown. What the heck was going on there? I link my father.Did they blackmail the other wolves into helping them in Annalise’s abduction?
He furrows his brows.It seems like it. If they didn’t want to be there, then they probably had no other option.
“What did they do when they heard us arriving?” Dante asks.
“I could hear them run outside. Some of them said they would rather die than… they said they would jump down the cliff or have you kill them. It’s better than…”
Dante furrows his brows. “Better than what, Annie?” he asks softly.
“Something scared them, but it wasn’t you guys.”
Dante turns his head slightly to glance at us.
“One of them cried. He didn’t want to go back to him,” she mutters.
Rosalee blinks in confusion. “Who is he?”
My father shakes his head. “We have no idea,” he answers quietly.
Dante ignores us, solely focusing on Annalise. “How did they smell?” He asks. “Were they rogues?”
“They didn’t smell like rogues, just a bit,” she continues. “They… didn’t… weren’t. Their scent reminded me of something… of…”
This time my father links me.They might have been part of a pack but stayed away from it for too long. Their scent might have changed because of it.
“You know their scent?” Dante inquires carefully
“Yes… it’s… like…” she pauses. “Ella, they smelled a bit like her.”