Page 32 of Broken Forced Mate
“Dorian’s on his way,” Oren tells me as he hangs up the phone. “Ash is gathering the others.”
“Where is Ash, anyway?”
“Out back, in the garden. She’s been having visions all morning; violent fragments, mostly. Nothing clear enough to act on, but consistent enough to be worrying.”
The front door opens again, and I tense, ready for another confrontation. But it’s not Bastian returning with reinforcements.
It’s Maude Blacklock.
Raegan and Oren’s mother sweeps into the kitchen, looking around like a concerned hen searching for her chicks. Her silver hair is pulled back in a bun, and she’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Usually, this woman is wearing a dress, all done up. Something has her rattled.
“Where is she?” she demands, looking between Oren and me with the kind of maternal authority that transcends pack hierarchy.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“I woke up with the worst feeling about my children being in danger. When I couldn’t reach Raegan by phone, I knew something was seriously wrong.” She settles into a kitchen chair like she’s planning to stay until she gets answers. “Now, someone explain why my daughter isn’t answering her phone and Wyn looks like he’s been in a fight.”
Psychic abilities run strong in the Blacklock bloodline, manifesting differently in each generation. Maude’s particular gift has always been sensing when her family needs her, and it often shows up at exactly the right moment to provide support or intervention.
“Raegan is safe,” I tell her, though the words feel inaccurate given what just happened.
“Safe where? And why do I suspect that’s not the complete story?”
Oren and I exchange glances. There’s no diplomatic way to explain this situation without revealing just how fucked up everything is.
“She’s married,” Oren finally tells her.
Maude’s eyebrows rise. “To the young man from Llewelyn? Rather sudden, isn’t it?”
“No. To Wyn.”
She gawks at me, blinking in silence as she clasps her hands together on the table. “I see. And I assume this wasn’t exactly a traditional courtship.”
“He kidnapped her,” Oren adds helpfully.
Maude holds up a finger and scolds, “Oren. Let him explain himself before you pass judgment.”
So I do. I tell them the full story, from the first intelligence reports about Thornridge infiltration to yesterday’s emergency marriage ceremony. Maude listens without interrupting, though her face grows more serious with each revelation.
“The marriage bond activated her psychic abilities,” I conclude. “At least partially. She experienced a vision that showed her exactly what would have happened if she’d gone through with the original wedding.”
“Bloodline magic is unpredictable,” Maude muses. “Sometimes it takes a significant supernatural event to unlock dormant abilities.” She studies my face with the same penetrating gaze her daughter inherited. “The question is whether you fully understood what you were forcing on her.”
“I knew the marriage might trigger her abilities. I know I’m her…” I gulp hard before I add, “mate. I didn’t know how strong they would become or what she would see.”
“But you did it anyway.”
“I did what was necessary to keep her alive and prevent her abilities from being exploited by hostile forces.”
Maude purses her lips and nods. “And now you’ll both live with the consequences of that choice.”
The front door opens again, and the other pack leaders begin arriving for what’s clearly going to be an emergency council session. Dorian enters first, followed by Kira, then Ash, looking pale and shaken from whatever visions have been plaguing her all morning.
“Someone wants to explain why I got an emergency call about terrorist infiltration?” Dorian asks before he plops into a chair.
“Because that’s exactly what we’re dealing with,” Oren replies grimly.
The meeting continues for hours, covering everything we know about Thornridge operations and what we suspect about their next moves. But my attention keeps drifting to thoughts of Raegan, alone in my guest room, coming to terms with abilities she never asked for and consequences she never chose.
