Focus (The Crescent Chronicles, #2) (18 page)

“
Thank you.” This was the
second time the doctor had examined me. I hoped it was his last. I
liked him, but I was tired of getting hurt.

“
Where’s everyone else?
Hailey, Anne, Tiffany?”

Helen squeezed my hand. “Tiffany’s in
the hospital. She was unconscious when Jared found her, but she’s
going to be okay.”

“
Oh my god. Is she
alone?”

“
Of course not. Hailey’s
with her. Her parents are already on their way.”

I started to get up. “I need to see
her.”

Levi placed a hand on my shoulder. “You
have to stay here.”

“
No. I’m okay.”

“
You need to rest. Besides,
it’s safer here. We need to keep you safe.” His voice was soft, but
there was an urgency in it.

“
Safe? I am safe—you saved
me.”

Levi swallowed nervously. “I already
told you this wasn’t random.”

“
What aren’t you telling
me?”

He looked away from me. “You were the
target.”

My chest tightened. “What? How?
Why?”

“
We think it was Martin and
his men, but we don’t know for sure yet. I’ll know more once we get
downstairs.”

“
Then let’s go.” I hopped
off the couch but moved so fast that I felt dizzy.

Levi caught me before I could fall.
“Slow it down.”

“
We should go. You can get
cleaned up downstairs.” Helen looked at me
sympathetically.

I nodded, not sure how I could get
cleaned up in the basement. I didn’t care. I needed more
information.

“
Is Anne there?” I realized
no one had mentioned her.

“
Yes. Hailey made sure she
was okay before going to the hospital. I believe Anne’s with Owen.”
Helen touched my arm gently before opening the door.

Levi insisted on carrying me all the
way downstairs. He wouldn’t even put me down in the elevator. I
didn’t complain—I was still shaken up. My chest clenched a little
again as we entered the complete darkness of the
basement.

***

“
I’m not high, am I?” Anne
asked as soon as she saw me. Levi set me down on a chair in some
sort of sitting room in the basement.

I gave her a small smile. “No. You’re
not high.”

“
So you guys are actually
half birds?”

“
I already told you,
Allie’s human,” Owen said in an exasperated tone I’d never heard
him use before.

“
Oh, excuse me. You guys,
besides Allie.”

Levi laughed. “Are you okay here? I
need to find my dad.”

I moved to get up. “I’m coming. You
promised me answers.”

“
You’ll get them, but right
now you need to wait here. Please, Al, don’t fight me just this
once.” Something in the way he pleaded kept me quiet. I nodded. He
kissed me lightly on the forehead before leaving the room. Owen
went with him.

Anne waited until the door clicked
closed to start with more questions. “You knew what he was, right?
When were you going to fill me in?”

“
I knew, but—” I stopped,
wondering how much I should tell her.

“
Don’t hold back on me now.
Your roommate had wings grow out of her back. You might as well
tell me the rest.”

I smiled despite the somber mood of the
evening. “When Owen told you I was human, did he tell you anything
else?”

“
He said you were Levi’s
mate. That’s what I don’t get. Why would you be his mate if you’re
human and he’s not? And by the way, who is he? People were treating
me like royalty when Owen told them I was your friend.”

“
Pterons usually go for
humans, and Levi’s a prince.”

“
A prince? You’re the mate
of a paranormal prince? So does that make you a princess?” she
asked excitedly.

“
So, you’re no longer
questioning your soberness?”

“
No. But what were you
about to tell me before?” She froze like a light bulb had gone off.
“Wait, did you somehow not know what you were getting yourself
into?”

“
Not really.” I looked
away. “I didn’t know I’d become his lifelong mate.”

“
Wow, it all makes
sense.”

“
What makes
sense?”

“
Why you didn’t want a guy
that gorgeous calling you his fiancé. But how did he do it so that
you didn’t know what was happening? Drugs?”

“
Sex.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“
He gave me a ring, and we
had sex.”

“
Seriously?” She leaned
forward in her seat.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“
That’s pretty
awesome.”

“
Awesome?” I asked
incredulously.

“
He’s a paranormal prince.
You do realize how cool that is, right?”

I laughed without meaning to, but once
it started I couldn’t stop. Anne joined in.

“
So he’s been trying to
make it up to you, huh? Trying to get you to forgive him?” She
crossed her legs, getting comfortable. She was eating it
up.

I shifted uncomfortably. “Pretty
much.”

“
So he can only have one
mate?”

“
Unfortunately.”

“
Please tell me you don’t
mean that.”

I didn’t know if I did or not. I
shrugged.

“
You’re lucky. You’ve got a
hot, powerful, rich guy wrapped around your finger. Embrace
it.”

“
But I don’t know how I can
trust him.”

“
I didn’t say to make it
easy on him. Have you been with him since?”

“
As in, have I slept with
him again?”

“
Yeah.”

“
No.”

“
That’s good. You still
have the power. Enjoy it—but not for too long. You might as well
enjoy the rest of him too.”

“
That’s one way to view
it.”

“
Come on, Allie. You are
obviously crazy in love with him.” She picked up a throw
pillow.

“
Obviously?”

“
Yeah. The way you look at
him; the way you move around him, it’s hard to miss.”

“
Oh.”

“
So, how does Hailey fit
in?”

“
She’s Owen’s
sister.”

“
Which means…” Anne tied
her hair up in a messy bun.

“
Owen’s one of Levi’s best
friends.”

“
So they’re not
royal?”

“
No. But really, I don’t
get the hierarchy yet.”

“
You better learn it. You
are the princess, after all.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. It was
always so cold down there, and my dress wasn’t cutting it. “You’re
not going to let that go, are you?”

“
Probably not.” Anne got
serious all of a sudden. “Tiffany’s going to be okay, isn’t
she?”

“
I think so…that was
crazy.”

“
No one’s told me anything,
and by the sound of it, they haven’t told you either. What do you
think happened?”

“
They think another Pteron
did it. Maybe to get to me…”

“
Oh, that explains why they
want us here.”

“
I hope we get to go home
tonight, but we can always stay in my room upstairs if we need
to.”

“
I’d rather not get burned
to death, so I’ll do what they say. Besides, I wouldn’t mind
spending some more time with Owen…don’t tell Hailey, but he’s
pretty hot.” Anne smiled.

“
I
definitely
won’t tell
Hailey.”

The door opened, and Owen walked in.
His ears must have been ringing. “Levi wants me to take you to your
room, Allie.”

“
Then why did he make me
come down here to begin with?”

“
Not that room. You have a
room downstairs. It’s a safe room.”

“
A safe room? Are you
crazy? We can go upstairs.”

“
Anne can, but there are
some extra beds down here if she’d prefer.” He paused and looked at
her.

“
I’ll take a guest bed
downstairs. It seems safer.”

“
Okay, let’s set Anne up
and then we can continue discussing this, Allie.”

“
Fine.” I understood why
Anne wanted the room. The truth was, I was terrified too. “Can’t I
stay with Anne?”

“
I don’t think so. The king
agreed you needed to be in your safe room.”

“
My safe room? What makes
it mine?”

“
It’s Levi’s…”

“
Oh…”

“
Yeah. The king has one,
and the prince. It’s always been that way.”

We followed Owen down the hall, turned
a few times and stopped in front of a door. He pushed it open,
revealing two twin beds.

Anne eyed it approvingly. “Wow, nice
guest digs.”

Owen stepped back to let Anne move into
the room. “Glad you like it. I bet Hailey will crash with
you.”

“
Cool. Thanks.” Anne
smiled. She was taking things so well. I wondered when reality was
going to set in. “Night, Allie. And by the way, you officially have
my permission to enjoy all of him tonight if you’re feeling up to
it.”

“
Your permission? I don’t
think so. Goodnight, Anne.”

“
Night.” She closed the
door.

Owen raised an eyebrow. “Enjoy all of
him?”

“
Don’t start.”

He laughed. “I won’t.”

I followed him as he led me through two
sets of double doors, each guarded by large guys I didn’t
recognize. I didn’t need to ask to know they were
Pterons.

Owen opened a metal door, and I entered
Levi’s safe room. “My bet is that this is fancier than the
President’s bunker.”

Owen chuckled. “Yeah, I’d think so
too.”

The place was decorated to the nines
with red tapestries. Marble floors matched the hallway, but the
large bed in the center of the room was perched on a plush red rug.
A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling above the bed. A full
dining set was positioned on the other side of the room, with a
kitchen located off it.

“
Is the bathroom just as
nice?”

“
I don’t know, but I
wouldn’t be surprised.”

“
Great, I hope I can find
something of Levi’s to wear.” I needed to get out of my ripped and
dirty dress. I opened one of the large armoires stocked full of
men’s clothes.

I opened the armoire next to it,
expecting to find more of the same, but it was full of women’s
clothing—all in my size.

“
Please tell me Levi didn’t
buy all of this…” I closed a drawer after realizing it was full of
lingerie.

“
I would guess Helen did.
This might be a safe room, but the Laurent’s have been known to use
their room for other reasons.”

“
Other reasons?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Can you get more
privacy?”

“
Ugh. We don’t need to use
ours for that reason.”

He laughed again. “Weren’t you supposed
to be enjoying all of him tonight?”

I hit him on the arm. “Shut
up.”

“
I’ll get out of your hair
then.”

“
Do that, and do me a favor
and tell Levi I expect a full report.”

“
Aye, aye,” he said in mock
salute.

Owen left, and I jumped when I heard
the door slam closed behind him. The room was completely silent
once the door closed, and I couldn’t help but feel trapped. As I
looked around, I realized there could be much worse places to be
confined.

I walked into the bathroom, and I’d
been right—the place was gorgeous. There was a dual vanity with
marble counters, a large soaking tub, and a shower big enough for
two. I could have moved in.

I turned on the water in the shower,
letting the whole bathroom get steamy before stripping off my dirty
dress and stepping in. I hadn’t thought to search for shampoo or
soap or anything, but someone already had the shower stocked—with
my favorites.

Under the hot water, the reality of how
close I’d come to dying hit me. I started to shake, and I leaned
against the shower wall to steady myself.

“
Al? You okay?”

My heart jumped out of my chest even
though I knew it was Levi.

“
What are you doing in
here?” I called after turning off the water.

“
Owen said you wanted to
talk.”

“
I do.”

“
Should I come join you, or
do you want to do it out here?”

“
Hand me a towel,
Levi.”

“
If you insist.” He tossed
a towel over the top of the shower. I used the plush, red towel to
dry off and squeezed some water out of my hair before wrapping up
in the towel and stepping out.