Behind The Alpha Book 4 CASS

Chapter 16

(Chapter song ‘Match In The Rain' by Alec Benjamin)
EMBER

Ok.  So that happened.  Holy Hell. 
I’m sore this morning, but damn, did I sleep good.  I did kick Cass out after, but that was after letting the Lust take us a few more times. 
The problem with lust is the lack of attachment.  It’s just sex.  Hot, dirty animal sex.  The kind you pick up anonymously because you just have to have them. 
It's often the bases of a relationship, but it can also be detrimental once you realize that’s all you got. 
This is why, as heart matchers, we’re told we can’t shoot ourselves.  We can’t dissolve the lust part of our beings.  Some are stronger than others.  Eros is the king of it.  It’s why the arrow took us so hard.  It didn’t add to us, it amplified what was already there through my kiss.  Eros is a God so he has the strength to fight the arrows calls.  It also might be the reason he drinks so much.  I can only imagine what Psyche goes through day after day. 
Cass and I wouldn’t be able to survive the calling much longer.  We’d pretty much sex ourselves to death.  We need this locked up.
Back in Phoenix, we walk the halls to the science labs.  I have the arrow wrapped up in a cloth, but I can see in people’s eyes, it’s affecting them too.  I think as I look around, it might start up some office romances. 
Cass leads the way and I can’t help but think of my nails digging into his strong back.  My middle starts to heat as I watch his firm ass.  I have to bite my lip and control this.  Just a little longer. 
He stops at a lab and knocks on the glass.  Ricky was at her desk.  She turns her chair and smiles. 
“Cass?  What are you doing here?  Come here, sweet thing.”  She hugs him and my lips twist. 
“Hey, Ricky.  We need your help.”  He says as he hugs her back.
“Anything for you, Baby Alpha.”  She chuckles and taps my chest.  She walks back to her desk.
I arch a brow.  “Baby Alpha?”
He shrugs.  “I’m one of the youngest.  The name stuck.” 
“Baby Alpha.”  I chuckle.
“Stop it, Love bug.”  He smirks. 
We walk in and I place the cloth on a table.
She leans a hand on the table.  “Ok.  What you got.”
I look at her.  “Deep breath.”  I warn her.
She looks at me confused.  I slowly unwrap the arrow.
“Whoa!”  She backs up and shields herself as the cloth releases the lust it was muffling.  “What the hell?” 
I turn to her.  “Let me introduce you to the arrow that brought a God to his knees.  Cupids arrow.” 
She looks at us wide eyed.  “Wait.  Cupid.  Fat baby, tiny wings, shoots you in the heart.  That’s a thing?” 
“Yep.  He’s more like a raging alcoholic in a suit, but yes.  We hold the Infatuation Department in the Cosmos.  We help Fate and Destiny.  You heard of them?”
Ricky smirks.  “Some days I wish I hadn’t.  Ok so who are you?” 
“I’m what’s known as a Love Bug.  When Eros can’t fulfill his duties, I step in.”
“Like a clean up crew.”  Cass adds.
She pulls on her collar.  “Is it hot in here?” 
I nod.  “It’s the arrow.  It throws lust around like it’s going out of style.  We can’t have it near us at the moment and was hoping you could keep it safe for us.”
I can tell she’s getting increasingly uncomfortable.  “Um…Ok…Wow…That’s strong…”  She braces herself on her medical chair.
Cass turns to her.  “Yeah.  That’s why we need a container and a place to lock it down.  This isn’t something we can just have laying around.” 
She wipes her forehead.  “Why aren’t you two…Holy cow.”
“We…um…Kind of took care of it.”  Cass grins.
She raises her brow and flicks her eyes between us.  “Uh…Oh…”  She gets up and goes to a storage cabinet.  “We made boxes for the dagger when we found it so people would stop getting zapped when studying it, I think this will work.”  She dropped a clear box on the table. 
I pick up the arrow and place it in the box.  It just fit.  I shut the lid.  “Got a lock?” 
Ricky rummages through her desk. She pulls out a key lock and I slam it on the lid lock.  I turn to her.  “Feel better?”
She rubs her neck.  “A tiny bit, but I’m sure once I get it in the vault, I’ll be fine.  Why do you guys have that anyway?”
“We need to make a nullifying arrow to break a love match.”  I supply.
“What?” 
Cass crosses his arms.  “We just have to correct a…”  He looks down then at me.  “A mistake.”  He says low.
“That’s right.  A mistake.”  I nod as I lock with his eyes.
“Is there something…”  Ricky eyes us as she motions between us. 
“No.  Nothing.”  I snip.  “Um…is Nala here?”
Ricky holds her chest.  “Yeah…um, yes.  She’s in her office.  Next to Zanders.”  She walks to the box.  “I’m just going to put this in the vault then I need to…um…talk to my mate about a few…dozen or so things.”  She grins.
Cass and I exchange looks and watch her walk out of the lab. 
“Let's find Nala.”  Cass mumbles and walks past me.
I follow him and feel his confusion.  I know I sound heartless, but I’m really not.  Cass isn’t meant for me.  I don’t know any heart Matcher that’s mated.  We don’t to that sort of thing.  We’re civil servants to the cosmos.  We don’t have actual lives.  Some, like myself, did at one point, but not anymore.  We gave that up the moment we got our heart strings. 
Valentino warns us all the time about falling in love with our targets.  I’ve held true until Cass.  The thing is, it’s not my love he’s feeling.  It’s the kiss.  The kiss is supposed to dissolve into the heart.  It doesn’t work that way with me.  My kiss lingers filling him with false feelings.  Add that to the backed up love in his heart and you get Cass.  He needs to understand none of this is real.  That’s why I have to remind him that what’s going on between us is a mistake. 
We get to Nala’s office and knock.
“Enter.”  She replies. 
Cass opens the door and Nala is at her desk with a girl with long, black hair.
“Nala.  Hey, Taylor.”  Cass waves a little wave.
“Cass, Ember.”  Nala stands and folds her arms.  It’s funny to see how reserved Nala is compared to the loud, boisterous Jesse. 
“Hey, Cass.  How’s it going?  How’s Mica?”  Taylor grins. 
Cass shrugs.  “I guess it’s OK.  Micas Mica.  He never changes.” 
“I hear that.  He’s been so busy lately, when you get back to Falcon, tell him to call me.  I have big news.”  She smiles big and is almost glowing. 
“Oh?”  Cass sits on the couch and I sit beside him. 
Taylor comes around and leans on the desk.  “Don’t tell him before I get a chance, but…He’s going to be an uncle.”
Cass grins.  “You’re pregnant?” 
She nods.  “Yep.  Just a few weeks, thanks to the red moon.  Trinity is beside herself with Jealousy, but I told her, my baby is her baby too.  Jake shares us, he’ll share the baby.  She’s just having a hard time deciding to risk the childbirth.  She has the choice as a Phoenix wolf to die or not, but I don’t think she fully trusts it.  I know Jake doesn’t want to risk it.”
“Well, congrats.  I’m sure you guys will still have a lot of fun.”  He leans on his knees and shoots me a glance.  I can see in his eye a hint of want.  Is Cass a kid guy? 
I lean forward to move this along before Cass starts feeling worse.  “Nala.  Please tell me you found Puck.” 
She walks over to us and sits.  Her wrap dress falls open at her thighs and she crosses her long dark, skinned legs.  “I have.  He’s in the forests around Aurora.  He has determined the shelter of Dragons and Lycans will keep Michael at bay.” 
“Can we get to him without having to fight our way in?”  Cass asks. 
Nala nods.  “I believe he will make sure we are safe.”
“Puck thinking of others, that’s a laugh.”  I scoff.  “Bring a gun.”  I arch a brow. 

****

We walk through the woods that surround Aurora, The City of Dragons.  Though it houses some Dragons and lycans, from what Cass tells me, it’s never been the same since the Black Rock war. 
We are several miles away from the main city, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t run into a Dragon or two.  If Pucks shield allowed me to blink in, we wouldn’t have to be traipsing through the forest to find him. 
Cass and I are following Nala who’s shifted to wolf.  Her golden fur almost shines in the dark of the trees.  She’s tracking Pucks nymph powers and at the ready for any attacks. 
Cass is also ready to shift wearing only long shorts and runners.  He’s wearing a wolf pack which is carrying the arrow and brandishing a gun.  I choke the handle of my crossbow as my senses are heighten.  I’m sure this won’t end well. 
Each noise of the trees make has me take aim. 
“Ember relax.  Being jumpy will get you killed.”  Cass says over his shoulder.
“Forgive me for not trusting my brother as far as I can throw him.”  I grit. 
“What’s with you two?  What happened?”  Cass asks.
“Nothing.  He just…let me down too many times.”  I grumble. 
“Well, he seems to genuinely want to help out, now.”  He says as he slows down to join my side. 
Nala sniffs bushes and trots down the path.
I check my crossbow over as we walk.  “In the end, he’ll want something from me.  He always does.  Nothing ever comes free from him.  If I don’t pay whatever he’s asking, he destroys a piece of me.” 
“What?  What does that mean?”  Cass scowls and studies my face. 
I shake my head.  “Nothing.  Just focus on getting there, ok.  We can talk about this later.”
“You promise?”
I glance at him and give a small smoke.  “Yeah.  We can talk.” 
He grins.  “Good.  That’s all I want.  To talk.” 
I tuck my hair behind my ear and give him another quick smile.  I’m not going soft on him, but I’ll admit, being angry with him is getting harder to do as time passes. 
I know none of this is his fault and I really shouldn’t be mad at him for it.  Mostly, I’m mad at myself for doing it in the first place. 
Nala stops at a tree and barks.  She shifts.  “He’s in there.”
She moves a bush from a tree trunk to a half door sized hole in the trunk.  I walk up to it and give Nala a confused look. 
“Go on.”  She motions to the hole.
I lean around the trunk and think there’s no way.  I duck down and enter the tree.  I'm crouched in darkness for what feels like forever.  Cass is behind me.  “How much further?  My calves are going numb from squatting this long.”   
“I think I see light.  A little farther.”  My own legs are burning as we squat crawl along.  I can feel the walls and ceiling.  It’s tight in here.
“What are you two doing?”
We hear the click and a light turns on.  It lights up a large living room.  We’re squatted in the middle of it. 
We look behind us and the half door is on the other side of the room.  I look at Puck sitting in an arm chair.  He’s smiling behind his laced fingers.
“Fucking illusions.”  I growl and stand up. 
“Um.  A little help.”  Cass waves his hand to me.
I shake my head and sigh loud.  I grab his hand and he groans as I help him stand.  He winces and shakes out his legs.  “Yeah.  I’m skipping leg day.” He rubs his calves. 
“Thanks for hiding on me jackass.”  I grab Cass’ wolfpack and rip it off his back.  I walk to Puck and open the bag.
He crosses his leg and holds his hands out.  “Hey.  I got to protect my ass to save yours.”
“Maybe tell me before you disappear into the cosmos.”  I scowl.
“Let me guess.  You had a problem with the arrow.”  He smirks.
I turn back and look at Cass.  “You could say that.”  I turn to the bag and pull out the box.  The Arrow glimmers in the soft lamp light.
Puck puts his leg down, sits forward and reaches for it.  “Come to daddy.”  He grins. 
“What’s the next ingredient?”  I ask as I cross my arms.
“Patience.”  He stands up and goes to the table in the room.  He sets the box down and waves his fingers over the lock.  It pops open and he unlocks the lid.  He opens it and I prepare myself for the lust. 
He waves his hand over it and pulls it out.  He turns around and holds it up.
Cass gets a look of panic.  Puck holds up his hand.  “Don’t worry.  I shielded the power.”  He walks over to another table and places a stand on it.  He sets the arrow down in the cradles and flicks out his hands and adjusts his suit jacket.  He digs into his Jean pocket and pulls out a black baggie. 
“Ok.  Time to make the base.”  He opens the bag.  Lines his eyes up with the arrow and sprinkles a red dust from the feathers, along the shaft to the tip.  The color turns from black/gold to grey.  It melts all the way to the arrowhead. 
“Lead.  Such a beautiful arrow to do it to, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  Right, sis?”  He lifts his eyes to me. 
I bite the inside of my lip, shove my hands in my back pockets and nods.  “Right.” Cass steps up beside me and I glance at him.  I feel my chest tighten as I look at the lead arrow that I’ll have to shoot into his heart.
“The ingredient.”  I say quietly. 
Puck stands straight and pulls on his jacket to straighten it.  He claps his hands together.  “The next one will be a little harder to get.”
“What is it?”  Cass says.  He side eyes me. 
“The blood from a fresh mate mark.”  He stuffs his hands in his pockets and looks at us both.
Cass looks at him and then me.  “That’s…impossible…The moon was months ago.”  He holds his hand out to Puck.
He ticks his head.  “True, but not everyone marks on the night.  Things get in the way.  The boss, kids, grumpy Dragons.  Shit happens.  Find a mate pair and get the blood after the marking.”
I step to him.  “Wait.  We have to bust in on a couple in a special, private moment and steal blood?  How are we supposed to do that?”
“Yeah.  They’d kick our ass.  I know I would if someone busted up my marking.”  Cass says.
He walks to the lead arrow and picks it up.  He puts it in a chest and locks it.  “Ember, you act like you know everything.  Figure it out.  It needs to be fresh.  Like the second his teeth leave her shoulder fresh.” 
“I swear if this is joke or something…” 
He sighs.  “Ember, if I wanted to screw with you, trust me, it would be way more epic.  I’m just helping.” 
I heave a breathe.  “Fine.  Let’s go.” 
I turn with Cass behind me. 
“Take care or yourself, Ember.”  He says to my back. 
“Worry about yourself, Puck.  Don’t hide from me again.”  I growl as I open the door. 
Nala meets us on the other side.  The tree shakes and becomes invisible. 
“Did you get the next ingredient?”  She asks.
Cass steps in front of her.  “A fresh mate mark.” 
Nala arches a brow.  “That sounds…hard to believe.”
“It is and unless we know a psychic, there’s no way we can find one.”  I rub my temple at the headache that’s brewing.
Cass smiles.
“What?”  I ask as my jaw goes slack.
“I know a psychic.”  He looks so proud of himself.
“Who?”
“The Guardian.”  Nala supplies.
I look between them.  “No.  We can’t.  With Destiny doing his audit of the cosmic offices, I’ve been sworn to secrecy.  Especially, the Guardian.  She’ll tell Destiny.”
“How else can find out?”  Cass asks. 
I wrap an arm around myself and rub my chin. I walk past them as I think.  I stop turn around clicking my fingers.  “Valentinos office.” 
“What?”  Cass crosses his arms.
“All of our targets have a fate line and an outline of Destiny.  We just have to look up the destined mark date.”  I pull out my phone and access the system.  After searching for our database, I find Valentinos files.  “Damn.  No access from out here.”
“What does that mean?”  Nala asks.
“It means I need his computer.”  I inform.
Cass whines.  “More break and enters.  Really?” 
“Yes.” 
“You’re turning me into a hoodlum.”  He scowls.
“You’re two seconds away from yelling at kids to get off your lawn.”  I scoff.
He narrows his eyes.  “Not wanting to involve myself in criminal action does not make me old.”
“It’s not criminal to steal from cosmic beings, Cass.  It’s just…very deadly.”  I smile. 
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”  He growls.
“Nope.  Move.”  I point to the path. 
“Fine.”  He stalks past me.