Helen’s POV
It didn’t take too long before we were ready to go and found ourselves in the library. This time the restricted section was not off limits to me and it felt odd to be able to walk in and simply go straight to the book that I wanted. I didn’t think about the fact that when I had originally looked at the book about the Huntsman that the little silver key that had gone with it. I dropped the key who knows where.
My stomach sank. How was I supposed to research this man if I couldn’t get it back into the book? Hoping maybe Russo could pick the lock with some sort of fae magic, I went ahead and went straight for the book and pulled it out, setting it on a nearby table which was set up for reading.
To my shock, the key was back in its place. That was creepy. Had somebody put it there or did the book draw it back with some sort of magic?
I gave a shudder. Either way I didn’t like the idea.
Russo and Julianne both h
Helen’s POVI turned my back on the book and looked between Julianne and Russo. “All right, everyone think hard. We have to find a way to figure out what sort of being fathered the Huntsman.”Julianne pressed her lips together and thought. “We could go back in the historical records and see if anything unusual happened in 1893.”“Perhaps that might give us a clue or maybe we can dig through the historical records and trace his mother,” Russo suggested.“There's got to be clues somewhere,” I said. “Let's do both of what you suggested. I think one of the computers is hooked up to the human internet. Russo, are you any good with that sort of human technology? Can you look up the information on his history?”Russo nodded. “I got good blending in wherever I could find a home. Part of that included residing amongst humans for a while. I can handle their internet and their databases.&
Helen’s POVThe fae glanced around, but we were the only two in this section of the library. A quiet hum emminated from the sleeping machines and the last of the day’s sunlight cut long across the room illuminating floating dust. The place had an eery abandoned feel to it.After checking to see we were alone, Russo nodded his head at the computer. “I was going to find a more gentle way to break this news to you, my little wolf. But it seems like the Huntsman isn’t the only one who has an interesting lineage.”“What do you mean?” I asked. “Did you find out something about Justin?” I pulled my chair closer. “Tell me quick, so that we can try to figure out this puzzle.”He pointed to the screen. “The Huntsman isn’t the only other piece to this puzzle. You are a huge enigma as well. Didn’t your father finally admit before he died that he fathered you on another female, t
Helen’s POVRusso studied further down the page, eyes skimming over material about my heritage. “Listen to this,” he said. “This is interesting. It says here that members of your pack can gain strength and the purity that the rest of the werewolf community considers ideal by sexually joining with pure members of their pack. If the members of your ancestral pack continue to breed with one another, or breed with mates of solid coat colors or took multiple partners, then their offspring would continue to gain additional colors in their coats.”He huffed a sigh. “Weird. The pack you are descendent from places a higher value on more colors. It’s the complete opposite of the rest of werewolf kind.”He pointed to the screen, and I read the paragraph too. Sure enough, according to the research that this professor at the werewolf university had done, the pack I was descendent from placed a higher value on multicolored coats. Rather than having one single wolf-mate that they were drawn to, they
Helen’s POV“Out of curiosity, why not?” I asked.Russo sighed. “I don’t know how long your nature will allow you to go between drawing the essence from someone. I would hate for your dry spell to turn into an affair, which would ruin things between you and Justin.”A blush flamed across my face. “I don’t know that I’m ready to sleep with him.”He nodded. “I can understand that, but your magnetism and need are still there. And I think we can get both you and his lycan on board with this mutual sharing of power. His lycan draws strength from his true mate because lycans, from what I’ve heard, are all as seriously monogamous as Justin seems to be to you. Once they choose a mate, they don’t stray. And your need to draw essence from someone that has enough power to satisfy you.”“How were you thinking we should go about doing that?” I asked.“I
Helen’s POV“So, how did your first day of research go?” Justin asked me.I put my hand over my mouth to finish chewing and swallowed before answering. “We found a little bit more on the Huntsman. It will help us some. But the biggest dead end that we found is his lineage.”“What do you mean, his lineage?” Justin asked me, his brows coming together on a creased forehead.“She means that we discovered the Huntsman isn’t fully human,” Russo told him.“That’s right,” Julianne added. “But in all of the records that he made of himself, the only mentioned of his father was to call him a beast and say that he would never be mentioned because the Huntsman wouldn’t do anything to mark any sort of remembrance for the man.”“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” Justin said. “Did you find out anything else good?”“No,&rdqu
Helen’s POVAt first, it was awkward sitting on the floor on the cushion next to Justin. Behind us, Randy and Russo had taken opposite sides of the couch and munched on their popcorn. On the loveseat, Julianne had curled in against Peter’s shoulder, resting her head and leaning against him. But otherwise, they weren’t doing anything.All I could think while I was watching them was that if that were Justin and me, we would have our hands under each other’s clothes, rubbing various sensitive points, rather than sitting there watching the movie. I took a sideways glance at my mate. What was I supposed to do with him?The first movie started, and it was a comedy about an intern and their boss, and some mix-up with the intern’s identity, so that their first day on the job, the boss thought that they were the new social coordinator. And, of course, the boss needs a date for an event, and the poor intern has no idea how to get one and can&
Helen’s POVWhen I opened my eyes next, sunlight filtered in through the living room windows. I was still lying on Justin. Though now I’d slid down, so I lay sideways across his lap. Looking up, I saw him looking down at me.He smiled. “You look pretty when you sleep,” he said.I blushed. It was such an innocent compliment and so unlike our usual interactions. He got the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks, too.“You’re even prettier when you blush,” he said.Something hard throbbed against my cheek, and I hurried off his lap. I wasn’t ready to do that—yet.Justin flushed even deeper and looked away from me, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry about that. It’s just—”“It’s okay. I get it,” I said. “That was kind of the expectation for our bodies in the past. So, naturally, it’s in your nature to be ready should the moment ar
Justin’s POVRandy sat at the table opposite me, going over reports of available warriors and supplies. While we weren’t openly fighting anyone at the moment, we still had dangerous adversaries lurking just out of sight. No one thought the Huntsman had given up.I cleared my throat. “Randy? Can I ask you a question?”“Mmm,” he muttered, not looking up.“Did I abuse Helen?”His gaze jerked up to me so fast that I was surprised he didn’t hurt his neck. “What?”I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair. I’d given this a lot of thought over the six weeks since Helen started living on her own. And my mind kept coming back to the frightening thought that maybe I’d actually gone so far as to abuse my own mate. Every time I thought that a sick feeling settled in my stomach. I’d finally come to the conclusion that I needed to ask Randy if I had.If Randy confirmed m