Chasing Dove (Branches of Emrys Book 4) Read online

  And he didn’t even care that she threw him against the wall. She thought he was that thing. At least she was able to protect herself, no matter how much she was hurting, and he knew she had to be hurting.

  He’d managed to get her outside and put the picture and package in the car. She climbed in, searching for something, then she bolted toward the house.

  Chatan was faster and caught her arm, turning her toward him. “Where the hell are you going? We have to go. Now!”

  “Onyx. I need to get Onyx.” She tore away from him.

  He pulled her back and caught her chin. “I’m Onyx.”

  “No. The cat. A stray that wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “Jace, I’m Onyx.”

  “What?” She pushed him away. “You’re not a cat. You said your animal is the hawk. You’re not a cat.”

  “I’m half druid, Jace. I can shift into whatever I want. It’s one of the few things I’m good at. You don’t like dogs. Hawks don’t make great pets. And I needed to be with you, so I shifted into a cat, because I hoped you would let a cat tag along.”

  A strangled sound escaped. “I fed you jerky. I fed you cat food.”

  A smile crept across his lips. “I was a cat, and at least you were taking care of me, as freaked out as you were.”

  She shoved him again. “Why didn’t you tell me you were with me?”

  He caught her wrists. “Because you weren’t ready to accept the fact you’re stuck with me. You thought you needed to protect me. Just like I wanted to protect you from Josephine. And you came anyway.”

  “You’re Onyx? You heard everything I said?”

  Caressing her face, he nodded. “Yeah, and I understand. Just don’t try to leave without me again, and you’re forgiven.”

  She blinked. “How can you want to stay? You saw what he did to her.”

  “I won’t let that happen to you. We need to work together, and we need to get help.”

  She pulled away again. “Help? Help? Chatan, who the hell can help me with this?

  “My father was helping yours to figure out Thanatos. That thing had a hand in my mother’s death. Plus, your grandfather can probably figure out what to do about him.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” she demanded.

  He glanced over. The neighbors were on the porch, watching. “Jace, we have to go.” He pulled her toward the car. “Your cat is right here. Let’s go.”

  “Fine.” She didn’t move.

  He held out his hand. “Keys, please. You’re in no condition to drive.”

  She handed them over and he helped her into the car. Then he reached in to buckle her in. She sat there, staring out the windshield, so he went around to climb into the driver seat.

  “Why do you think we need help?” she asked.

  “Because I think Thanatos had a hand in my mother’s curse, too. We need to go. We can get the answers. There are a lot of people who can help us figure this out. I just need you to trust me.”

  “Okay.” She curled up and laid her head against the glass. Then she asked, “You realize you want to go to a man who has never met me. What if he doesn’t believe I’m his grandchild?”

  “Brent will. You said your father shut him out. Give him a chance.” Chatan pulled his phone and charger out of a pocket and plugged it the cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “We’re headed to Seattle first. GPS will be faster than trying to figure out a map. He plugged in an address and started the car.

  Shaking her head, she pointed at the charger. “You always planned to follow me, didn’t you?” The words were coated with ire.

  Cutting his gaze to her, he snorted. “Yeah, once I realized we would bond and you kept saying you were going to leave. I kept the secret about shifting to make sure I could follow. I couldn’t let you walk away without at least understanding why.”

  She gripped his leg as flames flickered in her green eyes. “Now do you get it?”

  “Yeah, I get why, but I can’t let you do that again.” He had been pissed but needed to understand her decision to leave. And now he got it, but that didn’t change anything.

  “I can handle myself,” she snapped, tears flowing again. “I just couldn’t save her.” Her voice broke and so did his heart.

  He took her hand and softened his tone. “I hate to tell you this, but she’s been dead a couple days. You couldn’t have done a damned thing.”

  She blinked, and a tear fell. “Yeah, but why did I dream you were dead?”

  He dried her face with a gentle sweep of his thumbs. “I don’t know, but I’m here, and alive. And I’m not letting you go through this alone,” he promised.

  Catching his hands, she leaned into his touch. “I wish I hadn’t left. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  He squeezed her hands, his tone soft. “Swear you won’t ditch me again, and all is forgiven.”

  “I don’t think I could again. I’m sorry I left.”

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  She pulled his hands away, her gaze narrowing. “Wait, what did you mean we’re bound?”

  He almost laughed, but it wasn’t funny. Dropping his gaze, he shrugged. “Shaman have something like a mate bond. We find our soulmate, and it’s more than humans talk about. I should have told you, but I needed the bond to make sure I could follow.”

  The heat in her voice almost blistered. “You don’t understand. I need you safe, Chatan. I don’t ever want you to sacrifice yourself to protect me. That’s what my father did. Now my mother. She knew. Our last conversation was a goodbye, but I was too happy with you to realize how wrong it all was.”

  He nudged her chin up. “She saw you happy and close to stopping Thanatos. She didn’t need to fight anymore. She didn’t need to keep running. Ever think she was tired of it all?”

  Jacinda turned away. “If you understood you would leave. You wouldn’t look back.” The hope had drained from her.

  “Is that what you want?” he demanded in a soft tone.

  “I just want you to live, to be happy.”

  “Well, I’m not going to be happy without you, so we’re going to figure out how we both live. Together.”

  Glaring out the window, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I should be pissed you didn’t bother to tell me what would happen with us.”

  He barely held back the snark. “Yeah, and then you’d be all alone in this mess, missing me, and mourning your mother, while trying to figure out what to do now that you have Hawk and Dove with you.”

  “And how do you know what I need to do?”

  “I admit, I don’t. But my father might. He was working on something with your father.”

  “Tyrell Lavelle?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “I was a kid when I met Tyrell. I only saw him a couple times.” He glanced over, one corner of his mouth tipped up. “I held you when you were a couple years old. You wanted to show me everything in the park. You wrapped your tiny hand around my finger and led me to every tree and flower.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  A smile crept onto his lips. “Dad took me to your birthday party at a park. It was just my family and yours. I don’t know why I didn’t remember that sooner.”

  She was silent for a long moment. Then she sat up straighter. “Can you call your father? I should talk to him.”

  He pulled over, connected the call, and put the phone on speaker. “I’m going to put some distance between us and the house, then I need to make a few calls. I’ll find a restaurant somewhere, and we’ll eat.”

  She nodded.

  The phone rang several times. A man came on. “Where are you, Chatan? Loretta said you left without warning. Is everything okay?”

  “No, things aren’t good.” He glanced over at Jacinda. “Where did you drive?”

  Jacinda sighed. “Menfro, Missouri.”

  “You went home. Is Mina all right?” Dad demanded.
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br />   Tears filled Jacinda’s eyes.

  Chatan took her hand before answering, “She’s dead. And we’re heading to Washington, but it will take a couple days.”

  “Mina is gone?” Dad asked like the wind went out of him.

  “Yes,” Jacinda answered with a sniffle.

  Chatan blew out a breath. “Dad helped your father when I was a kid. He wants to see it through.”

  “Anything to end that monster,” Dad answered with bite.

  “What do you know?” Jacinda asked.

  “That your father put you on the right track, and that you found Dove, that you found the bracelet, that you have what you need to stop Thanatos for good.”

  A cry escaped her lips and Chatan took her hand.

  “I’m sorry, Jacinda. She was a good friend.” Dad had genuine sorrow in his voice. “I’m looking forward to meeting you in person, but I understand how hard this is. I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”

  “I don’t have a clue what to do,” she admitted.

  “No, but I have one of Tyrell’s journals. Your mother had the other. And I know he insisted you keep the first. The answers are in the three.”

  “You should open that package,” Chatan said.

  “I will,” she answered.

  “Keep me posted as you near Seattle. I’ll make sure your cabin is ready, Chatan.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” He hung up and squeezed Jacinda’s hand. “We’ll likely stay at Eddie’s instead.”

  “Why?” Jacinda asked.

  “I’d rather not stay with him and my stepmother.”

  “Don’t like her?”

  Chatan blew out a breath. “She’s nice enough.”

  “But not your mother?”

  He shook his head. “No, and maybe that’s not fair. She’s not a bad person.”

  She slipped her fingers through his and held on. “I wish my mother had found a man after my father. Not to replace my father, but so she wasn’t so lonely.”

  “It was weeks after my mother’s death. I wasn’t ready.” He sighed. “Maybe if it was later, but it felt like he didn’t give a damn he just lost my mother.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Chatan. We don’t have to go to him.”

  “We do. He knows something. At the very least, he has your father’s journal.”

  She leaned against the door, hugging herself. “And what if it takes me years to decipher it like the first? What good will that do me?”

  He refused to be pessimistic. She needed hope and something to keep her mind off her loss. “Open the box your mom left. Maybe you have another of his journals.”

  Chapter 4

  Brent dialed Preston while tapping his fingers on the desk. He had a bad feeling about what they would find, but he had a possible address.

  Preston picked up. “Hey, Brent, figure anything out?”

  “Menfro, Missouri. Possibly under Tyrell Lavelle or Mina Lavelle. Half the letters came from there. The rest were from all over, no other duplicates.”

  “Eddie called two minutes ago with an address. Apparently, the man your granddaughter fell in love with has gone missing. His cousin thinks he followed her there.”

  “Think I could convince you and Robert to help us find Mina, and Jacinda?” Brent asked. Sitting around and waiting was the last thing he wanted to do. He needed to take action.

  “You want to come with us? We’re ready to leave,” Preston offered.

  “I’m ready.”

  “It’s too early to bring Amelia,” Preston said.

  She was asleep, considering she was a vampire and it was broad daylight.

  “I’ve left a note. She’ll understand. But the sooner we find Jacinda, the sooner I can help put a stop to whatever is coming for her.”

  Preston cleared his throat. “A word of warning. His cousin Taryn says she believes Mina is dead. That this dark creature found her already.”

  Brent let out a breath. “I feared that may be the case. Either way, we need to find Jacinda. And I should see if there’s anything I can learn if Mina is dead in that house.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  * * * *

  Open the package? Yeah, she needed to.

  Jacinda sat in the passenger seat, staring at the box. Her mother’s goodbye. Chatan had driven for an hour, probably more like three.

  She hadn’t responded to anything he said after he told her to open the box. Another person lost in order to protect her. It wasn’t fair. Why was she important? What if she failed?

  The car stopped, and she didn’t look up. She finally knew Chatan’s secret, and she should be mad. She’d given up her secrets, and he didn’t reveal his.

  “Jace, what can I do?”

  Blinking released more tears. She shook her head and tried to push down the deep sadness from losing her mother. Chatan was there, he still loved her. And he had every right to be pissed she left without a word.

  But no.

  He followed her, pretended to be a cat, and made sure she wasn’t alone.

  He caught her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “Jace, what do I do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Drying her tears, he murmured, “Open it.”

  “I don’t want to read her goodbye.” Because that was what her mother had written. She knew it, but she didn’t want to believe she gave up after so much time.

  “She’s already gone. I know it hurts, but you need to know what she said.”

  She leaned into his touch. “Are you mad I left?”

  “Not now. I was pissed until I saw how badly you were falling apart.”

  “Why did you follow if you were mad?”

  “I needed to understand. You left because you love me. I followed because I love you and I couldn’t let you go. Are you still mad?”

  She shook her head. “Scared.”

  He ran his thumb across her cheek. “Because you don’t know if you can do this?”

  “She wasn’t supposed to die. I was supposed to stop him first.”

  “Open the package,” he urged.

  She dropped her head and gently unwrapped the brown paper. There was a letter on top of the box. The words blurred as she read her mother’s words.

  Darling Jacinda,

  I know you’ll hate my choice, that you’ll be angry. This is my time to go. You may never understand, and I accept that. Still, I hope one day you do.

  Tyrell gave up everything to ensure you could find what you needed to stop Thanatos. He made me promise to stay alive until you figured out the first journal. I’ve missed him so much over the years. Now I finally get to be with him.

  This is one of his journals. By the time you find this, you’ll be with someone who can take you to the last one. You’ll find the rest of the answers.

  I’m sorry I never believed. I couldn’t find anything at the reservation. No one else could. Your father knew in his heart you were the answer. I wish I could have seen it.

  Let Chatan help you find your happiness. You’ve been too lonely for too long. Besides, your father believed you needed him to stop Thanatos, and he’s been right so far.

  Don’t give up because I’m gone. This gives you time to find the rest of the answers. You can do this. I finally believe.

  Love always,

  Mom

  “What if I can’t figure out the rest?” she whispered.

  Chatan pulled her into his arms. “You will. I’ll help. But there’s more. Open it, please.”

  She did, pulling the top off the bottom. A journal lay there. The leather cover was covered in branches, with the same symbols over the top. A matching journal to the first.

  She pulled it out and flipped through the pages. All in the same code he used with different symbols. At least she knew it, and if he used other symbols from Chatan’s native language, she had him handy.

  A picture fell out. A boy with long dark hair held a little girl with red curls. It was her. That was Chatan. The back had her mother’s ha
ndwriting. He was your other half from the beginning. Don’t ever let Chatan go.

  Chatan rubbed Jacinad’s arm. “I told you. You were so adorable and curious. And I couldn’t resist following you around even then.”

  Jacinda shook her head. “She said she couldn’t remember why she knew your name.”

  “Probably didn’t want to influence you. I just wonder how much my aunt knows.”

  “Does she know you followed me?”

  He shook his head. “No. I was in a hurry. I didn’t call anyone, and I have a feeling they’re all going to complain. I haven’t even checked the messages or texts, but I had to find you.”

  “How did you keep up?”

  “I flew. Until you stopped at the first motel. Then I knew what I needed to do. I’m just glad you didn’t throw me out of the room or the car.”

  “I didn’t have any fight left in me,” she admitted. “And you made me feel a little better. I just wish I knew.”

  “Yeah, but you might have tried to put me under again.”

  “Why didn’t you stay asleep?”

  He sighed. “I’m nearly immune to most magic. I think you woke me up more with the spell, than if you had just left. In a way, I’m glad you tried to put me under.”

  “I just wanted you safe.”

  “Yeah, well, I need you safe too, and you aren’t, not by yourself. So, let’s get something to eat because your stomach is rumbling, and so is mine. Then I’ll make some calls and get back on the road. Okay?”

  She glanced at the clock. Chatan had been driving for four hours. She had no clue where they were, other than they sat outside an IHOP.

  “Yeah, I should eat something.”

  He smiled and climbed out of the car. She hurried around to take his hand. At least she wasn’t alone.

  * * * *

  Back in the car, Jacinda curled up in the passenger seat and stared out the window. She hadn’t shut down, which was a huge relief. Whatever she needed, he planned to give her, if he could just figure out how.