Love and Deception

Chapter Thirteen

Noah

Noah sat outside the window of Carlie’s apartment like he had before. It seemed like a lifetime and yet it had been maybe two weeks. And he supposed he should start referring to this as Carlie’s old apartment. He was going to ask her to move into his Chicago condo with him as soon as he freed her from his parents. He would also use all of his considerable manipulative options to make sure she did so. He wasn’t comfortable leaving her in a place Lucius knew and could so easily access. Now that Wade was making moves to attack and Noah was pacing restlessly for the opportunity to rip the throat out of the arrogant fool, he would no doubt try to tighten the leash he’d placed on Carlie. Noah had a feeling that distance made that harder. Not to mention the inability to locate her physically to prevent any kind of assault in that form. But that all had to wait.

The intruder tossing Carlie’s place like a common thief was the immediate issue. Though after several minutes of watching the male started using telekinesis to clear unneeded objects from his path. Normally Noah would have charged in for the destruction of his mate’s property. However...it was mostly junk anyway and he had more than enough money to replace it. He’d make sure the man didn’t get to anything valuable. And now that he saw the rare power he didn’t want to tip his hand. There had been telekinetics in that alley all those long nights ago. He thought they’d been after Carlie but perhaps that was the other way around? Lucius did use her as his muscle. Perhaps they were enemies. The enemy of my enemy could be my friend. At least he hoped.

He slid silently through the window as the thug moved into the back hallway, no doubt heading for the bedrooms. Whatever he was after was not in the debris strewn living room that now looked like a tornado had hit it. Noah moved faster and stalked the surprisingly large man into Carlie’s old bedroom. He watched as the man used his power to lift the stand and open the drawers while opening the closet door. The level of concentration made it easier for Noah to slip in behind him and use the lamp to drop him to the floor. The nightstand hit with a crash that Noah hoped the other inhabitants of this sketchy ass building would not feel the need to alert the police to. He proceeded as if they had though. Better to be safe than sorry.

Before his new captive recovered their stunned wits, he got a hold of one of his thick muscled arms and wrenched into a deep hold at an awkward angle. If he moved he’d break it. Which may not have been a deterrent but in that case Noah was sitting on top of his back and more than capable of grabbing his throat. His werewolf fueled strength would ensure that that brute beneath him stayed pinned. The man came around slowly and only struggled briefly before stilling. Noah felt magic start to move in the air and immediately tightened his hold on the man’s arm. “I wouldn’t be trying any of that if I were you.” He let his power seep into the room. While not as forcefully oppressive as his father it was still nothing to blink at. One day it would probably fall to him to take his father’s place as Alpha.

“What do you want?”

“To know what the f**k you’re doing trashing my mate’s home.” Finally someone he could be honest and rough with. His wolf was gleefully pacing in his mind. Waiting for it’s chance to play with their prey.

“My boss told me to come find the wolf protecting that sorcerer and get rid of it. I tracked her here.” Noah stifled his wolf’s response to that particular nugget of information.

“And you’re going through her things because?”

“I was trying to find a clue to where she was.” He was being very forthcoming for supposedly being a bad guy. Noah released his hold on his arm and got up enough to let the man flip over. He stayed crouched beside him in case he got any ideas about trying to overpower him. He also made sure to let his wolf out just enough so the man could see the pale blue eyes of the beast watching him.

“Who do you work for?”

“Just some guy who wants that sorcerer’s territory.” He held up his hands in the universal gesture of non violence as he sat back. “Listen, I’m just a hired hand. My gift and its strength make it difficult for me to get other work easily. Doesn’t mean I wanna die for their little turf war.” Well that explained it. When Noah gave him a slight nod he visibly relaxed. “I’ve met werewolves before. I know who’s higher on the food chain.” He said with a wry grin.

“The sorcerer he’s after, Varros, has got my mate ensnared in some kind of spell. You tell your boss that you tangled with me and that I warned you to stay away from us all, including the sorcerer, until we’ve freed her. As soon as we’ve managed to do that the territory will be his.”

“You’re going to get rid of Varros?” Clearly the man in front of him may have come across a werewolf or two but he didn’t know their culture or customs even a little. No touching mates was a pretty commonly known rule for their kind.

“He has a spell on my mate.” For that he dies. He let his gaze relay the last part. Even if it hadn’t been for Carlie after having seen his little torture chamber Noah still would have done him in. Just probably a lot less violently than he planned on doing now.

“Alright. I’ll relay the message.” They sat there for a minute before Noah raised a brow.

“You can go now.” The thug had the grace to look embarrassed before he jumped up and headed out the door. To his credit he didn’t run for it. Noah waited until he heard the door close before he eased up out of his crouch. He scanned Carlie’s room, searching for something that might mean something to her. Was it out of line for him to pack up her and Luca’ things and move them? Probably. Was his entire being screaming at him to do just that? Yes, yes it was. He debated doing it anyway and smoothing over the fallout until his phone pinged him with a text. This time from Elizabeth. You need to get here. Noah rolled his eyes but headed towards the door. It probably wasn't worth the fight anyway. And where would he fit all the bags on his bike anyway?

He sped through the city streets enjoying the feel of the wind in his hair. He should have worn a helmet but at this point they’d have to catch him to give him a ticket. His wolf needed a little freedom given all of the confinement it was undergoing at the moment. And now his parents were here being….his parents. Knowing his father, s**t was about to get so much worse. The man didn’t understand why he couldn’t just step in, wave his imperious hand, and have all of his children’s problems magically evaporate. How were they supposed to learn to deal with the storms of life if the well meaning but overbearing father stepped in and made them go away? He understood it. He probably was about to understand it even more being a parent himself. But he still understood Elizabeth’s desire to be out from under his nose.

Noah was still deep in thought when he stepped off the elevator on to Luca’ floor. He was immediately enveloped by the scent of his parents, Elizabeth, his mate and son. And Wade was still there too. But the pack was home. He felt muscles loosen and his lungs expand to take a deep full breath. He missed home. Maybe he could talk Carlie into a trip there once Luca was awake. He hoped that she would get comfortable enough at some point to live closer. Once Luca was old enough and had turned for the first time they could run there but until then it was regular pedestrian travel. Noah hated traveling so slowly.

His father’s presence nearly choked him before he reached the door. He felt another eye roll approaching but tried to stop it. It was possible that the sorcerer was making him uncomfortable. He heard his mother’s voice before he heard Carlie’s answering one. And then he heard a voice he’d never heard before yet every molecule of his body immediately recognized. The soft child tones of his son. He was awake. Fear and elation froze Noah’s hand on the door handle. What did he say? Had Carlie told him he was here? She would have had to have said something about half his family crowding around his bedside. He gave himself a rough shake of his head and shoulders. He needed to stop being a chicken. That was his son talking for the first time in months. He needed to be a part of it.

He opened the door and found himself immediately locked into the stare of two deep brown eyes. A beast moved within those eyes and called an answering response from his own. They tested each other and then stared. Wolf to wolf. Father to son.

Carlie

Carlie watched Noah and Luca lock eyes and stare at each other for several silent moments. His parents seemed to instinctively know what needed to happen between them even though she was bewildered by the wordless exchange happening. After a few moments Luca blinked and Noah’s mouth twitched into a wry smile. What had she missed? She turned her attention back to Luca who reached out and took her hand without looking over to her. She couldn’t suppress the shudder that ran through her at the contact. They’d always been able to talk and touch whenever they wanted. When he was two they’d been inseparable. These last few months had been torture for her. She hoped that the time passing hadn’t reached Luca in his dreamland cocoon.

“Do you know who I am?” Noah asked as he sat on the bed, not touching Luca but moving closer.

“Father.” Luca responded. He took a deep breath and Carlie was surprised to see his eyes start to gain an amber glint around the edges of his irises. Had they done it before? Had she not noticed something so important? “You smell like me. And mommy.” Noah smiled softly.

“That’s right. I’m Noah.” He held out his hand for Luca to shake. Not Dad? She felt a little sting in her heart at his words. They were a family now weren’t they? Hadn’t he promised her that?

I’m trying not to overwhelm him. He doesn’t know me. I don’t want to force the Dad issue yet. Noah’s concern came through their mindlink and immediately calmed her racing panic. It also gave her a proper chatisising. Of course Noah was going to follow through on every single promise he made. He had never let her down before. Why had she thought he would? Maybe she was so used to being on her own that she still wasn’t ready to rely on having another person be there. Even if it was Noah. His firm warm hand closed over her knee in a wordless gesture of comfort. She was just overwhelmed. Luca was awake. Noah was here. Noah’s parents were here.

She drew her focus back to the rest of the world and saw the pair in the corner conversing in barely audible tones. Erik was clearly on the losing side of whatever discussion they were having. The corners of her mouth quirked upwards briefly. For all his terror inspiring presence he really was every bit as sweet as Noah. Just farther down in his core. As if he could hear her thoughts he looked up over his mate’s head to lock his gaze with her’s again. Except this time there was no hold on her. She even thought she detected a subtle wrinkling at the corners of his eyes. Like he was smiling. But that couldn’t be. Even if he was happy she was fairly certain his smiles were a once a year type of deal. Maybe even a decade.

“Can we go home, mommy?” Luca stole her attention with his sweet question. She wanted to take him now but had a feeling the doctors would want him to stay here for a few more days. Tests to try and explain his miraculous recovery from an unknown issue.

“Actually I was hoping that maybe you and your mom could come and live with me.” Noah immediately interjected before she could respond. Oh really?

:You want to take him back to Springfield? Don’t you think that will be a bit much so quickly?:

:I have a place here.: Noah responded. Carlie didn’t bother to disguise the surprise. :I have places in a lot of places. With Elizabeth here it made sense to have a place I could stay when I wanted to visit. I love her but not that much.: Carlie felt a mental chuckle thrum over their connection. It was so strange to converse like this. She still needed to get used to it.

“Can I bring my toys? What about my bed?” Luca fired. He was clearly suspicious of this sudden change in his lifestyle. He hadn’t even seen the wealth that Noah had at his fingertips. She frowned a little as she thought about the realities of switching from barely nothing to anything they wanted. She didn’t want Luca to grow up thinking that he didn’t need to work for things in his life.

“You can bring whatever you want. If you’d rather have a new bed though we can do that too.” Luca watched Noah warily. “My house is in the busy part of the city though so it will be louder than you’re used to. I only have one neighbor though. Lots of windows and a balcony that you can look out to a park.” Of course Noah would live in a condo like that. Thing probably cost a fortune to keep and he spent a week or two in it.

:My family uses it sometimes and I rent it out otherwise. We can talk about the money stuff later.: He paused a moment to answer a question from his mother that she hadn’t been listening to. : I didn’t realize it was an issue.:

:It isn’t...really. It’s just a big change for us. I don’t want to start relying on it to the point where we get lazy.: Noah’s hand squeezed on her knee. Another wave of comfort washed over her and she sighed softly. :I’m just overwhelmed right now. Every little thing seems like a large issue and it isn’t. It’s like I’ve been waiting for this for so long that I can’t let myself be happy.: Noah’s thumb started to trace circles on her leg. He managed to shoot her an empathetic glance and quick smile before returning to Luca’ barrage of questions.

“What about when you and Mom need to be somewhere? Who will watch me?” Noah pursed his lips and pretended to think about it.

“Who watches you now when Mom has to work?”

“Our neighbor Ellie.” That was right. Luca would have to say goodbye to Ellie. While not the best of people in a moral capacity she was very good at caring for Luca. And she was one of his only friends. Carlie had been hesitant about letting him go to public school since he was a werewolf. The mommy and me playgroups seemed off limits for the same reason. She hadn’t had anyone else she knew that had small children so Luca was fairly isolated. She wondered how that would change now that Noah was back.

“Well I’m sure we could arrange for Ellie to come stay with you, if that’s what you want. Maybe you wouldn’t mind spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa until we can talk with Ellie and see what she can do?” Noah’s mother immediately moved to stand behind him and flash her megawatt smile at Luca. The poor boy couldn’t help but return it.

“Nana and Papa, actually.” She said with a small squeeze of Noah’s shoulder. Carlie caught his eye roll before he was able to hide it. She smirked. They might have been a lot to handle but they were certainly close and loving. She was happy to have Luca meet them all and be a part of the closeness. She just wasn’t sure that either of them could do it on such short notice.

“That would be ok.” Luca agreed. Though how anyone could not agree to Ari’s wishes was beyond Carlie.

“Actually I need to talk to Nana and Papa for a minute. Watch your mom for me. She tends to get a little squirrely sometimes.” He leaned in close to whisper the last part in Luca’ ear, which made him smile. She frowned at Noah when he came in to kiss her cheek. He shot her a wink and then ushered his parents out of the room. And for the first time in nearly half a year it was just her and Luca. She smiled at him and watched as his eyes light up when he smiled back.

“Hi.”

“I missed you mommy.” She pulled him to her in a rough hug but didn’t hear a squeak of protest. He hugged her back just as hard.

“I missed you. I hope you’re okay with all of the changes that happened while you were sleeping.”

“I think I am. Can we go back home though if I’m not?”

“Absolutely.” She had no idea how that would work but she needed to reassure him. For all of his maturity he was still a child. When they released each other she saw a look of deep concern on his face. “What’s up love?”

“When I was asleep, I saw your boss.” She frowned. “The man in the suit who always pretends like we’re family.” Her lungs suddenly felt like they were squeezing her heart and her mouth went dry.

“Lucius?” He nodded.

“Yeah that’s it.”

“You saw him where?” He shrugged a little and started chewing his bottom lip. Luca’ body signal for worry, fear, and guilt.

“Where I was. He would come sometimes but he was always out of reach. And he didn’t hear me when I called to him.” He frowned more. “It was like he was on the other side of a thick window or something. And the window was fogged.” Carlie pulled him back in and held him. Less tightly this time.

“It’s okay love. Dad and I will figure it out.” She supposed she could have told him it was a dream. She’d never lied to Luca though and she had no interest in starting now. The gaze he gave her as she scooched them both down to a reclined position was far older than his four and a half years should have been capable of. It broke her heart a little. What kind of monster used a child as a pawn? She felt her beast growl low and menacing in her mind. A monster she would be having words with very shortly.