bChapter /bb202 /b

    “What?” I blurted out, incredulous. Was this guy seriously saying that E intentionally showed up bat /bbthe /bcoronation looking the way she did?

    It was almostughable.

    I’d seen the tears on her face earlier. The humiliation in her eyes when she had entered that event looking like that. Even if E was a spy for Stormhollow, there was no way she would ever be caught dead in public like that without a very good reason.

    “And just in case you don’t believe James, this is Stephen,” Sophia went on, gesturing to the security guard. “He has an interesting tidbit to add.”

    bI /bresisted the urge to roll my eyes, but let the security guard speak, more out of curiosity than anything.

    The security guard stepped forward. “When she showed up at the cathedral, she was acting really strange. Violent, even. She threw something at me and started screaming about how I’d better let her inside or she would kill me. I thought she was having some kind of breakdown and I tried to escort her to safety, but she ignored me and insisted on entering anyway.”

    For a moment, I just looked between the two men, then at Sophia, who was watching me with those big doe eyes. This whole thing smacked of her typical bullshit, although I was so dumbfounded that she would start something like this on today of all days that I couldn’t even speak.

    “I care about you, Alex,i” /ishe said then, lowering her voice. “And I think your mate might be unstable, which is why I’m telling you this now. You have a right to know before things get too serious.”

    Unstable.

    As if E was the one who hired a rogue to kidnap and assault someone a few months ago. “My mate’s name is E,” I said, picking a piece of dust off of my coronation cape. “And Sophia, tonight really isn’t the night for your schemes. Unless you intend to be escorted out, maybe you should… I don’t know. Go pick at the hors d’oeuvres or something? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”

    Sophia’s mouth dropped open, but I didn’t linger to hear her response. I just turned and left her standing there, and mindlinked my Beta to handle the rest. This nonsense was not a priority for me tonight.

    I left the ballroom without another word to anyone after that. The cathedral’s main lobby was mostly empty at this hour, just a few staff members cleaning up after the day’s events.

    I checked the women’s bathroom where I’d found E earlier, but it was empty. The gardens behind the cathedral were dark and quiet, too, and she wasn’t in the parking lot or the main courtyard.

    Where would she go?

    +15 bBONUS /b

    I expanded my search, walking the streets around the cathedral. It was a nice area, well–lit and safe, with several small parks and cafes. Most ces were closed at this hour, but-

    There. In the small park across from the cathedral’s side entrance, I spotted a figure sitting on a bench under one of the streetlights.

    Even from a distance, I recognized the midnight blue dress and the swell of her belly.

    “E?b” /b

    She looked up when I said her name, and I was surprised by the expression on her face. Not sadness or embarrassment like I’d expected.

    Anger.

    “What are you doing out here?” I asked, striding up to her. I began to remove my cape so I could put it around her shoulders. “It’s chilly out-”

    Before I could finish, E shoved something into my hands. I looked down to find that it was a man envelope that felt thick and heavy with whatever was inside.

    “Are you spying on my family?” she hissed.