I couldn’t help but imagine taking Klaus and Holly with me to a family get together. Everyone would love the two of them so much. My ma would be so pleased.
That thought was ruined by me wondering if Holly was going to end things between us already. The silence worked its way under my skin until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Is everything okay?” I asked Holly, watching her eyes scan the park once again.
She looked down and traced her finger over the lid of her to-go cup. “I—There’s something we need to talk about. Something that involves the three of us.”
Fuck, I thought. This was it. The moment that she rejected the mating bond and utterly destroyed Klaus and me.
Klaus must have been thinking the same because his expression dropped. “Let’s take a seat and talk.” He placed his hand on the small of Holly’s back, directing her toward a monster sized bench that would accommodate all three of us.
We sat on either side of her and waited for her to speak.
“Well.” She puffed out a deep breath. “I don’t know how to even say this.”
Klaus and I tensed.
“Maybe it would be easier if I showed you.”
Showed us?
Her manicured fingers tapped on her phone screen, bringing up her photo gallery. An image of the three of us filled the screen—a very explicit image.
What the fuck?
White-hot rage filled me and I gripped my cup so hard it crumbled, spilling milky espresso over my clenched fist.
“Motherfucker,” Klaus hissed, sharing my anger. “Who took these?”
“I got an email from an unknown address,” Holly whispered. From the waver in her voice I could tell that she was on the verge of tears. “They’re blackmailing us.”
She pulled up the email so Klaus and I could read it.
The asshole was demanding $150,000, or they were going to release the photos of us together at our game against the Furries.
A protective growl rumbled out of my chest. I was horrified, enraged, and concerned. “Do you have any idea who could be doing this?”
Holly shook her head. She sniffled, setting her phone down on the bench. “I don’t know, but I feel—I feel violated. I’m sorry this is happening. I feel–”
“Princess, this isn’t your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for. They had no right,” Klaus snapped, and possessively gripped Holly’s trembling thigh.
I hated seeing her upset, hated that our mate felt exposed and unsafe.
“Holly,” I said, fighting to rein in my anger. “Whoever is doing this, we’ll find them and put an end to this. They aren’t getting that money and no one else will see these pictures.”
Klaus nodded in agreement. “You have nothing to worry about, princess. We’ll handle it.”
“How?” she asked, looking up at Klaus with watery eyes.
He stroked his thumb over her red cheeks. “Don’t you worry about that. I have my ways.”
His lips curved into a smirk and something devious flared to life in his eyes. Whatever it was he had in mind, I knew I was on board.
“Come on,” Klaus said, rising to his hooves and extending his hand out to Holly. “You look like you’re freezing to death. Why don’t we go back to my place and we can discuss this further?”
“Okay.” She took Klaus’ hand and he helped her to her feet. “I can drive my car and meet you there. I don’t want to leave it here at the park.”
“Do you want me to ride with you?”
Holly grinned despite everything. “I’ll be okay.” She slipped her arm in mine, leaning into my body and giving me a sense of reassurance. “I’ll meet you both there. Walk me back, though?”
“Of course,” I said.
As angry as I was, I felt a sense of relief as we walked Holly back to her car. A stalker we could handle, but rejection from our mate would tear Klaus and me apart.
CHAPTER 9
KLAUS
What Holly had revealed to us stoked a fire in me I had never felt before. For the first time in my life, I felt the full weight of being a public figure. Someone had watched us last night. Someone had taken moments that were precious to the three of us and turned them into blackmail.
I pulled into my driveway and got out, slamming the door hard enough that the entire truck rumbled. Flurry got out and came around to me as Holly pulled in behind us. I felt Flurry’s hand on my shoulder, rubbing my tense muscles. I couldn’t relax.
What if they were watching us now? What if they were waiting in the trees somewhere, trying to get more photos?
Rage had my hands curling into fists.
“We’ll figure this out,” Flurry said. “But for right now, I think we could all use a little relaxation. We’re all scared and angry. I’m worried about Holly.”
What I needed was to find this creep and give them the true krampus experience. The one that haunted people for decades, enough that the legends and stories had stuck around for generations.
Holly got out of her little Honda and walked towards us. I cursed as her boots hit a patch of ice and she slipped. I caught her before she could fall, pulling her close to me.
“Klaus,” Holly whispered.
I took a deep breath. Flurry was right. We needed to take a moment together for comfort, but before that, I would need to check the area around the house.
“I would like to check the woods,” I said. “It won’t take me long. I want to make sure we aren’t being watched tonight before we do anything else.”
“I can help,” Flurry said. “Divide and conquer.”
“What should I do?” Holly asked.
“Each room has a window control and you can make them dark so that no one can see in. I hate that I didn’t even think about this last night. We’ve had no security issues before. Wherever he set up was far enough out to escape three monsters.”
Flurry gave me another gentle squeeze. I could feel his apprehension too, but he was always more easy going than me. He would keep me from leaving the house tonight to hunt down the bastard doing this.
I held Holly tighter for a moment, pressing my face against the top of her head.
“We’ll figure this out, princess,” I whispered.
“I know,” she said, looking up at me.
Before she could protest, I lifted her and carried her up the rest of the drive, not letting her go until we were inside the foyer.
“Thirty minutes, tops. And then when we return, I promise that we’ll make you forget everything for tonight.”
Her brown eyes softened, her brows drawing together. “Only if that means you can forget for the night, too.”
I was silent, but Flurry spoke from behind me. “We’ll make him forget, snow angel.”
I’d lost track of how many times I’d circled the house. I’d gone through the forest, further out than I ever had before, looking for any signs of someone being there.
I found nothing.
I was frustrated, but a good portion of my rage had worked itself off. I was still angry, but I wasn’t blinded by it.
We needed a plan. A plan of how to find this stalker and stop him. My thoughts ran through a million scenarios as I approached the house, but they all fell away when I saw Flurry standing, holding a piece of fabric in his hands.