The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun by Scarlet Hyacinth Page A

a safe place.”
    “My house,” Skylar suggested without missing a heartbeat. “Since the attack, my parents tripled the guards and the alarm systems. It’s practically a fortress.”
    “Great idea. Get my kits safe and call Soren and contact Liam Denning-Holden as well. There were pictures of them, too, as well as of the Williams-Wade family. They’re not safe where they’re living now.”
    “Will do. You find Nico, okay?”
    Garth thanked his friend and snapped his phone shut. He would not rest until Nicolas was again by his side.

    * * * *

    “Corb, I don’t know about this,” Preston said, biting his lip. “You know Daddy told us to stay inside the agency at all times.”
    Corbin glowered at him. “Do you want to see Mom or not? She won’t be able to come here, and you know it.”
    Truth be told, Preston didn’t really want to see his mother. She gave him the creeps. Unlike Corbin, he didn’t remember her too well from when they’d been younger. What had stuck with him, though, 68
    Scarlet Hyacinth
    was one conversation he’d heard between his parents. “I don’t want to be a mother,” she’d said. “Just let them grow on their own.”
    At the time, what that meant hadn’t really processed, and even when she’d abandoned them, he hadn’t understood why. It was only when their dad started bringing him and his brother to the agency that he’d grasped the meaning of their words. If their father hadn’t insisted on keeping them, Preston and Corbin would be like these children here, without a family.
    Still, Preston never went against his older brother, so he just nodded. Corbin looked pleased and changed into his lynx form.
    They’d slipped away from the nurses who were too busy with a small fight between other cubs and hidden in a supply closet. The plan was to change shapes and slip through the air ducts outside. It wasn’t a bad idea, given their size, although if they got caught, they’d certainly be punished.
    Preston would have most likely gone with it anyway, but the door to the supply closet opened. “Boys, what are you doing in here?”
    Skylar Pierce asked. “You scared me half to death.”
    Skylar was the only one other than their dad that Preston truly liked without a problem. He felt his face flame at the man’s expression of disapproval.
    Corbin quickly turned into his legged form. “We were just playing,” he lied with a straight face.
    Skylar didn’t look like he believed them, but didn’t comment further. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
    “Leaving?” Preston repeated. “Leaving where?”
    “You’re temporarily staying with me,” Skylar replied. “Hurry up.”
    In that moment, Preston realized something wasn’t quite right.
    Skylar seemed nervous and upset. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
    “Nothing,” the seahorse answered too quickly. “Nothing at all.”
    “Where’s Dad?” Corbin must have sensed the wrongness of the situation as well. “Can we talk to him?”

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    Skylar groaned. “He’s not here right now. Look, boys, your dad has something very important to deal with. He’ll tell you about it tonight. Now come along.”
    Preston didn’t protest as Skylar pulled them out of the supply closet, and neither did his brother. As Skylar loaded them in his car, Preston couldn’t help but wonder what kind of problem had led their dad to send them to Skylar’s. Was it Nicolas? Had Corbin been right all along? Had Nicolas taken their place in their father’s heart? God, Preston hoped not.
    Corbin grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “It’s okay,” he mouthed. “Dad wouldn’t leave us.”
    Preston nodded, unconvinced. In his mind, his mother’s words sounded yet again. “Just let them grow on their own.”

    * * * *

    Nicolas cracked his eyes open and immediately closed them again as a throbbing headache threatened to tear apart his skull. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was… Going to the