Declan - Heart of a Tiger (Royal Taiga Streak #1) - J.R. Loveless Page 0,24

mate even further pain sent rage pulsing through his blood. Every time he gained new knowledge of Sean’s past and the man Sean called father the more Declan wished he’d drawn out the son of a bitch’s death longer.

“What else?” Declan growled.

“We didn’t find anything in the house except damaged or dirty furniture, clothing, and rodents. There were no signs of anyone having lived there except the children and the man who took them, and we didn’t find any papers anywhere in the house aside from old newspapers. I’m sorry, Alpha.”

Disappointment bit deep, but Declan held it in. He’d been hoping for something. He knew Kyle would have a way to find an answer on how to remove the collar, but he felt the impatience to see Sean’s true form and knew if only Sean could shift then maybe Sean would recognize the connection between them. “It’s okay, Victor. It was only a shot in the dark. Thank you for searching. We will need to see if we can locate the clans of the children buried there. It may open old wounds for some, but at least they will have closure.”

“Do you want me to send some of the streak members out there to begin exhuming the bodies, Alpha?”

“Not yet, Victor. I don’t wish to disturb the dead until we must. I want to see if we can find the families first.”

“Forgive me, but…” Victor trailed off and glanced at the ceiling, saying without words what Declan had already thought.

“I have already considered what’s on your mind, Victor, and I will speak with Sean once I am certain he is well enough. Until then see if you can gather information on the missing children from nearby clans, but be careful not to alert any of them. I don’t want to cause any hysteria or have anyone digging up those graves without care or thought to the others buried there.”

“Right away, Alpha.”

“Once you have the information, bring it to me.”

“Of course.”

Declan dismissed Victor, but didn’t move immediately. He couldn’t imagine what kind of a monster would do such a thing to innocent children and then make another child dispose of the bodies. It horrified him the whole thing had been on the edge of his territory and he hadn’t even known. Tomorrow he would assign new patrols stretching to the outskirts of his borders. There would never be another chance for this to happen. And he swore the moment he could, he’d burn that fucking house to the ground and every horrible memory Sean had with it.

The next morning, Declan stopped in to see Sean first, happy to see the bruises had faded even further. “I’ll bring your breakfast and then place a call to our doctor. We should have you on your feet today.”

“Could I maybe eat breakfast downstairs today instead?” Sean asked hesitantly.

“Are you sure you’re up for it? I want you to make sure you eat everything on your plate.” Declan didn’t want a repeat of the night before when everyone had made Sean nervous about the way he’d eaten.

Sean nodded. “I’m fine. And… I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have left like that. It was wrong of me.”

“No,” Declan grunted. “They were wrong for making you feel bad. You have nothing to apologize for.”

Sapphire eyes met his and Declan could see a shadow of the beast lurking behind them. It frustrated him to no end to not know what kind of shifter Sean was. He lifted a hand to touch the length of hair grazing Sean’s shoulder. “We really should see about evening out your hair. Do you like it this long?”

Sean shrugged. “I’ve never thought about it. Sam or Tara always used whatever we could find to keep it as short as we could. My father-“ he cut himself off.

Declan knew whatever Sean had been about to say would have made him even angrier about the situation his mate had been in. “I kind of like it this length. You have such delicate features. With your long neck and high cheekbones, it suits you.”

A light dusting of pink rushed to the pale skin of Sean’s cheeks and he dropped his gaze to the comforter over his lap. Declan smiled softly. He leaned down. “Sean?”

Sean lifted his head again in question.

“Kiss me,” Declan murmured.

Surprise caused Sean’s eyes to widen a fraction and his lips to part. Declan could hear Sean’s heart beat increase and Declan’s tiger prowled within him. It pleased him when Sean moved in