Bloodlines: Fated Mates (Book 6 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 26

Abby walked down the hallway next to Matt to the elevator and stepped on. She liked it, liked the weird way it made her feel. The ride was over much quicker than she wanted it to be, which was rather disappointing.

"Maybe I should take you to an amusement park one day," Matt laughed, watching her excitement.

Her face lit up. "Can we?" She'd always wanted to go to an amusement park. She'd seen them on TV and they looked like they'd be much fun. She desperately wanted to ride a roller coaster, especially if it made her feel anything at all like the elevator. She'd ride that all day if she could, though she imagined Matt would think she was nuts.

He smiled. "Yeah. We definitely can. There's several here in Pennsylvania and I'm definitely taking you to Cedar Point as well."

"Ooo! I've wanted to go there!" she said happily. She'd watched a documentary once about amusement parks, and that one had caught her attention because of all of the roller coasters.

He laughed. "You know about Cedar Point?"

"Yes! It's in Sandusky, Ohio, by Lake Erie. Does Lake Erie look like the ocean? It's really big." Maybe that would be similar to seeing the ocean.

Matt looked at her. "You want to see the ocean?"

"Yes! I've always wanted to go!"

He laughed. "Well I'll have to take you to a bunch of places then. We'll talk about it at some point, but anywhere you want to go, we'll go. We can see the world."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We can do that, Abby." He reached out and touched her face.

She smiled up at him. "I'd like that."

He stopped in front of a door and knocked. Abby stepped closer to him, suddenly feeling nervous again. She'd forgotten about her nerves in her excitement. The door opened and a tall man stood there looking at them. His face broke out into a smile as he looked at Matt, then surprise when he saw her.

Abby looked up at him and her heart stopped. It was him. The man who had come every week to check on Marcie. She stared at him in shock. What was he doing here?

He stared back at her for a long moment as well, and she knew he recognized her scent. She recognized his scent as well.

"You two know each other?" Matt asked, looking between them.

Abby stepped closer to Matt. This was the first time she'd really seen him and he her. He was handsome, though she didn't feel drawn to him the same way she did Matt. It was different. His hair was brown like her own, and his eyes hazel.

"Not exactly," he answered, his eyes still on her. "Come in." He turned and walked back inside.

Abby slipped her hand in Matt's and felt herself calm down as she followed him into the apartment. It looked like Matt's, but the furniture was different. Her eyes trailed up to a large painting on the wall. A picture of the night sky with lights dancing across it. It was so pretty and she could barely tear her eyes away from it. The colors were beautiful. The Northern Lights, she realized. She'd always wanted to see them.

The man sat down in a chair and Matt brought her over to the couch. "Astrid, my sister, painted that," he told her, when he saw where she was looking.

"It's so beautiful," she said softly.

"She does amazing work." He sat down on the couch, and Abby realized she was the only one still standing and sat down herself.

She glanced back at the man and then dropped her gaze. She was sort of happy he was still alive. He'd always been kind to Marcie and her even though he'd never met her. She wondered if he was aware that Marcie was gone, but supposed he would know. He may have even been the one to find Marcie's body. The thought was sobering.

"Where's Astrid?" Matt asked him.

"In the shower. She should be almost done," the man said.

"Abby, this is Liam. He's my sister, Astrid's mate. Liam, this is Abby, my mate," Matt introduced them.

Liam. She'd heard Matt mention him earlier. She couldn't help but look at him, and was well aware that he was studying her too. She found her curiosity about him outweighed her nerves. She could feel that Sage was curious about him as well, and saw his eyes glow as his own wolf looked out at her. He seemed to be just as curious about her as she was him. But he'd been coming to Marcie's house for years, and though she'd never seen him, she still felt like she knew him. He made her a bit homesick, for a life she could never return to. She wasn't sure she wanted to either. Not if she had to give up Matt.

"So, do you two know each other or not?" Matt finally asked after watching them stare at each other.

Liam finally pulled his gaze away from her and looked at Matt. "No. We've never met, but I know she was living with Marcie. Marcie was very old and I made a point to check on her weekly to make sure she had everything she needed. Abby would always disappear though." His gaze flicked back to her. "And Marcie wouldn't talk about her."

Matt looked back and forth between the two of them again. The Abby Mystery was getting more and more interesting by the moment, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. Abby was openly staring at Liam, which really surprised Matt, but he didn't say anything. She'd avoided looking at Nick, Ian and his father, but she definitely seemed more comfortable with Liam. It was almost like there was a bond there.

Astrid finally walked down the hall, and her gaze swept between them all, finally settling on Abby. "Hi Abby. I'm Astrid, Matt's sister."

Abby looked up at her and smiled. "Hi," she said shyly. "Your painting is beautiful."

Astrid smiled back. "Thank you. Matt says you need some clothes, and I have plenty. Do you want to come with me? We can find you something that fits you for today and some other clothes to get you by until you're able to go shopping."

Her gaze darted to Matt and she frowned. He had made himself comfortable and didn't look like he was moving.

"She's just going to take you to her closet. It's like mine, but she has way more clothes. I'm going to stay right here," he reassured her. "I'm not going anywhere."

Abby looked back up at Astrid and took a deep breath. She needed to do this. Out of her comfort zone. "Okay." She stood and walked over to Astrid, then followed her down the hallway.