Page 109 of Hart's Redemption

I longed to ask him what he was thinking in regards to his pack. Did his thoughts mirror mine? Was he worried what Conrad would do in his absence? Was he serious about not taking control… ever? I shook my head and stepped towards the control panel embedded in the ancient brick pillar holding an equally antiquated iron gate. “I need to take care of this.”

I dug deep into the core programming and deleted the directive to instantly kill any lycan that set foot on the premises from Atlas’s system. It would take a more thorough sweep from the control room inside the house to make sure no subsequent programs were lurking in the code that could cause mischief. While I was at it, I went ahead and turned off the rest of the main security as well. The things from the cottage would be arriving before long, and I didn’t want to be troubled about the delivery.

The gate swung open, and I closed the panel. “There.”

We got all of five meters up the drive when Elijah released a low whistle.

“What?”

“This is yourhouse?”

I looked back at the enormous structure sprawled out before us. Turrets rose gracefully from the ground, connected by tall walls peppered with windows and balconies. The deep red of the bricks resisted the fade of time beneath an overcast sky. It was a veritable modern-day castle, stained red from the blood of our victims. No amount of stunning architecture or carefully cultivated gardens would ever make up for the atrocities this place had spawned. As far as I knew, this house had never known joy, only pain. Hopefully, that would change now.

I glanced at Elijah, suddenly anxious. “Do you like it?”

“Like it. Stars, Josh, look at this place.” He gestured at the grand estate, and I tried to see it through his eyes.

Painstaking care had been taken with the elegant sweep of the roof. Despite its blood-drenched history, the grand structure was built to be inviting, a place to come together. With enormous living spaces and two ballrooms, it was a house meant for parties and laughter.

“It’s magnificent,” Elijah reiterated.

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth at the praise and the light shining in his eyes. It was the first time I’d seen that spark in days.

“How many people stay here?”

“What do you mean? You know I’m the last.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled me forward. “Yeah, but you can’t possibly live in such a big place on your own. The staff alone must be at least…” He trailed off when I stopped moving. “What is it?”

“I have staff come to clean twice a month. There’s even a chef that prepares meals for the week, but none of them live here.” All thirty-seven bedrooms were completely vacant. All save one.

Elijah

I couldn’t believe what Josh was saying. This house was massive, like fit the entire Texas Pack massive, and he lived herealone? No wonder he didn’t trust people. When was the last time he’d actually spent any real time with them?

His eyes clouded with the same doubt I could smell weaving through his scent.

I quickly snapped my mouth shut and pulled him close to press our lips together, then stepped back.

“What was that for?”

“I’m just excited for this next step in our life. Don’t think I forgot about our conversation in that cell. We’re going to fill this place up with the pitter-patter of so many little feet that people will have to live here just to help us keep up with them all.”

A smile Josh was clearly fighting tugged at his lips. He didn’t have to say out loud how much that promise appealed to him; it shone in his eyes.

I planted another kiss on him. “Now show me around our new home.” I knew Josh hadn’t been happy about leaving the cottage. He certainly made enough of an argument to stay. But not even the surprise that I actually owned the place could keep me in Adler Springs. To my relief, Josh’s reluctant smile finally slipped free. He laced our fingers and led us to the front door.

It wasn’t until he opened the aged wooden door banded with iron and stepped inside that where we were finally sank in. Josh stood in a massive foyer, every bit as grand as the outside of the building. Deep, rich colors climbed the walls, decorated with equally dark wood paneling and detailing. A masterpiece of a stairway crawled grandly up the right wall to connect witha balcony that encircled the room. Faint outlines of dozens of doors peeked out from the shadows.

I know those doors.

An overwhelming sadness seized my heart. Josh lived alone in a house that had haunted his nightmares since he was a child. Not so much as a live-in butler to keep him company, only a soulless AI to keep him safe. And I’d forced him to come back.

The happy expression I’d coaxed out of him melted away. “Is something wrong?”

An apology stuck in my throat as I continued to absorb the space. Ornate vases and frames filled with landscapes cluttered the walls. Somewhere in this mausoleum of a house there would be a wall filled with portraits of all the Harkers that had come before Josh, staring down in scorn at all who passed by. But here there was nothing that stood out as uniquely Josh, nothing at all.

What have I done?