was no one in the library to see her weakness. "Don't worry," Martina's cheerful voice soothed. "I'm certain he's going to love it." Claire swallowed, caught off guard. "W-what?"
"Herr Roth," the young Breedmate replied. An awkward silence stretched out for long moments. "I, um ... I'm sorry if I'm prying. You'd asked me to keep the park and its design a secret, so I suppose I assumed that you meant it to be a gift for him." A gift for Wilhelm? Claire had to work to contain her bemused reaction to the idea. She hadn't even seen her mate for half a year. He came to the country only because his blood compelled him to. Claire had grown to dread those visits, expected as his mate to feed him from her veins and to take his blood in exchange. Wilhelm hardly pretended to feel differently about their coolly obligatory arrangement. They had discreetly lived apart nearly all of the three decades of their pairing--he in his Darkhaven mansion in the city, she and a handful of security staff here in the country manor a couple of hours away.
No, the garden park was not a gift for her chronically absent mate. In fact, she was sure he'd be furious if he found out that she'd undertaken the project on her own. Fortunately for her, Wilhelm Roth hadn't taken an interest in anything she thought or felt or did for quite some time now. He was more than content to leave her to pursue her assorted philanthropic and social activities; his business with the Enforcement Agency was all that mattered to him, particularly of late. That was his obsession, and in a quiet corner of her heart, Claire was glad for her solitude. Especially these past difficult weeks. Martina let out a small sigh over the speaker. "Please, Frau Roth... forgive me if I've overstepped my bounds in any way." "Not at all," Claire assured her. Before she had to offer Martina either a pleasant lie about her motivations for the park's construction or explain her estrangement from the Breed male she saw infrequently at best, a hard rap sounded on the library door.
"My thanks again for the lovely design, Martina. Let me know if you have any other questions before we proceed with the project." "Of course. Good night, Frau Roth." Claire ended the call, then stepped out of the room. She closed the door behind her, still feeling protective of her secret undertaking and seeing no reason to invite questions from Wilhelm's loyal hounds. But now that she was standing alone with one of the half-dozen Enforcement Agents assigned to look out for her and the property she occupied, she realized that her little side project was the least of the security detail's concern. The guard seemed agitated, uncharacteristically twitchy. "Yes. What is it?" "I need you to come with me, Frau Roth." "What for?" She could see now that the big male was visibly rattled. Considering he was Breed, in addition to being armed to his fangs with firearms and combat gear, rattling someone like him was no small thing. Something was terribly wrong. The comm device clipped to his black bulletproof vest was crackling with intermittent static and snippets of urgent conversation among the other agents posted at the country house. "We're evacuating the premises immediately. This way, if you would." "Evacuating? Why? What's going on?"
"I'm afraid there is no time to waste." More static sounded over his comm. More voices issuing clipped orders in the background. "We're readying a vehicle for you now. Please. You must come with me." He started to reach for her arm, but Claire stepped out of his range. "I don't understand. Why do I have to leave? I demand that you tell me what's going on." "We had a situation at the Darkhaven in Hamburg a short while ago--" "A situation?" The guard didn't elaborate, simply spoke right over her. "As a precaution, we're clearing out of here and taking you to another location. A safe house in Mecklenburg." "Wait a minute--I have no idea what you're talking about. What situation in Hamburg? Why do I need to be moved to a safe house? What exactly does any of this mean?" The guard gave her an impatient look as he barked his position into his comm device. "Yes, I'm with her now. Bring the vehicles around to the front and prepare to roll out. We're on the way to meet you." He