by Liv Rider
Dev took the address from him. “That’s somewhere on the other side of the lake, right?”
“Yup. Butt-end of nowhere. There’s an abandoned warehouse out there, no dwellings. Site’s owned by a mess of shell companies. Zeke’s working on tracing them back.”
Dev glanced at the wall clock. “We’ve got time. Let’s check it out.”
Chapter 24
The address Zeke had given them took them out of town, where city gave way to forest. Neither of them brought up the argument about Sabas, and Aidan slowly relaxed, his optimism returning. Hopefully this trip would reveal the truth and then they would go to Dev’s mom’s party and everything would be fine again.
The road curved around the lake, and Aidan found himself enjoying the drive, not just because of the scenery but because of Dev. Dev loved driving. Aidan hadn’t noticed before because he’d been too busy trying to convince his body it wasn’t about to suffer certain death at the hands of physics.
But now he’d gotten somewhat used to the sensation, and he found himself watching Dev as they drove. Even though Aidan knew Dev was worrying about what they would find at the other end of this trail, his expression still brightened as he navigated the tight curves of the road. Aidan recognized the feeling, because it was the same one he got in wolf form, running full tilt through the trees, weaving between trunks and over obstacles.
A longing rose up in Aidan’s soul, to run as a wolf with his mate beside him. But if Dev got what he wanted and stayed human, that would never happen. He turned away from watching Dev, focusing instead on the blur of the passing forest and trying to make the hollow feeling in his gut go away.
The GPS sent them down a dirt track, and Dev slowed, gravel crunching under the wheels. After a few minutes from the road, they reached the building, screened on all sides by dark lines of pines. Dev turned off the engine and they got out. Aidan stretched out with his senses, the back of his neck itching, but there was no one in sight, and no other cars in the empty grass parking area. The wind rustled the threadbare leaves around them, but Aidan couldn’t smell forest.
“Bleach,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “You smell it?” The whole place reeked of it, making it impossible to smell anything else. He was grateful for his human nose.
Dev paused. “Yeah. Looks like we found the right place then.”
The building door was bolted but not padlocked. Dev slid the bolt, the metal scraping in protest, and they slid back the door, the metal scraping in protest.
It took Aidan’s eyes a second to adjust to the gloom of the warehouse. He could make out the murky shapes of benches and something that made him think of laboratory equipment. Dev stepped inside and found a switch and the whole scene abruptly lit up.
It was laboratory equipment, or the remnants of it. It looked like someone had hurriedly packed up, leaving odd pieces they hadn’t had time to deconstruct or find a place for. Wordlessly, Aidan and Dev moved through the large, sparsely furnished building. Whoever had left hadn’t been gone that long; not long enough for dust to settle. There was a chest freezer in one corner that Aidan flipped open—empty—but the power socket was still connected.
Blood.
Aidan stiffened as the smell cut through the bleach. He walked over to one of the benches, the scent growing stronger. Dev trailed him as he came to a halt beside a sink. In it, a shattered syringe lay in pieces in a puddle of tacky reddish brown. No amount of bleach could disguise the fact that it was blood.
It wasn’t that that made Aidan freeze, his guts twisting into a tight, worried knot. He knew whose blood it was. It was a scent so distinctive he could’ve picked it out in a crowd.
“That’s Sabas’s blood,” Dev said grimly. “He fucking injected me with his fucking blood.”
Aidan whirled. “We don’t know that!” His mind spun. “This doesn’t make sense! You don’t make werewolves by injecting someone with Alpha blood!”
“Someone damn well tried though.” Dev had gone hard and unreadable. “And Sabas has a multi-million-dollar reason to want me loyal to him.”
“He wouldn’t do that!” Something Zeke had said before came back to him. “Zeke said he’d heard some talk of black-market trade in Alpha blood.”
“Yeah, he apparently got someone else to do it for him, so his pack wouldn’t find out.” Dev gestured around at the warehouse.
“He. Wouldn’t. Do. That.” Aidan repeated, bunching his hands into fists.
“He’s a werewolf!”
The words cut through Aidan like a knife, the same words his mother had said before throwing him out of the fae court. When the echoes quietened there was only the sound of their harsh breaths in the empty warehouse. Dev’s eyes were wide and horrified.
“I’m a werewolf,” Aidan said quietly.
“I didn’t mean—”
“Yeah. You did.” Aidan had been telling himself he just needed to give Dev time, that he’d come around eventually. How long, exactly, had he been planning to wait? A horrible, cold vise seemed to clamp around his chest, squeezing, and the walls of the abandoned warehouse pressed in on him. He turned on one heel and stalked out.
Dev trailed behind him. “Aidan, it’s not…it’s fine that you’re a werewolf.” He put a hand on Aidan’s arm and Aidan shook it off.
The streaming sunshine didn’t outside didn’t warm the frost inside him. “We’re mates, but you didn’t correct your cousin when he assumed I was pure fae. Have you told your mom?”
Dev’s pause told him everything he needed to know. “I just…after everything she went through with my father, I can’t just dump this on her!”
“We’re mates, and you invited me to her fucking birthday party. Were you going to ask me to pretend to be daoine sidhe?”
“You are daoine sidhe! I don’t understand why you have to choose the wolves! Maybe you didn’t have a choice before, but you do now!”
“When were you going to tell her that you’re a werewolf?”
“I’m not a werewolf!”
Aidan shook his head. “Then you can find yourself some other date. Some nice dryad boy your family will approve of. That’s what’s most important, isn’t it? Appearances. You’re a fucking coward, Dev.”
He changed, the wolf rising over him in an angry wave.
Aidan was done waiting.
Chapter 25
Dev drove out of the city to the apple orchard alone, the empty passenger seat a silent rebuke beside him. He’d shouted himself hoarse before he’d had to leave, but Aidan hadn’t come back, even though Dev had waited as long as he could.
Dev had written him the world’s most inadequate note and left it at the house, after about ten tries: I’m sorry. Talk later? Aidan would have to come back eventually, wouldn’t he? Wouldn’t he? And then they’d talk about this like adults. Dev knew he’d managed to put his foot in his mouth, but if he could just sit Aidan down, he knew he could explain what he’d meant. It wasn’t about Aidan. It had never been about Aidan. This was just a temporary setback. Aidan would return, in human shape, and Dev would explain, and they’d have make-up sex, and everything would be fine. Every couple had arguments, right? He tried not to think of how hollow and ultimatum-like Aidan had sounded. He wasn’t being unreasonable; Aidan was being unreasonable.
It felt like someone had ripped his chest open and clawed out his heart.
The city skyline receded, replaced with green, rolling pasture. Fields of ripe corn swayed gently, yellow against the blue of the sky. It was a perfect day for an outdoor party, and with dryads, you could guarantee it would be an outdoor party.
Despite the day’s brightness, Dev felt like goddamn storm clouds were hanging over his head. Aidan would be stuck as a wolf until Dev got back, and that fact itched at him, made him want to turn the car around right now.
The beast’s resistance increased with distance from the city, until it scratched under his skin, trying to claw its way out. Dev grit his teeth and told it to go away. I’m not letting you out. I’m never letting you out. And especially not here where his mom might see it.
The sign on the apple orchard said CLOSED, but when Dev pulled into the field his parents used as a parking lot, it was full to overflowing. He must be the last one here. Guilt prodded at him, though it barely made an impact compared to how terrible he felt already. He took a few deep breaths, trying to dredge up a smile. His mom would know something was off, but she didn’t need to know how off. Dev could fake it well enough, though putting on his calm, controlled mask had never felt so difficult.
He walked through the trees screening the homestead from the parking lot.
“Devdevdevdev!” A small black-haired bullet ran across the grass and would’ve charged straight into his legs except that he scooped her up in his arms.
“Who are you?” he asked her with exaggerated confusion.
“Matsuko!” the three-year-old said indignantly.
“Are you sure? But you’re so big! Matsuko was only this big last time I saw her.” He held out his finger and thumb an inch apart and pretended to measure it against her hand. He shook his head. “You’re much too big to be my niece.” Matsuko giggled.
His half-sister Yuka padded patiently over to him.
“I swear she grows an inch every time I see her,” he said, leaning to kiss her cheek. He didn’t have to lean far. Dryads tended to be tall.
“Well, maybe it’s a sign you should visit more,” Yuka said dryly. She looked him over and frowned, the same way Ryo had back at CaFae. “You okay? You seem…different.”
An uneasy shiver slid down his back and he brushed it off. “I’m fine. Where’s mom?”
His sister’s concerned expression didn’t change, but she gestured in the direction of the main orchard. “Everyone’s out back. If you thought you could sneak in late without anyone noticing, you would be wrong.”
Dev brandished the wrapped gift in his left hand like a shield. “Good thing I brought a peace offering.” He looked down at Matsuko in his other arm. “Shall we go find your Baba?”
Matsuko nodded and pointed firmly towards the orchard. “Baba!”
Dev had to stop and greet half a dozen of his stepfather’s relatives on the way out back, and Matsuko got distracted from her original mission and demanded to be put down so she could play with some of her cousins. The late afternoon had slipped into dusk, and the solar-powered fairy lights strung between trees flickered on. A brightly colored HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner rippled in the gentle breeze.
What would Aidan have thought of this, he wondered? He already knew how important family was to Aidan, and from Wolf Club, he knew he liked kids. Dev felt his absence like a cold ghost, following in his wake.
Of course Aidan was loyal to his Alpha. Sabas had given him acceptance when no one else had, but couldn’t Aidan see that he didn’t have to settle for that now? Aidan deserved more than the BlackEdge Pack, and with Dev by his side, he wasn’t stuck choosing the wolves.
A liquid rage ran through his veins when he thought of Sabas and what he’d done. Well, the BlackEdge Alpha could kiss goodbye to any business deal with him.
His mother was under the apple trees, a glass of wine in one narrow hand. It always surprised Dev to be reminded how small his mother was.
“Dev!” She turned, her smile brilliant. She wore a sleeveless dress, revealing the faded scars down her right arm, the match of Dev’s.
“Happy birthday!” He smiled back and wrapped his arms around her. “Sorry I’m late.”
When they pulled apart, she gave him the same look Yuka had, except he knew this one couldn’t be supernaturally based since his mom was one hundred percent human.
“This is for you.” He gave her the wrapped gift before she could quiz him.
She smiled. “I might almost forgive you for being late! You spoil me.”
“You deserve to be spoiled.”
His mom’s smile faded as she examined his expression. “You said you were bringing a friend with you?” she asked gently. There was sympathy in her tone.
His heart twisted, cold and painful. Was Aidan home yet? Dev imagined him padding into the house in wolf form, finding it dark and empty.
“He couldn’t come.” And suddenly, Dev couldn’t do it anymore. “He’s a werewolf.” Half-werewolf, he wanted to add immediately, but he snapped the words off. He wasn’t ashamed of Aidan.
The thought bloomed in his chest, bringing with it a kind of horrified understanding. This was why Aidan had been so angry. Aidan thought Dev was ashamed of him, of what he was. Aidan’s own family had rejected him for being the wrong thing.
How could Dev have made him feel like he was the wrong thing?
His mother blinked up at him, and then to his astonishment, she reached up and cupped his cheek, like she had when he’d been a boy.
“Oh, Dev. Is that why you didn’t bring him?” She dropped her hand, tracing her own scars absently. A trace of nightmares flickered in her steady, familiar gaze, and knew she was thinking of his biological father. Everything rebelled at any comparison between that bastard and Aidan.
“I…He’s not like you think. Aidan’s different. When I’m with him….”
His mom dropped her hand, a crease forming between her brows. She paused and then said, biting out each syllable. “Carl Jackson was a fucking asshole.” Dev jerked at his father’s name, while a distant part of his brain went slack with shock at his mother’s choice of words. He didn’t think he’d ever heard her swear before. “But it wasn’t because he was a werewolf.”
He stared down at her. “What?”
She let out a deep sigh. “I know we don’t talk about it. I thought maybe that was better, to let it lie, after what happened. But if the reason you haven’t brought your mate here tonight is that you think I won’t welcome him for being what he is, then maybe I made the wrong choice. Is that why you didn’t bring him, this Aidan of yours?”
His mouth went slack. “You…you know?” Had his cousin Ryo guessed, somehow? But even if he had, Dev’s cousin was usually tightlipped.
Her mouth twitched. “No thanks to you! Trixie came to help out with serving tonight and she told me she’d seen the mate-spark sizzling off you at Ryo’s. My own son, mated, and I had to find out second-hand!”
Dev squirmed, feeling like he was fifteen again, caught sneaking smokes with his cousins behind the packing shed. “He’s…well, we had a fight. It’s complicated. He’s loyal to his pack, but I think they might be involved in some…stuff. Dodgy stuff.” Even as he said the words, he knew that wasn’t really why Aidan had run. He let out a long breath. “And I…I might be a werewolf too.” He felt sick, just saying it.
“Oh, baby.” His mom pulled him into a fierce embrace. “You’ll never be your father, no matter what. Not even if you’re a wolf. I’ll love you just the same.”
Something that had been wound tight his entire adult life suddenly let go, the pain of release like shards in his chest. It was a good kind of pain. He took a deep, shuddering breath, his voice coming out cracked.
“Aidan thinks I don’t want him because of what he is.”
His mom pulled back from the embrace. “And do you?”
“I love him.” Dev managed to shock himself. Where the hell were these words coming from, dragging out of the depth of his soul like fish hooks? But they were true. He did love Aidan, everything in him aligning in a rush of emotion. Of course he loved Aidan. How could he not? “Even though he’s a wolf.” That wasn’t right. “Because he’s a wolf. And…everything else that he is,” he added lamely. Funny. Recklessly enthusiastic. Loyal. Impossibly sexy.
His mother’s lips pressed together tightly, holding back a choke of laughter. “You told him that?”
He was an idiot. “Um…not yet.”
His mom’s expression spoke vo
lumes. “Maybe you should try that.” She looked past his shoulder, a soft smile coming to her lips. “I’d still be living next door if James hadn’t manned up and used his words.”
“Best words I ever said.” James Morimoto, Dev’s stepdad, came to a halt beside his mom, slinging an arm around her waist. He was a beanpole of a man, his black hair brushed with gray. “How you doin’, son?”
Dev’s heart warmed. “Just figuring out some things.”
“Go, you idiot,” his mom said. “And bring him with you to visit soon, you hear?”
Chapter 26
Aidan ran for a long time, his heart a raw, hurting mess. Half-formed, conflicting thoughts rose and scattered each time his paws hit the ground. Maybe he should turn back, tell Dev he was sorry for pushing, that he hadn’t meant it like that. Maybe if they had a bunch of angry sex, it would somehow fix things.
Except he had meant it, and no amount of sex would make this better.
Okay, that wasn’t entirely true—sex made everything better—but they would still be in the exact same place when they stopped, and Aidan couldn’t keep pretending to be fine anymore.
He wasn’t fine. He was so far past fine that he had to keep running to stop the very-not-fine emotions bursting out of his skin. Usually, he was a swift and silent predator, but today he crashed through the woods, heedless of obstacles, his air magic shoving at sticks and leaves around him. He had enough self-control to keep the blasts from going full-tornado mode, but he still took savage satisfaction from the mess he was making.
He was angry. No. He was bloody furious. At Dev, for rejecting him; at himself, for letting himself get into this situation in the first place. Neither of his parents had wanted him—why had he expected his mate be any different?
Dev’s accusations about Sabas and BlackEdge kept nagging at him. Aidan was sure Sabas wouldn’t have turned Dev into a wolf against his will, no matter how many millions were on the line, but cracks began to twist through his certainty the longer he ran. How had his Alpha’s blood gotten into that warehouse? Was Dev right? Was Aidan’s loyalty misplaced because Sabas had accepted him and his twin when he’d pretty much given up hope of ever being accepted by anyone, ever? That acceptance hadn’t wavered even when Mahon’s mate turned out to be fullblooded daoine sidhe.
