Disheartened by the epiphany, Holden just stared at Laelia. Something would have to be done, he knew—he just certain what, yet.
Laelia noticed his expression change and her voice rose in panic. “Holden?”
Before he could answer, the door slammed open again. Holden snarled and whirled to see Owen’s hand still flat on the wood.
“Can people please stop banging into my room?” Holden all but shouted.
Owen’s furry upper lip twitched, startled, but he hurriedly said, “We found them!”
Holden blinked, unable to process his meaning.
Seizing the opportunistic silence, Owen continued eagerly, “We found their hideout. It’s a small house in downtown Reno. It was definitely them—the brother saw us, and one of the little wolves came after us, too.”
“Do you remember where?” asked Holden. He was barely able to contain his excitement.
Apparently pleased with his alpha’s reaction, Owen rattled off the address, though he couldn’t quote the zip code. But if he saw the house, he explained, he could easily confirm whose it was.
This was perfect, decided Holden. He nodded to Owen and said, “Think you can find it again?”
“Holden,” complained Laelia.
Both men ignored her. “Yeah. Easily,” boasted Owen.
Holden grinned. “Then grab your keys. You and I can take a spin around the neighborhood.”
“Hol-den!”
Finally, he pinned her with a hard stare. Coldly, Holden said, “We’ll deal with your craziness later, Laelia. For now, don’t leave the house.”
Then he left with Owen, refusing to cast even the slightest glance backward. When a small sob escaped Laelia before he reached the end of the hall, Holden allowed himself the briefest sensation of guilt.
But that was all. Right now, he had an alpha to hunt.
Ͼ
Lacey had her hand on the doorknob when she heard Laelia’s incoherent screeching. She grimaced and pulled her hand away. Though she’d promised Holden to make genuine effort with the pack, sometimes Laelia threw such fits that Lacey didn’t want anything to do with her.
Better to leave now than say something she would come to regret later.
It was irritating, especially with bags of new clothes and gifts Lacey had meticulously chosen for the pack. But that would have to wait. Damn Laelia for—
Lacey clamped down on those feelings as she opened the trunk of her car and set the bags back down. No, she told herself firmly. No more damning others in the pack. She had to make genuine effort, and her negative thoughts would help no one.
This was going to be a hard habit to break, she thought as her shoulders slumped. Lacey grudgingly closed the trunk and rounded her way to the driver’s seat.
Before she could open that door, the sound of crunching gravel rubbed its way into her ears. Lacey tried not to sigh; dust kicked up around her and inhaling it would just be gross. So she turned to watch Owen and Carly skid to a stop in Nadine’s old sedan.
Lacey’s jaw tensed. Who the hell had given them keys?
Holden had. Of course. Calm down, now, she coaxed herself.
Owen didn’t bother greeting her, instead bolting into the house. Carly hurried to Lacey in breathless excitement and she blurted, “We found them. And lost them! You should have seen it. I don’t know who that kid wolf was, but they were fast! We actually had to put effort into our escape!”
Smiling politely at the young woman’s giddiness, Lacey said, “Found and lost who?”
“The pack! Aaron’s pack. Part of them. The big dude and one of the kids. I don’t know which one; we only saw the wolf form.”
Lacey tilted her head.
Carly exhaled shakily. She still seemed pumped with adrenaline. The chase must have been incredibly exciting, thought Lacey distantly.
Without prompting, Carly continued to babble about their encounter with Aaron’s pack. Lacey nodded along with her, but took careful note of Carly’s description of the neighborhood. It sounded vaguely familiar, but she wasn’t one hundred percent positive.
Only one way to find out.
Calmly, Lacey said, “Sweetie, rather than telling me, you ought to be telling Holden. I’m not any higher in the pack than you.”
Startled, Carly looked as though she hadn’t even considered that a possibility. Then her blue eyes glittered. “I will. Excuse me.”
As the bigger girl scurried toward the house, Lacey called after her, “Be careful. Laelia’s throwing a hissy fit, and Holden might be a little cranky.” Carly yelled an agreement before the front door slammed behind her.
Without hesitation, Lacey yanked the car door open and climbed in. She fired up the engine and backed out of the driveway. Within moments she headed for downtown Reno, toward the seedier part of the residential neighborhood. There she knew to find an enormous cluster of apartments, along with a bunch of run-down or old houses that had turned into rentals. Each half acre held at least three to four homes; all tiny, all compact, and all with laughable yards.
If Aaron’s pack was truly where Carly had said, then Lacey needed to hurry. Likely their defenses were down after a surprise sighting of other enemy lycans, and that weakness wouldn’t last very long. She had to exploit it while she could.
She and Rachael Adair had unfinished business.
Chapter Fifteen
Holden stopped to grab his jacket and knife. Last time this same blade had been what Rachael used to murder Sage, and he had sworn never to use it again. But given the more recent details come to light—Sage and Lacey’s betrayal, namely—Holden felt it prudent to bring with him. He strapped the sheath to his belt and ensured his jacket hid it well.
Off to the side, Owen waited impatiently. Finally, when Holden was ready to go, the young man ushered him toward the front of the house.
Holden definitely appreciated his enthusiasm.
But before they reached the door it suddenly opened. Carly burst in, shouted something over her shoulder, and then closed the door behind her. Blue eyes sparkled at Holden as she said, “We found the pack!”
“He knows,” sneered Owen obnoxiously. “I told him.”
Carly’s face fell a little. “You said I could.”
Her crush on him was too obvious. Holden tried not to roll his eyes. Was he directing a pack or a teen drama?
Owen waved her off. “Either way, we found ‘em. Team effort. You still want to see, right, Holden?”
“Yes,” he said with a grin. “Once I get a good idea of their layout, we can plan an attack.” And since Aaron would be hindered by Rachael’s infection—or mourning her if she was dead, he thought with a sliver of sin—as well as protecting the baby, and having at least two other small children who would be at a physical disadvantage... as far as Holden was concerned, it meant Aaron had maybe three decent fighters while Holden had five.
The odds were definitely in his favor this time. All he needed was a good, solid surprise to spring on them.
No more playing fair.
Carly heaved a sigh but plodded along after them. Once outside Holden and Owen went for Nadine’s old car, but Carly held back. Holden paused at the car and asked, “Don’t you want to come?”
Carly’s fine brow stitched together. She gazed around as though lost. “Where’s Lacey?”
Holden shook his head. “Out shopping.” The night before he’d suggested she try to think of something nice to do for the pack. Lacey wasn’t particularly handy in any one thing, but she was adept at coming up with meaningful gifts one way or another.
Personally, Holden didn’t think it would look great; buying her way into the pack’s good standing. But if she was deliberate and thoughtful in his choices, then she might be able to pull it off.
Carly looked frustrated. She swept long hair from her face and insisted, “No, she was just here. I talked to her a minute ago.”
Trying not to show impatience, Holden said, “She didn’t say anything to you?”
Foldin
g her arms, Carly replied, “Just that I should be telling you about what we found instead of her, since she’s not Primary anymore.”
Holden opened the car door, but then stopped once Carly’s words sank in. He looked up sharply, though she seemed lost in thought and didn’t notice. A small frown decorated her face.
“You told her where you were? In detail?” demanded Holden.
At Carly’s perplexed expression, Owen groaned. “God damn it, you didn’t.”
“What?” she protested. “It was a good thing. We did great today!”
Owen twitched in an apparent attempt to refrain from physically lashing out. “Yeah, and now we have a jealous ex who knows where another ex is. God, you’re so fucking stupid sometimes!”
Carly winced.
Grimly, Holden rounded the car and snatched the keys from Owen’s hand. “I’m driving. Get in.” When Carly started toward them again, he snapped, “Not you. You just made things worse. Go inside and babysit Laelia. She’s acting like a loon and tried to attack Maryanne.”
Crestfallen, Carly nodded and hugged herself. While it hurt Holden to see her upset, he kept his features coldly firm as he slammed the driver’s side door shut and buckled in.
A thought struck him that birthed unease in his chest: Was this feeling always behind Aaron’s arrogance and indifference?
He shook the concept off and refused to consider it. Aaron was a prick. Holden was absolutely nothing like him. Besides, right then it was more important he get to the house first. Hopefully, with Owen, he could accomplish that.
Leaving Carly and the house to shrink in the rear view mirrors, Holden sped off toward downtown Reno. “You got the GPS on Lacey’s car, right?”
“Yeah,” answered Owen slowly.
“But I can only track her on the laptop?”
Shaking his head, Owen pulled out his phone. “I set it up here, too. Just in case.” He smiled sheepishly, though the look soon vanished. “Sorry. I should have said something instead of going behind your back.”
Holden curtly waved off his apology. “Just see where she’s going.”
Owen muttered to himself as he fiddled with his phone. A few tense minutes passed. Holden tried not to lose his temper, but he could sense fearful rage boiling in his chest.
At last, quietly, Owen said, “Looks like she’s headed straight there so far.”
His jaw tense, Holden said, “Keep an eye on her movements.”
“Got it.”
Holden couldn’t believe he was in this situation. What did he have to do, bind and gag all the women in his house just to get anything done? This was ridiculous.
Eventually, Owen looked up from his phone. “Can I ask you something?”
Holden tried not to bite his head off as he said, “What?”
“Are we going there to get this girl or kill the alpha?”
Though he wanted to be annoyed, Holden understood the confusion. He shook his head and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Right now, just to scope out the layout and hopefully stop Lacey from doing anything stupid. But ultimately we’re there to kill Aaron.”
“Uh huh.” Owen eyed him sideways, his green eyes glittering with skeptical gold flints. “I’ve gotten a partial story. It sounds like that human girl means a lot to you. But she’s screwed you over a bunch. Why bother?”
Perhaps it was because there was no romantic threat from Owen that Holden calmly considered his answer. “Because,” he finally said. “She was the first person to see my human side, even after she saw me as a lycan. And because I did a lot to hurt her. I can’t really blame her for how she’s reacted.”
Owen raised a dark eyebrow. “Oh.”
“Oh?”
“I dunno. Just... oh.” With a shrug, Owen added, “I mean, I’ve tried having relationships, but pickings are a little scarce when you’re a gay lycan, you know?”
Holden could only imagine. He tapped his fingers against the grey leather in his hands. “Do you want a deeper explanation?”
Owen rolled his eyes. “Do I get a choice?”
Casting a sideways glance, Holden said firmly, “Yes.”
Seeming surprised at his response, Owen didn’t answer at first. When he did, his voice lightened a touch. “Sure, why not? Oh—shit. Turn left here.”
Holden sharply turned the steering wheel, ignoring the blaring horn of a truck he cut off. “When someone touches your soul in that intimate a way,” he began slowly. “It’s impossible to shake. Maybe that’s a little creepy, since she was just sixteen when we met, but Rachael had... something else. It was like she understood, even though she wasn’t a lycan. She got that that side of me was atrocious. She understood all the damage Aaron had done. And she always knew. From day one, you could tell she thought something was dangerous about him.”
Owen didn’t sound convinced. “So what changed?”
That was what Holden couldn’t figure out. Yes, he understood he had killed Vera. And yes, he understood Lacey had successfully manipulated him into quite possibly ruining any chance he had with Rachael—even if she made it through the infection, Aaron died, and Holden brought her into his pack as originally planned.
What he didn’t understand was, why Aaron? Of all the damn people, even lycans, on this green earth, why him?
Quietly, he said, “I’m still not sure. But something did.”
Owen had no response do that. The only words that came out of his mouth after that was, “Turn here.”
Holden complied.
Ͼ
Lacey parked toward the beginning of the neighborhood. As she locked her car, the thought occurred to her that she could very well come back to find her vehicle vandalized or stolen. Her carefully chosen gifts were likely to be gone in either case.
Well, if she found Rachael, it might well be worth it.
She strode down the sidewalk, doing her best to appear that she was just someone on her way to a friend’s house. Lacey carried no purse, and her keys remained in her pocket. Her heels were, thankfully, on the short and rubbery side today. When she walked, she did not clack nor draw more attention to herself than necessary.
Which was perfect, of course, especially since she smelled lycans. She couldn’t pinpoint where the scent came from. It was as though they had passed through but not stopped. That could mean anything.
Lacey hoped it meant she was on the right track.
She continued her brisk walk, keeping her periphery sharp for anyone familiar. Lacey also scanned each house as she passed them. If she noticed one that fit Carly’s description, she made sure to take in the smells. But none of them panned out.
By the time she’d canvassed the neighborhood, Lacey knew they had hidden themselves well. So she would have to go on looks alone.
She made another round, this time slowing when she noticed a red brick building. It was extremely small, one story, and looked as though it couldn’t fit more than three people comfortably. There were, of course, other similar houses. But they were mostly built of wood.
This brick and concrete fortress was exactly as Carly described.
The tiny house was a perfect deception, she thought with a faint smile. Lacey unlatched the gate and closed it behind her as though she visited often. The parking space remained empty and there was absolutely no sound from inside. But the closer she drew to the front door, the stronger the smell of vanilla air freshener grew.
Which was only masking that of lycan.
Lacey knocked lightly. She threw a glance over her shoulder, but nobody was waiting to pounce on her. Neither did anyone come to answer the door. Tentatively, she turned the knob—and it opened.
Someone’s an idiot, she thought. A ghost of a smirk brushed across her mouth.
Inside was encased with utter silence. Lacey closed the door gently behind her and stepped further in. The space was just as tiny as she thought it would be; from her vantage point at the front door, she could see the entire kitchen, living room, laundry area, and a brief hallwa
y that broke off into five different rooms. Two of the doors were already open.
Lacey crept over the old carpet, cursing inwardly when a floorboard squeaked beneath her step. Still she continued on until she could peek inside the first open door—a bathroom. The second looked like a kid’s bedroom, with one queen mattress on the floor and brightly colored cartoon sheets. After that it was all closed doors.
No surprises awaited her in any of the closed-off areas. At the final room Lacey pushed the door open... and grinned.
It was the only room with a raised mattress, though it had a mere metal frame and white sheets. Atop it Rachael lay, utterly alone. She looked as though she hadn’t bathed in days, her fine blond hair a limp, stringy mess. Even her clothes appeared unwashed.
Was she even being cared for? Lacey mused over this, tickled by the idea that nobody gave a shit about this young woman’s comfort. That’s what happens to leeches, she thought in self-satisfaction. You suck people dry and eventually they stop caring about you.
How perfectly fitting.
Lacey closed this door behind her as well, pressing a small button inward to lock it. She approached the bed. But for Rachael’s non-greyed complexion, Lacey might have thought she was dead. Her chest barely moved at all when she breathed, and despite how close Lacey crept, the other woman didn’t stir.
At last. She had her.
Lacey exhaled softly. From the looks of it, Rachael was successfully fighting through the infection. There were no outward signs of unusual bleeding. While the young woman looked unconscious and uncomfortable, she didn’t appear feverish any longer.
Rachael was pulling through. That was unfortunate, thought Lacey. If she just died on her own it might actually have been better.
Instead, Lacey was going to have to take part in the act.
“Rachael,” she murmured. “It’s Lacey Eklund. Do you remember me?”
No response.
Lacey sat down on the side of the bed and watched her critically. There were no obvious signs of Rachael feigning her current condition, so she continued talking in the barest of whispers. “I’ve thought about letting go of this hate for you. Holden’s been encouraging it. And I even got close to thinking it wouldn’t matter anymore.”
Pact of the Pack Page 16
