Blood Rule (Book 4, Dirty Blood series)

by Heather Hildenbrand

  I drove, a sign Wes was seriously in shock. He didn’t say much beyond grunting one-word assurances every time I asked him if he was okay. In the tiny backseat, Angela called her mom and said she was getting a ride home from me. Whenever that was.

  I couldn’t think past getting to Grandma’s.

  Traffic, stoplights, pedestrians headed for the tram after work—all of it was a blur. I drove on autopilot. My mind was full of the grainy screen-shot they’d shown of Wes. I’d recognized him easily. And so would anyone else who knew him. But would those people turn him in?

  His face was at the scene. It didn’t matter that the girl had already been dead when he’d showed up that day. The camera put him there. And I had no doubt who’d found it and fed it to the police. Especially after all this time.

  Wes’s phone rang. He hit the “ignore” button before I could see who it was. Three seconds after he silenced it, my phone rang. I almost ignored it. Between my own stress and the spike of anxiety from the bond with the pack—especially George and Chris—talking on the phone seemed overwhelming. But then I saw the screen and I couldn’t let it go. I hit the button for speakerphone.

  “Fee,” I said simply.

  “How is he?” she asked, her voice tight with worry.

  I glanced at Wes. His expression was stony as he stared ahead. Not a single muscle twitched. Not even after hearing Fee.

  “He’s … processing,” I said.

  “Where are you?” she asked.

  “Driving.”

  “Good. Get to Edie’s. We’re all meeting you there.”

  “I’m on it. See you soon.”

  I started to disconnect, but Fee’s voice stopped me. “And Tara? Don’t stop for anything. Just get there.”

  “I will,” I promised.

  Then the line went dead.

  I took the ramp for the interstate and eased my foot onto the accelerator. I thought of my words to Alex, about how it felt like everything was building toward something huge. Something larger than I knew what to do with. The truth of those words hit me and I knew it was starting.

  Ten minutes later, I pulled into the parking garage below Grandma’s downtown apartment. I avoided the elevators and found a space as close to the stairwell as possible before cutting the engine. I glanced out all of the windows three times and sucked in a deep breath, my fingers hovering over the door handle. I’d never had to worry about human authorities before. They could be anywhere. No goose bumps, no internal alarm to warn me.

  I took a deep breath to calm the nerves that danced through the bond. It wasn’t enough.

  I texted George. Wes was named the prime suspect in Mal’s murder.

  It was a horrible way to deliver news that your friend was being framed for murder, but he needed to know the danger wasn’t so immediate he should risk himself in getting to me. And if I knew George, any longer and he’d do exactly that.

  The reply was instant. Who’s Mal?

  Cord’s friend from DC. Our CHAS contact.

  Run or fight?

  I knew what he was asking—and what he wanted my answer to be. All of them could sense it now, my restlessness, my nerves wound tight. Everyone wanted to release the energy coiling. They wanted a fight.

  I glanced at Wes and then texted back. Stand by. Going to see Grandma.

  Be there in 30. Bringing Chris.

  I started to type an agreement and then deleted it and sent: I need you there. Wait for my call. Whatever came next, I couldn’t leave the pack unguarded. I needed to know they were safe.

  Somewhere in the parking garage, a car door slammed. I flinched. Angela’s intake of breath was audible, but Wes didn’t budge. I reached out and took his hand, barely applying pressure as I laid my palm over his knuckles. Something about him seemed surprisingly fragile right now. And very close to an edge I didn’t want to accidentally push him over.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  Silence. Angela shifted in the backseat.

  “We’re going in here to make a plan,” I said. “We’re going to fight this.”

  Finally, Wes blinked and turned to me. His eyes were clearer but his chin jutted in a way that spoke of temper. Serious, burning temper. “You know it was Steppe, right?” His voice was low and even and made the Werewolf in me shiver in anticipation. It wanted to follow him wherever he wanted to take this. I shook it off, gripping the wheel to ground myself in my humanness.

  “Yes,” I said. “It was definitely Steppe.”

  “He’s started something.”

  “I know.” I shivered.

  “I can’t go home.”

  “Everyone’s coming here. We’ll figure it out.”

  He squeezed my hand. I knew my words weren’t much of an answer, but it was enough for now.

  We took the stairs to Grandma’s apartment single file. I made Angela go first. If anyone was waiting for us, she’d see them and signal. It was strangely satisfying to be protecting Wes for once, instead of the other way around. And even stranger that he didn’t object to my taking charge.

  Jack met us as we came out of the stairwell. His large frame made a barrier, blocking the way for anyone that tried to pass. At the sight of Angela, I saw him tense.

  “It’s us,” I called.

  He relaxed again when he saw Wes and me. “You made it,” he said. “Any problems?”

  “Not yet,” I said.

  “Let’s get inside.”

  Jack led the way, his shoulders brushing either side of the doorframe as he passed through. The apartment had a narrow entryway that opened into a sparsely furnished living space. I wasn’t sure if Grandma kept her seating to a minimum out of personal preference or to discourage company, but a loveseat and small end table were the only furniture present. The open space flowed right into the kitchen with a breakfast bar separating the two.

  I spotted Grandma first. She stood pouring tea into a row of mugs. My mother had her back to me and her head stuck inside a kitchen cabinet. Cambria and Cord were on the loveseat with Derek pacing behind them. He stilled when he saw us.

  “They’re here,” Jack announced.

  My mother snapped the cabinet shut and hurried over, pulling me into a rough hug. “Thank goodness,” she said. Even Grandma looked visibly relieved.

  “We’re okay, Mom,” I said, my voice coming out halted and uneven underneath the pressure of her arms. She let go of me and promptly hugged Wes.

  “I know,” she said, “but I was worried and your grandmother’s appliances are already so clean.”

  Over her shoulder, Wes looked at me with brows raised. His hands rested awkwardly on my mother’s shoulders.

  I looked around at the group assembled. “Where’s Fee?”

  “She had to make a quick stop. She’s on her way,” Jack said.

  “What’s she doing here?” Cord asked, pointing at Angela. I’d almost forgotten her.

  “She was at the hospital when we saw the news,” I said.

  “She shouldn’t be here for this,” Cord said. I traded glares with her. If it were anyone else, I’d agree. But this was Angela. And while Cord and I had moments of near-friendship, I’d happily fight her on this right now.

  “She stays,” I said.

  Cord looked ready to argue but Grandma cut her off. “We don’t have time for this. She can stay for now. We have a lot to say and not a lot of time.”

  “Shouldn’t we wait for Fee?” I asked.

  “She’ll catch up. Here, drink this.” Grandma handed Wes and I each a cup of the steaming tea I’d seen her pour. My mother handed one to Angela.

  “What is it?” I asked with a sniff.

  “Energy,” she said simply.

  “We already had ours. Drink up. You’re going to need it,” Jack added.

  Fee wasn’t here, but I sipped cautiously anyway. “Not bad,” I said.

  Wes downed his in three gulps and set the cup aside. “What’s the plan?” he asked. He looked slightly better than he had in the car but his chin
still jutted and his eyes shone with restrained fury. “Are we going after Steppe or what?”

  “Definitely ‘or what,’” Jack said.

  Wes narrowed his eyes. Derek, Cambria, and Cord rose from the couch and walked closer so we were all in a huddle in the center of the room. Angela hung back with my mother.

  “Why not?” Derek asked.

  “I’m with Wes on this,” Cord agreed.

  “We know it was him that fed the surveillance video to the human police,” Wes said.

  “I’m fully aware of this,” Jack began, holding up a hand to halt the argument.

  Cord rolled her eyes. “But …” she prompted.

  “But we need to assess the entire situation before jumping into anything,” Jack finished.

  “Assess what?” Wes asked.

  Someone knocked on the door. I flinched but Cord and Wes sprang into action, flying to the door in a blur of feet. “It’s Fee,” Wes said after checking the peephole.

  We all relaxed as he slid the deadbolt free. Fee slipped inside and the door was again shut and locked behind her. She hugged Wes and then reached out to squeeze Cord’s arm in silent greeting. She searched the room and when her eyes found Jack’s, they shared a tight smile.

  “Tara, glad you made it. Angela, good to see you again,” she said, spotting us.

  “Hello,” Angela said quietly from her spot on the edge of the couch.

  Fee made her way into the living room and I saw that her hair was disheveled and wind-blown. Cord leaned over and whispered something in Fee’s ear. Fee’s cheeks went pink and she fumbled with her zipper.

  “Did you run here?” Derek asked.

  “I did,” she said, sounding slightly winded. She looked at me. “I wanted to inform the pack of what’s happening so they didn’t rush into the city to defend whatever panic you might be sending.”

  “Thanks,” I said, “but you didn’t have to do that. I already texted George. It’s under control.”

  She shook her head and shot a glance at Grandma, her brow wrinkling. “It isn’t solely about Wes being on the news.”

  Something bitter settled at the back of my throat. “What else is there?”

  “That’s what I was getting to. There’s something else you need to know before a decision can be made,” Grandma cut in.

  “What now?” Derek demanded.

  Cord rolled her eyes. “Can you say it so we can move on this guy already?”

  I winced at the look Grandma gave Cord. “I’m getting there. Let me talk,” Grandma said between closed teeth.

  “Sorry,” Cord muttered.

  Grandma turned to me again and I braced myself. I knew that look. It defined the phrase ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop.’

  “There’s been a call for a vote on the amnesty treaty with The Cause,” she said.

  Everyone went silent. Despite knowing it had been coming, it was still sobering. We all knew if Steppe had called for a vote, it meant he was certain he’d get the outcome he was looking for.

  “When?” I asked.

  She looked at each of us in turn. “Tonight.”

  “They’re coming for more than Wes. It’s all of us,” Derek said into the stunned silence.

  “What about the Hunters that have aligned with the group?” Cord asked. “What will they do with them?”

  “Probably arrest them, like they did Cambria’s mother,” Grandma said.

  “But they let my mom go,” Cambria said.

  “Not until they’d tried and sentenced her,” Grandma said.

  Cambria fell silent. I hadn’t heard anything about a hearing or sentencing. Whatever it’d been, it wasn’t good judging from the look Cambria and Grandma shared. I didn’t have a chance to ask.

  “Arrest us on what grounds?” Cord asked.

  “It will be considered an act of treason to work with Werewolves or even to encounter them and not try to put them down,” Grandma said.

  “Put them down?” Cord echoed.

  “It’s their wording, not mine,” Grandma said.

  “I thought the council went after Werewolves who’ve become a danger,” I said.

  Grandma shook her head. “There’s an amendment to that on the table as well. It states all Werewolves are to be put down on sight.” Cord grunted but Grandma ignored her and went on. “Any Hunters who help them, including letting them live, would be considered traitors.”

  “What? Why?” This seemed extreme, even for Steppe.

  “After the fiasco with the hybrids, you turning and biting Alex, and Wes, a member of a supposedly peaceful group wanted for murder—”

  “Steppe has all the ammunition he needs to make it open season on anything furry,” Derek finished for her. Grandma nodded.

  “How many do they need for the vote to pass?” Derek asked.

  “He needs a majority, so three.”

  “Majority is three? How many CHAS members are there?” I asked.

  “With the Lexingtons gone, CHAS is down to five. Steppe, myself, Hugo, Kane, and Sandefur.”

  Kane. After our conversation the other day, I thought maybe he’d been on my side, but faced with the chance to legally hunt the creature he hated most in the world … I wasn’t sure I could compete with that.

  “Wait, Hugo? As in, my teacher at Wood Point?” I asked.

  “Yes. And so far, he’s been with Steppe all the way,” Grandma said.

  My shoulders sagged. “Between him, Steppe, and Kane, he has his three.”

  “Kane’s not voting with Steppe,” Grandma said.

  My head snapped up. “What? Why not?”

  Grandma shrugged. “He hasn’t said much about it, but he’s made it absolutely clear he’s voting against the treaty being rescinded.”

  I looked at Wes. “Do you think it’s for Vera?” I asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “Wait,” Cambria cut in. “Are you saying the swing vote is Mr. Sandefur?”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Grandma said. “All of my attempts to reach him have been denied. He won’t even speak to me outside official meetings.”

  “Sandefur. I know that name,” I said.

  Cambria’s eyes were wide as she answered, “For good reason. It’s Logan’s dad.”

  “Logan’s … Are you serious?” Cord unfolded her arms and waved a hand in the air. “Well, what are you waiting for? One of you go call science-kid and tell him to handle his daddy.”

  I shared a look with Cambria. “I don’t think it will be that easy. Logan’s pretty outspoken about the politics of CHAS. And I’m pretty sure it’s not an opinion he shared with his dad.”

  Cord huffed. “Since when does any kid agree with his parents?” No one answered. “You’re not even going to try?” she added.

  “I’ve already spoken with your friend,” Grandma said. “His father is unreachable through all avenues.” I sensed a larger store of information there, but I let it go. Whatever was going on between Logan and his dad, if it wouldn’t help us with the vote, it wasn’t something I could focus on right now.

  CHAS was down to five. One of them—the father of my friend—held the fate of this entire room in his hands. And the fate of my pack.

  I let it all sink in and tried to figure out what the next move would be in a scenario like this. It felt surreal. We’d gone from having amnesty to being fugitives in a matter of hours. And it was all up to Logan’s dad. I hadn’t seen that one coming.

  “How much time do we have?” Derek asked.

  “The vote is in two hours,” Grandma said. “After that, everything changes. If Steppe gets his way and the vote passes, teams will be deployed.”

  “We’ll have to fight,” Derek said.

  I winced at the hardness in his voice. I had no doubt he meant the words. Or that he spoke the truth.

  I thought of Kane and his warning the other day. He was a leader of the best strike team out there. Would he be the one to come after us? Would one of us have to fight him? I wasn’t sure if I could
live with hurting someone else I knew, not after Alex. Especially knowing Kane wasn’t even the one voting for this kind of bloodshed.

  “It’ll be people we know,” I said. “Friends.”

  “They aren’t my friends,” Cord shot back. Her eyes were lit with a fire I only ever saw right before she attacked something. She’d looked this way before she staked Miles. I suppressed a shiver.

  “We aren’t going to fight,” Grandma said. “Not yet.”

  “What?” Derek asked.

  Wes fisted his hands. “What do you mean? We have to fight.”

  “We can’t run away,” Cord argued.

  “We can and we will,” Jack said, his voice raised over everyone else’s. The deep bass of the alpha shut everyone else up. He wasn’t necessarily my alpha, but when Jack spoke that way, everyone listened. “For now, anyway,” he went on. “We have to figure this out, have time to plan it properly. We can’t rush in with guns blazing.”

  Cord opened her mouth like she was going to argue, but Jack cut her off with a look. “It’s a figure of speech. You know what I mean.”

  “Jack’s right,” Fee said, her voice gentle by comparison but still firmer than normal. “We need to regroup. Figure this out. They haven’t even voted yet.”

  “Always the diplomat,” I muttered.

  “We all know what’s going to happen,” Derek said.

  “Until it does, we have no grounds,” Fee said. “We can’t defend ourselves against something that technically hasn’t happened yet.”

  “And once the vote happens and they come after us? Then what?” Wes asked. His hands were still fisted, as if attempting to hold his tension closer. There was nothing I could do to calm him. Not now. I was as upset as he was.

  “Then we can respond,” Jack said, his eyes glinting with the prospect of a fight. That seemed to calm Derek and Cord some, but Wes remained rigid.

  “So we run … where?” Cord asked.

  “And for how long?” Derek added. “I’m not hiding forever.”

  Fee sighed. Grandma and my mother exchanged a look. “That’s the debate,” Grandma said. “Putting you all in any one place is dangerous. But finding multiple safe locations is proving to be a challenge as well. We have some ideas, but …” she trailed off, her eyes on me, and I understood.