The Only Witness: The Center City Series: Book One

by Shannon Flagg

  There was no worry while within the wolf, no room for second guessing, there was only instinct. He ran as hard as he could, clearing hurdles in the form of fallen trees or bushes with long leaps. The scent of others began to take over the soothing scent of the forest. It was the part of Deacon that remained which made the wolf slow and then stop when it would much rather rush forward and rip throats out.

  Instead he waited, changing back when he heard Houdini and Lina come up behind him. Houdini tossed him the clothes he'd shed and held out his gun. “You ready to do this, Prez?”

  “Hell yeah,” Deacon looked over to Lina. “I know that you're a Stray, if you're playing me it won't save you, I'll still rip your head off and mail it to someone you love.”

  “Nice imagery,” she looked offended. “I suppose I can tell you I'm trustworthy a dozen times and you won't believe. How about I show you instead?”

  “How about you call your contact? Figure out where my sister and Susan are,” Deacon suggested. He'd come up with a plan, well something that resembled a plan, on the run over. Lina removed a phone from her pocket and began to text. “Houdini, I need you to go in quiet once we know where they are. Get 'em out. I'll provide the distraction with Lina.”

  “They're all outside now, on the back porch. There's no way to sneak them out unseen.” Lina slid her phone back in her pocket. “The preparations for the pyre have begun.”

  The Old Man's body would be burned, his possessions would pass to the pack since his last living relative had just died. As Leader, Josiah would preside over the ceremony; as a member of the pack, Deacon knew he should have been contacted, told to come at once. The fact that he hadn't been spoke volumes.

  “Where's Master?”

  “He is with Josiah, acting as one of his guards.” Lina replied. “There is no way I can see of you avoiding issuing a challenge to Josiah. Master is obviously his now, as are your other men. Are you certain that you're prepared for it?”

  It was something that he could hear Whiskey saying; it caused Deacon's chest to tighten to realize it. “No,” even now he figured honesty was going to be the best policy. “Houdini, go around to the front of the house, quietly. You should be able to figure something out to get Susan and Adelaide's attention. The plan is the same, get them out of there. Go.”

  Houdini nodded and then slipped away. Deacon gave him several minutes. The scent of fire was in the air. They were lighting the torches for the pyre, giving the pack a few more moments to pay their respects. He finished dressing and started to walk forward. Once he emerged from the woods he could see the pyre was set in the center of the yard. As expected, the pack was there, as well as shifters and, to Deacon's surprise, a few people from town. Humans like Rose who knew the secret and kept it.

  “Didn't think to call me?” Deacon spoke loudly, loudly enough that just about all conversation ceased. All eyes turned to him, some curious and others frightened.

  “Who says that I didn't? I doubt that your phone was tucked under your fur somewhere.” Josiah was on the back porch, Susan and Adelaide beside him. At the foot of the stairs, Master stood to the left and Fire to the right. “We will have a ceremony to honor his life at the next moon. We will change. We will hunt and it will all be in his name. Tragic as this is, he's gone on to a better place.”

  “Had help getting there,” Michael spoke up from his permanent position near Josiah, the man certainly took his bodyguarding seriously. “My money is on his daughter, she was seen fleeing the scene.”

  “Her name is Piper,” Deacon held back his anger, though his first instinct was to ram his fist directly into Michael's smug face. “And I highly doubt that she had anything to do with The Old Man's demise because she's dead herself.”

  “What?” Josiah looked honestly stunned. “What do you mean she's dead?”

  “I mean that she's dead, killed by the same poison used on The Old Man.” Deacon let his words sink in for the crowd now watching with rapt attention. You could have heard a squirrel scampering through the woods, if all the furry woodland creatures hadn't fled at the scent of so many large animals gathered in one place.

  Adelaide let out a gasp that Deacon heard quickly. Her hand pressed over her mouth, the tears streaming from her eyes obvious even at a distance. He wanted nothing more than to go to his sister and comfort her, but he couldn't afford any distraction. Instead he continued to stare at her husband.

  “If she's dead, where's the body?” Michael questioned.

  “I believe that I'll ask the questions here,” Josiah sent a sharp look at Michael who responded by walking back into the house.

  Deacon felt his heartbeat increase. Would Michael walk right into Houdini? No, his friend was better than that. “Fuck you, Josiah, and fuck your questions. Let's start with statements. You went after my club! The Vikings had nothing to do with the pack, nothing.”

  “An offer was merely made, Deacon, you can not fault me for their accepting it. I understand that you lost a man during the transition, for that I am truly sorry. As I told you when we spoke, my intent here is not violence. I want to strengthen it.”

  “Your apology doesn't mean a thing to me.”

  “Careful Deacon, you're very close to crossing a line which you do not want to cross. I can understand your frustration at the situation. As a token of my good will, I will allow you retribution for the man you lost.”

  “Retribution?” Deacon had expected to already be fighting. The way that Josiah was handling the situation wasn't what he expected.

  “An eye for an eye, so to speak. In this case, a life for a life.” Josiah held up a hand as the crowd began to murmur. “I can think of no better way to show just how serious I am about my word being followed.”

  “Deke,” Adelaide stepped forward. “Please, think about this.”

  “Allow your brother to make his choice, Adelaide.”

  “I have thought about it,” Deacon spoke from between clenched teeth as he watched Adelaide all but wrap herself around Josiah, her face against his chest to block her line of sight of whatever was going to happen. “Master.”

  “Fuck you,” Master spat on the ground.

  “Whiskey's dead because of you. The club is in shambles because of you. How is there any other choice?”

  “The old fucker is dead because he couldn't see that change is the way to go, and the club is in shambles because of you. Every choice you've made since you took the gavel is the reason for all of this. It's on you.”

  “You were the one screaming loudest you wanted nothing with the pack,” Deacon pointed out. “Look at you now.” He didn't give Master a chance to respond, he couldn't. Instead he moved forward, felt an intense satisfaction as his fist plowed directly into the other man's face.

  It was then that the rage inside of him took over, it was powerful, more powerful than the wolf. All of the recent tension with Master, the years that they spent as friends and the depth of the betrayal surged to the surface. Deacon was hardly aware of what he was doing, except for the fact that his hands were starting to hurt. He looked down, saw blood. Master's blood and what was left of Master's face, it wasn't much.

  “Loyalty is something that should not be taken lightly!” Josiah's voice echoed through the clear night air. “This man swore his fealty to Deacon and has paid the price for his betrayal. Let it be a lesson to all of you what happens when...”

  Whatever Josiah was going to say next was lost as Adelaide let out a scream that made all of Deacon’s hair stand on end. She'd seen something, had one of the visions which had plagued her and generations before her.

  “Adelaide, what is it?” Josiah's voice was dripping with concern.

  “It's Vera,” she gasped out the words, her hand pressed against her chest. “She's in danger. I am certain of it. It could have not happened yet, or it could be happening now. I can't tell. Talking is wasting time. We don't have that luxury right now. Josiah, make sure that Caro can find my kit. Tell her to bring everything. Everything.”<
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  Deacon opened his mouth to question what she meant but it was of no use, he saw Adelaide's eyes flare. The air around her crackled with electricity as she let the wolf take over. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Jake, Mark and Dustin, you three stay here and keep an eye on everything. The rest of you, follow my wife. Be very clear, the human woman, Vera, is with us. You will cause her no harm and you will die for her if need be.” Josiah stood tall, his gaze moving around the crowd. “If you have a problem with that, use the time that it will take me to handle this as a head start to get out of town and as far away as possible.”

  Deacon stood for a moment, simply stunned by what Josiah had just said. He shook himself out of it, changed and took off in the direction that Adelaide had gone.

  Chapter NINETEEN

  It was likely that only minutes had passed, but to Vera they felt like hours. Any noise from outside seemed amplified; she jumped at every single one. There was a sort of comfort to weight of the gun in her hand but it wasn't enough. Panic had taken up permanent residence inside of her mind; she'd shoved it down deep to keep it from Deacon, he didn't need anything else on his plate. But even from that tiny hole it ate at her as she paced back and forth.

  As much as she tried, she couldn't keep from looking over to where Piper's body lay under a blanket she'd found in the closet. It hadn't seemed right to just leave her there uncovered. Deacon had closed her eyes before he left. Grief washed over her, her grief for him and what he'd lost; two people he loved were dead. He'd lost so much over the years, his brother and parents so close together, that he didn't need to have this happening to him as well. Then there was the stuff with The Vikings and the pack. Another man would have broken, but somehow Deacon remained standing and fighting.

  Vera continued to pace for a while and then finally sat. Where were the people that Lina said she was sending? Something about the woman rubbed her wrong, there was definitely something going on with her. For now, she'd keep her mouth shut because there was already so much to worry about.

  Deacon was worried, angry and just all around upset, Vera felt her anxiety increasing. It reminded her of the episode she'd had before she knew everything she knew now. Susan had told her to breathe. It had calmed her. She tried it now, barely managing to draw a full breath into her overly tight chest but eventually, she no longer felt lightheaded and was a little more in control.

  Control. She needed to keep control. Now was not the time to let her mind start to screw with her; she had to keep cool. Vera knew it was possible but didn't know how to manage it. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to get relaxed enough in the police station, cuffed to the chair in Will's office, to meditate a little, share her calm with Deacon. Maybe she could do it now.

  One thing was for sure, she couldn't do anything while staring at Piper on that couch. Where the hell were Lina's guys? Gun still in hand, Vera turned in a circle and looked around the cabin. It was small, too small, closing in small.

  The air outside was fresh and cool in comparison to the stifling cabin. Vera inhaled deeply, let the air fill her lungs and tried the best that she could to calm herself down. She listened to the sounds of the forest, caught the scent of the dark damp earth in the woods. With a sigh, Vera sat down on the small porch and rested her face in her hands.

  For moments there was nothing but the sound of the woods, and it was enough to calm her. Maybe she became too calm, because she didn't realize that something was wrong until the hair on the back of her neck stood up; she felt someone behind her an instant too late. All Vera could do was scream as she was shoved face first to the ground.

  Screaming was pointless, she knew it but she couldn't stop. The warm breath spilling over her cheek and the putrid scent that she couldn't believe she hadn't remembered from her earlier attack made her gag. Vera tried to fight, to break away though she didn't know where exactly she would go, but she was overpowered. The thing was stronger than she was.

  “I'd hoped to have more time with you, Vera but it is not in the cards. Things are moving quickly now, the world is going to change. Don't worry, you won't even notice because you won't be here.” The thing spoke in a guttural voice, the words almost unrecognizable as it straddled her body, legs on either side of hers.

  Vera didn't know when she stopped struggling, she just couldn’t move. She couldn't think or breathe. Desperately she tried to use her connection with Deacon, to let him know that she was in trouble. His face was clear in her mind but the bond she'd expected to feel wasn't there. He'd locked her out when she needed him the most.

  It was like fire tearing her skin apart as the claws sliced across her back from shoulder to hip. The pain was so intense that she couldn't even scream, all she could do was give in to the blackness edging her vision.

  <#<#>#>#>#

  Deacon followed the route that Adelaide had taken through the woods, her trail was as clear as if she'd been leaving glitter behind. He scented her fear, fear for Vera. The harder he tried to concentrate on Vera, on their bond, the more confused he became. There was nothing, nothing at all but if she were truly dead he would know that. He'd feel her loss in his soul. Whatever Adelaide's vision had been, he had no doubt that it would come true, and his only hope was that they arrived in time to stop whatever was about to happen. They had to stop it. He didn't want to lose her.

  It took forever, and no time at all, to get to where he'd left her. There were a plethora of scents, so many he couldn't begin to think of which way to go, and then he saw her. Vera was face down on the grass, one hand actually dug into the dirt as if she'd been trying to get away. His wolf howled, snarled and surged towards her. He was blocked by the blonde wolf he knew to be Josiah. It took effort not to lash out, let his teeth snap and take out the throat, but even through the haze of anger he knew that he couldn't kill the one his sister loved.

  The ATV roared into the clearing. Susan had arrived, and she had Houdini with her. Deacon had forgotten about Houdini, he'd left with his friend still inside The Old Man's house. Fuck. Houdini could have been hurt or killed by those left behind, and it hadn't even occurred to him.

  He had changed quickly, which took a toll. And now he'd changed back again just as fast. The change back to human was more taxing for some reason, and combined with the emotions that were rushing through him, Deacon had to sit down. He watched Adelaide kneeling next to Vera, Susan coming over and both of them starting to speak in a sort of medical shorthand that was gibberish to him.

  Deacon watched his sister apply something to Vera's back, cover the ground with a blanket and then turn her so she was face up. She wasn't breathing. Deacon couldn't see the rise and fall of her chest. It was why he couldn't feel her anymore.

  Deacon let out a pain-filled cry, tunnel vision focused on getting to her, but Josiah kept him back with force. “I'll rip your throat out,” he raged. “Let me go to her, now!” His voice sounded strange to his ears. It took him a moment to realize that it sounded so strange because he was crying, sobbing like a child. For Vera to be dead meant that nothing mattered any more. For all he cared, Chief Will could roll up with light and sirens to take him to jail for Graham Caldwell's murder.

  There was the sound of a loud gasp and then a cough, Deacon looked up and saw that Adelaide was helping Vera sit up. There was no holding him back when she looked over at him.

  “Take it easy with her,” Adelaide cautioned him. “I'll need to get her back to the house to finish with her back. The scratches are deep, they reacted to the ointment which means...”

  “I know what the scratches mean,” Vera's voice was raspy. Someone had grabbed her around the throat, Deacon could see the bruises around her neck, on the side of her face. “Dead mere mortal walking—or, well, more accurately, sitting.” She let out a small sound that was probably intended to be a wry laugh but came out more like a sob.

  “Do not jump to conclusions, Vera,” Adelaide reached out and cupped her face. “It can be fought. We are going to fight it.”

&n
bsp; “What are you talking about?” Vera questioned. Her eyes went to Deacon. “Is that true?”

  “It's true.” Deacon replied, it was true that there was a chance. They could fight, but it would be a long shot. There was still a really good chance that she would die. He couldn't even think of it. “We can fight.”

  “What are we waiting for? Let's get me back home, then.”

  Deacon could have started to weep again at the sight of the hope in her eyes. He, or someone else, would have to explain the odds to her. No, not someone else. This was on him. He was going to do it no matter what.

  “Vera, my setup is at Deacon's house,” Adelaide explained, “so, you can't go home. I need to make as much of the ointment as I can.”

  “I was talking about Deacon's house,” Vera met his eyes with a small smile that made his heart race in his chest. She'd called his house home. “Wait, what's so important about the ointment?”

  “It's how we fight the infection,” Deacon told her.

  “So, we rub this stuff in the cut every day until the next moon and there's a chance that I won't die, that I'll live?” she cleared her throat, twisted her fingers together.

  “Yes,” Deacon took her hands. “Vera, look at me. If we try and you survive the change, you'll be a Were.”

  “I'll be like you,” she met his eyes, “like most of you. Just not sure I can ever get used to the rampant nakedness. I've got body issues.”

  Adelaide let out a laugh. “If she's cracking jokes, I'd say it's a good sign.”

  “I'd agree,” Josiah chimed in. “You are quite brave, Vera. That's admirable.”

  “We're going to get you home and everything is going to be fine.” Deacon brought Vera's knuckles to his mouth, kissed them. “I know that you probably don't want to talk about it, but we need to know about the... thing who attacked you.”

  “It was the same thing as before. I was on the porch, I couldn't breathe in the house. Oh God, Piper. I left her in the house.” Her voice rose, panic obvious on her face.