by BE Kelly
Ash looked around the cabin, suddenly seeming unsure. “Mom said I shouldn’t leave the cabin,” he whispered.
“It’s all right, little man,” Gray said. “She told me to take you for some food and I bet you could use a shower and some clean clothes.” Ash looked down at his dirty, food-stained shirt and nodded.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Mom said she’d bring me clean clothes when she comes back.”
Gray nodded, “It’s okay, Ash. When I was your age, I was always dirty and spilling stuff on my shirt. My Mama would get so upset with me but I told her that I was a boy and that’s what boys do—right? We get messy?” Gray smiled at the kid and when Ash smiled back, his heart nearly melted.
“So, how about it, Ash? Food and some clean clothes sound good to you?” Gray knew that some of the kids back at Echo’s looked to be about Ash’s size. He knew he could borrow something for the kid back at the compound. He just hoped like hell that Ash agreed to leave with him.
“All right,” Ash hesitantly agreed. “As long as you’re sure that it’s okay with my mom.” Gray nodded and reached for the kid and when Ash took his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted to do was drag the kid out of the cabin against his will.
They got outside and Ash blinked against the darkness. Gray gave him a minute to adjust to the light and then pulled him along to find Kaiah. She had kept her word and was not so patiently waiting for them out by the path that led back to his truck. The kid wasn’t wearing a coat so Gray took off his and wrapped it around Ash’s shoulders.
“Sorry, it’s a little big, Ash,” Gray said. “Your mom didn’t bring you a coat?” he asked.
“My dad said that coats of for humans. Shifters don’t need coats since we always run warm. He said that being cold makes you a man,” Ash said. He shivered and Gray wrapped the coat tighter around the kid.
“But your arms in so we can zip you up, little man. I’m a shifter and just about as tough as they come but I wear a coat,” Gray said. Ash nodded and smiled up at him, shoving his arms through the holes and letting Gray zip the coat up for him.
“Thanks,” the kids said.
“No problem, little man,” Gray said. He nodded to Kaiah, “This is Kaiah. She’s with me and she’s nice. Mind if she goes with us to get some food and clean clothes?” Kaiah shot him a worried look and he shrugged. “Kids hungry and his mom hasn’t come around in four or five days,” he explained. He could see the worry behind her eyes but Kaiah smiled and kept things casual.
“Well, I’m hungry too,” she said. “How about we find some breakfast?” She held out her hand to Ash and he hesitated, even squeezing Gray’s hand in his own. “I won’t bite,” she promised. Ash reached up and took her offered hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Ash,” Kaiah said. The kid nodded and slunk back to Gray’s side. He led them back up the hill to his truck and helped Ash into the back cab, buckling him in. Having a little one around again really brought back memories and he suddenly felt overwhelmed by his sadness.
Kaiah rested her hand on his arm. “You good?” she asked, picking up on his sudden mood shift.
“I will be,” he whispered. “How could Mary just leave him like that?” he asked.
“Don’t know,” Kaiah said. “But, after we get Ash some food, I say we find out.”
“He’ll stay out at Echo’s,” Gray said. “I won’t be taking him back to his parents until we get to the bottom of this.” Kaiah nodded and went up on her tiptoes to gently kiss his mouth.
“Our baby is very lucky to have you as a father, Gray,” she whispered against his lips. She made his damn heart stutter the way she made him feel—so completely loved in every way.
“Thanks, Baby Girl,” he whispered. “Now, let's go get this kid some food and clean clothes. Then, we’re rounding up the rest of the gang and coming back out here. As of today, this ends.”
Kaiah
Gray drove them back to Echo’s as Ash sat quietly in the back of his pick-up. The poor kid looked worried and she couldn’t blame him. He’d been through so much, her heart ached for him. She could tell that Gray was torn up by what he saw back in that cabin but he seemed to be holding it together for her and Ash.
“You sure my mom won’t be mad at me?” he asked.
Gray nodded and smiled back to him in the rearview mirror. “Yep,” he lied. “She wants you to get some food and fresh clothes.” Ash nodded and sat back, looking out the window. Kaiah didn’t realize she had been worried and holding her breath until they left the reservation. That’s when she breathed a sigh of relief even though they were nowhere near done with this nightmare.
“We’re going to take you back to my dad’s place,” Kaiah offered. Calling Echo her dad still felt weird. But, spending this past month with him and his family had been nice. Even Aylen seemed to be coming around and letting their dad into their lives piece by piece. “His wife, Anita, makes the best pancakes in the world. Plus, after you get cleaned up, there are some kids about your age to play with. I think you’ll like it, Ash,” Kaiah offered.
“Will I have to go back to the cabin?” he almost whispered. Gray looked at her and she knew that there would be no way in hell he’d take Ash back to the hunting cabin and leave him again.
“No,” she said. “I promise you won’t have to go back there.” How she was supposed to keep that promise was beyond her, but she’d do her best to make sure that didn’t happen. Ash didn’t deserve to be locked away just because he couldn’t shift.
“Dad’s not mad anymore?” Ash asked.
“Mad?” Gray questioned. “Why would your dad be mad?”
Ash shrugged, “Mom said that Dad is mad at me because I can’t shift like the rest of my pack.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s anything to be mad about,” Gray said. “I was a late shifter myself. I didn’t shift for the first time until I was almost twelve. Kids from my pack made fun of me but I never let it bother me,” he said. Ash smiled and nodded.
“Maybe I’ll be a late shifter too,” he said.
“Sure thing, little man,” Gray said. Kaiah’s heart broke for the kid, believing that his father was angry with him because he couldn’t shift—even if it was the truth.
“I like pancakes,” Ash said, smiling at Kaiah. She nodded and palmed her flat belly. The thought of her child going hungry or feeling less than, pissed her off. Her child would never know any of the sadness she saw in Ash’s eyes. Gray smiled over at her, laying his hand over hers.
“I know, Baby Girl,” he whispered. “I feel the same way.” Gray always seemed to be able to read her. He spent every minute with her; besides the time he took to shift and go for a run with Aylen or Rios. She kept little Ryker while they were out but Gray always found an excuse to cut his hunt short to get back to her. But, she knew it was because he didn’t want to leave her alone in a strange place and Kaiah appreciated that.
They turned onto the gravel path that led back to Echo’s place. She just hoped that they wouldn’t turn them away for what they had done. Echo made it clear that he didn’t want to cause trouble with Jace—especially with Lake all but being held hostage on the reservation. They had put him up in his own cabin and he seemed happy enough but Kaiah felt bad for her brother. He was staying out there to save her ass and she owed him. Bringing Ash back to the compound might cost her brother his life.
Gray parked his truck in front of Echo’s and Kaiah found her sister standing on the front porch, her arms crossed over her chest which was usually a sign that her sister was pissed. “Yeah—good luck with that,” Gray said, nodding to Ay. “I’m guessing she picked up on something.”
Kaiah got out of the truck and crossed the little front yard to face down her sister, Echo, and Rios joining them on the porch. “You went against my wishes and took him. How did you even find him? I thought you said you couldn’t see where he was being held,” Echo said. Ash jumped down from the truck and shyly waved at everyone on the porch. Aylen’s gasp t
old Kaiah that she saw just how bad off the kid was.
“How about we table this until Gray can show Ash into the kitchen. He’s starving and I told him that Anita makes the best pancakes in the world,” Kaiah said. She stared down Echo and he nodded.
“My wife does make some pretty great pancakes, Ash,” Echo said, catching on. “You remember me?” Ash nodded and followed Echo into the house.
“What did you do?” Aylen said, turning back to face her and yep—she was still pretty darn angry. “You have no idea what this will cost us. What about Lake?” Gray wrapped a protective arm around her as Echo came back out on the porch.
“He’s in the kitchen with Anita. After he eats, I’ll see if I can get him some clean clothes. What the hell is going on?” Echo asked.
Kaiah looked between her father and sister and smiled. “You two—I know that neither of you wants to hear this but you are so alike,” Aylen growled in frustration and Kaiah stifled her giggle. Pissing her sister off now wasn’t part of the plan.
“I had a vision last night and knew where Mary was keeping him. She hasn’t been out to see him in four or five days. Gray found that poor kid hungry, dirty, and scared. What was I supposed to do—leave him there?” Aylen dropped her arms and shook her head and even Echo seemed to deflate a little.
“When was the last time you two talked to Mary?” Echo asked. The past week had been a blur. She found out she was pregnant and her world seemed to stop. She and Aylen spent mornings out at the reservation, basically making an appearance, pretending to ask questions about Ash but they were really at a dead end. They had already solved the case but how to tell Jace that and what to do about Mary was another problem.
“Maybe five or six days ago,” Kaiah offered.
“It was last Saturday. We went out to the house a few times but Jace told us that she was resting every time we asked to talk to her. We wanted to see if we could either wear her down into confessing that she had Ash or tricking her into telling us where he was. Finding where she had him stashed was honestly the last piece of the puzzle,” Aylen said.
“Now that we have him, can’t we just confront Mary? Ash will tell everyone that she was the one who took him. I was worried what Jace would do but seeing the condition she left him in, I don’t give a shit anymore,” Gray growled.
“That bad?” Rios asked. Gray nodded and Kaiah wrapped her arms around him a little tighter.
“I’ll call Lake and tell him that we’ve got the kid and we’re coming out to the reservation. He’ll play things cool and not tell Jace. I want my son home and I’m done waiting,” Echo said.
“Agreed,” Gray said. “This needs to end today but I say we need to rally everyone before we head over. Maybe send in Ay and Kaiah and we can shift and head through the woods—you know, use the element of surprise?”
“That’s a good plan,” Rios said. “You think Anita will watch Ryker?” he asked Echo.
“Yep—she loves that kid,” Echo said, wearing a goofy grin. “I’ll get everything set with her and Ash taken care of and then we can head out. Gray, can you round up the guys and let them know what’s going on? The more wolves we can take over, the better.” Gray nodded and kissed Kaiah’s cheek. “Meet you over there, Baby Girl,” he promised.
Aylen didn’t say much on the way over to the reservation. Kaiah knew she was still mad at her but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t change what she did—Ash needed help and she gave it. Her sister would have to get over it. They pulled back through the wood, the thirty-minute drive feeling more like hours.
“She’s dead,” Aylen whispered. Kaiah looked over at her sister and saw that she was crying. She quickly pulled to the side of the road, parking Gray’s truck in the clearing.
“Who’s dead?” Kaiah asked.
“Mary,” Ay said. “I saw it last night but didn’t know how to tell everyone.” Aylen covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Kaiah wrapped her arms around her sister, trying to give her time to calm down but if their plan was going to work, they needed to get to the reservation and find Lake before the wolves got there. Then, they were supposed to all meet over at Jace’s place.
“Ay,” Kaiah soothed, rubbing her hand down her sister’s back. “We need to get to Lake’s place. I know how much seeing someone die hurts. You’re sure?”
“Yeah,” Aylen sniffled, pulling free from Kaiah’s arms to blow her nose. “She killed herself.”
“Shit,” Kaiah cursed. “Why didn’t you tell the others?”
“I wasn’t sure if I was seeing something that will happen or has happened. I was hoping that it was a premonition and something we could stop. But then, you showed up with that little boy and said that Mary hasn’t been out there for four to five days and well, the timing matches up. That’s about when I started seeing Mary—you know, take her own life,” Aylen whispered.
“All right,” Kaiah said. “Well, if she’s dead, there isn’t anything we can do about it. And, if it’s something we can stop, then we will. That little boy needs his mom because his dad is a psychopath. You know Ash told us that his father was mad at him because he couldn’t shift.” They had both seen the reason why Mary stashed Ash in that cabin—his father was angry that he wasn’t shifting. If he found out that Mary was only part shifter, there would be no telling what he'd do to them. The question now was—why would Mary kill herself and leave Ash all alone with his asshole father?
“I’ll be fine,” Aylen lied. “We need to stay on task.” That was her sister, always the voice of reason.
“Let’s get over to Lake and then we can put this whole shit show behind us,” Kaiah offered. She buckled her seatbelt and started back down the gravel road.
Lake had texted them coordinates to his cabin and they were just about there. He stepped out onto the porch and a little blond followed him.
“Well, looks like our little brother has found a way to keep himself busy in captivity,” Aylen grumbled.
Kaiah giggled, “She’s cute.” Ay shot her a look telling her that she was a lot less amused about finding their brother with the young woman.
“Now isn’t the time for dating,” Ay grumbled. “He needs to figure his priorities out.”
“Looks like he has and his top priority is blond, pretty, and wears very little in the way of clothing,” Kaiah teased. They sat and watched as Lake took his time kissing the pretty blond goodbye and Aylen laid on the horn, making their brother jump.
“Looks like that got his attention,” Aylen mumbled as he mean mugged her on his way to the truck. Lake opened the back door and climbed in.
“Thanks for that, Kaiah,” Lake grumbled.
She held up her hands as if in defense, “Wasn’t me,” she admitted.
“You’re welcome,” Aylen said, turning in her seat to face him. “We don’t have time for you to play tonsil hockey with some pretty blond chick. We have bigger things to worry about other than you trying to find her chewing gum.” Lake groaned and Kaiah giggled.
“You do have a colorful way of putting things, Sis,” Kaiah said. They quickly filled Lake in on what was happening and when they got to the part about him returning home, Kaiah could tell that he wasn’t too happy about that part.
“What if I wanted to stay?” Lake asked
“And be held prisoner?” Aylen challenged. “Be my guest but I’m leaving. I miss home and my son needs to be in his own crib at night. I just want to go back to New Orleans.”
“I think I love her,” Lake whispered.
Aylen turned in her seat again, “The hot blond chick on your porch?” she asked.
“Her name is Stardust,” he said.
Aylen barked out her laugh, “Of course it is,” she sassed, “although I was hoping for something like Rainbow.”
“Stop picking on him,” Kaiah said. She checked to find Lake smiling in the rearview. “You do know she’s picking on you right?”
Lake shrugged, “Sure, why?”
“Because you’re smiling like an idi
ot,” Aylen said.
“It’s just—well, I’ve never had a sibling until now and I guess hanging out with the two of you just feels right, you know? Like aren’t older sisters supposed to pick on their younger, handsome brother?” Lake asked. Kaiah smirked at him in the mirror, loving the way he seemed to be able to give Aylen back as good as she gave.
“Watch who you’re calling old,” Aylen warned. “And, you’re not so bad yourself,” she said, “you know, as a younger bratty brother we knew nothing about until a little over a month ago. I guess it could be worse—you could be twins.” Lake stuck his tongue out at Ay, causing them both to giggle.
“So, when we get up here, you should shift and join Echo,” Kaiah said, getting back to business. “We can talk about where everyone wants to live and who they love and all that mushy shit later. Right now, we need to focus,” she ordered.
“Is she always this bossy?” Lake asked Aylen.
“Oh—you have no idea,” Aylen grumbled. They pulled up to Jace’s house and Kaiah cut the engine.
“Ready?” she asked. Aylen looked to the woods and nodded. “I can feel Rios—they’re here.”
“Let’s do this then,” Kaiah ordered. She got out of the truck and took Ay’s hand, taking comfort in having her sister by her side. They watched as Lake shifted and ran off into the woods to find the other wolves. She knocked on the door and they waited for Jace to answer.
“You all are here bright and early today. Is there anyone left to question?” he asked. Kaiah could smell the alcohol on his breath and noticed the way he slurred his words.
