“What is it?” I asked, reaching across the console to squeeze his leg comfortingly.
“Ro said to meet him at our house. Says he and the queen have been there all night.” He tapped on the display in the dash, setting the directions to “Home.” “He didn’t say why.”
“What?” Frowning, I thought about all the possible reasons Ro and the queen would have that would make them relocate to the house – to invade Liam and Jolleen’s home in the middle of the night. Now, even more, I couldn’t wait to get home.
We arrived close to ten, and found other vehicles parked on the driveway. Despite our fatigue, we all hurried through the garage door and into the kitchen. Jolleen and Rowen were at the table having a snack. Rowen started to break away from her crackers and cheese but her mother stopped her. Looking up at Gearden, she told him he would find Ro in the media room.
We climbed the stairs like marathoners on their last quarter mile to the finish line – a sorry looking group, I’m sure, as we hurried up, using the railing for support. The door was opened when we arrived and we went in to find Caleb sitting on the couch with his computer on his lap and the queen standing poised in the front of the room. Ro stood at the druid’s side. Everyone looked up as we entered.
“Did you know?” I asked Selena, striding to her angrily. Nearly toe-to-toe with her, I stopped, glaring up at her.
She didn’t deny it. “Yes, I did.”
Her honesty surprised me. “You knew that you had the whereabouts of this prophecy and didn’t tell me?”
Icy blue eyes narrowed. “I… made sure the information was… I shared it.”
Frustrated, I threw my hands in the air and turned to Gearden. “Damn it! I can’t understand what she’s saying.”
Crossing the room to stand beside me, he opened our telepathic link so I could hear what she was saying through him. Then he told her, “Say it again. Now that she can understand you.”
The queen didn’t ask for an explanation. “I wanted to make sure the information was valid before I shared it.”
“Valid? What do you mean?” I asked her.
She looked up.
“Ro.” Gearden told me. Turning, I looked at Ro. Thankfully, Gearden took up the communication slack. “She means the location is on a thumb drive and she hasn’t been able to open the file.” He gestured to Caleb who was lost in whatever he was looking at on the small screen less than a foot in front of him. “So, I recruited Caleb here to help with that.”
I nodded absently, still trying to process everything. I turned to look at the queen and she gave me a “You see,” look, as if that made it all better. She still could have divulged this important bit of information before.
“How long have you had it?” I demanded.
Her hesitation told me I wouldn’t like the answer. “Since just before we met.”
And she was right.
Caleb looked up, excited about whatever he’d just found and Ro bent down to peer over his shoulder.
I gave one last glare in the queen’s direction before going to sit beside Caleb on the couch. “What did you find?” I looked up at Gearden who was leaning over the couch beside his brother, hoping he’d be able to translate for me. He nodded.
“It’s a translated file of another document. But it looks weird. Like it’s a copy of a copy and the original is nowhere to be found,” Caleb rambled on, but Gearden’s attention had veered off. I looked up to see that Gearden had started to read the document. I snapped my fingers in front of his face, attracting his attention. He shook his head and tuned back to Caleb, but it was too late. We’d missed everything he’d said after that.
Considering it a loss, I moved on. “I thought we were looking for the location of a prophecy, not a business deal.”
Slowly, we each looked up and gazed at the queen, beseechingly.
Her soft pink lips smiled at each of us in turn, taking time to finally settle on me. Quickly, Gearden opened his mind for me. “I’ve always had an idea of where it could be. I just needed proof.”
“But this…this is a deal about land and statutes.” I argued.
She didn’t move or say anything but I could see that she was speaking to me in her silence. With brows scrunched so tight I felt a tension headache come on, I turned back to the computer screen, reading over the document again. It looked like it was missing a lot of words in its translation, making me wonder what the original language was.
Words like, “Native” and “New” kept appearing. Another word was repeated: “Underground.”
My gaze fell away from the words as I started to process it. Running through my mind, over and over, the words of the prophecy came back. Then leaning over Caleb, I used the mouse to scroll to the bottom of the page, where the word, “Conditions” popped out at me. I took my time to read it, though it was hard to focus when my mind was already whirling. “Blood, mixed, and breaking rules.” No…Breaking contract.
“It’s not a prophecy,” I whispered finally, staring up at the queen who gave me a sad smile and nodded. “It’s a contract.”
Gearden was the first to say something to me. “We can see that, Maeleigh. It’s not what we’re looking for. Zerena and the queen fed us wrong information.”
I turned shocked eyes to him, shaking my head adamantly. “No! No! There is no prophecy. It’s always been a contract. I’m the clause. My blood enables me to dissolve the contract that put the faerie underground in the first place.” Everyone froze. Even Gearden didn’t have anything to say to me.
Bri looked up and signed to me, albeit falteringly, “How do we break it then? The contract?”
I thought on it for a second, but I didn’t have an answer. With a shrug, I looked at Selena again. She didn’t disappoint. “Only a person with your blood can touch or handle the contract. Therefore, you can break it.”
Just then, Liam walked in, looking stressed. Frowning, I only just then wondered where he’d been all this time. I expected him to be here with us, especially two minutes ago. When he spotted me, though, he zeroed in. “We have a problem,” he announced, motioning for me to follow him. With a fleeting glance at Gearden, I stood up and went with him. Gearden followed close behind us, speaking to Liam as we rushed down the stairs and out the back door. “Is it the Cearer?” I asked. He just shook his head.
Down the tree covered path and into the clearing of the compound, we saw Senior racing over to meet us. “Good,” he said, panting. He was excited about something, and not in a good way. They both rushed me to the temporary jailhouse cabin and before the door was even pushed open, I could feel the commotion rumbling under my feet. Inside was a feral, gray wolf, saliva foaming along its muzzle and dripping from its jaws. The bed that had been there earlier was now just mangled pieces of metal, wood and stuffing. The chain that had secured him to the wall, was loose and empty – too large to hold a shifted lycan. Seeing me, the wolf immediately started to leap for me. We jumped back out, slamming the door closed.
“How did this happen?” I asked Gearden.
Gearden looked at his grandfather, “What happened?”
“He shifted,” Senior said, looking at a loss.
With a frown, Gearden pressed him for more information. “But the iron is supposed to control the change.”
His dad interjected, “It is.”
“Then how…” I said, my voice trailing off. A thought came into mind just then. “Does iron affect all other-worlders or just lycan?”
“All,” Gearden answered. As he gazed down at me, he noticed that something was brewing in my mind. “What is it?”
“My bed was made of iron, growing up.” There was no doubt in my mind that my dad had on purpose supplied me with a bed that would keep me from shifting. At least, not without his knowledge. Disgust shot through me and bile rose in the back of my throat but I swallowed it back, forcing myself to stay on topic.
“What do we do?” I asked Liam, moving on.
I could see the empathy in all their eyes
but I ignored it. Gearden projected his father’s words. “Strictly speaking, you’re his alpha. If anyone can talk him down and force him to change, it’s you.”
Well, damn. Somehow, I already knew that yet still, it sucked to hear it.
I nodded and stepping back to the door, I cautiously turned the knob. I pushed the door open, slipped in, closed and locked it, all in one swift movement, shutting out the men on the other side. I felt a pounding on the door, probably Gearden, but I ignored it.
My entry drew the wolf’s attention right away. The instant I saw him start to advance on me again, I placed my legs apart to brace myself and held a staying hand out in front of me. “Stop!” I demanded. When he didn’t slow, I didn’t hesitate, barely even thought about it, and shot a small burst of flame his way. It didn’t burn, but it did stun him. He stopped in his tracks, his hind legs coming up as they grasped for purchase. He still snarled at me, but I stared him down, and waited. After a moment, it was he who looked away, proving that I was indeed his alpha.
I gave him a few moments to calm himself before I directed him to, “Shift!”
He didn’t look happy about it, even in his animal form, but he did begin to take human form. When he was done (and stark naked, I might add) I reached out and turned the lock, not taking my eyes off him. As the three men stumbled in, not one hesitated to step in front of me, but I stopped them by saying, “Don’t”. He knows who’s alpha now. He won’t try anything. Will you?” I raised a brow at the disgruntled shifter. Although he lifted his lip to snarl, he looked down when I stepped forward as if to say, “Shall we go another round?”
“Are you alright?” Gearden said, having trouble standing to the side and not in front of me. I didn’t throw him a bone. He’d have to deal with it if I was ever going to really be the alpha that they all thought I was. And if this incident was any indication, it was obvious they did indeed need one who would take the position seriously.
“I’m okay.” I glared over at AJ again. “You have my attention. Was there something you wanted?”
“…promised.” Was all I got from his angry lips.
“Gearden,” I beckoned.
“He said he wants what you promised him. To return to the Westboro pack,” Gearden supplied.
“Now?” I asked, incredulously. I know he wasn’t aware of the crap that was going on in the main house, but seriously? Now?
He just glared at me. And he was right, I had promised. I had also told him that the pack would have a vote on it. “Fine. I’ll take you to the Westboro compound. But the pack will have a say in your return.”
He nodded his understanding and I turned to Senior, “Can you get some clothes for him please?” With a nod, Senior patted Liam on the back and made his way out of the cabin.
Gearden gazed at me calculatingly. I stared back at him, waiting for him to tell me what was on his mind.
“You sure you want to do this right now?” he asked, concern etching lines in his brow.
I glanced worriedly at a pacing AJ, then back to Gearden. “I don’t think I have a choice. The prophecy – contract – whatever – will have to wait for the night. Have Caleb work on it some more. Ask Ro to get more information from the queen. I want to know everything there is to this contract: who has it and how do we get it?”
He nodded, but before leaving me with his dad and AJ, he tugged on my wrist to draw me in to him and pressed a kiss on my lips. It was just what I needed to help ground me. I swallowed the sigh that wanted to ease out, not wanting AJ or Liam to hear. Slowly, he exited the cabin as his grandfather came back in, holding a pile of men’s clothing up for me. Instead of taking them over to the ex-beta, I tossed them at his feet. “Get dressed. We’re going back to Westboro.”
The satisfied looked that came over his face, made me itch to smack it off. The last thing I wanted in life was to please this dude, but a deal’s a deal.
We left Ro and the others digging for more information back at home, while Gearden and I drove out, with AJ in the backseat, to Westboro. After forcing myself to stop looking over my shoulder for the hundredth time, I reached out to Gearden. “Do you have any advice for what we’re about to do?” I kept my eyes on the road, not wanting to give away that he and I were communicating to our guest.
He was quiet for a moment, and then, “This is new territory. Allowing a lycan back into the fold of the pack isn’t usually done after all that he’s done and you being on the opposing side.”
I wanted so badly to turn to look at him, to seek the comfort only my mate could offer, but I didn’t dare. If I did, it would definitely be a sign of weakness in the eyes of our passenger. A few minutes more of driving, and we finally arrived at the outskirts of the compound. Technically, according to lycan law, this was now my property. I had no idea what I was going to do about that, but I did make a mental note to find where the main garage was so we could stop parking so damn far away. The rocky pathway was hell on my feet and ankles.
A few males stepped out of their cabins, coming to check out whoever had just entered their territory. The moment they saw me, though, their expressions softened. I gave them pleasant nods, keeping up with the politics of being alpha. Although I didn’t much care for the position, I still recognized that these people saw me as their leader and I wasn’t about to naysay that in front of them. When their gazes moved down to AJ, however, sneers and disgust were a blatant indication on their feelings towards the man. They all kind of ignored Gearden, as if his presence was just to be tolerated.
Stopping at the mouth of the clearing, I turned to Gearden and said, “Watch him,” and glared at AJ before I turned to walk to the fire ring alone. I stopped, not too tired to notice the trash that someone had dumped in the pit, only half burned and charred around some edges of a banana peel. I guess someone got the “trash night” word a little too late. With an effort, I set that aside for later and watched as one man approached me. A welcoming smile displayed almost perfect straight white teeth. I returned the smile. He gave an awkward little wave, and I could tell someone had told him I was deaf. Gesturing with both hands towards his chest, he said, “I’m Bobby.”
I offered my hand to shake, which he gladly accepted. After he had released my hand, he started to say something slowly, so slowly that I couldn’t make out what he said. Yeah, that’s how lip-reading works, but no one with hearing quite grasps that. If you want someone to read your lips, speaking normal is key. Otherwise we can’t make out the proper movements for each word. It is seventy percent guess work, and it is hard when someone draws out the sounds of things. I still gave him brownie points for trying though. Turning to Gearden, I sent him a message. “Can you, please?”
He didn’t hesitate. “He’s offering you his services until you select a beta.”
“I appreciate that, thank you,” I told Bobby. Then said, “Can you gather everyone please?”
Right away, he nodded, eager to be of assistance. He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. I couldn’t hear it, but I saw doors start to open and people start to flow into the clearing. It looked like it was a much smaller pack than McIntire’s, which was probably why Vic recruited the help of the hunters. He knew his numbers alone couldn’t beat us.
A couple minutes went by as more people started to gather, gazes of curiosity to me and more disgust towards AJ. I saw Bobby wave at them, encompassing them all. I guessed that was everyone.
“I can’t stay long,” I started. “But I came today at the request of one of your own, AJ.”
Bobby’s eyes flicked to someone behind me and he scowled at them, probably someone saying something out of turn. I continued, “He’s asked to rejoin the pack.”
Even Bobby wasn’t able to keep the shocked refusal from his face that time, but he looked around and hollered, “Quiet!” He took a moment to regroup himself, too, and then beckoned me to go on.
“I’ve agreed on one condition!”
I turned to gaze into as many of their faces as possible, notic
ing that my old foe, Peter, was missing. Maybe was still licking his wounds? “That you all get to decide on his new rank.”
All at once, I saw the surprised looks come over all the faces surrounding me. When I turned to look at AJ, though, he was less sure of himself. Before, when he’d made the deal with me, he seemed so sure that they would welcome him with open arms and no one would contest it, but now that was gone. Anxiety seemed to steam off him like hot water in the snow. That was his first mistake, I thought, showing his anxiety to the masses.
Quickly, Gearden tugged him towards me and while gazing out with me to the people gathering nearer, he told me, “This is going to get bloody.”
“He knew what he was asking for,” I replied.
Gearden stilled and looked over at me. “There’s still so much you have to learn about pack,” he seemed to mutter. Then, “You’ve just given permission to anyone who wishes to challenge him, to do so without any sort of repercussion.”
“Shit. I had no idea. Sure, I figured there’d be a fight or two, but you don’t think they mean to do it all at once do you?” His silent stare was answer enough.
Chapter Fifteen
AJ
The crazy ass berserker bitch just served me up on a silver platter. I hadn’t planned on that. Then again, it was probably my own damn fault for not clarifying when we were negotiating. She and the McIntire pup had a moment, probably using their mate psychic wave thing. If I wasn’t concentrating so hard to tamp down my nervousness and keep all these idiots from getting any ideas, I would have rolled my eyes at the way they silently communicated while the rest of us just saw them stare woefully into one another’s eyes.
Suddenly, she gripped my arm in a vice-like grip and stared into my eyes; nothing like she had with her toy boy though. She looked as if she were trying to read something in my eyes, but what, though? I had no idea. I just knew I couldn’t look away. Literally. I could not look away, even though I wanted to. Then, just as quickly, she released me and turned to walk away with her man, leaving me to face the group of shifters approaching me with menacing looks. Growls started to rumble and as more and more joined in, it was the only thing I could hear. As much as I tried, I could no longer get a handle on my panting breaths or the fear permeating my sweat.
The Kill: Book 3 in The Hunt Series Page 12
