All of them would want answers, and I wasn't sure I was comfortable revealing my past to anyone. I hadn't even given much detail to Jeb. Imagine it. The lead assassin and now alpha of a large pack trusting her secrets to a human before one of her own kind. I knew that was also a sore spot with many of the council members and some of the pack itself. It didn't matter that he had a hand in saving them from Caleb, many of them hadn't even been aware there had been a coup or how my father had died. Fewer still cared about an alpha seizing control in the old way. In fact, I knew they preferred it. It was only by the grace of the council I maintained my position, and it was only by showing strength I kept their respect.
Spent of adrenaline and thinking far more clearly, I lay down next to the bank of the stream. It was a luxurious feeling, being so exhausted from something so simple. I even relinquished my wolf form and sat naked on the Moss with my legs stretched in front of me, my heels sometimes dipping into the cold stream as it gurgled past me.
I wasn't surprised when I heard a twig crack from the other side of the stream. I was on my haunches in seconds, ready to shift and fight, or shift and run.
What surprised me was that it was Alma who stepped out from behind the branches of a tree on the other side of the stream. She didn't look the least bit winded even though she couldn't possibly have kept up with me if she had followed. My gaze slipped to her ankle and she pulled it behind her other foot. She had shifted sometime between our arrival and now, and she looked much healthier.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her.
She crept closer, looking very much like a scared rabbit. No doubt she was the one I had heard tailing me, and I wondered why she would have left the safety of carriage house I had instilled her and Rena in. Then I wondered how Rena had let her slip away and why. I thought again of Rena's tattoo and something tingled down my spine.
"Say something," I said when the girl did nothing but stare across at me.
"You don't trust me," she said.
"I don't trust anyone."
I might have said more, but there was something disquieting about the way she stood across from me, nude as well because she had obviously also just relinquished her wolf state. She looked so twisted while I knew my own body was a near perfect lithe shape. I saw her gaze slid over my skin once or twice, and I almost thought I should shift back into my wolf form to relieve myself of that disconcerting study. Except I wouldn't be able to demand why she had followed me.
"Speak," I said. "I asked you why you're here."
"You need to tread carefully," she said and it came out almost in a whisper that I couldn't hear across the stream. I asked her to repeat it. I could have sworn she had just threatened me.
"You need to be careful. One false move and this entire thing can come crumbling down."
Had I been in my beast's shape, my hackles would have raised. As it was, I breathed into my center, finding the core of command. Never let anyone see your fear.
"Your visions again?" I said.
Before she spoke, she stepped into the water and winced as the cold of it touched her skin. Despite the temperature and her seeming pained aversion to it, she forged ahead. I watched her pick her way across slippery rocks, doing her best to balance herself in spite of the malformed foot. By the time she had reached me, I felt a grudging sort of pride for her tenacity. When she plodded her way onto my side of the bank, she sat down next to me and folded her legs under her. The malformed foot stuck out awkwardly to the side. I felt I had no choice but to sit as well.
"I just want to help," she said. "You saved me and I'd like to repay you."
"I wouldn't have had to save you at all if you had stayed away altogether."
She hung her head. "Fair enough," she said. "But I couldn't exactly stay away. I came for a reason. I needed to warn you."
It sounded suspiciously like my mother's declaration. I felt my brows knit together as I regarded her. I'd listen. I didn't have to concede.
"Your warnings aren't very helpful," I said. "So unless those visions have come clean with you, I don't think you have anything to say that I want to hear."
She cocked her head at me, the delicate chin lifting slightly. "You still don't trust me."
I shrugged, wrapping my arms around my knees and tucking them beneath my chin. "A smart shifter doesn't trust anyone," I said.
She sighed heavily and then pushed herself to her feet. "I came here to tell you that you need to release your mother."
That sent me to my feet in a fury. I faced her with a storm in my chest. "I will do no such thing."
"You have to."
"I don't have to do anything. This is my pack. Artemis stays where she is."
"But I've seen it," Alma said. "She needs to be released if you're going to get to the bottom of all of this."
"And all of this meaning the Huntsman who were after you? Strange that both you and your mother know about them, yet neither one of you wants to pass on any information that would help me get rid of them."
To my surprise, she nodded. "I know you can't trust what you don't know, but it's true. I see things," she said simply "and those things terrify me. I wish I had more to give you than that, but the gift is sometimes a spiteful one."
"Too bad they weren't a little bit more clear," I said dryly. She was right. I was tired of dancing around the danger. I wanted to confront and conquer. "But if it's like you say, then we'll wait. Come on," I said. "I'll take you back to the house. You shouldn't be out here."
I had just reached out for her when I heard another crackling in the trees. I froze but not before I grabbed her by the arm to hold her back. I waited for one long agonizing moment before Jeb pushed himself self through the thicket. I let go my breath in a hiss.
While I couldn't see his face in the shadows, I knew his voice and I imagined by his tone that he was a bit annoyed and more than a bit relieved.
"Your bloody hard to find," he said.
I relaxed, aware that I had let go a long sigh of relief. The fingers Alma had dug into my arm released, leaving a pinching sensation over my skin.
"I've been roaming these woods since long before your mother was in diapers," I said to Jeb as I rubbed my arm where Alma had let go.
"You probably shouldn't remind me how much older you are than me," he said with a crisp retort.
"And what made you come looking for me?"
"You're needed back at the house." He twisted the cap of an object he held in his hand, and a broad swath of LED light washed over us. That Boy Scout mentality again. Wasted on wolves, though. The thought that he had it in his possession and didn't use it to find his way through the woods to find us made me wonder why he turned it on now at all.
"If I'm so hard to find, how did you manage it?" I said. "You know, since you didn't turn on your flashlight at all until now."
He moved closer to the stream and what little bit of moonlight struck the water, cast enough light onto his face that I could see he was smiling. I knew him well enough to know by now that it was one of superior confidence. He loved to rub my nose in the fact that I continually underestimated him.
"Mad skills," he said. "Over a broad set of abilities." He gave one short look below my waist, and then pinned his gaze to Alma's face almost determinedly.
"Hello, Alma," he said. It was a very chaste tone, and with equal chastity he held her gaze.
Alma's skin looked almost mauve in the light. I wondered if she was blushing beneath that gaze.
"Alma here was just telling me that I needed to release my mother," I said to Jeb, watching for his reaction. I wasn't sure why I expected any, but he gave me nothing useful. Just one short nod.
"Probably for the best," he said.
I was scowled at him. I certainly didn't expect to hear him agree with Alma. Well, I wouldn't have it.
"No," I said. "I don't care. She stays where she is."
"Suit yourself, Shana," he said, and he reached over his shoulder to pull my satchel from his bac
k. He tossed it over the stream at the where it landed at my feet. "Whatever you think is best, is best. I trust your judgement." He jerked his chin at the bag. "But at least get dressed. I couldn't possibly travel back with the two of you naked like that," he said shortly and then spun on his heel to pick his way back through the bushes, indicating he expected us both to follow.
I bent over to unzip her satchel when I felt Alma's fingers claw into my bicep.
"Oh my god," she hissed. "It's him. He's the one who's going to die."
I might have let myself give in to the panic, but I'd been expecting it ever since she'd mentioned the man with crystal blue eyes. I faced her with the hope her night vision was good enough to see the implacable expression I managed to pull down over my face.
"Too late," I said. "I already know."
She cocked her head at me. "But do you know how soon? Because death is hanging over his shoulder."
AND A CHILD WILL LEAD THEM
I felt as though someone had reached down my throat and pinched off the opening to my lungs. At first, the only sound I could make was an undignified squeak. It took several seconds and half a dozen deep breaths to find my composure.
"You're a liar," I finally got out. "I'm not sure what your motive is, but you've gone too far."
I was aware that Alma still had hold of my upper arm and I pulled it away so fast, she nearly stumbled with the movement.
"I want you off my property," I said and the way the words came out, even I was afraid of the coldness in the tone. She'd touched a very tender spot, one I wasn't even aware was delicate.
I started to leave her there, thinking to pick my way back to Jeb before he got too far ahead of me, not caring for one second what happened to the deformed wolf shifter. She could die in the woods for all I cared. My mother's presence was far too much to manage, as was the hunters this little beast had brought to my doorstep. I didn't need her crap too. I was several feet away when I felt her fingers began clawing into my elbow again, this time hard enough that I actually winced. The nerve. I swung on her, ready to slam my open palm against her nose and flatten her right there.
A lifetime of being bullied gave her deadly fast reflexes. She ducked sideways and my hand met nothing but air. I grunted and pulled my arm away.
"I mean it," she said. "I told you. I see things. He's done for."
I shoved her this time and she staggered backwards.
"You're mad," I said. "What danger could he be in? No one knows him. No one cares."
"Is that so?" she asked in a conspiratorial tone.
"That's so," I said, burrowing my toes in the moss. It was true some of the wolves were less than comfortable with a human man at their alpha's side, but no one could dispute his abilities, his willingness to protect the pack with his body and blood. Those closest to me knew he was all but a wolf. He was mine. No one would harm him.
"I don't know how," she whispered. "I just know."
"Fuck your just knowing," I said. "I suggest you find a warm hollow to hole up in for the night. I smell rain."
"I can help you. I can help him."
I halted with the dress clenched in my fingers and looked over at her. "I've heard that too many times these last couple days."
I started to pull the dress over my head and smooth it down. A very live and breathing Jeb was waiting for me. I turned my back on her and walked away with a casualness I didn't feel. When I heard her come up behind me, I willed myself not to turn around. She didn't touch me this time. Just spoke to me. Softly, tentatively, as though she expected me to strike at her.
"You can trust me," she said.
I spun around at that. "Trust?" I yelled and laughed out loud, the note of mania I heard in it putting fire into my feet and making me pace in front of her. "Wrong word, little wolf."
"Alma," she said.
I halted in front of her. For a timid little thing she certainly had some spine. "Trust, Alma," I said, stressing her name, "is not something that is just bestowed."
"I know."
"It's earned after trial by fire."
"Yes."
"And what fire have you walked through with me?" I demanded. "What trials do you understand that you can use trust with me and expect it to get you a stay of execution."
To her credit, she remained still as stone.
"There's more at work here than you know," she said. Her voice was a very low timber as though she was testing out her words. "I am earning that trust right now. You can believe it or not. He is going to die unless you do something to avoid it."
I thought I heard myself gag at the note of urgency in her voice. She was earnest. Her stubborn stance in front of me beneath my obvious fury made me think she meant what she said. My back went cold and yet there was a bead of sweat trickling down my spine. "So there's time, then?" I hated giving in to the fear.
She nodded. "And you need to let your mother go," she said.
"And what does one have to do with the other?" I was losing my patience now. I felt it string out like a wad of bubblegum about to snap. "He's not going to die and I'm not going to let my mother go free. I'm not going to let any of that happen."
"I think you'll find that it's already been done."
I gave her one short look and realized that whatever was the truth, she certainly believed what she was saying. I swallowed hard and tried to drown out the little voice inside that was terrified she was right. I couldn't afford to stay and argue any more. I needed to get home. I pulled the dress back over my head and threw it at her with a hateful look. I shifted, knowing Jeb had no doubt already gotten too far for me to reach him on two feet, and knowing I'd end up passing him by anyway. Because right then, I hated the thought of my mother being free more than the fear of his impending death, and believing for some insane reason that if I could prove Alma wrong about my mother's release then surely she'd be wrong about Jeb.
I reached the property line faster than I expected, but I it was already too late. I noticed Jeb pushing his way through several guards to reach the front steps. In the dawn light, Lynden stood on the porch. At first I thought something might be wrong with Lynden and the Jeb was pushing his way through because he was afraid for him, but then I realized he was holding someone's hand as he looked back over his shoulder. Coming out into the early sunrise with Artemis's hand in his. Something inside of me clenched and my shift back into human form was a very painful one. Visions of nights spent holding that hand as I prayed for death. Ashes of memories of scorching pain that came to me in a kaleidoscope of images. Such a tender touch was mine after those sessions. Much like the gentle hold she had on Lynden now. The recall was so vivid that every muscle squeezed in retaliation of the memory.
I would not let those things happen to my baby brother.
I raced across the lawn until I got to the cluster of guards that Jeb had pushed himself through. I could see him just ahead of me, arguing with Gerald. He had his hand on his pistol, and I knew that it was only his keen sense of control that kept him from pulling it out. He knew exactly how I felt about my mother. He knew how I felt about my brother's safety.
By now Artemis, was sauntering out of the mansion as though she still owned it, as though her old blood was good enough to undo decades of torture. And there came her tattooed Man in tow, strolling behind her as though he owned her. I grabbed Jeb's hand as I pushed by him and tugged him with me up the steps. We'd take them together right in front of the rest of the pack. I'd show them all who was boss here. I didn't care about Alma's echoing words rattling around my mind. Artemis was still the woman who had tortured me and left me, and now she thought she could replace me with this small vulnerable boy. Over my dead body.
My mother didn't seem the least bit disconcerted when she saw me lurching up the steps, dragging along Jeb who was sputtering that I was making it worse. Rather, she broke into a gleaming smile and let go of Lynden's hand. Three long strides in that graceful manner she had and she was standing in front of me as calm as wate
r in a reflecting pool. I felt like a porcupine with every needle standing up straight.
"Shana," she said as though my name was an endearment she had been waiting to speak for weeks. "I'm so glad you're back."
"You won't be," I said through gritted teeth. Behind me, Jeb pulled his hand free and swore. I looked at him over my shoulder and tried to tell him with my eyes that I hadn't meant to make him look weak, only that I needed him. He glowered back at me for a second until he met my eyes. Message received. He crossed his arms over his chest, but I noted that his fingers fit just beneath his armpits. I imagined he had squirreled away a weapon under one or the other. Ever the Boy Scout.
"What do you think you're doing out here?" I said.
"We need to talk," she said ignoring my comment.
I noticed that several people from the community had already started pouring through the gates. Shifters I hadn't seen in years but who had been under my father's protection, spilled across the grass like beans from a sack. I narrowed my eyes to look at her. Something was going on. Something I wasn't aware of.
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. I took one look at the way my mother was standing there, taking in the masses of people crossing the lawn toward her and the smug look that had fitted itself onto her face and I bolted forward, ramming the flat of my palm against her chest hard enough to send her backwards into the arms of her tattooed Man.
"You need to leave," I said. "You need to pack up your shit and you need to go right now. I don't care what you know. I don't care what you think you can do to help, you just need to leave."
Rogue Breed (Rogue Huntress Chronicles Book 2) Page 11
