The Carpenter's Destiny_Family Secrets

by Noah Harris

  It wasn’t until a large furry head shoved itself between his face and his arms that he realized that this unnamed werewolf was dead, and had been for a while. He had been screaming, cursing, and crying as he had lost himself in the moment. The blood that covered him now was no longer just his, and the warm, stickiness of it sickened him. Bile rose in his throat and he turned away from the comforting warmth of Mikael’s fur, heaving what little contents he had in his stomach onto the cave floor. Pain ripped through him all over again as he vomited, feeling himself purge his body of his loathing and horror in the most direct way.

  He sat there, half sprawled over the dead man’s legs, staring at nothing, one arm was slung over Mikael’s neck to support himself. Mikael whined then, nuzzling Dean’s face and licking him. Mikael’s muzzle had more than its fair share of blood on it too, and Dean’s stomach turned again. But those were Mikael’s eyes looking back at him, and even the eyes of his predatory form couldn’t hide the warm concern glowing behind them.

  “Dean?”

  He picked his head up at the familiar voice, feeling another dose of warmth creep through him at the sight of a very naked Katarina. “Kat. Guess Damian was right. You missed the party though.”

  Even in human form, her eyes had a fierceness to them that never quite went away. Yet now they were wide in wonder as she looked from the half-transformed corpse, to the one that Dean wished he wasn’t touching right now. He hadn’t looked at his own handiwork yet, knowing that it was bound to be a bloody mess that he would have to know that he’d caused. She whistled low as she stepped further in, pulling the knife up and cleaning it on whatever part of the dead man’s shirt wasn’t already soaked with blood.

  “Your first?”

  Dean looked up at her, his voice sounding dull to his ears. “Unless you count the one who died long after I cut him, yeah.”

  Dean would have expected a smile, or at least a look of pride on Katarina’s face, but instead she only looked sad. She moved around the body to help Dean to his feet. She was warm, her bare skin feeling so much better than the cold, rough floor of the cave. Mikael stood beside him, where Dean’s hand never strayed from holding tight to the warm fur of his neck, steadying him as he tried to find his feet.

  “Here,” Katarina grunted, slipping beside Dean so that he could rest more against her on his other side, supporting him. Dean also noticed the way she positioned herself so that both bodies were blocked from view.

  “The others?”

  “Everyone’s okay; got a couple of injured but they’ll live. Won’t even keep them from fighting. You said these were Damian’s men?”

  “Saw him here.”

  “Yeah, and he’s not now.”

  Dean leaned forward and Katarina mistook it for him trying to move, carefully walking forward, always keeping his view blocked. He should have accepted this bit of compassion on her part, rather than resisting it. There was a dull grayness throughout his mind, like moving through a mental and emotional fog. Only the strongest, most intimate of sensations, the strength of Katarina’s body holding him up, the constant warmth and presence of Mikael beside him, could leak through. They were comforts, small ones, in a sea of empty calm within him.

  “Let me see.”

  Katarina looked down at him, her eyes searching his face before nodding slowly. Mikael shifted restlessly against him, either not wanting Dean to look or wanting to get moving. Dean ignored him, shifting with Katarina as she turned the two of them for Dean to look. He couldn’t tell if it was worse than he thought it would be, or better. Once you established that there were four limbs, and a head, you could see that it had once been a person. A person whose chest and middle were a wreck of ugly wounds, everything soaked with blood. It looked more like a doll, a fake mannequin put up for a well-funded haunted house attraction than any real thing.

  Dean’s head bobbed slowly, acknowledging that that was enough, “We need to get out of here. We have to get back to The Grove.”

  “You have to wait until one of them shows up with the truck, Dean. You’re not going anywhere in this state.” Katarina glanced down at Mikael. “Go get on two feet and dressed so I can get my own clothes on, it’s freezing in here.”

  Mikael disappeared without a word, slipping out of the cave, presumably to get their clothes. Dean looked up at Katarina. “This was a trap, Kat.”

  Katarina glanced at the two bodies. “Doesn’t look like it worked out too well for them, does it?”

  “Not for you guys, though I’m sure Damian would have loved to have got one or both of you killed here. He pretty much hates all of us after what happened in the fall.”

  “He always was a sore loser.”

  Mikael returned, faster than Dean would have expected him to, tossing Katarina the leather bag he held in his hands. Immediately, he rushed forward to pull Dean toward him, his movements frantic but controlled. Dean didn’t try to resist, knowing there was an urgency in what he had to tell them but letting Mikael wrap him up in his arms all the same. Mikael was trying so hard to be gentle, but it hurt anyway; everything hurt, and Dean didn’t care.

  He breathed in the familiar scent of his mate, the smell going through him and settling like a comforting fire deep in his chest. Mikael was murmuring against his hair, but he couldn’t understand the words. The feelings he understood though: the fear, the desperation, the relief mingling with worry about his state. Dean was sure he looked like hell, and seeing Dean like this wasn’t doing anything to calm Mikael down.

  “I’m okay,” he tried to assure Mikael, still not letting go of him.

  “No, you’re not,” Mikael’s voice was hard and jagged, trying for anger but fraying around the edges. He sounded near tears and a dull ache that had nothing to do with his body rippled through Dean.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Mikael pulled back, hurt-filled eyes searching Dean’s face. “You have nothing to be sorry for. And I promise you Damian will be sorry for this, if it’s the last thing I do. I’ll gut that bastard, like I should have done before my mom interfered.

  Mention of Matalina brought Dean’s wandering mind back on course. “Mikael, you have to send everyone who came with you back to The Grove, now!”

  “Babe, we’re fine, no one is hurt too badly from the sounds of it out there, I checked. Damian’s men are all dead, and we’re okay.”

  “These ones are dead. He kidnapped me, hoping to get you here and maybe Kat, and that you’d be so crazed that you’d get yourself killed. But he really wanted you to just drag a bunch of the best fighters with you away from The Grove. If he was watching us as much as he said he was, they’re probably already there.”

  Mikael swore loudly, turning to Katarina. “Get the others together, forget cleaning up. Gather them and get your asses back to The Grove, I can’t…”

  Mikael motioned to Dean and Katarina nodded her understanding. Dean knew he should insist that Mikael go with them, or to leave someone else with him so Mikael could be in command for the chargeback. The selfish part of him wanted Mikael to stay. Katarina was more than able to lead a war party, and Dean didn’t think Samuel would let their pack go down that easily. It was the selfish part that won out, keeping his mouth closed as he focused on trying to walk.

  “I’ll take Dean back the long way, get him to a hospital and join up with you.”

  At that, Dean picked his head up. “No, we need to both go back.”

  “Dean…”

  “I’m fine Mikael.”

  Katarina snorted. “Yeah? You look like shit.”

  Dean ignored Mikael’s annoyed growl. “It’s my pack too. I’m not going to be worth shit in the fight, but I want to be there too. I’ve seen it burn once, if you being there as soon as you’re willing to be will help stop it, then that’s what needs to happen.”

  Katarina shrugged, turning and walking away, grumbling as she fussed with the clothes she would just have to turn around and take off all over again. Mikael was gazing down at Dean with an
expression that mirrored the inner doubt that Dean knew he had to be feeling. He could see that Mikael badly wanted to be in the fight, but he wanted to make sure that Dean was okay too. Dean could feel fear coming off of him in waves, mingling with an anger he understood, and a helplessness he didn’t like.

  Before either of them could say anything, the sound of a truck barreling up through the woods caught their attention. “Mikael, how can you guys even get a truck up here?”

  “There’s a clearing nearby, with a small path that leads up from the base of the mountain to it. It’s not the most well-used path, but they obviously used it to get you out here.”

  “They used an ATV,” Dean frowned, moving with Mikael as they hobbled in the direction of the sound of the idling truck.

  Mikael said nothing to that, probably thinking the same thing that Dean was. Damian had made the path to him tricky to find, tricky enough that it wouldn’t seem totally like the trap it had been. Giving his rescuers a difficult but not impossible trail to follow, while still making sure Dean would be found. Even beaten and bloodied, Dean had to give Damian credit for cleverness.

  Whoever drove the truck up the mountainside was gone by the time they arrived, though they had left it running. Mikael helped Dean up into the seat, his movements careful as he tried not to jar Dean’s aching body too much. He sighed as he sank into the heat that the vents poured out. Silently he blessed whatever pack member had had the forethought to turn the heat on before leaving the truck behind.

  Mikael paused at his door, and Dean followed his gaze to the far end of what, in the spring, would probably be a lush meadow. Almost a dozen wolves were rushing across the open area, making for the cover of the trees. Silently, Dean hoped that they weren’t too late, or that Samuel managed to fend the attack off with what he had.

  Slamming his way into the truck, Mikael shifted it into gear and turned it around to begin the trek down the path. Immediately Dean wished that they could have stolen a helicopter, or perhaps a full body cushion of some sort. Each jerk and jolt the truck gave, as Mikael drove, sent another jolt of pain through him. Every bruised, battered, sliced, and beaten part of him seemed to come alive with the harsh movements of the truck.

  Fighting the waves of pain, he grit his teeth. “Where are we?”

  Mikael gave Dean a few quick glances, trying to keep his eyes on the road while checking Dean over. “You need to rest Dean.”

  “I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

  “That’s really not funny.”

  “Wasn’t supposed to be, where are we?”

  “Almost a couple hundred miles north of The Grove. They pretty much grabbed you and dashed west.”

  “Apollo okay?”

  “Guilty that you got snatched from under his nose, pissed too. Wasn’t too happy when we left him behind, but no matter how good a fighter he is, he’s not meant for a war party. I owe him an apology for what I said.”

  Dean had a feeling he didn’t want to know what was said. “How long have I been gone?”

  Mikael again glanced to him; the frown was probably for the hollow sound Dean’s voice seemed to be making. “Just over a day. When Apollo found the guards, and the bag you dropped, he was able to figure out what happened since you weren’t dead on the floor, too. He rushed back, knowing that there had been more than one person who’d been there to take you. We got a party together and went back to the warehouse.”

  “Did he get the stuff back, for Lucille?”

  “Yeah, she’s being taken care of by Talon. We managed to get there before any of the daytime people showed up at the warehouse. Followed the trail and… well, not totally sure how they did it, but we have a couple of amazing trackers in the pack that were able to find out where the truck they threw you in had gone. After that it was just a matter of following the trail without losing it and getting to you in time.”

  Dean looked down at his hands rather than at Mikael. “Only a day? Felt a lot longer than that.”

  “Dean.”

  He pulled back as Mikael reached for him, shaking his head. “Mikael don’t. Not… not now, I… I can’t.”

  “Dean please, I know what happened to you; hell just look at you! You look like you went a few rounds with a tiger. Fuck, I felt it Dean, I could feel it.”

  “I know,” he whispered, closing his eyes against another wave of pain as they hit a particularly deep bump. “That was the point. He wanted you crazed and out of your mind when you showed up Mikael. I… tried so hard to keep it to myself, but I didn’t know how. I’m sorry that I couldn’t.”

  “Dean.”

  Once more, he shook his head, fighting not only against the pain still pulsing through him, but at the heartbreak he could hear in Mikael’s voice. The dull sensation in him was already wavering, and distantly he felt the urge to simply curl up and cry. To let the past 24 hours wash over him and devour him. He had once mourned for those he loved, let him mourn for himself and the suffering he had endured.

  Instead, he looked up, taking a steadying breath as he looked at Mikael with a gaze he hoped was steadier than he felt. Mikael reached across the space between them, and this time Dean didn’t shrink away from his touch. He allowed Mikael to slowly pull him toward him, laying him down gently so that his head lay on Mikael’s thigh. Mikael’s arm curled around his chest, holding Dean against him as he drove.

  It would be hours yet before they would reach The Grove, hours yet before they would find out if they had been too late or not. Katarina and her group would reach The Grove long before they did, being able to cut straight through. Dean hoped that they would be quick enough to help, if it wasn’t already too late.

  But there, in the heat of the truck, curled as much as he could be against Mikael, it all seemed so far away. The thoughts drifted further into the back of his mind into obscurity where he wanted them to be. The road was evening out a little, and the rocking less painful. Exhaustion like he had never known hit him, and knowing he was safe by his mate’s side, he allowed himself to sink into the embrace of sleep.

  A sudden jolt jerked his body, sending another sharp stab of pain through him. Adrenaline surged as he woke up, sitting with a gasp. Fear accompanied it, and he kicked out, flinging his arms in a desperate attempt to fend off his torturers. Hell, maybe he could piss them off enough that they might knock him out again, or maybe kill him and he could be done with it.

  He flew forward, only for someone to grab him from behind, shouting words Dean couldn’t understand. Strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, pinning his arms to his sides as he struggled to get free. Panic filled him as he realized that they were too strong and he wasn’t going to be getting free, not that he’d come close before.

  “Dean!”

  The familiar voice cut through the storm of fear and panic. It was followed by the comforting scent of earth, pine, and the deep smell he remembered breathing in every night as he lay wrapped up in bed. It was Mikael’s arms around him, keeping him from hurting himself as he flailed around in the truck. It was Mikael’s voice in his ear, with a tone pleading for him to come back to reality, and to know that he was safe.

  “Mikael?”

  “Yeah baby, it’s me,” Mikael soothed, releasing his hold enough to reach up and gently stroke Dean’s hair. Dean’s breath came in heavy pants as he tried to make sense of where he was. He hadn’t been dreaming of anything, not that he knew of anyway. It wasn’t the walls of the cave that surrounded him, just the inside of the truck, and the sight of a familiar woods past the windows. He wasn’t in that cave with those three again, he was here, with Mikael, and they were heading back to The Grove.

  “Oh shit, we’re close aren’t we?”

  “Yeah, just a little bit longer. I hit that bump harder than I meant to, going too fast I guess.”

  The adrenaline that had shot through him before spiked once more, bringing a new fear with it. Now they were so near The Grove, the reality of what they could be driving into slammed into him. For a moment, t
he wild thought of driving away, the both of them, rose up. It would be so easy, all they would have to do was back the truck up, go back to the farm, grab what they needed and go. Dean could sell the place and the farm animals over the phone easily. They could use that money to go somewhere else, far from all of this, safer than all of this. It could be just the two of them, together until they end of their days.

  Dean slid slowly away from Mikael, staring down the rough road before them, “Then let’s hurry up.”

  Mikael’s gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before nodding. “Think you can handle a little rough riding?”

  Gritting his teeth, he gave a curt nod. “Bring it on.”

  It proved to be about as painful a drive as Dean expected it to be. The harsh bumps and thumps of the truck sent tremor after tremor of pain through him as Mikael gunned it. Neither of them were willing to be patient as they got closer, though, so he bore through it.

  He took it as a good sign that there were no plumes of smoke rising up into the gray sky of the afternoon as they approached. The Grove came into view, and Dean’s mouth dropped open in shock. Every building they could see looked completely untouched. It wasn’t until they got closer that he spotted the red splashes through the snow that signaled that something had even happened here.

  “What the hell?” Mikael grunted as he pulled completely into The Grove, throwing the truck into park and killing the engine.

  It was easier to see now that there had been a battle of sorts here before they had arrived. The red snow was dotted across the more open areas where most of the living quarters were. The main building sat at the back, also untouched. People were milling about, some were limping, some walked, some were clearing away the red patches of snow and ice.

  Without a word, both of them exited the truck, though Dean’s was nearly a collapse from the vehicle. The rest he’d had on the journey had been enough to bring some of his strength back, but his legs still threatened to buckle beneath him as his feet hit the cold ground. Mikael rounded the truck in a hurry to help him at the sound of Dean’s frustrated curse. Dean said nothing as Mikael slipped an arm around his waist, allowing Dean to walk, but still there to support him if he needed it.