Bayard actually chuckled. “More like midcentury crisis.”
“And you taught yourself how to draw blood, and knit...why?”
He took a step back. “I had to discover new ways to release a lot of pent up frustrations, and a vast amount of boredom. Knitting, as odd as that may sound, takes a lot of concentration. It is a great source of therapy.”
Funny how people seemed to think immortality was such a great gift, yet someone like Bayard had come to find it exhausting.
“How long have you been around?”
“Let’s just say I’m as old as the wind,” he replied with a smile. He glanced down, taking a moment to study my leg brace. “That injury should heal nicely within another day or two.”
Unconsciously, I reached down to touch the top of my knee.
“It seems like it may take longer.” So far, it hadn’t shown signs of healing.
Bayard nods toward my leg. “Sometimes we may have injuries that take a bit longer to heal. We are strong, but not entirely invincible.”
It made sense. I only hoped he was right.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Subconsciously, I hugged myself, looking to ward off the sudden chill that took over my body.
“How sure are you that Bray and I are descendants of the Founding Father?” He looked taken aback. As if I’d hit the mark with my question.
“What makes you think I know for sure?”
I didn’t really know where I got the impression from, but something told me Bayard knew a lot more than he’d shared with me so far.
“Instinct, maybe. I don’t really know for sure. Call it a hunch.”
He had saved Dorian’s son, going against Lyko’s wishes, and all to keep the bloodline alive. Why?
“What is on your mind, Princess?”
“Please, call me, Marjorie.”
“Very well, Marjorie. Talk to me.”
“I’m just wondering why saving Dorian’s son was so important that you’d go against such a powerful wolf like Lykos ValKhazar.”
“I had my reasons.”
His answer was as evasive as I’d known it would be.
“Such as?” I pried.
“Aside from being a friend, Dorian was like a son to me. His mother entrusted his care to me as a newborn pup and I took my assignment very seriously. Unfortunately, I could not save him in the end, but I did everything in my power to ensure his son’s survival.”
So Dorian and Bayard were close. They had a bond. That did explain why Bayard would risk his own neck on Cole’s behalf, but something wasn’t quite adding up.
“Did Ellora ValKhazar ever confess where she came from?” I decided to delve further into the ValKhazar mystery. I hoped I’d find more answers—or that Bayard would tell me what he knew.
The man, however, didn’t appear to be as willing to share as I’d hope.
“No. She did not. I suspect she did this to keep her sons safe.”
“Safe from whom?”
“Safe from the very ones who chased her away from her home and forced her to take refuge in the ValKhazar lair.”
Just when I thought the mysteries couldn’t possibly deepen, they did. Not only was our bloodline in question, but Queen ValKhazar had run away from something. What? Only she knew. Maybe even Bayard, but he wasn’t talking.
“So you know nothing of why she took refuge within the ValKhazar lair?”
“I may know. I may not.” He strolled over to the bathroom door, his back to me, and said, “All in due time. The truth will be revealed when the time is right.”
I popped to my feet. “What does that mean?” I hurried to him and put my hand on his elbow. “You do know what she was running away from, don’t you?”
“This is a rather delicate subject for me, Marjorie. One I will eventually have to reveal in its entirety to all the members of the ValKhazar clan. However, our preoccupations now lie on how to ensure your survival.”
“Does Bray know?”
Bayard shook his head. “Like you, he suspects that I have known the truth behind your bloodline, but I have not conferred what I do know.”
“Marjorie.” The sound of Alexi’s voice interrupted my next question. “Are you ready to go?”
Alexis appeared in the hallway, dressed, and with a set of keys in his hand. Apparently, the Rousseaus had agreed to my outing with my friends as long as Alexis went along for the ride.
“Um, yeah, I’m ready.” I walked passed Bayard into the hallway.
“We will talk some more later.” Bayard said as I turned to face him. “One thing at a time.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
***
The drive to Little Heaven Park was probably one of the most awkward rides of my life. Alexis was quiet, distant, thoughtful, and I couldn’t figure out why or if I even wanted to ask. He’d been keeping to himself, barely saying more than a few words to me. His behavior brought back a serious case of déjà vu, as I could vividly recall a car ride where he was as silent and as aloof as he was now—only back then, we’d had a terrifying encounter with a not so friendly beast hell bent on killing Alexis.
This was another story though. There were no werewolves in sight and Alexis and Kyran hadn’t just gotten into a fight—that I knew of anyway. I was sure Alexi’s distant demeanor had nothing to do with others, or so I was hoping.
Since we had to wait for the right time to test the effectiveness of my DNA being able to alter that of Kyran’s, Alexis and I headed to the park. It would help get me out of the house, and bring a bit of closure since it looked as if I’d be leaving with Bray soon.
I was hoping to catch up with my friends, and maybe, forget all my troubles for a couple of hours. Seeing as Alexis was acting so unlike himself I doubted I’d be able to concentrate on staying calm and relaxed for a short while.
Unable to take the tension in the car, I turned to him and said, “You’re unusually quiet, Alexis.”
“Marjorie.” Alexis kept his gaze on the road. “How well do you know Angela?”
The question took me off guard. “We’ve been friends since middle school.”
“She’s lived in Wolf Creek Hollow for a while?”
“Yes. We were both in sixth grade when we met. She moved to Wolf Creek Hollow with her parents at the age of eleven.”
“Have you ever met them?”
“Angela’s parents?” I tossed a confused look in his direction.
He dipped his head.
“Yes. Many times. We used to have sleepovers and playdates.”
“They decent people?”
Where was all this coming from? “I guess so.” I shifted on the seat, gazing at him with interest as I asked, “Why?”
“Is Angela really close friends with Kenny Marshall?”
“We all grew up together. Have been friends since we were kids,” I replied with a frown.
“It wouldn’t be weird if he picked her up...say...from the hospital?”
I blinked. “What? When?”
“Yesterday. She claimed to have been sick and had to have an appendectomy. Did you know about that?”
I shook my head. “No. I haven’t talked to her since...well, yesterday afternoon was the first I’ve spoken to her in a week.”
“Don’t you find it a little strange that she was at the same hospital you were in and still she didn’t stop by to visit?”
Okay, he was acting completely out of character.
“Not really. We haven’t been getting along lately.”
He actually bothered to look at me as he said, “Exactly.”
“Wait.” I rubbed my knee over my leg brace as a dull throb started to bother me. “What’s going on here? Why are you asking so many questions about Angela? And her relationship with Kenny?”
“Kenny is a werewolf.”
I sat completely still, stunned by what he’d just said. Had I heard him correctly?
“What did you just say?”
Somewhere deep inside me, denial settled, but my brain tried to give Kenny Marshall the benefit of the doubt.
“That’s impossible. I would have noticed—”
“Noticed what? You didn’t know werewolves existed until you met us.”
I shut my eyes as so many thoughts began reeling in my head. How was it possible that I never noticed? Wait. How was I supposed to know? I’d never seen a mark on him. Hadn’t Kyran and Alexis mentioned only purebreds carried the mark?
“Kenny doesn’t have a mark,” I pointed out flatly.
“He does. He just hides it. Like some of us do.”
I was in complete shock. “Oh, my God. This isn’t happening.”
“We don’t trust him. Both Kyran and I find it very suspicious that he’s the one picking Angela up from the hospital on the very same day she calls to ask to meet up with you.”
I looked out the window in an attempt to gather my thoughts. Kenny was my longtime friend. Angela was too. I had no reason to believe either of them would want to hurt me. We grew up together for God’s sake. We’d been friends for a long time. So Kenny was a werewolf. If he wanted to hurt me, he could’ve done it at any point in the years we’d known each other.
He’d been at my house a few times. We’d been in the same parties. We attended the same schools. For all intents and purposes, he never lacked an opportunity to bring harm to me if it had been his intention, but aside from the creepy vibe I got around him, he’d never done anything that warranted even a little distrust on my part.
“Are you saying that you believe this is a setup?” If he did, why would he drive me all the way out here?
“Not necessarily.” He licked his lower lip—yet another uncharacteristic move—and added, “I’m here to find out.”
“Excuse me?”
“If something is up it won’t take long for me to figure it out.”
I think my stomach dropped all the way down to my feet. “You’re using me as bait?”
He shook his head. “No. Don’t look at it that way.”
“How else do you expect me to look at it?”
“We need to find out if Kenny is working for the Gandillon pack. If he is—”
“Gandillon pack? So we have a name now?”
“Yes.”
“When were you guys going to share this with me?”
“We haven’t had time to—”
“Oh, don’t give me that bullshit. You just thought I couldn’t take it, right? Because I’m so goddam fragile knowing too much will break me. Is that it?” Okay, so I wasn’t exactly subtle with my sarcasm, but I was so freaking frustrated I couldn’t care less. Enough was enough.
“You know,” he looked at me, his eyebrows locked together as he glared in my direction, “it seems to me as if I’m always on the receiving end of your anger. This was Kyran’s plan just so that you know who’s actually responsible for this. I’m only going along because I find Kyran’s logic a good one. It’s obvious the Gandillon pack won’t approach the house while Bray’s there, and if this is a setup, we’ll know for sure that Kenny and maybe even Angela, are working with the invading alpha.”
Angela? Working for the alpha? Why would she do such a thing?
“Even if someone does show up, what makes you guys think that Angela or Kenny have something to do with it?”
Alexis focused on the road once again. “Kenny’s interest in you is what’s giving him away right now. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s always around you—always looking for a way to be where you are. Besides, there are signs that have led us to believe he might be the one responsible for this hunt, or at the very least is working for the one who is.”
“Is this because of Jack?”
“Think about it Marjorie. Jack was Kenny’s friend. Jack was turned against his will and then used.”
“Jack belonged to Santo’s pack, remember?” I tried to put a little more logic into Alexi’s theory, but somehow it wasn’t as easy to dismiss as I thought it would be. Even I had to agree that on some level, Kenny’s potential involvement was but an explanation away.
“Right. He did, but there’s something that doesn’t add up.”
I was a little doubtful still that Kenny had anything to do with the crazy alpha after me. What would his motive be? I mean, yes, the man in the dream did say I thought of him as a friend, but that could be anyone. What of Bobby? Or even Mike?
“What?”
“Kenny told us only purebred members were allowed in his pack, but up until he disappeared, Jack and Kenny were best buddies. When my siblings and I walked into campus, Jack had already been turned, but Kyran saw the both of them talking in the hallway the first day of classes. If Kenny dislikes betas so much why was he still associating with Jack? And why wasn’t he more worried when his so-called best friend vanished?”
The interaction between Kyran and Kenny had been hostile at best. From the very first moment they laid eyes on each other, it was obvious there was a certain level of animosity between them. At the time I couldn’t understand why, but now that I knew Kenny was a werewolf too, it kind of made sense.
Alexis was bringing up valid points I shouldn’t just dismiss without a second thought.
“What else you got?”
“Well, the beta we took captive from a recent raid also told us that no betas are allowed in the alpha’s main compound.”
Captive beta? Recent raid? Just what had the Rousseaus been up to while I was at the hospital?
“And then there’s Dr. Lawrence.”
“My shrink? What does he have to do with all this?”
“Dario and Esteban uncovered suspicious activities in the hospital’s log while they went in to erase all databases that could lead to further investigations regarding you. It seems as if this doctor went in often to make copies of all your files, taking a special interest in your recent lab works. We stopped by his place to question him, but found him dead. There was clear evidence of an ambush.”
“Oh, God.” I hugged myself to keep from shaking. Dr. Lawrence dead? “How...? What...?”
“As it turns out, Dr. Lawrence was working for the invading alpha. Or at least that’s the best conclusion we can come up with. Files were missing from his computer. And by the looks of things, he wanted to have you committed to a mental hospital he personally ran. We’re not sure of the details as to why the betas killed him, but we think he must have displeased someone and paid with his life for it.”
Though it was true that I’d often found Dr. Lawrence obsessive, and downright scary in how he was always trying to convince my parents I was heading down the road to perdition—going from seeing him as too into his job, to working with the enemy, was inconceivable.
“Bray had two of his Trackers follow the trail left behind by the betas that killed Dr. Lawrence and it led them to an abandoned mine forty miles south of his house. Do you know of it?”
I lacked words to respond so I merely nodded.
“Do you know who owns the mill?”
I just gaped at him as I waited for him to fill me in.
“Kenny’s family,” he said.
The stubborn girl in me wanted to argue it could just be a coincidence, but the seed of doubt had been planted in my head, and I began to see Kenny in a new light. What if he wasn’t who I thought he was? Dr. Lawrence had turned out to be something other than just a doctor looking to help me so I could be wrong about Kenny too.
“You have my attention.”
Chapter Fourteen
We had just driven through the park’s main gates, which were normally open to the public Monday through Saturday unless weather forecast predicted harsh drops in temperatures or any type of storms for the day, when I noticed it was virtually empty. Being that it was—as Angela informed me the day before—up in the mid-fifties, I expected to see the children’s playground and picnic area beside it filled with families enjoying a nic
e day out, but I found it devoid of people altogether.
A chill ran down my spine. What if Alexis was right and this was a trap? Would Angela stoop to that level? Why would she?
“Where’s Angela?” Alexis asked.
“She could be in the picnic area near the bathrooms.”
“Where is that?”
I related the instructions to navigate the maze-like paths leading from one area of the park to the other. As soon as we left the small pond behind and hit the clearing ahead, we spotted Angela sitting on a bench about twenty feet from a small building, which made for the only bathrooms in the entire place. Her wheelchair was parked next to a wooden beam to her left.
The first thing that hit me was the fact that she was alone. None of my friends were present and there wasn’t a single car in the parking lot so, who’d brought her? The picnic table was also empty. No food. No drinks. No sign that she had any intention of partaking in any activity that would require us to eat out in the open.
“Alexis.” My nervousness must have come through because Alexis reached over for my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“So far this isn’t looking good,” he said, taking out his cell from his jacket’s pocket. “I’m calling Bray.”
He parked as close to the tables as the parking lot would allow, turned the ignition off, and dialed his phone.
“What should I do? Should I go to her? Should I stay here until Bray arrives?”
“Bray’s nearby.”
I glared at him. “You guys had this whole thing planned out already?”
He dipped his head. “Do you really think I’d bring you all the way out here without backup?”
I shrugged, annoyed that they’d go through all this planning without consulting me first. So they had planned for this meeting to seem as if I’d come to see a friend when in reality, they had used this event as an opportunity to find out for sure who they were dealing with.
While it pissed me off a little, I saw the logic behind their plan. My only—biggest problem was that I was the bait, and that wasn’t sitting well with me. What if something went wrong? Worse yet, what if Angela was in some way responsible? It was hard to envision one of my childhood friends betraying me like that. It scared me, but hurt me more than anything else.
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