by M. A. Church
“Jeez, Carter, a lapdog you are not!” Realizing what I’d said, I cringed. I knew perfectly well werewolves did not like to be called dogs. Carter turned his head, pinning me with those yellow eyes of his, and I gulped.
Suddenly he licked the side of my face, and I shouted with laughter. “Oh gross! Aw, come on, man!”
Keegan decided to get in on the action. He kept trying to haul me around by the bottom of my jeans while Carter attempted to roll me across the ground. Between all the barking, yipping, and playful growls, my ears were ringing. Keegan gave up gnawing on my jeans and launched himself at Carter’s back.
After Keegan nipped Carter’s ear, he darted away. Carter left me alone and took off after his nephew. Relieved to be out of the line of fire, I returned to the tree, sat down once more, and leaned back against it while they chased each other all over the area.
It was possibly the most relaxed I’d been since I met Carter. A chilly breeze brushed against my cheek, catching my attention. It was beginning to get cool out here. Only then did I notice the sun was setting. I whistled loudly and got both their attention.
“Anybody ready for dinner?”
No sooner did I finish speaking, the bell rang. It was kind of funny watching how both Carter and Keegan’s ears twitched. Carter shifted, and Keegan did too, although it was much slower. It looked easier for him this time. Standing, I waited for them to dress so we could eat.
Later that evening my furniture arrived. I was disappointed none of the other betas or Dolf and his mates brought my things, but I wasn’t surprised. It was too soon. Being newly mated and still trying to adjust to my new circumstances, seeing my old clowder members would only strengthen the feelings of homesickness I was already battling.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Carter
“NEED SOME help?” I rubbed my hand up and down Aidric’s back as we stared at the boxes delivered earlier in the room Aidric picked to set up his business.
“Naw. It’s mostly unpacking and setting up my office equipment. Besides, didn’t you want to talk to Jack and Baylor?”
“I do, yes.” I snagged Aidric’s hand to get his attention. “I don’t think I’ve had a chance to mention it yet, but I decided to make Keegan my heir and take guardianship of him for the time being. I don’t know when Bram is going to get his head on straight, and I can’t just leave Keegan with no parental support. Plus he’s an Alpha, and that solves the problem of continuing my line, as far as Alphaship goes.”
“I figured he was when I saw the color of his coat.” Aidric let go of my hand and walked to one of the numerous boxes scattered across the floor and toed one of the boxes out of the way. “So where does that leave me?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well, if you intend to raise him, does that mean we’re going to raise him?” Aidric turned toward me with his hands on his hips. “Do you want me to treat him as my own, or am I supposed to be hands-off?”
What? “I absolutely want you involved. He’s smart, and I have a sneaking suspicion it’s going to take the both of us to keep up with him. Hell, possibly the entire pack.”
“Instead of a village, it’s going to take a pack to raise this pup.” Aidric walked back to me, laughing. Taking my hand, he squeezed it.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Bram was the more sedate out of the three of us. I was a handful.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Aidric squeezed my hand and let go. He blew a strand of hair out of his eyes as he surveyed the boxes. “Why don’t you go ahead and check on Jack and Baylor? I can handle this. It’d probably be better if I did since I know how I want it set up.”
“If you’re sure.” I stole a quick kiss, then walked to the door, but I paused when a thought hit me. “If I wasn’t going to Jack and Baylor’s, would you come with me?”
Aidric was kneeling next to a box, but he looked up at me. “I’m not going to lie. I’m uncomfortable around the both of them, considering the things Jack did at my old clowder and the fact that Baylor was a hunter. But I’m working on that. Just… jeez, give me some time to catch my breath before diving into the next ordeal, okay?”
As much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point. It had been one thing after the other since he arrived. He was overwhelmed, and I got that. “Okay. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. If you need any help, Temple or Shea will be around.”
“Thank you.” Aidric waved his hand at me. “Now go on, Alpha, and take care of your business. I got this. See you later.”
“Okay.”
I left Aidric working on his office. Was it primitive of me to admit hearing him call me Alpha gave me a thrill? Yeah, it probably was. On the way out, I saw Temple and Shea playing pool, so I changed directions and stopped by them first. I informed them where I was going and what Aidric was doing.
“What’s Keegan doing?” Shea asked, lining up his next shot.
“That’s a hard shot.” I shrugged as Shea attempted the shot and, of course, missed. “Told you. He was rearranging his room the last I saw.”
“Is he into video games?” Temple asked, leaning against the pool table as he took a shot, which he made.
“I believe so. I saw some equipment in his room.”
Grinning, Temple nudged Shea as he walked past to take his next shot. “We should check on the pup later. We got a gaming system over there.” Temple nodded across the room. “Maybe we could interest him in some games.”
“Maybe he’s good enough to take you down,” Shea mumbled, frowning at the pool table.
“Keep hoping.” Temple shoved Shea. “And give me a little room, will you?”
“Believe me, I am hoping. Hopefully the pup can.” Shea moved out of the way.
I left my two betas arguing whether or not Keegan could put Temple in his place. Now that the sun had set, the night was much colder. I walked across the grounds, senses expanding to check for danger. Satisfied there was nothing out of the ordinary, I strolled over to the small house Baylor and Jack had moved into. I knocked on the door, and a couple seconds later Jack opened it.
“Oh, Uncle Carter, hey.” Jack opened the door and moved out of the way so I could enter. “Come in.”
The house looked like a young pack member lived there. There were soda cans on the end tables, a pizza box with half-eaten pizza on the coffee table, and a basket of clothes needing to be folded in the recliner.
“Thanks. Is everything okay? I’m sorry I couldn’t get here immediately.”
Jack shut the door and motioned me into the living area. “It’s no problem. It turned out to be nothing significant, thank Fenrir. And uh, excuse the mess.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I picked one of the cleaner surfaces and sat on the couch. “So, what happened, and where is he?”
Jack sat across from me on the love seat and released a tired sigh. “Baylor’s sleeping right now. I found out he’s asthmatic. Something he forgot to mention to me beforehand.” Jack frowned at the coffee table. “When he started choking and gasping for breath, it scared me to death.”
“I can only imagine.” I truly meant that. I might’ve wished for someone else as a mate for Jack, but mostly because there would be fewer problems with another mate. But who was I to argue with our god? “Am I to assume the asthma is what caused the breathing problem?”
“I’m guessing so.” Jack ran a hand through his hair, making the rat’s nest it already was even rattier. “Before he went to sleep, he said when he’s highly stressed it can trigger an attack. So can extreme cold or extreme heat.”
I settled on the couch and crossed my legs. “He didn’t think to mention this to you beforehand?”
“I did ask that, and he said he hadn’t had an attack in over five years. He was diagnosed with childhood asthma. The doctor told him he’d mostly grow out of it, but would have decreased lung function. The doctor stressed Baylor could have an attack at any time, though. He took treatments as a child, and was on medication through middle school,
but during his late teens, he didn’t need it anymore.”
“I see.” I thought about the implications. “This is something the pack needs to be aware of, just in case it ever comes up again, especially since this is something I’ve never heard of.”
“Yeah, me neither. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy.”
Jack and I talked for a little while longer. Eventually he remembered his manners and offered me a soda. He was in the kitchen pouring it when Baylor shuffled into the living area, sleepy-eyed and drawn-looking. “Hey, Alpha Lovelock. I thought I heard you in here.”
Jack returned with my drink and placed it next to me before hurrying over to his mate. “What are you doing out of bed?”
“I heard our Alpha’s voice, and I wanted to speak to him,” Baylor said as Jack helped him over to the love seat, where he collapsed. “Do we have a blanket or something? I’m a little chilly.”
Jack grabbed a blanket off the recliner and covered Baylor. “You really should be in bed.”
“Maybe so, but I wanted to talk to Alpha Lovelock.” Baylor pulled the blanket closer around him. “Could you fix me something to drink too, please? I don’t think I have the energy to get it myself.”
Jack sighed. “Sure, since you seem determined to do this. What do you want?”
Baylor told him, and Jack returned to the kitchen.
“You do know whatever it is you want to talk about can wait until you’re feeling better, right?” I asked. “I heard you had a rough time of it.”
Baylor sighed, closing his eyes briefly. “I should’ve told Jack about my asthma. The last thing I wanted was to scare him like that. Jesus, that was stupid of me. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the only stupid thing I’ve done.”
Every muscle in my body tensed, my thoughts immediately going to the attack against Aidric. “Have you done something stupid I need to know about?”
Baylor blinked, eyes wide. “Oh, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant about what went on with your mate’s clowder, and the things I did to the members of it.”
I went from tense to relaxed in a heartbeat. “Well, since you brought it up, there are some things I’d like to talk about.” I paused when Jack returned with Baylor’s drink. I waited until the two of them were comfortable on the love seat before continuing. “I’d really like to hear why you attacked Marshell.”
“Yeah, I guess you would.” Baylor played with the straw in his drink. “I, ah, don’t know where to begin.”
“You told me your friend—what was his name again?” I asked.
“Trevor Smith.”
“Right. So Trevor was killed in the year 2000 by a Vetala. You said you were twenty-one at the time.”
“Right.”
“Marshell stated emphatically he’s only killed two people lately. Once was in 2005 when he and Lawson were dating and lived in New York City. Hunters broke into his apartment, beat the hell out of Lawson, and tried to kill Marshell. The other person was during Woodstock in 1969. He caught a guy trying to rape a woman.”
“I know.” Baylor took a breath. “Okay, the female hunter. Let’s start with her. As I’ve told you, her name was Lily Rhodes. I met her in a bar where I’d arranged to meet someone else for information. Of course, I found out later that the name the guy gave me was false.”
“Dolf’s hackers ran a check on the name. They found it was indeed false,” I said.
“Lily overheard the conversation I was having with the informant.”
“How… coincidental,” I commented.
“Yeah, I agree. Makes me wonder if she’d been following me all along, and I didn’t know it.” Baylor took a sip of his soda and placed it on the end table. “After the meeting wrapped up, Lily approached me, offered to buy me a few drinks, and one thing led to another. We talked for a while, and then she started a conversation on an unlikely topic. One you normally wouldn’t hear in everyday conversations.”
“Let me guess,” I said. “Paranormal society?”
“Yep. I found out she held a grudge against the Vetalas too. We shared a mutual dislike. I told her after the death of my friend, I started researching for information on the internet.”
“You told me all you got out of her was the Vetala were ‘bloodsucking bastards who use people sexually and then toss them away.’ Is that correct?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Baylor took another sip of his drink and set it down. “I guess I should’ve known she had an agenda, but I was just so mad. The guy who killed my friend was a monster. He attacked Trevor for no reason, raped him, then drained him dry. Trevor was a good guy—sweet and friendly to everyone he met. And yes, I wanted revenge.”
“Understandable,” I said.
“Is it? I thought all Vetala were bloodsucking demons who need to be killed based on what one did to my friend. I painted the whole group of them with the same brush. All I knew was I wanted them all dead. It never crossed my mind there could actually be good ones too.”
“It’s not that uncommon of a reaction, especially when you lose someone close to you.” Jack hugged Baylor.
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t make it right. I never stopped to think of the possibility that Lily was using me as a means to an end. All I could see was I finally met someone who understood, who hated them as much as I did.” Baylor shook his head, picking at the tattered end of the blanket that covered him. “I honestly thought Marshell was the one who killed my friend. Please, Alpha, believe that.”
“I do.” When emotions were involved, things tended to get messy quick. It sounded like that was exactly what happened with Baylor. “Do you now believe Marshell wasn’t the one?”
“I… guess so? I mean, why would he lie?” Baylor asked. “When we attacked them the first time, when Marshell and the other guy—”
“Lawson. The guy in the vehicle was Lawson.”
“Right, Lawson. Lily wanted to take Marshell out herself, but I said I needed to do it. Anyway, the Crown Victoria we used was Lily’s. Since it was wrecked from the impact with Lawson’s truck, we later dumped it.”
“Lily fought with Lawson?”
“Yes. I was the one who fired the crossbow at Marshell.” Baylor picked up his drink again and took another long swallow. “And… and I was the one who also stabbed him.”
“You got very lucky, I hope you know that,” I said.
“I really thought he was dead. I thought simply stabbing him would be enough. I’m grateful now that it wasn’t, especially since he wasn’t the one who killed Trevor.” Baylor stared into his drink. “I thought he was a monster. Turns out I am.”
Jack hugged Baylor close until Baylor rested his head on Jack’s shoulder. “Sweetheart, you didn’t know. You made a mistake.”
“A mistake that could’ve cost an innocent man his life. If you hadn’t showed up the night I startled Marshell in the parking lot of his business….” Baylor shuddered. “I would’ve been the murderer, not Marshell.”
“I’m glad you realize that.” I waited a minute to let that sink in. “I want you to know Marshell doesn’t strike me as someone who would lie about this.”
Baylor put his drink down and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t think he did either, which makes me the bad guy.”
“Marshell had a perfectly valid reason to kill Jack for the stunts he pulled, but he didn’t. Seems to me if he was the monster you thought he was, Jack wouldn’t have come out of that alive,” I pointed out. Yes, maybe I was being hard on him, but damned if I wanted the situation to happen again. Jack and Baylor had to learn their lesson.
“Yeah, I know. Anyway, you know the rest of it. I led you and your beta to our hideout, and Lily was dead.”
“There was the husk of a Vetala, and Lily’s body,” Jack added.
Baylor shuddered. “That’s something I hope to never see again. I don’t know what was motivating Lily, but looking back on it, it seemed to be personal. I don’t know if she was somebody Marshell possibly hooked up with in the
past, or she just saw a chance to get even with his kind in general.”
“I can answer part of that, at least. I did take pictures of her after she died and sent them to Dolf. He showed Marshell, and Marshell said he didn’t know her. We’ll never know for sure, but I’m guessing she hated the species based on the action of one.” As long as she was gone, that was all I cared about.
“I wish… I wish we hadn’t attacked Marshell that night.”
“Sometimes a lesson learned the hard way is one best learned.” I stood. “I’m going to go so you can rest, Baylor. But understand this. If you ever pull another stunt like this, I will banish both you and Jack. While that might not seem like a big deal to you, trust me, it is extremely huge to Jack. We’re pack, and we don’t do well without others of our kind.”
“He’s putting that nicely. I’m not sure I could survive,” Jack said.
“There will be no more personal vendettas. If either of you have a problem, you come to me, and I will deal with it. Understood?” I asked.
“Understood,” Jack said.
“Never again,” Baylor swore. “I’ll never do something like that ever again. I promise.”
“Good. You boys have a pleasant evening, and if you need anything else, let me know. Good night.”
After I let myself out, I took the long way back to the pack house while I replayed the conversation with Baylor in my mind. So much could’ve gone wrong, and because of Baylor’s actions, so many people would’ve suffered. Same with Jack. I planned to keep an eye on the pair. They’d both learned their lesson, but they were still young.
But for right now? I had a surprise for Aidric, one I hoped he’d go for.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Aidric
THE CLICK of nails on hardwood floors caught my attention, and I glanced up from my desk. In my doorway stood a huge black werewolf. Carter picked his way through the maze of boxes strewn throughout the office.
