“No,” Lotus said grudgingly.
“Good,” Renee said. She reached up for help to stand, and Lotus tugged her up with her uninjured arm. Malcolm and the other werewolves kept their distance. Kelly’s mouth watered, too, from how utterly delicious Renee smelt, but for some reason, Kelly didn’t even feel compelled to taste. She realised why when she tried to stand as well and almost collapsed back down. She was exhausted.
Both Ahmir and Malcolm tried to catch her before she fell, but Malcolm snarled. Ahmir stepped back.
“You have a place in your pack for Ahmir?” Kelly asked Damien, alarmed at the way she felt like she was sinking as she stood.
“The hell you say.” Jada shoved herself to the front. Tanya grimaced. There was a wound over her stomach that looked nasty, even though it was healing, and Jada bumping her made it tear anew.
“We’re not taking him into the pack, are we?” Lily asked.
“I’m not defending that,” Leon said evenly. There was nothing to outwardly indicate that Landon’s death had affected him, but Kelly could see deeper than that.
Kelly was honestly surprised that more of them weren’t blaming her for the injuries and deaths, given that everything could have been avoided if she had taken care of Abraham a few days earlier. Maybe the briquette that used to be Abraham was adequate compensation for her error in their eyes. She was square with the house, but Ahmir and Sebastian still had to prove themselves.
Damien shook his head, holding up his hand to stop the rest of his pack from attacking. Ahmir was used to being ashamed, so Kelly knew the rejection was nothing less than what he felt he deserved. He wanted to hear it, an excuse to walk away, an excuse to continue hating himself and other werewolves.
“He hasn’t earned my pack,” Damien said. His tone brooked no protest. “If he wants to join a pack, I’ll find one for him. Until he learns what it truly means to be the wolf, however, I won’t give him the honour of serving under me, especially given the things he has done against our kind. Blood must be repaid.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kelly said. It was a good thing that Sebastian had healed most of Renee’s bullet wound, because Kelly was sinking, sinking, sleep wrapping around her in a rejuvenating blanket. Malcolm caught her.
The rest would have to sort themselves out without her. But for now, there was nothing she could do to stop herself from shutting down.
Chapter Thirteen
Kelly slept for almost twenty hours and woke up starving.
Butch Cassidy had tucked himself happily against her belly and meowed balefully when she tried to get up and deprive him of her body heat. He eventually took it in his stride, which was a good idea for a little fun-size snack like him—or at least that’s what she told him.
She didn’t think she could make it to the shapeshifter barn, so she headed to the cabin to find something meat-like in their freezer. She found breakfast link sausages. She could work with that.
The pervasive smell brought Leslie, Renee, Britt and Jake in, all looking worse for wear. She considered offering to share then thought better of it.
“How are you feeling?” Kelly asked Renee.
“Why are you asking me?” Renee said. “You’re the one who had actual roses growing out of your skin and called at least twenty forks of lightning down from the sky.”
“You were the one who got shot,” Kelly replied.
“Because I was stupid enough to shoot at him when shooting at you already didn’t work. Sorry about that, by the way.”
Kelly shrugged, biting the first piece of sausage. It was too hot and burned her tongue and hard palate. She couldn’t care less.
“I have something for that,” she said with her mouth full, nodding to the bandage. “It won’t even scar.”
Renee shook her head. “I don’t mind if it does, and it doesn’t hurt as much as it used to. Sebastian made a poultice when he came back. He’s really eager to prove himself.”
“He should be,” Britt said darkly.
Renee elbowed her, but not with any force. It had the feeling of an argument that they’d already had. Considering the fiasco with Grant, if the shapeshifters didn’t warm to him, then Sebastian would eventually have to move on. At least Kelly could point him in the right direction.
“So what do we do with the bodies at the battle site?” Jake asked. “It’s off of our property, but the police already have a record of odd deaths around here. Renee has a reputation. It doesn’t need to get worse.”
“I never did ask why you brought police into this in the first place,” Kelly said. “Magic and law enforcement never mix well.”
“They noticed strange animal deaths and investigated whether it was from my dogs,” Renee said. “Their eye was already on me. When Grant killed Josh, I couldn’t just let that go. I had two dead bodies on my hands, and there was a police detective nosing around. I did what I thought would have the smallest legal impact, which was to immediately report the murder of Josh and the self-defence killing of Grant. I think Detective Ebon has an idea what happened, but he accepted my version of events.”
“Because it’s simpler,” Britt said. “Less likely that anyone’s going to be talking about werewolves and silver knives on the witness stand.”
“Exactly,” Renee said. “Everyone here wants a low profile, and that was as low profile as I could go without getting in really bad trouble with the law later. I’m thinking that decaying corpses a few miles from my gates might be really bad trouble.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Kelly said, “as soon as the hole in my stomach discovers it’s not bottomless. I could also use some non-werewolf help picking up silver things.”
“Get Max to join you,” Jake said. “He’s the least beat up of all of us. I think this is the first time we’ve had the other shapeshifter packs here running things since that big flu bug three years ago.”
“Almost five years ago,” Renee corrected. “It happened right after the first time I left the sanctuary after Dad died. It was pretty bad. Wasn’t exactly the best introduction back into the world.”
“Is Ki okay?” Kelly asked. “I saw Malcolm holding her before I fell.”
“She got hit in the head,” Jake said. “Mild concussion. Her parents are doctors, though, so we Skyped with them to know what to do. She made it through all right. Leslie and Lotus got the worst of it, I think, after Renee.”
“At least they came by it in a less embarrassing way,” Renee muttered.
“Sebastian offered his services with all of them. They’re mostly mending. Lotus really came through,” Jake said, kissing Britt on the head. “That little man’s even being a pain in the ass with the rest of the shifters for me since I can’t do it myself right now.”
There were still bruises on Jake’s face and scratches over his chest, angry and swollen, but they were mostly superficial. Britt had burns on her hands and feet where Abraham’s magical fire must have reached her malamute paws. They were healed more than Jake’s—another example of Sebastian’s work.
“Sebastian’s okay, right, Kelly?” Renee asked. “I thought from your reaction that he wasn’t too much of a bad egg.”
Kelly nodded. “Sorry, yes. He means well, and he came to you in the spirit of my invitation. I really didn’t mean to pass out on everyone like that, but I’ve never used that much magic at once before. I guess the last time I got close I was already going to go to sleep anyway.”
“What are you apologising to us for?” Britt asked. “Your unconsciousness wasn’t an inconvenience. I don’t think Malcolm strained a muscle carrying you back.”
“For leaving behind the bodies, then,” Kelly said. “Where’s Max?”
“He should be back with Ki,” Jake replied.
Kelly took the plate of sausage back with her to the master bedroom. Max was awake, arms wrapped around Ki, who was asleep.
“Can I borrow you?” Kelly asked. “If we take the four-wheelers, it probably won’t take longer than thirty or forty min
utes.”
Max kissed Ki’s shoulder then reluctantly got out of bed and pulled on his jeans and a sweatshirt. “What do you need?” he whispered.
“Clean-up crew,” she replied.
* * * *
The smell of decay was strong. It probably didn’t help that she had rained on them or the fact that the temperatures were well above freezing. But it didn’t necessarily offend her werewolf senses.
“Remind me not to get you mad,” Max said after turning off his machine. They stared down at the twisted, blackened corpse of Abraham. He was barely recognisable as human. His clothes had melted with the flesh that was left.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Kelly said shortly. “Could you go walk around and pick up the weapons? I don’t want to touch the silver ones if I don’t have to.”
“Sure,” Max said. He grabbed a bag from the four-wheeler trunk compartment and headed out to the edges of the forest around them.
“I’ll find the bodies,” she murmured.
Kelly started with Abraham, floating him a few feet above the grass so that she could immolate him into ash like a cremation furnace. She wanted him gone first. His ashes scattered on the wind, spreading him so that even the most powerful of resurrection spells would be futile.
There were four other human bodies. Every life was a life. She didn’t like them hanging there in the air, their features still recognisable, their flesh still fragrant as it burned. However, it could have been so much worse.
Compared to many of the alternatives, this battle had been relatively mild. The smell of the rest of the cremations brought to mind other paths that might have been taken—a field bathed in red with Salvation’s retribution for the fall of their leader, a bullet in the heart instead of the arm, herself brought low under Abraham’s magical shackles if he had worn her down and had had time to use the transcendence spell.
Yes, she thought as she cremated Landon, so much worse.
Max was sitting on his four-wheeler by the time she returned to hers. He’d found five silver weapons and two wands.
“I think Renee would want us to keep the silver,” Max said quietly. “Just in case.”
She nodded. “You can even have the wands for all I care. I don’t need them.”
Before Kelly started her machine, Max touched her forearm. “Malcolm’s not going to stay, is he? He’s going with you.”
“We’ll be leaving as soon as everyone can run,” Kelly said. “So, probably tomorrow or the next day.”
“We didn’t mean to cause trouble,” Max said. “Me and Ki, we were just…”
Kelly covered his mouth with her hand. “Honey, you had no way of knowing what he was. At worst, you thought he was a con man. That was as far as I’d got, too, although I had a feeling.”
“But you did have the feeling. You had the premonition and the prophecy you painted on the effing barn door, and no one listened.”
“People usually don’t,” Kelly said. “It’s the curse of prophecy, I think. Even I don’t always listen. Look, don’t beat yourself up about it. It was meant to happen. And we know it was meant to happen because it did happen. And because it happened, that man died before he could become even more dangerous.”
“Landon died, too,” Max said, swallowing thickly.
“Yes,” Kelly said. “Yes, he did.”
“And if Lily and Tanya hadn’t protected her, Ki would have died,” Max said.
“But she didn’t. You’re alive. Every choice you make has its consequences, but you’re alive to experience them. You’re alive to hold each other through them. It’s a gift so many people never get to have. So instead of losing yourself in the what-ifs—which is a pointless exercise, since you can’t go back to change it—embrace the gift that you’ve been given. If you must, place the blame on me. I can carry that burden.” Kelly leant over on her machine and kissed his forehead. “Come on. Let’s go home. You need to be there when she wakes up.”
* * * *
Kelly hitched the trailer to the truck and shut the windows. Butch Cassidy was staying with her, presently curled up in the bedroom. Kelly had informed the werewolves that she would follow any snacking on her cat with not just an assassination of the killer but the rest of his pack, which Kelly had also made emphatically clear she did not want to do. Damien promised her he would relay that not just to their pack but to the rest of the packs over which he had control.
Renee hadn’t given Butch Cassidy to her. According to Renee, he had already decided. He’d wandered around like a lost lamb the entire time Kelly had been gone before, and it would have been cruel to keep him behind—no matter how entertaining he had been on the sanctuary blog.
“This isn’t the last you’ll see of me,” Kelly whispered in Renee’s ear as she embraced her.
“You would know,” Renee said. She kissed Kelly lightly. “I’m sorry you can’t stay.”
“But you’re glad to see us go,” Kelly said, grinning.
Renee lifted one shoulder a little sheepishly.
“I know,” Kelly said. “Two werewolves are company, and more than that’s a crowd. You have a responsibility to your dogs and your shapeshifters. You shouldn’t be ashamed of it.”
“I just don’t like kicking people out,” Renee murmured. She looked down at her boots and held her healing arm against her stomach.
“That’s why the ones who love you will leave on their own,” Kelly said. “I’m an email or Facebook message away if you ever need me. I pretty much guarantee this pack will come to your aid if you call them.”
“It’s a good pack,” Renee replied. “I can tell because I’m alive and unbitten.”
“Seems as good a standard as any,” Kelly said. She stepped back so that Renee could wrap her arms around Malcolm’s waist.
“I’m sorry,” Renee said.
“No, I am,” Malcolm replied. They didn’t have to say anything else.
Kelly noticed how he held his breath, and maybe Renee noticed as well, but it didn’t bother her. Then Malcolm went over to Max and Ki. Kelly deliberately tried not to hear or see what went on between them, because in spite of all the effort she’d put in to help make them work, she had no place between them. Their history was theirs—the present with Malcolm was hers.
The evening sun turned the western horizon to fire, reminding Kelly of a different kind of fire. Nausea rocked in her stomach, but she’d just have to get used to it. She should count herself fortunate that she still found it hard to kill, even when the law—not of man but of the earth, of the forest and of the moon—demanded recompense. Lives should not be so easily taken.
Max and Ki came over to her, and each of them gave her a hug.
“Take care of him,” Ki said.
“I won’t let him become something he isn’t,” Kelly replied, “if that was what you were afraid of.”
“Thank you,” Ki said. She swallowed back an apology.
Kelly could taste its bitterness on Ki’s tongue, but that, too, would fade.
It was hard leaving, knowing that they weren’t going to return in just a few days. It did help that they wouldn’t lead another evil witch to the sanctuary this time.
Malcolm slung his arm around Kelly’s seat. It was not quite over her shoulder, but she felt his closeness nonetheless. The werewolves darted through the trees beside Kelly’s truck as they exited the sanctuary. They’d follow her along the highway under cover of darkness. Kelly had established an open psychic link with Damien, like mystical Bluetooth, so she’d know where to go.
The moon was waxing, nearly full. Kelly sensed its pull, but she kept her head through the trip. It wouldn’t be long, just a few hours west.
They managed to make it to the wolves’ woods before restlessness overcame her. The pack walked patiently at the sides of her truck and trailer as she traversed the dense, hidden paths to the werewolves’ patchwork caravan. There were two other trailers and three trucks, one with a covered cab.
Kelly would put up char
ms to discourage intruders tomorrow in the sunlight. The night was for the wolves. Both Kelly and Malcolm felt the charge of it as they got out of the truck. Kelly leapt onto the hood then jumped onto Malcolm’s back. He grinned and hooked her legs over his arms.
The werewolves stayed in their wolf skins to lead them farther into the woods, where the dense canopy blocked out most of the moonlight, but not enough that she and Malcolm couldn’t see. All the outlines were still clear to them, as though everything was covered in a fine coating of moon dust that glimmered at their edges.
There was a small clearing with all the signs of nesting that meant this place was to the wolves as the caravan was to their more human needs. The wolves transformed back, forming a loose circle around Kelly and Malcolm. Kelly kissed Malcolm’s ear then slid down and joined the circle. Tanya, Lily and Jeremy herded Ahmir into the centre of the circle as well. He obeyed placidly, eyes downcast. Malcolm, though, tensed.
Damien broke the circle and stepped forward.
Malcolm bared his teeth.
Kelly bit her lip and smiled. For someone who didn’t want to challenge the alpha position, he certainly seemed to prickle every time Damien showed his. Malcolm probably didn’t even know why.
Damien grinned, his smile lupine. “You want to fight me, pup? You’ve wanted to fight me proper since I stepped on your territory. Well, this is my territory, son, and you have a right to challenge your alpha when you join a pack, if that’s what you want. Even you do, you slinking traitor,” Damien directed to Ahmir.
Ahmir shook his head, saying nothing.
“Then show me your belly and bare your neck, wolf,” Damien said. “Submit to your alpha.”
“I thought I wasn’t going to be in your pack,” Ahmir said.
“Not this pack,” Damien explained. “I am alpha of alphas for fourteen packs over three states. You have a right to challenge me for that position or for a position in this pack. But you reject your wolf, fine specimen though it is, so all you really bring to a fight is this man I see before me—this meek, self-hating man who wouldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag if he thought he belonged there.”
Cry Wolf Page 30
