Truce: Book 1 in the Aftermath Series

by Alainna MacPherson

  But she only shook her head, a look of vengeance breaking over her young features. My distraction over seeing my old friend again began fading away, as I started picking up on Maeleigh’s nervousness. She nearly vibrated with it.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Reshan, moving to stand on the other side of Maeleigh, making it clear that our friendship wouldn’t hold weight if it threatened my…Maeleigh.

  Reshan tilted her head, taking in the statement my body language was saying. After a moment, she looked to Maeleigh, telling her

  “I was the one who told Zerena when I felt them come through the portal.”

  Reshan smiled up at me again, but briefly, before returning to Maeleigh. “We’re here for support as well, if you want it.”

  “I never—”

  “Of course, you did,” Reshan signed, shutting Maeleigh up right away and surprising Gearden. I knew sign because of the instant bond I had with Maeleigh, which allowed me to learn something she knew through her mind, which she projected when she signed and spoke at the same time. Which meant Reshan had to have learned how on her own, the old-fashioned way.

  “Danu told you to find Zerena for a reason. Even though she died, it doesn’t mean the reason isn’t still there,” she went on to say, then casually started to walk towards the back of the compound, in the direction of the tents.

  Before she could get too close to see what was really back there, Maeleigh raced ahead to head her off, eyes hard as she stared her down, flashing gray and back to blue.

  Though her hands raised up in the air in a peaceful surrender, Reshan didn’t look like she much cared about making nice right then, more like entertaining Maeleigh, really. “I’m not here to start trouble. I simply want to see my friends.”

  Maeleigh looked around her shoulder to me, her eyes asking for my thoughts. Surprised, I realized I really was missing something important, but I trusted Reshan. At least, the Reshan I knew before the war.

  Still, I trusted Maeleigh, too. I gave her a firm nod, letting her know I understood something was off but still, let her by. Maeleigh shifted to the side, allowing Reshan to pass.

  As we walked deeper into the tents, the crowd having dispersed, the body removed from the path, I drew closer to Maeleigh, Gearden on her other side. Signing, I asked, “What don’t I know?”

  She started to lift her hands to reply, but Reshan shouted, “Weis!” And went running for the large man, drawing my attention away. Large arms engulfed her in a bear hug. When he released her, she turned around to smile in my direction. That’s when I saw it. The sun had gone down just enough behind the horizon that the light bounced off just right off of her eyes, flashing green, giving her an unearthly appearance.

  “By Danu,” I cursed, jumping back before I caught myself, moving to step around Maeleigh, unsure if I should be on the defense or not. I didn’t know what the hell to think.

  Entertained, Reshan just watched me with eyes now dancing at my floundering. “What’s happened to you?” I asked her in a harsh whisper.

  Maeleigh stepped up and placed her small hand on my wrist, and I realized that I’d withdrawn the knife I always kept at my hip, tip pointed at my childhood friend.

  I gave my head a sharp shake as I allowed her to lower my hand.

  “They haven’t been violent to us. At least, not yet,” she signed to me, glancing at Gearden. “Still…” she looked back at Reshan. “She makes me nervous. We don’t know her motives for why she’s really here.”

  “What is she?” I asked out loud, not trusting to use my hands, knowing they’d shake with the adrenaline still pumping strong inside me.

  “Vampire. A Seelie with blood magic that has…evolved, during their time here on the surface,” Gearden supplied, his tone slightly annoyed.

  “Her eyes, they flash like that man, James. From the Cearer…” I went on, trying to make sense of it.

  “He’s a vampire, too,” he answered.

  “Why are you here?” Weis asked her then, his entire demeanor changed, no longer the cuddly teddy bear.

  “To see you. To help,” Reshan said, turning to look at Maeleigh full on. Signing, “I want to help. The hunters will be back. With reinforcements.”

  “How do you know?” Maeleigh inquired.

  “Because they have vampires working with them.” I could see the disgust her words brought forth inside her. “Best to fight them with their own kind.”

  She had a point, which I could see Maeleigh was considering. Finally, “Fine,” she conceded.

  Reshan smiled and turned to walk deeper into the line of tents, smiling and waving and those she remembered from long ago. Lifetimes ago. Changed or not, she was still my Reshan, I could feel it. At least, I’d hoped for it.

  “We need to talk with my dad,” Gearden said, holding a hand out for Maeleigh to take. She did, but turned to look at me, brow raised.

  I stepped close to press a kiss to her forehead, then pulled back to sign, “I’ll see to Ariela.” She nodded and lifted a hand to softly brush her fingers over my jaw, sending a thrill through my core, before leaving me to head to the house, her guards in tow.

  Chapter Ten

  Maeleigh

  We trudged back to the house to find Julie, Thorn and Italia sitting around the kitchen island with Caleb, our tech guru druid, all hovering over his majorly upgraded laptop. Julie looked up at our entry, giving a half smile before looking back down at the screen to something Caleb pointed out.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Gearden, watching as their heads nearly touched one another, they were so close. They must have grown friendly while we were in Seelie Hill.

  “They’re going over security footage around the neighborhood Zerena was killed in,” he answered, eyeing the way they sat close to one another as well. It was so odd being back after being gone for so long. Things hadn’t changed at all in some things, while in others they were drastically different. Caleb was a private person, shy in ways. Him allowing so many people outside of the pack to be in his personal space like that was out of the norm. “Where’s James?” I asked, realizing that the vampire was nowhere to be seen, especially during the confrontation of his new elder.

  Gearden shrugged.

  We entered our bedroom but neither of us felt like sleeping. Not because we weren’t tired, which we were, but because there was so much going on outside. I wasn’t even sure if I could stay there through the night. I felt like I should return with the rest of the Westboros still waiting outside. It was a new feeling but one that felt true. Luna had already established a bond with the new pack.

  I sat on the corner of the mattress, looking up at Gearden as he stood with his hands on his hips, head hanging between his shoulders. He was just as exhausted as I was. There was so much to take in, it was sometimes too much.

  I looked up at him, opening my mind to his. “Want to—”

  Movement from the closet had my thought stuttering to a halt and my body jumping up. Gearden jumped to stand in front of me as well. The second we both realized it was James, I sagged in relief while Gearden attacked, shoving the man up on the wall, claws pinning him by the shoulders. I saw his jaw move as he asked him something, but I couldn’t make out the words. His razor-sharp teeth didn’t help me to read his lips at all.

  “What are you doing in here, James?” I asked out loud, hoping beyond hope that Gearden wasn’t so far gone that he wouldn’t be able to translate for me, since I couldn’t get a clear view of James’ face either.

  It took a moment, but finally, Gearden calmed enough to reiterate. “He has something to tell us. He was waiting.”

  “What? What is it that you had to stalk our bedroom to tell us?” I asked, laying a hand on Gearden’s shoulder to pull him off. It was like trying to move stone, but he eventually eased his grip on James. At least, he retracted his claws, leaving bloody marks where he’s punctured skin and muscle.

  “Reshan,” James answered, his eyes meeting mine.

  Gearden and I exchan
ged a look. “What about her?”

  At first, it looked like he wouldn’t answer, then, “She’s…not one to trust,” Gearden relayed.

  “She hasn’t given us any reason not to trust her. Danu told me to find her—”

  He was already shaking his head. “There isn’t a damn thing that takes precedence over her own agenda. If yours benefits hers, for that time, she’s your advocate,” he told us.

  “What about when it doesn’t?” I asked, afraid that I already knew the answer.

  “Then she takes her loyalties elsewhere,” he said, eyes hard, nearly unreadable, but I could still make out the hurt in their depths. He and the other vampire had history and it obviously wasn’t the happily ever after kind.

  I thought about it for a moment before realizing he still stood there, pinned to the wall. I nodded to Gearden and he let him go. “Thank you for telling me,” I told him and he headed for the door. Before he opened it though, I called out, “James.” When he turned, I said, “Keep your eyes down and ears open, huh?” He jerked his head stiffly but I saw that he was with us, with me. After that, he slipped out, shutting the door behind him. I didn’t really appreciate vampires, not after what the Cowboy did when he kidnapped and tortured me, but I could feel that James was different. Rough on the outside, for sure, but he didn’t have to come to me with what he knew about Reshan, that much I appreciated.

  I went into my thoughts as Gearden tried to calm himself. One thing wolves didn’t appreciate in their space was intruders. How did we miss his scent, I wondered? How did we miss Reshan and the rest of the vamps? I didn’t smell any of them when we’d arrived.

  “We should get out of here,” he said. “I don’t feel you’re safe here right now. Not after…” Gearden trailed off at the thought of our friend. I looked up at him and nodded. He dug into the closet and pulled out a suitcase and our backpacks. Together, we dumped out school stuff on the bed and began filling it with things from the closet and drawers, emptying our things from the medicine cabinet of the bathroom until all three bags were bursting. We weren’t just leaving for the night. We were moving out. I was needed at Westboro and things weren’t safe right now. Especially if there was a killer among us. I had so hoped it was Longsten or even Reshan and not someone within our midst. Because if that was the case, that meant we couldn’t trust anyone. At least, not anyone outside my immediate pack and family. Lugh was pack, even if he didn’t appreciate the terminology. Dom and Tomos were, by default, trustworthy, but they weren’t exactly taking time out of their day to investigate who the killer or killers were. The Seelie still haven’t regained the magic they’d nearly completely lost while buried alive for centuries upon centuries. We could use all the help we could get to protect them. It didn’t go unnoted by me that it also invited more possible suspects or future problems.

  Dad walked in through the front door as we brought our stuff down. “Going somewhere?” he asked, eyeing our bags. Gearden’s parents stepped out of the kitchen at the same time. They looked unsurprised, though a little glum about what they already presumed was happening.

  “Someone was murdered in the tents,” I told everyone. A collective gasp and jaw dropping occurred as all three parents and those in the kitchen stilled, their shocked faces staring at me from the island and through the doorway.

  “Seelie?” Dad asked, stepping farther into the house.

  I nodded; not sure I could say her name without succumbing to more tears.

  He didn’t need to ask any more, he could see the hurt on my face, thank goddess. Rather, he gathered me in and let me weep a little, but I didn’t let myself completely loose it.

  After pulling away, I signed, “Gearden and I are going to Westboro. Where it’s safer, at least, for now.”

  I looked to Gearden’s parents, both of whom gave me a nod of approval. Liam would probably be able to breathe easier if I wasn’t hanging around under the same roof. It was hard to have two alphas so close together, Gearden had explained. It put a strain on both our wolves, which is why we clashed that morning in his office before the Cearer had shown up. Still, I knew the father in him would miss us both, and I him. They would always be pack to me, alpha status or not. “We’ll be back in a couple days. Lugh should be able to portal in to wherever I am if he needs us,” I explained, looking to Dad.

  Dad reached out and squeezed my shoulder in a classic dad gesture. No matter that Gearden and I had been officially mated and living together for over three months, I was moving out of town, to live in my own home with the man I would spend the rest of my life with. Giving in to my emotions then, forgoing any issues we still hadn’t worked through, I stood on tip toe to give him a brief hug.

  Leaving our luggage in the foyer, we all walked to the kitchen where it looked like Julie, Caleb, Thorn and Italia had come up from the laptop to go over their findings, now spread out around the kitchen. The second I entered, Caleb, standing at the island, used his hands to sign as he spoke to Julie at the table. “It just means whoever it was didn’t walk or drive there.”

  Julie didn’t look satisfied with whatever they’d found. All eyes were on us now. “Come up empty?” I asked.

  Thorn remained tight lipped, as expected. But Julie shook her head and looked at Italia who mimicked her colleague.

  “Your dad was going to do some digging on his end, in a little more old-fashioned way,” Caleb explained, looking around me to Dad as he entered behind us. Liam and Jolleen gathered around the island as well. “If anything comes up, we’ll make sure to contact you first. Keep each other safe,” Liam told us.

  I nodded and looked out the large window to the backyard, seeing Bri, Ro, Bobby and the rest of the Westboros headed towards the back door. Bri seemed to be eyeing Bobby oddly, and I wondered if more than sign language tutoring had happened between them while I was gone. I made a note to myself to ask her later, when we weren’t surrounded by guys.

  They were talking about something when they walked in but stopped the instant they picked up on the quiet of the room. Bri tilted her chin to Gearden, “What’s going on?”

  “Maeleigh and I are headed back to Westboro. To stay,” he informed her.

  She didn’t say anything, but met my gaze next, a small smile on her pretty lips. “Come with us?” I offered.

  The smile grew a hundred times larger before she jumped across the room to tug me in for a tight hug. Pulling back, she signed, “Yes! I mean, I have to talk it over with Dad and make sure I have things situated with school, but yes!”

  “Of course!” I said, trying to reel myself in a little. She bounced off to call Danny, I assumed. I nodded to Ro, seeing that dejected look upon his face. Jeez, why was it that they had to look like we were kicking their puppies? “You, too, jerk!” I called, laughing to soften the blow. For a second, it looked like he might jump over to me like Bri had, but he tamped it down and just nodded to me.

  Bobby and the other guys hung around the back of the house, not daring to enter. Smart, I thought. Entering another pack alpha’s personal home, probably wouldn’t go over well.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” Gearden told his brother.

  “Did you find anything of value?” Liam asked Dad, changing the subject.

  I could see Bobby still outside, listening in with his super wolf hearing.

  “No,” Dad answered, looking crestfallen. “I put out some new feelers though, might get something back from that tomorrow evening.”

  Liam nodded and then checked his watch. “You’d better get going,” he told Gearden. “It’s getting late.”

  Ever the parent, I mused. Together, we were walked out by our friends and family, and met on the other side by Bobby and the handful of Westboros. They were riding back in their own vehicle, and, forgoing the McIntire van, Gearden and I rode in his Jeep, followed by the queen’s guards in their own car, which just appeared out of nowhere in the driveway. When they tried to pressure me to ride in the back, I thought my mark would appear with the proverbial foot
being put down. Luckily, it wasn’t necessary. Dom eventually gave in, reluctantly, before I could have my druid tantrum.

  It was past ten when we arrived at the Westboro compound and climbed the porch steps with our bags in hand. Rather than drop them the second we entered, we kept walking through and up to the second floor and into our new bedroom. Just as empty as I remembered from this morning, I couldn’t wait to hang some things on the walls. We dropped the bags in the small closet, shut the accordion doors and started preparing for bed. Dom and Tomos took residence on the couch and floor downstairs, and I wasn’t a bit sorry about it. They were grown men and could find their own blankets; I was too tired to care. Teeth and hair brushed, I changed into short sleep shorts and matching tank top before collapsing face first into my brand-new pillow. Gearden chuckled in my mind as he pulled the cover and sheet out from under my weight to climb in and pull me against him.

  “Turn it off,” he told me. “We’ll tackle it tomorrow.”

  Thank, Danu, for him, I praised. He knew just what to say when I needed it.

  His lips pressing to my temple, his warm breath whispering through my hair, was the last thing I remembered before my mind shut down and sleep’s oblivion took me down.

  It’d been so long since I’d last seen Danu, that even my dream-self jumped a little at the onslaught of sounds coming from the rushing water and wildlife surrounding it when I found myself on the bank of the brook again. Same spot as usual. Not a thing had changed. I wondered if it was even real, or maybe if she had the location suspended in time, locked in the moment outside of changing seasons and such. Each time I thought I’d ask, it always seemed to slip my mind, which told me Danu didn’t want me to know, so I never held onto it too hard. She deserved some secrets, I guess. If I gave her some, I hoped she’d tell me others, the ones that were important.

  I spotted a minnow zipping around in a slow-moving pool below where I stood. As I crouched down to watch it nibble at invisible to me food at the surface of the water, I nearly fell forward when I heard her voice from behind me. “Took you long enough!”