Wicked Hour

by Chloe Neill

  Beyo lay on a bare mattress in a room empty but for a stack of boxes in one corner. His arms were extended at his sides, cuffed to the steel supports of the bed frame.

  Alexei had been right. Other than his skin having a little less gray pallor, he didn’t look any healthier than he had the night before. He wore jeans and a T-shirt that bagged on his gaunt frame, raw scrapes and bruises visible where cotton didn’t cover.

  His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling. He jerked when Connor knocked on the doorframe, lifted his head before dropping it back again.

  There was misery in his face, mixed with what I thought was guilt. Feeling guilty was probably his first good decision in a very long time.

  “Beyo,” Connor said. “You know who I am.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I take it you’re one of the Sons of Aeneas?”

  Beyo’s head popped up again, surprise in his eyes. “You know.”

  “We have pieces,” Connor said. “The Sons, the spellseller, Loren. We don’t have the full story. And you’re going to tell me, right now, or we’re going to have an even larger problem than we already do.”

  Beyo swallowed, lay back again. “It started with Paisley. Or she was the first time we got serious.”

  “Got serious about?” Connor asked.

  “Making changes. Fixing things around here. Cash, Loren, Everett, the rest of them. We’ve been pissed for a long time and tried to get someone to pay attention, to do what needed to be done around here. But they’re living in the past. And then Paisley happened.” He looked up again, and anger was a fire in his eyes. “He killed her.”

  “You have evidence of that?”

  Beyo muttered something. “How the fuck were we supposed to get evidence? You think Loren didn’t fix things? Didn’t arrange things just so to cover his tracks? He was the last one to see Paisley alive, and then she was dead. He has a reputation around here, you know. For getting whatever he can from the women of the clan and taking what he can’t get willingly.”

  Connor didn’t ask for evidence this time, presumably because he had expected the same answer. “So you decided to get even,” he said.

  “We decided to get stronger,” he said. “Cash, Everett, Loren, they’re all old. Their time is done. We were going to work together, take the lead.”

  “Because none of you were strong enough to take him individually. None of you alpha enough to challenge him for the clan. So you decided to cheat.”

  Beyo rose up, strained against his bonds with enough force to make the metal creak in protest. “What the fuck do you know about it? You’re in Chicago, living it up. We’re out here. Pack but not really, right? Barely making it.”

  “We are Pack,” Connor said, each word bitten off as his anger and frustration grew. “Pack takes care of Pack—if we know there’s a goddamn problem. You could have come to us. You could have come to me.”

  “Whatever,” Beyo said. “We did what we had to do.”

  Connor pulled a hand across his jaw, visibly worked to maintain his control. “You learned about the Sons of Aeneas.”

  “Zane was screwing around online, trying to find a way to make us stronger. He learned about the SOA, how werewolves were descended from Romulus and Remus. They founded Rome. That just proved we were powerful. That we were supposed to be leaders. That we weren’t supposed to be in goddamn hiding. We did some more digging, found they had this spell that got passed down from generation to generation to turn humans into wolves. Hybrids. Since we’re already shifters, we figured it would just make us more powerful. So we went back to the shop. Told her what we needed. At first, she didn’t want to. Said she didn’t do that kind of thing, didn’t have magic, but we knew that was bullshit. She’s a sorceress, right? And she had a book on the SOA, even. She eventually made the stuff.”

  “Did she know why you wanted it?” I asked, curious how much of what she’d told us had been the truth.

  Beyo went silent.

  “Answer her,” Connor said.

  “She knew we were pissed at Loren. That’s why Zane picked her—why we went to her. He’s got a friend who’s a friend of hers. Said he’d tried to hurt her one night. So he mentioned we had some issues with Loren, wanted to be able to face him down. She gave us the potion, and we drank it.”

  “And transformed,” Connor said.

  Beyo closed his eyes. “It was fucking amazing. First time we shifted, boom! We were huge. Strong. Fierce. Had all this energy, all this power. That was a few weeks ago. Only takes a drop of the potion each time, so we were careful with it.”

  “And you made a plan to kill Loren.”

  “We destroyed him,” Beyo said shamelessly. “Left his body at the waterfall so it would be found. So Cash and Everett and the others would know they weren’t invulnerable. That there was something out there stronger than them.”

  “We already know you attacked Beth because she saw you.”

  “We didn’t want to hurt her,” Beyo said. “She didn’t do anything wrong. But we had plans, and we didn’t want anyone to know about them.”

  “And the Stone farm?” Connor asked.

  “Zane told us what they were doing—encroaching on our territory. Trying to take our woods a few yards at a time. He heard them partying, and he lost it. We figured he knew best, so we went with him. And he went crazy.”

  “Did he?” Connor’s tone was flat, unimpressed.

  “At first, we were going to scare them off. Douse the fire. Make sure they’d leave our land alone next time. But there was blood in the air, and he just lost it. John and Marcus just lost it.”

  “And did you lose it, Beyo?” Connor moved a step closer. “Is that why Carlie was ripped to shreds? Because you couldn’t control yourself?”

  “Zane did that.”

  Connor’s laugh was hard and mirthless. “You’re all fucking cowards.”

  “We’re not cowards. We’re doing what needs to be done.” Beyo shifted his gaze, now furious, to me. “We found out you bit Carlie. We went back into the woods, could read the blood on the ground. You changed her and still didn’t get punished for it. That was more of the same—more bullshit by the clan that refuses to stand up. So we went for the shutters. That didn’t work, and the next night the clan went fucking easy on you. I was going back to the store, was going to scare that woman into giving us more potion, fixing it so the transformation was easier. And then saw you.”

  “And saw an opportunity,” I guessed. “But couldn’t control the transformation, fell out of the hybrid form too quickly.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Cowards,” Connor said again. “You all nearly killed Carlie, and Elisa saved her, and you want her punished for that? What kind of fucking sense does that makes, Beyo? And then—and then—because you’re cowards, instead of calling Elisa out and fighting her, you tried to kill her in her sleep. And when you saw me, you just ran away. Wouldn’t face me, either.”

  “We’re the only ones who can fix the clan,” he said, but without much conviction.

  “You’re killers,” Connor said, disgust in his voice. “You hurt people because you’re too weak or cowardly to call a challenge, call a vote, or call the Apex.”

  He moved forward again, until his shins grazed the edge of the bed, until he leaned over Beyo. “Loren was a predator and a disgrace. And I’d have liked to get my hands on him, to explain to him—very clearly—what it meant to be Pack. Now I can’t do that. The Pack can’t do that. He should have been made to understand what he’d done. To make amends for it, to be stripped of his Pack membership and turned over to the humans. Because you played judge, jury, and executioner, he won’t get the years of punishment he deserves. Do you know how that makes me feel, Beyo?”

  Beyo just looked away.

  “Angry,” Connor said. “Very, very angry.” He walked away, put space between him
and the bed.

  “Where are Marcus, John, and Zane?” I asked.

  No answer.

  “If she has to ask again,” Connor said, “we’re both going to regret it.” There was a threat in his words—a danger—that I hadn’t heard from Connor before. A ruthlessness that said he understood that leadership often meant unpleasant things in order to protect the collective.

  “Beyo,” I said quietly, “you helped us tonight because you knew what they were doing—playing vigilante—was wrong. You know their hurting Carlie was wrong. Don’t let them hurt anyone else. Let us find them before they hurt someone else and before they’re too far gone to come back from this. Tell us where they are.”

  Beyo swallowed. “There’s a cavern out by the waterfalls. You follow the trail that runs past the creek. When the trail ends, you follow the creek for a while, and there’s a cave back behind some boulders. The local SOA chapter has a Web site, and it talks about the cavern—that’s how we found it. It was used for some of their rituals. We said we’d make the cavern legit. Not just a club, not just a cult. But real. The Sons of Aeneas, like meeting our destiny.” He sighed heavily, chest rising and falling and so thin, I could see the outline of his ribs through his shirt. “If they’re thinking like humans, they’ll go there. Lay low until the coast is clear. And if they aren’t there, I don’t know. It’s getting harder to come back.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Every time we change, it gets harder to remember who you are. Harder to not feel like you’re just the wolf. Only the wolf.”

  A chill snaked up my spine. That was a feeling I could very much relate to, and it was a little unnerving to hear it described so well.

  “Broken magic,” Connor said quietly, and I nodded. “Who will they attack next?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Will they try again for Elisa?” Connor asked. “They’ve already failed twice.”

  “You and Elisa,” Beyo said, and Connor’s eyes went wide. “She’s your responsibility. Zane said you should both be punished.”

  Connor’s look was a mix of pity and anger. “Who else?”

  “I don’t know,” Beyo said. “Whoever hasn’t done right by the clan.”

  Defined, I thought, by a bunch of narcissistic and magically damaged twenty-year-olds with savior complexes.

  Connor looked at Beyo for a quiet moment. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  Beyo shook his head. “I want to sleep now. I just want to sleep.”

  * * *

  * * *

  We left him alone, returned to the living room. Alexei sat in a dining room chair he’d turned toward the door, crossed his ankles on the table. He looked back over his shoulder when we walked in, then kicked his feet down again, rose.

  “You get anything?”

  “Explanation and possible location. Magic’s gone bad, twisted them,” Connor said. “They’re having trouble coming back from the shift.”

  “What will happen to Beyo now?” I asked.

  “Whatever the Pack decrees,” Connor said. “Given one Pack member is dead by his hand, others injured, he may not survive the punishment.”

  The Pack lived by its own code, which was probably one of the reasons Connor had been so angry at what Beyo and the others had done. The Pack was there to enforce, to protect. Beyo and his friends had tried to bypass that system and hurt other Pack members in the process.

  “You think Cash will believe all this?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” Connor slid his screen halfway from his pocket. “Had the recorder function engaged.” He slid it back again. “But I’m thinking about not telling him.”

  “Interesting choice,” Alexei said.

  “They used a cavern out by the waterfalls,” Connor said. “You know it?”

  Alexei shook his head. “No. That where the others are?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Hands on his hips, Connor looked out the window. “I’m trained to defer to leadership. Here, that’s the clan, the elders. But what happens when shit goes bad? When the elders go bad?”

  “Oh, that one’s easy,” Alexei said. “When the elders go bad, you call in the big dog.” He clapped Connor on the shoulder. “In this case, my friend, that’s you.”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  We walked outside, breathed deeply of fresh night air. Connor moved away from us, stared into the darkness with hands on his hips, strain around his eyes, and anger still tightening his jaw.

  “We’ll meet you back at the cabin,” I told Alexei.

  He watched Connor for a moment, probably to be sure leaving him was the right move, then nodded. “There any pizza left?”

  “There is. And it’s yours if you’ll give Theo an update.” I’d totally forgotten to grab Theo before we’d come to talk to Beyo. On the other hand, Beyo probably wouldn’t have spoken so candidly with another stranger in the room.

  Alexei nodded, walked toward the cabin. I waited until we were alone, then asked, “Are you okay?”

  Connor’s responsive grunt was heavy with misery.

  “Anything I can do?”

  He looked back at me, brows lifted. “My Packmate just confessed he’d tried to kill you because, long story short, he thought my family was useless. And yet you offer to help?”

  “I . . . care about you,” I said.

  His grin was charming, wicked. “How much did that cost you?”

  “A lot, punk. So don’t push it.”

  With a laugh that rang with relief, he pulled me into his arms. “I can hardly call you a brat right now.”

  “Then save us both the trouble,” I said, and relaxed into him, let the warmth of his body burn away the disgust.

  * * *

  * * *

  I didn’t have my mother’s appetite, but there was no denying the scent of leftover pizza was intoxicating when we walked back into the cabin. Theo, Alexei, and Lulu were already around the table, tucking into folded slices.

  “Thanks for waiting,” I said, and grabbed a slice of pepperoni from the nearly empty box.

  “It’s fine,” Lulu said. “I painted Theo sprawled like an ancient god.”

  I chewed cheese and meat, looked speculatively at him. “Really?”

  “No.” Theo sipped a soda. “I talked to the Order—which is on its way to Grand Bay to have a very long conversation with Paloma.”

  “Good,” Connor said. “She needs oversight from someone. She’s too dangerous on her own.”

  “What did you learn?” Theo asked.

  “We’re looking for a cavern,” I said, and gave the group the brief version of Beyo’s story. “Supposedly there’s a cave past the waterfalls used by a prior Sons of Aeneas group. Beyo and the others found it online using information they took from the spellseller, and they made it their HQ. They might still be there.”

  “Oh,” Lulu said, swallowing a bite. “I’ve seen this.”

  We all looked at Lulu.

  “You have?” Connor asked.

  “Sure. I was doing some research on the way up, figuring out where I wanted to paint. I was considering the waterfalls because there are photos online of the trails, and they looked cool. There are a few videos, too, and I actually watched the video for this one. It looks like snake city. Sorry,” she added at my involuntary whimper.

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” I lied.

  “She won’t even eat udon,” Lulu said, pity coloring her voice.

  I looked at Connor. “This is private property, right? The waterfalls and surrounding area.”

  “It is,” he said. “But I seriously doubt they asked for permission. And we’re going to bypass that for the time being. Apologies later instead of asking first.”

  “If we find them there,” I asked, “how do we get them out again?”

  “Un
conscious?” Theo offered. “Worked well for Beyo.”

  Connor smiled. “That would be my preference. Easier to move. And if Beyo’s any indication, they won’t be very heavy.” His voice was grim but determined.

  “You want me here or there?” Alexei asked.

  “You’d better stay here,” Connor said. “Just in case they show up before we do.” And then he nodded surreptitiously toward Lulu, got Alexei’s answering nod.

  Since I appreciated the gesture, the fact that Alexei would keep a protective eye on her, I didn’t argue with the method.

  “You think you could guide us?” I asked Lulu.

  “I’m not going on a monster hunt.”

  “No,” I said, “you aren’t. But you know this place and apparently the virtual tour. You can guide us.” I held up my screen. “Electronically. Assuming you found your screen?”

  “I found it. And I’m not willing to go into further detail. You’ll let me know if there are any painting-worthy spots?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “You want to tell Cash before or after you go out there?” Alexei asked.

  Connor sat back, linked his hands behind his head. “I don’t know. Frankly, we’re probably likely to get the same result either way.”

  “Denial,” I suggested.

  “Yeah,” Connor said. “But I have to think our chances of success are better if we come back with Zane and the others in hand.”

  “Then let’s get to it,” I said.

  * * *

  * * *

  We drove the same road we’d taken the night of the initiation, parked along the road near the trail. Ours was the only vehicle, and I hadn’t thought to ask Beyo how they’d gotten this far into the woods. It had to be at least ten miles between the resort and the waterfalls; had they run all that way?

  We took the trail, passing the waterfalls and the spot where Loren had been found, and traveled deeper into the woods. After five more minutes of walking, the trail dwindled, disappeared.