Jared reacts immediately, throwing himself backwards and into Jackie, knocking both of them into the cell door opposite them. Jackie feels something hard hit her right in the back with a flare of pain that consumes her, and everything goes black.
*~*~*
Jackie returns to consciousness slowly. As soon as she's aware, she remembers what happened and figures she must be in the infirmary. She doesn't freak out until she tries to move and can't, and then she gives a little grunt of panic.
"Hey, easy, easy," her father's voice says. She manages to pry her eyelids open to see Nick leaning over her with a worn, worried expression. "Don't try to move, okay?"
"Can't," Jackie rasps.
"Yeah, I know," Nick says. "They gave you a paralytic. You have some bad bruising around your neck and spine, and they didn't want you injuring yourself when you came to."
"Shit," Jackie says in response to that. She must sound terrible, because Nick lifts a cup of water up to her lips and lets her take little sips. "What happened?"
Nick's jaw sets in an angry expression. "We're not sure yet. The generator blew. That werewolf you had must have—well, he got away, is the long and the short of it."
Jackie is less interested in what her father's saying and more in what he's not saying. Nothing about the generator being sabotaged. Nothing about two other captives escaping—presuming they did. Jackie thinks that's a safe assumption. Jared probably would have been captured or killed rather than leave without them.
"You're going to be fine, though," Nick says, squeezing her hand. Jackie can see it, but barely feel it. "You've got a pretty nasty concussion, but the real trouble is—I guess he must have tossed you backwards and the handle of the door across from you got you right in the back. They just want to wait for the swelling to go down before they have you move around at all."
"'Kay," Jackie says, and closes her eyes again. Everything hurts, and she just wants to check out for a little while.
When she surfaces again, she hears Nick yelling. "– wait a day or two, for God's sake!"
Someone is holding her hand, and Nick's voice is too distant for it to be him, so without opening her eyes, Jackie says, "Let me guess—it's all my fault and Mitchell wants to come interrogate me."
"Got it in one," Valerie says, her voice flat, emotionless. She doesn't even sound worried or angry. Jackie manages to open her eyes again to see Valerie sitting there, dark circles under her eyes, hair obviously unbrushed.
"– just want to get her side of the story," Mitchell says.
Jackie closes her eyes again. "Any casualties?"
"Guy at the fence got tossed around, but he's hurt less than you are," Valerie says.
"So Mitchell is pissed about…what, exactly?"
"Three prisoners escaped."
Jackie feigns surprise. "Shit, three? That can't be my fault. I only lost the one."
Out in the hallway, Nick says, "Look, I know that you want to find some way that this is my fault because you can't stand that I dated Ryan, but don't you dare bring Jackie into this when she's injured—"
Valerie and Jackie look at each other. "Dad and Ryan?" Valerie asks. "Ryan Callaghan?"
Jackie thinks back to some of the choice words she's heard Ryan say about the Donovan family, about them being cowards who hide behind their walls, about how none of them are worth the blood in their veins. Suddenly, his remarks take on a whole new light. Similarly, Mitchell's treatment of Nick over the years makes a lot more sense.
Nick must lose the argument, because Mitchell comes in, smiling that warm, reassuring smile that screams lie. "Hey, champ, how are you feeling?"
"Like I've been beaten up and paralyzed," Jackie says.
"That kid you brought in was part of the Callaghan pack," Mitchell says. "Along with the other two that escaped. Looks like the generator was sabotaged. You brought in a plant, Jackie."
"I brought in a what?" Jackie says. She looks between Nick and Mitchell. "Wait a second. Sabotage? If that werewolf let himself be captured and the generator blew just when I had him back there—you mean some asshole in the militia is helping the Callaghan pack and that's why I'm lying here and I might never fucking walk again? Are you fucking kidding me?"
She's thought this through. Anger is her best option. Anger is easier to fake than confusion or surprise. Besides, she's good at being angry, and anger is something they expect from her.
"It's just a theory," Nick says, trying to reassure her. "And your back is going to be fine."
"Yeah, luckily!" Jackie snaps. "An inch higher and it might not have been, or if the medics hadn't thought to give me the paralytic and I wrenched it when I came to. That son of a bitch could have gotten me killed, and for what? To rescue a couple monsters? What the hell!"
Mitchell is watching this with pursed lips, and Jackie hopes she's not overdoing it. "Jackie," he finally says, "we've suspected that there's a mole in the militia for several months now. Do you know anything about that?"
"Do I look like I know anything about it?" Jackie asks.
"Looks can be deceiving," Mitchell says.
"Yeah, no kidding, because you look like someone who wouldn't let some asshole spill our secrets to a bunch of werewolves," Jackie says, "and yet, all evidence to the contrary."
Mitchell's mouth tightens again. He looks straight at Jackie and says, "We're going to be checking in to who could have had access to the sort of device that was used on the generator. So whoever this mole is, we're going to find them. I can promise you that."
"Good," Jackie says. "I want to be in the front row at their hanging."
"I'll see what I can do," Mitchell says. He turns and leaves the room, with Nick scowling after him.
"Dad!" Valerie says immediately, still gaping. "You—you and Ryan Callaghan?"
"You heard that?" Nick asks, and swears, rubbing both hands over his head. "Look, it was a long time ago. We just had—it was just a fling when we were too young and stupid to know better."
That makes perfect sense to Jackie, but Valerie is furious. Jackie can't figure out why until she opens her mouth and spits out, "All these years you told me that werewolves were just monsters, that they weren't human, and you dated one? You told me I couldn't ever see my boyfriend again because he happened to be a witch, even though he could have hurt me or someone else any time in all the years we knew each other and never did, but you get away with fucking a werewolf?"
"Language, Valerie, for God's sake—" Nick quickly sees that this isn't going to get him anywhere. "It was a mistake."
"Dating Ryan Callaghan was a mistake?" Valerie asks. "Or telling me that werewolves are monsters was a mistake?"
Nick hesitates. "I don't expect you to understand—"
"Oh, I do understand," Valerie says. "I understand perfectly. You were in love with someone but your dad didn't like it, so you broke it off with him and spent the next sixteen years hiding behind General Donovan and his bullshit monster rhetoric. You've known all your life that he's the monster, but you never said or did anything about it because you're a God damned coward. And because of that, I lost someone that I cared about. Me and everyone else in this Godforsaken town." She stands up and flounces out of the room.
"Valerie, don't—don't do anything—shit!" Nick goes after her, leaving Jackie alone in the room, confused, worried, but somehow proud beyond belief. Her little sister has come a long way.
*~*~*
The pack celebrates Siobhan and Marcus's rescue with juice and cookies that Kyra pilfered from an empty house. Everyone is hugging everyone, and getting along well, and it's a real breath of relief despite how worried Maya is for Jackie. She's sure that Jackie is probably fine, but she hates the idea of her being hurt and vulnerable inside that compound.
As the sun sets, Spencer starts building up the fire. Siobhan and Marcus are cuddling in the corner while Jared gets dinner ready. The spread is pretty thin, but that's normal. They sit down around the fire, all of them except for Ryan, who has stayed aw
ay from the festivities for the most part.
Jared clears his throat as everyone starts to eat. "So, uh…I have to say something." The pack falls silent and turns to look at him. "I'm sorry," Jared says, directing this to Maya. "I was wrong. I thought I knew better than you did, and I was wrong, and because of that, a lot of people got hurt. I just figured…the world couldn't be as bad as you thought it was. But it is that bad. You were right. I'd say 'from now on, what you say goes,' but…I'd understand if you wanted me to leave."
Maya studies him in the dim light. Spencer immediately protests. "She can't make you leave, she—"
"She'd have every right," Jared says. "So if that's her answer, none of you are following me. Okay?"
Maya shakes her head a little. "This pack needs you, Jared. It needs you to…care about them, in ways that I can't, because…because of how much I've lost." She takes a sip of her tea and says, "Of course, it also needs you not to be a stupid butthead."
Everybody laughs at that, including Jared. He nods and agrees. "From now on, what you say goes." He quiets down a little and then says, "And…Ryan was right too. I was trying to prove that I would be a better alpha. Because I thought letting the betas have what they wanted was important, and it is, but…safety is more important."
Siobhan nods a little and wipes at her eyes. "I thought you wouldn't come for us," she admits. "I thought…we had skipped watches too. It was our fault as much as it was Spencer and Kyra's, as much as it was Jared's. I figured that we deserved whatever we got."
Maya reaches out and squeezes her shoulder. "We're a pack," she says, "and we're all in this together."
"You were lucky this time," Ryan says, and Maya sighs but doesn't protest. "And your celebration is premature. We have yet to see how this is going to affect us in the future, and make no mistake, it will. Jackie might have presented this as a foolproof plan, but if Mitchell didn't know there was a mole before, he certainly does now. Jackie's ability to help us will probably be considerably hindered after this, and we have to be prepared for that."
Everyone nods quietly. Maya says, "And as much as I understand tempers were running high the other day, I do not want to hear anyone blaming Jackie for this. For what happened to Siobhan and Marcus, or for what might happen in the future, if she can't help us."
"All right," Spencer and Kyra both say, looking a little shame-faced.
Maya lets out a breath. "I think that's enough serious talk for now," she says. "Let's play some word games and get some sleep."
*~*~*
Nick catches up with Valerie just as she reaches the inner gate. He gets a hold of her by the wrist, and she whirls around and is clearly about to start screaming in his face. "Valerie, calm down," he says, and when she opens her mouth, he cuts her off. "Not here."
Valerie takes a deep breath and makes an effort to control her temper. "Fine," she snaps, and starts towards the gate again.
He takes a moment and then decides that trying to keep her on the compound will only make things worse. So he lets her walk, and falls into step beside her. They walk in silence for several minutes, and she heads for the outskirts of town, where it's quieter.
Finally, Nick says, "It probably won't surprise you to hear that I've never really gotten along with my father. He's…a hard man. A perfectionist. I don't remember my mother very well. She left not long after Leo was born, never kept in touch. I didn't blame her. My father is controlling, manipulative. She wanted to get away from him, and she did. I blamed her leaving on him. Not that he cared.
"I'm not trying to make excuses for some of the things I've done. I just want you to understand where I'm coming from. My relationship with my father is…complicated. I was terrified of making him angry, but I knew I would never make him happy. He thought I was soft, that I had no potential. And then there was Leo, of course, his golden child, the constant comparison.
"When I was a teenager, I was starting to realize that no matter what I did, it would never be enough. I would never be as good as Leo. When my father was pissed at me, at least I had his attention. So I acted out. I threw it in his face that I knew I was second best. I blew off the stuff he thought was important, did my own thing.
"When I was nineteen…I met Ryan."
Nick is quiet for a long minute, thinking back to that day, feeling that ache underneath his breastbone.
"What attracted me to Ryan was his confidence. He knew exactly who he was and was never afraid to show the world. He was intelligent, charming. Interested in a lot of the same things. And he was a werewolf. Of course, my father had drilled it into me my whole life that werewolves were dangerous, that they were just animals. And that just made Ryan more attractive to me. That element of danger, of my father's disapproval.
"We went out a few times. He knew who I was, and he laughed about how my father would react if he found out. He knew exactly what I was doing—that our relationship was a combination of teenaged hormones and teenaged rebellion. And he didn't care. He thought it was fun. Said his parents probably wouldn't be any happier about it than my dad would be, him consorting with the enemy.
"Naturally, after a few months someone saw us together and told my dad, and of course he threw a fit. Grounded me for the rest of my life, forbid me from ever seeing Ryan again. And I obeyed, for a little while. He was so angry that it was really…something else. But eventually he calmed down, we got along for a little while. But then he would piss me off again, make me feel lesser than, and I would run back to Ryan to piss my dad off and have Ryan reassure me that I wasn't worthless."
Valerie looks over at her father, then away.
"It went on like that for a while. We'd be off for a few months, then meet up and crash at a hotel and stay there for a week. He went away to college. I met your mother, had you. Nothing really changed until the war started. We barely saw each other after that for a couple years. He came to me for help, just before his family was killed, to see if I could smuggle them out of Cold Creek. I said no. Two days later they were dead, and Ryan hasn't spoken to me since."
They walk in silence for a minute. Finally, Valerie says, "That's a really interesting story, Dad, but it doesn't answer any of the questions that I asked you."
Nick sighs. "I know."
"Do you think werewolves are monsters?"
"I think…that it's very easy for werewolves to become monsters," Nick says. "I think they have instincts that can be difficult to control. But I don't think that they can't live normal lives. I don't think that it's fated that they'll hurt people."
"What about witches?"
"That depends a lot on the witch. Some of them do go power mad when they realize the extent of their abilities. But a lot of them don't. Most of them don't."
Valerie purses her lips. "So if you don't believe that all supernatural creatures are monsters by default, why have you let Mitchell destroy this town?"
"Honey, I never 'let' my father do anything," Nick says wearily. "And believe it or not, this war was not entirely my father's doing. There was a long, complicated set of events that led to things getting this bad. Now, did my father help push things along? Sure. And is he at least seventy-five percent responsible for how things are in Cold Creek? Probably. But I couldn't have stopped him, Valerie."
"Maybe not," Valerie says, "but you help him. You help train the militia, you lead patrols, and you…"
"I did that for you," Nick says. "For you and Jackie. To keep you safe. Because that was what was most important to me. Knowing that my children would be safe."
Valerie's quiet for a long moment. "It's better to be the devil's right hand than in his path?"
Nick hunches his shoulders. "Something like that, I guess."
Valerie says nothing. Gradually, they start making their way back to the compound.
"Valerie," Nick finally says, "I'm sorry about Dominic. I really am. But keeping you safe has always been my priority."
"I understand," Valerie says.
Somewhat hesitantly, Nick as
ks, "Are we…okay?"
"You and I are okay," Valerie says. "Me and Grandpa…not so much."
Nick sighs. "Valerie. There's nothing we can do about my father."
Valerie again says nothing.
Nick stops walking and takes Valerie by the shoulders, making her look at him. "Valerie," he says firmly, "do not try to make trouble with my father. At least, not now. Okay? Not with your sister in the infirmary and my father on the warpath because someone is sneaking out secrets underneath his nose. Do you promise?"
"Okay," Valerie says and closes her eyes. "I promise."
Chapter Eleven
Jackie is out of the infirmary two days later, and it's a long two days. Mitchell comes in and questions her two more times. Jackie knows that Mitchell doesn't have anything on her. All the components that she used to build the bomb, she signed out separately under three different names. Technically, Wallace captured Jared, not her. But Mitchell won't stop focusing on the fact that Jackie offered to bring Jared to the prison, like she 'knew what was going to happen.'
Jackie gets self-righteous and indignant and they snipe back and forth and she comes out on top, mostly. But Mitchell is obviously suspicious, and it doesn't look good for the long-term. She's going to be under a microscope for the next month or two. Possibly longer. And that means she won't be able to do any of what she's been doing. No supplies, no patrol schedules, especially no raid warnings.
When the medics clear her, Nick is there to walk her home. Helen's made her favorite for dinner, pulling some salmon out of the freezer. Nick tries to present it like it was something Helen wanted to do for her. The obvious lie would be funny if it didn't hurt so much.
Valerie is quiet and sullen. Nick is clearly trying to pretend that his two children had never found out about his relationship with a werewolf. Jackie doesn't care because it's obvious to her how things must have gone, so she doesn't really have anything to say about it. Over dinner, Nick brings up the subject of the militia and how he thinks Jackie should take a break. He's clearly geared up for an argument, but Jackie just says, "Yeah, maybe for a little while."
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