A Pack of Vows and Tears

by Olivia Wildenstein

  “Whose idea was the escort agency, Sandra?” My voice was as tight as my spine. “Everest’s or yours?”

  She cocked her head to the side, lips pursed. She was older than I’d assumed. Fifty, sixty perhaps. Tiny wrinkles ringed her mouth. What held my attention, though, was the odd bluish tinge to her lips—a recent bruise or a strange birthmark? Or maybe she was chilly. The nippiness in the air definitely made me regret not having taken a jacket.

  “It was my idea,” she said.

  I blew out a relieved breath. “Why?”

  “To get insight into other packs.”

  “To spy, then?”

  She wrinkled her pert nose. “I’m not a fan of the word spy.”

  “Would you rather I say snoop?” My voice crackled with animosity.

  She snapped her head straight. “Aren’t you a little spitfire?”

  “How did you reel Everest into your opportunistic scheme?”

  “I didn’t. Becca did. The silly girl fell in love.” She took the glass of water someone tendered her way—Lori.

  I gave the tall woman beside Cassandra a cursory once-over. All of her was thin and narrow, from her face to her body.

  “Thank you, sweet thing.” Cassandra wrapped fingers topped with lacquered burgundy nails filed to a dull point around the glass and tipped it to her bluish lips. “Where was I?”

  “Becca and Everest fell in love,” I supplied curtly.

  “Right. Becca convinced me Everest was unhappy with the Boulders.” She slanted her eyes to Liam. “That he could be an asset. So we talked, and I brought him on.”

  Liam’s body had hardened next to mine as though he were made entirely of bones.

  “Everest wanted to have Heath demoted and asked if I had anythin’ on him he could use. Even though Aidan had supplied me with somethin’ your cousin could’ve used”—her gaze slid back to me—“my goal wasn’t to instigate a war between the packs. I told him I’d let him use the girls to dig up his own dirt.”

  Even though Liam didn’t react verbally or physically, I sensed the frenzied beat of his heart inside of mine. All of the pack seemed to sense it, because suddenly Frank was wrapping his fingers around Liam’s wrist, and Lucas had squeezed in between Liam and me.

  Lori handed Cassandra a plate laden with food and took away her glass of water.

  “And whose idea was it to use me as an escort?” I asked.

  Cassandra devoured a pig-in-a-blanket in a single bite, then made another vanish just as swiftly. “His. But I seconded it. You were vengeful and desirous of closure. I believed meetin’ with Heath would bring you closure.”

  In a way, it had, but I would never ever admit this. I kept my expression blank. The air was so rife with tension that I expected some of the Boulders to shift, but everyone remained in skin.

  “Why did you send me to meet Aidan?” He wasn’t by her side and he wasn’t in the crowd. “So I could get closure for my father’s death?”

  “No. I did that so that he could get closure. Killing your father was a mistake. A terrible one. He’d been aimin’ for Heath, but I believe you already know that.”

  “Doesn’t erase what he did.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Except he was tryin’ to help your father, Ness.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talkin’ about something your Alpha should explain.”

  She started to turn away, but I called her back. “Mrs. Morgan, why did you have Everest killed?”

  “I didn’t have Everest killed. I had him followed.”

  “Having him followed got him killed.”

  “Extorting money from my pack got him killed,” she lobbed back. “Your cousin was a thief. He said he had access to Sillin, made us pay a substantial deposit for it, and then he never delivered.”

  My heart was beating double-time. “What did you need Sillin for?”

  She made a sort of guttural sound, halfway between a growl and a sigh. “For injuries. For travel. For my cousin—although now he won’t be needin’ it anymore. And before you go on assumin’ anything, we had no intention of using it as a weapon.”

  Like I’d ever believe that . . .

  She shook her head. “An Alpha’s responsibility is to protect the pack at any costs. At least, that’s what an Alpha should do. May I suggest that before you go judgin’ me and mine, you take a good look at your own Alpha.”

  Liam’s eyes glowed as bright as the flames I’d imagined licking up the sides of the inn.

  With a skein of Creeks trailing her, she finally took off toward the living room but paused by the sliding door, her blue sheath flapping in the gentle breeze. “Oh, and, Candy, I’ll be here for several days. We still have so much to discuss, you and I, so don’t be a stranger.” She flicked her fingers in a little wave, then went to take a seat on one of the couches inside.

  Her wolves milled around her, quietly ferrying plates to and from the buffet, gazes roving over us in both curiosity and caution.

  The hush that draped over all three packs raised the hairs on the nape of my neck.

  “Liam?” I whispered.

  He looked everywhere but at my face.

  My stomach felt as though a swarm of moths were flapping their little wings against its lining.

  “What was Morgan talking about, Kolane?” August asked.

  “None of your fucking business, Watt,” Liam snapped.

  “If it has to do with Ness, it is my fucking business.”

  Without turning around, I said, “No, August. I know you consider me like a sister, but I’m not. So it’s not your business. This is between Liam and me.”

  My words stung August. I sensed it in the tremor that crossed through the tether. As he backed away, it vibrated like a flicked clothes string. He didn’t leave the inn, just put distance between us. A lot of it.

  I accorded Liam my full attention. “I’m listening.”

  A nerve ticked in his temple and another in his jaw.

  When he still didn’t speak, I asked, “Would you rather I ask Aidan Michaels to enlighten me?”

  “A couple days before he was shot, your father challenged mine for Alpha,” Liam said roughly. “My father said he would kill him, and Aidan caught it with one of the many bugs he’d planted in our homes. After Callum died, when we came for Aidan, the bastard played back the recording. Said he’d play it for the entire pack. Even though Dad didn’t shoot Callum, it made him look guilty. That’s why your father’s death wasn’t avenged.”

  The music stopped, replaced by a screechy recording. A voice risen from the dead boomed across the terrace.

  “The nerve of Clark! He already stole my mate. And now he wants my pack?” Heath sounded crazed. “The fucking nerve of him.”

  Something shattered. Heath had probably lobbed one of his crystal highballs into a wall. I could just imagine the whiskey dripping down the wooden pillar in his cushy home.

  “Why do you think he challenged you?” Liam’s fifteen-year-old voice rang across the deathly quiet porch.

  “To bring his bastard child into the pack. He doesn’t get that she’s not his kid. That she can’t fucking be his kid. Boulders don’t have girls!” Heath bellowed a couple expletives that had Frank shutting his eyes. “The Clarks are parasites, Liam. They suck up the resources of the pack and bring nothing but fucking problems in return.”

  For a moment, no sound came out of the speakers, and I thought Aidan or whoever was broadcasting the recording had pressed pause. I looked at Liam, but he stared at the weathered teak slats beneath our feet.

  “I just had a fucking fantastic idea.” Heath’s voice exploded over the terrace. “I’ll kill him before he publicly challenges me.”

  A pause, then: “If you make it look like a hunting accident”—Liam sounded so cool and collected, the complete antithesis of his dad—“you can blame that creepy-ass hunter so we can finally get rid of him.”

  There was a click. It was probably the recording, but it felt like
my heart. Like an explosion had detonated in the marrow of my bones, surged into my muscles, and vibrated through my flesh, coating every inch of me in goose bumps. They cascaded over my skin in icy waves.

  “I didn’t even know my father wanted to be Alpha,” I whispered, even though that was far far from the worst part of what I’d just heard. Of what everyone had just heard.

  Liam lifted his face, pain etched inside each one of his features.

  I rolled my fingers into such tight fists that my nails carved up my palms. I had a strong urge to hit him. In the heart. Instead, I wiped my mouth on my forearm in an attempt to erase every kiss we’d ever shared.

  He dragged a hand through his dark hair, and a lock flopped into his eyes. “I was fifteen, Ness. A kid. I had no idea what I was saying.”

  “Is that really your excuse?” My voice rang inside my ears.

  “I just wanted Aidan gone. Not your father—”

  “And yet you didn’t tell your father not to kill mine.”

  Sarah tried to touch my arm, but I whipped it out of her reach and stepped back until my tailbone smacked into the guardrail.

  “Ness . . . ” Liam started.

  I’d pledged myself to a man who’d been on board with eliminating my father. “You are Heath’s son.”

  Liam shut his eyes as though I’d taken a swing at him.

  “I don’t want you as my Alpha.” I gripped the handrail behind my back for support. “How do I break our link?”

  His eyes snapped open, then grew wide.

  “You can’t break the Alpha link,” Frank said, forehead grooved with so many wrinkles that it seemed as though the evening had added years to his face. “The only thing you can do is move away until you don’t feel the pull of the pack.”

  I stared at the elder, then at the shifters surrounding us, at the Creek Alpha who was sitting with her wolves in the living room, watching me through the open glass doors, at Sarah whose mouth gaped, at Lucas and Matt and Cole who all wore matching looks of regret, and finally at August. He was the only one who didn’t stare back. His eyes were like twin rifles set on the back of Liam’s head.

  “I’ll leave, then.” I pressed off the balustrade and walked past Liam, who put his hand on my arm. “Don’t you dare touch me.” I snatched my arm away, my icy shock replaced by a searing wrath.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured as I passed by him.

  I whirled. “No, you’re not. You’re just sorry I found out.”

  Liam shook his head. “They were just words. We never ended up hurting him. Aidan pulled that trigger. We didn’t.”

  “Lucky for you, huh? Lucky for you he made a mistake!” I backed away before stalking off, speeding through the living room in my stupid heels, clutching my stupid dress. I walked toward the bell desk to phone my uncle.

  As I dialed his number, Aidan strolled out of the back office, a USB key in his hand—probably the vessel containing the malicious conversation. I dropped the phone, and it clattered at my feet, the battery flying out of the handheld device.

  “Should’ve heeded my note,” he said.

  “What note?” I pressed a hand against my chest as though to keep my heart from dropping like the phone.

  “The one I tied to the bicycle, which I had delivered to the inn.”

  “You shot my father and your ex-wife. You really thought I would stop by for tea?”

  “I’m not a fan of tea. I’d have served something fizzy . . . ”

  I arced my hand in the air in frustration. “Oh, you know what I mean!”

  He squeezed an oily smile onto his lips.

  I crouched to grab the phone and then attempted to fit the battery back inside, but my hands were shaking.

  “Want some help?” He extended his hand.

  “No.” After several botched attempts, I jammed the battery back in. While the phone powered up, I said, “I know killing my father was a mistake, that you were aiming for Heath. Why?”

  “I had my own vendetta toward him. He took something I loved.”

  I hadn’t considered Aidan Michaels capable of love, but I also hadn’t considered he could be a werewolf.

  “The recording came in handy when Heath came to avenge your father’s death. Should’ve seen how astonished he was when I played it back for him.” He flashed me a smile that made my skin crawl.

  Aidan Michaels was a monster. Just like Heath Kolane. Where Heath raped women, Aidan shot them.

  “Even though you didn’t mean to kill my father, it was still your finger on that trigger.”

  “Is that a threat, little girl?”

  “Maybe it is.”

  “I’d be very careful doling out threats. You might be an orphan, but there are still people you care about . . . ”

  My stomach curled onto itself at his menace. I backed away from him, clutching the phone to my chest. Keeping one eye on the Creek wolf, I tried to dial Jeb’s number from memory, but an automated message kept telling me I’d entered the wrong number. Ugh.

  “Need a ride home, Ness?” Aidan asked.

  “Like I’d ever let you drive me anywhere.”

  “Oh, I would’ve phoned up my driver. I have better things to do with my evening. Better yet, you could use the bicycle I sent back. Here, let me get you the key to the garage.”

  Footsteps pounded the foyer floor, and then a gruff voice said, “She won’t be needing that key.”

  45

  “You don’t need to take me home, August,” I said.

  “You’re right. I don’t, but I was leaving. If you don’t want a ride, by all means, make your own way home.” He paused by the entrance of the inn, waiting for me to decide.

  I all but flung the phone at Aidan Michaels and raced to the revolving doors As soon as we were outside, I said, “I’ll kill that man someday.”

  August glanced at me, eyes bathed in shadows, shadows I’d put there. Not all of them, perhaps, but some. We didn’t talk as we walked to his pickup, and we didn’t talk as he drove me back home. When we reached my street, August finally spoke.

  “You’re not serious about leaving Boulder, are you?”

  “I am.”

  “You’re still a minor.”

  I stared up at the darkened apartment. Was my uncle already sleeping?

  “Jeb will understand that I can’t stay in Boulder. He’ll understand that I can’t obey a man I . . . I can’t trust.”

  “You don’t have to leave. Liam won’t harm you.”

  “I know Liam isn’t that spiteful fifteen-year-old boy, but every time I’ll look at him, I’ll remember that he was complicit in killing my father.” I touched the door handle. “Besides, my leaving will benefit you.”

  “How?” he asked sharply. “How will it benefit me?”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “Um. Did tonight’s gathering make you forget about the mating link?”

  “The mating link doesn’t bother me, Ness.”

  “How can it not?”

  “Does it bother you?”

  “No, but I’ve sworn off men.” I raised a smile I wasn’t really feeling. Mom used to say that if you smiled in spite of being down, your emotions would eventually catch up with your face. “Anyway, August Watt, I promise I’ll write this time.”

  He stared fixedly ahead of him. I was tempted to lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek but chickened out. I got out of the car and shut the door, then climbed the steps. The pickup didn’t pull away. August was probably waiting for me to go inside. A gentleman till the very end . . .

  I rang the doorbell. Seconds passed. When a minute went by, I rang the doorbell again but heard no footsteps. Was my uncle not home?

  Frowning, I went back down the stairs and knuckled the passenger window. August powered it down. His phone was already ringing, and then my uncle’s voice came on the speakerphone.

  “Yes, August?”

  “Ness was trying to get home, but she doesn’t have her keys.”

  “I’m at Headquarters, watching over o
ur asset with Derek and his son. If you swing by, I can give you the key.”

  I bit my lip. “What time will you be home?”

  “I won’t. I don’t want to risk those bastard Creeks freeing Everest’s murderer.” His desire for vengeance palpitated through the phone.

  “Okay, we’ll figure something out,” August said.

  When he hung up, I said, “I can—” I had been about to say drive myself there and back, but Jeb had taken the van. Shoot. I was stranded. “Actually, do you mind giving me a ride?”

  He nodded, and I got back inside.

  Pulling away from the curb, he said, “I don’t like the idea of you sleeping here all by yourself. Not with the Creeks in town.”

  “I lived six months on my own in a real crappy neighborhood.”

  “You weren’t on my watch then.”

  “I’m not on your watch now either.”

  “Ness,” he sighed. “Please give me a break tonight.”

  I nibbled on my lip and relented. “What did you have in mind?”

  “You can stay with me tonight.”

  “Um.” The seatbelt felt like it was cutting off my breath. I hooked my thumbs underneath the taut fabric and tugged.

  “I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said.

  Yeah. But his place was one big open space. Taking the couch wouldn’t give either of us much privacy. “I could go to Frank’s—”

  “He might not get home until late.” He’d already started driving toward the warehouse.

  I sensed reminding him that Evelyn would be there would do little to change the course of my evening. “Fine, but I’ll take the couch.”

  “The bed’s more comfortable.”

  “It’s your bed.”

  “It’s also my couch.”

  A ghost of a smile made its way to my lips.

  “Do you know how many girls would love to be in your shoes right now?”

  “My shoes are starting to hurt my feet, so I don’t think many.”

  He side-eyed me, and although there wasn’t much light, his eyes seemed greener. “There’s the Ness Clark I know and adore.”

  “Shut up.”

  He chuckled softly, and it smoothed the spiny ridges of this strange night.