“What?”
Elain tensed.
Montalvo knelt down next to the bed. “Fiona, my son and his wife, they are your real parents. They were murdered. I have searched all over trying to find you. I’m sorry it took me so long. I’ve never given up, I swear.”
The little girl looked shocked, understandably. “I want Poppa! Where is he?”
Elain stepped into the room and walked around the other side of the bed. She took one of Fiona’s hands in hers. Terror, confusion…
And just a wee bit of hope.
She’d use that. The little girl had grown up with a hole in her life and suspecting there was more to the tale than she’d been told.
“Fiona, I’m a friend of your grandfather’s. My name’s Elain.”
Fiona focused on her. She had grey eyes the color of flint that looked familiar for some reason, but Elain couldn’t place exactly. And long, black hair.
“What’s going on?” the girl asked.
Elain followed her overwhelming gut instinct and hoped she wasn’t wrong. Not even sure if it would work, she envisioned a wave of good will flowing from her to the girl, urging her to believe their story.
The little girl’s hand relaxed in hers.
“Fiona,” Elain softly said, “we need to pack your things and take you home.”
“Home?”
“Your grandmother is waiting for you. And your uncles and aunts.”
Her eyes widened, the tiny kernel of hope exploding. “Family?”
“Yes.” She glanced at Montalvo, silently urging him to pick up the thread.
He did. “You have lots of cousins, Fiona. They can’t wait to meet you.”
“Cousins?”
He nodded, smiling. “Have you ever been on a plane?”
She shook her head. “When I was a baby. Will I get to go to school with other kids?” She frowned. “Poppa said I wasn’t allowed to go to school, that I had to use tutors.”
He grinned. “Absolutely. You will love school. Lots of great teachers, and you can study any subject you want.”
Elain needed to make sure this was going to go well before letting go of the girl’s hand. “Fiona, will you trust us? You know there are things you haven’t been told, right?”
She looked at Elain again, her smile fading. Finally, she nodded.
“It’s okay for you to feel love for Poppa.” She forced herself to ignore the wave of rage washing off the jaguar at that statement. “But there are a lot of people who love you, who’ve been trying to find you for a long, long time. They love you very much and want to have you home where you really belong. You’re going to get very angry sometimes when you learn everything. But you have to trust that your grandfather loves you and wants to do what’s right. Okay?”
She slowly nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. “How did my mommy really die? And where’s my real daddy if Poppa isn’t?”
It felt like a knife stabbed Elain straight through the heart. In this way, she could sympathize with the little girl. “Sweetheart, your grandfather will tell you all of that. Right now, it’s not safe here. We need to get you out of here, okay?”
Fiona nodded.
Elain grabbed Montalvo’s hand and put Fiona’s in his huge paw, lightly squeezing and sending more energy flowing through both. “Fiona, you can tell I’m not lying to you, can’t you?” Elain asked her.
Fiona looked at her and slowly nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. Then trust your grandfather. Trust what he tells you.” She released their hands and moved back toward the door.
She looked up at Montalvo. “You’re my grandfather?”
“Yes, little one. Your father’s father.”
“Can I call you Grandpa?” she softly asked.
He scooped her up from the bed and tightly hugged her. His voice choked. “You can call me whatever you wish to call me.”
* * * *
It was late the next evening by the time one of Montalvo’s men dropped Elain and Kael off at the cabin they were all staying at in the Maine Clan compound. Elain felt more than a little conflicted that she’d interceded the way she had, stacking the deck in Montalvo’s favor with Fiona. But if it meant it would make the child’s transition faster and easier, it was worth it.
It also meant Fiona was now forever free from Rodolfo’s clutches. Her lupine heritage would be explained away as being inherited from her mother.
It didn’t hurt that Montalvo had shown the little girl pictures of his son and daughter-in-law, and that Fiona was the spitting image of her mother, other than her eyes.
Ain laid down in bed with Elain and cuddled with her. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Exhausted.”
“Everything go okay?”
“As okay as it could. She wasn’t unduly traumatized, at least. She didn’t have to see any violence.”
“Do you want to be alone for a little while?”
She started to say no, then changed her mind. “I know you guys have a lot to talk about still. Just come to bed when you’re ready.”
He kissed her. “Sleep well, sweetheart. Love you.”
She stroked his cheek. “Love you, too.”
He started to go when she stopped him. “Do you think I did the right thing?”
He turned. “What do you mean?”
“Helping Montalvo.”
“I wasn’t there, sweetheart. I’m not sure what you’re asking.”
“I helped convince Fiona that he was telling her the full truth when he wasn’t. He told her Abernathy wasn’t her father, but someone who murdered her parents and abducted her.”
Ain slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans, his expression darkening. “Want my honest opinion?”
She nodded.
“I think that little girl not knowing Abernathy is her biological father is probably the best thing that could ever happen to her. She has a chance for a relatively normal life now, with a huge family to welcome her. We don’t know what plans he had for her. He might have been waiting until she was old enough to get pregnant to give her to some Alpha for breeding. You might have spared her a life as little more than a breeding slave.”
She blew out a breath. “Okay.”
“So yeah, I think you did the right thing.”
“Thanks.”
He walked over to give her one more kiss before leaving her alone. As she rolled over onto her side and tried to go to sleep, she hoped she could reconcile it all in her brain.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Elain had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach that there wouldn’t be much of a respite or a chance to disembark from the crazy train after her return from Montana.
Unfortunately, she was right.
Early the next morning, Kitty awoke them just after dawn by banging on the cabin door. Elain heard Rick make it out to the living room first and answer the door. She was just sitting up in bed when he came and knocked on their door a moment later. “Elain?”
Her men were already stirring. “I heard. I’ll be right there.”
“What is it?” Ain mumbled.
“I don’t know. You guys go back to sleep.”
Brodey rolled over onto his other side. “Okay…”
She ended up crawling down the bed to get out at the end of it. After finding her bathrobe, she met up with Lina in the hallway. Rick must have gone back to bed because he wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Mai’s door opened and she emerged looking exhausted.
“This should be illegal before coffee,” Lina snarked as she led the way out to the living room.
Kitty had spread a map out on the large dining room table. “Sorry I woke you guys up.”
“No, you’re not.” Lina didn’t even pause by the table on her way to the kitchen. “But you will be if you try to talk to me before I’ve had coffee.”
Elain followed her. “Seconded.”
Mai, who wasn’t as much of a coffee drinker, slid into a cha
ir at the table and sat with her chin propped up on one hand. “I’ll third it on general principles.”
“Sorry. I’ve been awake all night. We found a big nest, about a hundred miles from here. We need to hit it ASAP. And we won’t have the jaguars to help us, because they’re on their way to Bolivia with Fiona.”
Elain stared at her via the kitchen’s pass-through. “How big is the nest?”
“At least forty total. Cockatrice and humans.”
“Any sign of Douchebag or Fat Boy?” Lina asked. Douchebag was her new nickname for Rodolfo Abernathy.
“No. Strictly a cockatrice setup. Looks like they’re running a meth lab.”
“Any chance these people are hooked up with the ones from Yellowstone?” Mai asked.
“I’m not sure, but my gut instincts tell me probably. Why? Does it really matter one way or the other?”
“Not really,” Lina said as she measured coffee into the filter. “Now that I know what the future could bring if we don’t stop those fuckers, they all have bull’s-eyes painted on them, as far as I’m concerned.”
“You know, it’d be nice if we could locate Mercedes,” Kitty said. “Someone with her tracking skills, we could really use her help.”
Elain got mugs down from the cabinet. “Lacey said she was going back to Europe. We don’t have that kind of time to wait. We need to move quickly. Besides, she’s pregnant, and I don’t feel right dragging her into something like that.”
“I’m sure her mate would object, too,” Lina said. Then she frowned. “She came to Yellowstone alone, didn’t she?”
“As far as I know,” Elain said.
“Do we have any idea how many cockatrice are left in the whole world?” Mai asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Kitty said. “I know there can’t be more than a few thousand, if that. And a lot of them can’t shift because of their diluted genetics. The more purebreds we can take out, the better we’ll be in the long run.”
“How many more nests do you think there are in the area?” Elain asked.
“From what I’ve found out, I think this is the last one based in this region. That one we wiped out just before last Christmas, stuff I found there is what finally led me to this one.”
“Then what?” Mai asked. “We just keep following the trails around the country?”
“And the world.” Kitty’s expression hardened. “Until I’m sure I’ve wiped out every last one of these fuckers. I’m focusing on the US for right now. The more we clear out here, the less likely that others will move in to take their place. They’ll know how dangerous it is for their kind.”
Elain watched as Mai sat back in her chair, hugging herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Elain nudged Lina, who had been intently watching coffee drip into the carafe like it was the Super Bowl halftime show, and tipped her head in Mai’s direction.
Lina straightened, frowning before her expression softened. She walked out to the table and stood behind Mai, where she rested her hands on the younger woman’s shoulders. “I was thinking, why don’t you sit this one out?”
Mai looked up at her. “Why?”
“Maybe you should stay with the kids this time. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of help.”
“The jaguars aren’t here.”
“We’ll be okay.”
Mai turned in her chair. “You don’t think I can do this?”
“No, it’s not that—”
Elain decided to take the bullet for Lina. “Because after what happened in Yellowstone,” she said, “with the bison. I don’t know if you’re ready for this. You’ve got a sweet disposition. You hate hurting people. We don’t want to force you to do something you aren’t comfortable with.”
Mai stood, turning, her expression hard and stern. “Those assholes could have hurt Jim. BettLynn…” Her voice choked up before she continued. “I want blood. I want those fuckers dead.” She turned to Kitty. “All of them. I’m in.”
Lina exchanged a glance with Elain. Elain knew without needing to read Lina’s thoughts what she was thinking. Do we let her do it? Is she really ready for this?
Elain shrugged. “All right. If you think you’ll be okay. But if at any time you think you aren’t, it’s okay to just leave and let us deal with it.”
Mai shook her head. “I won’t turn tail. You tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”
After they all had mugs of coffee in hand, they sat around the table. Kitty focused on the map. “Despite some of them still having shifter abilities, they’re really nothing more than terrorists.”
Mai frowned. “Terrorists?”
“Yeah. For years. They let other groups take the blame. Bombings in Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan. Not just there, either. All over the world, and all sorts of fuckery like that. They thrive on chaos, on destabilization, because they aren’t smart or strong enough to get an advantage any other way. They can go in after the fact and stir up even more shit while the whole place is in an uproar. By the time anyone starts to get a handle on calming things down, they’ve done their damage and are gone.”
“But why?” Mai asked. “What’s the whole point? It’s not like they can take over the US or Britain or China or anything. There’s no military advantage. I don’t get it.”
Elain thought back to the information Baba Yaga had given her so many months ago, showing her the initial showdown between the cockatrice and the other shifter races. “They have a long memory when it comes to grudges,” Elain said. “They pass that down from generation to generation. I’d be willing to bet many of their youngest don’t even know why they’re supposed to hate everyone else, just that they do. They’re the ultimate cult of hatred out there.”
Kitty touched her nose. “Winnah winnah, chicken dinnah.”
“But that doesn’t make sense,” Mai insisted.
“There’s a lot of evil in this world that doesn’t make sense,” Brodey said from the hallway.
They turned to look at him.
“Mind if I sit in on this, or is it a girls-only kind of gig?”
Elain patted the empty chair next to her. He walked in and sat before looking across the table and meeting Mai’s gaze. “I know it’s hard to understand this, but Kitty’s absolutely right. Their raison d’être is to kill or be killed. That’s it. In a way, they’re the ultimate predator in terms of mindset. And don’t be mistaken. Those assholes at Yellowstone had no intention of trading Jim for Kitty. They were only hoping to draw Kitty out so they could kill her, or at least kill as many of us as they could. They would have killed Jim regardless.”
Mai clasped her hands together in front of her on the table. “I guess you guys think I’m pretty naive.”
“No,” Lina said, laying her hand over Mai’s. “It’s just you have a good heart. And that’s a precious thing. We need you to keep that goodness. I’m already a toughened, snarky bitch. Elain’s a realist, because as a journalist, she’s seen what can happen. We need one of the three of us to have that good heart.”
“You two have good hearts.”
“It’s not a bad thing.” She squeezed Mai’s hands. “What we have is a balance. We need that balance. Baba Yaga, Callie, and Gigi, they all had different strengths and skills. No one of them was complete and able to do the strongest things without the other two. For good reason. We need you to balance and temper us.”
“I want revenge. How is that ‘good’?”
“It’s a human desire,” Lina said. “No matter what the hell we now are, we’re still human at our core. It’s not like we’re going into this unprovoked and against innocents who’ve never hurt anyone. These are bad people who won’t hesitate to hurt others. If they’d realized BettLynn was a shifter baby and not a dog, can you imagine what they might have done to her?”
A visible shiver raced through Mai. “I know,” she softly said. “I can’t stop thinking about that.”
“Okay then. If you want to be part of this, great. If you don’t think you can ha
ndle it, that’s fine, too. We don’t hold it against you. But do this because you feel you need to do it for closure, not because you think we need you there.”
They all watched Mai for a moment. She studied the map on the table before firmly nodding and raising her head to meet everyone’s gaze. “Let’s do it,” she softly said. “Let’s take these fuckers out.”
Lina hugged her. “That’s our girl.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
They spent the morning planning, with the other shifters staying quiet and out of their way. Wally joined them a little while later, followed soon after by Blackie. By lunchtime, they had a plan in place and would strike the compound that night. Elain suggested Ain and Cail stay back with Jan and Rick and the kids, as well as Micah and Jim. Since Blackie had insisted on being a part of the operation, Elain’s rationale was that if something happened to Blackie, Ain would need to step in as head of the Clan Council.
I also know I can’t keep all three of my men back at home. No way would they stand for it.
Oscar drove in and arrived late that afternoon for a final briefing. Including the Triad, they’d amassed a group of nearly thirty shifters, mostly wolves. They took several vehicles and headed out before dark to get staged. Brodey drove one of them, Kitty and the Triad riding with him. Blackie and Wally rode with a couple of wolves, while the other shifters filled the last vehicle with Oscar driving.
“I’ve never seen one of these shifted in real life,” Mai said. “What do they look like?”
“That’s right, you never got that part of the story. They’re ugly-ass chickens,” Lina said. “Hey, Brodey. Original, or crispy?”
He laughed. “Definitely crispy, girl. You know that’s the way I like my cockatrice.”
“Are you going to make jokes all night?” Elain asked, glad that at least he was able to help lighten their increasingly grim mood a little.
“Probably.”
Kitty added her two cents. “I wouldn’t say they look like chickens. More like a road runner and an ostrich merged with a lizard.”
A Wolf in the Fold Page 30