She smirked sheepishly. “You don't think it's stupid, do you?”
“Hey, I'm the one with a cliché wolf tattooed on my shoulder,” he reminded with a smirk, temporarily stopping their walk across the lot to tug his keys from his pocket and slip the new chain on with the rest.
Admiring it once he was done, he added, “So I think it's perfect.”
Glad to have his approval, she grinned and announced, “Good, because this is for you, too.”
At that, she handed him the rubber ball, laughing when Caleb's expression went flat.
But her mirth soon faded when he remarked on a humorless tone, “That's rude.”
Emily's eyes widened. “It is?”
He nodded, informing her pointedly, “I prefer sticks.”
Caleb had trouble keeping a straight face after saying that, and realizing he was just jerking her chain, she started swatting his arms.
“You dork!” she laughed. “I thought you were serious!”
Grinning deviously, he quickly leaned down to throw her over his shoulder. Emily squealed, bracing her hands against his back as he carried her across the lot to settle down at his pickup truck where he stated, “Admit it, that was funny.”
“Yeah, but you scared me! I thought I'd really insulted you!”
Despite her scolding tone, Emily was smiling, and her heart skipped a beat when he backed her up against the door and leaned in, murmuring, “Then let me make up for it.”
His lips brushed over hers once, then twice, stealing her breath before he claimed her mouth in a proper kiss that was slow—and painfully sweet. Emily had to grab him for support because her legs turned to rubber and the world started spinning around them.
The way he looked at her when their lips parted was just as enjoyable. It was a mix of reverence and disbelief, as if he still couldn't believe she was there—and he'd been giving her that look all night.
Her heart fluttered to think about it. Despite the short amount of time she'd known Caleb, she could easily detect a difference in his behavior, as if a weight had lifted, leaving him more carefree and easygoing. Perhaps it was a simple matter of taking nothing for granted after losing Fiona so tragically, or he was genuinely astonished that Emily had chosen to try for something more with him after learning the truth.
But no matter the reason, he'd treated her with every care during their date, putting some experiences she'd had with human men to shame.
It really made her wonder how she'd ever settled for someone like Rob, a man who'd only paid her attention whenever he wanted something, and made decisions she didn't agree with behind her back.
So who cared if her new beau turned into a wolf from time to time? The more she thought about her old relationships, the more eager she became to learn where this one would lead.
Her only concern was how the prospect of being turned into a lupine might affect things as time went on.
Such concerns were rather distant at that point, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered. Would there actually come a time when she'd willingly request that he turn her? Or would Caleb eventually long for it regardless of his lack of instinctual urges?
She supposed anything was possible, but for now, Emily put all thoughts of becoming a lupine aside in favor of enjoying herself until the setting sun brought their first date to a close.
Thankfully, the impending pack meeting that night had her curious enough to keep disappointment at bay. So when Caleb asked if she was ready to go, she nodded and climbed into the truck without qualm.
Emily made sure to hang the fuzzy dice over the rear view mirror while Caleb walked around and got behind the wheel. Only moments later, they were on the road, and it suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea where this gathering of lupines was being held, or how often they met up.
So she put the question to Caleb, who answered, “It's at an abandoned lumber mill on the outskirts of town, and how often we meet just depends on what's up. But usually, things are so quiet we don't need to except to pass out random news, like something Hunter's Moon might be up to.”
Emily blinked in confusion. “Hunter's Moon? What's that?”
“Joslyn didn't tell you?”
She shook her head in the negative. So Caleb explained, “It's an order that oversees lupine affairs. Basically, if someone breaks our laws, and the pack can't handle it, they're the ones who deal with it.”
“Then it's a form of government?”
“Right, and it's not the only one. Most operate with their own uh … laws I guess, and answer to an ultimate authority, but different Orders look out for different races. Like the one for werewolves is called Beastguard.”
“Werewolves? Then lupines aren't considered … ?”
Knowing what she was getting at, he shook his head. “Nah. Sometimes, we're called mortal werewolves, but ferines are a completely different thing. Come to think of it, you've actually met two already.”
Surprised, she asked, “Who?”
“Aislinn and Troy. She used to be a human witch, but then Troy moved to town and they hooked up.”
With everything Emily had learned recently, she knew Caleb meant an actual witch, though the revelation wasn't completely shocking when she recalled the fact that Aislinn owned an occult shop called Strange Brew. So instead of reeling from the news, Emily only wondered just how well the witch's supplies truly worked.
But the fact that Aislinn and Troy were werewolves was an entirely new can of worms, and for now, she kept her focus on Hunter's Moon—not that she didn't feel overwhelmed yet again.
“This sucks, Caleb,” she remarked, slouching back in her seat. “Every time I think I've got a good grasp on this supernatural stuff, it gets more complicated.”
She glanced over to see him smiling. “Sorry, but if it helps, my Uncle Travis is an elder of the Moon, so he can answer questions a lot better than me.”
“I'm not even sure what I'd ask. I guess it's just that the idea of there being Orders operating independently of the government I'm used to is really strange.”
“I think I can understand that, but you have to remember that human laws don't work for non-human beings. Like you can't just lock someone with super strength in a brick prison, you know?”
“That's true,” Emily conceded, having yet to think of it that way. “And you said all of these Orders answer to an ultimate authority?”
He nodded. “It's called The Crucible.”
“And they are … ?”
“Mysterious,” he remarked pointedly. “Their members are called Divinians, which are kinda like angels, I guess. I've never actually met any, I've just heard they're divine, or … touched by Divinity. Something like that. Anyway, their big concern is protecting uninformed humans from supernatural danger and accidentally learning the truth.”
Emily couldn't imagine that being an easy job to undertake, unless … “Are they powerful?”
Caleb scoffed. “I don't know about some people, but I wouldn't fuck with 'em. Still, unless you're royally screwing up and exposing humans to the truth left and right, they usually keep to themselves.”
That was good to know—Emily wanted to limit her interactions with any supernatural beings as much as possible until she'd grown more accustomed to the idea of their existence.
But her attention was soon distracted from the matter altogether. By the time Caleb had finished with his explanation, he'd pulled onto a dirt road that led through a thick glade of trees. The sun had dipped below the skyline entirely by then, and Emily gazed around the area, noticing an old, run down facility coming into view up ahead. Must be the lumber mill.
The parking lot surrounding it was overgrown with weeds sprouting up through cracks in the concrete, proving it'd been years since anyone used it on a regular basis. But a few cars were already parked outside, and even more were sitting at the back of the structure and out of sight from the roadway, likely to hide from passersby.
Caleb found a parking space toward th
e center of the lot and turned the engine off, mentioning as he opened the door, “Looks like almost everyone is here already.”
Indeed, there were plenty of cars around, and as Emily carefully surveyed the area after climbing out of the truck, a sense of foreboding overwhelmed her.
She had no idea why. Perhaps it was their barren surroundings, or knowing she was about to walk into a warehouse full of supernatural beings to have a meeting, but as she walked around the truck to join Caleb, she had to admit, “I won't lie, I'm a little nervous. We're not late, are we?”
He slipped an arm around her back, shaking his head. “Nah, and even if we were, it'd just mean catching up on whatever they're already talking about, and putting up with some of my uncle's teasing.”
Emily smiled, willing to be teased if it meant they weren't in trouble. Caleb's laid back attitude also chased some of her reluctance away, though a shadow of doubt lingered as they walked to the door together, prompting her to ask, “But you have no idea what this meeting's going to be like?”
“Nope. I just know Travis has important news. Oh, and before I forget … ”
Just outside the door, he turned to face her and admitted, “We might get some strange looks, but that's just because most of the pack knows I'd sworn off dating humans, so don't worry about it, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed, giving him a quick kiss when he leaned in, then smiled and accompanied him inside.
Whatever happened next, she just hoped her strange worries were a fluke, and not a sign that trouble was knocking at the door.
Like Emily, Caleb couldn't silence an instinctive sense that something unusual was going on.
He entered the lumber mill with the thoughts in mind, deciding to keep his eyes open just in case while leading Emily through the dark foyer into the warehouse where the pack was gathered—and it was just as expected. The way his arm was latched around her back drew attention, causing many of the wolves present to stare in mild surprise.
But Caleb paid them no mind, and Emily didn't seem to care, her grip around his back unrelenting as they walked to a support column where Sara, Conner, and Joslyn stood—and in contrast to their packmates, the trio grinned when they saw the couple approaching.
Joslyn's smile was particularly excited as she greeted, “Hey! You brought Emily! Does this mean … ?”
Caleb nodded. “It means we're together now.”
Emily looked amused by her friend's obvious glee over the news. But Joslyn didn't ply them with questions, probably because of the onlookers. Instead, she merely stated, “Good, now Caleb will stop sulking.”
“I haven't been sulking,” he argued.
Sara scoffed. “Oh please. Your face was so long I'm surprised you didn't trip over your chin when you walked.”
Caleb rolled his eyes, deciding to change the subject entirely before his twin joined in on their teasing. “Is this everyone?”
“Yep, but Cade and Ashley are sitting it out for obvious reasons,” Joslyn explained. “Travis talked to them earlier, and Mike's here instead.” To Emily, she added, “Mike's the second-in-command.”
Emily nodded in understanding, and on the heel's of Joslyn's statement, Travis called from the front of the warehouse, “Okay, I'm tired of waitin', so let's get this thing started. If someone comes in late, feel free to tease 'em for me.”
A low round of chuckles rushed through the pack as he stepped up onto the same loading dock Cade typically used. With him were two lupines he introduced as elders of the Moon, then wasted no time getting to the meat of the topic.
“I know everyone's wondering why they had to wait until sundown to talk about this, but there's a good reason, and you'll be happy to hear it probably won't take long. So first thing's first. We've finally managed to crack part of the what behind why so many lupines have gone missing and turned up dead, but we're still searching out all of the who's involved.”
“All of?” a voice called from the crowd. “Then we're still in trouble?”
Nodding, Travis announced, “Yeah, seems there's more than one suspect, and we got a little outside help on this one, specifically from The Bastion.”
A low, curious murmur sounded in the crowd, and Caleb was also confused. His uncle said he'd gotten help from vampires, and mentioned their new Order's name was Nightfall. But The Bastion, as he explained to Emily, was a human organization that worked to stop exposure of the supernatural to uninformed humans.
It was also considered an arm of The Crucible, making this sound serious.
So how did vampires come into play?
As if he'd asked the question aloud, Travis informed the group, “The trouble is that no one here's gonna like the agents working on this case. But I went to them, and they've been a tremendous help so far. So give them the benefit of a doubt before you get too pissed off.”
At that, he looked to the door and called, “Maddox, Stephan, come on in.”
Without pause, the door behind the loading dock opened, and two agents entered the warehouse who seemed normal enough. The woman was dressed in business attire that looked to cost a pretty penny, while the man with her was wearing jeans, boots, and a basic t-shirt under a leather jacket.
But though they looked like two run of the mill humans, nearly every lupine present started growling, and with good reason.
“What's the problem?” Emily inquired in confusion.
Close to her ear, Caleb answered, “They're vampires.”
“What?” She turned a set of widened eyes up at him, then back at Stephan and Maddox as they joined Travis on the loading dock.
And the pack's derisive growls continued.
Yet Maddox smiled sweetly in response, contrasting her companion, who looked annoyed. Then again, it was hard to tell judging by Stephan's stern, no-nonsense expression, and he remained silent while Maddox addressed the crowd.
“Yes, I know, none of you like vampires, and I've no reason to blame you. But if you would, forget what we are for a few moments to focus on the important issues.”
“Why the hell should we even trust you?” a woman called, and several others voiced their approval.
“I'm not asking for your trust,” Maddox answered. “I'm simply here to inform you that those who've abducted your kind are nothing more than uninformed humans who stumbled across the truth about lupines a few years ago, and thought to seek revenge for what they perceived as a transgression. We know this because The Bastion took one into custody yesterday after receiving an anonymous tip.”
Finally, a hush swept over the pack, and realizing she had everyone's complete attention, Maddox continued with her explanation.
“The human we've arrested is currently being questioned about his methods and companions, and we've reason to believe there's a moderately sized group involved. But we don't have specifics yet, nor have we located Charles Roberts because the human we have in custody has refused to divulge information.”
“Pass him onto Hunter's Moon,” another lupine suggested. “They'll get the information you need.”
A low rush of whispers swept over the crowd in response, as if everyone was trying to gauge just how good an idea that was—at least until Travis shot the suggestion down.
“Hunter's Moon could get information, but the trouble is the source,” he started. “This human knew nothing about the supernatural, or at least, the extent of it, when he was taken in. So if his friends still on the loose share the same lack of knowledge, The Bastion has to assess the damage and rectify the situation, meaning they need to keep him in their custody for now. So we're not gonna mention everything we know in detail. But believe me, it'll come to light soon.”
Caleb let his description sink in, wondering how the human they'd arrested had learned about lupines to begin with. But the bigger question was why he'd decided to abduct and kill so many of them. Maddox mentioned something about getting revenge for a perceived transgression, but was that revenge aimed at all lupines? Or a select few?
Whateve
r the case, no one seemed very happy when Travis further added, “Maddox and Stephan are gonna be around for a while, working directly with Josh and Daphne to keep an eye on things. So if you need to report something, report it to the detectives. In the meantime, keep doing what Cade told you to do to stay safe, and with any luck, there'll be another meeting in a few days to conclude this bullshit.”
With that said, he asked if Stephan or Maddox wanted to add anything, but the vampires only directed the pack to ask whatever questions they had.
A few of the wolves threw out some random inquiries, and as they spoke, Emily whispered to Caleb, “Is that it? I mean, it seems kind of anticlimactic to get everyone out here just to let them know they've captured someone, but not who.”
Caleb could understand why it would seem that way, explaining, “I think Travis was more worried about letting everyone know to expect those vampires being around, because we don't get along. Actually, vampires don't really get along with anyone.”
“So he just wanted you to know they're on our side?”
During her question, Travis officially concluded the meeting for the night, and some of the lupines began departing while others stuck around to chat with friends. Yet Caleb's gaze remained on his uncle with the strangest feeling that things weren't so cut and dry.
The fact that Travis was still on the loading dock talking with Maddox and Stephan while casting a few glances in his nephew's direction was too suspicious to think otherwise. Even the vampires had glanced their way, and that instinctive sense Caleb had upon first entering the lumber mill strengthened.
Whatever they wanted, it seemed things were just getting started, prompting him to answer, “I don't know, but I think we're gonna find out soon.”
Chapter 23
Emily wasn't sure she liked Caleb's reply, and judging by his tone, he didn't like it either.
Curiously, she watched as the vampires cast a glance or two in Caleb's direction, then inevitably left Travis on the loading dock and exited the lumber mill. Their expressions suggested their conversation hadn't been very interesting, yet she wondered if they were actually masking a bigger issue.
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