by Tanith Frost
He stalks from the room. I hear him close his door hard behind him.
I don’t move. I can’t. All I can do is look around the barren common room and try to understand that this is my home, and I’m as good as on my own now.
Chapter Eight
“So where do we start?”
Paul remains hunched over the papers on his desk.
“Paul!”
He looks up slowly. “Yes. Well, I’m going over the doctor’s report. Seems there’s no doubt a wolf did it.”
I sit in my chair at the other desk and spin around to face him. I hate the fact that things are set up so that he stares at the back of my head if we’re both in here working. I’m going to have to do some rearranging, if not outright redecorating. There’s no excuse for the state of this place. Not when we have to live here.
“So are we going to ask them about it tonight?” I ask. It’s been well over twenty-four hours since the murder. No one else has signed in or out of the sanctuary, but we can’t keep them contained forever.
He sighs and pulls his fingers through his short hair. “I doubt it will do much good.”
“So we’re just going to sit here with our thumbs up our asses?”
Paul frowns at me. “You might wish to watch your tone.”
I don’t apologize, but I bow my head slightly. It’s easy to forget that while Paul isn’t an elder or a particularly impressive vampire, he is older than me and he outranks me within Maelstrom.
Everyone does.
I haven’t been in a good mood since Daniel left last night. I’m still mad at him, and still unsure why. I guess because he was almost honest with me, but not quite. I’d sort of hoped we at least had that much respect for each other.
This is fine. It’s how things have to be. I’ve obviously made the right choice, and to want the situation to be otherwise would be foolish.
I just wish I felt like constantly reminding myself of that fact was making any difference.
Paul settles back in his chair and folds his hands over his stomach. “Tell you what. Let’s go talk to them.” A blandly malicious smile crosses his lips. “Hell, let’s start with Silas’ pack and go from there.”
My stomach drops. “What about Joseph? He seemed reasonable enough.”
“We’ll bother him after, if you decide you want to keep on with it.”
I grit my teeth and check the clock. There are no windows here in the office, but it should be past twilight by now. I don’t know why Paul is being contrary, but I’ll go along with it if it means getting answers. Otherwise it looks like we’re going to ignore the dead kid completely.
I checked Paul’s sparse personnel file the last time I was alone in the office. He’s been pushing papers here for thirty years, though I have no idea what he did to deserve it. Maybe after that long you stop giving a shit about little things like murders.
And maybe I’d better watch my ass so I don’t get stuck here, too.
Paul drives again. I have a copy of the keys, but I haven’t been permitted behind the wheel. He stops at the gate and waits until I get out to open it, let him through, and lock it up again. I’m not sure why we bother when Silas made it clear that the wolves can get in whenever they damn well please. We never did find that hole in the fence.
And I certainly looked.
We drive through the darkening forest, bypassing the road up to Joseph’s place, crossing the second bridge that will take us to the cabins where Silas and his pack live. I press my hands against my thighs to keep them from shaking. It will be fine. They may be cruel, dishonest, and arrogant, but they won’t dare hurt me. If they try, I can hurt them right back. Size isn’t everything.
And yet my stomach is an ice pit, and my thoughts won’t stop racing as I struggle to plan what I’ll say to Silas, how I’ll prove that he didn’t get under my skin before.
There are lights on in the cabins. We step out of the Jeep to the sound of laughter that dies as our doors slam shut.
Four men exit the nearest building. One carries a lamp containing a bright fluorescent bulb. Not factory issue, I suspect, but a replacement chosen to irritate our eyes. Assholes.
We don’t flinch as they approach. Paul stands back and motions for me to go ahead. I hate him a little for not being the leader he’s supposed to be, but I don’t doubt he’d have my back if it came to a fight. Whatever his personal feelings about me, no vampire would stand by and let another be torn apart by werewolves.
I scan their faces as well as I can in the glaring light. None of them are Silas. Of the four men, one of them is passably attractive in a low-rent romance hero kind of way. Maybe a billionaire with not quite enough charisma to lure unsuspecting virgins into questionable situations. The others are fairly average-looking, a mix of ages and heights. Silas’ magnetic, youthful good looks and Joseph’s dignified air made me forget that supernatural power doesn’t offer cosmetic benefits to every species.
“Evening, gentlemen,” I offer. I’m not going to come in aggressively. Not until they prove they deserve it. This could still be civil.
A middle-aged guy with greying hair and a missing tooth visible on his lower jaw grins broadly and steps forward. “Fancy meeting you all the way out here, new girl. Silas told us all about you.” He seems about to step closer, invading my personal space as Silas was so confident to do, but a sharp look from me stops him just outside of striking range.
“Where is he?” I ask.
The pretty-ish one spits on the ground, ruining any hint of charm he may have had about him. “None of your fucking business is where he is.”
The others laugh. “Ain’t here,” adds the youngest-looking one, a skinny lad of maybe seventeen whose eyes have been roaming freely over me since he stepped out of the cabin. He’s too young to look wolfish. More like a drooling puppy.
“Who are they?” I ask Paul. There’s no point asking these guys.
“That’s Jim,” he says as he steps forward a pace, nodding to the young guy. “Harold, Peter, Van.”
Of course the spitter is named Van.
“Any idea when Silas will be around?” I ask. I want to insult them, to show that they’re not intimidating me. But more than that, I want information. So I hold back.
Not one of them answers. They just leer.
This is the hell of dealing with assholes. They take the offensive, and anything you do only encourages them. Displays of strength are interpreted as defensiveness. Ignoring them makes you a stuck-up bitch, which I don’t care so much about. These dogs and their opinions are nothing to me, and I suspect that’s a good part of the reason they’re trying so hard to get a reaction. They know they’re nothing. It shouldn’t be on me to defuse the situation, to be careful not to provoke them when they’re so openly trying to provoke me.
I want peace and respect. They’re making it clear that they don’t, and I’m quickly losing patience. Nice is fine if it gives me an advantage. If not…
“I appreciate your cooperation,” I tell them, not hiding the disdain in my voice. “If anyone shows up who I might actually be interested in talking to, please let him know he’s needed at the compound.” I let myself smile. “I’d ask you fellows, but I’d prefer someone with actual authority.”
I turn to leave. Harold, the one with the missing tooth, lunges at me. I’m ready for him. He’s bigger than me, but not stronger. Not faster. His size only gives his body momentum as I grab him by his shirt and flip him over my shoulders as I duck, sending him skidding over the gravelled ground. He snarls and climbs to his feet.
“Shame you can’t change in those clothes,” I tell him. “You might be halfway intimidating as a wolf.” I turn to the others. “Anyone else? I’ve got all night.” Not one of them moves. They’d have a chance if they attacked me together, but without their leader present they seem reluctant to move.
I roll my eyes at them. “I didn’t come here for a fight, only for answers. I approached you with respect, and you offered me none in retur
n. I wanted this to be easy for all of us, and you fuck-heads screwed it up.” I shake my head. “Do try harder next time.”
Van spits again. I’m starting to wonder if it’s a medical condition. “We’ll send Silas along. Don’t you worry.”
Paul and I climb back into the Jeep and wait for Harold to pick himself up off the ground.
“Did that go about as you expected?” I ask Paul.
“Didn’t think they’d attack. You see what I mean, though? There’s nothing you could have said or done to get answers, even if you’d asked the questions. They’d give you hell because you’re a vampire, and they don’t need a reason other than that. They’re hateful creatures. And stupid. You want to go back?”
I think about that as Harold limps into the cabin and gets claps on the back from the others. “No. Let’s see if Joseph is awake.”
Joseph’s cabin is lit up as well, from end to end, and five cars are parked outside. While Silas’ crew seem to have spread themselves through a few buildings, there’s no sign that any member of Joseph’s pack lives elsewhere within the sanctuary. The firepit outside is lit, and it smells like something delicious is cooking in the big iron pot. I inhale deeply through the open window.
“You want to take this one?” I ask. “He seemed to get along fine with you.”
Paul grunts. “I’ll get things rolling, but I suppose you’ll have your own questions.”
“For now, I just want to know where they were at the time of the murder. We’ll take it from there.”
He sits for a few more moments, staring out the windshield, then sets the parking brake and gets out.
Joseph himself meets us at the door and steps outside rather than inviting us in. “Paul. Didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
“Likewise. But we seem to have a problem in the village that you might be able to shed some light on.”
Joseph’s heavy eyebrows creep upward. “You don’t say.” He looks to me. “Aviva.”
“Good evening, Joseph. I hope we’re not interrupting anything important.”
He chuckles. “It’s all important. But please. Go ahead.”
Paul looks to me and nods.
“A young man died in Bloody Bight, and it looks like his wounds were the result of a wolf attack.”
The surprise on Joseph’s face seems genuine. “That is a problem,” he says, and scratches his chin. “Is my pack under suspicion?”
“Not at all,” Paul interjects before I can answer. “The fact is, though, that the sanctuary wolves are the only ones around. We can’t blame this on wild animals, and people want answers.”
“Of course they do,” Joseph says, sounding as though such a demand is typical, if not reasonable. “Are we talking pitchforks and torches?”
“Not yet. But we have a job to do.” Paul glances at me and straightens his shoulders. “I notice that we’ve only had a few more of your pack members sign in, but things seem lively up here.”
Joseph glances back over his shoulder. “All today’s arrivals. They’ll check in before the twenty-four hour grace period is up, and before the change.”
Something rustles in the bushes, and a dark-furred wolf emerges. He bares his teeth at us and darts into the cabin, hackles raised. Someone inside laughs.
Joseph shakes his head. “Except him. Warren left things too long this time. I’ll have to sign in for him, or you’ll need to give him a week.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“His wife was having a baby,” Joseph says, not sounding at all pleased. “Nagged him into staying. He tried to put the change off, she went overdue, and then she wouldn’t let him leave. Miracle he made it here at all, I suppose, but now he’s stuck for the time being.”
I want to ask whether the baby will be like them, but I don’t know how to phrase it without sounding like I’ll feel sorry for it if it is. I have no doubt that they take as much pride in their condition as vampires do in ours. I’d likely have found the whole thing fascinating and even beautiful if the werewolf gene didn’t seem to carry such asshole tendencies with it.
“So everyone was either away or accounted for the past few nights?” Paul asks.
“In my pack, yes. I obviously can’t speak for the others.”
“Would you tell us if they weren’t?” I ask.
Paul shoots me a look of reprimand, but Joseph seems amused. His wooden features almost crack a small smile. “You doubt me?”
I offer back the smile he didn’t quite give me. “Forgive me. I’m new here, and it’s just struck me how much we need to trust each pack and its leader in an investigation like this. You all have built-in alibis, don’t you?”
He does smile at that, but it’s cold. “I suppose we do. Wolves aren’t inclined to throw each other to the vampires who wish to further restrict us.”
“I appreciate your honesty,” I tell him.
Paul’s expression has shifted to pure incredulity.
“Have you spoken to the others?” Joseph asks me, as though Paul isn’t there at all.
“Not yet. Silas is nowhere to be found. The female pack will be next on our list.”
Joseph nods. “I wish you well in your investigation, though as you’ve so accurately assessed, you’re not likely to make a lot of headway no matter who you question. You’ll find Silas to be difficult, and Irene… well, you’ll see.” A look of distaste crosses his weathered features. “I hope this ends quickly and quietly, though.”
“At least we share that,” I say, and offer my hand. “Please let us know if you hear or remember anything that might help.”
His big hand envelops mine as he shakes it. “I certainly will.”
There’s a sparkle in his dark eyes, and I wonder if maybe I’ve succeeded in earning a tiny measure of respect by being forthright with him.
Paul was right about Joseph. I don’t trust him, but at least he’s civil.
Of course, a veneer of civility can hide a whole lot. As vampires, we let the people we feed on believe that they’re safe with us, that we need them. That we would never kill. It’s a lie, but a comfortable one for them and convenient for us.
It would be a mistake for me to trust anyone here, no matter how sincere his handshake feels.
Paul throws the Jeep into gear as soon as he’s seated, before I’ve got my door fully closed.
“What the hell was that?” he demands, but doesn’t wait for me to answer. “We don’t rock the boat here, do you understand? Decades of peace are at risk if you go running your mouth off, accusing them of dishonesty to their faces.”
“At least I respect him enough not to only do it behind his back. Paul, we need answers. We need to know where we stand with them. We need to find common ground so we can work together, even if we hate them and they despise us. I don’t think honesty is going to hurt that. How the hell else do you think we’re going to solve this?” I’m fuming, and his anger is making it worse. “What would you have had me do? Lower my head like some whipped wolf pup while you show him your belly and brush aside the facts?”
Paul bares his teeth. The void rises within me, preparing for a fight that might actually help us sort things out. I could at least respect him if he tries to kick my ass and demand the courtesy due to him as my senior. But he looks away.
“The fact is that one stupid kid died,” he says. “Maybe he spotted the wolf and provoked it.”
“The wolf that was far outside sanctuary borders?”
He squeezes the steering wheel tight. “Shit happens, Aviva. People in town know it. The wolves know it. We know it. This will blow over.” He shoots me a hard look before returning his attention to the dark road. “Why does this matter so much to you? Be glad that the wolves aren’t threatening us.”
Something hardens in my chest, and I fight to keep my hands from shaking with anger. “You think it’s okay because we’re not the ones getting hurt?”
“I think it will be us if you don’t watch your mouth.”
We
’ve reached the end of Joseph’s long road, and Paul turns back toward the compound.
“Wait. I thought the females lived the other way.”
“They do. We’re not bothering them tonight.”
“Paul, this is our job.”
He doesn’t look at me. “Our job is to file the papers, track the wolves, patch them up, and keep the peace. I’m not convinced that one living human death is cause to upset the balance we have here.”
“The balance where we all resent each other and nothing ever gets better for anyone?”
He doesn’t answer. Not even when we get back to the compound.
I wonder whether there will even be a report on this.
Chapter Nine
I clutch my key ring tight, careful not to let the metal jingle. This will be my first time out on my own. Paul didn’t say not to go. I mean, I didn’t ask him whether it was okay, but he’s watching sports highlights in the common room, where he’s been since Joseph’s pack members came down to sign in.
Paul might have no ambition and no intention of clearing this mess up, but I won’t let him hold me back. And I suspect I’ll make better progress with the female pack if I don’t have him with me. He’s made his feelings about them amply clear. I might not have made a good impression on them, especially when I didn’t go back to check on Violet after our introduction, but going alone has to be better than taking that asshole with me.
Everything is quiet in the yard as I pull out and close the garage door behind me. Still, it feels eerie. I don’t like the idea of being out without backup.
It feels like someone is watching me as I get out to open the gate, but I don’t see anyone. No sign of Paul, no eyes in the bushes. I risk closing my eyes to sense what I can with my darker powers, but there’s nothing.
I’m paranoid, that’s all. Letting Silas get to me. He’d find it hilarious, I’m sure.
I lock the gate carefully behind me and drive on into the dark forest. There’s no moon or stars tonight to help me see. Everything has clouded over, and it feels like rain isn’t far off.