I didn’t like it either. I decided I would speak to my father in the morning. He needed to know there was a reaper lurking around. I also needed to know if he had any idea why she had shown up, and why she was planning on sticking around.
Chapter Five
Riley
The following morning, I sat alone in the kitchen nursing a strong cup of coffee. The three of us had returned to the party, but none of us had stayed much longer. We just couldn’t get back into the vibe of the place after our unsettling meeting with the reaper. Once we had got back to mine both Drax and Archer had taken themselves to the rooms they used when they stayed. I, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep; and after trying for several hours I had given up.
Staring absently out the kitchen window, I watched the sun start to wake and sweep its morning light over the large grounds of the mansion. The seasons were changing quickly and soon the Canadian snow would come. I couldn’t wait. It was my favourite time of the year, nothing beat the feel of fresh snow under foot as my wolf was allowed the freedom to run.
“Did you get any sleep?”
It was Drax that was the first to join me, he looked like he hadn’t slept either. Not that vampires needed to sleep much anyway, from what I had been told. I flashed him a small smile, but he didn’t return it. Instead, he poured himself a coffee, taking a seat opposite me.
“I would have happily drained the evil from that creature last night,” Drax hissed.
I sent him a surprised look from over the rim of my mug. I had never heard of a vampire drinking another Supernatural. I didn’t even know they were able to. I wondered how much more I didn’t know about my best friend.
“Vampires can drink the blood of something other than humans?”
“Yeah, we can. I mean, I would be pretty sick for a while, but if she had hurt either of you, I would have suffered to protect you,” Drax replied.
I was taken aback by his honest response. Drax hadn’t been in Evervale for long, but it was clear that the friendship he had formed with me and Archer meant more to him than I had first thought. Realizing that I didn’t know all there was to know about Drax, I made a mental note to try and find out more. The vampire had clearly led a colourful past, one with a lot of bitterness and pain.
“Thanks, Drax. The feeling is mutual,” I said.
“Have you seen your father yet this morning?” Drax asked.
I shook my head in response. I hadn’t bothered looking for my father. If I was honest, I wasn’t sure I was ready to deal with him yet. I knew it wouldn’t just be a matter of telling him about the reaper. It would be followed by my father’s usual desire to talk through it with me, asking me what I would do about it all. I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, not right now anyway.
“Where did you go for your run yesterday morning?” Drax asked casually.
I almost choked on the mouthful of coffee I had just taken. I hadn’t expected Drax to change the subject. The look in his eyes told me he knew where I had been, or at least knew I had lied about it.
Drax must have picked up on my surprise at his question because he decided to explain his reasons for asking.
“I was coming back from hunting. I saw your brother while I was out there. Not long after that, you entered the forest.”
I glanced at the door even though I knew that noone was coming. Drax’s question had put me slightly on edge, and I knew I couldn’t lie to him. I just didn’t want Archer to overhear us.
“You have to promise me you won’t say a word of this to Archer. I will tell him, but I want to be the one to do it. He won’t take kindly to the fact I went to speak to my brother about what’s been happening. Archer is convinced Chase killed his father.”
“Do you think he did it?” Drax asked.
“If I’m honest, I don’t know, Drax. I feel like he had something to do with it, even if it was just to help set it up, I just don’t know who he would have worked with…” I trailed off as a thought hit me.
The meeting with Amara last night can’t have been a coincidence. What if she was the one that had been working with my brother? Reapers had powers we didn’t understand, and never would. The thought of my brother teaming up with one sent a wave of dread and panic through me.
I downed the rest of my coffee as I got to my feet. I needed to get back into the forest and find Chase. I needed to speak to him, question him about the reaper that had suddenly appeared.
A hand grabbing my arm tightly stopped me. Drax narrowed his eyes at me, sending me a silent warning to not do exactly what it was I was planning on. I shrugged his grip off but didn’t move any further.
“Do you want to tell me what you are thinking?” Drax asked.
“You don’t think its too much of a coincidence that a reaper appears on her own so soon after a death? I mean I don’t know a lot about them, do they even reap Supernaturals?”
“They can, but they rarely do. The have been known to help bring death and destruction should they work with those so inclined to do that,” Drax replied.
“Then I need to go back and talk to Chase. If he has something to do with this reaper, if he has some sort of control over her, then we are in grave danger, Drax. My brother has as much evil in him as a reaper. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was working with one of them,” I told him.
“I agree with you, but I don’t think it should be you going to see him. I’ll go. Chase won’t dare take on a vampire when he is weak, and trust me he is weak. I have been watching him over the last months,” Drax suggested.
I wanted to protest, he was my brother after all and I felt like he was my responsibility. A look in the vampire’s eyes soon silenced me, forcing me to nod in defeat.
“What are you two whispering about?”
I sent Drax a warning look, before turning my attention on the wolf that had just entered the room. Archer looked as if he was the only one that had managed to get any sleep. He let out a low whistle as his eyes swept over us.
“You two look like crap.”
“How did you even manage to sleep? Doesn’t it worry you that there is a reaper lurking in the shadows?” I snapped.
Archer shrugged in response, helping himself to the rest of the coffee seemingly unfazed by the look on his friends' faces. I was tempted to tell Archer everything, just so that I could make my friend realise that something very wrong was happening in Evervale. The only thing stopping me was what I had spoken to Drax about. We would wait until he had spoken to my brother. I wanted to have all the facts before I told Archer who had killed his father.
“I have just been talking to the Alpha. I’ve been up for ages, way before either of you dragged your sorry selves from bed,” Archer said.
I frowned, why was my best friend speaking to my father in the middle of the night? It seemed it wasn’t just me that was keeping secrets. I could feel anger swirling inside me at this new piece of knowledge and I was grateful when Drax voiced what we both were thinking.
“Why were you speaking to the Alpha at the crack of dawn?” he fired.
“Because I’m his new Beta,” Archer replied.
“You’re what?” I snarled.
“His new Beta. He figured that I was the perfect wolf to take the place of my father. Not only that, but by the time you are ready to take the pack I will already be settled in the role and able to aid you better,” Archer explained.
I stared at my friend, letting my brain process this new development. The anger that had been twisting within was now mixed with hurt. The fact that my father hadn’t spoken to me about this, that Archer hadn’t told me what was going on stung. This wasn’t new, this was something that had been talked about for a while.
“When did he decide this?” I asked.
“He came to me a few weeks after my father’s funeral,” Archer replied.
I let out a low snarl, before storming out the kitchen heading straight to my father’s study. Not bothering to knock, I barged in, finding my father buried in some pap
erwork. He looked up when I entered.
“Shut the door, Riley," he ordered, "and sit down.”
I shut the door behind me, but didn’t sit. Instead, I stood glaring down at my father. In truth, I didn’t have a problem with Archer taking the Beta role. It made sense. What I did have a problem with was the very obvious alternative motive in my father’s actions. It was yet another ploy to trap me in the role of Alpha-in-training.
“I know what you’re doing, Father,” I snapped.
“Riley sit down, please. I will not talk to you while you stand over me,” he told me.
I found myself doing as I was told. I knew I wasn’t going to get answers from my father otherwise. Taking a seat, I narrowed my eyes as they fixed on the wolf in front of me.
“You think that I am using Archer. That the reason I offered him the Beta role was to secure your place as Alpha. Maybe some of that is true. I know you have no interest in taking over the pack. Truth be told, I thought your brother would take my place. But with Chase gone I need someone I can trust. And that’s you. I always thought that you would be the better Alpha out of the both of you. You have a good heart, Riley. You don’t judge, and you care about everyone in Evervale-“
“But that’s not the only reason. Is it?” I interrupted him.
He shook his head, leaning forward on his desk, never once breaking eye contact with me.
“No, it isn’t. I did it because I felt like it was the least I could do to honour my best friend’s death. Luke was to me what Archer is to you. I feel responsible for his death, because it was at the hands of my son, no matter how he did it.”
I sat back in the chair, nodding slightly at my father’s words. I understood, I really did. I knew my father had taken the death of his Beta hard. Now with Archer at his side the pack was safe again. I just wished I had been told about it.
“I understand. It makes sense. The fact that Archer is your new Beta isn’t what is bothering me. I just wish that you had spoken to me about it. When was I going to be told? Why was it such a big secret?” I asked.
“It wasn’t, son. I just wanted to wait until Archer was more settled into the role. It’s taken me all this time to go through the duties his father held, and make him understand what is involved. I needed to be sure I could trust the pup. I see now that I can.”
I dropped my gaze, picking at a loose thread on my jeans. It was a smart move from my father, and one that was making it increasingly difficult for me to leave the pack. I could feel his eyes boring into me, making me shift slightly in my seat. My father knew there was something more on my mind. I waited for him to ask, hoping he might shrug it off and dismiss me. I should have known I would have no such luck.
“What else is bothering you, son?”
I let out a long breath, bringing my gaze up to meet my father’s own. There was concern held in his eyes and for a moment I actually felt like I was talking to my father, and not my Alpha. I had to be honest with him and tell him about the reaper. Maybe he would know something as to why she was in Evervale.
“There was a reaper at the party last night. A female one. One I have never seen here before. She was bold enough to step out of the shadows and speak to me and Archer. She didn’t give much away, but she made it clear that it wouldn’t be the last time we would see her.”
The shock that flickered across my father’s face confirmed my fears. He had no idea about that, which meant that Chase had found another evil to team up with, and that only spelled bad news for Evervale.
“You don’t know why she is here either do you?” I confirmed.
“No, I don’t. Reapers have no place in Evervale unless they are coming for a human soul. Does Drax know anything about it?”
“No, he was all for killing her though, or at least draining her.”
“See if he will speak with the vampires. I know he doesn’t have much to do with them, but they might have heard something. I will speak with the witches. I don’t want to get the humans involved. Ace knows enough as it is, we don’t need to educate him on reapers,” my father muttered.
“I think Ace knows more than you think about our world, Father. He is a hunter after all, under the disguise of a detective,” I stated.
My father titled his head, regarding me. I knew what Ace was even if my father refused to see it. I knew of the hunters that killed our kind, they were rare, but they existed.
“I trust him enough, Riley. Still, we will be careful to keep him out of this for now. If any human comes under threat from this creature then we will involve him.”
“Did you know Luna has been seeing him?” I questioned.
“I did.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Riley, Luna is old enough to make her own choices. She is also more than capable of looking after herself. I trust her not to speak of anything that doesn’t concern him. She is a bright pup, and a good one,” He assured me.
I shook my head as I stood, convinced at times my father had blinders on when it came to my sister.
“I need to get going. Drax and Archer are waiting for me. We said we would help Willow clean up after last night. I will speak to you later.”
My hand was on the door handle as my father spoke.
“Join me for dinner tonight, Riley. Luna will be there. It’s been a long time since the three of us have sat down together to eat.”
I dropped my head, sighing inwardly. I couldn’t say no, I couldn’t remember the last time we had been together as a family and I longed for it.
“I’ll be there.”
I didn’t wait for my father to speak again. Instead, I was quick to leave the room closing the door behind me as I did. Leaning heavily against it, I let out a long breath. Drax needed to speak to my brother that night, before things got dangerous.
Chapter Six
Drax
The sun was just beginning to set as I stalked into the forest. I was tired, hungry and a little sore from helping Willow clean up the bar. I hadn’t realised just how much of a mess the previous night had caused. Speaking to Chase was the last thing I wanted to do, but the urgency in Riley had forced me out to the forest. He had pulled me aside and almost begged me to go and find his brother. I understood the need to find out the truth, especially when he had told me what had been said between he and his father, but still, one night to myself would have been nice.
After making quick work of the deer I had killed, it would be just enough to keep me satisfied until I could get to the local blood bank, I continued deeper into the shadows. Extending my senses to seek out the wolf I was after, it didn’t take me long to pick up his scent and track Chase down to the waterfall that sat deep in Evervale forest. I should have known the wolf would be there, it was where Riley often visited when he needed some time alone.
“Good evening, Drax,” Chase greeted me.
I didn’t move from my spot in the shadows, admiring for the moment, how the full moon reflected off the clear water. The gentle sound of the waterfall pooling into the small lake only added to the peaceful surroundings, making me understand why Riley came here so often.
“What is a vampire doing hunting down a rogue wolf?”
Chase’s voice reminded me I wasn’t alone. Fixing my gaze on him I stepped out into the open, walking over to take a seat on the ground near the wolf. I knew Chase wouldn’t try anything with me, he wasn’t strong enough, but that didn’t mean I trusted him.
There was amusement in Chase’s eyes as he watched me while he stretched out on the grass, fixing his sapphire eyes on the stars above us. I noticed that all of the Nakamura siblings had the same blue eyes, they must have inherited them from their mother. I didn’t know much about her, Riley rarely spoke of his mother. I often wonder how she had died.
“You are far too relaxed for a wolf that is weak and in the presence of a vampire,”
Chase side glanced me, letting out a small chuckle as he did.
“A vampire who has just drained an adult
deer, and who I know wouldn’t dare hurt me.”
“How do you know I won’t hurt you?” I challenged.
“Because you are far too loyal to my tragic family, and because you want something from me. I can’t give you what you want if I’m dead. I’m guessing my little brother sent you?” Chase replied.
I wondered, not for the first time, how the piece of trash in front of me was related to Luna and Riley. The other two were nothing like their older brother and for that I was grateful. If they had been, I wouldn’t still be in Evervale, and if I wasn’t in Evervale I was fairly certain I wouldn’t be alive right now.
“I suggested coming instead of him. He doesn’t need to keep wasting his time with you. He has more important things to be dealing with-“
“Like playing the good pup and letting himself be groomed for a role he doesn’t even want. Doesn’t even deserve,” Chase interrupted.
I didn’t miss the bitterness in the wolf’s tone, I couldn’t help but smirk at how Chase thought it such an injustice on him and the pack. When was he going to understand that he would never become Alpha?
“Riley was always going to make a better Alpha than you, Chase. But I’m not here to talk about that.”
Chase propped himself up on an elbow so that he could look at me properly. There was a look of hunger in his eyes, almost like he was regarding me as prey. I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to attack.
“What are you here to talk about, bloodsucker?” Chase mocked.
I snarled at the insult, my fangs pushing against my gums, longing to be released and sunk into the waste of space in front of me. I closed my eyes for a moment, digging my hands into the earth beneath me, grounding myself as I took hold of my temper. I couldn’t snap, it wouldn’t help anyone, and it would only give Chase the satisfaction he was searching for. Opening my eyes again, I fixed them steadily on the wolf.
“A reaper appeared at the Halloween party last night. They never show themselves. Always just come for the souls and then leave. She wasn’t here for any soul, and she made it perfectly clear that she was going to be sticking around-“
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