Not surprisingly, he took the bait. He stormed past me toward the closet affixed to the brick wall but stopped short on the far side of my bed. His gaze fell to where I’d left the Ouija board, and I groaned inwardly at the interrogation I was about to get.
“What the fuck is that?” he asked, staring at it like it was offensive.
“A board game.”
“Why do you have it?”
“To try and commune with the dead.”
He turned to pin his incredulous glare on me.
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Yes, I’m fucking serious! You try having dead people show up every five seconds but having no idea what they want because they can’t tell you. I thought maybe this thing would work since humans claim to channel ghosts with it.”
And then came the question I was dreading.
“Where’d you get it? It looks old.”
Silence.
“A thrift shop. There’s one not far from Jenkins’ bar. I saw it in the window and thought ‘hey, why not?’”
He assessed me for a moment, his green eyes darkening ever so slightly. Then he gave a tight nod before heading back toward me.
“It was a good idea. But did it work?”
Another delicate question.
“Kind of. I called someone forward, but not the ghost I was hoping for—not the one from the fight.”
He stopped in front of me, looking down at me with careful consideration—like he was actually interested in what I had to report. He looked like my father when Nico reported to him.
“Give me the breakdown.” So I did. I told him every detail I’d gleaned from my brief encounter with Reah. He listened without interrupting once. That had to have been a first for Nico and me. When I was done, he pondered all I’d said for a moment before replying. “Can you get her back?”
“I can try.” The two of us walked around the bed to where the Ouija board lay. I sat down by the innocuous cardboard game while Nico hovered around me. I could feel his anxiety—and I could hear him fiddling with a blade. “You can’t stab a ghost, Nico.”
He merely grunted in reply and released his weapon back into its sheath.
I sat before the board, focusing on Reah. When nothing happened, I put my hands on the pointer and called her to me out loud. Still nothing. After five minutes of this, I exhaled hard in defeat. She wasn’t coming back.
“I think we’re out of luck, Nico.”
“Fine. Let’s go ask the others about this Alejandro. Perhaps the Fates will know of him.”
We quickly made our way down to the main living area, where the trio in question was cooking. It seemed like all they did was eat, but in fairness, they were not only supernaturals, but supernaturals that could combine to create a fighting giant. I guess it took a lot of calories to pull off that little trick.
“Ferris,” Nico called, striding across the room, “what do you know about a wolf named Alejandro?”
Ferris put the ingredients he was holding down and looked at my brother.
“You mean the Northside alpha?”
Oh. Shit.
“How long has he been alpha? I thought Spencer was in charge of the Northside pack?” Nico asked, genuine confusion in his tone.
“He was until he was usurped, as is the way with the wolves. If you’re not strong enough to hold your position, you will fall.”
“So Alejandro just killed him and that’s that?” I asked. I had a hard time believing it, even though I knew from all Uncle Cooper had said that it was true. It just seemed so barbaric. It made me wonder why anyone would want that job.
Suddenly Jenkins’ lone wolf status made a lot more sense.
Ferris simply nodded once.
“We stay out of pack matters as much as possible, simply because they are generally good at policing their own. We’ve had no problems from them since Alejandro took control.” His sharp eyes narrowed at Nico and me. “What prompted you to inquire about him?”
Nico looked down at me, as if silently giving me permission to tell the story. The one time I wished he’d done it for me instead.
“A ghost showed up in my room just now. I used a Ouija board to communicate with her. Long story short, I asked if she knew who killed her, and she said a wolf named Alejandro. So unless there’s more than one, I’m guessing she’s talking about the newly crowned alpha.”
“It’s not a fucking coronation, Phira,” Cy cut in, coming to stand next to Ferris. “That shit’s a fucking bloodbath. And it wasn’t exactly recent. It must have been a year or two ago.”
“This ghost,” Ferris said, drawing my attention back to the taller Fate. “Tell me about her.” I told him what I could: her name and description, mainly. Ferris and Cy shared a look before Zale’s haunting voice cut through the vast room, his tone the one he used when he let loose some random prophetic truth that nobody was expecting.
“Her death was never discovered…”
All eyes turned to the shy Fate sitting at the vintage table, looking a bit sheepish after he finished. He always seemed to come back to himself awaiting the backlash from whatever he’d said when his mind was somewhere else. Somewhere none of us fully understood.
“So the PC knows nothing of her? Of her death?” I asked. All three Fates shook their heads. “No wonder she looked so pissed.”
“Can you reach her again?” Ferris asked. “We need more information.”
“We tried that already,” Nico replied. “She didn’t return when called.”
“I’ll keep working on it,” I said. “I’m still trying to get a handle on this shit. At least now I have a way to speak with them.”
“True. Excellent job sorting that much out.” Ferris’ praise made me feel like shit. He thought I’d been smart enough to figure that out, when in reality, I was working with Damascus and lying about it. I did my best not to let my guilt show through.
“Thanks. I’ll keep you posted.”
He gave a nod of approval, then went about his food prep. Nico walked over to have a sidebar conversation, so I took that as my cue to leave and headed for the stairway door. Just as I pushed it open, Zale’s empty voice stopped me.
“She wants more than you know…”
I turned to look at him, wondering exactly what that meant, but I knew he wouldn’t know the answer. He never did. Instead, I made my way upstairs, exhausted and frustrated and confused as hell. I hoped maybe sleep would cure the former and drown out the rest. I couldn’t lose another night to a wandering mind. If I were to have any chance at making sense of all I’d learned, I needed rest.
And a certain ghost to eventually return.
Chapter Twenty-One
I awoke around noon to shouting in the warehouse. I shot out of bed, startled at first, until I realized to whom the voice belonged. The second I did, I bolted down the stairs and burst into the living room. In true Uncle Cooper fashion, he hadn’t bothered to knock. Instead, he’d walked right in like he’d lived there for years. He took one look at me and slipped his duffle bag off his shoulder.
“There’s my favorite niece,” he said with a smile.
“Cooper!” I shouted and ran right for him, jumping up to wrap my arms around his neck. He was tall, with a lean, muscular build, topped with boyish charm. He looked like a surfer with his shaggy blond hair and casual look. It was so easy to forget who and what he was—one of the strongest alphas in the country. The head of my mother’s pack. To me, he’d always just been Uncle Coop. The guy I’d leaned on growing up when things had been difficult or the boys had bothered me or my parents had been—well, my parents. Our relationship had been strained ever since Little Church was reduced to ash. I’d kept my distance from everyone I loved except my brothers.
I missed how Cooper and I had been before.
I hoped we could get back there one day.
“Hey Fi—it’s good to see you.” He held on to me for an extra second—the way parents do when they’re reliving a moment long since gon
e.
“It’s good to see you too, Coop. I’ve missed you…”
“I’m not gonna lie, kid—being away from you three has been harder than I ever could have dreamed.”
“Cooper,” Nico said, approaching from behind me. Though he tried to sound businesslike, he failed. Nico had a soft spot for Cooper as big as mine.
I climbed down so that the two could greet one another properly with one of their man-hugs, complete with a slap on the back. As soon as they broke free, Alek was there.
“It’s been too long, Uncle,” he said, giving Cooper a slightly less testosterone-driven embrace. Though I had it on good authority that I was Cooper’s favorite, I was certain Alek was a close second. He had a calm, even-keeled energy that seemed like a balm to most wolves. Like he could subdue even the most ferocious of beasts—a trait that was likely to come in handy on the full moon.
“You guys look good. No worse for the wear, considering your recent shenanigans.”
Nico smiled. “There were hardly enough of them to make the fight fair,” he said, referring to the showdown we’d had because of the magic trafficking ring at Sinful.
Cooper smiled back. “Sounds fun. Sorry I missed it.”
The door leading to the upstairs bedrooms flew open again, drawing our attention. The four of us looked on as the Fates entered the living area, each one grinning at the sight of our guest.
Cooper walked over to meet them. They spoke quietly as they greeted each other, each genuinely happy to see the other, but there was a heaviness that settled in around them—the weight of a past riddled with bloody battles and lost friends. Neither my mother nor father nor Uncle Cooper liked to talk about the things they’d done in the name of survival. That was a bond shared only between those who’d stood together in the face of the enemy. I could tell by watching the Fates and Cooper that they had done just that.
Their respect for one another was plain.
“What’s this? No hug for me?” Muses asked, having slithered into the room unnoticed. The second Cooper’s eyes fell upon him, they glowed yellow.
Not a good sign.
“Unless you want that hug to end with me tearing your head off, then no. No hug.”
The amusement in Muses’ face was impossible to miss.
“You alphas are all the same—too much testosterone for your own good. Clouds the thinking, you see. Instead of thanking me for all I’ve done for you, you choose to take offense—to see me as a threat.”
“The only thing I see you as is something I want to kill. Nothing more,” Cooper replied.
“Okay,” I said, walking over to put my hand on Cooper’s chest. “You’ll have to get in line, I’m afraid. Most of us want to kill Muses.”
“I could take care of that.”
The rage that coursed through him, fueling his impending Change, flowed into me. It was hard not to be as consumed by it as he was. It was oppressive, but understandable. Cooper was loyal to a fault and equally overprotective of those he viewed as his. Muses had hurt the women Cooper loved at various points in time, and the alpha seemed to have no intention of letting that affront go unpunished.
Perhaps having him come hadn’t been a very well-thought-out plan. But in fairness, I hadn’t expected him to show up so soon.
“You could, but you won’t,” I said plainly. Those glowing golden eyes fell upon me, and I realized the misstep I’d taken. I’d just given the alpha an order. I really was my mother’s daughter. “What I mean,” I said, trying to backpedal, “is that we need him. And since I know you wouldn’t be able to just beat him up a little then stop, you can’t start.”
Cooper closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. I pumped all the calming energy I could in his direction, and when he opened his eyes, I found his normal human color staring back at me—pale hazel with sage green flecks. I liked that sight much better.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you,” Nico said, providing a welcome distraction, “but why are you here, Cooper?”
He answered without skipping a beat.
“Your parents had to go abroad for some secret PC bullshit. They plan to be gone for a while, so I left Janner in charge and decided I’d come here while they’re off doing whatever it is they do when they leave.”
“You sure you’re not spying on us to report back?” Nico asked, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Cooper merely shrugged. “And if I am? You gonna turn me away?”
“No!” I shouted, whacking Nico on the arm for good measure. “He is not going to turn you away. You can stay as long as you want. There’s an extra room upstairs—” I cut myself off the second I remembered why we had that extra room. Thankfully, the guilt I felt—and showed, obviously—was enough to keep any of the others from probing into the subject of Gabe. As strong as the men in my family were, a crying niece or sister seemed to be their Achilles heel. I’d made that weakness work to my advantage to keep my secret.
I wondered how long I could keep it up.
“You’re right,” Nico said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Do you want to take Cooper upstairs to his room or should I?”
“I can do it,” I said softly. I ushered Cooper toward the far side of the room, making sure to give Muses a wide berth on our way. Having been briefed on all that had happened since I’d gotten on the plane that had crashed with TS and my brothers, Cooper knew all too well who Gabe was and the fate that he’d eventually met because of me.
“Do you want me to sleep on the couch instead?” Cooper asked as we hovered in front of the door to the stairs.
“No, it’s fine. It’s still just a bit…”
“Raw?”
“Yeah. That.”
He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “It gets easier, kiddo. Eventually.”
I nodded, unable to look back at what I knew would be a pain-filled expression, then opened the door. Step by step, I prayed I’d be able to keep up the lie about Gabe in Cooper’s presence. My mother had said he’d always known when she was lying. Granted she was shit at it, but she was also right about Cooper’s uncanny ability to sniff out the truth. For my sake, I needed him to think that any questions about Gabe would only add salt to the wound.
“You know what we should do tonight?” he asked from two steps below me.
“What?”
“Go out. Blow off some steam.”
“Well, given that I can’t get furry and frolic through the woods with you—unless something happens on the full moon—I’m guessing you have something other than that in mind.”
I stood on the landing, waiting for him to join me. There was mischief in his eyes when he looked at me; mischief and the promise of doing something worthy of getting reamed out by my father the next day.
I was totally in.
“I was thinking more along the lines of drinking and dancing. You can hold your liquor better now, can’t you?”
“Like a fucking champ.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “I was worried you’d gotten your mom’s lightweight DNA, and that just wouldn’t do. Not for the level of shenanigans I have planned.”
“Are we going to bring the boys too?”
He looked down at me, a montage of emotions flashing through his eyes. Sadness. Love. Pain. Fear…
“I can hang out with them now. But tonight, it’ll be just you and me. We’re long overdue for some Fifi-Cooper time.”
I smiled up at him, my heart full of love. “Deal.”
“Okay, just point me in the right direction, and I’ll go put my shit in my room.”
I directed him toward Gabe’s old bedroom, doing my best not to look at it. He disappeared behind the door, leaving me alone to figure out exactly how we were going to paint the town red—but not literally. I exhaled hard when I realized that there was really only one place to take him that night. It was best to rip that Band-Aid off quick and clean. Cooper was going to have to meet Jenkins soon enough; whether I liked it or not, there was no way Coo
per was leaving Chicago without confronting the werewolf that had threatened my existence, even if his motives had been for the right reasons at the time.
Looked like our shenanigans would be taking place at The Joint.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“The bus?” Cooper repeated, doing little to hide his confusion.
“Yes. The bus. Deal with it.”
“You know you have a fleet of vehicles downstairs, right?”
“I’m well aware of that, Coop. I like the bus. It gives me time to think—to be by myself.”
“Clearly your sense of smell hasn’t started to improve,” he muttered under his breath.
“Listen, if you want to drive in the city, knock yourself out. I’ll gladly sit in the passenger’s seat and say ‘I told you so’ the entire way.”
“Deal. Now where are we going?” he asked as he made his way to the front entrance, grabbing a set of keys off the table.
“A bar downtown.”
“Gonna need a little more than that if you actually want to get there.”
“Relax. I’m an excellent navigator.”
“You sure you’ll be able to give directions while you’re busy telling me you told me so?”
I shot him an incredulous look. “I am nothing if not a multitasker, Coop. I can be two people at once. I’m multitasking incarnate.”
He shook his head in defeat and slid the metal door open.
Standing on the other side was TS. Surprise flashed in his eyes for a moment before a smile overtook his expression.
“Hey man,” Cooper said, clearly happy to see TS.
“It’s been a while.” Another round of man-handshake-turned-half-embrace. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Yeah, well…it wasn’t really planned. I talked to Phira yesterday and realized how much I missed her and her brothers, so—” He raised his shoulders in an ambivalent shrug. “Here I am.”
“Are you just getting back?” I asked TS, knowing he’d planned to be gone for a while, off doing my father’s bidding.
“Yes, though I’m afraid I’ll be leaving again shortly.”
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