by Rachel Jonas
A vintage chandelier hung by a few thin wires. The gust of wind that followed us through the front door made its teardrop-shaped crystals quiver ominously and I glanced toward Roz.
She said nothing, just kept her eyes trained on her feet as we stood side by side.
I took slow steps toward the dining room to my left where a few guests stood, sipping water from bottles as they observed the damage. A leg of the long, oak table was broken completely off and it rested near the window with splinters of wood littering the rug beneath it. The decorative place settings had crashed to the floor in a heap of broken glass, polished silverware, and pinstriped fabric. All eight chairs were either overturned or broken, their navy and white striped cushions all torn to shreds.
Someone had spent a fortune decorating and now it looked like a cyclone had gone through it. The curtain rod was ripped from the wall, leaving small holes where the screws were once secured. Roz’s touch warmed my arm and I glanced over.
“There’s, um… more in the kitchen,” she said softly, nodding in that direction for me to follow her.
My eyes caught sight of claw marks as we passed through the archway. Or at least that’s what they looked like to me. Deep gauges in the wallpaper and the crown molding as we passed through to find the kitchen in similar peril. The trashcan had been overturned, a few cabinet doors hung from one hinge instead of two… and more claw marks. In the wood floor this time.
“Who… who did this?” I asked, believing this to be the work of a lycan, but feeling a little uncomfortable saying such a thing out loud.
Glass crunched beneath our feet when we stopped in the middle of the room.
When Roz took a deep breath, I fully expected her to name the culprit, but when she exhaled, the one word I didn’t expect to hear flew from her mouth:
“Me.”
Roz was tall, but thin. The strength of whatever or whoever tore through here was similar to my own when I shifted. But… she did this?
I was careful not to let my expression show too much. She brought me here because she trusted me, and maybe because she needed to acknowledge that everything we suspected was real. I couldn’t be sure, but I knew I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by bombarding her with questions.
So, I stayed silent.
This would have been the time to ask if everything was okay, but given the state of her house, the sight of her on the verge of tears, I knew the answer to that question already.
It was clear what happened; obvious that what I’d gone through, Roz had experienced, too. I wanted to tell her she wasn’t alone, but, for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out. The most I could offer was a loose embrace around her shoulders before the sound of her father’s voice carried through the house, summoning all guests to gather in the living room. There had to have been upwards of fifty people here and, from what I heard, someone else had just come through the front door. As Roz and I crossed the hallway, a familiar face in the foyer made me pause.
Richie—this was the someplace he had to get to, the reason I couldn’t borrow his truck.
I touched Roz’s shoulder. “Give me a sec, okay?”
She glanced around me to where my brother stood and nodded before joining her father and the others.
Richie was guarded. I could see that already and I hadn’t even gotten around to asking one of the tens of thousands of questions I had right now. Still, his posture was stiff, his brow tense.
“What are you doing here?” was the greeting he offered.
“Roz is a friend and she asked me to come. What’s your excuse?”
He exhaled sharply, looking everywhere but at me. I was sick of this, being left in the dark by him, our parents, even Evie. I wasn’t some punk kid like people seemed to think. Had he forgotten that I was a part of all this, too, now?
“What’s going on? Why are all these people here?” When he didn’t respond quickly enough, I spoke again. “I think I’m entitled to some answers now.”
Richie smirked at that. “Oh, yeah? You’re entitled to answers?” he said mockingly. “I tell you what; head home and I’ll stop by when I get done here. Then, I’ll tell you all about it.”
He was getting ready to walk away from me, but I wasn’t about to let that happen. “And I’m supposed to trust that? Because you’ve been so forthcoming in the past?”
He stopped beside me and I noted that his shoulders squared some. He was irritated, but so was I. How were we ever supposed to function as a pack, as a family, if they made an art of strategically leaving me out of things?
Richie stepped back so he could face me. Well… it was more of a glare. Either way, when our eyes locked, I heard the distinct rumble of a growl rolling in his throat and a strange, unwarranted sense of terror struck me in the center of my chest. It wasn’t me, wasn’t your typical, rational sense of fear we’re all instilled with—this was something else. Instinctual. It only took a moment to realize it was due to the fact that, for now, Richie was my alpha.
This, backing down to him against my will, would take some getting used to. I stood there, silent, frozen in place as his blue eyes transitioned to an ominous green, and then finally the distinct yellow of a lycan.
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “You want to stay? Stay. But you say… nothing. You repeat… nothing you hear,” he breathed. “Am I understood?”
I distinctly heard the undertone of a threat hidden beneath the words.
I nodded and defiance burned through my body, quickly being quenched by that unshakeable awareness of being inferior. “Understood.”
His solid shoulder slammed against mine when he passed and I could finally breathe again. For a moment, the rage that flooded my veins nearly made me forget the guy I currently wanted to reach my fist through was my brother. It took a few seconds to cool down, but I had to push the frustration aside. Right now, I needed to get to the living room to hear what was being said.
Roz stood against the wall, listening, and I posted next to her. Beth was among the sea of concerned faces. After the meeting, I wanted to talk to her about last night, about whether she was the friend Evie stayed with and how she was. That I knew of, Beth was the closest friend Evie had here, so it had to be her. However, my questions would have to wait until after the meeting.
She gave a quick, tight nod and then we both tuned in to Roz’s dad right after. He stood front and center, in full uniform. Given the atmosphere in the room, it seemed kind of fitting. It was like… he was dressed for conflict, dressed to enforce peace or punishment, whichever became necessary.
“Now… I know we’ve got a lot of confused kids on our hands, and I know this meeting wasn’t scheduled, but we obviously have a situation.” Officer Chadwick gestured around the room—at broken lamps, torn patches of carpet, more claw marks in the leather sofa where Richie sat.
“Which is why I invited all of you here, to see the state of things under my own roof. To show all of you that my family was closely affected by this event just like many of yours were.”
Throughout the room, heads lowered and the tone of sadness deepened. The word event stood out to me.
Officer Chadwick raised his hands and dropped them quickly when he sighed. “I wish I could say I had all the answers, but I don’t. None of us were expecting our kids to shift so soon and, like me, I’m sure none of you understand why it happened, but it has. And, again, if you’re like me… your children weren’t prepared for what took place.” He paused and lowered his gaze to his shoes, thinking about Roz I was sure. “Maybe they didn’t even know anything about… shifting, or what they are, or what… we are.”
Across the room, Beth didn’t seem shocked by any of the information going forth. Actually, she didn’t look like it affected her at all. I recalled Roz’s suspicion that Beth may have been made privy to information our parents chose to withhold from us. Watching her now, I was sure Roz was spot on with that.
My brothers mentioned that every pack handled this delicate
secret differently. Certain ones chose to keep their children in the know, preparing them for the change to come. Thinking about it, I wished my family had taken that approach.
“You know this meeting goes against Council bylaws, don’t you?” A brown-haired woman seated off to the side asked. “We could all be reprimanded if someone finds out. For all we know, the witches are spying right now!”
I glanced at Officer Chadwick when the accusatory words flew his way. His eyes were still trained on the floor as he nodded, but when he spoke, he stared at the woman. “As you know, I’m well-aware of all one-hundred eighty-three pages of the bylaws, but, as of last night, it seems the game has changed. And, quite frankly, I don’t care if they find out.”
Mumbles and whispers filled the room as well as head nods. One after another agreed with Officer Chadwick’s perspective, but there were still quite a few who opposed it.
“And, because nothing else seems to be going according to plan, I have a proposition I’d like to present. But, before I go on, be warned that I’m prepared to do this with or without all of you, but… there’s no denying that there’s safety in numbers,” he added. “Especially when referring to our beloved Council.”
I didn’t miss the air of sarcasm he spoke with when mentioning that last part.
The quiet side-conversations ceased and a hush filled the room. You could have heard a pin drop.
Officer Chadwick’s head lowered again and his tone was even more grave this time. “Whether we like to admit it or not… this is on us,” he began, gesturing around the room at his home in shambles. “For centuries, we’ve all followed the Council blindly, without question, never demanding an explanation for the decisions they make, never asking if they withhold information. We’ve all heard the rumors; that there’s something deeper, something bigger, going on,” he stated. “But none of us, myself included, have had the guts to ask what that something might be.”
There was a long pause and he took several deep breaths. For a moment, I thought he might not continue with all the pressure, all the stares, but he was braver than that.
“The weather. The quake. There’s just a… a strange charge in the air and I know we all feel it, but have chosen to ignore it because… we’ve gotten comfortable pretending.”
I glanced over at Roz when she swiped the sleeve of her hoodie beneath her eye. She was crying. Not full-on sobbing, but there were tears. I envisioned what she’d gone through the night before—what a lot of kids in town had apparently gone through—and my heart went out to her, to each of them.
To Evie.
Her disappearing had to have something to do with all of this. She was sick right before and that’s how it started—for me, for the others. She had no idea she could talk to me about it and I felt terrible at the thought of her out there last night, scared as she turned.
Alone.
A thought occurred to me and I looked around the room again, at all the injured people sitting amongst us, only now realizing their wounds had nothing to do with the quake.
My brothers debated briefly about where to take me when I shifted. Richie made it abundantly clear that, if they didn’t get me out of the house, I’d bring it down around me. I scanned the damage Roz had done and realized how right he was and how lucky I was. If they hadn’t acted so quickly, I could have hurt someone I cared about. My brothers, Richie and his stubbornness included, had saved me from myself.
And it didn’t seem like the rest had been so fortunate.
“I don’t know about all of you, but I’m awake now,” Officer Chadwick continued. “After this, there will be no more sleeping on the job. And the job I’m speaking of is protecting our children at all costs. The needs of the Council are no longer my priority.”
There were whispers coming from every corner now.
“And I’m suggesting that it no longer be yours either,” he added
“What are we supposed to do? We all know the Council is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind them is a whole storm of terror I don’t think any of us want raining down on Seaton Falls.”
The comment came from the same woman who interrupted before and caused an uproar from the opposing side.
“Don’t you think what you’re suggesting would put our kids in even greater jeopardy?” someone else asked. “Most of what the Council does is to protect us. Crossing them means—”
“Numbers,” Officer Chadwick cut in. “Numbers are the key. If we all show up—I’m talking alphas, betas, kids and all—and demand answers… they can’t ignore everyone.”
“The rules say no one under the age of twenty is allowed to attend,” a man blurted from the far side of the room. I’d seen him come in a little while ago. He, like many of the others, had a few blood-stained bandages on his body and a few bruises, too.
Officer Chadwick nodded. “You’re right about that. However, that rule was set in place because, before, the natural age of transition was twenty.” He shook his head, adding, “Not the case anymore. So, in my humble opinion, I feel like these kids deserve to know and understand what we’re all about. They deserve answers just like we do.”
In my peripheral, I noticed when Richie glanced my way, lowering his gaze as Officer Chadwick’s words seemed to sink in.
No one rebutted this time.
Officer Chadwick lifted his hands into the air. “And we’ve always been big on pride, embracing who we are, but how can we embrace a legacy most of us only know a fraction of? Don’t you want answers? Don’t you think it’s time the Council gave up some of their secrets? In the very least, they should begin by explaining what’s going on.”
He paused and looked several of his guests in the eyes. “And you can’t tell me we don’t deserve that.”
“I’m afraid.” The statement came from Maddox’s mom. “I’m afraid of the answers.”
“I think we all are,” Officer Chadwick replied. “Our Council has taken some… risks. And we all knew there could be consequences and… I don’t know… maybe this is all part of that.”
“Consequences? I think punishment is more accurate.” The woman who spoke was sitting beside Richie. “We’re being taught a lesson. He’s always had his ways of keeping us in check. Even from a distance.”
My brow tensed. Who was the ‘he’ she referred to?
“We’re forced to live by these stringent, stifling rules,” the woman went on, “but… am I the only one starting to see that rules only apply to us? The Council, the others, they’re all allowed to pull whatever strings they want to when it’s convenient. If they’d never tried to change things, if they’d just—”
“I think it’s important that we also note that the old ways weren’t so great either,” Officer Chadwick cut in. “A change needed to be made, but I think we can all agree that we should have had some say in the decision, in what the best course of action would have been. Which is why I’m proposing that we show our strength and make them take us into consideration.”
“We’re pawns,” someone blurted. “We should have stood up sooner.”
Officer Chadwick didn’t disagree with that. “You’re absolutely right, but there’s no since in singing the Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Blues,” he explained. “What we need to focus on now is a resolution. We need to focus on what’s best for our kids and how we can keep them safe. When you leave here, pass along what you’ve heard. As you can see, we’ve got around fifteen alphas here, so we’re missing about 70 of them. Not to mention, there’s not even a representative from most packs.” Officer Chadwick shoved his hands in his pockets. “This is maybe five-percent of our clan,” he sighed. The calculations had clearly left him feeling defeated.
“We have to take a stand, people. Together.” He paused and looked around the room again. “It’s entirely possible that… what we’ve seen so far… is only the soundcheck. I’ve got the sinking feeling the real show has yet to begin.”
—
Chapter Twenty-Three —
Nick
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nbsp; Officer Chadwick’s speech seemed to light a fire under the clan. They came in defeated, injured, and lost. And while Roz’s dad couldn’t do anything about their outward wounds, they were at least unified on one decision; it was time to take action.
Richie took off to meet with the rest of our pack, but I stuck around. Beth got away before I could talk to her, too, but I was starting to think it might’ve been for the best. If Evie had gone to her, if she had confided in her about shifting, I should respect that. No, I couldn’t confirm that was what happened when she disappeared on me last night, but I was ninety-nine-percent sure. Given everyone else’s circumstance, and Evie’s condition beforehand, it made sense to assume that she’d shifted, too.
Hopefully, when she was ready, she’d talk about it.
Roz approached me at the bottom of the stairs with a huge box in her hands and her laptop balanced on top.
“You mind?” she asked, shifting the load to my arms before I could answer.
I shook my head. Her ability to annoy me until my eyes crossed was uncanny.
She grabbed her computer from the stack of what I now knew to be books, and then led the way through one quiet conversation after the next. One was that of a tearful, single mother sharing her experience from the night before with Roz’s dad. Her son shifted during her commute home from work. The sneak-attack awaiting her upon arrival forced her to shift and wrestle him into submission. His arm was broken in the scuffle and she, despite the circumstances surrounding the incident, blamed herself.
Again, I recalled my own experience and was grateful.
The steps leading to Roz’s basement creaked beneath our weight. It was dark and quiet aside from the sound of feet moving on the ceiling above our heads. I was directed to set the box in the far corner. As soon as I did, Roz set her laptop down and then emptied the books onto an aged, wooden desk. A layer of dust went airborne when the first slammed down on top of it.