by TJ Klune
He jerked his head back. “I wasn’t trying to slobber all over—”
“Though,” I said with a frown, “you are making crazy eyes at his brother. I don’t know if that’s going to help things.”
He squeaked again.
I took a step back. “We’ll figure this out, okay? But if this is Michelle pulling the strings, then you need to prepare yourself for that. Because she will need to be stopped.” Another thought struck me. “Do you think she would have done this on purpose?”
He blinked. “What?”
“The infection. If she sent Pappas here, knowing he was already on his way to turning Omega. As a way to get to us. To Joe and Ox.”
He shook his head. “I don’t—that seems too grand for her. Too big.”
“You’re the one that said the Alpha of all isn’t something to give up lightly,” I reminded him.
He looked frustrated. “I know, it’s just… if that’s the case, I can’t make it fit. Why would she run the risk of infecting others? It’s already spreading. Why would she want it to spread further? It could turn around and bite her in the ass.” He gnawed on his bottom lip. Then, “What if it’s your father?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Then I will handle it myself.”
He nodded slowly. “That bugs me too.”
“What?”
“How did he escape?”
To that, I had no answer.
Robbie smiled weakly. “We—I like being here. I feel… safe. I’m not Osmond. I’m not Pappas.”
“I know.”
He sighed. “Good.”
I turned and headed inside. Before I shut the door, I heard, “Thanks, Gordo.”
I HEARD movement in the kitchen. I looked in to see Elizabeth hugging Kelly. His head was on her shoulder. He was shaking. Carter was leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, brow furrowed, mouth thin. He was staring off into nothing.
They knew I was there.
I left them be.
Mark wasn’t in the house. I just knew. I didn’t know how that made me feel. Maybe he’d changed his mind. I’d actively avoided thinking about how he’d said I was his tether, even after all this time. It didn’t matter. Not now. We had other things to worry about. I would deal with that later if I had to.
I didn’t know when I’d become such a proficient liar.
I made my way down to the basement. I saw Joe first. He was propped up against the wall, an eerie approximation of how his brother looked standing upstairs. He glanced at me and nodded before turning back toward Ox.
Ox stood in front of the open doorway. The line of powdered silver remained along the floor.
Pappas sat cross-legged in the center of the room, hands on his knees. He was nude. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing in deep breaths and letting them out slowly.
Neither of them acknowledged me.
I went to Joe first. He reached out and ran a hand along my arm, fingers trailing as he left his scent on my skin. My tattoos glowed briefly under his touch. Ox was my tether, and our packs were one, but Joe, he… it was different. With him. Those three years had changed us.
“I heard what you said,” he told me quietly. “To Robbie.”
I scowled at him. “You know I hate it when you eavesdrop.”
“You’re in a house of werewolves. Everyone hears everything.”
“Which is why I don’t like any of you.”
“Lie,” he said, smiling quietly. It fell only a moment later. “Ox, he’s… trying.”
I glanced at them. It was only then I noticed Ox was taking the same breaths as Pappas, like he was trying to center him somehow. “Is it working?”
“I don’t know. There was a moment when I thought….” He shook his head. “His eyes. They’re violet now. He’s an Omega. I think last night was a slip. He hasn’t gone completely feral. At least not yet.”
“Unless we can figure out a way to fix it, it’s only a matter of time before—”
“I can hear you,” Pappas said without opening his eyes. His voice was deeper than it normally was, like he was speaking through a throat filled with gravel. But he sounded more in control than he had since he’d called me. I didn’t know how long it would last. If Michelle had been telling the truth, he was well on his way.
Ox sighed as he looked back at us. “Thanks for that. We were getting somewhere.”
Pappas opened his eyes. They were violet. “No, Oxnard. You weren’t. This is a lull. I’ve seen it before.”
Joe pushed himself off the wall and made his way toward Ox. I followed him and stood on his other side. Pappas watched us with the eyes of a monster, tracking each of our movements. It sent a chill down my spine. It was like we were being hunted.
Ox looked at me, jerking his head toward our guest.
So that’s how it was going to be. “We spoke with Michelle,” I said evenly.
“Did you.”
“Yes.”
Pappas eyed me curiously. He was speaking with a lisp. His mouth was full of fangs. “You don’t say.”
“She told us everything.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Why?”
“Because she deals in secrets, even if they’re eventually to her own detriment.” He rocked his head side to side. His neck popped loudly. It caused my bones to ache. “And she doesn’t trust you. Any of you, really.”
“Because we’re something she doesn’t understand.”
“Yes.”
“Three days.”
He blinked slowly. “Three days.”
“That’s how long she said she’s giving us.”
“Ah.”
“For what?”
“I thought you said she’d told you everything.”
“About the infection. How it spreads. What it entails. How your tether is shredding. Not about how she plans on containing it. To keep it from spreading.”
“Your wards. What do they do?”
“They let me know when something supernatural approaches. Witches. Wolves. Omegas.”
“Are they infallible?”
“Why?”
“Just a question.”
“No,” I said. “They’re meant to protect us from those who would do us harm. It’s a warning system. To give us time.”
“And your pack is tied into it.”
“Yes.”
“Can they be modified?”
“For?”
His eyes grew brighter. “You are trying to keep things out. Have you thought about what that means you’ll be keeping in? It’s only a matter of time.” He opened his mouth, baring his teeth. He snapped his jaws at us, once. Twice. He settled again. “I can feel it. Pulling at me. I want to tear into you. I want to taste your blood. Feel your bones crack between my teeth. I’m told I—”
“All of us?” Ox asked.
Pappas shook his head. Then, “Maybe. But it would be Gordo first.”
Joe crowded in closer to me. “Why him?”
“His magic.”
“What about it?” I asked.
“It hurts. It stings. It stinks. It’s a cloud of filth that covers all of you, and it’s driving me crazy. I want to tear it to pieces. I want to tear him to pieces.”
“The Omega,” Ox muttered. “The girl. She looked as if she wanted to go after you first too.”
Joe stared at Pappas. “And every time you came into the room, she was more agitated.”
“That’s not—” I shook my head. “Shit.”
“What is it?” Ox asked.
“It has to be him. My father.”
“Why?”
“Magic, it—it has a signature. A fingerprint. Specific to a witch. But amongst family, it’ll be similar. Not the same, but familiar. If my father did this, if this is his magic breaking the tethers of the Omegas, his magic is in them. And they’re recognizing him in me.”
Joe sighed. “This sucks.”
I snorted. “Yeah. Sounds about right.”
Pappas st
ared at me. “I killed them.”
“The Betas.”
He growled, “Yes.”
“You warned me.”
“I did? I can’t remember.”
“You called me. You said your tether was breaking. You told me about the infection. That she knew about it.”
“I betrayed my Alpha,” he whispered.
“You warned me. Us. You knew what was happening. You wanted to be stopped. It’s not you, Pappas. It’s something inside you.”
He stood slowly. He was a big man. His skin looked as if it were rippling, like he was fighting his shift. His thighs were tree-trunk thick, and the muscles quivered as he took a step toward us.
Ox rumbled deep in his chest, a clear warning that caused my skin to crawl.
Pappas ignored him. He only had eyes for me. “Your magic,” he said. “It offends me. It makes my skin itch. You would be first. I would come for you first.”
“You already tried that,” I said coolly. “It still hasn’t healed.”
He didn’t acknowledge the burn mark in the shape of a hand, blackened and crisped.
Joe’s fingers circled my wrist. “Maybe not piss him off even more.”
“You’ll have to kill me,” Pappas said, coming to stand in front of us, his toes inches away from the line of silver. “Eventually.”
“We don’t want that,” Ox said. “Not for you. Not for any of them like you. But I will. If I think you’re a danger to my pack or this town, I’ll do it myself.”
“And Carter and Mark? What if they become the danger? What will you do then?”
To that, Ox said nothing.
“She’s scared of you,” Pappas said, head cocked. “The boy who ran with wolves. She doesn’t know what you want. What you’ve become.”
“The only thing I want is right here in Green Creek.”
“She doesn’t believe that.”
Ox shook his head. “That’s not my problem.”
He grinned wildly. “It is now. I know—I thought I could fight it. I thought… I hid it. From everyone.”
We stayed quiet.
“The last Omega. The man. Do you remember him? His name was….”
Joe said, “Jerome. His name was Jerome. He feared us, but he still came.”
“Yes,” Pappas said. “Jerome. He nicked me. A scratch that barely bled from one of his fangs. On the back of my hand. He… surprised me. He moved quicker than I expected. We had just crossed out of your territory, and he acted like we were removing him from his pack.” His hands flexed. His claws gleamed dully in the overhead light. “I didn’t know why. I thought it was nothing. I healed. And even if it was something, I was stronger than an Omega. I could fight it. I could beat it.” He laughed. It was a cruel sound. “I was wrong.”
“What is she doing?” I asked. “What did Michelle mean by three days? What is she going to do?”
He was up against the silver then, almost quicker than I could follow. He snarled at me, angry when his body hit an invisible wall. Spit flew and splattered the ground in front of us as he banged his fists against the barrier. The silver stayed where it lay on the floor, unmoving. Jessie had spread it, but I had shaved it myself, putting the thoughts of earth and home and pack into it. He wouldn’t get through, no matter how hard he tried.
It didn’t stop Ox from stepping in front of me, claws out. He saw a threat, and his instincts had kicked in. His mate and his witch were his only concern.
“Help me,” Pappas gasped as he took a step back. His hands were broken, the fingers bent at odd angles. They began to pop back into place, the echo of bones snapping all around us. “I can’t—I can’t fight this. Not for long.”
“Tell us what’s she’s planning and I’ll help you,” Ox said. “I’ll do whatever I can.”
“You killed her. That girl.”
“Yes.”
“She wanted to see. If you would.”
“I know.”
“She didn’t think you’d—”
“Philip. What is she doing?”
“It’s not the same,” Pappas said, starting to pace back and forth. He moved like a caged animal, eyes on me. “It’s not the same as death. When the tether breaks. It snaps clean. It’s there, and then it’s not. I would know. It happened to me… once. I loved her. She was human, and I loved her. But I was prepared for it then. This is different. This is shredding. This is the bond fraying. Piece by piece. It was her and then it was the memory of her. I can feel it. In my head. It’s being taken from me. It hurts. I want to kill you. Do you get that? I can hear them. Moving around above me. After I kill all of you, I would go for her. Elizabeth. She would fight me. But I would put my teeth in her throat—”
Joe roared at him, eyes red, taking a step toward Pappas.
He stumbled back, cowering against the far wall, whimpering as he curled in on himself.
I heard the thundering of feet above us, the answering howls of the pack hearing the anger of their Alpha.
Pappas rocked back and forth, eyes violet.
“IF THEY send wolves, we’ll be ready,” Ox told us, the entire pack gathered at the Bennett house. The light was failing. The moon, which would be full in less than a week, was hidden away behind a blanket of clouds. I wondered if she still missed the sun. “If they send witches, we will deal with them. We’ve done it before, and we can do it again. We will not abandon our home. We’ll find a way to fix this. I promise. They can’t have us. They can’t have any of us. You are my pack. You are my family. Nothing will take any of you away from me. Thomas taught me that a wolf is only as strong as its pack. That an Alpha can only truly lead when he has the trust of those around him. There has never been a pack like ours. They want a fight? They’ve got one.”
The wolves sang around him.
The humans tilted their faces toward the sky.
Mark’s shoulder brushed against mine.
Ox was right.
Let them come.
We would tear the earth beneath their feet.
THE NEXT morning Pappas was shifted. His wolf was black and gray and white. His coat was thick. His tail swished. His paws were massive. He snarled at the sight of me. His eyes glowed violet.
ROBBIE CALLED back East.
There was no answer.
THE SHOP was closed that Monday. Most of the businesses were, ahead of the storm. The schools too.
We were in the clearing.
The air smelled of snow. It stung my nose and made my eyes water.
I moved swiftly as a shifted wolf came at me. My skin was slick with sweat. I was breathing heavily. The wolf’s jaw was opened wide, but the ground split beneath its paws before it could jump, a column of rock shooting up and knocking it off its feet. It landed with a crash on the ground, skidding through grass and dirt. It pushed itself up, shaking its head as if dazed.
“Good,” Joe said, standing near my side. “Kelly, shift back. Carter, you’re next.”
Jessie bounced on her feet in front of Tanner, her hands wrapped with white tape, as she waited for Tanner to make his move. He feinted left, then went right, broadcasting his intent in the movement on his body. He was quick, but Jessie was quicker. She stepped to the side, spinning around, fist outstretched. She knocked him in the back of the neck, sending him stumbling and falling to his knees.
“Maybe it’s someone else’s turn to get beat up by Jessie,” he mumbled, rubbing his neck as he winced.
Rico and Chris took a step away from them.
We moved as one. We were a pack. We’d done this again and again and again. Robbie was quick on his feet. Carter was a wall of strength. Kelly could move in the shadows. Elizabeth coiled like a snake, teeth bared. Jessie could face down a wolf on her own and win. Rico and Chris could unload a single clip in seconds. Tanner’s knives could pierce the flesh of even the toughest wolf.
Joe and Ox were the Alphas, and we moved in sync with them.
And then there was Mark.
The brown wolf.
He was fluid, dodging anything that came at him. He was grace and art, the muscles underneath his skin shifting as he moved. I watched as Ox came for him half-shifted. He waited, crouched, until Ox was only a few feet away before he leapt up and over him, back legs hitting the Alpha’s shoulders, knocking him off-balance. He landed on his feet on the other side of Ox, whirling around, ready for when Ox came for him again.
We had trained for this.
Some of us our whole lives.
We were the Bennett pack.
Which is why it was startling when Kelly snuck up on Carter, who was distracted by Robbie’s twitching tail. Kelly pounced on him, teeth bared.
And Carter responded by knocking his brother halfway across the clearing, roaring in pure fury. Kelly landed hard, dirt and grass piling up around him as he came to a stop. He groaned as he shifted back to human. “Carter, what the hell, man. I was just—”
But Carter didn’t stop. He ran toward his brother, a glint in his eyes that I’d never seen before.
I shouted, “Ox!”
Ox moved, clothes shredding as his wolf burst forward. Kelly scrabbled backward, eyes wide at the sight of his brother barreling toward him. Carter’s neck stretched outward, fangs aimed for Kelly’s bare leg, and—
He let out a loud yelp as Ox landed on his back, forcing him down on the ground. Ox roared in his ear as Carter twisted underneath him, trying to knock Ox off to get at his brother. The call of his Alpha startled him, breaking him out of his shift almost instantly. He panted up at Ox, whose teeth were near his throat. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “I didn’t mean to. Oh my god, Ox, I didn’t mean it. I didn’t—”
Ox snapped at him.
He fell quiet.
Joe moved toward them, motioning for Kelly to back away. I thought Kelly was going to argue, but he did as his Alpha said. Joe stood above his brother, his hand on his mate’s side. He said, “Carter.”
“Joe! I don’t know what happened. Okay? I didn’t mean to—”
And Joe said, “Show me your eyes.”
“It’s not like that. I swear. I just forgot for a second. I’m not—I’m not like that. I’m not like them—”
“Show me. Your eyes.”