“My butt cheek?” He laughed.
“Yeah, you’re right. How about your calves? Any ink there?”
“Nope, fresh and clean so far.”
“Alright.” She lifted her head and pulled her arms into her body. With her fingertip, she drew across his chest. He sat still and watched her eyes as they formed a picture in her mind. “I’d give you a minotaur - a big hulking man with a bull’s head that has sharp horns. I think it suits you because you lock yourself away from others until you feel alone in the world.”
Gage felt his chest tighten. How could she see inside him like that? He’d built walls of humor and mischief around his pain so that even Archer could barely see the truth. Yet, Kaylee swung in and broke it all down.
“Then a single woman got into your labyrinth,” Kaylee went on. “I could do a labyrinth in the background, full of straight and constricting lines for contrast. The woman got in there and she found the minotaur hiding, even though he claimed he was lost and alone. So, she sat with him and they helped each other until they found the way out again.”
Gage struggled to find his voice in the tightness of his chest, a feeling that had crept into his throat and burned across his eyes. “I asked for a tattoo, not a story,” he joked.
He thought she might playfully slap him, but she leaned forward and found his lips. Her kiss was gentle, sweet. He opened to her, hoping for a deeper taste. Would this be the last time their lips met? He savored the touch, the taste, and tried to commit it to memory.
After a moment, she pulled back. In the dark, he couldn’t see the sadness in her eyes, but he felt the way her arms tightened around him. He could live like this forever, trapped in this moment. The car smelled like them, the echo of their lovemaking still lingering in the air. Her skin smelt sweet and fresh. He’d been right. She tasted like blackberries. He pulled her tight and settled back.
In the morning, he would ask. He would see if she would have him, but for the moment, he laid it all aside and savored their time as they drifted into a peaceful sleep.
Chapter Twelve
They woke to a thump outside. Kaylee shot up just as Gage’s grip on her tightened. Outside the window, she caught the flicker of movement as a figure slipped into the woods and disappeared. Inside her chest, her heart hammered.
The smell of blood slowly infiltrated the interior of the car. It made her heart hammer and her hands tremble. Gage sat up and looked around, a scowl on his face slowly morphing into a snarl.
“There was a person outside,” Kaylee whispered, as if the person could still hear her. She was sure they couldn’t, but it didn’t stop her.
“Where?” Gage growled. The bear shifted in his eyes, ready to protect what was his.
“They’re gone. Left through the woods over there…” She pointed to where the figure had been.
Gage’s head whipped toward the space, but Kaylee’s eyes were drawn to the front door of Vancourt house. A whimper escaped her throat before she could slap her hand over her mouth.
“What is it?”
Unable to speak, Kaylee could only point. Slumped on the doorstep of Vancourt house was the shape of a woman. Her limbs folded beneath her in an unnatural way, one that indicated the woman wasn’t just sleeping. She was dead.
Before Gage could pull her back, Kaylee shoved open the door and fell into the lawn. Her hands hit the muddy ground, but she looked up and met the eyes of the dead woman. Bile burned her throat. She barely had enough time to struggle to her feet before she vomited. There was nothing in her stomach, only hot bile coming up.
Behind her, Gage growled. It was a loud and rumbling sound, like a roar suppressed behind his lips. He moved toward the dead woman, shifting her until he could see her properly. When he laid her on the ground, Kaylee’s head spun. She saw it. Did Gage see it?
Before she could say anything, two figures spilled out of the house. Cohen and Ashe fought for space in the doorway before they both paused with shock. Ashe fumbled back into the house, her hand over her mouth. Cohen, on the other hand, grew red in the face. He gripped the doorframe as his eyes met Kaylee’s.
The dead woman looked just like her.
Suddenly, Gage shot up. His hands fisted at his sides as he let out a world-shaking roar. Kaylee wanted to step closer to him, to reach out and touch him, but she couldn’t bring herself any closer to the corpse that looked like her.
Gage’s fist swung out. Before it could hit the house, Cohen stood before him. He caught his brother’s rage with one hand.
“She’s not dead,” Cohen told his brother. “Kaylee isn’t dead.”
The words didn’t stop Gage from taking another swing. Kaylee sat on her hands and knees in the mud as she watched Gage pummel his brother. Cohen didn’t take the punches laying down, either. He hit back, his grim face growing more and more furious.
They fell to the ground, a heap of grunting muscle. Kaylee looked up and met Ashe’s gaze. The fury roiling through Gage had to go somewhere, she guessed. Kaylee tried to get to her feet even though her whole body shook with fear.
As she moved closer, she could see something pinned to the dead woman’s shirt. It was a small note.
Give us what is rightfully ours. I would say she won’t end up like this one, but I can’t make any promises.
Gage had seen the note. There was no way he hadn’t. She looked back at the man who’d given her winks and smirks, who made her laugh, and found a roaring mess. Cohen finally pinned him to the ground, no matter how hard Gage bucked, he couldn’t get free of his taller brother.
Chapter Thirteen
Fredrick had to die.
The bear growled in agreement, even as his heart broke. They’d been close, friends against the world that hated both of them. Even after Fredrick had given him up to the cops, part of Gage had held onto the memories they’d made. It’d been a better time, or so Gage thought. Looking back, he could see the signs.
It was time to put him down.
He would make Killian watch as he did it, too. There was no room in this world for anyone who treated life so trivially. That was what he told himself as he paced back and forth. When he looked at the woman dumped so carelessly on the porch, he could only see Kaylee. The vision haunted him, Kaylee’s dead and unresponsive face looking up at him.
It tore his heart to pieces. It rendered him nothing more than a bonfire of rage. Watching Kaylee get into the car with Ashe had given him a small sense of peace. She would be safe as long as they continued moving forward. She would be safe once she was far away from Stonefall.
But he knew there would forever be a part of him permanently broken. It was the place in his heart that Kaylee belonged. Without her, he was empty. A word echoed around the cavern of his mind, and as much as he wanted to cling to it, he knew it would only make the ache worse. The only thing he could do was fill it with the deaths of Killian and his pack.
Maybe then, they would all be safe.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Cohen asked, his voice booming.
“I’m going to finish this.”
“Like hell you are.” Cohen’s hand slammed down on Gage’s shoulder and spun him around. Their eyes met, perhaps for the first time since Cohen first left. “You’re not going alone, at least.”
He shrugged off his brother’s hand. “I’ve never needed your help. I certainly don’t need it now.”
“I’m not asking you if you need help,” Cohen said. “I’m telling you that I want to help.”
He paused. Cohen’s words danced around his mind, their meaning slowly sinking in. He wanted to ask his brother why he left them. He wanted to be angry with Cohen. But, there wasn’t room for any of that. Not when the image of Kaylee, dead and gone, shoved its way into his mind again. The image hurt, physically. It stabbed through his heart, leaving a trail of fire.
“Archer isn’t going to be happy.”
“He can go on being a damned saint if he wants,” Cohen growled. “I want Killian’s head on a pl
atter.”
Gage smiled. “Then, let’s get it.”
***
The Vancourt territory was expansive. It butted up against the Bart territory on the one side and sprawled along the Finger Lakes on the other side. Gage and Cohen had no idea where Killian might be squatting, but they knew he wouldn’t be far. The murderous shifter wasn’t happy with his predicament and wanted to punish the brothers.
If the presence of the shifter that changed Kaylee or the dead woman on their doorstep was an indication, Killian was much closer than they would have liked. Cohen had pulled out a number of old maps, detailing the shifting borders of the Vancourt territory. The lines changed from century to century, like a slippery snake encircling them.
It didn’t take long for Cohen to pinpoint the places Killian might be squatting. They narrowed it down to a handful of places, including an old sawmill, an abandoned church, and a condemned farmhouse. All of them sat on questionable areas in the territory, places where the lines had shifted over time.
But, they searched the farmhouse and the sawmill and came up empty handed. There were no signs of life other than that of animals, not the kind they were looking for. Gage sifted in his seat, the bear inside of him clawing at him from the inside out. He was getting anxious. They needed to find Killian and put an end to this.
They needed to keep Kaylee safe.
She kept creeping her way into his mind. He thought about her defiant stance, her vibrant laughter, and the way she felt when he was inside her. His hands clenched at his sides, wishing he could touch her one last time. If he hadn’t been strapped into Cohen’s car, he might have run back to her.
Ahead, the old church appeared. It sat behind rows of headstones, towering like the skeleton of a bygone life. He glanced at his brother. This was the last stop. If they didn’t find Killian and his pack here, they would have to start over again. Gage knew there wasn’t time to start fresh. Killian’s shifters wanted Kaylee. They wouldn’t stop until they had her.
“I don’t hear anything,” Cohen said warily. He rolled his shoulders, as if uncomfortable in his own skin.
Gage had seen the monster inside his brother, seen it lose control. It was like some Jekyll and Hyde shit. He’d hoped to use that monster to his advantage, to unleash it upon Killian while he hunted the shifter who changed Kaylee. Gage wanted to taste the man’s blood, to hear his scream and beg for his life the way he must have done to others over the years.
But, Gage had to admit he couldn’t hear any noise from within either. If the shifters were at the church he should have heard the murmur of voices or the shifting of feet as they readied themselves to pounce. But, there was nothing.
He kicked the door open, unleashing some of his pent-up frustration. The board of wood flew off the hinges and crashed into a set of pews. No one appeared. No one jumped out at them. Range flared, hot and rampant. He looked around, searching for any sign where the shifters had been there.
Cohen slipped past him to crouch between a set of pews. When he rose, he brought with him a ratty blanket and an empty can. “There’s more, scattered here and there.”
“It reeks of wet fur, too,” Gage said.
Killian and his shifters were living in the abandoned church, but if they weren’t there, where were they? Gage’s stomach churned. Bile burned the back of his throat, but the hot flash of rage soon drowned it out.
“They’re hunting Kaylee,” he growled. “While we’re wasting our time looking for them, they’re out hunting her.”
He reached for the nearest pew and lifted it with both hands. He tossed it across the room, where it exploded with a boom, splinters flying in every direction. Cohen said nothing while Gage tried to control himself. He stood back and let it brother move on to the next pew. One by one, Gage destroyed whatever he could get his hands on.
After five minutes, the room was a pile of wood and splinters.
“Are you done now?” Cohen asked, voice eerily level. He eyed Gage as he caught his breath.
“No,” Gage growled. “I’m going to fucking lose it. I need to leave. I need to find them.”
Gage stalked toward the door, his limbs twitching. The bear was struggling to get out. It was going to rip the pack apart, piece by piece. It was going to kill them all.
“You need to calm down. That rage isn’t going to get anything done.”
Gage whirled on his brother, eyes blazing. Cohen was too calm, too cool. He wanted the man to rage with him. Couldn’t he see what was wrong? Wasn’t he afraid? Did he not care?
Cohen’s face darkened, shadows writhing. “You won’t do shit for Kaylee if you go on a rampage across New York. You’ll get yourself caught by humanity or killed by a damned hunter. If you think your rampage is going to help, you can go right home.”
“Didn’t you hear me? They’re hunting her!”
“I get that,” Cohen said. He closed the space between them, growing darker step by step, until he could put his hands on his brother’s shoulders. Something strange happened, the fire inside Gage banking. “But you aren’t thinking straight. Get your shit together and we will go out and find these assholes.”
Gage ducked out from under his brother’s hands, feeling oddly calmer. He cast a glance at Cohen. “You know, you’re a frustratingly good Alpha.”
Cohen froze. His whole body paused; the only thing moving on his face was the shadow cast over his eyes. Sometimes, Gage wondered if the brothers had different mothers. He wouldn’t have put it past Sampson, but it did make him wonder what their father laid with to make the eldest Vancourt brother.
Above them, the shadows of the old church shifted. They vibrated as if ghosts might drop from them at any moment. It gave Gage the chills.
Finally, he sighed. With it, frustration left his body. All that was left was drive. Drive to find and put an end to this madness.
He let himself hold onto one hope, that maybe, when it was all over, he could… No, he wouldn’t let himself think about it. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. He would focus on what needed to be done.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Gage declared. “Before some damned ghosts decide to haunt us.”
He stalked toward the door, following Cohen, when a smell tickled his nose. The scent of jungle cat hit him seconds before a boot collided with his jaw. Cohen cried out, but the sound suddenly became muffled. The world spun around him. His vision focused on the grinning face of Killian before he hit the ground. He struggled to move, to get up, but darkness pulled at him. It sucked him in and the world vanished.
Chapter Fourteen
Ashe smiled, the brightest look Kaylee had seen on her face yet. “He’s a sweet man.”
Kaylee snorted. “I mean, if you think using the contents of a man’s shed to create a lawn display is sweet, sure.”
Ashe laughed. It was almost as if, in the confines of the car, she could let loose and be herself. It might have helped that Kaylee was still just a clumsy pup. She couldn’t intimidate anyone.
“I don’t think you understand,” Ashe began. “Old man Faulkner is my father.”
“I’m even more confused.”
The road stretched before them, promising hours of conversation. The trip from Upstate New York to Maryland was easily six hours. More if they hit traffic around the DC area, which was more of a promise than a threat.
“My father and I…” Ashe paused, her eyes on the road. “As much as he loved my mother, he was not happy when I didn’t show signs of shifting. He tried his hardest to pull it out of me. His methods were… they weren’t fun. Clearly, he didn’t succeed, either.”
Kaylee’s lips twisted into a scowl. How Ashe managed to hold a countenance of serenity while she implied her years of abuse were beyond her. Kaylee had never experienced any such thing, her family always warm and inviting, ready to feed anyone who walked through the door.
“Gage likes to screw with my father on my behalf. I think he understood what I’ve gone through, on a different kind of
level. Sampson Vancourt wasn’t very kind to his sons. Some of the Pack was surprised when he kicked the boys out, but I wasn’t.”
“Because you foresaw it?”
“Anyone with eyes could foresee something like that. They boys were miserable. When Sampson told Archer his marriage was arranged to a shifter girl from another pack, he rebelled. His life until then had been one demand after another with no room for freedom or self. Of course, when Archer found himself in trouble, the other two followed. They were close, once upon a time.”
To Kaylee, the boys had always been a part of Stonefall and Vancourt house. She never once stopped to think of their lives before she’d entered it. She could see there were dynamics in place that she hadn’t been a part of, but she hadn’t dwelled on them.
A sign for the border between Pennsylvania and New York rushed toward them. She watched it fly past, her head turning with it. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something familiar. Glancing back, her body froze. Her heart gave one thump and then stopped.
The creepy shifter smiled and waved at her from inside a van.
“Ashe,” she said, her voice shaking.
“What?” The woman twisted to look, and her mouth dropped into an elongated O. “I didn’t see this. Why didn’t I see this?”
“That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is how we plan to get away from them?” Kaylee felt like she was outside of her body. She could feel nothing, no tremble, no pulse, no wash of cold fear. All she could think of was how she couldn’t protect both of them.
Ashe had no animal to unleash. As far as she knew, all Ashe could do was predict glimpses of the future. If the creepy shifter and his friends managed to catch up with them, to get them off the road, Kaylee could only make a stand while Ashe ran.
“Don’t pull off,” Kaylee warned her. “If we pull off the highway and stop, we’re dead.”
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