Come Out Swinging (Reach for the Moon Book 2)

by Sam Hall

  “You want to sleep the day away.”

  “Yes, and who are you to tell me I shouldn’t?”

  “The town meeting’s soon and we need to attend, but, Paige…” I knew what he was going to say, could see him trying to put the words together in a way that wouldn’t hurt as much. He needn’t have bothered, since there was no avoiding this. “We need to find out what your aunt is up to. What Aidan said…”

  “What did they do? What the fuck did they do?”

  When I looked at Mason, I was willing to bet he heard the exact same thing in his head.

  “Have a drink and a bite to eat,” he said, gesturing to what he’d brought up for me. “Then a shower and we’ll go.”

  “What was that, Mason? It was like the two of us were under a spell, but how?”

  “The only way we’re going to know is to leave this house and see what they do next. Do you need some help?”

  I rolled into a seated position, shooting him a dark look, and his smile let me know this was what he expected me to do. Apparently, pissing me off was still a good motivator. I took a long swig from the coffee, which was at just the right temperature, warming me through and helping ease my throbbing head, then dared a bite of toast once I had. Mason nodded and smiled.

  “I’ll leave you to it.”

  I got cleaned up, then dressed in clothes I felt comfortable and strong in. I would never have thought to gauge how well I could fight in what I was wearing to a town meeting, but apparently, that’s what this had come to. Declan came into the bathroom as I began to drag a brush through my hair. Neglecting to do so last night was a mistake.

  “C’mere,” he said, pulling me back against him, then slowly, carefully working it through my knots. When he finally set it down, my hair was pin straight and wet, the bags under my eyes obvious in the mirror. “Something happened last night.”

  Whether that was a statement or a question, I couldn’t work out.

  “I nearly took another man as a mate, before Micah, before Mase, before you, Dec.” I watched myself frown. “I barely know Aidan.”

  “Did it feel right?” he asked. I could see what he was holding back in the tense muscles around his mouth, but he stared right back into my eyes.

  “I don’t know if feelings or thoughts had anything to do with it. I just knew I needed to in ways I haven’t before. It was like it was something buried deep inside me that activated because we’d gotten naked…” I turned to face him, not his reflection. “What the hell?”

  “What the hell indeed. C’mon, let’s head to the car. We’ll talk about it on the way.”

  “So if everyone would like to take their seats, we’ll go through the nominations…” Mr Collins, the head of the chamber of commerce stood up and spoke to the crowd, who went still and quiet at his words. He’d suggested we sit off to the side of the stage, still at the front, but not in the ceremonial seat.

  “Don’t want to rub the fact you’re a nix in the face of the town,” Lorcan said in a low growl.

  “Let’s just get through this circus, and then we can get to the real business,” I hissed as the guys started to get antsy. “We’re leaving this place behind as soon as we find out what happened to Dad. Then the good folk of Lupindorf can be scandalised by someone else’s shit.”

  “We’ve collected and collated everyone’s votes and the most popular contenders were—”

  “Surely that won’t be needed now.”

  My head spun around to see my aunt stalk in wearing a pale grey power suit and, dear god, were those Nana’s pearls? But her accessories weren’t what caught everyone’s eyes, it was the company she was keeping. Aidan’s dad walked a step behind, followed by what appeared to be an adoring couple. Selma’s hand held tight to her beau’s, her eyes trained on him, leaving Aidan to steer them through the crowd to the front of the hall. Murmurs started as everyone caught sight of them.

  But that seemed to fall on deaf ears for the four of them. Nance and Mr Peters stood there, proud as punch, while Selma only had eyes for Aidan. And Aidan? He was that same confident figure who’d regarded the town hall when I was looking at candidates. That shining golden boy but now with neatly trimmed, slicked back hair, a nice suit, and an open friendly expression that only deepened into something much more intense when he looked down at Selma.

  He gazed upon her like she was the last beautiful thing left in the world, like the sun and the moon rose with her, like she was his heart. I should fucking know, as I’d caught some of that fervent gaze myself last night, telling me unspoken stories about how important I was and how much he needed me.

  “What the actual fuck…?” I whispered, my lips feeling numb as they moved.

  “I understand that there’s been a deviation from the usual way of doing things,” Nance said, sounding oh, so reasonable. “Paige came back to town in what ended up being tragic circumstances. After being estranged for so long, I’m sure the combined sadness and guilt—”

  “Oh fuck, she actually fucking went there,” Lorcan hissed.

  “—has made it difficult for her to manage the succession, especially as the true nature of her…affliction became apparent. But I guess going away to the city has filled her head with some…new ideas.”

  “That cunning fucking bitch,” Zack whispered.

  “Fights for leadership, multiple mates…” I knew my aunt was quite the actor, but the expression of sheer disgust rising and then being smoothed away was probably the most honest thing I’d ever seen on her face. As I turned around, scanning the crowd, I saw an echo of it in at least a few faces. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I was raised to believe in history, in the processes that have always kept this pack strong. I believe in the succession in the hands of a legitimate heir, one that will uphold our traditions and select a strong leader who’s well suited to become alpha of this town. There’s no need for convoluted fights or human voting.” She beamed as she gestured to Selma and Aidan, clutching each other like some kind of couple in a 1950s romance film. “The legacy of the Spehr family will be retained, and along with it, the strength and wellbeing of the town.”

  My skin prickled with cold sweat as I heard her dominance twine through her words, not in an overt way, but sinuous and seductive as a siren’s call.

  “While the Spehr’s prevail, so does the town. When we are strong, you are strong.”

  Fuck, Nance missed her calling, mucking around as spare heir in a small town. There were a lot of human politicians who would’ve loved to have her as a tool in their arsenal.

  “You’ve got to do something about this,” Zack growled out low and intense. “You can’t let this stand.”

  “How long have they been playing this fucking game?” Lorcan asked in horror. “What kinda Manchurian Candidate bullshit is this?”

  I meant to find out.

  I jerked myself to my feet, finding my hands slow clapping as I walked forward, and a moment of naked dislike coloured my aunt’s face before she restored her mask. I wanted to make clear what I thought of her, of her fucking machinations, of her little petty games, but the fact that Ms Forest, my year one teacher, always used a staccato clap to get our attention when we were in primary school would surely work just as well here. Nance fell silent, which was a blessing in itself, and Mr Peters eyes glittering with… What was it? What lurked within those amber depths? Something…hungry, desperate. I filed that little titbit away for later, much later.

  “Aunt Nancy.” I said her name just as she’d told me to back in Dad’s office, an office I now confirmed she must have raided or sent someone in to do so. Was it Aidan? He didn’t look up at me once, his eyes trained on Selma which, apart from the fact she was fucking gay, was a giveaway in itself. No one just stood there gazing down at their loved one like that. “You speak of tradition, but Selma is your younger daughter. If something untoward happened to me…” I paused, staring into her eyes, making damn clear I knew what the likelihood of that was. “Well, if something else happened apar
t from someone breaking into the alpha residence and bashing me in the head with a baseball bat.” Gasps all round at that. “If someone managed to kill me this time, then the law of succession means Bridge would be next in line.”

  “My eldest daughter is disqualified from the law of succession.” She turned away from me because, after all, I wasn’t her audience, was I? “I spoke to her first, of course, about the need for a more…suitable heir. In light of what was happening, or perhaps it was just time to let me know…” Her smile was the perfect picture of tremulous pride. “My Bridget came out to me as gay. She’s been completing her university qualification by long distance, but due to her recent revelation and of the terrible prejudice our young LBGQT youth face in small towns…”

  Nance blathered some utter fucking bullshit as my blood ran ice cold. I was frozen to the spot, unable to lift my hands and wrap them around her creepy fucking throat and choke the life out of her like she deserved. I’d been blundering around, thinking maybe Nance, maybe Selma, maybe… There was no fucking maybe. Something had been in play for some time in this town, and all the cards were starting to fall. Dad’s, Bridge’s… Was she dead too, discarded in some ditch, a pawn that would not be moved so it was swept from the board? My heartbeat thundered in my ears, the beats so fast, they blended together.

  That fucking bitch, she was gonna go down screaming for this.

  But first, the dumb game I was caught up in. I scanned the crowd, met the eyes of my grandmother, of my aunts, and they all nodded slowly, as if to send me a shot of moral support, no matter what stupid thing I was about to do. And it was indeed, stupid.

  “Of course, if you want to stick to the way things were, keep shoring up the Spehrs’ hold over this town, then feel free to support this…interesting choice of a couple. But remember, no matter what someone with the same last name as me tells you, this is your town. The businesses thrive because of you, the streets are quiet and safe because of you. You can leave your car or your front door unlocked, you can walk safely at night, not because of anyone who lives in that very fancy house in the middle of it, but because of the people. We are a strong pack because we have strong shifters within it, and I’d be willing to bet there’s a lot of people, men and women both, with the chops to lead this town into an even greater future. Whatever you decide, I’m out. I just want justice for my father, who the coroner has ruled was murdered, and for myself, being struck down by some coward in the dead of night.” I turned around, fixing both Mr Peters and Nance in my gaze, willing to bet my eyes blazed the purest of silver right now. “I want to bring down whoever killed Dad and hurt me, have them screaming and begging for mercy at my feet.”

  Nancy’s bottom lip trembled slightly. I knew she’d put on the traumatised woman act the moment my back was turned, but I didn’t care. It wouldn’t stop me from coming for her, and to be blunt, if people here were dumb enough to fall for her shit, then they deserved her controlling this town. My eyes strayed to Aidan, cataloguing the artificial stillness in his body. He was like an actor frozen mid tableau, unable to move until directed.

  “I will show them all the consideration, all the benevolence they showed me, when they left me to bleed to death on the estate floor with a fractured skull and concussion.”

  The town couldn’t see me, I had my back to them, but Nance could. My smile spread wide, my fangs all present, stretching my human mouth to fit them.

  By the time I spun on my heel, my human face had returned, and I said to Mr Collins, “You’re the one who knows the most about the prosperity of the town. I think you’ll make the best decision for Lupindorf.”

  I nodded to my mates, who got to their feet, trailing after me as I stalked out, my nan, my aunts, my uncles, and cousins all getting to their feet as well.

  “Paige, you’re…” Aunty Lyn said, moving a step closer, then stopping where she was.

  “We’ll meet at my house,” Nan announced. “Enough dirty laundry has been aired for today.” She shrugged. “Or not enough, depending on how you look at it. Your man, he kept us posted on how you were, how things were going in the hospital. Made it clear we needed to stay away, but for different reasons than those damn Spehrs. She’s the one that hurt you, that hurt my boy, that bloody Nance.”

  I nodded, my mouth dry, all the words I had to say evidently being dust.

  “C’mon,” Mason said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 16

  I couldn’t stand still.

  In some ways, this was just like any family BBQ. All the kids were outside screaming up a storm under the sprinkler or playing in the yard, and my eyes went to Lorcan’s when he settled back on the couch, something soft rising in them as I remembered what he’d told me about us doing the same as kids.

  “Nancy did these things. She might not have had her scrawny hands pushing the medication that killed my Adam down his throat, but she may as well have,” Nan said, standing before the adults. “I didn’t say anything for fear… I didn’t know, just guessed, until that coroner…” Nan shook her head decisively. “It’s a terrible system that the Spehrs run in this town. Damn near a mafia racket, keeping everything in the family, just one family…”

  When Nan stopped moving, so did I, and Declan’s hands went around me, pulling me close, one hand stroking up and down my back.

  “If the Mother had any mercy, it would have been your aunt that was the heir, not your mother. Nance was the strong one, fairly bristling with power. Had half the town under her sway until Old Man Spehr sorted her out.”

  Nan’s eyes met mine and held them.

  “She was strong and wild as a feral cat, but the old alpha, he didn’t get to where he was being bested by a slip of a girl. She had plans, y’see, to sideline your mother, take her place, step up, and become…” My grandmother’s lips thinned down. “He should’ve put her down for the beast she was right then, but she was his daughter and he loved her, as parents are likely to. He sat her down and impressed upon her, using his superior dominance, a bone-deep need in her to keep the family safe and strong. Adam was just starting out as an enforcer, so he came home and told me the stories. She was changed after that, Nancy. All that power, building up and building up, dammed inside her in service of the Spehrs.”

  Nan’s smile was mirthless, revealing her teeth with their gold fillings.

  “Trouble is, what does that mean, keeping the family safe?” Her voice grew sly and creaky. “What lengths do you go to? How do you identify threats? My son, Paige’s mother, all removed as perceived ‘threats.’”

  “And Bridge…” My eyes darted to the guys. “She’s… She must’ve—!”

  “We’re tracking her phone. For security reasons, we have access to all the Spehr phone IDs,” Mason said, looking down at his. “I know where it is, and it hasn’t moved.”

  “That’s because my cousin is probably knocked out or dead somewhere!” I snapped. “Nan, I get we need to catch up, but we need to go.”

  “And we need to listen to this,” Lorcan said. I jerked in shock at his grim tone. “I know where that is.” He tipped his head in the direction of Mason’s phone. “It’s one of my…family’s hangouts. I’ll make some calls once we’ve listened to April, but…” He shook his head. “It’s either a trap or a crime scene we’re walking into, and I’d rather do so knowing all the facts. We might need to set up a meet with my uncle.”

  “He’s running the show? Do it,” I replied.

  Silence reigned over the lounge room as the last words were spoken. I was up and pacing again, imagining my cousin in worse and worse positions, so Lorcan slipped out the door, fishing his phone out. I went to follow him, to listen in, to wrap my arms around his lean frame and just breathe him in, anything to settle me. But Nan shook her head and pulled out a pile of kid’s drawings.

  “Nan…” I said, not concealing my irritation well. She was a known hoarder, the house full to the brim of items, memories encapsulated in old junk. If they ever wa
nted to create a museum of me or one of my cousins, they’d find all the artefacts of our youth carefully stored here. She just hissed at me, spreading out the drawings so everyone leaned forward.

  There in the corner, with the scrawling hand of a small child, was my name, sort of, wandering over the top right-hand side of the yellowing paper. My eyes dropped down and saw those weird little stick figures kids always draw, more hastily drawn geometric shapes than symbols of people, the word ‘pack’ misspelt and clumsily written hovering in the sky, along with a bright yellow sun and little lines for birds. But it was what was beneath that froze my complaints on my lips. There was me, signified as a girl by my triangular body shape, which meant the six other figures around me were guys, as they had rectangle bodies. But it was the hair that identified them—one bright red with a beard, one with hair standing up all over his head, two dark haired guys that looked almost identical, and the last figure covered in some kind of squiggles.

  “Jesus, I remember when you used to draw these,” Rose said. “Your mum nearly blew a gasket. She ripped up the first one and the second one. Seemed bloody cruel at the time.”

  “That’s how I settled you,” Nan said. “I showed you a secret place where I kept them and would only bring them out when your parents weren’t here. You’d sit down and draw like a little demon, giving me a minute’s peace and quiet, I don’t mind saying. The same picture, the same figures.” Her gnarled finger scudded across the cheap newsprint, past each figure until she got to the last one. Drawn in gold, I’d even included some kind of halo or something around his head of yellow hair. “But then all of a sudden, it changed.” Nan flicked through the drawings, glimpses of pack, pack, pack showing, until finally, she pulled out what she was looking for. She placed it on top of the pile, everyone taking a look.

  “That’s…Aidan?” one of my cousins said.

  “And only Aidan,” Nan said. “You drew that a few times, then that was it. You didn’t ask about the drawings anymore.”