“You’ve put her in an electrocuted jail?”
Talley’s outrage was comforting in some respects, especially since it reflected my own feelings on the subject, but I hated seeing her so upset.
“Is jail the right term?” I asked, walking up as close as I dared to the bars. “Doesn’t that indicated a multiple cell facility? I think this is more of a cage. Maybe a prison, but cage really captures the feel more.”
“Whatever it’s called, it’s wrong.” She turned on the Shifter with narrowed eyes. “You said she was comfortable.”
“She is comfortable,” Travis said. “The bed has got a new mattress and everything. It’s nice, ain’t it, Scout?”
“He’s right. This is pretty top of the line as cages go.”
Talley ignored my comment in favor of keeping her focus on Travis. “Let her out.”
Travis ducked his head. “Sorry, Talley. You know I can’t do that.”
Something licked across my skin. A tiny pulse of power that seemed to be coming from Talley. “Then let me in.”
Travis looked at Bob, who shrugged as if to say, Whatever, dude. I’m just here in case I get to shoot someone.
“I’m doing this because I like you and your girl here made me a promise.” He looked at me over Talley’s head as he undid the lock. “Saint-like, remember?”
“See this?” I said, pointing at the space above my head. “Halo. Glowing bright and proud.”
“And you?” he asked Talley.
“There is a reason Jase calls me Mother Teresa.”
Travis didn’t even try to hide the boyish grin on his face or knowing look in his eye. “Oh, we all know the reason.” Catching on to his meaning, Talley’s face flamed. “You girls have thirty minutes, so be good.” He locked the cage door behind Talley and then resumed his post.
Talley had her arms wrapped around me before the hum of electricity started vibrating in the bars. “I can’t believe they’ve put you in a cage.”
“I can’t believe you can’t believe they put me in a cage.”
“Are you okay?” she muttered in my ear. “Have they hurt you?”
I shook my head, enjoying the human contact. Normally, I merely tolerate Talley’s hugs, but after two weeks without being touched in the waking world, I starved for it. “I’m well fed, well exercised, and abuse free,” I assured her. “Lonely and bored, and being stuck with the same five novels for the two weeks is a special kind of hell, but I’m okay.” I squeezed her a bit harder. “How are you?”
“Good.” She released her hold on me. I held on for a second or two longer and then let her go. “They’ve been really nice to all of us. Lizzie, one of the other Seers, has even been helping me with my abilities since we’re both Soul Seers.”
I raised an eyebrow, knowing Talley had to realize she should be the one giving Lizzie lessons.
“I’m glad you’re being taken care of,” I said, meaning it. “I would hate to break out of here and kick someone’s butt if they were mistreating you.”
Talley’s face clouded over. “Honestly, Scout, I had no idea it was like this for you. The way True talked, I thought this was like a basement apartment. I would have never just sat idly by and let them do this.”
“Tal, it’s not so bad. Really.” I grabbed onto her wrist and tugged her towards the bed. “Come, experience the comfort of swanky mattress.” As I coaxed her into sitting beside me I sent a message through our skin to skin link. There was nothing you could do, I told her. If you would have tried anything they would’ve stuck you and the boys in here with me. What good would that have done anyone?
The images I got in response included a truck, a gate, and a barn.
It seemed brain to brain communication was one of those things that needed constant practice to keep sharp.
Our thirty minutes passed quickly with Talley updating me on reports from my parents (Dad was angry, Mom was worried, and Angel was in the process of redecorating my bedroom), how the boys were doing (Charlie wasn’t falling apart again and Jase was, big shocker, fitting in nicely), and my best defense strategy (unfortunately, she still hadn’t discovered a nice, logical reason I was able to Change). Before we knew it, Travis was opening the door, telling Talley to get the show on the road.
“I love you,” she said, unshed tears in her voice.
“You’re worth twelve of me. Take care of yourself, and keep an eye on the boys.” Because, even knowing what transpired between Jase and the Alpha Female, he was still my brother, still mine. “Don’t let them do anything stupid.”
Talley started to say something, but her voice cracked, and she just gave up. Her arms were tight around my waist, and I found myself dropping kisses of comfort onto the crown of her head.
And then the images started cascading in my mind.
Maroon pick-up truck parked underneath the trees.
An ornate gate.
An old barn, red paint peeling.
Then they repeated, over and over again.
“Come on, girls.” Travis’s voice was kind, but demanding. “If we’re even a minute late getting upstairs we’ll both be in trouble.”
Talley stepped back. Even though her eyes were filled with tears, I could see purpose and understanding there. Those images weren’t by accident. I nodded slightly, letting her know I understood.
***
When Bob returned from escorting Talley back upstairs he wasn’t alone.
“You’re not going in, don’t even ask.” Travis was still lounged against the wall by the door, but his posture changed just enough to prove he was ready for action. Bob also took up his former post, but this time the gun was in his hand.
“Hey, Chuck,” I said from my crossed-legged pose in the middle of the cage floor. “What’s new?”
Charlie looked at the two guards, seeing the same aggressiveness as I did. He folded himself into a mirror image of my position, showing he was no threat. Bob’s grip on the gun eased up a bit, but both of the Shifters still looked battle ready.
“Quit my job,” he said, propping his elbows on his knees and resting his chin in his hands.
“Really? I thought you loved the debauchery of it all.”
“Got tired of having to update all my shots every other week. Anyway, I got kinda busy.”
“Yeah, that’s the tragedy of a job. Eats up all your time so you can’t do important things, like save Princess Peach from Bowser.”
“I’m so glad someone else gets it,” he said absentmindedly as his eyes roamed over my surroundings. “That’s some pen you got there, Scout. Chains on the wall and everything.”
“It’s luxurious, right? I must be a very good puppy.”
“Obviously. I just have a bed with my name printed on a little gold tag.”
“Poor mistreated mongrel.”
“Spoiled princess.”
We both sat up straighter at the same time as though the move was coordinated. Charlie’s focus had shifted from my surroundings to me, his eyes critically following my movement. In any other situation his intense focus would have been embarrassing, but I knew concern when I saw it.
“You look good,” he said.
“Charlie, you’re gonna make me blush,” I giggled, trying to ease the lines around his eyes.
He didn’t take the bait, all humor leeched out of him. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” I said around the lump that magically appeared in my throat.
Charlie shifted around so one knee was raised up beside him. “Scout, we need to talk.” His eyes focused on the concrete stretching between us.
“Okay…”
“Actually, I need to talk, and I need you to listen.”
This promised to be a lot of fun. “Okay.”
“That night, when Alex died—”
I couldn’t do this. “Charlie—”
“No.” His voice was a command. “I need to say this, Scout. Please, let me talk.”
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t.
Everything in my body was frozen.
“No interruptions.”
My chin bobbed down and back up as if resting a mechanical neck.
“That night, we were hunting for Alex. We’d been tracking the Cole’s hunting patterns and had a pretty good idea of where we could find them. For Jase, it was simple. We were going to find him, do a stealth attack, and leave him unable to move until the sunrise put him back together again so he would leave Timber and take the threat to your life along with him.
“Jase was on a quest to protect you, and so was I. But that wasn’t all it was to me. Jase didn’t like him because he was a wolf, and he could hurt you. I hated him because of the way he looked at you, the way you looked at him. I hated him because you chose to be with him instead of me.”
I squeezed my arms around my chest, trying to hold the shattered bits of my heart together by force.
“When I saw you there with him, touching him, something inside of me broke. My animal thought of you as mine, despite everything. I don’t remember anything after that. Jase told me what happened later, but my memories skip from seeing you cuddling with the wolf to sitting in a hospital waiting room, Talley telling me you would live.”
Charlie, who had always been too stubborn to cry, even when he wore the evidence of his dad’s latest bender all over his body, let the tears drip off his chin.
“Everyone tells me it was an accident, that I didn’t mean to kill him, but I think they’re wrong.” His eyes finally met mine, and I flinched at the anguish I saw there. “I am not a good person. I don’t have Tal’s heart of gold or your integrity. I don’t know what really happened that night, but I know it’s my fault. I know I will carry the guilt for what I did to Alex and his brother and you the rest of my life. And I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but you have to know I’m sorry. I should have said it sooner. I should have said it every minute of every day for the past three and a half months, but I was a coward, and I didn’t. So, I’m saying it now.
“Scout, I am so sorry.”
I rubbed at my eyes with my fists. “Can I talk now?”
Charlie nodded.
“I love you.” The words spilled out of my mouth. “I can’t remember ever not loving you.” I probably should’ve been guilt-stricken to say those words to Charlie just hours after maybe-a-dream Alex said them to me, but I wasn’t. I had loved Charlie my whole life. That emotion didn’t diminish when I fell in love with Alex.
Charlie sobbed at my declaration, and I almost lost the ability to speak. It was the most painful noise I ever heard in my life. “And you were right when you said we can’t go back to where we were. That night changed everything forever. Alex will always come between us.” Saying the words aloud, I knew they were true. Heartbreakingly true. “But there are some things that will never change. I will always be your friend. A part of my heart will always be yours. And I will always, always forgive you.” Even if I couldn’t forget.
“You shouldn’t,” came his broken reply.
“I was there, Charlie. I remember. I don’t know what was going on in your head, but I know how Alex died. You didn’t push him over the edge of that cliff on purpose.” Once again I didn’t realize the truth of my words until I actually said them. “It was an accident. Yes, you could’ve done things differently and he would still be alive today, but the same thing could be said for Jase. Or me. Or even Alex himself. We all made mistakes that night, and we’ve all paid a price.” I wasn’t naive. I knew we would all keep paying in some way for the rest of our lives, no matter how short that might be. But we needed to move on. All of us.
“I don’t deserve you,” Charlie said.
I attempted a smile. “And I don’t deserve you. Guess that makes us even.”
Chapter 27
It was three hours after Charlie left when a phone rang at the top of the stairs. Bob answered, asked about “the Matthews girl”, and then informed the caller “we” would be on our way. When Bob opened the door and told Cory, who had been standing guard since Travis’s shift ended, I finally realized Jase wasn’t coming to see me.
“Ms. Donovan, we’re getting ready to take you out to meet your accusers,” Cory said as he turned off the electricity going to the cage. “I’m going to come in and put these handcuffs on you. It would be in your best interest to not do anything stupid.” Since Bob was aiming a gun at my head, I thought he was probably right. “We will be walking you up the stairs and outside to the hall. Bob and I will be your only escorts, but the rest of the Stratego and Taxiarho are standing at alert. There is no chance for escape.”
“I’m innocent,” I said in a dull, defeated voice. “Why would I try to escape?”
Cory came through the door, and I held out my arms to him.
“Place your arms behind you, please.”
I did as he asked. A tiny voice told me I should be enraged at the indignity or terrified by the loss of the use of my arms, but I really couldn’t be bothered to care. My talks with Talley and Charlie left me emotionally drained, and Jase’s inability to make an appearance left me feeling hollow. I knew what was happening, what all of this meant, but I felt like I was watching it on TV.
“Thought you’d want to know, Talley is going back to the Hagan Pack for now,” Cory said as he snapped the cuffs into place. “Jase is going to stay there a while too.”
“Don’t mates always stay together?” I asked even though I had a pretty good idea as to the situation before Cory said it.
“They’re not mates. The queen decided to not recognize Jase’s declaration since he and Talley both are now in training to become part of the Alpha Pack. She didn’t want any complications should one of them prove to be a candidate and the other not.”
My heart clenched even tighter, turning itself into a tiny little bouncy ball in my chest. Talley was in training to join the Alphas? What did that even mean? Did they give her a choice? Or was this yet another “perk” of being a gifted Seer? I was so lost in my thoughts Cory had to give me a push so I would start moving.
It was strange to leave the basement after two weeks of confinement. The light in the hallway was too bright, the pattern of the kitchen floor a sensory overload. I had a crazy desire to run back downstairs until Bob opened the French doors and the evening air wafted across my face.
“It feels amazing out here,” I said.
“It’s seven o’clock at night and the heat index is at ninety-eight degrees,” Cory replied. “It’s miserable.”
I disagreed. Sure, it was oppressively hot and the humidity was so high it felt like you needed to do the breaststroke to walk from one place to another, but there was something to be said for the openness of the great outdoors. I closed my eyes, confident Bob and Cory would lead me in the right direction, and took a deep breath. Even with the new moon I could pick out a million different scents. The lake. Pine trees. Roses. A nearby cornfield. My gray wolf.
I almost tripped over my own feet. Cory was opening the door to the miniature replica of the main house, but I got another good whiff of the night air before being pushed inside. The smell was definitely there.
There were two options. One, I could rationalize how my panicked brain was creating something to comfort me in my hour of need and forget it. Or two, I could believe that Alex really didn’t leave me alone.
Since I didn’t have much else going for me at the moment, I chose the second option. And thinking I wasn’t alone made facing the lynch mob a bit more bearable.
Now, as lynch mobs goes, this one was relatively organized and subdued, but as the roomful of eyes turned towards me, there was no mistaking their intent. You could almost hear a ghostly echo of “Burn the witch!”
The building turned out to be a one big room type affair, probably operating as a game/party area when it wasn’t being overtaken by a bunch of supernatural creatures. As it was, rows of chairs lined up facing what was either the judge’s bench or main stage, depending on your view of the whole affair. About thirty Shifters
and Seers sat in the chairs. I spotted Mr. Matthews on one side, looking like someone just took away his next five Christmases and birthdays.
The Hagan Pack sat on the other side. I saw Talley sitting beside Toby, who had one arm draped across her shoulders in what could only be described as brotherly affection. Makya sat on Toby’s other side, a leer in his gaze even now. On Talley’s other side sat the only person in the room who wasn’t looking at me - Jase.
Cory and Bob led me past all the gawkers to the middle of the open floor. Sarvarna and Stefan sat in the middle on big, ornate chairs that were probably supposed to be thrones but instead looked like Old Spaghetti Factory leftovers. To Sarvarna’s right sat True, Mischa, and Lizzie, and to Stefan’s left were Mandla, Hashim, and Travis. I sorta expected matching robes, or at least some gaudy gowns, but everyone was dressed very business casual. Sarvarna was rocking a black pant suit and crisp white top, which looked both classy and evil, in a corporate take-over kind of way.
Cory and Bob bowed at the waist. “My Queen. Polemarch,” Bob said, addressing the Alphas. “I present the accused, Harper Lee Donovan.”
There was a long pause when everyone looked at me expectantly. I thought about mentioning my lack of Shifter etiquette training, but decided keeping my mouth shut was probably the best idea.
“Will you not bow before us?” Stefan asked, all holier-than-thou.
“Sorry, I didn’t know I was supposed to.” Not really knowing how to bow since I’m a God fearing American, I sort of awkwardly dipped my head and shoulders. My efforts got me a narrowed eyed glare from Sarvarna and a look of exasperation from Stefan.
“Would the accuser please come forward?” My eyes naturally darted over to Mr. Matthews, but he wasn’t the one who answered Stefan’s summons.
“My Alphas,” Mrs. Matthews said, dropping to one knee beside me.
For a single second the world went completely still and silent for me. One second of stunned peace. And then a rage fueled by exquisite pain engulfed me. It was a good thing my hands were bound and the two much bigger Shifters had a hold on me, because my body wasn’t my own for several long minutes. The wolf woke, and she wanted blood.
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