“Fine. We need to break into this system to help Gage.”
“Why would this help Gage?” Genevieve finally pushed off her hood.
“This goes back to what you didn’t want us talking about.”
“Fine. Just keep that stuff to the absolute minimum requirement of what you have to say.”
“Gage needs to be fully changed. If not he might die. Only one person can do that, and he’s in prison.”
“Is he in prison for a good reason? Like maybe Gage’s life is worth sacrificing to save mankind?”
“Nice. Real nice, Genevieve.” Mary Anne shook her head.
“I’m just saying.”
“He’s not there for a good reason. It’s this stupid hunt run by these bird shifter royalty people.”
“Bird shifter? Oh my, this keeps getting better.”
“It sounds crazy I know.” Mary Anne put a hand on her chest. “It’s hard to accept, and if I hadn’t seen everything with my own eyes I probably wouldn’t believe it myself.”
“You two really did have sex.” She looked between us. “You weren’t lying about that.”
“How can you tell?”
“It’s easy to tell if people have been intimate.”
“No it’s not.”
“It is. Or maybe it’s just me. I can always tell.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Mary Anne pulled her leg up under her.
“That’s ridiculous? You’re telling me a story about werewolves, and—”
“Dires. Not werewolves.”
“Whatever. Men who change into a beast and birds and witches. It’s insane. All of it is, yet you think it’s ridiculous that I know when people have been having sex?” She cocked her head to the side.
“We’ve had plenty of sex. She’s right. Okay? Moving on.” This was no time for fighting over something stupid. Genevieve could claim any sixth sense she wanted as long as she helped.
“You’re right.” Mary Anne’s face relaxed. “Are you up for breaking into a system for us?”
“Maybe.”
The phone rang again. This time it was a new number. I gestured for Mary Anne to hand me the phone and she did. I answered. “Hello.”
“It’s me. You need to get to Tampa ASAP. Any brilliant ideas yet?” Denny didn’t bother to tell me it was him, but he probably assumed we hadn’t given out the number to anyone else.
“Yes. We have one.”
“Great, meet me as soon as you can.”
I glanced at Genevieve in the rearview mirror. “We’ll bring the idea with us.”
“What kind of idea would you need to bring?” he asked suspiciously.
“It’s a person.”
“Oh.” The line was silent.
“She’s an expert.” At least Mary Anne said she was, and there was no reason to doubt her assessment.
“Whatever you say.” Denny hung up.
“Hell no.” Genevieve shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere to meet with anyone.”
“But you said you’d help.” Mary Anne kneeled on her seat and looked over at Genevieve.
“That meant here. On a laptop or something.”
“We don’t have the information here.”
“So you actually expect me to drop everything and go with you god knows where?”
“No.” Mary Anne shook her head. “I don’t expect you to do anything. I would appreciate if you would do it though.”
“You really love this guy?” She pointed her thumb at me.
“Yes. I do.” Mary Anne smiled, and I did the same. I’d never get tired of hearing her say things like that. I wiped my brow. I was increasingly exhausted. I shrugged it off. I didn’t have time to rest.
“You finally did something about it.” Genevieve grinned. “I wasn’t sure you ever would.”
“I guess I just needed the right opportunity.”
“The right opportunity meaning complete and utter chaos.”
“It’s amazing what happens when people are placed in impossible situations.” Mary Anne ran her hands over the head rest of the seat. She was kneeling.
“And it was good?” Genevieve smiled.
“Of course it was good,” I quickly jumped in. What was she implying? That I was going to suck? I found my ego was also worse now. More possessive and a bigger ego. Mary Anne probably wasn’t a fan of either of those, but she was a fan of me. That counted for something.
“Will you come with us?” Mary Anne bounced up and down on her knees. “I promise we’ll get you back soon.”
“Because your promise is so reassuring.”
“Hey, I’m trying.”
“I’ll come because I’m curious. Because my life is so insanely boring that I’ll risk my life.” Genevieve played with the cuff of her sweatshirt.
“I wish my life was boring.” Mary Anne returned to sitting.
“Even if it means no more great sex with Gage?”
“If it meant Gage’s life was safe, yes.” Mary Anne nodded.
Her intense feelings both scared and excited me. I refused to let her down no matter what I did.
“I’ll come.” Genevieve buckled her seatbelt. “But I’d prefer to live through this experience.”
“You will.” I hoped my words were true.
“You can’t know that.”
“No, I can’t.” I couldn’t know anything anymore. “But I’ll try.”
“Ok, I guess that’s something.”
9
Hunter
The food was inedible. They knew we only ate meat, so why bother giving us processed grains? Either they were trying to make us angry, or trying to remind us who was in charge. Most likely it was a combination of both along with a slew of other reasons I didn’t have the energy to figure out. I was exhausted. I still hadn’t recovered fully from changing Gage and the serum was further weakening me. I needed Mary Anne. I hoped she wasn’t in need of me. Not that I’d have minded taking care of her, but I wasn’t in the position to do anything. Somehow I had to break us out, and unfortunately that wasn’t happening as quickly as I’d have liked. Whether Mary Anne needed me or not, Gage did. I wondered if he’d figured that out yet. He probably had.
After setting the food aside, I gave in and sat down. I passed over the sorry excuse for a cot in exchange for the concrete floor.
I mentally reached out for the others again, but there was nothing. Something in my cell blocked me from communicating. I wondered if all the cells were that way, or only mine. I knew they hadn’t made it for me, but I guess they’d considered every possibility when making their secret prison. Now I had to find a way to get us all out.
“Get up!”
My anger flared when I heard Joseph’s rude greeting. “Why?”
“Because you’re moving.”
“Moving where?”
“Is that any of your business?”
“It is since I’ll be the one moving.”
“Moving because we want you to. You have no say in any of this.”
“Will we all be moving?” That was the most important part. Were we staying together?
“Maybe not all of you.” He walked close to the stall, but he stood back a safe distance. Maybe he’d learned something.
“Joseph, that is enough.” The king’s loud voice came from somewhere down the corridor. “I can take it from here.”
Joseph skulked away, and I stood, waiting for the king.
The king appeared in the same suit. He hadn’t changed, which meant not too much time could have passed. “I apologize for him.”
“Why?”
“Because he indirectly works for me. I take responsibility for all who do. It’s the only way.”
“Then you take responsibility for keeping us here?”
“Yes. Which is why you are moving.”
“And where am I moving exactly?” I walked toward the bars. The king wasn’t going to show any concern about me coming close. To do so would show weakness.
“More comfor
table quarters. I do apologize for your short stay here. We didn’t have time to get your new ones ready.”
“By more comfortable, do you mean the morgue?”
He laughed. “Of course not. Do you believe I want you dead?”
“Yes.” That was certainly what he wanted. Whether he’d do it was another story altogether.
“I want answers, and I want an end to the violence.”
“I’ve done nothing violent besides turning over a few humans. I don’t believe that’s grounds to hold us.”
“You mean the humans your pack member killed?”
“We did have a questionable relationship with witches. We needed to protect ourselves. Our numbers are dwindling.” I put it all out there to emphasize my willingness to cooperate.
“What witches?”
I had his attention. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know if you let my pack members go.”
“How about we make a deal?”
“A deal?”
“You move over to your new quarters without causing trouble, and I will free one of your pack members.”
“And why would you do that?”
“You did say I only needed you.”
“You want us all dead.”
“I have no wish for anyone to die.”
“I don’t need your mock politeness. I’m not looking to play games.” I met his gaze head on.
“Neither am I.”
“Then where am I moving?”
“It’s more of a house than a typical prison. Transporting you will be much easier if I have your cooperation.”
“You want me to order my men to listen?” There was no reason for him to pretend otherwise.
“One is freed if you do.” He watched me with the gaze and determination of a hawk searching for prey. He was crow, so it wasn’t far off.
“Do I get to choose who you release?”
His lips twisted into an amused smile. “No. I already know who you’ll choose.”
“In other words, you won’t release Marni?”
“I have a feeling she’s more important than you’re admitting.”
I shrugged. “Believe what you want.”
I played it cool, but I was nervous. If the king freed Chet and not Marni… well no one wanted to see what happened there.
“Your majesty?” I forced myself to use a formal term whether I believed he deserved the respect or not.
“Please, call me Levi.” He slipped his hand through the bar.
Who was this king? Was it all mind games? I accepted his handshake. “I’m Hunter.”
“I am aware of exactly who you are. Hence why I want you in more appropriate accommodations. You are of royal blood after all.”
“Why would you say that?”
“No need to pretend. I’m well informed.”
“Then you already know I haven’t been killing anyone.”
“I don’t know anything to the contrary, but you aren’t the only royal Dire still around.” He stepped back.
He knew about my brother.
I said nothing. I wasn’t admitting anything yet.
“We can finish this discussion soon, but tell me. Are you going to cooperate?”
“Yes. I will do what I need to for my pack.” At least for now. He wanted to find my brother Fielding. I wanted the same thing, and my bet was it was for the same reason.
Levi opened the cell himself. I was surprised. Most leaders left the dirty work to those underneath them. He wasn’t what I had expected. He was a better leader than his predecessors, but that didn’t mean he was strong enough to keep control. If we weren’t at war I may have helped him. But helping the leader of the organization systematically killing off my people was never going to happen.
He stepped aside to let me exit.
“Where are the chains? The shackles for my hands?”
“I don’t think we need those.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll run?”
“No.” He shook his head. “This imprisonment is nothing compared to what you’ve been experiencing for your entire life.”
“The hunt.”
“Yes. What good would running do for you? An Alpha Dire shouldn’t spend his life running and hiding.”
“We were given no choice.” I stepped into the corridor. Levi gestured for me to walk ahead. He might have trusted me, but clearly not enough to have me at his back. At least he wasn’t completely stupid.
“As I mentioned, I have known about you. We’ve been trying to find you.”
“Of course you have. You want to kill us all.”
“No. That is not my intent at all. I would like for us to reach an understanding.”
“We’ve been at war for centuries.”
“No.” He turned around. “We have not been alive for centuries. We don’t have to continue the same fights of our fathers or grandfathers. It’s our choice what we decide to do now.”
“Who are you?”
He smiled. “You know who I am.”
“But you are nothing like I thought you would be.”
“I could say the same thing to you. I mean you prefer to wear pants and stand on two legs.” He laughed.
I couldn’t let my guard down. His jovial attitude was all part of the plan. He was trying to manipulate me. “I have no interest in taking over your kingdom.”
“If I thought you had one, I assure you, you’d be getting different treatment.”
“You rely on your judgement that much?”
“If you’d been trying to take over, you wouldn’t have stepped foot into my courtroom. You would have sacrificed one member of the pack for the greater good of your plan. But you didn’t.”
I’d been thinking of Mary Anne. Of survival. “The hunt needs to end.”
“And it will if we can reach an agreement.”
“Where will this summit take place?”
“I already told you, a house of sorts.”
“A house of sorts? You are not going to share any other details?”
“Not yet.”
“Don’t touch her!” Chet’s yell had me running down the corridor. He was angry and that wasn’t good for anyone.
I found Chet being held by a Pteron. Semi and Marni weren’t in sight.
“Do something!” he roared at me. “They took Marni from me.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.” Levi tried to calm him. “She’ll be meeting you at the more comfortable place where you’ll be staying.”
“That had better not be an euphemism for the morgue.”
“Funny, your Alpha said the same thing.”
“And is it?” Chet moved, making the chains he still wore around his ankle chime.
“No. It’s a house. Hunter and I have been talking, and we’re hopeful that we’ll reach an understanding soon.”
“An understanding?” Chet glared. “We will never reach an understanding with you.”
Calm down. I urged him in his head.
His shoulders relaxed.
Levi looked between us. He’d noticed it.
“We may be able to end the hunt on peaceful terms.”
“Don’t believe whatever line he’s giving you. The Pterons don’t believe in peace.” Chet scowled at Levi.
“We will move to our new location peacefully.” I have this. Do not hurt yourself or Marni by fighting.
Chet said nothing. He cast his head down.
“Your other pack member has been cooperating so far. He has already been moved.”
My warning must have gotten through to Semi. If he was on good behavior it boded well that Levi would release him. That would work out much better for all of us.
10
Mary Anne
We were driving to Tampa with Genevieve in the backseat. Denny must have had a GPS on our phone because he selected a location only a few hours away from where we were. That was both good and bad. I wasn’t sure I wanted the drive to go all that fast.
“Are you really a wolf?
” Genevieve asked quietly.
“I thought you didn’t want to talk about the paranormal stuff?” Gage kept his eyes on the road. He was learning.
“I didn’t, but I’m wondering how delusional you are.”
“Oh yeah? You’re worried I’m delusional now?” He looked into the rearview mirror, probably to catch her eye.
“Not just you. Mary Anne too.” Even without turning around I knew she was watching me.
“Then why are you with us?” Gage asked, filling the silence where I probably should have said something. Assured her that I was fine.
She sighed dramatically. “You locked me in.”
“We would have let you out.” I turned around. “I’ve never been one for kidnapping.”
“Would he have let me out though?” There was nothing apologetic about her tone. She still didn’t trust Gage, and I knew I couldn’t blame her. She didn’t know him the way I did.
“Yes,” I answered at the same time Gage said “No.”
“See.” She gave me a knowing look.
“He would have, because I would have made him.”
She pushed up her sweatshirt sleeves. “Ok… so yeah, even if you had let me out I couldn’t have left. As a friend it is my duty to make sure you get the help you need. You may be suffering from PTSD or something like that.”
“There’s probably some of that thrown in for her, but I’m a Dire.” Gage merged onto another interstate. I’d lost track of where we were. So much of the past few days had been spent on the monotonous interstate roads that crisscross our country.
“And a Dire is different from a wolf how?” Genevieve was hard to read. I couldn’t tell if she believed us at all. Either way we needed her help.
“We’re bigger, stronger, better.” There was an element of pride in his voice. He was starting to relate to what he was. To feel part of it. I knew that in some ways that was good, but it also scared me.
“Already using the personal pronoun?” Genevieve caught on to the same thing.
“I can’t change what I am.”
“But that means this goes deep.” She tugged on the cords of her hoodie.
“I’m not crazy, and neither is Mary Anne.”
“You don’t always know when you’re crazy.”
Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles Book 3) Page 6