I leaned over to flip on the lamp on the bedside table. My eyes watered as I unfolded the note.
Dear Faythe,
I’m sorry. I left without waking you up because I wasn’t sure you’d let me go if you had the chance to stop me. I’ll call you when I get settled in somewhere. Do not come looking for me. I’m going to Mississippi and will stay as close to the territorial border as possible.
I love you. I always have, and I always will. There’s more, but I can’t write it down. Not here, and not now.
Love always,
Marc
P.S. You don’t have to wear this, but I wanted you to have the option, should you change your mind. My offer still stands.
Wear what? I set the paper down and peered into the envelope, where I found a familiar silver ring peeking out at me. A delicate carving of an ivy vine wound around the band. It was the one he’d tried to give me two and a half months earlier. The one we’d broken up over. And there it was again.
A tear fell onto the envelope, and suddenly every emotion raging inside me blazed into anger. Unspeakable, unthinkable, uncontrollable anger. Marc was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it. I had nothing left of him but that damn ring and his scent on the pillowcase. I hadn’t even remembered to steal one of his shirts.
I shrieked in pain and fury, and in the kitchen, everyday sounds I hadn’t even realized I’d heard suddenly went silent. Enraged, I threw the envelope containing the ring across the room, where it smacked into the wall with a soft clink, then slid to the floor. I wadded the letter in both hands, then threw it to join the envelope. Then I collapsed onto my own pillow, using it to muffle more sob-wracked shrieking that was no one’s business but my own.
When the tears finally stopped, though the anger had yet to recede, I sat up, suddenly horrified by what I’d done. I scrambled off the bed and across the floor, then snatched the envelope and dumped it into my palm.
Nothing fell out. The ring was gone. Shit.
I retrieved the letter and smoothed it out on the floor, then folded it and slid it into my back pocket. Then I knelt to search for the ring, the cheap carpet rough against my hands and bare knees. Not under the bedside table. Not in the corner. Not under the armchair in the opposite corner. But there it was, under the dresser, glinting at me in the light from the bedside lamp.
I had to lie flat on my stomach to reach the ring, and when I did, I slid it immediately onto the ring finger on my right hand. For a moment I stared at it in consideration. Then I took it off, not because I didn’t want to wear it, but because I didn’t want anyone else to see it. Marc and his ring were my business. Private.
Standing, I pulled my jeans from the arm of the chair in the corner and shoved the ring deep into the front right pocket. Then I stepped into them. I was zipping the fly beneath the hem of my pajama top when someone knocked at my door.
“Faythe, you okay?” It was Ethan.
“Go away,” I snapped, digging through my suitcase for a fresh shirt.
Instead, he opened the door. “Take a shower and get dressed. They’re bringing Kaci over in a few minutes, then everyone else is heading out into the woods.”
“What the hell does it look like I’m doing?” I demanded, whirling to face him with clean clothes in one hand, my bathrobe in the other.
Ethan frowned, a slice of bacon halfway to his mouth. “Don’t take this out on me. I had nothing to do with him leaving, and you know it.”
He was right, but at the moment, that didn’t help. Marc was gone, and in a matter of hours the tribunal would hand down a verdict sparing my life in exchange for his absence. Well, fuck them. Fuck them all.
“You want something to eat?” Ethan’s frown was gone and he now looked sympathetic, which pissed me off even more, though I knew logically that this had nothing to do with him.
“No. Just coffee.”
“It’s already made,” he said, as I brushed past him on my way to the bathroom.
Minutes later I emerged, clothes on, hair brushed, foul mood intact. I joined Ethan, Michael, Parker, and my father in the kitchen.
I walked straight past them to the coffeepot, where the mug I’d claimed as my own for the duration of my hearing was sitting on the counter waiting for me. The handle smelled like my father. It was a sweet gesture, but not enough to make up for letting Marc go.
Still, as I poured my coffee, ignoring the silent tension at my back, I had to admit I wasn’t really mad at any of the men in my life. Not even my father. He’d acted in my best interest, as well as that of the Pride. But I wasn’t ready to talk about any of it. Not yet. So I stood at the counter as I stirred sugar and creamer into my mug, listening to the chewing sounds behind me.
A chair scraped the cheap linoleum and footsteps came my way. I expected to smell Ethan behind me, but it was my father’s arm that set a full plate of bacon, eggs, and toast on the counter in front of me. “I know you’re upset. And mad. And probably several other things I can’t possibly understand. But there will be time to indulge your emotions later. Today is a very important day. I want you to eat and get ahold of yourself. Then I want you to be there for Kaci, who’s going through something much worse than what you’re going through, whether you believe it or not.”
I glared at my father, sharp words ready to fall from my tongue. But he cut me off with a few of his own. “Marc isn’t dead, Faythe. No matter how bad things look right now, none of this is irreparable. But everyone Kaci loved is dead, or might as well be.” Because we all knew she could never see her father again. “We’re all she has left now, and you’re the one she trusts. You’re going to get yourself together and be there for her. Then, when the time comes, you’re going to go before the tribunal and say whatever you have to say to make a good showing and to accept their mercy. Gracefully. For once, you’re going to keep your mouth shut and your smile in place. If you need to throw a fit later, in private, that’s fine. We all expect it. But for today, you’re going to earn your place in this family and in this Pride. And you’re going to take back your paycheck. I need you at my back now more than ever, and you will not disappoint me.”
“Daddy…”
“No.” His expression went granite hard, frozen somewhere between a scowl and a firm request. “Now eat. That is an order.”
He didn’t retreat until I bit into my first slice of bacon, forcing myself to chew even though it tasted not like the hickory smoke advertised on the package but like my own bitter anguish.
I cleaned my plate, standing at the counter not out of rebellion now, but out of embarrassment. I’d known I wasn’t the only one having a hard morning, but until my father’s speech, I hadn’t realized just how much everyone else was suffering along with me.
Parker cleared the table while I ate the last of my eggs, and through the kitchen window I saw Jace and Reid heading our way across the front yard, Kaci walking between them. She had her eyes on the ground, as if watching her every step, which was a relief considering she’d been staring into space the last time I’d seen her.
Something brushed my arm as I set my fork on my empty plate, and I looked up to find my father standing next to me, watching Kaci approach. My heart flooded with guilt, my eyes with fresh tears. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
He looked away from the window to meet my eyes. “Me, too.” His arms opened and I stepped into them, resting my head on his shoulder as I blinked back tears surrounded by the scent I’d long ago come to associate with absolute security—and authority. And for once, those were both okay.
The front door opened, and Kaci, Reid and Jace stepped into the cabin. I pulled away from my father and put my plate in the sink, then joined them in the living room, where Parker sat in an armchair, stuffing bottled water into a backpack.
“Hi, Kaci.” I paused in the threshold, leaning against the door frame. Kaci met my eyes and nodded in greeting, then lowered herself onto the couch next to Jace without saying a word. Still, silence notwithstanding, she seemed much b
etter. “Have you had breakfast?”
She shook her head.
“I think we still have some bacon and eggs in here, if you’re interested.”
She nodded again and I headed back into the kitchen to warm up a plate of leftovers for her. My father followed me. “Michael and I are going to the lodge to wait for the tribunal’s verdict and to sit with Brett. Jace and Parker are going out with the other enforcers. Since they were up too late to get much sleep, Reid and Ethan are staying with you and Kaci.”
“Sure.” I shrugged, spooning scrambled eggs onto a clean plate. What he really meant was that Reid and Ethan would be watching me and Kaci. And what that really meant was that we’d be missing out on all the action. As I’d expected.
“I’ll call you when the tribunal’s ready.” With that, Michael and my father left for the lodge, and Jace and Parker headed for my uncle’s cabin, where all the other enforcers were meeting to briefly discuss strategy before Shifting and setting off into the woods.
When they were gone, Kaci sat at the table slowly eating her breakfast, as if it was an effort to chew each bite. Though she seemed to be pushing the food around on the plate more than anything. Ethan, Reid, and I watched her from the living room, guzzling coffee. None of us had gotten much sleep.
I cradled my mug in both hands, enjoying the warmth. “So, did Hannibal Lecter say anything useful, other than where the strays are hiding out?”
Ethan looked confused until he realized I was asking about the cannibalistic stray. “His name is Jeff, and yeah, actually, he had lots of good information. But the real trick was interpreting it. He was blazing with scratch fever, and his brain was fried, so once he started talking, words just kind of leaked out, in no particular order.”
“Did he say where the hell they came from? Surely Zeke Radley didn’t make all those strays.” I knew that for a fact, because he hadn’t infected either Jeff/Hannibal or the stray I’d killed.
Reid ran one hand over his bald head and set his empty mug on the end table to his right. “According to Hannibal…” His brows rose in mild amusement over my pet name for the crazy stray. “He hooked up with Radley a few days ago, near the Canadian border. Radley was already traveling with several toms, and they were on their way to ‘claim their territory.’ Presumably this free zone.” He raised both arms to indicate everything around us. “We’re assuming that at some point Radley had a run-in with a Pride cat who taught him a little about Pride structure and told him this land was unclaimed. So Radley set out to claim it. And he was generous enough to let the other strays they ran into join their ranks. Including your Hannibal.”
Ethan cleared his throat and brushed black hair from his forehead. “If we’re understanding correctly, Radley infected a couple of the strays himself before he understood what he was doing. I guess he just kind of collected them, instead of abandoning them, because Jeff didn’t seem to know that most strays are loners. He—and presumably all the rest of them—got everything they know about being a werecat from Radley. And Zeke Radley seems to have told them only what he wanted them to believe.”
I nodded, catching on. “He told them that he was an Alpha, and that this is his territory.”
“Yeah.” Reid nodded grimly, and lowered his voice to a whisper. “And when they got here, they picked up that tabby’s scent.” He paused to make sure Kaci wasn’t listening—if she was, I couldn’t tell it—then continued. “Radley decided he needs her to complete his Pride, and offered rewards to the first tom who could bring her in alive. That’s why they’ve been stirring up trouble all over the mountain for the past few days. Looking for her.”
I knew it. They were hunting Kaci. Thank goodness cats can’t track by smell. And that Kaci had gotten good at hiding over two and a half months on her own. “Damn, those are some ambitious strays.” But my heart broke for them, in spite of all the damage they’d done.
If they’d been found and taught by someone other than Zeke Radley—someone with just an inkling of moral fortitude—they might have become completely different people. They might have lived peacefully. And much longer. But today our enforcers were under orders to leave no survivors, because we couldn’t afford to play around with the what-ifs. The reality was that no matter what might have happened, the strays had committed multiple capital crimes, and had already been convicted and sentenced by our council.
At least I got a hearing.
While Kaci ate in silence and Ethan and Reid played cards, I stared out the kitchen window, my thoughts flitting from the Alphas deciding my fate, to Kaci and her unsure future, to Brett recovering from the injuries I hadn’t been able to save him from. Then my mind turned to the enforcers, even then on their way to Radley’s hideout in the mountains, and how badly I wanted to join them. I could really have used some therapeutic ass-kicking right about then.
But then my thoughts came back to Marc, as they always did eventually. Was he on the plane yet? Was he thinking about me? Had he meant it when he’d written not to come looking for him? Would it matter if he had?
A flicker of movement from the window snagged my eye, pulling me from my thoughts like a sailor from the sinking wreck of his own ship. I froze, staring at the tree line, and something moved again—a flash of black, then nothing but the stirring of evergreen shrubs and half-dead grass in the breeze.
I stood for a better look, setting my mug on the coffee table as my eyes narrowed. Someone was skulking around out back and he obviously didn’t want to be seen. Which meant he wasn’t one of ours.
A shiver of fear and excitement raced up my spine. I’d thought I would miss all the action, but once again, the action had come to me…
Thirty-Two
“What’s wrong?” Ethan held his cards to his chest, glancing at the window in mild curiosity. But Reid set his hand down and stood, heading for the sink before I’d even rounded the coffee table.
“Did you see it?” I leaned over the double basin by his side, déjà vu sharpening my sudden dread.
“A second ago.” We stared some more, then Reid stiffened. “There. He just passed behind that twisted tree. Be on the other side in a second.”
My eyes found the twisted trunk, and sure enough, a patch of shiny black fur slunk out from behind it as I watched.
“Do you recognize him?” I whispered, though I knew Kaci would hear us.
“Recognize who?” she demanded. Her fork clinked on the edge of her plate, but I didn’t turn. I didn’t want to lose sight of the trespasser again.
“Not yet.” Reid ignored her question, as did I. We didn’t have answers yet anyway. “Doesn’t matter, though. Our guys are long gone by now, or else holed up in the lodge.”
I nodded. “He’s heading that way.” Toward the lodge, where the Alphas were gathered with an injured tom, and no one to protect them, other than Michael. Michael fought damn well for a lawyer, but he was only one man, and there was no telling how many strays were really in the brush.
The tabby’s chair slid back from the table and Ethan squeezed in at the sink on my other side. Kaci hung back in silence.
“I’ll go. Keep an eye on him while I Shift.” With that, Reid disappeared into the living room, already pulling his shirt over his head.
“What’s going on?” Kaci’s voice was tight with tension and encroaching panic.
I smiled and put one arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “It’s fine. Reid’s just going out to take care of an intruder.”
“Who is it?”
I blinked at the raw fear in her voice, then searched out the cat again when Ethan turned to comfort her. Or maybe to pull her away from the window. “We don’t know yet. Probably one of the strays. Ethan, get her out of here.”
“Come on, Kaci.” He guided her by one shoulder, glancing at me in question as he ushered her out of the kitchen. “We have some movies set up in the living room.”
She went reluctantly, but I could feel her eyes on my back. She wasn’t happy being left out, and I couldn
’t really blame her.
Several minutes later, Reid huffed and I turned from the window to find him standing on the linoleum clad in nothing but shiny black fur rippling over long feline muscles. He huffed again and tossed his head toward the front yard, probably asking me if our unscheduled visitor was still there.
“Yeah. He’s moving slowly, scouting everything out,” I said. Reid nodded and padded toward the back door, where I let him out. “Be careful.” He nodded, then took the steps at a trot.
I closed the door behind him and returned to the window. A second later he raced across the yard. Reid slowed as he approached the tree line, coming up on the intruder from the rear, his paws no doubt silent even on crunchy dead grass.
The stray paused, and his ears arched forward on alert. Reid dropped to his belly, and when the stray moved on, he rose. Three steps later two large black blurs dropped from the trees on either side of him.
“No!” I screamed, and Ethan came running. Outside, claws slashed, fur flew, and howls of pain sliced through the peaceful calm like a machete through birthday cake. “No!” I shouted again, leaning over the sink in fury. My fist slammed into the glass and it shattered, slicing open my knuckles. I barely felt the pain, I was so numb with shock and outrage. “They set him up!” I whirled to face Ethan, holding my bleeding hand in front of me. “They’re here for Kaci. They waited for the guys to clear out, then they set a trap, and we let Reid walk right into it.”
“Shit!” Ethan yelled, his eyes still glued to the fight outside. I turned back in time to see a spray of blood arc across the dead grass, staining the ground bright red. The shape in the middle of the huddle went still and the two remaining cats stepped back to reveal Reid, limp and unmoving. He was dead, his throat ripped out by the stray whose muzzle still dripped blood.
Ethan twisted on the cold water and shoved my hand under the faucet. “Pick out the glass!” he ordered, then raced over the linoleum to lock the back door. I plucked two shards of glass from my fist as he ran across the kitchen behind me, brushing past a newly shocked Kaci on his way to lock the front door. Then he was back again, wrapping a towel from the dish drainer around my bloody fist.