He rounded the corner and came face to face with the scene of his worst nightmares. The door was open and even though his parents’ bodies were not strewn bloody across the floor, they might as well have been. Although it had been thirty-five years since their death, he suddenly felt like he was a child again.
He slapped his forehead and tried to get some perspective. He wasn’t a child. He wasn’t stuck as a child. He’d left here. How that happened he wasn’t exactly sure. Did he swim to the mainland? Had he gotten onto the ferryboat? How could he not remember?
Angel put her hand on his back. It was a lifeline back to the here and now. Perhaps it didn’t matter how he’d gotten off the island. In all the chaos, it would have been easy to disappear, especially for a young boy traumatized by what he had seen.
“She died here.” He pointed to the bed. “She tried to fight back but she was so stunned and he was so much bigger than she was. Also, I got in the way.”
“You were a child and this was a bad idea.”
He looked around. “Why do you say that?”
“Because clearly this is too much for you.”
He shook his head. “You were right. I needed to do this. I’m already trapped in my own head. Only you can hear me. I can’t be trapped in the past too.”
An unfamiliar scent wafted through the air and Parker turned around to regard Angel.
“Another shifter is approaching.”
She nodded. “I can smell him too.”
Parker immediately became aware of his mate’s nakedness. His own didn’t matter. He looked around. There wasn’t much to cover her but he rushed over to the old dusty floral bed cover and wrapped her in it.
Angel choked as dust flew, covering her mouth. “This is worse than being naked.”
“Humor me.”
“It’s like a hundred years old.”
He rolled his eyes. Sometimes Angel was such a princess. “Not quite that old.”
“I bet it’s infested…”
Footsteps charging up the stairs stopped her mid-sentence.
Alpha!
His wolf shrieked lowering his gaze while Parker struggled to hold his own. Tristan wasn’t his Alpha, he hadn’t sworn allegiance to him and wouldn’t if Angel didn’t want him to. Whether they stayed or went was really up to her. He wanted to be where she was—end of story.
The Alpha of the Westervelt wolf pack was unassuming at first glance. It was the way he carried himself. He had the same height as his brothers, the same dark hair, and general air of royalty Parker had encountered from the other Kane brothers during his stay here. However, looking at Tristan was a lesson in seeing beyond outward appearances.
Dressed simply in worn jeans and a black t-shirt, he looked a little bit like everyone’s favorite English teacher. His hair was slightly too long to be called ‘neat’ and the three days worth of growth on his chin suggested to Parker he hadn’t had a lot of time lately to take care of his basic needs. As Parker watched, Tristan pulled his dark sunglasses off his face. That was when any thoughts of an unassuming Tristan fled the room.
Tristan’s eyes were pure wolf and if Parker’s memory was to be trusted then so had Kendrick’s been when he’d been Alpha of the Westervelt pack. It was a sign that wolf and man were one. The ongoing struggle other shifters had with their internal wolves, Tristan did not have. They were one single entity and the leader of all who resided under his care.
Parker swallowed hard. This was the first time since he’d left Westervelt that he wanted a pack. Tears threatened to fill his eyes and he used all of his strength not to let them. It was just Tristan’s presence that did this to him. When he left, it wouldn’t feel this bad. When he left, he would rediscover his balance.
“Angel. Parker.” The Alpha’s voice sounded kinder than Parker would have imagined it would have. Angel stepped forward and took his hand.
“Are you okay?” Her voice filled Parker’s mind and pushed away some of the strange emotions threatening him.
“I am. Now.” He squeezed her hand.
“I’m Tristan.” The other wolf’s eyes moved over both of them. “My other brothers—our other brothers—will be here shortly with some clothes for the two of you. We have baskets of them all over the island but not here.” Tristan moved forward into the bedroom until he reached the window that overlooked the lake. “But not here unfortunately. This is part of the island we never come to. Maybe someday we’ll be able to move around as we’d like.”
Angel cleared her throat. “Why can’t you now, Tristan?”
Parker gazed at the two of them. They were clearly related. He would have known just by looking at them if he hadn’t been aware of their sibling relationship before. The same dark hair, the same piercing gaze. But Angel moved like she was light come to life. Air seemed to glide around her. Tristan didn’t give off that impression—at least not to Parker.
“We’re under constant attack.” Tristan didn’t turn around to look at them, which struck Parker as odd.
He’s really stressed. His wolf, as usual, had an answer.
Tristan continued. “We have a lot of numbers now. Most of your former wolf pack from New Orleans has come here and we’re introducing them into the fold. Retraining them, if you will.”
Angel snorted. “Good luck with that.”
Parker could hear the sarcasm in his mate’s voice and he was sure Tristan could too. Still, the Alpha didn’t turn around.
“I have to ask you something, Angel.”
Next to him Angel tensed. “Okay.”
Tristan didn’t turn around to look at them yet. “Cullen tells me that we found your parents here.” Tristan tapped the wall with his foot. “I try not to think about that time but it’s almost impossible not to.”
Parker knew the feeling. Didn’t he want to speak to Angel? Why was he bringing up that terrible night?
“When your father woke up from his magical stupor brought on by Kendrick’s misbegotten curse of a spell, he killed himself. He couldn’t live with what happened. He loved her. They all did—all of the men who were overcome that night—they all loved those women so much.” Tristan paused, which was a good thing considering Parker felt like he’d swallowed his tongue.
His father had been possessed by magic. It hadn’t been his fault. He hadn’t been evil.
I’ve been telling you this forever. His wolf sounded so relieved.
“I can feel them. I can still feel all of them like they’re here. Watching me. Waiting for me to find a way to make it right. Which is why I have a question for you, sister.”
Now Tristan turned around. He stared at Parker’s mate intensely. “Why does our father want you dead?”
Parker’s senses went on full alert. Kendrick wanted her dead? He hadn’t known this. No one was going to cause his mate any harm. He would kill a thousand wolves if he had to in order to protect her.
“I didn’t know he wanted to kill me any more than he wanted to kill anyone else. Didn’t he try to kill everyone? I just got smuggled away. I mean whatever his issue was when I was a baby—he can’t still have it out for me more than anyone else.”
“No.” Tristan shook his head. “He wants to kill you more. And you’re not wrong—he wants us all dead. But you specifically. That’s why Mom hid you.”
“I never knew anything about it.”
Tristan nodded. “I had hoped that you did know. It would be easier if you already knew. But of course, this is just another mystery. Another piece to place in this never-ending puzzle of our lives.”
“Ask him about the attacks.”
“My mate would like to know about these constant attacks.”
Tristan’s wolf eyes met his and the jolt of pack awareness made Parker almost fall to his knees.
“That’s right. He can’t speak.” Tristan narrowed his gaze. “You should be my pack. You both should be.”
“Tristan, I…”
Angel’s voi
ce tapered off and Parker wondered if she was having the same problems he was with communicating around Tristan.
His wolf whined. That’s because he’s our Alpha.
He’s not.
He should be.
“Let me ask you something, Parker. Had your father started your wolf training before you left here?”
Parker nodded. Yes, they’d been handling his education for a few years. He had been ready to join with the other young wolves. That would have put him under Cullen Murphy’s direct supervision. But they’d never reached that spot.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Why?”
“Parker asked why.” Angel filled Tristan in on what he’d said.
Tristan grinned. “I heard him.”
Angel and Parker both spoke.
“He did?”
She gasped. “You did?”
“Yep.” Tristan nodded. “I can also bring your voice back.”
“How?” Parker’s heart pounded hard. This was what he’d been waiting for. Wasn’t it? His palms started to sweat. Something about what Tristan said rang true to him.
“I went through Mom’s spell book and nothing came up.”
Tristan shook his head. “It’s not female magic. It’s very basic.” He paused. “Do you still have that spell book?”
“It was left in Parker’s apartment, I think, in New Jersey.”
Tristan nodded, biting his fingernail. It seemed like such a normal gesture that Parker almost laughed.
Tristan didn’t notice, which was probably a really good thing since Parker was sure he already looked like a lunatic.
“We don’t need the spell book for this. I’d just like to see what Mom had in there.” He shrugged. “We could wait until Cullen gets here but I don’t think we need him.” Tristan pointed to the window. “Parker, step over there.”
Angel grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?”
Parker looked down at her. He could feel her heart beating in fear and loved her for caring that much. “What Tristan told me to do.”
“Why?” Her fingers dug into his arm. “Have we decided we trust him? He could be plotting something bad.”
“I brought you here for them to help you, which they did. I trusted them to care for you even as I was locked up. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” He swallowed, almost unable to talk about what those days had been like even as he knew they were now over. “Walking to the window so I can see if Tristan can fix my voice, that’s easy.”
“Easy for you, maybe. But I’m terrified he’s going to kill you.”
He nodded to her. There wasn’t really much to say. He’d feel the same way if their positions were reversed. In fact that had been exactly how he’d felt when he’d had to hand her over. This place—Westervelt—he’d heard they killed a witch here. He’d been here as a child when it had imploded and his father had destroyed his mother. There was no doubt it was a troubled, difficult existence here.
But there was something else too. Something that called to him inside his core where he hadn’t known the need for pack existed. His very basic self felt secure here, felt needed here, felt like he belonged.
He moved slowly to the wall, feeling every step he took like his feet weighed a ton. Something momentous was about to happen and even as his mind was too clouded to really handle it his mind was well aware of the magnitude.
It had been over three decades since he’d uttered a word.
Tristan smiled. “When children start out in their training here, there is a period of time when they are the most volatile. Their wolves are, for lack of a better description because of the chaos involved in it, waking up. Sometimes things can slip out, things that people outside of Westervelt cannot learn.”
Angel stormed by Tristan until she stood shoulder-to-shoulder. “That seems ridiculous. How likely is it that a person could find out? This is an island in the middle of nowhere.”
“We used to go away more than we do now. We all had off-island jobs. We maintained appearances. Jack Liberty owned a brewery. He had concerns his son might lose it one day in public during the change. I wasn’t there for the discussion—Dad didn’t run a democracy—but I can guarantee that Cullen Murphy would have given your parents two options.”
“In case he can’t hear, ask him what options.” Parker couldn’t believe how fast his heart beat now or the shivers running up his spine. All of this made sense. All of it felt correct.
A tear ran down Angel’s face and he was relieved to see she understood how huge this was for him. “He wants to know what the options were.”
“Cullen would have told your parents that they could island-bind you, meaning it would be a good two to five years before you would be allowed to leave Westervelt. Your wolf would have to fully present itself before you’d be given the go ahead leave.” Tristan cleared his throat. “Or one the women, probably your mother, would have placed a small spell on you. We almost all had it done at one point. The spell doesn’t allow the person for whom it is enacted to discuss anything to do with Westervelt at all. It physically stops your vocal cords from forming any words about it.”
Angel shook her head. “No, that doesn’t make sense. Parker can’t talk at all.”
“Emotions help to govern spells, or at least that is what my very talented mate tells me. I have no ability to perform magic, not really.”
Parker highly doubted that. The man had physical connection to his entire pack and held a wolf in his eyes at all time. He would place money on the idea that he was plenty magical. But he wasn’t going to argue about it.
Tristan wasn’t done. “You saw a trauma, I assume. I don’t know. I’m ashamed to say that given everything that happened that day, to all of us, I don’t know everyone’s personal story. I know you went missing and were presumed dead. I don’t know who cleaned up this house, who disposed of the bodies—“
Parker held up his hand and Tristan stopped speaking. They weren’t bodies to Parker. They never would be. They would always be these bright, vibrant lights that were snuffed out too soon in a wave of violence he’d never understand, no matter how many times it was explained to him.
Tristan nodded his understanding. “I think your spell went awry and with your permission I’d like to remove it right now.”
Angel grabbed Tristan’s arm. “What will removing it do to him?”
Tristan glanced down at her fingers and Parker wondered if anyone else would ever have the gumption that Angel did to simply touch this man without so much as a by your leave.
“It will let him talk.”
Angel stomped her foot. “Nothing is ever that simple.”
“In this case it is.” Tristan regarded her silently for a second. “The resemblance is uncanny.”
Angel groaned. “Yes, I know. I saw her. I look just like our mother.”
“No, I think you look like Kendrick. You have his eyes.”
As she dropped his arm, Parker witnessed one second of horror cross his mate’s face before she hid her emotions again. Now he really didn’t care one bit if he ever spoke again. He was not going to have his mate hurt in anyway.
“Tell him we’re leaving.”
“No.” Angel shook her head. “I’m okay. Do it. He knows what he’s doing.”
“I didn’t mean that to be insulting. It’s just I haven’t seen his eyes in decades and even before that they were never as steady or calm as yours are, Angel. If it means anything, I look just like him too.”
“Fix Parker. I really don’t give a damn who I look like.”
Tristan stepped forward until he stood right in front of Parker. Perhaps it was an overactive imagination, but Parker felt like he could hear hundreds of voices speaking in his head for a second before they silenced. What was that? He shook his head with no time to worry.
Tristan raised his hand, placing it in front of Parker’s face. “I release you of your burden. I give you back
your voice.”
Parker gasped. His throat felt like it was on fire, like a million needles had been released to scrape and poke on the inside of his mouth. He fell to the floor as he tried to endure the pain. Angel’s small hands grabbed his back. She spoke soothing words but he couldn’t hear them.
“Give him a minute.”
Tristan’s voice felt like honey to his mind but it wasn’t only Tristan he could hear. The hundred or more voices he’d thought he’d imagined minutes earlier were back but now they were distinct. They were clear. They were…pack.
Parker bounded to his feet as he pulled Angel to his side. He kissed her and pulled her off the ground to dance in a circle with her.
“Parker?”
“Oh Angel.” His voice sounded hoarse but it worked. “I can hear them. All of them.”
She shook her head. “Who? Who can you hear?”
Tristan answered for him. “Pack. He hears the pack.”
Angel gasped, pulling out of Parker’s arms. “You made him pack?”
“He always was. He was born to be.” Tristan took a step toward her. “As were you, baby sister.”
“I don’t want to be your pack. I don’t want to be anyone’s pack. I just want Parker.”
“It doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid. Unless he gives up his pack affiliation, you will always be our pack too.”
Angel grabbed her head and Parker knew she could now hear the voices he could hear.
“You knew this would happen. This was what I was asking you about.”
The joy he’d felt moments earlier dimmed until it was almost out. He’d wanted this and he hadn’t even known it but his mate did not. He could see it as clear as day. She was not happy to have Westervelt in her mind or her soul, which left him no choice.
For Angel he would do anything.
For Angel he would give them up.
Chapter 11
ANGEL picked herself up off her knees and tried to regain some semblance of the dignity she’d clearly just thrown out the window. The only noise in the room she could hear was the sound of her racing heart. That was saying a lot. She could always hear everything around her.