Requiem (Blackwater Pack #5)

Chapter 13

13

DIMITRI

Racing through the town streets with Alexei at my side should’ve felt normal. We’d done this patrol more times than I could count, and usually I loved seeing the streets of Narodnaya and its people.

We finished running through the residential section the shifters used.

Music spilled from the lone pub. Boisterous laughter and drunken singing destroyed the classic rock song. At the next corner was a grocery store that had been operated by the same family for over one hundred and fifty years. The bright fluorescent lights illuminated the few patrons.

Dalia’s was next, the dark and charred remains were being gutted and new lumber rested in the alley beside it. A jewelry store, the doctor’s office, a postal office, and two more stores that featured homemade goods from candles to furniture.

Over the last ten years, the economy had been good.

No, I realized as I headed further down Main Street and toward the area where the coven lived. The shifter economy had been good. The coven’s section of Narodnaya was bordering on collapsing.

I slowed to a walk, Lex just behind my left flank. I let myself really see Narodnaya from the coven side of things.

It was like night and day.

There had never been a formal zoning of Narodnaya. The shifters and the coven had never sat down and parceled out what belonged to whom, but it was undeniable to see when I actually paid attention.

Turning around, I could see the energy and life from the section the shifters controlled. Stores with lights, patrons milling around. Even the park was situated on the ‘shifter side’ of the town, and I could hear children laughing as they embraced the last of the sun’s touch.

But the coven side was dark, almost barren. With only three visible stores that were open, including an apothecary, a lapidary that was closed for the evening, and a small cafe. There was also a small open market that was closed for the evening, the skeletal remains of poles and tents looked like rubbish waiting to be cleared away. Other buildings stood by, empty and desolate with missing windows and boarded up doors. In the distance I could see the faint light of the houses where the coven lived.

How had I missed how bad things had gotten here?

It was no secret that the alliance between the shifters and elementals was near a breaking point, but had I been so consumed with my pack that I’d never noticed that a third of the Narodnaya population was living just a notch above poverty?

As if to ram my point home, a small girl with dark braids and oversized clothing ran into the street with a giggle that died the instant she saw Lex and I.

Her tiny hands trembled as she covered her mouth, dark eyes bulging with fear. The scent of her tears wafted over in the wind, and I felt like such an asshole for terrorizing her with my presence alone.

Lulu had been afraid of me when we’d first met, and over the years she confessed some of the boogeyman stories the coven had conjured up about the wolves to keep children in line. Dad had been absolutely livid, but only expressed it when Lulu had gone to bed.

He hadn’t wanted to scare the girl who had been surrendered to us by her mother.

Where had it all gone wrong? When had Dad gone from reading Lulu bedtime stories to fearing the woman she was becoming? I shook my head to dislodge the question. I was out here trying to clear my head; not muck it all up again.

Not wanting to cause the little girl any more fear, I slowly sank down until my belly hit the road. I sensed Lex do the same behind me.

And, because I was a decent shifter, I wagged my tail like a damn dog.

My wolf grumbled in annoyance, but it was worth it when the little girl’s hands lowered and she offered us a shaky smile. With a timid little wave, she went back around the corner of the cafe where she’d emerged from.

Sighing, I unfurled my body and stretched my back. Maybe this was something Lulu and I could work together on—knocking down walls between the coven and the pack. It gnawed at my gut to know if that little girl had been in trouble, she wouldn’t have trusted me to help her.

Lex nudged my shoulder, and I glanced back. His blue eyes were calculating, and I swore sometimes he could read my mind. He dipped his head, and I knew he was following my train of thought.

A sharp scream cut through the stillness of the night, and I was running before it ended. Rounding the corner of the building, I slid to a stop when I saw the same little girl several feet down. She turned to face us, her skin pale as she pointed a shaky hand beyond where we could see.

Lex and I approached slowly, not wanting to scare her. When I peeked around the corner, my stomach sank.

Two women were spread out in the small alley behind the cafe, their skin a sickly gray color. They were face up on the broken cement, hands folded over their chests. Lifeless eyes stared up into the darkening sky.

A rush of footsteps behind me heralded the arrival of more elementals—likely the ones inside the cafe. The little girl ran towards a couple, likely her parents. The man swept her up while the woman fretted over her.

The small crowd stared at us until we backed up to let them near the dead women. Then the crowd split and Irina Usari appeared. Lulu’s aunt was the leader of the Elders in the coven. She was easily in her late fifties, but she looked like she was in her mid-twenties. The exceptions were a few wrinkles around her eyes and mouth from the perpetual bitch face sneer expression she wore all the time.

Her cold eyes looked at me and then she moved forward to kneel between the women. She rested a hand over each of theirs and bowed her head.

No one spoke, no one breathed, as Irina seemed to meditate over the fallen women.

Abruptly, Irina stood. Her ferocious gaze landed squarely on me.

No way in hell did she think a wolf had done this. There weren’t any marks?—

“Where is my niece?” she hissed.

Ah, fuck.

Of course she didn’t blame the pack; she blamed Lulu.

Which meant I needed to find her before they did.

A lexei and I raced back to the Alpha house. We’d tried picking up Lulu’s scent again when we left town, but after running through the mountains for close to an hour with zero trace of Lulu, I knew we needed to get back to the house.

If Irina suspected Lulu, she’d go straight to the Alpha house after gathering a few harpies for backup. She’d demand my father hand over Lulu. Not that any of us knew where she was, but right now I didn’t know if Dad would tell them about the incident earlier and damn her even further.

I hated that I doubted my own dad. He’d been my hero growing up. Hell, he still was in a lot of ways, and it was killing me that we were divided.

I huffed as the house came into view and I recognized a new car in the circular drive by the front door. Zipping in through an opening near the garage, I shifted the second I was inside. Alexei was at my back. Yanking open the doors to the closet with spare clothes, I grabbed sweatpants and a t-shirt before shoving a set at Lex.

“What are you going to do?” Alexei demanded.

I was already crossing the garage to get inside the house. “Whatever I have to.” I opened the door and cocked my head, listening for voices.

Sure enough, I heard them near the front door. Irina, my mom, and… Yetta.

Jogging through the downstairs area, I didn’t stop until I was in the front foyer where Mama had kept the two women sequestered, not letting them any further into the house. It was a statement and a slap in the face that she hadn’t invited them in to sit or take their coats. No, this was Mama’s way of saying they weren’t welcome and wouldn’t be staying long.

God, I loved my mother.

Her cool blue gaze flicked to me. “Dima, perhaps you can shed some light on what these two shrews are harping on?”

Irina’s top lip drew back in a snarl. “We’re here to see my niece.” She gestured to the three older women dressed in robes that remained silent.

“Oh, right.” Mama giggled like a little girl and waved a dismissive hand. “She doesn’t wish to see you.”

Irina’s eyes narrowed. “You will fetch her for me this instant.”

Mama’s faked good nature melted away in place of true annoyance and disgust. “You’re in my home, witch.”

“Is it your home?” Irina mocked. “I’d heard the true lady of the manor was back, insanity flaws and all.”

Mama’s smile turned lethal. “Dima, be a love and get me a fork, would you? I have the urge to see if Irina’s eyes look as beady in her shrunken little head as they would speared on my cutlery.”

“I’m not getting you a fork, Mama,” I said, trying to hide my smile.

Her gaze never left Irina. “A knife will do. Oh, or a spoon. Make it a spoon. I could scoop them out like?—”

“Are you quite finished?” Irina demanded shrilly before looking at me. “Why don’t you summon your father? He is still Alpha, correct? Unless he’s given that title to his addled mate along with his cock.”

“Enough,” I snapped.

“You’re right,” Irina agreed. “It is enough. I have two slaughtered Elders in our town, and I demand answers.”

Mama stiffened. “If you think one of our pack attacked your coven?—”

“Oh,” Irina smirked, “I know it was one of your pack . But it was the one without teeth and fur.”

“Lulu didn’t have shit to do with that,” I snapped.

Mama recoiled. “Lulu?”

Yetta shifted anxiously on her feet. “Please, Natasha. I need to speak with my daughter.”

Mama glowered at her. “You would come into my home and demand to see the child you abandoned on her ” Mama jerked her chin at Irina, “orders? Absolutely not. Get the hell out of my house.”

“Give us Lucia or you won’t have a house much longer.” Irina’s eyes glowed, and I felt a faint rumble under my feet. “We’ll bring this whole fucking mountain down on your heads.”

Mama growled at her. “Threatening my family isn’t a wise move, Irina. Especially when we both know it will take a lot more than you to crack the ground my pack lives on.”

The quaking died off a second later, and sweat dotted Irina’s brow. Her little flash of power had cost her. Behind her, the three women swayed a bit on their feet. They’d yet to speak or even move, really. It was kinda like they were in some weird trance. Or drinking the Usari Kool-Aid.

“We must speak with my daughter,” Yetta insisted.

“She isn’t your?—”

I pulled my mother close to whisper in her ear. “Mama, get Dad.”

Her blue eyes collided with mine, and I saw the moment she realized something was really wrong. “All right. Take them into the parlor so we can all speak.”

I waited until she’d left the foyer to fold my arms and glared at Irina and Yetta before leading them a little down the hall and into the formal parlor. The three crones shuffled in and huddled in silence behind Irina.

“Have a seat,” I offered wryly as I folded my arms across my chest and remained standing.

Yetta twisted her hands in front of her. “Dimitri, please. We need to see my daughter.”

“No,” I clipped out.

“It was a mistake coming here,” Irina huffed. “The pack has no jurisdiction over coven matters. We don’t need their help or permission.”

“You’re right, the pack doesn’t have a say in coven business, but Lulu is pack,” I uttered softly. “Try taking her from her home and her family, and you’ll be facing an all out war.”

“She’s not one of your little furballs,” Irina shot back. “She is an elemental, and we are within our rights as her coven to question her.”

“Her coven?” Mama demanded as she joined us.

“Where is the Alpha?” Irinia demanded, ignoring Mama.

“On his way,” Mama spat. “Now, how about instead of throwing pointless threats you tell me exactly what’s going on.”

Irina cocked a brow. “Well? You were there, weren’t you, Dimitri?”

Mama turned to me, and I swallowed thickly. “While Lex and I were out patrolling, we came across two bodies behind the cafe.”

She stiffened. “I’ve yet to see why that means they need to see Lulu.”

“Are you really too stupid to put those pieces together?” Irina drawled.

Mama opened her mouth to retort when my father and Addie joined us.

“What is the meaning of this?” Dad demanded, fixated on Irina. I could sense the irritation bleeding off of him.

Irina’s cold eyes narrowed. “Where is Lucia?”

“Why?” Dad countered, his tone deceptively bland.

“She’s wanted for questioning,” Irina sneered, a strange combination of hate and glee in her wicked eyes. She was enjoying whatever was going on.

Yetta cleared her throat, speaking up. “Please, Alpha. It’s important.”

“I won’t be telling you a single fucking thing until I know what this is about,” Dad retorted evenly.

I exhaled in relief to know he was doing exactly what I’d hoped—he was circling the wagons and keeping Lulu protected.

“Two of our elders were found tonight. Elena Katrova and Francine Druvaine. They were murdered,” Irina spat. “Where is Lucia?”

“Lulu didn’t have anything to do with this,” I bit out, taking a step toward Irina.

Irina turned to me with knowing eyes. “Ah, but you found the bodies, did you not?”

I ground my molars together.

“Son?” Dad prompted.

“Tell them,” Irina added, almost gleeful as she smirked at me.

Dad took two menacing steps towards the elder, towering over her. “Watch your tone, woman.”

Instead of stepping back, Irina glared up at him. “I told you she couldn’t be saved. I told you she was a danger to us all.”

“Irina, please,” Yetta tried.

“Silence!” Irina hissed, turning her fury on her sister. “You brought this abomination into the world and should have ended her existence before she drew her first poisonous breath. You have doomed us, Yetta. Now we have to clean up your mess before she can destroy us all.”

Addie’s jaw dropped as she spluttered out a laugh of disbelief. “Lulu? You think Lulu killed these two women? You’re kidding, right?”

Judging by the cold stares they gave her, that was exactly what they thought.

Looking alarmed, Addie exchanged glances with Mama but didn’t say anything else.

“I will speak with Lucia and see if there is any truth to your claims,” Nikolai finally said, his tone heavy.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

Irina’s eyes narrowed. “Not this time, Alpha. We let you coddle and protect her long enough. When will you finally see her for what she is?”

“I know full well what she is,” he replied coldly. “But unlike you, I know the meaning of loyalty. Lucia will be given the chance to defend or explain herself.”

Irina seethed, her hands curling uselessly at her sides. The cronies at her back whispered fiercely in a language I didn’t know.

“Unless you would like to challenge me here?” Nik added, spreading his arms wide. “You might be able to get past me and my family with your magic, but I assure you, your coven will be in bloody pieces spread out across the Urals by morning.”

Irina bared her teeth and finally stepped back. “I want to be there when she is questioned, Alpha. You have until dawn to produce her.”

“Surely you aren’t stupid enough to be threatening me.” Nikolai stared icily at her, his chest heaving.

“I’d hoped by now you would have realized the danger that creature is,” Irina returned, shaking her head. “She must be stopped before she kills us all. But if we must, we will wait for her to kill your people before we handle her ourselves.”

Irina glanced back at the women and barked a foreign command that had them following at her heels as she left. But Yetta lingered.

“Nikolai,” she began softly, “you must find her.”

“She didn’t kill anyone,” I insisted. I knew it in my bones. No matter how upset or broken Lulu had seemed, no way would she hurt someone else, let alone kill them.

Yetta looked over at me. “Have you seen her today? How did she seem?”

I winced, because Lulu definitely hadn’t been in control the last time we’d seen her. But still… I knew my girl, and she couldn’t do what they were suggesting. She didn’t go around murdering people.

Except…

My mind flashed back to the second I’d come to in that fucking cave. The carnage was like something from a horror movie. The coppery stench of blood and fear churned through the space.

I shook myself out of those thoughts.

This wasn’t then . Lulu had been a scared kid that lost control of a power she didn’t know she had.

Kind of how she’d lost control earlier and hurt Addie?

I slammed my eyes shut, the warring voices in my head overwhelming.

“Find her, Alpha,” Yetta breathed as she moved toward the door to follow her coven. “Get her away from here if you can.”

Dad frowned. “She may not have?—”

Yetta shook her head. “Their bodies were drained of life and magic. No being could do that except for Lucia or that boy you keep under lock and key. Has he been released?”

“No,” Dad admitted.

“But there was another—” Tasha began to protest.

Yetta’s eyes hardened. “This was recent. It happened in the last few hours. If it wasn’t the boy, and the woman is dead, then only my daughter possesses the power it would have taken to kill them,” Yetta said sadly, sniffling a bit. “I can’t protect her from them anymore, Alpha, and if she’s truly begun to embrace that side of herself, you shouldn’t protect her either.”

Yetta turned and disappeared down the hall. A moment later the front door closed.

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose, his shoulders tense with stress as he glanced at me. “Did you find her today?”

“No,” I managed. “I can’t find her anywhere. But, Dad, this is Lulu . She wouldn’t do this.”

“I want to believe that,” he told me, looking truly regretful, “but until we know the truth…”

“Nik,” Mom murmured softly, shaking her head. She covered her mouth with her hands.

Dad hung his head, and Addie went to his side, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Until we find Lulu, tell everyone we’re doubling the guard.”

Mama sucked in a sharp breath and turned away.

I stared in horror for a beat as his words registered.

No, Dad wasn’t handing any info over to the coven about Lucia… but he obviously viewed her as a threat to the pack.

“Fuck!” I snapped, whirling and punching the wall. It broke apart in a spray of paint and plaster.

I stormed out, hell bent on finding my girl before anyone else could.