Chapter 20
TWENTY
Faye
Who would have thought Faye could be so fast? Ezra sends, pure joy coating the thought.
He was right about shifting. It feels impossibly good to be running through the woods, dodging the trees, smelling and seeing and taking in every enhanced sense. Even just hearing another wolves’ words in my mind feels strangely comforting, reminding me of my youth spent running with the other kids in town.
Since Miles died, I’d shifted less and less. I don’t know why, especially now when it feels so good.
Cayson and Ezra are running on either side of me, their scents mixing together and washing over me, all warm spices and wood smoke. We run down the side of a hill, and Ezra jumps on me playfully, taking extra care not to hurt me as we roll down the side of the hill. Cayson jumps into the pile, pushing Ezra off of me and nuzzling into my neck.
I wonder if anyone in my pack runs like this, exploring and having fun together. I know there are frequent hunting parties, but it’s not the same as spending time together just for the sake of it, stretching our legs and running through the trees.
All at once, memories of running with my brother flood into my head, and I can’t stop thinking about what it was like to laugh and play with him, the two of us sneezing as we ran through the fields of flowers outside our cabin. The two of us wrestling with each other, or catching the scent of a rabbit and giving chase, laughing like idiots.
My brain returns to the present moment when I see something small and white flash out of the corner of my eye.
Over here , I say, catching the scent of a rabbit and turning, running as fast as I can toward it. Even though we won’t kill it, the chase is always fun.
The rabbit is terrified–I can smell the fear rolling off of it–and I wonder for a moment if that’s what I smell like to the alphas. Probably. Omegas are barely a step above prey. At least that’s what my grandmother always used to say.
I can feel Ezra and Cayson gaining on me and I run faster, wanting to catch the rabbit and show it to them. Show them that I’m not as weak as everyone thinks. I’m actually pretty good at hunting small things. It’s probably because I understand them, know what it’s like to constantly be running from something bigger.
Cayson jumps over the top of me, reaching the rabbit just as it dives into the hole. I can feel Ezra’s amusement as we watch Cayson paw at the hole, desperately trying to get the rabbit that’s long gone. I sit back and watch him continuing to dig, even though he’s never going to be able to dig far enough to unearth his prey.
We lost him , I say.
Not yet , Cayson says back.
You’re never going to get him, buddy , Ezra says, coming to sit beside me, letting his tail brush mine.
But Cayson is like a puppy, going around in circles, digging and digging for way longer than he should, which just fills me with amusement. Cayson really is fun to be around.
Damn, he’s gone , Cayson finally mutters, kicking dirt at the hole, as Ezra and I look on, trying not to laugh.
Our amusement fades when Cayson sniffs the air suspiciously. Suddenly, I smell it, too. The acrid scent of blood.
What is that? Cayson asks.
Ezra sounds uncertain. Are shifters allowed to hunt out here?
Even if shifters were allowed to hunt out here, nobody would kill something and just leave it. Not on the castle grounds. It would be beyond bad manners.
We’ll check it out , Ezra says firmly. Faye, stay here.
That’s silly , I tell him. It’s probably nothing.
She’s right, Cayson says without hesitation. Let’s just find the scent and then go back to having fun. Someone leaving their kill out here is hardly our problem. We can just inform the staff to clean it up.
I get the feeling Ezra isn’t happy with this idea, but he starts moving, and we follow, hyper-aware of the scent with each step we take. As we get closer to the smell, we all realize at once that this isn’t the scent of an animal. It’s the scent of another shifter.
Gods , Ezra sends to us, as we round the corner and find the body there, dead on the ground.
Serra.
The breath leaves my body.
Cayson moves in front of me to block me from the scene, but it’s too late. I’ve already seen her lying there in the dirt, her head bent at an awkward angle, a single dark boot print on her throat. Her eyes, lifeless and empty, stare out across the forest.
I know immediately, with every cell in my body, that this was Kurt’s doing. Panic courses through me and I turn, running through the forest, ignoring the sounds Cayson and Ezra make to try and get me to slow down and wait for them.
When I come to a stuttering halt, my legs buckle under me. I shift back to my human form and fall to the ground, panting, images flashing through my head faster than I can stop them. My heartbeat races and my breathing speeds up to the point of hyperventilating.
What did Serra do to him? Or was she just an easy target? I hate to think about what might have happened to her before her last moments. The fear she must have felt.
She was just here like the rest of us. To find a mate. To try and secure a good future for herself. And instead, she’s lost everything and had her body left here to rot.
Was this intentional? Did Kurt leave her here for me to find? Did he know Cayson and I were going to be out here?
Ezra comes over and nuzzles his head next to mine. My heart starts to slow a bit, his scent and the warmth of his body calming me slightly. I wrap myself around him, digging my hands into his fur and letting my tears fall onto him.
Cayson comes onto my other side, and then I’m clinging to both of them, trying to get my breathing under control. Trying to stop the images from circling in my mind. It’s all the same. The bootprint. The dead body. Kurt.
Cayson and Ezra shift back after a moment, kneeling beside me, getting their nice clothes dirty and not seeming to care. I keep clinging to them. Their faces press into my throat, and I breathe in their calming scents over and over, wondering why their scents seem to push the images away. Wondering how I went from fearing every alpha to trusting these two.
“Are you okay?” Ezra finally manages.
I don’t know how to explain it, how to get them to understand what’s happening to me without telling them the truth. I have to tell them the truth.
“I’ve seen that before,” I confess, wiping tears from my face. “It’s the exact same way Kurt killed my brother.”
“Shit,” Ezra murmurs.
My stomach turns as realization dawns on me. “I-I think I have to tell the ultimas.” I think it’s my responsibility, but I also don't think I can go through that again.
“Faye,” Cayson says, his voice soft but serious. “I believe you, but I also have to be honest with you: accusing Kurt will only make things harder for you. Are you sure you want to do that? You don’t have anything to gain and everything to lose.”
Am I sure I want to do that? I almost laugh . I already did that once, and look how it turned out.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t want to do anything at all. Back at home, when I tried to get help after my brother’s murder, I was basically laughed away.”
“Fucking Kurt,” Cayson murmurs.
“But we can’t just let him get away with this,” Ezra says, his brows drawing together.
Cayson shoots him a strange look. “But if accusing him is only based on her word, it could–”
“We’ll tell the council, the ultimas,” Ezra says, standing and using an authoritative voice. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“But—” I start. I know I should, but the truth is, I’m scared. I don’t want to.
Cayson looks at Ezra. “They’re not going to believe us. Not with the son of Dexter.”
They won’t believe me , he means.
Ezra’s hands curl into fists. “It’s not our job to determine what the council will do—it’s just our job to tell them what we found and allow them to react accordingly.”
“I don’t know if I can go through this again,” I confess, feeling more tears rolling down my face.
Ezra’s expression gentles. “There’s a difference this time. Last time you were alone, this time you have us.”
“Last time I saw him kill my brother, but it wasn’t enough,” I tell them, emphasizing each word. “This will just end in Kurt wanting to hurt me even more.”
Ezra kneels back down. “I know this is hard, Faye, but we need to tell the council everything we know, because that girl deserves justice. Someone killed her like an animal. She deserves better than that.”
Miles deserved better than that.
“And Faye,” Cayson says gently. “We can tell the guards to keep an eye on you. We can do what we can to protect you from him.”
I want to tell him that what he’s saying are just words. When I go back home to my cabin in the middle of nowhere by myself, a cabin Kurt knows about, I’ll be the furthest thing from safe. Each and every day I live, I’ll be waiting for the day Kurt comes for me.
But as terrified as I am, I know that Serra does deserve better. And that if there’s any chance to catch my brother’s killer, I have to take it.
Besides, could I live with myself if I just walked away right now?
“Okay,” I tell them softly, wiping away more tears.
Cayson and Ezra wrap me in a warm hug that makes me feel safe. It makes me feel like the world can’t hurt me. But I know it’s a lie. As safe as I feel with these alphas, I won’t always be by their sides. And when I’m not, Kurt will find me. Of that I have no doubt.