Chapter Eighteen
Meanwhile, back in the house.
“I keep telling you, Wren doesn’t know anything about what that piece of shit snake had been up to.
He only got the impression that there had been other boys, because Michael said he was going to replace him.
But he doesn’t know how they were acquired, or what circles Michael ran around with.
For god’s sake. Wren was a slave – he wasn’t even allowed out of the house.
How the hell do you expect him to know anything at all except the rubbish that Michael kept yelling at him? Most of that was bravado and bullshit.”
“Devon, you know why we have to ask.” Cyrus’s voice was incredibly patient, although Devon had lost all of his. “Michael was clearly part of a network - a network that specifically targets shifter children for shifter predators. We can’t let this sort of thing go on.”
“I understand that. I really do. But that’s not my main concern,” Devon said firmly.
“Nor is it Wren’s – it shouldn’t need to be.
Don’t think I’m not sorry for the kids who get taken and shit like that.
You know that’s not the case. I care about kids as much as you or anyone else.
But Wren is not a part of the asshole groups who do that sort of thing, and neither am I. ”
“I wasn’t suggesting you were.”
Not you. No. But the agency… “The agency has drummed it into our heads from the moment we start working for them, that we do our job, make sure there are no witnesses, take nothing from the scene, and get out. That’s it.
End of story. We don’t need to know the backstory because that’s already been vetted.
We don’t need to know what happens next.
That’s got nothing to do with us. We are simply tools in the agency’s box to take care of the scum.
That’s why none of this pressure is making sense.
Why is the agency being so persistent now? ”
“Wren survived,” Cyrus said simply. “You know one of the most difficult things with the people we deal with is that they don’t usually leave their victims alive.
The agency’s position is that because Wren did survive so long, there must be something he knows, that Michael was perhaps keeping him alive because… ”
“The only reason Michael kept him alive for so long was because Wren didn’t shift.
” Devon couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“You know all this. The only reason Wren is still alive is because his chameleon had the common sense to hide. Wren never went through his first shift the way Michael expected. I mean, come on, Cyrus. Surely someone at the agency has got more sense than this. Wren didn’t know anything about the paranormal world at all.
He didn’t know anything about Michael being a shifter either, until Python told him, with that damn boot stunt of his.
Don’t you understand? Wren doesn’t know anything! ”
Devon frantically tried to think of some diversion, some way to get the agency off Wren’s back. His mate didn’t know the number of calls he’d had with Cyrus and the amount of pressure Devon was under to deliver Wren for an interview. If Devon had his way, Wren would never know about it.
“There has to be another way. You said, back when I was waiting to get hold of Michael, remember then the agency said he had been on dodgy forums. That’s how they planted the lead to get him to come to me. Why aren’t they chasing that up? Why aren’t they following those leads?”
“Because, despite all the technology they have,” Cyrus said, “there’s a limit to what their technology can do.
Sure, they can trace dodgy IP addresses and things like that, but most people who use those sorts of forums all use a VPN as it is, and it’s not like they can just magically unlock where a VPN is coming from. Your Wren is one of their only leads.”
“Then the agency needs to find another one. They can get somebody else to infiltrate the forums or groups and work through leads that way. Set somebody up undercover as a buyer, whatever. I don’t know.
That’s not part of my job description, and Michael’s shit has absolutely fucking nothing to do with Wren. ”
“I understand why you feel that way,” Cyrus said quietly. “But you’re not seeing the big picture here. The agency still feels that Wren can offer some leads. Like, how did he end up at Michael’s in the first place? Surely there’re some leads there.”
Devon, who had been pacing up and down his kitchen floor, slumped down into a chair.
“Shit. They’re really not going to let this go, are they?
All Wren has told me is that he was living with his grandparents, there was a harmless incident, and his grandfather called a pastor.
Two men came and took him away, and he ended up at Michael’s. ”
“See, there’s a clue right there,” Cyrus said. “Who were the grandparents? Who was the pastor? These are questions the agency needs answers to. Was this a random thing or just a coincidence, or was that one action part of a bigger system?”
“How the hell would I know? Our conversation at the time was related to something else, which is none of the agency’s business.”
Cyrus chuckled. “I can imagine.”
No, you really can’t. But Devon had been giving some thought to Wren’s parentage, because there were parts of Wren’s story – while true – that didn’t make sense in the context of shifter society.
“Consider this,” he said, choosing his words carefully.
“We know Wren didn’t know anything about the paranormal world before he came here.
He wasn’t lying about that. Is there a chance that his grandparents weren’t actually related to him in the first place?
That maybe they were just some religious couple who took on a child that was found abandoned somewhere, or something like that?
There’s no evidence that Wren has even got any connection to the people who raised him.
“And you know this.” Devon hammered home the point.
“Shifters do not let go of their children. They’re not like that.
Even religious shifters are not going to turn away their children, and definitely not sell them off or throw them away, the way his grandparents clearly did.
A shifter’s animal spirit would not allow that to happen.
It goes against every instinct a shifter parent would have. ”
On the other end of the phone, Cyrus whistled.
“Yeah, I don’t think anyone at the agency considered that, although that idea could tie in with what the agency has already found, or should I say, not found.
The agency has checked through the shifter records at the Paranormal Council, but could find no listing for any chameleon parents.
None at all. That report came through this morning after I reported Wren had finally revealed his shifter side.
That’s another reason why they want to talk to Wren.
There’re no other listed chameleon shifters anywhere on the American continent. ”
“That’s all the more reason Wren needs our protection.
Cyrus, I’m really trying very hard to keep my patience here,” Devon said quietly.
“I know you’re just the guy stuck in the middle.
But surely you can see Wren doesn’t deserve any of this shit.
It was not his fault if he was raised by people who weren’t related to him.
It’s not his fault, he didn’t know anything about the paranormal life.
Nothing he’s gone through is his fault, and it is only through his chameleon’s desire to survive that the chameleon stayed hidden for so long. ”
“Unfortunately, that little tidbit about the chameleon is actually a flaw in your argument. Believe me, I do know what you’re saying, and I would be as protective of my mate as you are being with yours.
But from all accounts, and admittedly, I didn’t see it, but your mate can shift into any darn animal he pleases, including the big ones.
“Which would suggest, if Michael did try and force his shift, then wouldn’t he have just shifted into an elephant and stomped on the damn snake’s head?”
“I don’t know why he didn’t,” Devon said, “and I doubt very much that Wren even knows. For whatever reason, his animal side decided to stay hidden. It’s what a chameleon does.
So why on earth would anybody expect him to be an aggressor in any situation?
His scent has changed so much in just a few days.
It was so faint when I met him, and it only got stronger once he was free and actually safe.
“I don’t think Wren understands why it happened, and again I don’t see why he needs to be pushed and challenged about stuff that has nothing to do with him.”
“We need to know more about the pastor,” Cyrus said.
“If you can give me some information about that, it would help. More information about his grandparents would also be useful. The agency can use the resources they do have to track them down and see if they are even alive. If they were already older and human, there’s a good chance they’ve died while Wren was a captive, but from a security perspective, it would be handy to know either way. ”
“That’s the agency’s job to work all that out, not mine. I’m a simple assassin. They seem to forget Wren is the victim in all of this. He’s finally coming into his own. He’s finally gaining the confidence to live his life the way he pleases. Why the hell would I jeopardize that?”
“There’s a chance the agency could get pushier. Do you really want to walk away from all of this?”
“You’d threaten my job for protecting my mate?
” Devon didn’t even have to think about it.
“If that’s what it took to keep my mate safe, then I’d walk away in a heartbeat.
I don’t want to. Me and my bear struggle with what we do sometimes, but I do know we’re the good guys.
And you and the others are the closest thing I have to a family.
But Wren’s safety and comfort absolutely have to come first.”
“I do understand that,” Cyrus said. “I understand probably more than you know. But the fact that Wren is a living victim is why he’s so important to the agency. Any hint, any clue, any tiny bit of information at all could help save so many other people who are in similar situations.”
“Don’t do that,” Devon growled. “Don’t lay the guilt shit on me.
Bad shit happens all the time. Me and the rest of us, we all do our bit.
But we’re the ones who get told where the boundaries are and where our job ends.
None of this has anything to do with Wren.
Michael’s dead – thanks to Python – so technically the job is over. End of story.”
“Not in this case.”
Devon sighed. Cyrus was an amazing handler and a good friend.
He wouldn’t be so persistent if the agency wasn’t pushing him hard.
“I’ll talk to Wren, not immediately, but I’ll talk to him.
And I’m doing that for you, not for the agency.
I don’t know what the agency expects. Why don’t they just get one of the gods they’ve got on speed dial to work all this out and leave me and Wren out of it? ”
Cyrus laughed. “That would probably push their non-interference law, the gods all live under, too far. For what it’s worth, I’m on your side and think this whole business is a crock of shit.
But if there’s the slightest possibility that the pastor could be a clue to a bigger pattern or network that might still be operating, then anything we can learn about him would be vital.
“Between you and me, I think one of the things upsetting the agency so much is that there is no record of Wren ever existing. No records of any other chameleon parents either. It’s as if he were dropped like an egg in the middle of the desert somewhere and just left.”
“Maybe he was,” Devon said. “Who the hell knows, and how would you expect a baby to remember things like that? This is something I think the agency is forgetting. For most of this time, when Wren was a victim, he was a child. He didn’t know he was going to be grilled for information when he was saved.
“Why hasn’t the agency gone through Michael’s things? Why haven’t they searched his computer or phone? Why haven’t they scoured that apartment? There must be clues or something there. It’s not like Michael had a chance to hide anything before Python got him.
“Has he got safety deposit boxes? Another residence? There are so many other things the agency could be chasing instead of hassling you to get to Wren. You can’t tell me the agency is thinking about Wren’s well-being, or they wouldn’t be pressuring you and me.”
“I’m sure they’ll be as considerate as they can be under the circumstances.
Devon snorted. He could hear Wren laughing outside.
I want that for him. “Look, Wren and I have just claimed each other. Thank you for your congratulations. That means I’m entitled to three days off.
Three days to celebrate my mating. I’m gonna take Wren out.
We’ll go to Big Sky or Bozeman. Big Sky, probably, but we won’t go far.
Think about Wren for a minute, would you, Cyrus?
“Wren doesn’t know the simple pleasures of window shopping or having lunch out in a bar or a café.
He’s never had a chance to go into a store and buy himself new clothes, or maybe books or music.
He’s never been out to see a movie or a play.
Cyrus, he’s never lived. I want him to experience just a little bit of life – let me do that before we have to deal with the agency shit.
You have my word that before we get back, I’ll ask him about information about his grandparents and the men who took him. Is that good enough?”
“It would be appreciated,” Cyrus said. “I can hold the agency off that long. Believe me, if it wasn’t for the fact that there might be other children involved, I would have just told the agency to go to hell about this. But kids, you know?”
“I know. That’s the only reason I’m even considering bringing up bad memories for Wren in the first place.”
“The agency did do one thing positive,” Cyrus said in a lighter tone.
“There’s a package of official-looking documents here in the name of Wren Taylor – birth certificate, driver’s license, marriage license with your name as the second groom.
There’s even a bank account with a sizable deposit and a bank card in his name. ”
Devon hadn’t expected that. “That’s decent of them, thanks. I’ll pick them up as we’re on our way out. That will give Wren more independence when we go shopping. Pass on our thanks, please.”
“Will do. Have fun.”
The call ended. Pulling up his browser, Devon searched for hotels in Big Sky. As a tourist town, they would have plenty of options. Something expensive, he decided. It was time to show Wren what it meant to be spoiled.