16. Apollo
Apollo
The longer I spent away from my mate, the more unsettled my wolf became, and the closer I came to my breaking point. No good would come from losing control, but try explaining that to the wild animal inside me.
The plan we’d had for “ordering parts” for the truck failed spectacularly, when at the last minute, Pater insisted I help him collect a batch of live chickens for the coop.
He sent Seth to the garage with my truck in my place, and I didn’t even have a chance to dig out the burner phone I’d picked up to send Kedi a warning.
I just had to hope like hell that he managed to act like a stranger and that Seth wasn’t paying attention.
Kedi bringing up the subject of kids had lit a serious fire under my ass.
The thought of bringing a baby into this dangerous situation was enough to drive anyone to madness.
I hated the thought of not being a part of their lives, but if staying away kept them safe, I would do it.
I would do anything, even put each and every Order member down in cold blood if they stood in my way, regardless of whether I thought they could be saved or not.
To keep my wolf distracted from murderous thoughts, I went on the offensive. We needed a plan to get the hell out of this situation, and nobody was going to hand me one tied up neatly with a red bow.
First, I snuck into Pater’s office, trying to find any information on the Order or their future plans of attack.
I hadn’t found much beyond a few letters.
It seemed Pater kept correspondence with the leader of another branch of the Order to the south of us.
That knowledge sent a sliver of ice straight through to my core.
Why hadn’t I considered the possibility that there would be more of them out there?
What would happen if they didn’t hear from Pater for a while? Would they come looking for vengeance?
Next, I planted a few fake shifter sightings in areas I knew to be safe. If they were going to be sending hunters out, it would be best for everyone if they came up empty.
And through it all, I searched my memories for my father.
Little snippets had come back here or there, but still, his face remained a blurry smudge in my mind.
He gave up his life to protect me and the other pups from our pack; he deserved to be remembered.
I couldn’t help but wonder how much the other hunters could recall of their own pasts.
Maybe if I could get them to remember where they came from, they might be able to reconnect with their shifter halves like I did.
If I could get through to them, get them to figure out who and what they were, maybe I could find myself some true allies in taking down the Order.
So one evening, when I found Seth sitting on a stump out back near the firepit, sharpening arrowheads on a whetstone, I naturally gravitated toward him.
I sat on the stump next to him and picked up one of the arrows, testing the blade on my thumb. “Hey,” I said awkwardly. Initiating conversation was something most people learned to do as a child, but the Order kept us focused on being rivals, not equals.
Seth smirked over at me, as if he enjoyed watching me flounder.
He said nothing, content to let me stumble my way through whatever I had to say.
“Do you ever…” I began, then accidentally sliced my thumb on the arrow.
I let out a hiss and stuck my thumb in my mouth, the sharp coppery taste reminding me of sinking my teeth into my mate, and it made me bolder.
I decided to just spit it out. “Do you ever think about where you came from?”
I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction to expect, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for the volatile flare of Seth’s temper.
He flinched so hard the arrow’s shaft snapped in his fist, then he stood straight up and threw the whetstone at the ground.
The hefty stone sank into the yard with a thud.
My mouth popped open in shock as I gaped up at him, unsure what I’d said wrong.
Seth snarled at me, his eyes darkening to an unnatural black, like staring into an abyss.
A chill crept up my spine. Inside, my wolf bared his teeth, ready for an attack, but Seth simply jabbed a finger in my face.
“Did you ever consider for a second that there’s a reason we’ve forgotten the past, Apollo?
Maybe it isn’t worth remembering. Leave it alone,” he spat, before turning on his heel and storming back toward the house.
Shaken, I turned to watch him leave and saw Brahm leaning against the house watching us, his arms crossed over his chest. Seth stormed past him without comment.
Brahm and I stared silently at each other until the crickets finally resumed their chirping, then he pushed off the wall and came to join me, claiming Seth’s abandoned stump.
“You can’t blame him for not wanting to remember who he was.
” Brahm turned to regard me, his eyes more amber than their usual brown.
I couldn’t identify what kind of animal he was, but I could feel him there, just beneath the surface, watching me through his eyes.
“When he first got here, he used to suffer from horrible nightmares. He’d wake up screaming, and Pater was the one to comfort him.
For some of us, being adopted into the Order was a blessing. ”
“What about you?” I asked. “Was it a blessing for you?”
There was so much he wasn’t saying, and all the questions I had were bouncing around in my head.
I desperately wanted to ask, but he might just as easily tell Pater what I’d said, and then all our plans would fall apart.
Did Brahm know he was a shifter, that the elders were pumping us full of poison to suppress what we were?
That we were being used to eradicate our own kind? Would he be resentful… or grateful?
Did he remember his parents?
He remained silent for so long that I wondered if he would ever answer me. At last, he took a long deep breath, turning his gaze to stare into the trees surrounding the property. “I don’t remember much,” he said, nodding absently, “but I remember that my name was Ravi.”
I held my hand out to him. “It’s nice to meet you, Ravi. My name is Conroy.”
His smile was warm and genuine as he reached out and clasped my hand in his in a strong grip, and for a moment as we gazed into each other’s eyes, neither of us fully human, I felt like it was our beasts being introduced too.
A current of energy passed between us before he released my hand, then he bent over to pry the whetstone from where it had been wedged into the ground.
As I watched Brahm—Ravi—pluck another arrow from the stack and begin to sharpen the blades, I was struck by the otherworldliness of him, of how he moved, and I looked down at my thumb where the cut had already healed over, no sign of the injury.
How had I ever believed any of the hunters were human?
But then again, we hadn’t always been like this.
We’d been living in a fog, so easily caged by our masters, brainwashed into believed the lies we were told.
But something had changed among the Order recently.
For whatever reason, the chains that had held us for so long had begun to come loose.
Our strength and agility had improved. We were healing faster, our senses honed.
And if I’d noticed these changes, then how soon before the elders did too? And what would they do about it? How far would they go to retain their power over us?
My introspection was interrupted by a bellowing roar, and my head snapped up to find the source. “That was Seth,” I gasped, standing in a rush. It came from inside the house. Brahm and I bolted across the lawn and through the back door, down the narrow hall in the direction of the shouting.
“Stand down!” a voice yelled, as if being loud could cover up the quiver of fear.
“Make me,” Seth seethed in reply.
The shadows in the hallway were broken by light spilling from an open door at the end. Even before I got there, I knew what I would find. The scent of blood was overwhelming, and I braced myself for the worst.
I came to a dead standstill in the doorway, surveying the scene.
Elder Grant stood on one side of the bedroom with a short whip in hand, the leather straps dripping blood onto the wood floor.
Crouched beside the narrow cot was one of the trainees—young mischievous Loki, I realized—his entire body shaking from fear and pain, lashes crisscrossing his narrow back.
And between the two figures stood Seth, face set in a mask of defiance, teeth bared.
He was protecting the boy, and fierce pride filled me.
“What’s going on here?” Pater shouted, storming down the hall behind me. I forced myself to step back and lower my head in respect, but I peeked up at them, wondering what outcome to hope for.
“The boy was talking back to me,” Elder Grant said. “I was just teaching him a little respect, but Seth interrupted the punishment.”
“Did he now?” Pater sneered, turning his scrutiny to Seth, no doubt taking in the way the hunter refused to bow.
I knew this would not end well for Seth. The calculating look that crossed Pater’s face told me that he was measuring his options. He would do what was needed to regain control. “Remove your shirt and get on your knees,” he said, taking the whip from Elder Grant.