22. Apollo
Apollo
Carefully, little by little, one vial at a time, I’d swapped out the wolfsbane for innocuous herbs, trying to match the earthy scent as closely as I could, as well as the texture in their pastes and tinctures.
The first full moon, as Brahm had waded into the pool, there’d been a crack in his facade, just the briefest moment of surprise when it didn’t burn.
His eyes had immediately flown to me, as if he’d known I was the one responsible.
I gave the smallest shake of my head, begging for his silence.
For one dreadful moment, I worried he was going to say something, but he kept his lips shut, glancing at me again as the elders smeared the paste across his chest and back.
None of the hunters said a word.
From then on, the change in the hunters had been immediately noticeable, but it was nowhere near fast enough.
They were becoming bolder in standing up against the elders, especially in protecting the trainees.
When sparring, I’d noticed their strength and reflexes were getting better.
Soon, I would have to take the risk and speak to them about being shifters.
They had to know by now that they weren’t human, that the voice in their head was their beast.
The time was coming, I could feel it.
Pater interrupted my thoughts with a sharp rap on my open door. “Apollo, I have a task of the utmost importance. Can I entrust you with it?”
“Of course, Pater. Anything,” I said, standing at attention, while on the inside, I was raging.
He stepped into the room, his boots clomping on the wood floor. “There is a very important package that needs to be picked up.”
“On the full moon, sir? Don’t you need me on the hunt?” I’d been planning on surprising Kedi by showing up to their pack run at Cedar Lake, but it looked like my plans were about to be thwarted.
He nodded solemnly, his gray eyes pinched.
“There is no one I trust more than you, son.” He set his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, and I fought the urge to shake him off.
Strengthened by the full moon’s pull, my wolf was just barely concealed, and it took all my concentration to keep my gaze clear.
“Of course. Whatever you need.” I bowed my head, seething on the inside. This man deserved none of my respect, and as soon as I could get the other hunters free, I would gladly press my boot into his neck and watch him take his last breaths.
With the route marked on a paper map laid out on the passenger seat, I climbed into my truck. With Pater watching my every move, I hadn’t had a chance to grab my phone to text Kedi, but if I hurried, maybe I could still get back in time to make it to the run later.
“Drive safe,” Pater said with a wave that I returned. Something didn’t feel quite right about this whole scenario, but what was I supposed to do about it?
The sun was already sinking toward the horizon, so I hit the highway at full speed. My nerves had me tapping my foot, clenching the steering wheel. My wolf was pacing. Neither of us liked being so far from our mate on the full moon, especially when he was so close to giving birth.
An hour later, I pulled up at a small cabin, and just as instructed, there was a box waiting for me on the porch.
There was nothing particularly special about the box, no markings on it at all, taped shut with a strip of duct tape.
It was heavy, and when I gave it a shake, it rattled a little.
Shrugging, I tossed it onto the floor in the passenger side then got back on the road.
It was fully dark by the time I got back to the compound, and all was quiet. The other vehicles were all gone, which was surprising. Usually only the hunters drove out, but it seemed the elders had as well.
An eerie chill crept across my skin as I jogged up the steps and into the house. “Hello?”
I heard quiet voices in the back, and when I emerged in the kitchen, I found Alastor and Loki washing the dinner dishes. “Hey, where is everybody?” I asked, setting Pater’s package on the counter.
The two boys exchanged a glance. “They had some big hunt planned,” Alastor said warily. “They all left.”
I felt like my veins had turned to rivers of ice, the ground unsteady beneath my feet. “All of them?”
He nodded, biting his lip.
“What is it? Where did they go?” I growled, balling my hands into fists at my sides and feeling my extended claws pierce my palms. My beast surged to the surface, our pulse pounding in our head, gums aching as our canines lengthened. “Tell me!”
The boys flinched back, eyes huge. “Th-They didn’t tell us!” Alastor stuttered, his shoulders hiking up to his ears, and the kitchen reeked like their fear. But then Loki steeled his spine and stepped forward.
He lifted his chin, a defiant glint in his eyes. “We weren’t supposed to be listening, but I heard them say—” Alastor tried to shush him, but he blurted out, “Cedar Lake.” And just like that, my world stopped spinning.
Oh gods, I was going to be sick.
“They went… to Cedar Lake,” I repeated, though my voice was barely audible past the ringing in my ears.
Loki nodded, his chin wobbling. “They had guns.”
I blinked hard, trying to get a hold of my reeling thoughts long enough to come up with a plan. “How long?” I asked, staggering back a step. “How long ago did they leave?”
“An hour,” Loki said.
Without making a conscious decision, I turned, legs numb, and stumbled toward my room. I had to call Kedi, had to tell them to get the hell out of there. Maybe it wasn’t too late.
I threw my mattress aside, searching for my phone in a panicked frenzy.
“Where is it… Where is it?!” I tore the blankets apart, then dropped to my knees to see if it had fallen behind the bed somehow.
But then a sinking realization fell over me like a suffocating fog.
I wasn’t going to find my phone because it wasn’t here…
“No, no, no,” I moaned, running back to the kitchen where I’d left Pater’s package. I tore the tape from the top of the box and pulled back the cardboard flaps, only to find the inside was filled with rocks. Fucking rocks!
This whole time I thought I’d been so clever, pulling the wool over his eyes, undermining him and the Order. Meanwhile, he’d always been on to me. He was just waiting for the right moment to make his move.
And that text from Kedi handed them exactly what he’d been waiting for… a location for where the entire pack would be. So he sent me away on an errand, one he said could only be entrusted to me.
My mate… My unborn child… And no way to warn them.
“Loki?” I shouted, only for the boy to peek around the doorframe, nervous but curious.
“You need to gather the boys, all of them, and I need you to get them out of here. Dress warmly and take only what you can carry. You need to be gone before the elders get back.” I didn’t know where to send them, and I felt like I’d failed them.
I should’ve planned for this. “There’s a mechanic in the city, his name is Trey…
” I began, scribbling down directions to Kedi’s work.
“You can trust him, okay?” I had to hope that was true.
Kedi had told me how he had a soft spot for orphans and misfits.
He nodded hard enough that his hair flopped.
“Good boy,” I said, giving him a quick hug before I ran for the door, urgency and responsibility tugging me in two different directions.
I wanted to rescue these boys myself, but there were more lives in my hands than I knew how to handle, and if I didn’t go now, those lives would be lost.
The interior of my truck still held traces of warmth, and the engine roared loudly in the clearing as I spun the wheel hard, gravel kicking out from behind the wheels.
I was eternally grateful for the great job Kedi had done fixing up my truck.
I barely slowed down as I turned onto the highway, and as soon as the tires hit pavement, I had the pedal pushed all the way to the floor.
Fuck speed limits. I’d love to see a cop catch me now.
The drive to Cedar Lake took me half the time it normally would, but it still wasn’t fast enough.
Ahead, I saw a line of the Order’s vehicles parked on the gravel shoulder, and I came to a sliding stop behind them.
Hopping down from my truck, I hurried forward, checking for anyone who might’ve been left behind, but nothing.
I slapped my hand down on the hood of the nearest truck and held my breath.
Still warm, my wolf said, echoing my thoughts.
We’re not too late, I said, willing it to be true as I ripped off my clothes. Now, find our mate, I begged him as I let him take over.
My beast tore from my skin, leaping into the brush mid-shift, our nose already working to detect the familiar scents among the snow, earth, and loam.
Pater’s scent was here, along with the other elders.
We could easily pick up the hunters, their animals too, stronger than they’d ever been.
But the part that worried me most was the acrid burn of gunpowder.
Run, I begged my wolf. Please, run.
And as fast as he was already going, he managed to dig even deeper, putting on a surge of speed.
I felt so helpless, trapped in the background, but there was no one else I trusted with our mate’s safety.
No one but my wolf could get us there in time.
Our claws dug into the earth as we pounded through the forest, tongue lolling, panting breath emerging in silvery clouds that drifted away behind us before they could take shape.
Branches snagged at our fur, our pulse pounding loud in our ears, but nothing would keep us from our mate.
Not even death.