Chapter 8 - Jericho
JERICHO
My mind is reeling as I climb out of the van.
I’d trust you…
Holy hell. Evan has no clue how that came across, does he? Like an offer?
He clearly has no idea how difficult this is for me, giving me way more credit than he should be. If Evan knew how much his scent tempts me, he wouldn’t even be talking to me. He’d be afraid of me, and rightly so.
As it is, I want to bathe myself in his scent and drown myself in his blood.
I tense when I climb out of the van, startled to see three wolves growling at Grant and Rowen. They all turn to look at me, and the largest of the three lunges for me with teeth bared.
Instinct kicks in, and I step to the side, throwing my arm out just in time to catch the wolf by the middle before he crashes into Evan. I toss the wolf to the ground, but he quickly climbs to his feet, still growling.
I reveal my fangs. “Fuck off!”
“Stop!” Forest says as he steps off the front porch. Jasmine and Neal are close on his heels. “Bronson! Listen to me. He’s not a threat!”
The wolf still doesn’t back away. I keep my eyes on him and move to stand between him and Evan, ready to protect Evan with my life.
I’ve fought enough wolves in my short time as a vampire to know that when they pull back, it means they’re about to lunge. Adrenaline rushes through me as I try to come up with a plan. Do I fight him? Or flee? Which route ends up with Evan safe?
“Bronson, STOP!” Forest commands.
The two other wolves bow their heads, but this one—a massive red wolf with copper ears—ignores him and snarls at me again, digging his paws into the dirt. He must be an alpha himself, to ignore another alpha like that. Great.
As soon as he draws back on his hind legs, I turn and loop an arm around Evan’s waist, pulling him to me as I leap straight up into the air. Evan grunts in surprise, hands digging into my arms as he mutters a loud, “Oh shit!”
The distinct crunch of metal makes me groan, though it hadn’t come from us landing on the van. It came from the wolf who just slammed into the side. The poor van has taken so much damage these last two days.
I pull away from Evan to peer down at the wolf. “Shift, Alpha, so we can talk!”
The alpha snarls then shifts into a tall man with cropped dark hair. He has beautiful dark skin and amber eyes that are anything but welcoming. “How dare you attack—”
Forest cuts him off. “He did not attack us, Bronson! He’s going to fight Foxx with us!”
That gets Bronson’s attention. He turns on his heel to face Forest. “What?”
Forest tries again. “That’s what I was trying to explain on the phone. He’s here to help.”
Jasmine takes a few steps toward us, arm outstretched. “Please, just listen,” she pleads. “Jericho has just as much reason to kill Foxx as we do.”
“Their kind doesn’t understand reason! They’re killers!”
“Jericho is no fucking killer!” Evan shouts.
Forest steps forward. “Jericho is a victim in this, just as your mate was, Bronson. Please. Give us five minutes to explain.”
Oh shit. Bronson’s mate was killed by Foxx, too? Does his violence never end?
Bronson hesitates, turning to look at me again. His eyes narrow into slits. “But you trespassed onto their land!”
“By mistake,” Evan says quickly. “We didn’t know we were on private property.”
“Please, come inside and hear us out,” Forest says.
We all turn to see another wolf appear in the distance.
Bronson growls. “I told you to stay home!”
The wolf bows their head before shifting into a young man who is strikingly identical to the alpha. Same dark hair and dark skin. Same golden eyes. Only, he looks to be no older than fifteen or sixteen. A kid.
“I’m sorry. I thought they were in danger, just as you did,” he says, looking across the yard toward Rowen and Ivy. “I had to come.”
He cowers a little under the alpha’s glare, but as soon as Bronson turns away, the kid runs to Rowen and Ivy and hugs each of them.
Forest and Jasmine cross the yard to talk to Bronson privately, though I can hear everything they say.
Forest explains how they met us, my connection to Foxx, and his hope that we can form an alliance to take down the coven.
I still haven’t agreed to it yet, but seeing the devastation these packs have suffered at my sire’s hand makes the decision easy.
That, and I am really sick of running.
Evan whispers, “Next time warn a guy, would ya? You practically knocked the air out of me.”
I almost laugh. “If I hadn’t, he would’ve. He was ready to attack.”
Evan’s smile fades. “Yeah. I guess what I mean is thanks.”
I hold a hand out. “Want down?”
“I may be a weak little human, but I can still do some things on my own.”
He climbs down using the ladder on the back while I jump down, taking a minute to examine the damage to the door. I’ll need to get it fixed soon. The damage is too easy to recognize now.
“Jericho,” Rowen says, coming up to me. “This is Justice. A close friend of ours.”
The teen waves at me, smiling shyly. I nod in return, choosing to linger with them instead of going to talk to Bronson.
I probably should go shake the alpha’s hand or something to prove I’m not the bad guy, but I’m honestly tired of all this.
I’m tired of people assuming I’m their enemy.
I’m tired of fighting. I’m even tired of talking.
I’ve done more of it in the last two days than I have in the last ten months.
“How can you trust them?” Bronson questions the pack. “After what that coven has done to us? To all of us? Every pack in the area has been affected by that coven, and to know he’s one of them? How do we know he isn’t going to turn his back and kill you while you sleep?”
“We don’t,” Forest says softly. “But what choice do we have? We need help in this war, Bron. You have to see that. We’ve been fighting that coven for too long, and we’ve lost too much.”
I look over just in time to see pain flash across Bronson’s face. Jasmine reaches out to rub his arm. He sighs and scrubs a hand along the back of his neck.
Finally, he crosses the distance and looks between us. Bronson focuses on Evan. “You’re with this vampire willingly?”
Evan tenses next to me, but his voice comes out steady. “Yes.”
I can tell Bronson doesn’t believe him, but there isn’t any way to prove a human isn’t under vampire compulsion. Not without drugs or magic.
He turns his amber eyes on me, studying me for a long time. I can see the distrust there, the fear that I’m leading these shifters—his friends—into a trap, and I’m not sure what to say to convince him otherwise. It’s going to take trust on all of our parts to take down Foxx.
“If you betray them, or any of the shifters in this area, I will kill you. Do you hear me?”
Evan moves closer, but I simply nod. “I don’t want to hurt anyone other than Foxx and his coven.”
Finally, Bronson sighs and looks to Forest. “I need to talk to my pack. Have you told the others about your… visitor?”
“You were the first I called,” Forest says.
He nods. “I wouldn’t hesitate. You know we patrol these woods on a regular basis now. Merebeth won’t be happy.”
“I know. I plan to give Jericho a tour of our boundary lines before the day is through. Does he have permission to hunt animals on your land?”
I hadn’t even thought about that until he mentioned it. It’s kind of a relief to have so much wildlife nearby to feed from. It’s not the same as human blood, not even close. But without access to a blood bag, it’ll have to do.
Bronson nods. “Fine.” He turns to the others. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“I want to stay,” Justice says.
Bronson shakes his head. “No.”
The teen doesn’t back down. “Please, Dad. I haven’t been able to see Ro or Ivy in nearly two months! Please, let me stay for the afternoon. I’ll be home by dinner.”
Bronson hesitates for a long time, and Forest clears his throat. “We can walk him home, if you’d like. But we certainly wouldn’t mind his company. It has been a while.”
Finally, Bronson nods, pointing a finger at his son. “Fine. But do not leave their house while you’re here, do you hear me?”
“Yes, Dad. Thank you!”
The alpha throws one more warning in my direction before shifting and walking away, the other wolves right behind him.
I tip my head at Forest in gratitude. “Thank you for stepping in,” I say. I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t spoken up.
He nods. “If you’re free now, I want to show you the property. Bronson’s right. There are always wolves and bears in the forest these days, and I imagine after his howl on the way over, several of them will be out scouting. We should introduce you.”
I nearly groan, but he’s right. We need to get this over with. Besides, I could use some distance from the tension after Evan and I’s last conversation.
Evan’s phone buzzes in his pocket and the entire group turns to look at him. He gives a sheepish expression as he pulls it out, then frowns at me. “It’s my mom.”
“Take it,“ I say quickly.
“But you—”
“I’ll be fine, Ev.” I need air after what he said. I’d trust you...
“It’ll be better if you stay behind,” Forest says to Evan. “At least until things are cleared with the other packs.”
He narrows his eyes at Forest, but when his phone buzzes again, he hits answer and walks away, climbing into the van to take the call.
I stare after him, hating that we need to separate so soon after promising to stay together, but Forest is right. It’s simply too dangerous for Evan to join us, especially if this is how shifters react every time they see a vampire.
Guilt smolders within my chest and threatens to choke me. I never should have dragged him into this, but it’s too late now. We’re here, which means from here on out, I’m going to do anything I can to keep Evan O’Connor safe.
Even if it’s the last thing I do.