Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The ride to Shadow Lake passed in a tense silence. One of Griffin’s hands was on the Navigator’s steering wheel while the other one gripped my leg like I might disappear. As if his grasp was the only reason I was still sitting beside him.
Killian sat behind my seat, breathing heavily with his own anxiety. "I can’t believe I’m coming back here."
"Wait… What do you mean?" Something must have been bothering him more than I realized.
He didn’t respond, and Griffin linked with me, His family died where we’re heading.
Oh, my God. "Killian, you don’t have to come—"
"Hell, yes I do," Killian growled. "I’m not having the two people I consider family go here without me. Never again."
I already felt like I was suffocating, and their stress-filled demeanors only increased mine—but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. If I reacted, it would cause them to become even more stressed. Besides, to be fair, if one of them were in the same situation, I’d feel the same way. "Okay, but if it gets to be too much—"
They were upset because they cared, and even though I was miserable because of it, I wouldn’t change them feeling this way for the world.
Both of them were my family.
"Please stop." Killian exhaled. "I’m going. It’ll be fine. We aren’t going to hang out—we’ll be dealing with shit so I won’t have time to think about it."
Griffin glanced in the rearview mirror. "Are you sure he won’t fuck this up?"
"Dude, how many times do we have to go through this?" Killian grumbled. "He’s meeting Rosemary in the woods behind the pack neighborhood, and he’s willingly letting her fly him to Shadow Lake to meet us to ensure he isn’t followed. You need to keep your attention on the road and make sure no one is following us."
"Including any damn crows." I still hated that one. I’d been staring out the windshield, paying more attention to the sky than the road behind us. My stalker’s first crow was dead, but there was no telling whether he had another that had stepped in.
Wow—he… I might be as sexist as Dick. Why couldn’t the bad guy be a girl?
Great, I was losing it. Scolding myself and having internal debates revealed that little nugget.
Griffin smirked. "I’m so glad I shot that bastard."
"That was too kind after everything he’d done." I had wanted to be the one to end him. "I planned to pluck out each feather one by one before providing a slow and painful death."
"Damn, Sterlyn," Killian chuckled. "And here I’ve been thinking that you were kind and empathetic—only killing when required—but then you spout off something like that."
"I’d planned on killing the bear shifter who attacked me." I’d been ready to get my revenge. "But when he was lying helpless, crumpled on the ground…I just couldn't do it." To actively kill someone like that in cold blood… I didn’t have it in me.
"Hey, I was teasing." Killian placed a hand on my shoulder and rubbed. "I know—when it came down to it—you wouldn’t have been able to kill the crow, even though he deserved it."
Maybe not, but…the crow was a little different. He’d put not only me but the people I loved in danger.
"I won’t be nearly as kind as her if Carter tries to put one over on us again." Griffin’s hand tightened even more.
Hey, everything is going to be okay. If he didn’t breathe, he could have a heart attack like his father. "He told us they called; I think we’re good."
"Yeah, man." Killian’s hand disappeared, and I heard him sit back in the seat. "When he does come through for us, you’re going to have to let that go."
"Nope." Griffin shook his head as his left leg bounced. "I won’t. I get that he grew up with you and Sierra and is part of your pack, but I’ve known him for a couple of years—ever since I started at Shadow University—and I’ve never been impressed."
"Because he was petrified of you." Killian sighed. "But I know he’ll come through. That’s all that matters."
"I think he will, too." I pried my fingers under Griffin’s, trying to get him to release his death grip on my leg. If he didn’t let go, my leg was going to fall asleep. "At least we’ll know what we’re working with this time."
"I’d feel better if Sierra was here too." Griffin frowned. "If we’re walking into a trap, the more people we have, the less risky it will be."
"If she called out or left work early again, that could make whoever is behind this more suspicious." We couldn’t be reactive. We had to keep level heads or the plan wouldn’t work.
Killian said, "Don’t forget that Dick is already pissed about her missing work the other day. He’s been riding her ass ever since."
"Dick riding ass, eh?" I tried lightening the mood in the vehicle. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Dear God," Killian groaned. "Between you and Sierra... Hell, Rosemary even made a similar joke the other day, which freaked me out."
Not even the corner of Griffin’s mouth tipped upward, revealing how stressed he really was.
I feel like, ever since you met me, you ’ ve been a bottle of nerves. Sometimes I worried that my presence in his life was more problematic than good.
Griffin looked at me for a moment before looking back at the road. First off, it ’s only because I care about you so much, but second, I ’ ve always been kind of uptight. He kissed my cheek. I promise I have never felt happier and more content in my entire life.
You sure? The scent of a lie was missing, but that couldn’t stop me from asking. Each day felt like we were waking up to some sort of hidden threat. I just don’t see how.
I’m positive, he reassured me as he turned onto the road to the lake. The trees were thick on both sides, taking us to a spot in the lot that the shade from the trees covered. Rosemary and Carter were meeting us in a part of the woods a few miles in the direction that the bear had taken me.
A few visitors would, no doubt, be at the lake, so we were going to meet off the path where no one would see us together.
Griffin pulled into a parking space, and I gazed around. Several people were swimming in the lake. When I opened the door, the grassy and maple scents informed me that the two who seemed to be a couple were bears, and the other four were vampires.
My body tensed. I’d been attacked by two bear shifters already and was feeling particularly wary of them.
The three of us got out of the car, and I grabbed a bag I’d packed for keeping up our charade. Shifters loved to run, so us heading into the woods with extra clothing would help create the fa?ade that we were just there to shift and enjoy the outdoors. This place was only about thirty or so minutes away from Shadow Ridge, so we had to pretend to be there for a day of fun.
Scanning the surroundings, I looked for any crows or falcons; those were the only two birds that could shift into both human and animal forms.
The only thing that stood out was the group of vampires distorting their beautiful faces to scowl in our direction.
I spoke softly, even though we were at least a half-mile away and they wouldn’t be able to hear. "Uh...what the hell is their problem?"
"They have to be from Shadow Terrace," Killian spat.
"The town on the other side of the river?" Someone had mentioned it in passing, but not much more. All I knew was that the town was protected by a vampire clan that provided humans to the vampires in Shadow City when needed.
"Yeah. Between us throwing a fit about them funneling humans into Shadow Terrace, and the university being built on our side of the river, things are a little tense between the races." Griffin lifted his chin and ignored the vampires. "Things between us and the vampires are tense inside the city, too. We have conflicting agendas—except for everyone being on board to build the college. However, with so many humans applying and wanting to visit the campus, we didn’t want the school located on the vampire side—we knew it would increase the number of human visitors by a lot, and that would be very tempting for them. So, between the wolves and vampires vying for the spot as best protector, and since they both guard a side of the city, the university being located on the wolf side added even more animosity between us."
We stepped into the woods, leaving the scorned vampires behind us. A memory from my first week at the coffee shop passed through my mind. "Doesn’t the vampire prince, Alex, attend the university? If there is so much animosity, why is he there?"
"He does, and it’s partly to keep an eye on things," Killian said, catching up and walking on my other side. The trees were still spread out enough for us to walk next to one another. "Which was a whole thing within itself. During the first few months the university opened, he fed off one of the humans who was touring the school. Ever since then, a shifter has been assigned to escort every vampire around campus so that doesn’t happen again."
"What? Really?" The day I’d met him, he’d seemed nice…but that was part of a vampire’s allure. They were manipulative and practiced at hiding their true intentions because darkness was already a part of them. A bloodthirsty monster that tried to make each of them lose their humanity. "He can still walk in the sunlight, or at least tolerate it."
"He’s only drunk from the tap a few times." Griffin laughed harshly. "And has never killed anyone. So he’s actually pretty clean. Apparently, one of the students had cut the girl or something, trying to make him lose control."
"Wait, they tried to make him lose his humanity?" No wonder Dad said vampires were too corrupt to be around. Granted, I was learning that the shifters and vampires needed the silver wolves’ help to suss the vilest people out. Just like how Griffin didn’t sense Dick’s true intent—if he had, he wouldn’t be letting Dick make decisions on his behalf. Maybe the silver wolves leaving the city had been the wrong move after all.
I needed to talk to him about that, but there was always something more pressing going on.
"Yes, Shadow City has come far, but there are still some circles trying to get ahead." Griffin shook his head. "It’s hard at times to figure out who is friend or foe."
"This could be a soap opera," I tried teasing, but the joke fell flat. Sometimes the truth wasn’t all that funny.
Silence descended between us as the trees thickened. Griffin took the lead, heading to the spot Rosemary had directed us. He reached back and held my hand like he needed to make sure I remained there.
Killian walked behind me, and when I looked back, I saw him glancing around—no doubt looking for any signs that we were being followed or at risk of imminent attack.
I kept my eyes skyward. No way was another damn bird going to spy on us.
Luckily, I didn’t see or hear anything suspicious. My heart couldn’t help but balloon with hope. Could we actually get ahead of whoever was hunting me after all?
We ’ re almost there, Griffin linked, his pace increasing.
He was as eager to arrive as I was. In fact, I was beyond ready for it all to be over. I’d love to see what a relationship with Griffin would be like without this constant threat hovering over us. I understood his position within the council would always make things tense, and he’d always have enemies, but hopefully not people who’d put our lives at risk every single day.
"Are they there yet?" Griffin asked.
"Yeah," Killian responded. "Carter linked me when we pulled into the lot. They’re waiting on us." He chuckled. "He’s scared that Rosemary will kill him."
Almost as if on cue, I heard Rosemary’s voice. "I swear to God, if you scream like that on the way back, I won’t drop you gently."
"You need me," Carter said, cockily. "At least until this is over. I ain’t scared."
"You can still do what needs to be done with a broken leg." Rosemary’s voice grew deep and threatening. "So don’t get cocky."
"You wouldn’t." He squeaked. "Dove wouldn’t like that."
"Dove isn’t my boss." Rosemary retorted. "I don’t need her blessing or permission."
Oh, dear God. She was going to make the poor guy piss his pants before we even had a conversation.
The three of us hurried toward them, and I purposely stepped on a branch, hoping that would prevent them from going at it.
"Well, they’re on their way," Carter gloated. "So—"
A loud smack echoed through the trees.
"Ow!" Carter whined. "You slapped me!"
"Why do you always feel the need to state the obvious?" Rosemary grumbled.
Okay, there went that strategy. Obviously, Rosemary didn’t care if we were close. Which wasn’t surprising.
The two of them came into view, and Carter was holding a hand over his left cheek.
"I swear the two of you bring out the worst in each other." I shook my head. "And to think you took Rosemary’s shit at the coffee shop when I started working there."
"Because I’m a professional." Carter placed his free hand on his chest. "And all bets were off the first time she flew my ass up in the sky. All I could see were clouds, not even the earth below."
"Let’s focus," Griffin barked. He stood in front of Carter and crossed his arms, glaring at the guy. "Now spill."
"Fine." Carter lowered his hand. A bright red handprint marked his face.
She’d slapped the shit out of him. I kind of felt bad. Kind of.
"They want it to go down tomorrow." Carter inhaled and winced. "Dude, this still hurts."
Killian rubbed his forehead. "Carter, man, if you know what’s best for you, focus."
"They want me to send her out back to take out the garbage around seven in the morning so they can kidnap her before the campus gets busy." Carter took a deep breath. "If they don’t get her, my brother loses a hand."
"Well, at least he has another one," Griffin rasped.
"Stop it." I smacked his arm. "He will not, because they’re going to capture me."
Griffin’s nostrils flared. "Like hell they are."
"If they don’t, we won’t find out who they are." I wasn’t sure what else to do so he would get on board with this. "And they’re going to keep attacking. This is the one time we have a heads up on their plan. They take me, and you all will be prepared to follow."
"I can be nearby in a tree." Rosemary nodded and rubbed her fingers together. "I can stay high enough that they won’t see me, and I won’t lose her." She looked at Griffin. "There will be absolutely no risk of me losing her."
"And you two can be in the parking lot in the car. Hell, we can even rent a car so they won’t know it’s yours." We had a whole day to plan. We could get a rental car tonight and already have it parked on campus. "You follow us, and worse case, if you can’t keep up, Rosemary can text you the location when they stop."
"You expect me to be okay with you being used as bait?" Griffin asked as his forehead wrinkled and his mouth dropped open. He looked completely flabbergasted. "There’s no way this is going to happen. Tell her, Killian."
Killian lifted a hand. "I’m not thrilled about it, but Dove has a point. This may be the only chance we have the upper hand. We’re clueless, and this could lead us straight to the organizer."
I placed a hand on Griffin’s chest and turned toward him. "I’m not asking for permission. I will be doing this because it’s the best plan we have and may be the only time we’ll have this kind of advantage. They’ve been one step ahead of us the whole way. They’ll be arrogant and not expect it."
"So, that’s the plan." Rosemary nodded. "I promise, Griffin, I won’t lose her—and I’ll be watching over her so nothing bad happens."
A kak sounded, still far away, but my blood ran cold. That was the sound of a falcon.