Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
If I never heard those four words again, it would still be too soon. There were so many damn problems—we didn’t need to add more to the mix. “Are there enemy shifters here?” If there were, I was surprised that Rosemary hadn’t started kicking their asses. Maybe she wanted backup; that would make sense.
“I’m not sure if enemy is the right word.” She gritted her teeth, which wasn’t like her. She normally ran her mouth without regard for what came out.
This change made my skin crawl. Something was horribly wrong. “Just tell us,” I commanded.
She squinted at me, clearly not appreciating how I’d spoken to her, but she pushed it aside. “There are about fifteen shifters walking around your neighborhood.”
“Of course there are,” Griffin groaned. “And let me guess, they have guns.”
“No, they don’t.” She pursed her lips. “One of them has darker silver hair, like Julius back there.”
“Wait...” My mind raced to catch up. “Are you saying one might be a silver wolf ? But how? All the links are cold.” Unless…could it be my uncle?
“Based on finding both you and Julius, finding more wouldn’t be that farfetched at this point.” Rosemary shrugged. “If it was one of Julius’s buddies, they’d be loaded up.”
“Maybe we should turn around,” Killian said uneasily. “Maybe having them pop up is fate’s way of telling us to stay away. We could stand to catch a break.”
“No. I need to see them.” Julius climbed into the center aisle and out the driver’s-side back door. “There might not be another chance.”
Everyone grew uneasy, which was affecting our logic. We couldn’t let emotions rule our decisions. That was how mistakes were made. “If there are more silver wolves, they could be allies,” I said.
“But they might not be,” Griffin countered, and pointed at Julius, who surprisingly hadn’t marched toward the neighborhood.
A little bit of self-preservation was bleeding through his eagerness. Good, I didn’t need him running headfirst into a bad situation.
“He has a point.” Killian fidgeted in the back seat. “Julius is a silver wolf, and he was definitely working against us.”
“I get your concern,” I told him. Everything we’d experienced had taught us to be cautious, especially around new people. Every time we turned around, somebody else was trying to kill us. “But I think we have to check it out. If there are more of us, we could have a hell of a lot better chance of surviving and overcoming my would-be kidnapper.”
“You can’t guarantee they’ll work with you,” Rosemary said, and nibbled her bottom lip. “I didn’t take you as overconfident.”
Her words stung. Dick and Luna were overconfident; I’d never want to be lumped in with them. “I’m now the silver wolf alpha. My dad was the ultimate alpha, and his abilities transferred to me. My light silver hair signifies that. Worst case, I make them submit to me.”
“And if they attack all at once?” Rosemary’s forehead lined with worry. “I don’t think we can hold off fifteen of them.”
“If I challenge their alpha directly, it’s against wolf nature to organize an attack.” Only a coward would refuse or organize a group attack when faced with the alpha challenge.
Griffin swallowed and scowled. “If they’re silver wolves, that doesn’t mean they’ll be ethical.”
But it kind of did. I could feel the turmoil in Julius when he was solidly working with the other side. He was in constant conflict, and our bond only added to the chaos. It didn’t create it. Like Dad had explained, our race was inherently good. I had to believe that. And if that was my uncle, maybe he’d have some answers. “Let’s drive through the neighborhood. If we spot them, I can roll down the window and feel them out. If they charge or act shady, I’ll tell you, ‘Let's roll.’ They might be fast, but they can’t outrun a vehicle, especially for a long amount of time.”
“Don’t even bother trying to argue.” Killian sighed and leaned between the center console yet again. “You know you’re going to cave, and she does have a point. If there’s a slight chance they’re good—that they’re on Sterlyn’s side—we’d be stupid not to try.”
“I know that.” Griffin tapped his finger on the steering wheel. “But that doesn’t mean I’m happy about the situation.” He jabbed the button that rolled the window down and barked, “Are you getting back in the car or not?”
“Are you going down there?” Julius asked warily, but he opened the car door as he waited for a response.
Griffin groaned. “Yeah, she’d kick my ass if I didn’t.”
“I’ll take to the sky and make sure nothing strange happens.” Rosemary stepped back as her wings spread behind her. “If I see anything, I’ll holler and let you know.”
“Thanks.” Every conversation I had with her always seemed to end the same way.
She took flight as Julius got back into the car. As soon as the door shut, Griffin rolled into the neighborhood.
He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. “The first sign they might attack, I’m getting our asses out of here.”
“Okay.” If I fought him, he’d be even more hesitant to go. And honestly, he had a right to be wary. “But let’s at least give them a chance.”
“All you have to do is tell me,” Killian grunted. “I’ll roll the damn window up for her.”
Those two were insanely protective of me. If I didn’t love them as much as I did, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate being around them.
“You do realize she can take care of herself, right?” Julius didn’t sound amused. “If it weren’t for her and the angel, you two would’ve been killed by now.”
Not helping matters , I linked to Julius. Let ’ s not threaten their manhood when they ’ re already going into a situation they aren ’ t thrilled about.
Agitation rolled off Julius. If they can ’ t handle the truth, they need to learn how to. Sometimes, the truth hurts.
Says the guy who exploded on everyone last night when you learned about your past. You didn ’ t know how to handle it. He had no right to get all high and mighty. Every single one of us had flaws, and in this instance, Griffin’s and Killian’s was that they cared so much about me. Maybe some self-reflection would go a long way.
He remained silent. In fairness, he couldn’t have a good retort.
The modest brick houses came into view, and my heart twinged. With each house I looked at, the image of the family who had lived there popped into my mind. Every person meant so much to me. We’d been one large family, the way every smaller pack should be.
These houses were all one-story structures, similar to those in Killian’s pack neighborhood, but missing the Craftsman feel. These were simple and built to be low maintenance. The only sign that the town had been abandoned was the tall grass and weeds in everyone’s yards, now that the weather was warming with spring.
Griffin drove slowly, but soon, we took the curve leading to the back of the neighborhood and my family home.
In front of my parents’ house stood fifteen wolves. They didn’t hide but rather stood side by side, staring us down.
The tallest man stood in the center of the group with seven flanking each side. His hair was a shade darker than Julius’s but silver nonetheless. He appeared to be a few years younger than Dad and held himself in a similar way. And his golden flecked silver eyes zeroed in on me.
Could he be my uncle?
Griffin huffed as he turned the Navigator so that I faced the group head-on only a few feet away. When I rolled down my window, the faint floral, musky scent of the silver wolf filled the car.
I lifted my head high, making sure my posture exuded confidence. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
“Maybe we should ask you the same questions,” the man who obviously was the pack alpha retorted. He lifted his head high, mimicking me. “You don’t look as if you belong here.”
A loud laugh escaped me. This had to be some sort of joke. “I grew up here.”
“Really?” The alpha placed his hands inside his jean pockets and tilted his head. “You’ve let the place go to shit, then.”
The insult burned. He was right. I should’ve done more. I shouldn’t allow my childhood neighborhood to deteriorate like this. “I’ve been kind of preoccupied. Once again, who are you, and why are you here?”
“We thought we should check out the area.” The alpha shrugged, but there was something strange wafting off him. His intent was good, but he was trying to hide some sort of pain. “See if we could find a place to land.”
I wasn’t in the mood to play games. Dad had told me that political maneuvers were an important piece of leading, but all they did was convolute things. I hated it. I got that there was a time and place, but now didn’t feel like the time. “I’m Sterlyn Knight. Are you my uncle?”
Babe, I know you want him to be part of your family, but maybe you were a little too forthcoming. Worry pulsed from Griffin. Now he could pretend to be your family.
If he lies, we ’ ll know. There were some things you couldn’t hide. He looks like my dad, and he ’ s the right age.
And he left for a reason. Griffin placed his hand on the gear shift, ready to pull away. We don ’ t know what it was.
The alpha’s mouth dropped open, and he quickly scratched his nose as if trying to cover up his reaction. “You cut straight to the point, huh?”
“I figure there’s no reason to beat around the bush.” I scanned the entire group. The other men were around the same age as the alpha, so they weren’t his children. There was no way a silver wolf could reproduce like that, and their mates couldn’t be silver. “So my question is, what was my father’s favorite dessert?” Dad’s favorite was odd. Mom and I gave him hell, but he said his grandmother introduced him to it at a young age.
The alpha remained quiet for a moment, as if he were considering my words. “Jalapeno orange marmalade cupcakes. Grandma’s specialty.”
Even though I’d suspected this was my uncle, having him confirm it was surreal. “You’re really him.”
“And you’re really her. I thought you died...” The emotion grew thick in his voice, and he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
“I escaped.” I sounded like such a coward. “I was out in the woods when the attack happened. When I finally reached home to help, the slaughter was over. Dad was mortally wounded when he found me, and he told me to run. He had a huge gash—” I choked off.
“Look, I’m not trying to be an asshole,” Griffin said, and glared at my uncle. “But why the hell are you here now?”
“That’s a long story.” He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. His focus landed on Griffin and the other two men in the back seat. “And one that Sterlyn deserves an answer to. I was hoping to check out the house. Would that be all right?”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Killian asked. “If we walk in there, we could be walking to our deaths.”
My uncle nodded his head in approval and looked at me. “Who are these two?” He gestured from Killian to Griffin. “They aren’t silver wolves.”
“No. I met them after I escaped.” Even though we might be family, I wasn’t going to tell him my entire story. At least, not yet. Complete trust had to be earned, and I had learned that being family didn’t always mean someone had your best interests at heart.
“And who’s the other guy in the back?” my uncle asked.
“My brother.” If he knew my name, then his reaction to this little tidbit would tell everything.
“Impossible.” My uncle marched over to the car and scowled. “That’s not funny.”
His disbelief settled me. “Apparently, the witch who attended our birth spelled him to appear dead.” I could throw Julius under the bus and tell our uncle that he’d been trying to kidnap me for the bad guys, but I wouldn’t…for now. “We just found each other, but that’s a long story. I’m more interested in why you’re here now.”
“Decades ago, murmurings arose about reopening Shadow City to the world, and the city’s alpha began writing letters to your dad to see if he was interested in returning. We knew there was a chance that someone would try to control us, so since I was the pack beta, we decided that it would be best if I split off with a small number of wolves to form my own pack. This was a few years before you were born.” He motioned to the fourteen men behind him. “About two years ago, your dad contacted me to tell me that he was heading to the city to meet with the alpha. We’ve checked in once a month since then as the murmurs got louder.”
“That’s why you’re here.” It’d been almost a month since I ran that day. “You reached out, and he didn’t respond.”
“Yeah.” He clasped his hands loosely behind his back and stared at the ground. “When we got here, we searched the area and found several men dead in the woods. I’m assuming they were part of those who attacked the pack since they appeared to be military and had weapons on them, and they weren’t silver wolves. And then we found—”
My breathing quickened. For him to not finish the sentence told me everything. “Did you find the bodies of my pack?” Last time I’d been here, with Griffin, Killian, and Sierra, I hadn’t had a chance to find my dead because we’d been attacked again.
“We did.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “And it was awful. The way those assholes tossed them…” He blew out a breath and looked back at me. “Let’s just say they’re buried now in the cemetery.”
“Are there markers so I can find them?” I opened the car door, wanting to see where they’d been laid to rest.
The shortest man behind my uncle took a step forward. His midnight-brown hair fell to the side like long bangs, and his blood-orange eyes glazed over with sadness. Dirt coated his arms and smudged one cheek. He was close to my height but thicker. “We put a cross in front of each and did our best to bury family members together.”
“We were wondering where your body was.” My uncle touched my arm. “I didn’t let myself hope that you were still alive. I’m just so damn glad that you’re here.”
“Me, too.” Having more silver wolves and finding my uncle was a very good thing, especially since my attackers shouldn’t know about them. Not only that, but maybe he could help me get through to Julius so we could get some answers. We’d finally have something up our own sleeves. “But the question is, do you plan on staying?”
“We don’t have a choice.” My uncle lifted his arms and gestured around the town. “They tried to exterminate us. We won’t take it lying down.”
Good. I’d been worried they wouldn’t feel that way, but they were here for a reason.
“Do you mind going inside the house with me?” My uncle glanced at the front door and then back at me. “There’s something I need to show you.”
Whatever he wanted to show me must be important, which made me wonder what we’d missed the other day when we’d had to rush away so quickly. Were there more secrets hidden inside?