42. Calder
Calder
I stood there, my heart broken, torn between two worlds. I wanted to run after Ethan, to force him to listen to me so he’d understand why I had to lie to him about who I was. But I couldn’t force my feet to move, not after what he’d said. He’d called me a monster.
And, I guess, he was right.
Only a monster would’ve lied to him like I did, led him on like he was something to be used up and discarded.
I lied to him about what I was, how I knew so much, and about his missing research.
And I’d done it all knowing full well the kind of hole I was digging myself into.
Would he ever forgive me? I doubted it. But as much as that hurt, it wasn’t what mattered.
Ethan was out there, by himself, and the rogue was still on the loose.
I knew Jake was jealous of me, but I never expected him to pin all the blame on my head and then get himself killed.
Now Ethan thought I murdered all those people, his father, and Jake.
It was a monumental sized problem that unfortunately had only one solution.
I had to tell Ageratum and the pack about my unapproved mate.
Then, despite how bad I felt or how much I wanted to just lay down on the sidewalk and cry, we had to get to work.
Ethan needed to be protected whether he liked it or not.
I couldn’t stop the Elder Council from finding and punishing us both.
Hell, I’d take all the punishment, I didn’t care.
But Ethan had to be safe. That was not negotiable.
I reached for my phone, dialing Trevor first. This wasn't a conversation I wanted to have, but I had no choice. The call connected after two rings.
"Hey boss, what's—"
"Trevor, I need you and Patrick at my house. Now." My voice was raw, barely controlled. "It's an emergency."
"What happened?" The playfulness vanished from his tone immediately.
"Ethan knows." The words felt like razor blades in my throat. "About me. About all of us. And he ran."
"Shit." Trevor's sharp intake of breath told me he understood the gravity of the situation. "We're on our way. Ten minutes, tops."
I ended the call and immediately dialed Ageratum. My fingers trembled as I waited for him to answer. I hated having to involve the demon, but we needed all the help we could get.
"Alpha Thorne." Ageratum's voice was cool and detached as always. "This is unexpected."
"I need your help," I said, swallowing my pride. "Ethan found out what I am. He thinks I'm the rogue that killed his father."
There was a long pause on the other end. "I see. And where is your human now?"
"He ran. With evidence." I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "A scrapbook from his coworker Jake—the one the rogue killed last night."
"That is... unfortunate." The understatement of the century. "I'll be there shortly."
I pocketed my phone and paced the living room, fighting the urge to shift and track Ethan by scent. My wolf was howling inside me, desperate to find my mate, to protect him. But that would only terrify him more if he saw me in wolf form now.
Within minutes, I heard a truck screech to a halt in the driveway. Trevor and Patrick burst through the door without knocking, concern etched on their faces.
"What the hell happened?" Trevor demanded.
I explained everything—Jake's letter, the accusations, Ethan's discovery of what I was. Each word felt like I was ripping open my own chest.
"So he thinks you're the killer?" Patrick asked, his normally cheerful face grim. "That's fucked up."
"Jake set me up," I growled. "He's been watching us, following us. He saw us shift."
Trevor cursed under his breath. "You think that’s how he got killed by the rogue? Tracking another werewolf?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “But now there’s no way to prove he was wrong.”
A cold gust of air announced Ageratum's arrival. The demon materialized from the shadows in the corner of the room, his perfect suit unwrinkled despite his unconventional mode of transportation.
"This situation has become untenable," Ageratum stated, his crimson eyes surveying us all. "Your human now possesses knowledge and evidence that threatens our entire existence."
"His name is Ethan," I growled, hackles rising. "And he's my mate."
Ageratum's lips curled into what might have been a smile on anyone else. On him, it looked predatory. "Yes. Your unapproved mate. The one you've been hiding from the Council and the Society."
"This isn't about approval," I snapped. "It's about keeping him alive. The rogue is still out there, and now Ethan is running around Portland with evidence about our kind and no protection."
"The Council will want him eliminated," Ageratum stated flatly. "You understand that, don't you?"
My wolf surged forward, a snarl ripping from my throat before I could stop it. "Anyone who tries to touch him dies. Council or not."
Trevor stepped between us, hands raised. "Let's focus on finding Ethan first. We can deal with the Council later."
"He's right," Patrick added, already pulling out his phone. "I'll call the pack and start checking the downtown area."
"I'll take the east side," Trevor said. "Calder, you know him best. Where would he go?"
I closed my eyes, trying to think past the panic clawing at my chest. "Not his apartment. He knows that's not safe and that I’d check there first. Not his mother's hotel either. He wouldn't want to put her in danger."
"The newspaper office?" Patrick suggested.
I shook my head. "Too obvious. He knows I'd look there too." I paced the room, my mind racing. "He’d stay in public. But Halloween was yesterday. There’s no festival or anything going on today, so he might hit a coffee shop? Honestly… he could be anywhere in the city at this point.”
“Then we’ll need something of his,” Trevor said. “So we can track his scent.”
I nodded, moving quickly to the bedroom.
Ethan's scent was everywhere, embedded in the sheets, lingering on the pillow he'd slept on.
I grabbed his t-shirt from the floor where he'd discarded it last night, bringing it to my nose and inhaling deeply.
His scent flooded my senses—earthy and sweet, tinged now with the sharp tang of fear and betrayal. My wolf whined, desperate to find him.
"This will work," I said, returning to the living room and handing the shirt to Trevor. He and Patrick both took turns scenting it, committing Ethan's unique smell to memory.
"We need to split up," I said, already moving toward the door. "Cover as much ground as possible. If anyone finds him, call immediately. Don't approach him. He's terrified and thinks we're all… monsters… that want to kill him." The word caught in my throat, his accusation still raw in my mind.
"I can move faster in the shadows," Ageratum offered, his voice devoid of emotion. "I'll search the waterfront and Old Port areas."
"Thank you," I managed, swallowing my pride. As much as I distrusted the demon, we needed his help.
"Calder," Trevor said, his hand on my shoulder. "What about the Council? They'll sense this much activity from our pack."
"I don't care," I growled. "Let them come. Nothing matters except finding Ethan before the rogue does."
Patrick's phone buzzed. He glanced at it, then back at me with wide eyes. "A call just came in at the police station. Someone called in a person in a werewolf costume stalking through town. Thought it was suspicious. They were spotted down near Congress Street."
My blood turned to ice. That wasn't far from here. Ethan could easily have run in that direction.
"Go!" I ordered, already heading for the door. "Patrick, take the pack and set up a perimeter. Trevor, with me."
We burst out of the house, the urgency of the situation overriding any concern about being seen. Trevor jogged beside me as we headed toward the last reported sighting.
"What if we're too late?" I asked, the question tearing from my throat before I could stop it.
Trevor's expression hardened. "We won't be. Ethan's smart. He'll stay in public places."
"He wasn't thinking clearly," I countered, increasing my pace. "You didn't see his face, Trev. He was devastated. Betrayed." I swallowed hard. "I did that to him."
"You were protecting him," Trevor insisted. "He'll understand once we explain everything."
"If we ever get the chance," I muttered, scanning the streets ahead.
We reached Congress Street in minutes, but there was no sign of either Ethan or the rogue or anyone in a costume. I pulled out my phone, checking for messages from the pack. Nothing.
"Let's split up," I said, already scenting the air. "You take that side, I'll take this one."
Trevor nodded, his face grim with determination. "I'll call if I find anything. And Calder?" He gripped my shoulder. "We'll find him."
I watched Trevor jog away, then turned to scan the street. My wolf was clawing at me from the inside, demanding I shift and track Ethan properly. The human way was too slow, too inefficient. But I couldn't risk it, not in broad daylight with so many people around.
I moved quickly down the sidewalk, breathing deeply through my nose with each step. The city was a cacophony of scents. Exhaust fumes, food from nearby restaurants, garbage, and hundreds of humans assailed my senses. Somewhere beneath it all had to be Ethan's scent, if I could just isolate it.
There.
I stopped dead in my tracks. It was faint but unmistakable. That sweet, earthy cologne mixed with Ethan’s unique scent. And something else... fear. My stomach twisted at the realization that I was the cause of that fear.
I followed the trail, moving faster now. It led down a side street, away from the busier areas. My heart sank. Why would he leave the safety of crowds? Unless...
A new scent hit me, and I froze. Werewolf. Not pack. Rogue.
"No," I whispered, breaking into a run.
The scents grew stronger as I raced down the street, turning into a narrow alley. Ethan's fear was overwhelming now, mixed with the rogue's musky, rank odor. And blood.
My vision tunneled, the world narrowing to just the trail before me. I rounded another corner and skidded to a halt. Pages from a book or journal were scattered across the wet pavement, soaked through and trampled. It was Jake's scrapbook. And beside them, a smear of blood on the brick wall.
I knelt, touching the dark stain with trembling fingers. It was fresh, still tacky. My wolf howled in anguish inside me, and I had to fight to keep from shifting right there in the alley.
I pulled out my phone and called Trevor.
"I found something," I said, my voice barely recognizable even to my own ears. "An alley off Cumberland. There's blood, and the scrapbook is torn apart. The rogue's scent is everywhere."
"Shit," Trevor cursed. "Is it...?"
"It's Ethan's blood," I confirmed, the words like acid in my mouth. "But there's not enough for..." I couldn't finish the thought.
"I'm on my way," Trevor said. "Call the others."
I hung up and quickly dialed Patrick, then Ageratum. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone. This was my fault. If I'd just told Ethan the truth from the beginning, if I hadn't lied about his research, if I'd been honest about what I was...
“You know I have to inform the council about this,” a voice behind me said. “I have no choice now.”
I turned to see Ageratum as he stepped out of the shadows. He’d gotten to me almost instant. I stared at him for a moment before giving him a slow nod.
“I know,” I said.
“There will be consequences.”
“I don’t care.” Tears formed in my eyes as my gaze met his. “All I care about is finding Ethan before… before it’s too late.”
Ageratum nodded. “We’ll find him. And with the Council on our side, we can be even faster. Some of the witches on the Council are quite adept at finding people.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “So they can dispose of them.”
The demon shook his head. “I’m sorry, Alpha Thorne. But this is the only option we have left.”
I nodded, knowing he was right. “Go to them,” I said. “And tell them… tell them I’ll do whatever it takes to save Ethan.” I lifted my gaze to the demon, my golden eyes burning into his. “Anything.”