Chapter 13 #2
“One of them was Lycan. Maybe both.” He paused, wondering if he should say anything about the scent. On the ride here, he wondered if he’d imagined it; maybe the smoke from the fire made him hallucinate.
“You know something,” Ransom stated. “What is it? Tell us, especially if you think it can help find out who did this. While I know none of my guys were the target, this still happened on my territory, so I’m responsible.”
Eli supposed he was right, and there really was no denying it. “I thought I picked up a scent. One I recognized.” He met Ransom’s gaze. “Garret McCall.”
The room went still. Beside him, Olivia gasped and gripped his knee.
“So was he the one holding the gun,” Ransom asked. “Or the one holding you back?”
Eli paused. He hadn’t really thought of it. Not the guy with the gun, he’d seen his face. But he couldn’t be 100 percent certain Garret was the one who had him in a chokehold. The scent had only lingered in the air. “I’m not sure.”
Before he could answer, Hardy piped in. “How did your old man track you down, anyway?”
“I don’t know.” And that was the truth. They’d been careful.
No digital trail, no calls to anyone outside the property.
“But he’s smart and ruthless. He escaped the Arizona Lycan prison and figured out a way to break into Lone Wolf’s offices.
Nothing can stop him, once he puts his mind to it.
The only reason I don’t have a bullet in my head is because of you guys.
” He glanced at the members of the MC. “So, whoever it was that came back to help, thank you. I owe you one.
“What do you mean?” Hardy asked, puzzled.
“The one who jumped the guy with the gun.” Eli frowned. “That was one of you right?”
“We were all out the back,” Hardy replied. “By the time we got outside, the humans were already pouring out. We didn’t go back in through the hallway.”
“I was with Astoria,” Hawk added. “We came out through the kitchen.”
Before Eli could reply, Bo cleared his throat. “Isn’t that strange.”
“What is it,” Ransom asked.
Bo leaned forward. “So, none of our people were in that hallway and it wasn’t the girls.
Could it have been a random bar patron? Doubt it.
A human wouldn’t be able to overpower the Lycan holding Eli and then vanish into thin air.
” He folded his hands together then rested his chin atop them.
“So, then who pulled those men off you?”
Eli opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
He’d been so focused on the scent, on the fact that Garret had been close enough to breathe, that he hadn’t followed the logic to its end.
Someone in that hallway had intervened. Someone fast enough and strong enough to disarm a trained Lycan, and then disappeared before Eli could turn around.
“Bo’s right,” Ransom said. “We’re missing a piece.”
Before anyone could respond, the lodge’s front door opened. Cold mountain air swept through the lobby, and every head in the room turned.
Margaux Featherstone stood in the doorway, her eyes sweeping the room until they found Tabitha.
For just a fraction of a second, her composure broke, but she quickly replaced her cool, unaffected mask.
Crossing the room in four strides and with her charcoal coat billowing around her, she knelt in front of her daughter.
“You used your power.”
“I had to,” Tabitha rasped.
“You overextended.”
“She also has smoke inhalation,” Astoria piped up.
“Then you’ll need our healers as well,” Margaux added, then addressed her younger daughter. “Why did you wait so long to call me?”
“I called you the second we got back,” Astoria said. “You’re here in twenty minutes. I’d say that’s pretty fast.”
Margaux stood up to full height and turned to Ransom. “I understand there was an attack.”
“On my territory,” Ransom confirmed. “We’re still working out who and why.”
“My daughters were caught in it.”
“They were. And I’m sorry about that. We’re going to find out who did this.”
Margaux held his gaze for a beat, then nodded once, turning to help Tabitha up. As soon as she pulled her daughter up, her charcoal gray eyes locked onto Eli’s. The blood drained from her face and her lips parted.
Eli looked away, not just to escape the witch’s scrutiny, but also in hopes that he was wrong, that Margaux Featherstone didn’t see what he was trying to hide. The weight of the vials against his heart pressed down on him.
“Who is this?” she asked, her tone composed and polite.
“They’re the ones I was telling you about,” Ransom said. “Why we need protection from other Lycans. Olivia Jones and Eli Blake.”
Dread shot through Eli as Ransom spoke his name. He could only watch as it hit Margaux in real time. Her grip on Tabitha tightened, and her pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Fuck.
He’d been so careful. Keeping his head down and his mother’s secrets buried all these years. Now it was all coming undone.
“Blake,” Margaux repeated. She released Tabitha’s arm and turned fully toward him.
“That’s an unusual name. Family name?” When he didn’t answer, she continued.
“My father’s name was Blake. Edward Blake.
When he married into our coven, he took the Featherstone name, as is tradition when the wife ranks higher in power. ”
Eli gritted his teeth, his fingernails biting into his palm.
“It’s not a common surname in these parts.” The witch took a step toward him. “And you have a very familiar face. Those eyes, that particular green. My sister, Marlene—”
“Don’t you fucking dare say her name!” Eli was on his feet before he could stop himself, the chair hit the floor behind him with a loud crash. His wolf slammed its head against his ribcage.
Margaux didn’t back away. She held her ground, gray eyes locked on his, and that only made it worse. He took a step toward her and Ransom moved off the mantel, inserting himself between them.
“Easy,” Ransom said. “Not in my house.”
The ache in Eli’s chest threatened to burst. His wolf was clawing at him, making it worse. Olivia was at his side, her fingers gripping his sleeve, but her voice could barely cut through the ringing in his ears.
“She was my sister,” Margaux said from behind Ransom. Her voice had completely lost its composure. “Marlene was my sister.”
“I know exactly who she was to you.” Eli forced the words out through his teeth. “She told me everything. How your coven threw her out for having a child with a Lycan. How your mother decided her own daughter was disposable because she didn’t marry the man she’d chosen for her.”
“Our mother made that decision,” Margaux said, her voice shaking. “Not me.”
“And you went along with it.”
“I was twenty-two years old. I had no standing in the coven. I begged her to reconsider.” A sob broke from her throat.
“Marlene was the eldest. The most powerful witch our coven had produced in three generations. Her potions were sought after across the entire eastern seaboard. She was supposed to be matriarch after our mother. I took that role because she was gone, not because I wanted it.”
“That must have been hard for you,” he said.
“Don’t.” Her eyes flashed. “Don’t reduce this to jealousy. I loved my sister.”
“Then why didn’t you find her?”
Margaux seemingly had no answer as her mouth opened, then closed.
“She died.” Bitterness and rage coated those two words. “Cancer. I was fifteen.”
“She wrote to me. Once, after she left. She said she was safe. She said her mate loved her and the baby.” Her brow furrowed. “She said Garret would protect them.”
Eli let out a sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. “Garret only showed up after she died and then dragged me to Boston. He beat me for fifteen years and forced me to join his Alpha’s criminal empire. That’s what Garret’s protection looks like.”
Margaux closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were wet. “I didn’t know.”
“Now you do.”
“Eli, please, let me—”
“This is not the time for this.” Eli took in a breath. “Garret McCall was at that bar tonight. He may have been one of the people who attacked me. That’s what matters right now.”
Margaux’s head snapped up. “Garret is here? In Kentucky?”
“He’s the reason why we need protection. He’s been after me since he got out of a Lycan prison.”
“Why?” Margaux’s expression turned to that of pure confusion. “He’s your father. He loves—”
“He was sent to prison for his crimes, and the first thing he did was try to find me,” he interrupted. “And his scent was in the hallways where I was attacked.”
She inhaled a breath before straightening her shoulders. “Then we have work to do. The wards I’m preparing for the property can be accelerated. And I can add a layer specifically keyed to Garret’s bloodline.”
“You can do that?” Ransom asked.
“If I have a biological connection to the target, yes.” She glanced at Eli. “And I now have one.”
Eli didn’t argue. She was right.
“We’ll help however we can,” Margaux said, addressing Ransom but keeping her eyes on Eli. “My coven will assist with the protections first thing in the morning. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to take Tabitha home so our healers can see to her.”
She turned to leave, and at the door, she stopped.
Her hand rested on the frame. “She was the best of us. Marlene was the best of all of us, and losing her was the worst thing that ever happened to this family.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“I should have found her. I’ll carry that for the rest of my life.
” She walked to the door, Astoria and Tabitha trailing behind her.
“For what it’s worth,” Astoria said to Eli as she passed, “I’m glad she didn’t lose all of her.”
Tabitha, even half-conscious and hoarse, managed to call out, “Family dinner soon, cousin? I have so many questions.”
Then they were gone. A few heartbeats of silence passed before anyone spoke.