Chapter 4
Ipace back and forth in my office, the scent of pine and leather doing little to soothe my frayed nerves.
My boots echo on the hardwood floor, each step a rhythm to the storm brewing in my head. The office, my sanctuary, now feels like a cage, the walls closing in with the weight of my thoughts.
Ava.
A memory that haunts me. I can still see her, the way she looked that day in the forest, her green eyes fiery with determination, her dark curls framing a face that has floated through my dreams for years. The sight of her felt like a punch to the gut, stealing the breath from my lungs and leaving me reeling.
We grew up together, but I remember the summer I really saw her for the first time. I”d gone to the forest to run as a wolf. I”d only started shifting a few months earlier. This time, I came across a small wolf. Generally, the smaller wolves would cower in the presence of my wolf, but not this one. She didn”t challenge me, but she had a fierce spirit of inner strength and a heart full of hope. She stood proud and confident.
After we returned to the Pack area, we both shifted and dressed. We quickly became inseparable, two halves of a whole, bound by a connection that transcended time and space. She had been a ray of sunshine, her laughter a melody that had wrapped around me and refused to let go.
But then her father”s last testament was read. He revealed her mother had been a human he met when he explored the country in his twenties. The Pack pushed her away, denying she”d ever been part of the Blackwood Pack. She left.
The pain of her departure had been a wound, raw and bleeding. I filled the void she left with duty and responsibility. I buried myself in the Alpha role. I thought I”d escaped the memory of her, the echo of her laughter, the phantom touch of her hand in mine.
Until today.
Today, her appearance threatens to upend the fragile peace I”ve built. I saw the questions in her eyes, the hurt and confusion. I want to tell her how I truly feel, to lay bare the secrets I”ve kept hidden for so long. But I can”t, not yet.
I run a hand through my hair as I stare out the window. The forest stretches out before me, a sea of green and brown. It”s a world I”ve sworn to protect, a world that”s now under threat.
With a determined stride, I head toward the door, my heart pounding. It”s time to face the past, to confront the demons that have haunted me for so long. It”s time to talk to Ava.
Erik strides in, his usually calm demeanor replaced by a stormy expression. ”Zane, we need to find your father”s Shadow Rogues pendant.” His voice is low, urgent.
I stop midstride, my brow furrowing at Erik”s abrupt entrance and his unusual request. ”The Shadow Rogues pendant? Why the hell would you want that?” I ask, my voice laced with surprise. That thing”s been gathering dust in my father”s old study for decades.
Erik”s eyes, usually tranquil, are now stormy with worry. ”It”s about Aiden,” he begins, his voice thick with emotion. He paces toward the window, his large frame casting a long shadow across the wooden floor. ”Where I found his body... there was something else in the clearing.”
My heart hammers as I brace myself for what”s coming. ”Go on,” I urge, my voice barely a growl.
He turns to face me, his expression grave. ”There was a Shadow Rogues pendant at the scene, Zane. Someone”s trying to make this look like the work of the only person who would have access to both the pendant of the Blackwood Alpha and the Shadow Rogues.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. The old scar on my left eyebrow throbs as I fight to keep my anger in check. ”You honestly think someone”s trying to frame me?”
Erik nods, his jaw set in a hard line. ”That”s exactly what I think. And we must find your father”s pendant to prove them wrong.”
I let out a harsh breath, my mind racing. If Erik”s words are true, someone is playing a dangerous game.
Except my family wasn”t the only one tied to the Shadow Rogues. ”My father wasn”t alone in that group. He wasn”t even the leader…”
”And Zane”s never been seen wearing that pendant. He”s made his disdain for the group”s aims well known,” Rowan said as he walked through the door. His father had led the Blackwood Pack faction of the Shadow Rogues.
”Except only the Blackwood Pack would know that. Outside the Pack, Zane is most likely the only shifter the humans would know.” Erik adds.
”So you think it”s a human trying to frame me?”
”Or maybe the Pack? I don”t know.” Erik paced as he thought aloud, ”I don”t know how a human would have access to both of those pendants. And I know a human couldn”t sneak into our stronghold without anyone knowing.”
”Did you ask the Pack?” Rowan asked. ”Or did you assume they”d run and tell you?”
Erik looked taken aback. He never considered that someone could”ve seen signs of intruders and not say something to us.
”Enough,” I say. ”Let”s find that pendant. We know I didn”t do this. Then they stop chasing that trail.” I walk toward the door. Erik starts to walk beside me with Rowan trailing behind.
* * *
The dusty, neglected feel makes me hesitate as we enter my father”s office. I”ve been putting off handling my father”s belongings since his death because I still regret our last exchange. And there”s nothing I can do to fix it.
Now I”m here to rummage through his things just to find the pendant to exonerate myself. What does that say about me?
”You know, the Shadow Rogues had the right idea,” Rowan says as he searches the room. ”We should”ve never made a pact with the humans.”
I fix him with a hard stare, my patience wearing thin. ”That”s not helpful, Rowan.”
He shrugs, undeterred. ”Just saying. And now, we have a human poking her nose into our business again. She”s just looking to set you up for a fall, Zane.”
My grip on my temper slips, my voice dropping to a low growl. ”Watch your mouth, Rowan. Ava is not our enemy.”
Rowan”s eyes narrow, but he says nothing more. The tension in the room feels thick like a choking fog threatening to suffocate us all.
Erik breaks the silence, his voice steady. ”We need to focus on finding that pendant, Zane. It could be the key to all this.”
I nod, my gaze still locked on Rowan. ”You”re right, Erik.”
As we work through the office, my heart sinks. None of us locate the pendant my father kept in a desk drawer for the last fifty years. We look in every drawer, open every book, and shine a flashlight into every crevice in the room. The pendant isn”t here. Could it be in another room? Anything is possible. But I never saw that pendant anywhere else other. He always kept it in his office.
But I wasn”t the only Packmate who knew that.