Chapter 6
Istand before the Blackwood Pack, my Pack, in the Meeting Hall. I can sense the dissent brewing beneath the surface.
”Brothers and sisters,” I project my voice to quiet the room. ”We face a grave threat, one that seeks to disrupt the harmony we”ve fought so hard to maintain.”
Murmurs ripple through the crowd. I can almost see the whispers fanning out like a wave at a high school football game. ”Murders” and ”Aiden” filter up to me. Just enough to know what is on everyone”s mind but not enough to know how to contain it. Devin would have used sheer brute strength. Initiate a challenge (any challenge) to cause a bloodbath, and everyone will fall in line around you. But gore and bloodbaths are not my style.
Erik, my ever-loyal Beta, meets my gaze, his brow furrowed with concern. He”s aware of the discord but remains unsure of its source. Zach, a young and fiercely devoted member of our Pack, shifts in his seat uneasily, as he struggles to make sense of the growing unease.
”We must stand united. The Shadow Rogues have resurfaced, and their actions threaten our Pack and the fragile peace between humans and shifters.”
An eerie silence as people catch each other”s eyes across the crowded room. On the whole, Blackwood Pack hadn”t opposed many of the ideals of the Shadow Rogues fifty years ago. Even my own parents had thought they had the right idea. But standing here as the Alpha, I see so much more clearly how corrosive their influence could be on us.
”You say that like it”s a bad thing,” Marc, an older man says from the back of the room as he struggles to stand. ”Seems to me getting closer to the humans hasn”t done us any good. Aiden wanted to build relationships with them, look what that got him.” A handful of Packmates clap in response, but it dies down quickly.
”So you are blaming Aiden. For his own murder,” Erik calls out from beside me.
”I”m the ripe old age of eighty-one because I don”t associate with humans. You”d all be wise to remember that.”
A growl sounds low in Erik”s throat, and I put a hand out to stop any movement he might take toward the older Packmate.
”Grandpa. You know that isn”t fair,” Rowan walks through the door as though he just arrived at the meeting. His clothing looks dirty and worn as though he just left his job. ”You”ve lived to eighty-one because of moonshine and moonlight. At least that is what you”ve always told me.” Rowan winks and the room erupts in laughter that almost feels inappropriate. Rowan seizes the opportunity to fan the flames, his voice rising above the laughter. ”And what of our trust in the humans, Alpha? Should we blindly follow your lead, even as they hunt our kind?”
His words strike a nerve, and I feel a growl build in my chest. ”Our alliance with the humans is crucial to our survival,” I remind them, my voice steady despite the turmoil within. ”We cannot allow the actions of a few to dictate our future.”
”How do the humans help us?” Genie, one of the girls I went to high school with, asks from the corner. She has a toddler on one hip that she is trying to soothe. ”I don”t go to Cascade Falls for anything. What food I can”t hunt, I grow. What clothing I can”t get from bartering with friends, I make. I don”t need a human—”
”It isn”t just any human investigating,” Rowan calls out. ”Ava”s back. After living in Cascade Falls for eight years, she”s returning to judge us.”
A collective gasp silences the room.
Erik steps forward to stand beside me, his imposing figure a stark reminder of our Pack”s strength, but he can say what would only make this meeting worse if I said it. ”Ava is not our enemy. We have to work together to root out the true enemy.”
”That upstart left us with an unmated Alpha. You know as well as I do that weakens our Pack. And now someone is taking shots at the Pack. Literal shots. And our Alpha”s answer is to get back into league with someone who left us. Has never returned once.” Marc calls out again and I can hear the sounds of agreement.
”It is hardly unusual for an Alpha who has just reached thirty to be unmated,” Erik says. ”Devin was unmated until he was almost forty. And you know that, Marc. Zane has not failed us by being unmated.”
His words seem to quell the unrest, but I know the seeds of doubt will propagate if given the chance. As the meeting draws to a close, I can”t help but feel the weight of my responsibilities pressing down on me. The Pack”s future hangs in the balance, and I must find a way to restore their faith before it”s too late.
As the shifters disperse, Erik approaches me, his expression grave. ”This discord didn”t start with these murders, Zane. The Pack cannot afford to be divided. Especially if the Shadow Rogues have returned.”
I nod.
Erik and I leave the Meeting Hall. He silently acknowledges the task ahead of him: to uncover any signs of recent activity within the Shadow Rogues within the Pack. As he disappears into the forest, I return to my house, the path familiar beneath my feet.
My senses are on high alert, and I catch a whiff of Ava”s scent before I see her truck parked outside my home. My heart races as I see her and Nora waiting on my porch. I steel myself, reminding myself that this is not a social call.
”Zane,” Ava greets me, her voice steady and professional. ”We have the forensics report on the piece of fabric.”
I brace myself for the worst. ”And?”
”The blood didn”t belong to Aiden,” she says. ”It shows markers of being shifter, not human.”
The implications hit me like a punch to the gut. I feel like I”m standing on the edge of a precipice, teetering on the brink of disaster. If I ask the Pack to submit blood samples for a human lab to examine, I”ll be challenged for Alpha before the end of the day.
Ava”s expression softens, and she lays a hand on my arm. ”I”m sure the blood is yours. Someone has been going to a lot of trouble to implicate you.”
Nora speaks up, her brow furrowed. ”How would someone get your blood?”
Ava and I answer in unison, ”Challenge.”
For the briefest moment, it takes me back to high school. To the moments when we finished each other thoughts. When we were nominated for Prom King and Queen, everyone wrote AtoZ on the ballots. And everyone knew that was us. That memory brings a smile to my lips. But just as quickly I”m struck with another memory—a seemingly friendly challenge with Zach, a young wolf eager to prove himself. At the time I thought nothing of it, but now I can”t help but wonder if someone manipulated him into challenging me.
Ava”s eyes narrow, and I can see the wheels turning in her head. ”We need to find out who”s behind this, Zane. And fast.”
I nod, my resolve strengthening. ”I”ll talk to Zach. He must know something that can help us.”
”I can”t let you talk to him alone, Zane,” Ava says.
”I”m fully capable of talking to a wolf in my Pack without a police escort.”
”I”m sure you are, but don”t forget there”s a human victim, too. So this isn”t Pack business. This is police business. And that means we will be present for any questions.”
”If I call it a friendly chat, does that change anything?”
”Not about whether we will be present,” Ava says.
”Fine. But the conversation will happen here. At my house. I don”t need the Cascade Falls Police traipsing through the community, especially if the Shadow Rogues are back.”
”Maybe you should remind your Pack to keep out of my business then,” Ava”s voice is sharp.
”You didn”t come to the house first, did you?”
”No, we went to the big building where it looked like everyone was meeting,” Nora said.
Just when I thought this day couldn”t get worse.