Rot in Pieces, Songbird

1. Pix

Pix

The hollow feeling that there is something so fundamentally wrong with the world stalks me as I creep through the treeline.

The bond on my neck throbs with the temper of the alpha I haven’t seen in well over six weeks.

I reach up, absently rubbing the raised flesh, feeling an ache I didn’t expect, and fighting the violent and tempestuous urge to go find him.

If it were that easy, I would have gone in a heartbeat.

But it’s not.

We’re all being hunted.

I stop in the cold shadows across from the cottage that contains a secret I promised a lost beta that I’d keep.

I didn’t think I would be missing them or her, but I find myself sitting up long into the nights, wondering how they are, where they are, if they miss me, too.

The bond aches and doesn’t stop. It’s like I’ve ripped open a wound and am slowly bleeding to death.

Every spare second I have, my thoughts are of them.

I wait, a patient hunter, and eventually, the cold reaches down, squeezing my bones. The chill doesn’t come from the rain, though, it comes from the memories that play across my mind, the possible future graves I will one day be free to visit, the pain that I know is coming.

My phone rings, and I pull it out and answer it without looking at the screen. Only seven people have this number, and I’m careful. Very careful. It’s not just my life on the line.

“Where are you?” Mark, my best friend, growls into the phone. He sounds as exhausted as I feel. We brought this mess down on the entire Sanderson family, and I know they have been rushing and trying to keep ahead of the fallout. And, of course, staying ahead of Blaze, Sage, Rolly, and King.

Our homicidal alphas have been loudly making a mess trying to find us. We can’t go back yet. They have to wait. It doesn’t matter how many messages I give to Mark and Bonnie, they can’t listen; they won’t.

And I understand, but I’m not going to risk it. What we stand to lose if we don’t protect her…she might never heal from this.

“I’m not coming back. Not until this is sorted,” I say absently, watching as a car drives past with its lights on.

“Pix,” Mark says in warning.

“No, she is mine, Mark. I won’t give her up, and she needs me right now. Everyone has to wait.”

“I’m not sure how much longer they can wait,” he admits, and I feel a throb of deep concern. Fucking alphas have become my absolute weakness in life.

I look up at the weeping sky, letting the icy rain steal the last bit of warmth from my skin.

“What is going on with you? You don’t run, and you never hide. Blaze, King, Rolly, and Sage have gotten dark, real dark. They aren’t safe for anyone to be around. You need to come back.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?” Mark shouts. “Why can’t you? What is keeping you there?”

I rub the back of my neck, ignoring the cold. “It’s the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life, Mark.”

My best friend pauses, and I can feel his energy change. The resignation and acceptance.

“Tell me about everyone?”

“Well, the Sandersons are rabid, you know how our family is. They are searching everywhere for you but also trying to fend off your psycho alphas. Bonnie and her alphas have taken an unplanned trip to who the fuck knows where so Sage can’t fulfill the promise to skin them alive.”

“Skin?” A tiny smile plays on my lips. It’s not funny, it’s not.

“Yes, again, just in case you didn’t understand me the first time. Your wackjob alphas threatened to skin their family because they think you are all in cahoots.”

I chuckle softly. There’s a deep growl, and I frown.

“Why is Vicious growling?”

“Oh, I’m having a rat problem, and she’s just letting everyone know who is in charge.”

I laugh harder.

“It’s not funny, Pix. We need you to come home. These alphas are fucking crazy. Like they make Vale look like a damn Labrador and Rory look like a guide dog.”

I snort out a laugh. “It can’t be that bad-”

“They blew up Bonnie’s house.”

“What?”

“Blew it up. Kaboom. Explosions. Fire. Nasty phone calls with threats of violence.”

“Oh.”

“OH?” Mark snarls into the phone. “Did you just say oh?”

“It is kinda adorable. Like a love declaration. Actually, kinda sweet.”

“If you think property damage and threats of death are sweet, then, yes, it’s like a goddamn bouquet of roses.”

I snigger.

“How are you coping with it?”

“Well, you know, they threatened to kill Vicious.”

I stop laughing.

“Mark, what did you do?”

Mark is silent for a long moment, and then he growls. “Just remember that I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to be part of this business. I was happy with my dogs and my job at the camping center.”

“Mark,” I say in warning.

“You all forget who the hell I am.”

“I don’t.”

“And the only reason these shits are still alive is because I love you, but I’m warning you, if you don’t get them under control soon, you won’t have alphas.”

“Mark!” I growl.

“Don’t fucking growl at me. You bit them, bonded them, and took off with their wounded omega. You don’t get to land us in this shit and then growl at me for being who I am. Push me into being a person I’ve fought tooth and nail not to be.”

I close my eyes and try to calm my panic.

“Please don’t kill them.”

“If they threaten my sisters, parents, or dogs just one more time, they are going to find out that just because my kill count is zero doesn’t make me the least trained.”

“Okay. Okay. Wait. Hold on.”

I rub my temples.

“Are you near them?”

There is a heavy silence for a long moment.

“Yes.”

“Can you pass the phone or make it so they can hear me without the rest of the world hearing me, too?”

“Well, aren’t you in luck that I was planning a little nasty surprise for them later,” Mark mutters. “Please hold.”

Mark mutters, and then I hear horrible feedback.

“Dearest Pack Assholes. Rise and shine, I have a gift for you.”

Through the phone, I can hear the sounds of them grumbling, moving, shifting. I try to steel myself, but tears burn in my eyes. The bond tightens painfully. I miss them. So much more than I thought was possible.

“Alphas?”

There’s a deadly silence.

“Daega?” Blaze whispers. “Baby, where are you? I’m coming.”

“No.”

“What? What do you mean, no?” Rolly snarls.

“You can’t. Not yet,” I say. I’m fighting hard not to cry. “Just…it’s not safe.”

“If you’re in trouble, we can handle it-”

“No, it’s not safe for her.”

There’s a stillness in the silence that means they understand the threat and are listening.

“We’ll take care of it-”

“King,” I say, and there’s so much emotion in my voice I have to stop. “Wait. Just wait for us.”

“We can’t do that, Daega,” Sage says in a dark voice.

“Stop threatening my family,” I say in a firm command. “Stop trying to find us. Just wait. We’re coming back. But you can’t hurt Mark or my family, including the dogs. If you do, I won’t be able to forgive you.”

“When?”

I open my mouth, but I have no answer. What if we can never go back? What if it’s just the three of us forever?

The sound cuts off.

“Mark!” I say frantically.

“Looks like they cut the feed. Angry little alphas. I think they are hunting. Bye bye alphas!”

I groan. “I think I made it worse.”

“No, you probably saved their lives. They know that you three are alive and hiding. Now, they’ll probably stop reacting and start actively hunting. Which means that they’ll leave the rest of us alone.”

I stand there silently, listening to the drumming of the rain.

“Pix, are you okay?”

I let out an explosive, sobbing laugh. “Not even close. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s nothing I can do. I don’t know how to fix it. I can’t kill anything to fix it. All I can do is be there and just smile when I want to scream.”

“Merle?”

“She’s still gone. They are all gone.”

I break down, crouching on the side of the road in the rain and sobbing to my best friend. Crying for all of us.

“Pix,” Mark whispers. “What can I do?”

“When I need you, come running. Please.”

“Always, Brother. Always.” He sighs. “Sari is looking for you.”

“Tell her…” I trail off. “I don’t know what to tell her; make something up,” I say in resignation.

Missing my alphas. Missing my family. All of it hurts.

Nothing is good. Being secluded in a small hideout with Rose has been agony.

Oh, I understand him, and now, I respect the fuck out of this alpha.

But there’s been no time for a relationship to build, no time for anything other than become so used to each other that we anticipate each other’s movements.

“Gasp. And lie to your best friend?”

I snarl, frustrated at the guilt trip and the fact that I can’t tell anyone the truth.

“You are my best friend,” I grumble at him.

Mark sighs. “Then, as your best friend, I’m asking again if there’s anything else I can do to help?”

The fact that he’s offering helps and hurts. The fact that he’s always on my side gives me the strength to say no.

I open my mouth, then stop, freezing where I stand when I see the cottage door open. Through the pouring rain, I watch intently. My heart thudding hard.

“Pix?”

“Just take care of everything until I can come back,” I say quickly.

I hang up and watch the girl come out of the cottage. She doesn’t look my way. She tosses her hair, pulls up an umbrella, and then disappears down the side street and out of my view.

Still safe.

The secret is still a secret.

Raven’s secret…is still safe.

I wait another fifteen minutes and then return to my bike and leave as quickly as I arrived, with no one the wiser.

It’s time to get back to my pack.