Chapter Thirty-Five #2
“My father, me and Rowan…the King.” I took a long sip of my soda.
“Wait a damn minute.” Rick slammed his hand on the table. “You said your father was dead.”
“And to Vince and Brandon, that’s exactly how he has to stay.
Dead.” I put down my cup. “Vince and whoever else he is working with sent attack after attack to take down my father. He sent a she-wolf witch to use magic to get him to betray his mate bond. To betray me. They infiltrated and turned his Gamma, for fuck sakes. My father needed to move in the shadows, and a way to keep our pack safe.”
Rick looked away. “I didn’t mean it like that. But he is my friend.”
“I know. Which is why I asked about bringing you into the loop. But I needed permission. I can’t jeopardize everything we are working towards just because I like you guys.”
Rick turned back and nodded. “Why are you bringing us in?”
“Because I think you need my help. And I think I might need yours as well.”
Something entered Rick’s eyes. “What do you mean?”
I smiled. “I’ll get to it. But I want to start with Ternen. You wanted to see me today. Why?”
Ternen turned pale. “I, I, I.” He looked at Alannah.
“Hey.” I reached across. “Whatever you want to ask me, just ask.”
He took a breath. “I was talking to Rick. He told me he was able to get his life together because of your dad and the help he gave him.”
Rick nodded. “That’s true.”
Ternen looked at Rick, who gave an encouraging nod. “I hoped that maybe…” He looked back at me and then shut his eyes tight. “Would you be willing to lend me the money I need to go to school for computer science?” His eyes snapped open, and he rushed to continue. “I swear I’ll pay it back.”
“Yes.”
“And I’ll pay you back with interest.” He continued as if I didn’t already agree.
“Ternen.” I reached across and grabbed his hand. “I already said yes. And you don’t have to pay me back.”
“I swear I’ll make a payment schedule.”
“Ternen!” I snapped him out of his monologue. “I already said yes. And you won’t have to pay me back.” He looked at me, slowly blinking as if he was short circuiting.
“What?”
“Yes, I will pay for you to go to school.” I smiled. “When did you want to start?”
“Um…I still have to ask Alpha Vince if I can go. I mean, even if I got fired, I still have to ask.”
Rick and I froze. “What do you mean you got fired, boy?” Rick’s words were angry.
Alannah looked down at her hands and then up at me. “Amy, please don’t feel bad. You couldn’t have known.”
“What?” I looked between the two. “What exactly happened?” A pit had opened in my stomach.
“Brandon came to me after you all had left for the day. He said you talked to him about moving me.”
“I did. I heard from Alannah you guys were about to lose your apartment, so I figured if you moved to a higher paying position, you guys would be okay. I didn’t think Alannah would take money from me if I offered.” I looked between the two.
“That son of a bitch.” Rick slammed his hand against the wood, and that made everything click for me.
“The bruises…they were from Brandon?” I looked at Ternen. He nodded.
“He said that I should keep my mouth shut when I’m around you.
That if I wanted a new position, I could go find one.
And since he is the next Alpha, no one would hire me.
” He looked down at his hands. “He said the only reason Alannah is safe is because of me, and once I’m gone, he will ‘take her for a spin’. ”
Rick growled and went to stand, but I pulled him back down. “If anyone gets to kill Brandon, it’s me.”
“Why? You’re dating the prick.” Rick growled at me. “Why would you kill him?”
I felt myself sink into my dark space. “Because he killed our pup.”
Everyone at the table froze. Rick leaned in. “What the hell are you talking about? You don’t have a pup.”
“Oh I know.” I sighed. “My bloodline is blessed by the Goddess. By two Goddesses, I should say. I am descended from the first family. My wolf-”
Don’t mention having the both of us. I trust them, but the less they know, the better. Nix shook her head.
They are all under the vow. I shot back, but Megan settled next to Nix.
I agree with Nix. Don’t overload them. Just stick with the magic for now.
“My wolf is descended from the Goddess. And my witch heritage is blessed by the Three-aced Goddess. And with the blessing comes a gift.” I took a drink.
“A gift?” Alannah finished her steak. “What kind of gift?”
“My father’s line has a second chance.” I twirled my knife.
“A second chance?” Rick pushed his empty plate away and I nodded.
“I have lived my life before, you see. I was twenty-four when my mate strapped me to a gurney, and he had our doctor cut me open with silver, taking our pup from my body because he believed Shannon. She told him I had cheated, and the pup wasn’t his.
” I took a drink from my shaking hand. “She lied, of course. I was faithful. But he had betrayed our bond, marked my stepsister, and killed our pup.” I looked back at everyone’s faces.
“I died on that table. I died while cursing my mate. And then I woke up on my eighteenth birthday, the day I was supposed to meet my mate. And I ran to my father’s pack, so I didn’t have to face him until I could protect myself. ”
“Who was your mate?” Alannah asked, and I could only smile.
“Brandon was my mate. He cheated on me with my sister and killed our pup. So this time around, I am determined to kill him and everything he holds dear.” I could feel the rage in my blood.
“Then why are you with him?” Rick was genuinely confused, and I wanted to laugh.
“Because the King and my father needed me to break into Vince’s firewalls from the inside. Because I needed to get close and Brandon was an easy in. Because Vince and his son crave power and money more than anything else, and I have plenty of both.”
Rick leaned in with a new gleam in his eyes. “Why are you telling us all of this? I mean, it’s my job to keep people out of the mainframe.”
I nodded. “Like I said, I think you need my help and that you can help me.” I stared at Rick. “You need help.”
Rick sucked in a breath through his teeth. “What do you know?”
“Nothing. But I can see it in your eyes. Every day you come in a little more desperate. Just a tiny bit more worried. You need help and you don’t know who to turn to.
” I reached across the table. “Let me help you.” I squeezed.
“I promise I will help you, even if you can’t help me. I would never expect that from you.”
I felt him shudder. “My daughter is sick. I told you.” I nodded. “Vince holds her medicine hostage.”
Alannah gasped. “How can he do that?”
I laughed, but it was dark. “Vince will use anything to hold power over others.” I turned back to Rick. “What’s wrong with your daughter?”
“We have been told that it’s the withering.”
I frowned. “How old is she?” I had a sinking feeling.
“She is ten.” His shudder was intense. “She is only ten.”
I sat back. I closed my eyes and I flipped through my book in my mind. Withering wasn’t something that was experienced by a child of her age. “She is too old to be affected by the withering.”
“I know. But when she was born, she was fine, strong. It was only when we relocated here that she became sick.”
My eyes snapped open. “What did you say?”
Rick’s brow furrowed. “She became sick when we moved packs. The doctor said it was probably because we lost so much family in the attack, she started to wither away.”
“How old was she when you had to move here?” I finally got to the page in my mind.
“She was about five.” He looked at me. “Why so many questions?”
“The Withering only affects babies. Not toddlers or young children. But…” I trailed off and skimmed the page I had in my mind.
It was a spell, much like the withering.
“There is a hex, much like the withering, but this hex needs to be cast on a child in person. It takes an hour to cast, but it needs to be renewed every month with an elixir.”
Rick’s breathing turned heavy. “An elixir?”
I nodded. “A tiny tonic that renews the hex, but also extends the life of the victim. The hex eats away at the victim. If the person doesn’t have the cure or the elixir, they die. If the elixir is taken too many times, the victim dies.”
Rick grabbed my hand. “How many times is too many times?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know. It changes from person to person.”
Rick nearly collapsed. “How do I find out if it’s the withering or whatever this hex is?”
“There would be a symbol on her. It fades closer to the elixir’s renewal time. After the elixir, the marking becomes darker. It can be small or big, any way to confuse other people.” I grabbed a napkin and pulled a pen from my purse.
“What are you doing?” Ternen leaned close.
I looked up. “Rick doesn’t know who or what to believe.
His child’s life hangs in the balance and so does his mate.
” I turned to him. “I didn’t say any of this to confuse or worry you.
I just want you to have all the facts. When you first moved here, did Vince or anyone have access to your daughter for more than an hour alone? ”
Rick’s mouth flailed as he thought back. “It’s been years.” He closed his eyes. “I don’t know.” His eyes opened. “I don’t know. We had paperwork and work ups. We needed to see doctors and there was just a lot going on. I think me or my mate was always with her, but I just don’t know.”
“It’s okay.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “It’s okay.” I slid him the napkin. “Take this home tonight. And look your daughter over from head to toe. Even under her hair. I know it might be hard, but this is the symbol.” He looked at the napkin and sat back, dropping it on the table.
Alannah reached over and grabbed it. She looked up at me. “This is the symbol?” I nodded.
Ternen leaned over her shoulder and stared for a minute. But I saw him pale. “No way.”
“What?” Alannah and I turned.
“I’ve seen that symbol before.” He pointed to the napkin.
“Where?” I leaned over. “Are you sure? This symbol? The three circles with tails chasing each other?”
He nodded. “I swear it.”
“Where?”
He looked at a deathly pale Rick. “I’ve seen it on Rick’s daughter.” Alannah gasped. But Ternen shook his head. “I’ve seen it on a few of the young pups.”
My head snapped up. “What did you just say?” He nodded, but so did Rick. I looked between the two. “One of you speak.”
“Vince said it was a virus. All the kids in my daughter’s class got sick around the same time.
The mark, they said it was from the vaccine they gave them to get better.
” Rick closed his eyes, his voice becoming hollow, haunted.
“Are you saying that Vince did this to my baby?” He snapped his eyes open. “He did this to my pup?”
“I can’t say for sure.”
Rick slammed his hand down onto the table. “Did he do this to my pup?”
I swallowed. “There is a very good chance he did.”
He closed his eyes, and I could see the tears fall. “I did this to my baby?”
“Goddess no Rick.” I grabbed his hand again. “This is not your fault. It’s Vinces and we can make him pay.”
He shook his head. “I can’t.” He looked into my eyes. “She needs the elixir to survive.”
“Not if we give her the cure.”
He shook his head again. “Vince will know.”
I smiled. “Not if we move at the same time.”
Rick looked at me. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we coordinate our attacks. I need to snoop around the pack, but when I’m ready, we will dig into the mainframe, getting everything we need, and you, your wife, and your kid disappear.”
“How is that even possible?” Rick leaned in. But then his eyes landed on Alannah. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because if he disappears, then Vince will kill me.” Alannah swallowed loudly.
I turned to her. “How sure are you?”
Ternen, Alannah and Rick all looked at each other.
“Very.” Rick answered me. “I took Alannah under my wing when I got here. She was a young, unmated Omega who was being sniffed around by all the ranked wolves here. I introduced her to Ternen, and they just happened to be mates. That pulled her off the market. But despite that, they would target her, push her around. I stood up for her.”
“He became a stand-in dad to me. And everyone in the pack knows it.” She looked at Rick with love in her eyes. “But it’s okay. I would rather die than watch your little girl suffer anymore. Not if I can help it.”
“No one will be dying…you will all just disappear.”