83. Leviathan
LEVIATHAN
Istared out at the street beyond the window of my living room.
My beer had grown warm in my hand, not a drop sipped.
My mind kept going back to the moment I banished Anders and Eugenia.
The look in the man’s eyes. Like he’d do anything to get back at us.
It made me wonder if June had been right.
Maybe it would have been safer to keep them here where we could keep an eye on them. It was making me second-guess myself.
That wasn’t something I did often. It wasn’t arrogance, just a simple fact.
In all my years as alpha of either Idlewild or Hidden Grove, I’d approached things carefully.
I always tried not to act rashly. I’d taken June’s ideas into account, but in the end, I simply couldn’t see a safe way to keep Anders and Eugenia in town—not as forgiven members and not as prisoners.
Both options sounded like a recipe for disaster.
If that was how I felt, then why was I having these doubts?
Setting my bottle down with a bang, I pulled my phone out.
Maybe if I got some confirmation on how the drop-off had gone, it would make me feel better.
If I could tell June that our two enemies had strolled off into the sunset, hand in hand, ready to start a new life, it would erase her worries, along with the nagging thoughts I was beginning to have.
Probably too much to hope for, but I had to do something, otherwise these feelings would keep eating at me.
I’d managed to swipe the phone open and was about to dial when the device started chirping in my hand. Startled, I nearly dropped. Rainier’s name showed on the screen. An inexplicable sense of dread filled me as I answered.
“Hello?” I said hesitantly. “Rainier?”
“We got a problem.”
Clenching my eyes shut, I rubbed the bridge of my nose to stave off the headache that was already forming.
“What is it?” I growled.
“Not on the phone. Get your ass down to the southern edge of town. Right by this little white farmhouse.”
“I know the place. See you in a minute.”
I shoved the phone into my back pocket and rushed out the door. Leaping off the porch, I shifted in mid-air and landed on four paws. My mind whirled with possibilities as I sprinted down the road. A dozen different problems occurred to me somehow I knew whatever was happening had to do with Anders.
A few minutes later, I spotted the white van the men had used to haul Anders and Eugenia away; it sat on the side of the road, a heavy dent in the side, and two men sat on the asphalt beside Rainier.
I shifted back to my human form in an instant. “What happened? What’s going on?”
Rainier turned and gave a weary shake of his head. “Nothing good.” He gestured to the two men sitting, and I took in their faces for the first time. Both were smeared with blood, and the younger man had an eye that was swollen shut and purple.
“Holy shit, what happened to…” I trailed off, looking around. “Wait, where are the other two? I sent four of you to take them.”
“County hospital,” Rainer said. “They were in worse shape than these guys. Sent them with some random dude I grabbed off the street. Called you as soon as they were off.”
“Are they going to be okay?” My heart slammed against my ribs, worry and fear for my new pack members making it hard to think straight.
“Broken bones, some pretty deep bites and lacerations. I think one of them has a dislocated knee,” Rainier explained. “They’ll make it, but they’re gonna be pretty damn sore for a few days. It’ll take a while to feel better even once their healing kicks in.”
I knelt in front of the two men, doing my best to keep my voice steady and calm.
“Tell me what happened,” I demanded.
The older man sighed and shook his head sadly. “We drove out to where you told us, about ten miles. Anders was bitching the whole time.”
“And then?”
“We parked, and Toby”—he nodded toward the younger man—“went around back and opened the rear door. Jon and Kurt helped Anders and Eugenia out, and that’s when shit went sideways.”
“Sideways how?” I urged, desperate to hear what had happened.
“After Kurt cut Anders’s wrist bindings, he slugged Toby in the face. Knocked him clean out. Kid went down like a sack of taters.” He glanced apologetically toward the younger man. “Sorry,” he added with a shrug.
“It’s fine,” Toby muttered, still holding his eye.
“Anyway,” the man went on, “Anders tries the same shit on Kurt, but he’s ready for it, kicks Anders in the gut, and doubles him over. His lady friend starts shrieking at us for hurting him. That’s when we heard the howling from the forest on either side of the road.”
I turned, catching Rainier’s eye. He nodded grimly and spat on the ground.
“Howling?”
The man nodded. “From all around, at least ten wolves. Then this big ass son of a bitch comes strolling out of the woods. Long red hair, black baseball hat. Fucker’s cracking his knuckles like a schoolyard bully about to knock your teeth out. You know the type?”
“Carlton Briggs,” Rainier said. “Beta of Red Maw.”
I remembered the man. He’d caught us unaware when Rain and I had first found the Red Maw encampment. Desdemona’s right-hand man. My stomach sank, fear and shame coursing through me in equal measure.
“They jumped us good and hard,” he said, shaking his head in defeat.
“Beat the shit out of Kurt and Jon. Bit me good here,” he added, pointing at his bloody pants.
“Anders starts begging them not to kill him and Eugenia, to take them in. That big ass redhead just nods, grabs Anders by the scruff, and drags him toward the forest. Says, ‘that’s the plan’.
One of those assholes kicked me in the back of the head.
Lights went out then. I woke up about thirty minutes later.
The others were all still out, and it took a bit to rouse them.
Toby helped me get the other two in the van, and we went like hell to get back here.
I mighta took out a mailbox on the way back.
I’ll pay for the dent and the mailbox if I need to. ”
“Don’t worry about that… uh, shit, I’m sorry. What’s your name again?” I asked, feeling like the worst alpha ever already.
“Edward Preston,” he said, extending a hand.
I shook it. “Thank you, Edward. You two go get cleaned up. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“Will do,” Edward said and helped Toby up.
Before leaving, Edward reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a small piece of folded paper.
“Forgot about this,” he said. “It was in my pocket when I woke up.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking it.
As the two men walked away, I ran my hand through my hair.
This was exactly what June had me warned of.
Anders and Eugenia joining up with the Red Maw.
From what I’d seen, they weren’t the kind to keep prisoners.
They’d be part of the pack, with every bit of information they needed on both Idlewild and Hidden Grove to do as much damage as possible.
From the look on Rainier’s face, he’d come to the same conclusion.
“We’re fucked, aren’t we?” he said.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “You send those men that far out to bring in a man like Anders? He’ll be a cancer to her pack, and that’s not to mention Eugenia.”
“Who’s to say Desdemona isn’t going to use them for intel and dispose of them?” Rainier asked. “Maybe bring them in all sweet, like, join the pack, we’re friends, help us take back what’s yours. Then? Boom. a shallow grave in the woods somewhere.”
“Sounds about right.” I unfolded the paper. “Son of a bitch. This is exactly what June was worried about,” I growled and scanned the paper.
What was written there made my blood run cold. Three simple words that sent a bit of ice through my heart.
“What’s it say?” Rain asked when he saw my face.
Turning the paper, I lifted it up for him to see:
We’re coming.
–Desdemona
“Fuck,” Rain whispered.
“Get the other alphas together,” I said, shoving the paper back in my pocket. “Hurry. Get them to my house, and I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
He shifted and sprinted off to find the others. With bitter resignation, I shot a text to June, telling her to come to my house for an emergency meeting. Not waiting for her response, I shifted and ran back to my house.
Ten minutes later, June came rushing through my door, looking harried.
“What happened?” she said as the door swung shut behind her.
I’d been pacing the floor waiting for everyone to arrive, trying to think of how to proceed. Things had gone to shit and fast. I had to have a plan in place before things grew too chaotic.
“Hey,” I said, suddenly uncomfortable. We hadn’t seen each other since the banishment, and now I’d called her here. In a few seconds, she’d realize she’d been right all along. “Listen. We need to talk about—”
The front door opened again, and Rainier walked in with the four alphas.
“Damn,” I muttered, and touched June on the arm. “You’ll hear it all in a second, just hang on.”
“Hear what?” she hissed, but before I could say anything, Hakeem stepped forward, looking worried and confused.
“Levi, man, what’s up? Rainier said something bad happened. Told us we had to hear it from you. What the hell is going on?”
The others echoed his concern, and I had to raise my hands for quiet. Once they calmed down, I began.
“The men who took Anders and Eugenia away came back and gave us bad news.” I shot a guilty glance at June. “A group of Red Maw men cornered them and attacked my people. Anders and Eugenia escaped and joined up with the Red Maw.”
June sighed heavily. “This is exactly what I was worried about.”