Chapter 28: Everett

Chapter 28: Everett

Between working with the Mythguard to cover up the attack, dealing with the death of another packmate, and Aislin suddenly telling me she was no longer certain about our mateship, I didn’t know what to think or feel anymore. I had begun to believe it was better for me to feel nothing at all.

Aislin left my house that night to be with her pack. I tried to understand her perspective, but that had always been my weakness. A lack of empathy. I festered in a pool of despair with nothing but self-reflection to keep me occupied as the night wore on, once more facing a lack of sleep. All night, I laid in bed thinking of what I’d said to Aislin and how our sweet, quiet moment had deteriorated into an argument. I blamed myself for my lack of confidence in our future, but she had asked and I was just being realistic. Maybe that had frightened her—the idea that we could very well die within the next few weeks as David underwent the Lycan ritual. She would rather spend her last few weeks with her family than with me. So it made me the selfish one, to think that Aislin would so easily let herself be marked by me, commit herself to Eastpeak and stand by me instead of her own pack as we faced down our destiny.

But was it really so selfish of me to believe what we had been telling each other this entire time? That we wanted to be together? She knew that being my mate meant having to stay in Eastpeak, and she’d never brought up her uncertainties before. I tried to be patient. But I supposed my fear of losing her had manifested into anger, and Aislin already lost so much… dealing with my emotions on top of that wasn’t something she was prepared for.

By the time I woke, I regretted my reaction. Her absence made me realize that I wanted her no matter what her decision was. Even if it meant she would stay in Grandbay, I would have to deal with it. Visit her as often as I could. Make nice with Gavin. If Gretel was unable to become Gavin’s Beta and he wanted Aislin to take that role, then… I would adjust, even if it didn’t align with my vision of our future together. Being in a relationship with Aislin was better than the loneliness I’d condemned myself to before our fated bond was revealed. I had come to love her, and as much as it terrified me to admit, I realized that she needed to know that.

I dwelled on how I was going to approach her that morning. At the lumber mill, I stood across the desk from the receptionist and sifted through the mail, barely registering what I held in my hands. Bills, bank statements, fliers, half of it was garbage addressed to my name. A paper copy of an invoice from a couple weeks ago. An invitation to a lumber expo in another state. I pondered if I would even be alive to make it.

“Is everything alright, Mr. March?”

My eyes flitted up to the receptionist, with her brown hair twisted into a bun high on her head and her polite, meddlesome smile that faltered when we made eye contact.

“You look tired,” she ventured cautiously. “Is it the attacks in Grandbay? That’s been wearing on a lot of us here.”

The humans barely knew what had transpired. According to the news, the attack was a gang-related random hazing, and the Mundy house was their unfortunate target. The Mythguard had spun it to make it believable that certain gang activity would target the low-profile communities of small towns, which unsettled humans and discouraged them from risking exposure in the weeks following. It made people stay inside and keep to themselves. Nobody wanted to get caught in the middle of another attack like that, randomly targeted for no reason, with no chance of appeal.

“Yes,” I replied finally, turning my eyes back to the mail. “I know the Mundys. It’s very unfortunate what happened to them.”

My receptionist peered at me before realization made her eyes go wide. “Aislin Mundy was the girl you brought in here that one time. Is she involved?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Oh. Mr. March, I’m so sorry.”

I frowned and handed the garbage envelopes to her. “You can shred these. I’ll be here in my office for the next few hours if you need anything.”

Taking the envelopes, the receptionist seemed to sense my distaste for discussing Aislin. She didn’t question any further, just nodded and withdrew while I walked past her.

Usually, the dusty smell of the lumber mill was a comfort to me. After the confusing, even bewildering affairs of the shifters unfolded, I was always left with the lumber mill as an escape from pack business. It was so much more straightforward here. My clients only cared about money, products, expedient shipping. I could handle that. But the complexities of shifter hierarchies, deaths and disappearances, moral quandaries carried by the Mythguard—those were the issues that bogged me down. I hoped that by sitting in my office sorting through paperwork, I could take my mind off everything, but it didn’t work.

Muriel’s fate troubled me, and the mystery surrounding David and Lothair’s whereabouts robbed me of my ability to concentrate. I feared that they would be hiding around every corner, waiting to ambush me at any moment.

With my mood souring by the minute, I left the lumber mill early and went back home. Some of my packmates were still taking refuge in my living room and spare bedrooms. It was a relief to see them and not feel so alone, but that feeling only lasted a few seconds before I remembered the great weight of David’s threats. I secluded myself in my home office, and even there I was unsettled.

I wished I still had Taylor with me. That moment, I missed his company more than anything. Waves of guilt crashed over me any time I thought of my Beta. Nobody would ever be as good a friend to me as he had been. But eventually, I was drawn back to the conversation I had with Aislin last night about merging with Grandbay, and I wondered if there was a chance I could forge something with Gavin.

Not that he would ever become my Beta. I didn’t think he would tolerate the idea. But maybe friendship was something we both needed.

I called him and was surprised to hear him answer. “Gavin,” I greeted.

“What is it?” The unease in his voice made me realize he must have been expecting more bad news.

“I just wanted to check in,” I said. “How is everyone in Grandbay?”

He sighed. “We’ve been better. Are you looking to hear about Aislin?”

“She’s been on my mind, but that wasn’t explicitly why I called.”

“I heard about your argument.”

My skin prickled, but I should have expected Aislin to divulge everything to Gavin. “What did she tell you?”

“About her idea to merge our packs. And that you don’t want her to stay in Grandbay.”

My guilt worsened. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper with her, Gavin. I just didn’t know how to process it when she said she might not stay here.”

“Would you force her to stay in Eastpeak?”

“No. Of course not. I understand how important her family is to her, especially after Oslo…”

Gavin interrupted me. “She’s gone through a lot. Unless you’re going to apologize, maybe you should just give her space.”

“I want to apologize. You have no idea how much Aislin means to me.”

The Grandbay Alpha growled lowly. “Really? I think I have some idea. Aislin’s been my best friend my entire life.”

“Well, yes. I get that. But she’s also been helping me see people differently. She’s changed the way I want to treat people, and without her, I don’t think I can continue moving forward with positive progress. She’s critical to my improvement as an Alpha.”

Gavin scoffed. “You talk about her like she’s just some commodity.”

“I care for her, Gavin.”

“Sorry. I just find that hard to believe when you say everything in a deadpan.”

“What do you want, then?” I let annoyance tinge my voice this time, since that was what Gavin seemed to want to hear. “Do you need to hear me get angry? Do you expect me to plead for her to talk to me?”

“It would be nice to hear you sound a little human, for once.”

I couldn’t help but snarl. “Ten of my packmates have died within the last couple weeks, Gavin, and you’re telling me I need to sound more human? I have been grieving them. Keeping the survivors in my home to protect them. I dropped everything to come aid you when that anonymous caller warned about the attack. I cried for my packmates, Gavin! What the fuck else do I have to do to seem more human to you?”

My outburst left Gavin quiet. I listened to his breathing on the other line, both of us succumbing to a whirlwind of thoughts inspired by the other, until finally Gavin broke the silence. “You cried?”

Was that really what he narrowed in on? “Yes, Gavin. I did. Ask Ais.”

“I… I did too. For your packmates. And mine.”

The flash of anger receded as I mulled on Gavin’s confession. The softness with which he said it convinced me of its truth. Gavin had always been weak to his wild emotions, so I didn’t doubt that sorrow could grip him as intensely as the rage I usually witnessed. It was strange solidarity we had never shared before then. “Thank you.”

“Look,” sighed Gavin, “there has been this wall between us for as long as I can remember. But Aislin… she’ll have to choose between us, and whatever her decision, I don’t want it to alienate us further. Especially now. We have to be strong if we’re going to survive what comes next with David.”

“I know, and I agree.” I leaned back in my chair and pushed my hair aside, closing my eyes to focus. Letting my anger get the best of me may have proven my humanity to Gavin, but it wasn’t going to help me reestablish the alliance that had become so badly damaged by David’s attacks. “What do you think about the idea of merging?”

“Long-term, I don’t think so. But until we deal with David… maybe we should try it. Divided, we’re weaker, but if we unify, we might stand a chance.”

“Do you think both of us could remain Alphas?”

“Yeah, I think we could. But we have to ensure we’ll be able to come to agreements. We have to be on the same page about how we’re going to protect ourselves.”

“What are your thoughts?”

“Maybe it is best that the remaining members of Grandbay seek refuge in Eastpeak. The terrain is more difficult, and we’d be sharing less of the perimeter with Dalesbloom. We would be able to hunt and we’d have more numbers to patrol. If David turns Lycan, we’ll be all be clustered together, instead of spread out and easier to pick off.”

When he suggested everyone staying in Eastpeak, my chest lightened with relief. “I could make accommodations for you and your pack,” I told him.

“We can’t just be hiding, though. We still need to locate David. Muriel is in danger, she only has until the next full moon. Would the Mythguard continue to assist us?”

“Yes.”

“Then that sounds like the best approach.”

There was another pause as we both digested this solution. I wondered how Aislin would react to it.

“The caller who warned you about Dalesbloom’s attack,” Gavin continued, “you didn’t recognize them, right?”

“No.”

“And there was no caller ID, nothing to identify them by?”

“No.”

“Is it possible they had warned us to help us?”

“The way they worded it didn’t sound like they’d called us out of pity.”

“But if they wanted to intimidate us, they would have called your cellphone, or mine. They would have addressed us directly, instead of calling your office phone, hoping you were there.”

I chewed on these facts. Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about the intentions of the caller before then. “No, because if they called you directly, you might have had even more time to evacuate. They called me without knowing if I would warn you, ensuring Dalesbloom had at least enough time to launch the attack, while also serving as a warning. They might not have intended for us to avoid the attack altogether. But perhaps they meant to let us know that there is somebody in Dalesbloom who sympathizes with us.”

It was very possible that could be a bit of a stretch. That exact thinking was what had gotten Taylor killed, but if there was even the slightest possibility that we might have an ally within Dalesbloom, I wanted to explore it. That might be our only shot at stopping David, if we couldn’t access him from the outside.

“Do you know anybody that could trace the call to a phone number?”

“I can reach out.” That was usually Taylor’s job, but I had a few contacts who I thought might be able to help. We couldn’t get a GPS location, but really, a phone number was all we needed.

“Okay. I’ll get my packmates together this evening. We’ll make the move to your place tonight if all goes well.”

There was another small ember of hope sizzling within me. Once more, we had a plan, only this time Gavin and I would be collaborating on the survival of our packs. “Keep me updated.”

“I will.”

When I hung up, it felt like the weight on my chest had shifted slightly. It wasn’t gone by any means, but it felt just a little lighter. A ray of sunlight was peeking in through the devastating overcast that had darkened my mind. Maybe it was just that I would get to see Aislin again tonight.

I wouldn’t waste any more time regarding our relationship. She had to know everything I felt about her—the entire truth. That I wanted to mark her, and that I loved her. If she pushed me away, then I’ll have deserved it, but it wouldn’t stop me from working hard to build up this new alliance with Gavin.

Aislin had taught me that I needed to be more open and trusting. Even if she rejected me to stay in Grandbay, the experiences I’d gained with her would shape the future of our packs. Grandbay and Eastpeak would emerge from this stronger than ever.

We would survive. Of this I was certain.