Chapter 24 - Linnea

"Stop watching me," I snap, hurling a pointed look over my shoulder at Bigby, who's sitting on Percy's tree stump, sharpening his knife. My body is still reeling from the reality that Percy's gone, but I have the feeling that the full grief hasn't set in yet and probably won't until Varun is taken care of. I think of Aris and the rest of his team and how they're putting aside their grief right now to fight.

"Stop pacing, then," Bigby says, his voice a growl. "It's driving me crazy."

"Join the club!" I snap back, throwing my hands up. "This is stupid. I get leaving me behind, but why has Aris sacrificed you? What if they can't take Varun on because you're sitting here with me?"

The team left twenty minutes ago, and up until then, I was under the impression that I would wait at the camp until they got back. That was until they all shifted and took off into the trees, and Bigby just sighed, turning and plopping down on the stump.

Besides Aris, Bigby is the strongest and most capable fighter on the team. Of course, the others are all highly skilled, but leaving Bigby behind is a risk. Especially because Aris clearly knows the traitor isn't Bigby, so he's also down a team member he knows he can trust.

"You're his most important asset," Bigby says, shrugging. The sound of metal sliding on metal as he sharpens his weapons is grating to my ears. "So he assigned his most capable team member to protect you."

"Don't call me an asset," I say, rolling my eyes. "I am not a piece of property. And there's not going to be anything to protect if they can't beat Varun because you're sitting here making me want to dunk myself in the river."

"Be my guest," Bigby grumbled, "If that means you stop this pacing back and forth. You're creating a trench in the ground."

I hate myself for looking down to check, and he smiles, happy with himself for the deception.

"I don't know what Aris likes about you," I mutter.

"I wish I could say the same," Bigby mutters, rolling his eyes at me before returning his attention to his knives.

"I just wish I could have another vision!" I say, clenching my fists and resuming my pacing. "I wish I could know what's going to happen or get some vital information that could help Aris. I just feel so useless."

Bigby slowly lowers his dagger, sighing loudly.

"That's not how the visions work," he says, shaking his head. "You can't will one to happen."

"How would you possibly know?" I quip, sparing him a sarcastic glance as I turn on my heel and stalk back the way I came. At this point, I've decided my goal is to create a trench here with my pacing. At least then, I'll have accomplished something.

"My grandma," he says softly, and I come to a stop, turning to look at him. "She had visions. It's a gift for non-shifters, I think."

My eyes widen. I've never heard of anyone else who had visions like me.

"I always assumed it was a curse."

"That's because you don't know how to handle them," he says, rubbing some sort of polish on the knife. When he looks up at me, his eyes hold a certain brightness that must be related to his interest and curiosity. "My grandma went to see an old woman in her village when she started having the visions. That woman—a healer back then—taught her how to control them, wield them when they came, and find the information she needed most. Those techniques basically eliminated the pain associated with the visions and helped her take control of the situation."

"Wow," I say, at a loss to think of anything else. I didn't know it was possible to control them. I didn't know there might be someone who had heard of what I was going through and could help me. The knowledge runs through me like warm water, soothing a deep, aching anxiety I didn't know was there.

"I started to speak to Aris about it," Bigby says, "I can get you in touch with someone when all of this is over. If you want."

I open my mouth to reply, but before I can, a rolling nausea bursts up my esophagus, burning its way into my mouth. Without warning, I turn and vomit onto the ground, luckily managing to get it into the grass instead of on the bare dirt around the fire pit.

"Gods," Bigby cries, leaping up from his seat and stepping away from me. "What is this—" his eyes widen, tracking over me as I straighten up, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand, "—were you hit with the serum?"

"No," I groan, holding my hands up as he takes a step toward me. "Don't touch me. In fact, don't even look at me. I'm just—I'm not feeling well."

Bigby's eyes widen further. His entire body language changes in an instant, and his eyes dart down to my belly, which I protectively cover with my hands.

"Holy fuck, Linnea, did you tell Aris?"

I narrow my eyes at him, crossing my arms. I'm aware that there are better things I could be doing than arguing with him, but since Aris has locked me here with my jailor, I might as well let Bigby know how miserable I am about it.

"Tell him what?"

"Don't fuck around—I have a sister. I've heard the ‘don't even look at me' line before. When she was pregnant with her second."

"I'm not—"

"Holy shit," Bigby says, running his hands over his head, making a scraping sound over the buzz cut there. "When Aris finds out you didn't tell him, he's going to be pissed."

"Yeah?" I say, hating how tears are welling up in my eyes. "Well, it's not like Aris is in love with me or anything, so I don't see why I'm obligated to share anything with him."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's like you said," I say, turning and kicking a loose stick back into the trees. "I'm an asset. I just—" It's embarrassing to admit, but I've already started talking about it and can't stop. "I told him I loved him, and he just looked at me. It's always been like this, ever since high school. Maybe he doesn't hate me anymore, but he's stuck with me as his mate, as his blood-bond. But that doesn't mean he loves me."

"Linnea," Bigby says, shaking his head, his tone suddenly serious. He's standing right in front of me, crouching slightly so he can meet my eyes. "Listen to me. I know Aris better than I know anybody on this planet. The two of us are practically brothers. He may have been too chickenshit to tell you, but he's in love with you. I've seen the way he looks at you, I can feel the emotion trailing him around like a dog. I'm a smart guy. I know a lot of shit. I'm telling you this because I would never say I'm sure about something unless I was 100% sure. He's not just in love with you—he has been since high school. He just had a really shitty way of showing it."

I stare at him, stunned. Aris loves me? He's in love with me?

"Sure," I say, my gaze falling to the ground. "Then why couldn't he tell me that himself?"

"Probably the same reason you're keeping… This from him," Bigby says, broadly gesturing to my torso. "Also, because he's kind of dense sometimes. I know he loves you, but maybe he doesn't realize he loves you. Or maybe he's waiting for the right time to tell you."

This revelation is spinning my head. After he didn't say it back to me, I thought we were going to be stuck in one of those loveless marriages. All I wanted in the entire world was to be like my parents, truly in love with each other until the very end.

But now, knowing that he loves me and is in town facing off with Varun without Bigby, he may never get the chance to tell me that. Something spurs inside me, and I think fast, turning away from Bigby and putting my hand to my mouth.

"I'm gonna be sick again," I say, stumbling into the woods. "Don't watch!"

"Why would I want that?" Bigby calls back after me, a clear note of disgust in his voice. I double over, hoping my performance is believable enough. I throw in a couple of moans for good measure, and then, just when I'm sure Bigby might be covering his ears with his hands to block out the sound, I take off at a dead sprint through the trees.

It's a full thirty seconds later when I hear him yell, "Linnea!"

I ignore the thrill pulsing through me at being chased, which reminds me of the rogues coming after me in the woods, and focus on my feet, making sure I don't catch any roots or branches. That's what always dooms the damsel in distress in the movies.

A second later, I emerge onto the road, which twists and turns through the trees. To my absolute delight, there's a collection of vehicles abandoned in the pull-off, and as I get closer, I realize they must be the vehicles the rogues used to get to our location before coming through the trees the rest of the way to ambush the team.

One of the cars even still has the keys in the ignition, and I cross my fingers as I get in, praying the battery hasn't gone dead. Bigby emerges from the trees, still in his human form and breathing heavily. It takes him a single sweep of the area to find me, and he bolts toward me, but I slam the car door shut just in time, blocking him out.

I twist the key in the ignition and the car turns over once, twice, before rumbling to life, and I actually let out a sigh of relief, slumping against the wheel. When the car lets out a long, high-pitched honk, it startles both me and Bigby, who scowls and raps against the window.

"What?" I call to him, raising my voice to be heard through the glass.

"Roll this down!"

"So you can capture me again? No thank you!"

"Linnea—Aris is going to have my ass if I let you go anywhere. Do you understand that?"

"He loves you too much," I say, looking down at the console to find the gear shift. "You'll be just fine."

"Linnea," Bigby warns, moving his body in front of the vehicle like a body shield. I stare at him, determined, through the windshield.

"Iwill run you over," I call, defiantly. "Don't test me!"

At the note of fear that flashes in his eyes, I can see he believes me. Watching Bigby, I can practically see his mind running through his options. He could try and shatter the glass to get to me, but that might hurt me or the baby and enrage Aris. He's already tried reasoning with me, and he's clearly not ready to sacrifice his body as a punching bag for this truck if I decide to take the chance and run him over.

We must reach a solution at the same time because I think of the tires just as Bigby's eyes light up and he pulls his newly-sharpened dagger from his side.

"Bigby!" I say, rolling down the window. "No! Don't!"

He's nearing the tire, shaking his head at me.

"I'm sorry, Linnea, I don't have a choice. My job is to protect you."

"If Aris dies, I die! Do you realize that?"

My voice stops him just short of slashing the front driver's side tire. I can see this is an element he hasn't considered, and I keep talking, trying to keep the momentum and keep him away from the tire.

"The blood-bond!" I say, shouting through the crack in the window. "And we're mated. If he dies, I'll die. And the baby, too."

As I say it, a jolt of pain and fear moves through my body, pre-eminent grief at the mere idea of losing my baby—a force that could knock me down. I swallow and shake my head to clear away the feeling before continuing.

With my focus on the life growing inside me, I can feel them urging me forward. Our baby wants to live to meet Aris and wants me to go and protect him. It's my duty as luna and as the mother of this child.

"Aris needs you there, Bigby. You're his right-hand man. You're the next strongest person on the team." Finally, I say, "We can't let Varun kill him, too."

Bigby lets out a loud, frustrated sigh, rubbing his hands violently over his face, and then he moves to the window, looking in at me with an exasperated expression.

"Fine," he says, "but I'm driving."

"No way!" I say, shaking my head and tightening my grip on the steering wheel. "I'm driving. I don't trust you not to head in the opposite direction."

Bigby lets his head fall against the window, rolling it back and forth and muttering to himself. I've successfully reasoned him into submission, and I feel a streak of pride.

"Why did Aris have to mate with such a—"

"—beautiful, wonderful, kind—"

"—stubborn woman." Bigby finishes, giving me a look as he moves around to the passenger side of the truck. After a second of hesitation, I unlock the door for him, and he hefts his huge body inside, making the truck rock under his weight.

"Yikes," I say, laughing and punching into reverse. "The gas mileage on this thing just went way down."

"Hardy-har," Bigby says, scrubbing his hands over his head again. I take a turn a little too sharply, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, making me drive like someone out of GTA. Bigby grabs onto the handle above him and sighs loudly. "You're going to be the death of both of us."

As the car hurtles around a particularly sharp bend, we hear the soft clinking of glass in the seat behind us. Bigby reaches back, and a moment later, he's produced a vial of shimmering silver serum.

"Holy shit," he says, quickly placing it in the cupholder like he doesn't want to risk contamination through the glass.

We crest the hill, seeing the town come into focus, and I can't help but think about how good it feels to be home. I know the shape of every tree and building in this town like the back of my hand, and I can feel my body slotting into place here. It's where I belong—with my pack. With my people. With my mate.

"It's too quiet," Bigby remarks as we roll through town, noticing not a single person or child out and about. A sprinkler shoots water through a yard, pool noodles and toys abandoned like the children ran inside as quickly as they could.

As we get to the center of town, it gets even more eerie. At this time of day, the diner is usually full of people getting a bite to eat on their lunch break, but the shutters are pulled and the "open" sign is off, the usually red neon absent.

Bigby motions for me to park a street down from the bar, and I pull off in front of the bank, which is also closed down, not a soul in sight. When Bigby gives the all-clear, we get out of the truck, walking quickly behind buildings and through yards to get to the bar.

The inside is quiet, the sticky floors and trashed interior the only sign that people had once been here. Bigby sniffs around, investigating.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Maybe Varun has a different hub," I wonder. "Somewhere else. But how can we find it?"

"Shh," Bigby says suddenly, placing his hands on the filthy wooden bar. "Do you hear that?"

"No, obviously not—"

"Shh," he says again, and I roll my eyes at him.

"There are… Vibrations. Coming from beneath us?"

Suddenly, it all comes into focus. I remember the girls coming and going, but I'd never wondered where they were coming or going to and from. This bar isn't big enough for the sheer number of people moving in and out.

"There must be something underground," I breathe, and then, remembering where the people would always exit from, I move behind the bar, running my hands along the panels. Bigby joins me, using his heightened senses to feel, and a moment later, a panel pops open, revealing a number pad.

"Shit," I breathe, but Bigby starts to punch in numbers, trying 1-2-3-4 first. To my shock, the door swings open, revealing a long hallway and a set of stairs.

"How did you know that?" I ask as I duck after him, following him inside. Bigby chuckles.

"Varun's an idiot. I just asked myself what an idiot would do."