Chapter 23 - Bigby

Aris is pacing in the foyer when I pull up to the house.

"Good," he says, not even letting me get to the porch before he comes out the door, slamming out of the house. Ado is hot on his heels, and they bound down the front steps toward me. "You drive."

"What's the problem?" I say, turning and heading back toward my Jeep. I hop in the driver's seat, turn my key in the ignition, and wait for the two of them to jump in before throwing it in reverse and making my way back down the mountain.

"Another human abduction—go to the lake," Aris says, his voice coming out tense, through his teeth. I turn right, heading away from town and out to the lake, instead. "They were here on vacation, not even locals. The entire family is gone."

I suck in a breath through my teeth. Lisa's family has been calling and texting me non-stop, trying to get updates on the case. How do I tell them that we suspect an old teammate of ours of taking them? Even worse is that it's our only lead, and it doesn't tell us much about if the humans are alive or where we can find them.

"Any signs of a struggle? Or a break-in?"

"No, not according to the initial report," Aris says, "apparently, the ranger just found the cabin abandoned two days before the family was set to vacate, but their car is still sitting outside. He wanted to give him a chance to handle it before he goes to the authorities. Knows we're on the outs with the agency."

"Yeah, like the agency is going to be able to do anything," I mutter, "other than put innocent people at risk."

"Well, from the perspectives of the humans, that's exactly what we're doing."

We ride in silence for a moment, my Jeep taking the turns to the lake smoothly. The sun is just coming up over the horizon, shining brightly over the tops of the trees. I want to take a mental picture and show it to Rosa—another reason to stay in Rosecreek.

I understand her argument—how can I expect her to leave her home when I don't want to leave mine? But I think, at this point, we realize that the three of us need to be together. It would be best for Kaila.

My heart skips a beat when I think about the moment I can tell Kaila that I'm her dad. I'll have to talk to Rosa about it more, about when and how to best broach the subject, but I know I should tell her soon. The sooner I tell her, the less it will feel like I've been lying to her.

"Right here," Aris says, breaking me out of my thoughts and gesturing for me to turn. I have to hit the brakes kind of hard, steering the Jeep away from the main road and toward the lake. We rumble down the gravel for a second before a little cabin on the lake comes into view.

I bring the Jeep to a stop, and we tumble out, all heading toward the cabin. Ado walks carefully, and I can basically feel the hairs on the back of his neck raised.

Inside, the cabin looks just like all the other crime scenes we've looked at. Not a single thing is out of place, except for the humans. The beds are made neatly like they all got up and planned to leave the cabin.

"Maybe they were out for a walk?" Aris muses, as we move room to room, each one looking like the family was planning to leave. No broken glass or overturned tables, no doors broken off the hinges. No evidence of a struggle of any kind.

"There's no way he's lucid, if he's doing this," I say, meeting Aris's eyes. "Percy just isn't capable of this. He wouldn't kill innocent humans like that. He wouldn't."

"You don't have to tell me, man," Aris says, rubbing a hand over his face, "but that doesn't mean the humans are going to like it. Hey, we have a suspect, but he's a good guy! "

Just as Aris finishes his statement, Ado rounds the corner, holding something in his hands. He holds it out to me, and I pick it up, holding it carefully.

It's a necklace.

"Percy's," Aris breathes, then turns around and kicks the wall. "Fuck. Where the hell is he? How is he getting away with the abductions, time after time? There's no way he's killing the humans, right?"

"I don't know," I say, shaking my head. "But we have to try and get ahead of him before he gets the next ones. I will put out an alert to the humans in the area, giving them Percy's description. If they know what he looks like, hopefully, they can be a little more on guard. Call us before he makes it off with them."

"Hopefully, putting out a description will also put them at ease and let them know we're looking into things."

When we leave the cabin, I'm standing there, holding Percy's necklace. Aris and I walk to the car, but Ado hangs back.

"I'll investigate the woods," he says, holding up his phone as if to say I'll call you if I find anything .

"Sounds good, man," Aris says, "I'd tell you to be careful, but I know you better than that."

I give Ado a wave, then Aris and I climb back into my Jeep, heading back to town.

"Araya would like to know when Kaila can come to the lake again," Aris says, glancing at me from where he's relaxing in the passenger seat.

"That's a great question," I say, my stomach twisting as Rosa's argument comes back to me: You can't surf in the lake.

"You seem…a little more relaxed," Aris says, grinning at me. I rub my hand over the back of my neck as we pass the Rosecreek city limits sign.

"Well—some of the stress is gone. I can say that," I say, laughing a bit under my breath.

"So, you and Rosa?"

"Yeah," I say, shaking my head, "not quite. I think—I mean, I think she's finally accepting that we're mates, and she told me that Kaila's mine—"

"—obviously—"

"—but she doesn't like the idea of moving to Rosecreek."

Aris is quiet for a moment, and we watch as the buildings in town start to pass by. Rosecreek in the mornings is something else—washed in sunshine, lazy, sleepy but bright.

"Man, you know you're my best friend," Aris says after a long moment. "But family comes first. I know that. We'll work together to take care of this asshole—"

"Amon."

"—and you can do what you need to do. I'll miss you if you guys move back to California—if you decide to take over—"

"Oh, forget that," I say, shaking my head. "You know I have no interest in being alpha. All the politicking, pleasing people, the constant target on your back. I want to stay. I just—I don't know how I can get Rosa to come around to the idea."

"I think she will. I think Rosecreek will charm her into it. But if not, you have my blessing to go."

I press my lips together to keep the tears in my eyes from brimming over, and Aris gracefully pretends he doesn't notice I'm about to cry.

If I have to choose between the Rosecreek pack and my new family—Rosa and Kaila—I'll choose my girls. But I want, more than anything, not to have to choose.

We come to a stop outside the new pack HQ, which is almost fully constructed. There are too many things to do—talking to the humans, finding Percy, locating the missing humans, and trying to convince Rosa to stay.

"Alright," Aris says, letting out a long breath and opening the Jeep's door. "Let's do this."