Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

TALULLA

" T al, wake up." A voice pierces my ear, and then hands start shaking me. This has to be how I find out I died and went straight to hell.

I groan in protest as I open my eyes and realize it's still dark out. "What the fuck, Cass?" I say, realizing the mad woman creating an earthquake by moving my mattress is my best friend. A friend who seriously needs to learn boundaries. "You know I've staked vampires for less, right?" I add, yawning repeatedly.

"You need to come with me now."

"What?" I rub the back of my hand on my eyes, trying to get them to focus on my surroundings.

Cassandra speaks again, "The body that was found earlier tonight… It's Scott."

And with that statement, I'm out of bed in less than a second. "Same modus operandi?"

"Yes, and Kaden… He won't talk to anyone. He barely was able to talk to the police."

I don't even bother putting on socks. I grab the first pair of jeans and T-shirt I find and put them on. "Okay, let's go."

"Asmo is outside waiting. We can't apparate. I don't know where the police are searching."

I nod, and out of the dorm we go.

I look at my phone, pondering if I should text Flynn, but this isn't any of his concern. He didn't know Scott, and he definitely doesn't care to comfort Kaden in his time of sorrow. The brightness of the screen dims as I let seconds go by. No need to worry him in the middle of the night. Not when I requested space that I know I need.

We get to the pack house and walk inside. The police are slowly leaving the premises, probably already with all the information they need to write their little useless report. Every single light is currently turned on in the rooms. A couple of people are slowly cleaning the mess that was made.

Stepping into every single room on the main floor, I try to find any sign of my friend, but he's nowhere.

I then run upstairs, straight to his bedroom, and as I see an empty bed, I feel the breeze coming from the window. It's open, and right outside, sitting on the roof, is Kaden. A sign of relief rushes through me as I see his broad shoulders.

I silently make my way to him, making the least amount of noise, not knowing the kind of reaction he might have right now.

"Hey," I whisper, reaching for his hand. I squeeze it to let him know I'm here, but it's as if he can't even feel my skin on his. He's completely numb, staring apathetically into the distance.

"Didn't think you'd care to be here. Especially after finding out you're sleeping with your own enemy."

I hold his hand a little tighter, letting his thorny words pass right through me. "I'm here for you, Kaden. What I do in my free time isn't important right now."

"It is when you sleep with my brother's killer."

"Flynn is not behind this, K. He never was."

"Then who the fuck is it?"

"You know there's a witch involved. You're the one who has omitted sharing important details with people who are only trying to help you."

"I don't need your help." Kaden's jaw clenches, and he rips his hand away from mine. Werewolves are known to be stubborn creatures, but this? This is another level.

"I'm talking about the Drusus coven. This is what they do. Why aren't you cooperating?"

He shakes his head and groans before speaking again, "Because every time I involve someone, they fucking die, Tal. That's why."

The thought of my tarot reading comes back to mind. Should I take a step back and reconsider my involvement when I know my life is also at risk? No, I can't. Not when my father decided to close his eyes and turn his back on this, knowing he could have prevented some of this, if not the entire situation. "Tell me then. Tell me what you think is happening."

He sighs and then starts getting up. "Let me show you something. It's easier that way."

I follow him back inside, and even if I know Cassandra and Asmodeus are outside the bedroom listening, I pretend it's just us.

Kaden grabs a file from his nightstand and hands it to me. "This is my father's murder case file."

"Murder case? I thought he had a car accident."

"That's what was said on the news and disclosed to the public, but I was able to get the report. There was something wrong with the car, and it was clearly hidden because half of the fucking thing is blacked out."

I look down at the pages and see exactly what he's talking about. "Every single detail and name is not here."

"Exactly."

"When did you get this?"

"A few days before Kyle, the first pack member who was murdered, died. I had my suspicions about my father's death, and as soon as I started digging, people started dying. This is why I haven't told anyone, and this is why Scott died tonight. I should have continued this on my own."

"You told him what you were working on a few days ago, didn't you?"

"I did, and now he's gone," he says, choking on his own words.

"That's why Flynn saw him with the witch."

"I asked him to go buy some protection potions, which clearly did nothing."

"We need to find the clear report."

"Good luck with that, Tal. I've been trying for weeks."

"Yeah, well, you didn't have Cassandra and me before."

"I still don't. You need to get them to stop poking around. You need to stop poking around."

"Why?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Because I don't want to bury you as well." Kaden's hand brushes my cheek, and for a second, I let myself accept his gentle touch.

"Too late. You're not fighting alone anymore."

"Yes, I am."

"No," I say, my tone firm and final. There's no way I'm walking out of this now, not when we finally have some sort of a lead.

Cassandra and Asmodeus walk in, right on cue. "If you seriously think you're going to make her change her mind, you're a dumb werewolf."

Kaden growls at the sight of my friends. "I told you guys to leave."

"And we did. Now we're back." Asmodeus takes the file from my hands. "Okay, so Set and I are going to break into the police archives and look for the right report. Easy peasy lemon squeezy."

"No," the werewolf shouts. "You're not doing anything if you want to live."

"Meh. Living is kind of overrated these days," Asmo says, shrugging his shoulders.

"You know what? I don't care. Do whatever the fuck you want but leave that file here."

I turn and face Cassandra and her blonde best friend, and I ask, "Guys, can you give us a moment? I'll be right out."

They nod and leave the room once more.

"Kaden—"

"Go away, Tal."

I groan and grab his arm, forcing him to look at me. He has always towered over me, and right now, he seems even bigger than usual. His muscular frame takes over half of his room. "Whether you like it or not, we're friends."

His arms cross over his chest. "Are we?"

"We are friends, and I care about you."

"Then stop caring because I don't care about you."

"Well, ouch. Until a while ago, you wanted me to be your mate, and now I'm just a stranger to you?"

"You walked out of that club with a vampire boyfriend, not me, Talulla."

"Can't you just believe that I'm here because I care for you and because I cared for Scott?"

"Oh, come on. You just fucked around until you found your shiny new toy."

"Are you kidding me? You two were the ones fucking around every day, and now I'm the hoe? Are you even listening to your words?" The volume of my voice is rising, just like his.

"Does he buy you pretty things? Is that why you picked him?" I know he doesn't really mean the words he's saying, but they still hurt the same.

"Picked? Do you seriously think I wanted to fall for a fucking vampire? You know exactly who I am. Stop making it about something that it isn't. Go to bed. I'll call you if we find anything new, and for the love of whatever god werewolves believe in, stop playing with fire," I am now full-on yelling at this point, to the point of panting as I finish talking.

"I can't step away."

"Then let us be with you if you plan something moronic."

"I—"

"Stop fighting. You're not alone in this, not anymore."

He growls. "Fine."

"Now I'm walking out that door, but know that the Drususes are going to find out who's behind this." I start my way out of the bedroom.

"I can't believe I agreed to this."

Stopping next to the doorframe, I say, "Yeah, well, it's not my fault I got woken up in the middle of the night because a stubborn werewolf didn't want to cooperate."

"You always have to have the last word," he finally smiles, and for a split second, I see the Kaden I know and like. The exuberant guy who just wants to have fun any chance he gets.

"Always," I reply, winking at him.

I walk out of the apartment and find Cassandra and Asmodeus talking to someone. No, not just someone but Flynn.

"How did you know I was here?" I ask, only paying attention to the vampire and completely ignoring the fact that my friends are a little too cool with him being around right now. "Did you follow me?"

"I called him," Cassandra says.

My head snaps in her direction, my eyes ready to pop out of my eye sockets. "Why?"

"Because she didn't know how your werewolf would react." Flynn's voice caresses my ear, and I hate that his accent and his presence do that, even when I'm mad at him.

"He's not my werewolf."

"Well, I certainly hope not," he says, scratching his jaw.

"You don't get to be jealous."

"I am my own person, Talulla. I get to be whatever I choose to be."

I groan as I try to defend myself when there's nothing to explain aside from the fact that someone is murdering innocent creatures. "His brother died."

"And this is why I didn't rip his throat yet. Happy?"

"So generous of you." I turn to look at my witch friends. "Now, can we go? I need to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah. Thank you for talking to Kaden, by the way. I know it must have been hard."

I eye Flynn before replying to Cassandra. "It's all good. He just needed to get some anger out."

My vampire snorts. "He's lucky he has the dead brother excuse because if it was another circumstance, I would have stepped in."

"No, you wouldn't have, because I asked you for time. Go home, Flynn."

"So impertinent."

"Yeah, well, that's what you get when your girl had a fucking day."

The corners of his lips lift into a smile. Yes, because I just called myself his girl . And he definitely heard it. "Good night once again," he says, without even giving me the time to say anything back. He won this one, didn't he?

I groan and then turn to look at my friends who are now beaming at me. "You two stop smiling and get me to bed. You better have a phenomenal breakfast waiting for me when I wake up, or I'll be pissed."

"As you wish," Asmodeus replies, opening the back seat door for me.

If I thought my day had been rough, I think the night was the cherry on top.