18. Eighteen

Eighteen

Griffin

Waking up sandwiched between two men was probably the sweetest thing to ever happen to me, not that I would admit that. Sunny, in what I assumed was his typical style, wrapped around me like an octopus. Seriously, where did he get those extra limbs? Rain, well, he tucked himself up under my chin, his hair tickling my face. He was holding onto Sunny as well as me, as if he needed the reassurance.

I never wanted to move. Unfortunately, real life wanted to intrude. There was a traitor in our midst, one who had gone to great lengths to get rid of me as pack leader.

Someone hammered at my front door. "Griff?" Roscoe's worried voice called out.

My mates roused long enough to allow me to escape. Not that I cared about nudity, but I grabbed a robe on the way to answer the door.

"What is it?" I growled. The morning was chilly, and all I wanted to do was get back into my bed. Maybe have another round with Rain and Sunny before we ate breakfast.

"Fuck! You alright? I've been calling you for the last hour."

"Phone's with my stuff in the shed. What's wrong?"

He pushed past me into the house.

"Um, how about the reports last night? You were all fired up, howling and snarling. We heard you halfway down the block!"

Roscoe's hair was rumpled. He looked frantic. Everything about him screamed loyal and genuinely worried. Nothing in him was setting off alarms, unlike when we had spoken about Rain. Was it just the witch who had me all ruffled?

After our last interaction, I'd had Tor do a deep dive into this guy, even going so far as to get non-pack allies to watch him outside of pack lands. I knew everything about Roscoe now, including his unwavering loyalty.

Did I feel bad about testing this guy? Fuck, no. All of the pack were here voluntarily. They could have joined Ray's pack, except the other Weres of course. If they didn't want to be one of us, then they could leave. Simple as that.

Knowing Roscoe was a good guy was a relief. I hadn't wanted to have to deal with a traitor. Except here I was, dealing with one.

Last night, someone from my pack had either let in a Southridge shifter to hurt Rain and let me out, or worse, one of our own had done it.

"You better come in. I'll get dressed."

"So you gave in to the witch, huh?" Roscoe took a deep sniff. "Damn, the vampire too! That's hot."

"Those are my mates you're talking about."

"Wondered if there was something. Never seen you like that over someone."

"Like what?"

"Couldn't keep your eyes off them. Even when you couldn't see him, you were looking for the witch. And, we all know by now, where the witch goes, his vampire stalker follows.

"I resent being called a stalker," Sunny said, coming into the living room dressed in my clothes. The jeans were a little short and definitely too tight due to our different proportions. The shirt, well, it was straining to comical lengths. One deep breath and I was sure it was going to quit on him.

"Damn!"

Sunny's smile was pleased. "Why, thank you! I've seen you around. Are you part of the pack?"

I left Sunny to get to know Roscoe while I went to put some clothes on. Rainbow was sitting up in bed looking all soft and sleepy.

"Hey," I said softly. "Roscoe is here. Everyone heard me last night. We need to get to the bottom of who did this."

"Do we?" Rain whined, flopping down and pulling the duvet over his head.

"Yeah. Want to borrow some clothes?"

"Please." His head peeked out. I knew he had something on his mind.

"Whatever it is, you can ask. I'm sorry about how I was before, but you saw the worst of me, the part of me I hate, and you're still here, so I won't be offended." I pulled out a pair of sweatpants I knew were too small for me now and a t-shirt, which was tight on me. They would be comfortable for Rain to wear.

"Will I change? I was bitten."

Fuck. My fists closed around the clothing in them.

"When? How'd it happen?"

Rain hedged, probably uncertain how to explain. "It's fine, I would have changed before now, wouldn't I? Can we get coffee first? I'm too tired to put it all together."

"Okay, I'll get the machine running." It wasn't time to pull the details from Rain.

"Done!" Sunny breezed into the room. "Roscoe wanted all kinds of answers, but I don't share my men or what we get up to in bed." His bright smile and teasing were exactly what we needed to cut the tension in the room.

"Alright, I'm getting up. Gimme those clothes, Griff."

Sunny fussed over us all, Rain in particular, after his blood loss with the bite wound and feeding him. He ensured we all ate and drank. He did join us, though he looked in the best shape out of us all. Eating normal food was the best way to have the blood last longer.

"So, give me a timeline," Roscoe suggested. "I want to get this right. Tor said to be on the lookout, but not why."

"I went to the shed as usual," I explained. "Sunny was on guard. I did the usual check before my shift was forced."

The vampire took over. "It was pretty boring. There was the usual snarling and stuff, same as the night before. Then I heard a noise from Rainbow's place and went running there."

Rain was next to add, "I was in the kitchen making some tea because I couldn't sleep. Daisy was speaking to me, and I can't remember what we were saying. Suddenly, the door burst open and there was this massive wolf. He leaped on me, knocking me to the floor, and took a bite out of my leg. I shouted, and he ran away, leaving me on the floor. That's when Sunny came in."

"That must have been when someone opened the door and threw something inside. It did something to the door," I took over the explanation of events. I was so pissed my cage, the one place where my beast was secure, was damaged. "They also left some of Rainbow's blood on the floor. Probably to get me really worked up. The beast, he just wanted to get to the source of the blood. I've got no idea if he wanted to attack or protect."

"When we came in," Sunny said, Rain curled up next to him, "You were nearly through the door. The hinges had been damaged. It was lucky I could subdue you enough that we could get you back in the cage."

"So Griffin wasn't out in the streets?" Roscoe asked.

"Didn't leave that building," Rain confirmed. "Sunny got him back in the cage and held it closed while I got enough potions to put him down."

"Knocked me out while doing it," Sunny teased, squeezing Rain to him.

"Griffin stayed out until he could shift back?" Roscoe shared a look with me. My enemies couldn't use anything against me as long as they didn't attack anyone besides Rain.

"Aside from the noise, nothing else happened in the pack. When I couldn't contact you, I called around. Everyone is accounted for."

"Good. Sunny and Rain stopped me from getting out. We'll have to repair the cage before the next full moon."

"I can just use sleeping darts on you again. Or get you to drink something before you shift." Rain shrugged like the offer didn't mean everything to me. "We've got time to figure it out."

"You'd be okay with that?" I asked, shocked.

"Of course," he said, easily, a smile playing on his lips. "It's safer for everyone that way. Sunny can make sure you stay in the cage if needed. It'll be easier if you are sedated."

"First, we need to check the state of the cage. See if we need to order any parts or get a welder in. We also need to get the scent of who attacked Rainbow." I was grateful Roscoe wasn't the traitor. Nothing about his scent suggested stress or deceit, both of which were difficult, if not impossible, to hide.

"You're right."

We all went outside to have a look. The scents were all mixed up, the breeze had blown them away. I thought I caught a hint of something, but it was too faint to tell.

There was far too much blood inside the cage area to even tell who it belonged to. My scent and Sunny's permeated the entire place.

"I'll need to clean this out, put some bleach on it before the scent really soaks in. I don't want a constant reminder of what nearly happened." The thought of Sunny not being there to rescue Rain made me sick.

"Is there nowhere else you can go next time?" Rain asked, looking upset.

"Basement. Not as comfortable, but if I'm sleeping it off, it won't matter."

"You can't be in here," Roscoe said. "This will need to be redone completely. It's like they threw acid and it dissolved the door."

Done with that, we went to Rain's house. The door was closed over again, likely thanks to Daisy. Inside, it was easy to tell who it was. There was a drop of blood that didn't belong to Rain. The wolf must have cut himself on the smashed mug.

"Well, that's a surprise, but also not, right?"

I had to agree with Roscoe. "Yeah. James did this. You're safe, Rain, he's not a Were."

The relief that came over him had him sagging. I tried not to feel ashamed of what I was. Of course Rain didn't want to be a Were, he would lose his magic, his bond with his familiar.

"So, what do we do now?" Sunny held our mate close.

"We gather the pack and run James out for being a traitor."

Roscoe put out the call. All the pack, Were and born shifter, all congregated in front of my house.

James clearly knew what this was about when he appeared. He had to come. Everyone would soon know anyway. There was no hiding this crime.

"Thank you for coming. I'd like to apologize to you all for the noise last night and I'm not talking about when I was with my mates."

A few people in the crowd tittered. I shouldn't have let Ray get in my head about my mates. They had stopped a disaster last night. Without Sunny guarding me, I'd have gotten out and run until someone put me down. I wondered what they would have used to lure me out or if my beast wouldn't have needed a reason to be free. He always wanted to rip and tear into things. Cows, mostly. Me and Sunny had that in common.

The one time I'd gotten out, I'd killed three cows. Then there was the incident with my sister. I would never regret taking down my sire. He loved turning people. Didn't care how many died because of him.

I had a friend once who argued that the inner wolf I didn't quite hear tried to overcome the beast's desires. I still wasn't sure if I believed a damn word she said.

"Someone attacked my mate." Gasps went around the gathered shifters. "They damaged my cage. If it wasn't for my other mate, I would have been out there hunting."

I had to wait until they calmed down before I continued. Understandably, they were horrified by the act of treason.

"The perpetrator left blood in Rainbow's house."

Everyone looked at each other, confused. Some noticed how James was sweating and looking panicked.

"James, you are banished from this pack for being a traitor. You have one minute to explain yourself before we run you out."

They all went silent while they waited for him to speak up for himself.

"I… I'm in debt. Ray paid me. Said I'd get more when Tor was named leader. I'm sorry! I didn't want to, but I'm going to lose the house."

Next to him, his mate, Sarah, let out a sob. She tried to put some physical distance between them, moving closer to the others.

"Sarah?" I wanted to treat her gently. Most of the time, I didn't see her at gatherings. She kept to herself. "Did you know?"

"No. Not about Ray. The debt… My family has agreed to help out. Just not…"

"Not?" I prompted.

She fixed me with a determined look. "They wanted me to end my mating with James." Her chin wobbled as she fought tears. "They say he's no good for me. They wanted me to end it before we got more tied together with kids."

"Bitch!" James yelled, surging towards his mate. A few of our shifters grabbed onto him. Sarah edged closer to me.

"Do you want that? I'll help you with whatever you decide."

"I want to be a part of the pack," her voice was so defeated, like she already believed I'd say no to her. "My dad liked you when you let him visit."

"Yeah, I liked him, too. Made quite the impression."

She managed a smile at my teasing. "He does. They'll fix things with the house. Get a witch to end the bonding."

"I can do that," Rain offered. "Might have to do some research, but I'll do it."

Sarah went to Rainbow and took his hand. "Would you? I have the spell at home. I just needed a witch."

Rain looked at me for advice. I gave him a nod before I spoke again. "Okay this is what's going to happen: James will pack some personal things while we help Rainbow break James' and Sarah's bonding."

Around me, shifters and Weres nodded.

"Anyone who disagrees is welcome to leave with James. We are at a truce with Southridge and they've broken it with this blatant attack on me."

"What do we do now?" someone in the crowd asked.

"We get ready for a fight."

I didn't want to, but if I needed to, I would end Ray's miserable existence just to have peace with my pack and my mates.