Chapter Forty-Five

June

Evander was finally gone. Barely. I had just about gotten the hang of his daily routines, or at least he already had a pattern after the last couple days I'd suffered under his roof.

He woke early, going for a morning patrol. He'd sneak into my room while I slept, or pretended to sleep, and light his damn candle. Whatever fog my mind couldn't shake, I knew that candle had something to do with it.

While he patrolled, Alice would come to make breakfast. She brought me up a plate, then packed the rest for Evander when he returned. She would do some cleaning around the house and then leave.

Evander would return soon after; there was a very little window for me to be alone in the house. He spent time in his office or room until lunch. He would eat whatever Alice had made and left, usually something simple like sandwiches, and bring me up a plate while he checked on me and lit another candle.

The damn candle. I wanted to throw it out the window. I wanted to shove it down his throat. But then he'd know I wasn't playing his games, and all my chances to learn more about what he was up to would be gone.

His afternoon had another run, and Alice was back for a repeat of the morning routine until dinner, which I was expected to join him for.

It was all terribly frustrating, and my wolf would bounce between lashing out in fury and demanding we tear down the pack house, and being almost completely dormant and unresponsive. The whirlwind of anger and emptiness left me disoriented and exhausted.

But never without scheming.

I tried everything. Slipping out a window only to find small spikes in all the places I could possibly put my hands to climb. Getting out through the bedroom door, but it was always locked unless Evander let me out. I tried begging Alice but she was absolutely loyal to Evander's orders. The most infuriating part was that I couldn't remember why she shouldn't be.

But finally, finally, Evander was taking a longer walk than usual, and Alice just left.

Nose pressed to the window, I strained to see the side of the building that would tell me that Alice was walking home. I couldn't see her, but I saw her distinct shadow, carrying its basket now empty of whatever garden vegetables she brought today. Just a few more steps and . . . yes! She was completely off the pack-house lawn and I was alone.

But for how long?

Didn't matter, I had to make the best use of the time I had.

I ran to the door to the bedroom. I had found some of the tape Naomi used when she secured her paper to watercolor on. Even better was that it blended in well with the wood of her door, because when Alice was fumbling to come into my room with breakfast, I slipped several pieces of tape that I had prepared over the inside of the door. And now I got to see if it had stopped it from latching.

I held my breath, turning the doorknob and straining to hear the click of the lock. I did, she hadn't forgotten that part. But pulling the door gently, I heard the most glorious sound. The part inside the door that stuck out and latched it shut was taped down, and all I could hear as I opened the door was the metal from the strike plate brushing against my rushed tape job.

"Yes!" I hissed, whipping the door open and running into the hallway.

But where to start? I could raid Evander's office for suspicious things, but then my smell would be all over the place.

To the basement then. Something bothered me about it, I thought there was a person down there, but I couldn't really be sure. Everything I remembered was so jumbled. But I was determined to find something somewhere that would remind me why I was so against Evander.

I went down the stairs, doing my best to touch as little as possible. The less of my scent I could spread around, the better.

The basement door was locked; I had expected that. But I remembered the trick I did before and went to find the unlocking pin from on top of the bathroom door again.

"Dammit," I hissed. There was nothing over the frame this time. I checked a few other doors around the hall, but none of them had that old fashioned pin thing.

I went back to the basement door and stood still, listening for any sounds in the house. Nothing, and Evander didn't usually sneak back into his own home, so I should be able to make at least a little bit of noise, right?

I cleared my throat, knocking on the door to the basement.

"Hello, is someone down there?" I asked.

Even with my wolf hearing, I couldn't detect anything behind the door.

"Hello?" I called again, a little louder. "I'm not with Evander, if that's what you're worried about. He's not even home right now."

This time there was some stirring. Did I wake someone down there? Muffled sounds that could have been a voice came through the door, but nothing discernible.

"I can't unlock the door, but do you have another way I can get in? A window? A vent?"

They mumbled again, but I still couldn't understand. There was too much basement between me and them; I had to get closer.

"Hold on, I'm going to look for more ways to get to you," I called.

Leaving the basement door alone, I took a step back and looked around. I couldn't get near the far side of the basement from this side of the pack house. Maybe that meant I needed to find my way to the back half.

The kitchen shared the back wall of the house, and while I didn't know what other rooms sat around it, there wouldn't be a particular problem with my scent in the kitchen, so it was a good start.

There were windows, but I knew where those led. There were old pipes that ran up the walls. Not a surprise with the age of the buildings in the village. But nothing like an air vent or laundry chute to be found. The rooms around the kitchen were not useful either. A pantry, a supply closet, and two bedrooms that can't have been occupied at any point in the last several years.

"Take a deep breath, June," I said. "In and out, then think about it."

If this floor wasn't working, the upper floor probably wouldn't either. But I was running out of time, and it would be easier to slip back into my room from upstairs.

I took the stairs two at a time and tried all the doors. Most were either locked or empty. The few guest rooms I had access to were useless, the windows as impassable as Naomi's.

Frustrated, I paced the hallway. I could either try the basement another way or go back to my room before Evander returned, and try to think of another way.

I closed the door to Naomi's room and peeled off the tape so Evander couldn't catch on to my trick. I sank onto the bed.

"Ugh," I groaned into the covers. "Why is this so hard?"

I rolled over onto my back, staring at the ceiling. My throat tightened, and I put a hand over my heart. "Dom, where are you? I need you."

Reaching out for a link, any link, I tried again to contact the village. I couldn't reach anyone outside the pack house. It was like Evander had done something to this place to prevent it.

I rubbed my eyes. I probably looked visibly upset, and while I could use Dom as an excuse to Evander, I really just didn't even want to deal with the discussion it could bring up. I walked into the bathroom to wash my face.

The bathroom was nice, if fairly simple. A shower, a bathtub, a sink. All you really needed, basically. It was wallpapered in a very old-fashioned style and had old pipes to match. As I filled the sink and splashed my face, checking in the mirror that I looked refreshed and normal, the old pipes caught my attention.

Clang, clang, clang .

I turned off the water and froze, listening.

Clang, clang, clang .

One of the pipes that ran down the wall was definitely being hit by something from a lower floor. A much lower floor.

I abandoned the sink and ran to the pipe. I knocked on it three times, just like the sound I'd been hearing.

A pause, then I got my response. Clang, clang, clang .

I ran my hands along the pipe, trying to figure out what its purpose could be. Whatever it was once used for, it didn't seem to function anymore, so it was just a piece of old pipe now.

But if I could open it up . . .

From bottom to top, I inspected it carefully. If I stood on the edge of the bathtub, I could reach an old valve of some kind. I put my ear to the pipe, listening for anything that could be running inside. Gas, water, who knew what else. Nothing.

I let out a slow breath and grabbed the valve tight. "Here goes nothing."

I yanked hard, using every ounce of strength my wolf could grant me, and popped the valve right off the pipe. With a yell, I fell backwards into the tub.

"Ouch," I groaned, rubbing my head and shoulders where I'd hit the tub the hardest. But I got back on my feet, looked up into the hole the valve created, and put my mouth near the opening.

"Hello?" I called.

A pause. "June Bug?"

My heart froze. "Katherine? What are you doing here?"

"It is you!" she cried. "I thought they killed you. I thought they killed me! I think they might still kill me. I don't know what's happening."

"Shh, calm down, Kit Kat. Take a deep breath." I paused, waiting for her to do as I asked. "Why are you here?"

"Well, my best friend ran away across North America to a mysterious relative's. Some people I've never heard of. You haven't told me about any Canadian relatives, especially not from the middle of nowhere Newfoundland!"

"How did you know where I was?" I asked.

"Do you remember the selfie you sent me? I asked you to send me something to prove you were okay? You were standing in front of a store, I could see the sign. I looked it up, and there is just the one place with that name. And I looked on Google Street View and sure enough, it was a building in Canada."

"So you found where I was and came all the way out to Canada ? How did you afford that?" I asked.

"I've been having terrible feelings that something bad was happening to you. I couldn't contact you, and I got a bunch of money and came out here myself."

"And where did you get a bunch of money?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, that part. So, you know how the plaza I worked in got blown up or whatever? Apparently, it was enough hassle that some new owner bought it out and paid out every single person who had worked in the area a big bonus. I don't know who it was, but they must have been loaded to throw around that much cash."

My jaw dropped. This must be that group of fae Jerod told me about.

"How did you get here? In this house."

"June, I was so scared," Kat cried. "There was this old diner that I was eating at, and I showed the lady your picture. I showed your picture to everyone I could find, starting at the store where you took your selfie!"

"Okay, but focus, Kat. Here, how did you get here."

"Right, right. Well, the diner lady recognized your picture. She remembered you, or rather the guy you were with. You're with a guy by the way? Who is he? Is he dangerous?"

"Focus!" I said. "We don't have a lot of time before Evander gets back."

"Is that the guy's name?" Kat asked. "No, okay, the story. Anyway, someone saw the car come down an old dirt hunting road. So I kinda . . . followed the road a while."

"You what?" I exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't think it would go so far!" Kat said. "I thought you were holed up in some old hunting cabin or something. But anyway, I was walking and it was growing dark. Then these big animals came out. They chased me down, one of them scratched up my leg real bad, and this guy came out after them and took me."

"A guy?" I asked. "What did he look like?"

"Well, it was kinda dark, but he was naked. Some facial hair, I think. Anyway, he chased off the . . . big dogs? No, I guess wolves or coyotes or something. Anyway, he chased them off and brought me here. He shoved me in some basement and I've been down here for days! June, my leg hurts so bad and I want to go home."

Kat started crying, and my heart collapsed.

Tears flooded my own eyes as I listened to Kat's soft weeping through the pipe. Both of us a prisoner in Evander's house. My throat tightened as I wiped the dampness off my face, then I sucked in a breath.

"Kat," I said, a tremor in my voice. "You said one of the . . . they're werewolves, Kat. You said one of them scratched up your leg?"

She sniffed. "Yeah, it still hurts."

I closed my eyes, my heart sinking. "Did they scratch you or bite you?"

She paused, thinking about it. "I think one of them nipped me, but the scratches are what hurt."

My face fell, and I balled my fists at my side in frustrated determination. "Hold on, Kat. I'll get us out of here somehow. My m— Um, I have friends who will help us."

She sniffed again. "When we get out of here, I want the whole story, June."

"Yes, I promise," I said. "The whole—"

Footsteps. I could barely hear them, but all the training Tanner had hammered into me made picking up sounds like that second nature.

"I've got to go, Kat," I hissed. "Hang in there! I promise."

I hopped off the side of the tub, kicking the broken valve under the sink and slipping back into the bedroom where I could lie on the bed and pretend to nap.

My heart pounded with every movement Evander made. Footsteps outside. The opening of the door, and then some walking around downstairs. Kitchen sounds where he ate the meal Alice had left for him, and then some more walking.

I took deep breaths, in and out. Trying to slow my heart and calm my nerves before Evander noticed anything was amiss.

And it was agony.

After a good long time, and a lot of silent prayers that Kat would keep quiet down there, Evander's steps finally made their way up the stairs.

Slowly, deliberately, he took the steps along the path I'd taken when I was checking the other doors in the hallway.

I caught my lower lip in my teeth. Did he smell me? I'd tried to be careful . . .

The footsteps made their way to my door. A hand on the doorknob tested it quietly, probably making sure the lock was still in place, then he unlocked it and came in.

"June?" Evander called quietly. "Are you awake?"

He was a wolf, he knew damn well I wasn't breathing like I was asleep.

"Resting," I answered, sitting up in the bed now.

"Good, good." He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, a habit he had formed every time he visited me now. He studied my face, which was hopefully peaceful enough not to arouse suspicion.

"You weren't out of your room today, were you? Helping Alice perhaps?"

Damn, he had smelled me. Think, June, think!

I shook my head. "No. Actually, I'm afraid I gave her a little extra work. I sent something I was wearing with her to sew for me. Naomi and I don't seem to be the same size."

"Ah." He nodded. "That explains the smell."

I tilted my head. "Smell?"

"Never mind. June, I'm here to talk about the full moon," he said.

The full moon. I had today and tomorrow to figure out a plan of what to do on the full moon, then tomorrow night I would get my chance.

"You're not in any state to participate tomorrow," Evander said. "You should stay in the pack house."

"What?" Alarm rang through me as my wolf surfaced, resisting the idea of not running on the full moon with her packmates. "The whole pack will be together! We can't possibly be any safer than as a large group of wolves, running as one."

"June, be reasonable," Evander said. "You're not in a mental or emotional state to handle the strain of it all."

I needed a plan he would go along with. I couldn't challenge him or try to reach out to any of my friends if I wasn't even out of the pack house to try. My eyes slid to the hand on my knee, which I really just wanted to slap away, and I remembered how he was around Naomi . . .

"But, Evander," I said, placing my hand over his. "I'm safest next to my alpha. You've taken care of me so far, what if I need you during the full moon?"

That surprised him, but his expression quickly turned to pleased. He lifted my hand in his, holding it for . . . comfort maybe? Was he trying to comfort me? And he sighed.

"I understand your feelings, June. I'll consider your request," he said warmly.

And then I yawned, trying to excuse pulling my hand away to cover my mouth. "Thank you."

"I'll let you rest. Do you want anything special for dinner tonight?" Evander stood up.

"Whatever you want is just fine with me, Alpha."

"Very well, you get some rest."

He left the room and I laid down like I was going to fall asleep, all the while listening intently as he locked the door and went downstairs to his office.

Shit. Evander had nearly caught me, and now I knew who he was keeping in the basement! If she was bitten, I knew why he'd brought Kat here. He probably expected her to either die or shift into a loyal wolf. Was he using his magic candle on her too? Was she hungry, cold, scared?

Tomorrow night the full moon would be here, and one way or another, this was going to have to end. I just had to hope Dom could find his way back to end it.