23. Rhyson

23

Rhyson

My eyes narrowed, but before I could say anything, there was a shout from the cabin next to us. I raced to the door and threw it open just as Duke and Nash came out, dragging a young teenager with them.

"What the hell is going on?"

Duke threw the boy at my feet. "We caught him breaking into the cabin."

"Fuck off. It's my cabin," the boy slurred. Bending down, I caught his chin and stared down at him. His pupils were the size of saucers.

"Gideon," I roared.

He cringed. "Wait, no, you don't need to call him. We're all good here."

"Then explain what the fuck you're doing in my cabin."

The boy started to shake. "Your necklace. Looked expensive. Wanted to pawn it."

The amulet. I narrowed my eyes. "Bullshit. What do you need money for?"

"The serum. I need the serum," he whispered.

"You expect me to believe that you're buying your drugs with actual money?" As far as I could tell, money was not the currency of the mountain. The boy didn't answer. "What's your name?"

"Paisley."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Paisley, I have a feeling that Gideon is on his way. I suggest you tell me the truth before he gets here."

"Magic," Paisley whispered. "I can sense the magic. He likes magic. With that necklace, I could be set for life."

"What's the meaning of this?" Gideon demanded as he arrived, with three wolves trailing behind him. "Paisley? What are you doing to him?"

Letting go of the boy's chin, I straightened and turned to him. "We found him trying to break into our cabin," I said calmly. Behind me, the teen started to sob.

Gideon snarled. "Damn it, Paisley, I told you earlier what would happen if you stepped out of line one more time."

"I'll take him."

Behind me, Duke nearly choked. Gideon scowled. "Excuse me? I'm not in the habit of giving teen boys over to men."

"That's not what this is about. He's an addict. He needs to get clean. While he's traveling with me, he won't have a chance to find his drug."

Gideon narrowed his eyes. "And you're planning on doing this out of the kindness of your heart?"

Hardly. The last thing I needed was someone else who needed caring for, but I could sense Paisley's wolf behind the haze of the drugs. He was incredibly strong, stronger than most men that I knew. Once the drugs were out of his system, he'd make an excellent warrior. Not to mention that he was a native here. He could tell us what to expect.

And he could sense magic.

"We've never been to this side of the mountain before. He's been leaving your territory regularly. He's probably an excellent navigator. He'll work off his crime by helping me, he'll get clean, and he can return when he wants."

Gideon shook his head. "Absolutely not. I don't know you. I'm not about to make one of my own go off with you."

"What were you going to do with him if he stepped out of line again?"

"Exile," Paisley said behind me with a shiver. I raised an eyebrow, but Gideon didn't refute him.

"Excellent. Consider him exiled. Now, Paisley, my way of dealing with wolves who try to steal from me is to kill them. Do you want to die or do you want to work off your crimes?"

"Just one fucking minute," Gideon roared. "This is not—"

"I'll go with him," the teen whined. "I'll go with you."

"Duke. Nash. Take him to Tessa. See if she can do anything to help him with withdrawal. Does he have family here?"

Gideon shook his head. He still looked a little dazed at the transaction. "No. I found him alone about three years ago and took him in. I don't feel right just letting him go. I wasn't really going to exile him."

I couldn't tell if he was lying, but something felt off about the situation. To my surprise, Maya stepped forward. "Gideon, we appreciate everything that you've done for us. Let us help you with this. Paisley is clearly struggling, and you're having a hard time managing that with everything that's going on. It's understandable. You're not an alpha, but you are in charge of keeping these wolves safe. You obviously believe in this boy or you wouldn't have put up with him for this long. Maybe you think of him as a son?"

Gideon's head jerked up at that, and Maya smiled. "He's seventeen. It's time for him to take responsibility for his own actions, don't you think," she continued.

"Fine," Gideon said tightly. "He'll be your navigator. You better take care of him. It might be best if you leave first thing in the morning, before anything else happens."

***

We left a few hours later. Paisley had spent the night as a wolf, and we'd hoped that he'd burn off the serum, but it looked like the drug affected his wolf too. I wondered if maybe I'd gotten the wrong impression of his wolf, if he wasn't as strong as I'd thought, but it was too late. Gideon had made it clear that we'd backed him into a corner and he wanted us gone.

Dante was walking on his own but he wasn't at full strength. Maya's wolf was right at the surface, but she wasn't taking full control. Juniper was still pissed. In the end, we were a fucking mess, but we kept a tight formation and didn't run into any trouble as we worked our way up the mountain. At noon, we'd shaken off the wolves that Gideon had sent to watch us, and we reached a river.

There were plenty of fish in the river, so it wasn't hard to get some lunch. Most wolves didn't love fish, but there weren't any complaints as we took refuge in the shade, ate our lunch, and splashed in the river.

Maya shifted and started to apply the ointment to her knee. She'd spent most of the journey avoiding me. Paisley loped into the river and kept going. Maya sprang up from her spot after him, grabbed him by the scruff, and pulled him back. "Don't kill yourself with the river," she told him. "Water is way more violent than you think."

With a moan, Paisley shifted. Naked and shaking, he stared up at her. "I need something," he whispered. "I can't keep this up."

"You need food and sleep. You get one of those now. You get the other tonight. You're a werewolf," she told him as she reached into her bag and pulled out an energy bar. He'd eaten the fish. I'd seen him, but looking at him now, it looked like he might blow away like a leaf.

Weak, my wolf growled. He wanted to kill Paisley.

Struggling, I told him. At that word, my wolf gave pause. He understood and retreated. I watched Maya interact with the boy. She wasn't kind to him. Not motherly or even caring, but on some level, she seemed to relate a little. I doubted Maya had a drug problem in her past, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

Paisley nibbled on his energy bar, then immediately rolled over and vomited. When his stomach was empty, he came back to the bar and ate a little more. We stayed by the river longer than I wanted, but as soon as Paisley looked a little stronger, we started to move again. We'd gone far enough that I popped the amulet in my mouth and called out to the wolves.

Paisley jerked in surprise and immediately straightened and moved closer to us. I didn't like expending power like this, but I wasn't about to get him killed on the same day that I'd taken him. I was still regretting my decision when I felt the amulet warm in my mouth as the sun started to set.

Immediately, I stopped and shifted. If the humans were to be believed, we wouldn't have any issues with rogue wolves. Paisley shifted as well. He had a little more color in his skin, but he still shook. "We can't stay here," he whispered. "There are ghosts."

"Ghosts?"

"You'll hear them at night. Something horrible happened here, and the magic…it raises the ghosts, and they are out for revenge."

As if on cue, the trees behind us started to wail.