Chapter 2

Chapter Two

P assing through the wards that separate our territory from the outside world, I exhale.

"Put in the coordinates, and tell me where we're headed," Cadoc says as he flirts with the speed limit.

I glance out of the window into the darkness, wondering what awaits us.

"We're headed to a forest?" Bo says.

Cadoc looks at him in the rearview. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you. Seems strange, doesn't it?" Bo asks.

"We're no longer dealing with mortals. Who are we to question Fenrir and his orders?" Fell asks.

"Suddenly you have a lot to say, Pedersen," Bo scoffs.

"Yes, get used to it."

"Or what?" Bo angles his body to face him in the backseat.

"Enough," Kirk's voice slices through the tension brewing inside the SUV from the passenger seat. "There's no time for this."

Bo scowls but bites his tongue.

"We have to let go of the past, or we'll be buried in the rubble as the old breaks down," Cadoc says.

"That's profound and idealistic for an enforcer," Bo goads him.

"I've seen enough to know that history is a pattern," Cadoc answers solemnly.

Sensing his sadness, I slide to the edge of my seat, slip my hand through the space between the wall, and squeeze his upper arm. Retreating, I'm pulled up against Fell's side. I hesitate briefly before I give in to the closeness.

I thought I lost him earlier. Whatever exists between us, I don't want to see him dead. Leaning into him, I inhale his scent and allow myself to nuzzle the scent glands on his neck. Sounds of pleasure rumble in his chest, and the she-wolf is temporarily settled.

"Once he realizes we know his secrets, we're going to become his enemies," Kirk says.

"Are you ready to stop speaking in riddles?" Bo asks.

"What are we facing here, Kirk?" Cadoc asks.

He exhales. "This isn't the first time Alpha has gone outside the pack. Showing his hand to us is sloppiness or meant to be a threat. Once the Alpha learns Fell's inheriting the Volva's power." Kirk shakes his head. "There's no telling what he'll do."

"That's why he can't know before the people do," Cadoc adds.

"They're going to be in a state of unrest when they find themselves unable to find the next Volva… because he's with us," Kirk says.

"Right now, we need that distraction to move freely," Cadoc says.

"Our pack won't fall apart before we get back. We've weathered too many storms to be taken out so swiftly," Bo says.

"I hope you're right," I whisper.

"You've seen the worst our pack offers—" Bo holds up his hand when I open my mouth to eviscerate him. "I know I was part of that. Let us show you the good parts. You must believe they exist, or you wouldn't be here now."

"I won't condemn an entire group of people for the shitty behavior of the entitled elite who run us all."

Bo flinches. His nostrils flare, and I meet his stare, refusing to back down. I won't be like everyone else in his life and condone his unacceptable behavior. I'll never be an enabler.

"I think the Alpha brought this on," Kirk says.

"What?" His quiet confession is a bomb exploding in our faces.

"I think he opened a box he couldn't close. His desperation to save his wife led him down dark paths. I tried to speak with him about it once." Silent, we take a moment to digest his words. We all go silent, dig

"What did he say?" I ask.

"He was a man possessed. I never saw eyes glow as his did. They were tinted red like they were full of hellfire. The shadows behind him seemed to gather on the surrounding walls. The temperature dropped so low I could see my breath in front of me." He shivers. "And I saw the malice and the ability to slaughter anyone that stood in his way. He told me if I ever questioned him again, it'd be the last thing I did, and I knew he meant it. I felt invisible hands tipped with sharp nails around my neck, making it impossible to breathe while he watched me. I fell to my knees as the room spun and turned black, and he watched. When I lost consciousness, I expected it to be the end for me."

"He tried to kill his healer. What kind of a fucking lunatic has been leading us?" Bo barks.

"A chameleon; I believe he has hidden the worst of his sins for a long time," Kirk says.

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" I ask, stunned.

"I wasn't sure how this would play out. Poking the bear was unnecessary if he was willing to play nice. It's always been my burden to carry. I would've continued had it benefited the clan."

"No one should have to live like that, Kirk," I whisper.

"I can't help but wonder if things would be different if I had saved his wife," Kirk's voice cracks.

"No. For all you know, he was doing this before she was sick," Fell says.

"He used to bring me test subjects."

I gasp in horror and Kirk flinches.

"For what, Kirk?" Cadoc's knuckles turn white as he clenches the wheel.

"To try the potions he brought to me. I didn't ask him what they were or where they came from. I should have." The disgust in his voice rips my soul to shreds.

"What did they do?" Bo asks.

Kirk closes his eyes and gags. "Don't ask me that." The man is traumatized. No wonder he became a hermit. "I monitored each of them, filled out the paperwork, and watched as they faded one by one. Some went peacefully. Others, not so much. I broke my healer's oath."

"Instead of dying a martyr, which wouldn't have benefitted anyone," Cadoc says.

"This is your chance for redemption, Kirk. Fenrir is giving you a chance to make it up to the people you loved and served."

He turns and I lean over Fell's lap to grasp his hand over the console. "Don't let him win. We need you to come out of this in one piece." He squeezes my hand, and I push back my gut reaction to the news he just revealed.

My sweet Doc tortured people. It shifts my perception of him. His quiet is caused by more than an introverted personality. I guess we all have secrets in this clan.

I bring our joined hands up to my lips, and his eyes widen in response. He expected me to reject him.

"Don't forgive me so easily, sweetness. You don't know the evil I've done on behalf of the Alpha. Being let go was a relief. One he granted me with strict rules. I wasn't allowed to leave or share what I knew with anyone. After the missing pages, I had my suspicions. His paranoia and the constant eyes he kept on me confirmed them. They tried to tamper with genes somehow and it made the females grow sick."

"That's a big accusation," Cadoc says softly.

"But it makes sense. All magic has a price, and I think we're paying for someone's past mistakes at playing god by magical means."

"Why would he hide it? If this is true, we've been looking in the wrong place for a cure," Fell says. I hear the hurt in his voice.

The system he once believed in wholeheartedly is letting him down at every turn.

"How is he getting away with this?" Fell asks.

"Even if this comes out, who's going to challenge him, genius?" Bo asks.

"We are," I whisper.

"Excuse me?" Bo whips his head to the left to look at me.

"It's clear, isn't it?" I ask, lifting my hands in the air. "We're being positioned to go up against him?—"

"No. To come after the Alpha, you'd need an entire army behind you," Bo says.

"Now that we know, what do you suggest? We make nice and watch the situation get worse?" I ask.

"Isn't the amulet supposed to fix that?" Bo frowns. There's been little to no details on Fenrir's amulet. We're seeking out a magical tool blindly. Guided by the sundial and the information we manage to scrape together from old books and journals, we're on a scavenger hunt from hell. The possessor will set the course of the wolf packs in the future. Failure isn't an option.

Sneering, I wrinkle my nose at his ignorance. "How would you know? You haven't helped with any of the research."

I'm frustrated that we don't have more information on what the amulet does. Taking it out on him is shitty, but I can't stop myself. How can one item help shape the destiny of our packs? Why haven't we found the damn thing yet?

It feels like we're on a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

"I wasn't asked to, was I?" Bo arches a thick brow.

"I didn't realize you needed a personal invitation, Your Highness. We're all in this together, are we not?" I retort, refusing to shrink under his glare. We hit a pothole, and I bounce in my seat.

Bo's breathing quickens. "You have a funny way of showing it, fawning over the two in the front while the rest of us get scraps."

Turning away from me, he cracks his window.

"Because the two of you have more to prove. You made my life a living hell. Do you expect me to just forget that? I distrust you on a visceral level." The last sentence is yelled.

"Tell me how you feel." He smirks, and I growl.

"And you don't even feel sorry for it, do you? Not really? You only care about me now because your fate is linked to mine."

"You don't know what I feel?—"

"No, I don't, because you're too busy hiding behind some mask."

"Let me tell you something, princess. Not all of us have scars on the outside for everyone to see. My life differed from yours, but that doesn't mean it was easy."

"Oh, please. Living up to Daddy's expectations is too tedious? Was it exhausting shaking hands, schmoozing, and womanizing? Maybe sitting at Daddy's right-hand during business meetings?—"

A low, guttural growl stops me mid-sentence.

"You're mad? Good, at least it shows you feel something."

The corner of his lip curves up and his eyes glow a bright amber. "Keep pushing me, princess."

"I intend to." I shake my head as anger heats my face. "Hell, someone should."

Bo mocks me. "And you appointed yourself to that task? Why? Because I tormented you?"

I love the way he's trying to turn this around me. "Because I don't fear you."

"You should," Bo whispers.

I give a quick laugh. "What else do I have to lose?"

"Do not threaten her." Fell snarls.

"She gives you crumbs and yet here you are, her attack dog."

"Our job is to protect our mate from all threats," Fell says, standing firm.

"We also agreed not to interfere with individual relationships," Bo says.

"I don't know what fucked up arrangements you're used to, but that will not happen here," Fell says.

I place a hand on Fell's shoulder. "We're just working things out, aren't we, Bo?"

"Oh, absolutely." Bo flashes a fake smile that's all-perfect white teeth and animosity-filled dark eyes.

"I think I'll do some research now." Bending, I reach under the seat in front of me for the leather satchel we'd taken to storing the books in. We're going to be on the road for a while, and I can use a distraction.

The books we retrieved from the burned-out shell of my childhood home hold answers.

"Please, allow me to help," Bo says through his teeth.

I hand him a thick tomb, not caring if his interest is genuine or not. We have too much riding on us to slack off. Swinging the book into the center of his chest, I smirk at the oomph that leaves his mouth.

"Easy, killer. We need him alive," Cadoc says. How the man catches everything happening in his general area, I'll never know.

"Have you ever heard you attract more bees with honey than vinegar?" Bo mumbles.

"If they can't take me a little sour, they don't deserve me sweet." I wink as I open the book in my lap and ignore the anger coming from Bo.

Peace settles over me as I run my fingertip over the pages of the book. I can feel the power silently waiting to be unleashed on the sheets of paper. Remembering the passages written by my ancestors, I close my eyes and step out on fate. My hand trembles as I place it on the paper. I'm uncertain if they'll deem my worthy enough to help.

Help me find what I need to see, I ask anyone who's listening.

The pages vibrate. I remove my hands, and they ruffle as if blown by the wind. Settling down, they open onto a page. The easiest way to anger a god is by trying to step into their domain.

"What the hell was that?" Bo asks.

"An answer."

"Are you okay?" Cadoc asks.

"I'm fine." I meet his concerned gaze in the rearview and grin. "I think I may have found something."