Chapter Twenty-Three Flynn

I wasn't sure how long I'd been lying in bed, weeping softly against my pillow. But when my phone buzzed against the bedside table, I forced myself to get up. It was well past four in the afternoon and the number flashing on the screen belonged to Nana.

She was the last person I wanted to talk to at the moment. I knew as soon as she heard my voice, she'd know something was wrong. I wasn't sure I had the energy to answer all her questions right now. But ignoring a call from Nana was a great way to get in a hell of a lot more trouble. Better to answer it now than deal with the consequences later. After all, I wanted the news about Thor to land on willing ears, not irritated ones.

Grabbing the phone, I clicked the green button and pulled it to my ear.

"Hey Nana."

"Flynn! Flynn! Don't do what he says! Whatever you do, don't listen to him–"

My Nana's desperate pleas were suddenly cut off by a harsh smack. Fear raced through my veins at the sound of her desperation. But the cry of pain afterwards was what threw me immediately into an absolute rage.

"Nana?!" I cried. "What's going on?!"

"Hello Flynn," a new voice said.

It was dark and deep, like a low growl from a dog that had nothing but bloodlust on its mind. I had no idea who it belonged to, but my heart sank at the sound. Someone had taken Nana. I didn't know if he'd kidnapped her or just broken into her house, but clearly, she was in danger.

"Who the fuck are you and what do you want?" I snarled. "What's going on?!"

"Now, now," he replied, clicking his tongue. "That's no way to talk to the big bad wolf now, is it?"

The moment he said that, I knew exactly who he was.

"Tyr," I hissed.

"Ah, so you've heard of me." I could hear the smile in his voice. "No doubt from that good-for-nothing Thor you've been shacking up with." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "That's right. I know who you are, Flynn. I smelled you on him that night his brother tried to kill me. And what's even better… I recognized it." He paused again, a low chuckle echoing through the phone. "You smell just like your mother."

I'd believed Nana's story about the wolf before, but now there was no room for even an inkling of doubt. Tyr admitted to it fully without hesitation.

"I've been after your family for a while," he grinned. "Did you know that your grandfather was a retired werewolf hunter?"

"N-No…"

"That's right. Just imagine his surprise when the silver bullets he used on me forced me to turn into a human. He thought we were all extinct. At least until I tried to kill his daughter."

"Don't listen to him!" Nana yelled in the background.

"Shut up you old fool!"

There was another loud smack and the sound of struggle. I yelled into the phone for him to stop, but there was no response. When he finally came back on the line, I could hear the irritation in his voice.

"Now that the old bat is gagged, where was I?"

"Why are you doing this?!"

"Oh," he said slowly. "That's right. Your grandfather was a werewolf hunter. And after he found out my identity, he wouldn't stop scouring the mountains for us. He searched for years, hunting my pack with all his might. It was my wife who dug out the silver bullets and saved my life. And your grandfather took her life two years later." Tyr paused for a long moment. "Imagine his surprise when I tore his fucking throat out the night he killed her."

"You got your revenge then!" I cried. "Now leave us alone!"

"Hardly, Flynn. Hardly." He clicked his tongue again. "You see, I'm a firm believer in bloodlines. The son is always like the father, continuing their long line of traditions. And you're no different. I might've failed to kill your mother and end your line, but I won't fail with you."

"I'm not a werewolf hunter!"

"Maybe not now. But you will be. I'm certain of it. Your grandmother certainly is. She already tried to cut my belly open with a silver dagger the moment I stepped foot in the house," he sneered. "Good thing she's slow."

"I… I don't understand."

"You may not be a full-fledged hunter now, but considering you moved in with your grandmother and have infiltrated the Hati pack, I have no doubt you'll be making your first kills soon. You've already gotten in bed with the Alpha, which is no small feat. Taking him down would elevate your rank immediately."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Lie all you want. I don't fucking care," he growled. "But here's your ultimatum. You can come down the mountain to your grandmother's house and take her place. Or you can let the big bad wolf eat her. Your choice."

"Don't you dare hurt her!"

"Then come to grandma's house," he laughed. "Oh, and don't tell anyone, especially Thor. If I catch one hint that he's with you or following, I'll rip her fucking guts out. You have one hour."

With that, the line went dead.

The phone fell to the ground, the screen shattering as it hit the stone floor.

"Oh fuck…" I murmured to myself, my hand going to my lips.

I wanted to run upstairs, to tell Thor exactly what was going on. But I couldn't. Not if I ever wanted to see my grandmother alive again. Tyr had already killed before, and I knew he wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I couldn't let him kill Nana.

But taking her place meant he would kill me.

I shook my head. There was no question about going to save her. Leaving her behind wasn't an option, especially not after it was her that so easily accepted me, my life, and let me come live with her. She'd made my childhood special and no matter what she said, I couldn't let her sacrifice herself for me. Besides, she wasn't who Tyr was after. If I didn't go, he'd just hunt me down, anyway. At least this way I could stop the killing before it started.

And I didn't have to do it by myself anyway because there was something Tyr didn't know. He thought I was just fucking Thor to get close to him. But he didn't know we'd mated and that a nearly telepathic connection now existed between us. I had no doubt in my mind that the moment I left the resort, Thor would follow. In fact, I sat up in bed, closed my eyes, and tried to send the message to him mentally.

Tyr has Nana. I'm going to save her. He'll kill her if he sees you coming, so stay hidden until the last possible moment.

The thoughts were stilted, but I figured the easier the message, the easier it would be to decode on the other side. Granted, I hadn't felt much from Thor since this morning when he left, but I figured that was just because I was so tired. Pushing myself out of bed, I repeated the message over and over in my mind, willing it to find Thor. When I felt a small spark from his consciousness, I felt confident he'd gotten the message.

Throwing on my clothes, I grabbed my phone, the pocketknife Nana insisted I kept on me, and headed out the door. There was no time to wait or waste. It would take me nearly the entire hour to get back down the mountain and through the woods to her house. Thor would be right behind me, I was sure of it.

Still, I found myself wondering about what Tyr had said as I wound my way through the halls. My grandfather had been a werewolf hunter. That was news to me of course. And as far as I knew, the family trade hadn't been passed down to my mother. I knew I sure as hell never got any training in the subject. But that explained why Nana was so adamant and why, when she told me her story, seemed so calm and collected about it. No doubt grandpa had shared quite a bit of his life with her. Hell, she might have even helped him hunt when they were young. I had no idea.

But why would she stay in a place full of werewolves if she knew they were here? She probably knew Tyr killed her husband. Had she been lying in wait all these years, hoping he'd come back so she could finish the job? I didn't know much about her life before my mother was born. Could there be a side to her I knew absolutely nothing about?

Then I remembered the locked shed out behind the barn. The one that held all of grandpa's old things. She'd wanted me to help her clean it out at some point, but she hadn't been ready to do it quite yet.

Had she been preparing to tell me the truth? Was that what was holding her back?

I shook my head as I exited the front doors of the resort and headed toward the path down the mountain. I wasn't sure what her intentions were, but I knew that if I stood any chance against Tyr, I'd need whatever was in that room. If my suspicions were correct, I had a feeling there was a lot of silver there, hidden away under decades of dust.

It was my only hope of defending myself until Thor found his moment to pounce. I reached my feelings out again, finding the connection between us almost nonexistent.

Hopefully he'd gotten the message because I couldn't wait any longer.

Nana was running out of time.