6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Rolling out the red carpet for me, Grumpy?"

Reaching over, Remmus tugged on a tendril of her loosened hair, and Ava reacted instinctively: she snapped her teeth at him. Instead of being threatened, like any sane person would be, the psychotic Raeth laughed.

"You're going to end up dead, Raeth, challenging my beta like that," Riaz commented, but he purely looked amused, his arm sliding around Cortana's waist to secure her against his side.

The vampire, however, shoved out of his grip. "Gross, Riaz. Go take your sweat elsewhere."

When they began bickering, Ava took her cue to pick up her water bottle and press a towel against her forehead. Goosebumps rose when she felt eyes on her, and she dropped the towel to glower at the Raeth who was openly checking her out. Her only acceptable course of action was threatening him, complete with curled lip.

"You have a problem, Raeth?"

"Many." Sincerity bled through his voice, which gave her pause until he spoiled the effect with a grin only seconds later. "But few men have died from appreciating a woman as beautiful as you."

Ava smiled sweetly. "Perhaps that number will increase by one today."

The cocky grin never faltered, but his attention refocused on Riaz a second later and—wait, why did she miss his attention?—began speaking to her alpha.

"I'm on loan. Unequivocally yours while we tinker with air conditioners and plot the downfall of the Citizens."

"Lovely." Riaz inclined his chin to study the other man while Cortana lobbed a fresh towel at his head. "What did Nina say?"

"Besides issuing a spanking for getting shot? Mostly a strong recommendation to find the Citizens Raeth and throw him into the deepest, darkest hole I can dig."

"Won't be very deep, then," Ava muttered.

Remmus didn't dignify that low-effort jab with a response. "When we return, I'll ensure we're not detected."

Ava scoffed. "Really? You did such a bang-up job the first time, pun intended. I still have the bruises you gave me from when you plowed into me."

Immediately worried, Remmus' eyes skated down her body in a glaringly obvious search for bruises, and for a second, she felt bad for lying to him. He had taken her to the ground to save her life. While she'd reflexively started to choke the life out of him, the Raeth had been protecting all four of them. It'd shown her another side of the man who she'd judged an unredeemable jester. The fact that she looked at him differently now wasn't something she was willing to publicly admit.

"Now that I know their own Raeth might be on the premises, I can shield against him." A casual shrug before he literally grabbed an apple out of mid-air and took a bite.

"Good." Her alpha huffed a sigh. "We'll take to it tomorrow. If you're up for it, Remmus, Aidan texted—he's arranged everything with Sagan's den in La Crosse."

"That was quick."

"You'd be surprised how fast a wolf can organize things when he desperately wants to know his people are safe in their dens. He'll sleep much easier once you two complete your mission."

Ava nodded, feeling the same need but loathing the sense of urgency. Now that Aidan had finished preparations for their arrival, Remmus got to invade her mind and access her memories, with her completely at his mercy. Dread coiled tightly within her.

"I've got it!"

While his audience jumped at his sudden interjection, Remmus snapped his fingers and leveled Ava with an intense look.

"You hate Raeths because they beat you out for the best apple pie at the Colorado County Fair. Those swindlers!"

A sound of annoyance left her chest. Ava resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes as she counted back from ten. She was fortunate that her response had progressed from fear and anger to something like exasperation.

"Fine, Raeth. You play your game and I'll play mine."

"And yours is?"

"I threaten you with a new way to die every time you annoy me."

A hungry look gleamed in his eye. "Can't wait, Blondie!"

"In the library with a butcher knife."

Remmus' attention snapped back to her where it'd wandered to Riaz once more. "I've annoyed you already?"

Ava offered him a blank look. "By the pool with a candlestick."

"As much as I enjoy a good murder—" Riaz leveled a chastising look at Ava, "—we can reconnect when on the St. Louis facility tomorrow. Ava, good luck in La Crosse."

"Aye aye, Cap-i-tan." Remmus gave the alpha a mocking salute. "I'll bid you adieu."

He cocked his head to look at Ava with an expectant expression, but she said nothing else. His ravishing grin was her reward. Stalking out of the gym to change her clothes without a backwards glance, she stomped all the way to her quarters, wondering why the Raeth got under her skin so much … and why she happened to like him there.

***

Twenty minutes and a quick shower later, Ava sought out Remmus.

It had been more than a decade since she'd been to the La Crosse den, and she had thoroughly enjoyed it the last time she was there. Sagan, the pack's alpha, had been turned into a werewolf around the same time she had. Though he had always been more dominant than she, they'd been two of the more mischievous wolves in Aidan's pack.

Time had changed them, and they rarely saw each other anymore, but she still adored the other werewolf.

As predicted, Remmus was in the great hall. To her surprise, he was chatting with Gwennie, one of the pack's human members. Her perfectly white hair was piled in a loose bun, but it was her smile that caught Ava's attention.

Between them, a game of chess was half played, and Ava could tell from here that Remmus was losing. Far more of his white pieces were beside the board than on it.

"Gwennie was just telling me about her ice cream shop downtown," Remmus said without looking up in greeting. "I've promised to buy at least five cones while I'm here."

"Quite a promise," Ava replied.

Gwennie said, "He also told me that you've been baking. When was I going to benefit from your stress-induced hobby?"

"Soon, I promise." She turned her attention to Remmus. "We'd better get going. Gwennie, I'll drop off some cupcakes the next time I make them. Maybe a few truffles while I'm at it."

As Remmus got up from the table, he placed a reverent kiss on Gwennie's outstretched hand. "‘Til we meet again, my fair lady."

She offered him a ravishing smile as they pulled away, walking toward a quieter corner of the vast space. He caught Ava's eye. "Stress-induced, huh?"

"Don't read into it."

He smirked. "I'm ready whenever you are, Blondie."

Familiar fear rose up and threatened to suffocate her. To camouflage the tremble in her hands, she wrung them together. "How do we do this?"

"Have you been to Sagan's den recently?" he asked.

"Within the last decade or so, yes."

"Do you know if anything has changed with the exterior since then?"

Ava shrugged, attempting to feign nonchalance when her heart was thudding. "Doubtful. He'd remodeled recently when I was there last. Why does that matter?"

"The last time I teleported into a den unannounced, I surprised an alpha and his beta," Remmus said warily. For once, there was no humor coloring his voice. "Given that the alphas are a bit edgy at the moment—"

"—You'd prefer not to be attacked?" she finished.

He chuckled. "Precisely."

"I can't say I blame you."

"For this to be successful, you'll need to bring a memory to the forefront of your mind, preferably one with a strong imprint of the surroundings." He gave her an apologetic half-smile. "When I reach for it, you'll have to let me in—but I promise I won't go any further into your mind."

Ava's vision tilted as dread and terror pumped adrenaline through her blood. A part of her wanted to spin on her heel and bolt, forgoing the entire operation. If she told Aidan she couldn't follow through, he wouldn't hold it against her.

After eight centuries, the fear associated with Raeths was engrained. But her former alpha was right: if she didn't at least attempt to move past it, she'd never be able to bring her parents' murderers to justice.

"Do you need to touch my face?" She barely withheld the grimace.

Remmus gave her a toothless smile, apologetic. "It'd be easier that way, but it's not necessary. If you'll allow me, holding your hand would suffice."

He extended his hand toward her, palm up, as she fought the urge to squirm. The urge to say no bubbled up within her, but accepting this small thing would help his cause—and hers.

When she gently placed her hand over his, the nausea she suspected would arise never did. Instead, the warmth of his skin was comforting, like returning home after weeks away. Her heartbeat slowed as the ball of tension in her stomach began to loosen.

A gentle caress brushed against her mind, nothing more than a whisper amid the scattered thoughts she couldn't seem to contain. The invasion she'd braced for was instead almost sweet, the tender aftertaste almost enough to make her mouth soften into a smile.

He frowned. "What are you thinking about?"

"Sorry."

Fighting a blush, Ava focused on the last memory she'd had with Sagan—a goodbye hug in front of the wide double doors that led into his den. It had been late spring and trees had budded around them. Sagan had invited her on a week-long hunt, and she'd had a blast with his pack. The getaway had been relaxing, but more importantly, she'd reconnected with an alpha—and good friend—she hadn't seen in years.

The memory filled her, and in the next moment, she felt a secondary presence curl along its edges. It wasn't intrusive, but supportive and cozy and right in a way that surprised her.

"I've got it."

On the heels of his words, gravity shifted. Her vision cleared moments later to a familiar sight. They had landed just outside Sagan's den in the gravel parking lot.

Bitter winter wind kicked up around them, and Ava suddenly wished she'd brought a jacket. Curling her arms around herself, she noticed Remmus looking expectantly at her. His eyes seemed to ask if she had been comfortable with the experience—but he didn't voice it aloud.

"It worked." She let her surprise color her voice.

He turned cocky on a dime. "Of course it did."

As the bite of wind continued, her shoulders hiked up to her ears as she began to walk toward the doors. Before she could comment on the chill, Remmus held a dark fleece jacket out for her. He nodded to it when she only stared.

"You're cold."

"So?"

"It's just a jacket. There are no conditions, I promise." His eyes crinkled. "No pinky promises, blood oaths, or unbreakable vows attached, either."

Her wolf's hackles raised, but when his expression remained earnest, she curled her fingers around the material. Slipping her arms inside, she refocused on the den ahead of them.

"It'll be nice to see Sagan again. Once pack, always pack."

It was the unofficial werewolf creed. No matter how long they'd been apart, wolves always recognized each other. In the beginning, when werewolves were still a young breed, there was only one pack: Aidan's. As they steadily increased their number, maintaining a territory large enough to hold everyone—and keep them happy—slowly became impossible.

The original pack had split a century later. Seth and Sagan both took a portion of Aidan's wolves, while Ava had remained with him as one of his betas. Though they occasionally brought everyone back together in those early years, time and distance had proven difficult to manage.

As Riaz's beta, she had fewer opportunities to travel the world—there was simply too much to do at home. With Cortana taking over some of the administrative and managerial work, she hoped that was once more a possibility.

Reinvigorated by the idea, Ava walked through the den's front doors, and Remmus trailed behind her without speaking.

The warmth inside made her shoulders loosen. Built similarly to Riaz's den, there was a large foyer which opened into a much larger gathering space. A massive alpha stood in the middle of it and greeted her with a rumbling growl.

"Ava!"

She walked into his embrace. "Been awhile, Sagan."

Stepping back, she looked him over head to toe. His reddish hair was styled away from his face, making his green-blue eyes pop. He was a brawny man, like most wolves, and wore the same jeans and T-shirt style they collectively seemed to prefer.

"How's Kia?"

"Brilliant as ever," Sagan replied. "She's off on a hunt in Canada with a few of our newer wolves, teaching them to live off the land. Told me I had to stay back while she had fun."

"Sounds just like her." Ava chuckled, then looked back at Remmus who—surprisingly—was politely waiting to be introduced. "Remmus, this is Sagan, the alpha of the northern pack. Sagan, this is Remmus, our Raeth technopath."

The two shook hands, holding each other's gaze in a dominance battle Ava didn't want to ride out. Whether it was driven by stupidity or strength, she had a feeling that Remmus wouldn't look away. She stepped between them, giving Sagan a chastising smile.

"Where's your HVAC? We'd like to get started if you don't mind?"

"Of course. Follow me."

A wall of noise greeted them from the indoor arena. No one paid them any mind, all the wolves too dead set on winning whatever game they were currently playing. Sagan gestured toward a hallway branching off from the gathering space.

The sound of their footsteps gradually drowned out the noise as they moved away. Remmus continued to walk behind her, out of her sightline and impossibly silent. It made her shiver.

To distract herself, Ava said, "Kia is the second part of the pack's alpha pair, Remmus. She and Sagan have been married for centuries. Five, now, right?"

"Just about," Sagan said. "Keeps me on my toes, that one. Filled the hole Ava left in my heart when she decided she didn't want to join my pack the first time I went off as alpha."

As she chuckled at his expense, Remmus asked, "How long have you known each other?"

"We were both a part of Aidan's original pack eight centuries ago," she explained.

"So you were litter mates, huh?" A chuckle. "Cute. Knew each other when you were just a pair of pups."

"Spork to the eyeball, Remmus."

It would be a miracle if she wouldn't follow through on one of her threats. Internally sighing, she didn't expand upon the statement when Sagan gave her a sidelong look. The alpha flipped on the lights of the HVAC room, revealing the state-of-the-art system that powered the den's heating and air conditioning.

"All yours." He sent Remmus a warning look. "If it starts snowing in my den tomorrow, I'll know who to blame."

"No snow. Got it."

Remmus immediately went to work. Sagan didn't linger, and Ava was left watching the Raeth perform his duties. He crouched before the massive machine, silent and sober. As soon as he placed a hand on the drive, energy began to trickle through the air.

Though the display screen of the unit flashed with different symbols and characters, she was too far away to recognize them.

Perhaps she should've asked how long this would take—or whether there was anything she needed to be doing to help. The small digital panel continued to light up, indicating he was working, but he didn't explain his actions and she wasn't comfortable enough with the Raeth to leave him to his own devices.

She should've brought a book.