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“Don’t try to make this into some self-defense bullshit,” I cut him off. “I saw a problem, and I took care of it. I wasn’t about to let a hunter put our pack in danger.”
“Jesus fuck.” Declan ran a hand over his beard as he picked up pacing the room. “Do you hear yourself? You murdered a guy!”
“I did what I had to!”
“And now we have a hunter in Cedar Harbor!” he shouted.
“Better one than two!” I yelled back, my temper flaring. I didn’t expect him to understand—hell, that was a hard fucking ask of anyone. I fucking killed a guy. I just wasn’t about to apologize for it either. Not considering what he was. I didn’t trust the whole not really a hunter thing. To me, that man was a monster, and I dealt with it. There was nothing more to it. “They’re hunters. This is what they do, Declan. They fucking kill our kind. There’s no playing nice and hoping they do the same. Your little delusional fantasy world of everyone playing fair and doing the right goddamn thing doesn’t work outside of Cedar Harbor! Bad shit happens and hard choices are fucking made. You get used to it.”
“I hate to agree with him,” Maverick began softly, “but he’s got a point. I’ve heard some horror stories about hunters—nothing like what he’s saying—but I would’ve done the same.”
“So would I,” Cole said. “Fuckin’ with hunters never leads nowhere good. He may know more, but I know enough. Y’all need to hunker down and be fuckin’ smart about how you handle this. More people are goin’ to end up dead.”
“You say that like we can’t stop this,” Lucas snapped.
“Boy, he’s just gettin’ started, and you don’t know a damn thing,” he replied. There was no malice in his fucking voice. It was just fact. “You ain’t savin’ everyone. You better get real fuckin’ comfortable with that fact. People in your pack are goin’ to die. One of you might die. All you can do is fuckin’ stay the course, find this hunter, and kill them before they kill you.”
“We can stay,” Maverick offered.
“You need to get back to your packs and protect them. We have no idea if any of your packs have been targeted too,” I said. I glanced at Declan. The look on his face as he rubbed his hand over his chest was the hardest pill to swallow. It was as if he was realizing he didn’t know me anymore. He didn’t, which was probably for the better. “Besides, we have no fucking clue how long this will go on. It could be weeks to months before another attack.”
We were shit out of luck and left to tread water. There was no telling what the fuck would happen next.
Chapter 50
Genevieve
KILLIAN: I need you to answer me, Genevieve. Please.
KILLIAN: I’m not fucking around, Genevieve. You need to get the hell to the pack house.
KILLIAN: Your parents too, Genevieve. Get them there too.
KILLIAN: That should tell you I’m fucking serious, princess. This isn’t a fucking game. I need to know you’re safe.
KILLIAN: Damn it, Genevieve, I’m not fucking around. Answer your damn text messages.
Isighed, my hands shaking as I shoved my phone back into my skirt pocket. He made it extremely difficult to ignore him when he sounded distressed. Killian had his moments, but he never intentionally screwed around with a bad situation—but I didn’t have time to worry about his cryptic messages.
I drew in a deep breath, smoothing my skirt.
“I can do this,” I whispered as I stared at my parents’ house. Go in, say what I needed to say, come up with a solution, and leave. The last part was a little subjective, but for the most part, it was a good plan. I just wanted this to go off without a hitch. I kept telling myself this plan was for the best. It was the best way for me to move forward. I wasn’t sure I’d ever move on from Killian in any sense of the word, but I had to move forward. I had to.
“Genevieve,” my father said when he answered the door.
“Hello, Daddy.” I greeted him with the best smile I could muster and kept my hands locked together to hide the shaking. Hopefully, it was acceptable.
“We weren’t expecting you,” he said.
“I know.” My expression never wavered. “I wanted to talk to you and Mom about moving back home.”
There. I said it.
“Go help your mother finish breakfast.” He opened the door wider to let me in. “We’ll discuss this while we eat.”
“Of course,” I replied and hurried past him.
“And, Genevieve?” my father called me back. I paused to stare at him. “Your skirt. It looks better this time.”
