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“Is that why there weren't scent markers in town?” she asked. We spoke about it briefly but in the chaos, I’d not followed up with her.
Carlo nodded. “I’m thinking so. Our patrols have found mud wiped on the trees. Once it dries it acts as a barrier, masking the scent.”
“We’re honestly flying a bit blind here,” I explained.
“So, I might have more to this that could help,” Vanya admitted. Nyx pulled a chair out and let her sit before we took ours around her. This felt heavy and I didn’t want to tower over her. “I’d have mentioned it before but it didn’t feel connected. Honestly, I thought it was the fact I hit a wolf with my truck that did it.”
“What is it?” Leven asked. His voice was just as gruff as usual but didn’t hold that distrust this time. She looked at him like he’d grown a second head but didn’t argue.
“I got shot once. That’s why I had to shift when I got here, it was a silver bullet, and I hadn’t had a chance to heal before then.” She paused, gauging our reactions. And I’d be lying if I took that well.
“Why did someone shoot you?” I asked. “And where can I find them?”
She chuckled humorlessly at my anger. “I have no clue. It was outside of a dance club and I couldn’t see where they went. I also didn’t recognize them.” The way her voice filled with pain, I knew that was only half the story.
“So you think they sent a tracker when they found out you lived?” Nyx asked gently.
She closed her eyes, not reopening them as she spoke. Even though I couldn’t see her full gaze, I didn’t miss the way her forehead creased and her fingers twisted together so intensely her knuckles went white.
“My sister and I were out celebrating my birthday. I turned for a second then she was gone. So I trailed her scent outside, knowing she’d never just leave. I caught her being dragged down an alley and followed her. They were wolves, but they had guns. They shot me when they saw me ensuing and I was far enough they’d be at risk if they came back to silence me otherwise. The moment I took the bullet, they pulled her into an SUV and drove off. I can still hear her screams.” A tear slipped down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away, finally opening her eyes. The ocean blue orbs were glassy with tears and riddled with shadows. “I passed out from the poison and blood loss. When I woke up a few days later, she was already buried, left on the side of the road by those wolves, like trash.”
“So you’re a witness and they realized it,” Antonio concluded. “Can you give me the club details? I might be able to tap into camera feeds. Most back up for ninety days, it’s still in that frame, right?” She nodded.
“It’s a bar called Blitz in Scout’s Ridge,” she said. “I need a minute.” She got up and walked out. I didn’t follow right away, her words still settling in.
“Fuck,” Leven cursed, standing and running out after her. Nyx and I shared a smirk but didn’t move just yet.
“That was heavy. No wonder she left,” Carlo said. “I want this guy’s head on a silver fucking platter.”
“We’ll get it,” I promised. “This isn’t going to drag on. We may need to allocate more funds to security, upgrade our systems a bit. Just keep him in check, Carlo.”
Carlo chuckled as his brother lit up like a kid at Christmas. “I will try,” he promised.
“This may take me a minute, if you want to take a brief intermission,” Antonio said pointedly, gesturing outside. Both Nyx and I nodded but didn’t move just yet.
“I’ll give them a moment before we do,” I said. “Leven needs this and so does she.”
* * *
Vanya
Tears courseddown my cheeks as I ran straight for the woods. Even just retelling a story that fresh had my hands shaking and my chest feeling like it was collapsing with grief all over again. Losing someone as close as Meira had left a cavernous hole in my chest that never quite lessened despite me pushing it away at all costs. Sure I got distracted and it numbed over some, but then it would hit me at the worst times, feeling like it happened just yesterday. I wondered if it would always feel this fresh, gut wrenchingly painful
“Vanya.” Leven’s voice had me punching the nearest tree, wincing as pain lanced through me, warm blood seeping from the wound. Oddly enough it grounded me, keeping me tethered from a full breakdown.
“Not now. I can’t,” I told him through gritted teeth, shaking out my hand but the moment wind hit it, it hurt more. “Fuck.”
“Hey,” he said, gentler this time. I couldn’t do that either. If he tried to be nice out of pity then it would make this all feel so much more terrible, make my defenses fall that much more.
“No, don’t fucking be nice to me because of this. I don’t want your pity, Leven,” I growled, slamming my already bloody and bruised fist back into the tree.
“Stop that!” he growled, grabbing my wrist when I cocked it to strike again. Angry tears mixed with the sad ones, my chest so tight even normal breaths were painful and harsh.
“No,” I argued, fighting against him. He grabbed my other wrist, stopping me from yanking away or doing more. My emotions shifted to fury, and I continued to fight as I glared up at him. “Let me go!”
“Not until you calm down. If you need to hit something, hit me, but I’m not going to watch you hurt yourself like this,” he argued. The fact he wasn’t mad, just calm, was strange.
“Why would you care? I thought you wanted me gone, hunted down and hurt by that tracker,” I spit out. It wasn’t fair to him, I knew that, but they’d already spilled out of my mouth. There was no way to take them back.
