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Since Paxton and I moved into the new house a few days ago, Dominic has continued intercepting our mail to have it screened by his pack.Safety first,he’d said, but this is the first time the mail has been delivered with such an ominous feeling hanging over it.
The package is already open, so I lift the flap and wrap my fingers around the edge of a book.
“What is it?”
I can’t find my voice to answer him. I slowly lift the book from its packaging and stare in horror at the gold embossed text on the front.War and Warriors.It isn’t the book itself that horrifies me—it’s the charred edges as if it were caught in a fire. For a moment, I hold out hope that this was stolen out of the house after the fire and is simply being returned.
When I open it to the inside, I know that’s not the case.
The three simple words inscribed on the front page chill me to the bone. I can still hear Jeff Langston’s voice as if it were only yesterday.
Here you are.
32
Unknown
My mom used to say nature is healing…
I don’t think this is what she meant.
“Are you done yet?” I’m getting pissed off. Anyone would be after hours of waiting around for this. At this point, I’m starting to think Tevin Jarreau enjoys this shit.
“Fuck off.” His words are muffled by the layers of greenery between us.
I shove back the low tree limb that we’ve been using as a doorway. I’m supposed to be standing guard, but I’m too restless for it. I hate waiting. My philosophy is to always be moving, so that by the time anyone realizes what you’ve done, you’re already gone. That’s how you survive. It’s kept us alive this long, no thanks to Tevin.
His bare back greets me in the small clearing we’ve temporarily claimed for ourselves.
“Where’s your shirt?” I frown. If I wanted to hang out with this man naked, I would take him to bed, not the middle of the woods. We’re headed into the city again next; he needs to be clothed.
He looks over his shoulder at me, his blue eyes hauntingly unfocused. It isn’t like this is the first time we’ve done this, so I’m not sure why he looks like such a pansy this time. It’s no wonder it’s taken so long if he’s suddenly having a crisis of morality. We haven’t made it this far without living in one hell of a moral gray area.
Tevin still doesn’t answer me. “Well?” I prompt.
He tugs at his too-long hair that hangs limp over his forehead. He desperately needs a haircut at our next stop. As much as I would never admit it to him, the pretty boy thing he has going on has opened a lot of doors for us. He can’t walk around in the city looking like this, or he’ll draw the wrong kind of attention.
“I’ll have to get a new one from the apartment when we reach Bellesfield.” His voice sounds hollow and cold. I know I’m not his favorite person in the world, but even I usually get more warmth from him than this. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he’s actually having a nervous breakdown.
I hate him, but we make a good team.
“Will you tell me what happened to your damn shirt?” My frown is so deep I can only imagine the lines in my forehead that he’s leaving me permanently etched with. But Tevin knows better than to get blood on his shirt. We’re not fucking amateurs.
He has to clear his throat repeatedly before he can speak. “I know you told me not to shift but…”
I let go of the tree limb to let it bounce back into place behind me, offering us privacy so I can see how badly he’s fucked this up. It isn’t until I get close that I realize he’s shaking slightly, not from the presumed breakdown but from anger. I can practically taste it rolling off of his tense body.
I stop at his side and assess the damage.
Alpha Waverly’s body is mangled almost past the point of recognition. If he hadn’t left her open eyes staring up into the void of the canopy above us, her body would be past the point of use to us. Hopefully, the eyes are enough to identify her so the news reaches Tevin’s sisters quickly.
The metallic smell in the air is almost overpowering. This is why I don’t like to linger. I wearily eye the bloody mess that Tevin created. He must have torn the woman’s throat out with his wolf’s teeth to turn her neck into ground beef.
Fuck.
Well, on the bright side… “She’s lucky you got to her first.”
