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Braxton takes a step toward Orson, and I tense for a fight. “You’re… okay,” he says, then offers the other man his hand.
Really?My heart warms.
Orson smiles, and his smile is like the sunlight as he takes Braxton’s hand in a bro moment that won’t be soon forgotten. At least, I hope it isn’t. I can sense more than a little potential for these men to become friends.
Then, Max turns to me. “And I’m sorry for back there. I don’t want you to end up on the wrong side, but I pushed you too far. I forgot how fragile you are still.”
The fragile part stings, but I have to accept that it’s true. Especially given the fact that I just had a meltdown.
“I’m going to have secrets, but only the ones I have to,” I admit. “But you need to remember, saving my pack is the only reason I want to keep breathing right now. If I didn’t have them…” I can’t finish the words, but I don’t think I have to.
The pain that strikes Max’s face takes my breath away as he pulls me in for a hug, then whispers, “We’re going to work on giving you more reasons. I swear.” His hold is tight and comforting, drawing tears from my eyes.
If he’s going to put his focus on giving me a reason to live, a hug like that is a pretty good start.
When he pulls back, he surprises me by planting a kiss on my lips. It’s light, gentle, but full of meaning. And in his dark gaze, I see a promise that eases the pain inside of me, if only by a little bit.
Trouble, who’s apparently been sniffing around the perimeter, comes and plops down beside me, offering his head, and refocusing me on where we are now.Alright, mutt. I scratch his noggin, which proves a little treat for both of us. My pack members are safe. Simon is nowhere to be seen, and the Enforcers are on their way.
Time to get through dealing with them and continue tracking my brother. Before he can do this to another town. Part of me wants to believe he won’t, that this was an act of revenge against the people who had destroyed our lives, but that conclusion doesn’t explain the first place. That was just annihilation for no reason.
My brother just might be the most dangerous creature around… except for me if the darkness ever pulls me under.
SIXTEEN
Orson
It doesn’t take longfor the Enforcers to set up. I’m awed by their operational efficiency. Obviously, they’ve done this before. They are a well-oiled machine, as each agent arrives, they immediately fall into place and take on their assigned roles. They set up a command center where Max and Braxton review the satellite feed I provided, poring over printouts of the surrounding area with other high-ranking officials. Two dozen personnel scour the streets. For what, I’m not exactly sure, but nobody looks inessential.
I keep my eye on Asha, who, despite the Enforcer presence, seems less guarded than ever. She drifts like litterfall through the streets, directed by a wind whose nature I cannot apprehend. As everyone seems preoccupied with the ramifications of the massacre of the town and its denizens. No-one seems to mind Asha, so I take her safety on as my responsibility, trailing her wherever she ventures.
As she crosses the treeline, I turn back to see if anyone notices, wondering whether I should stop her, or perhaps run back to alert Max. It’s certainly beyond the border of his comfort zone, but he’s too wrapped up in Enforcer business to pay attention. Besides, seeing her earlier fight with him, I suspect she wouldn’t want me reporting her movements to him.
I hustle after her, traipsing through the underbrush. She seems not to notice me tailing her, absorbed by a scent I can’t detect, I think. She passes through shafts of sunlight streaming down from the canopy that briefly set her white hair aflame. She’s like a wood nymph, I muse, attended by a delicate and beguiling mystique. The most fascinating woman I’ve ever seen. Fierce defender of her people, willing to suffer hell for their salvation. The world of pain she’s endured has yet to soil her spirit.
At least, that’s what I suspect. After Braxton and I spent the night sharing a room, as she and Max slept in the adjoining one, he gave me the cliff notes version of everything she’d been through. My heart broke for her. She lost nearly every person she’d ever loved, spent months of her life being tortured, and then emerged from it all a broken person with the goal to save her people, despite quite obviously needing to be saved herself.
Asha is a quintessentially agoodperson, despite an occasionally gruff and deceptively cold facade. A good person who was dealt a shitty hand and who has still managed to keep a pure soul. It’s remarkable.
For some reason, she fascinates me.How can she possibly exist?
I envy Asha her reason to persevere. I’ve no one left to care for since my mother’s passing. While I spared her more years under the tyranny of my father, his absence brought with it new demons. I should have been there for her during that time, but with circumstances such as they were, I could not be.
My goal was to save my mom. To stop her suffering. And I failed on both accounts.
We can often become our own worst enemies.
Asha spins around, white-blonde hair dancing all around her. It distracts me from the terrible look on her face. When it finally registers something’s wrong, I call out to her. “Asha!”
“Get out of here!” she calls softly to me, looking around nervously.
I hesitate. “Is something wrong?”
It feels like something’s wrong given her tense expression… and I can practically sense her heart racing. There’s also a scent in the air that’s off. Strange and unfamiliar.
A scent my wolf doesn’t like.
Her eyes are wide as she hurries back to me. “He’s here,” she whispers, as though the unnamed threat might be listening.
