Packhouse of Ravenwood Pack, above

Terry POV

No matter what you do, you will never forget the drill of hunting, the anticipation of bloodshed. I wish I could say I don't feel good about what I would do, but I can't. The truth is I feel nothing except focusing on the job. I feel empty; I don't think about the moral aspect of what I will do because I don't care about it. For me, this job has to be done, the job that will protect my daughters.

I stand at the edge of Ravenswood pack waiting for my guide, if I can say that. Alexa, Chen, and Julius are still at the motel preparing themselves for dinner in the packhouse.

From the woods comes the wolf and shift, and I recognize Chuck.

He leads me deep into his pack territory; we don't talk. I'm not surprised and don't feel awkward because of it. I'm sure that casual chatting would be more awkward in this situation. He takes me into one of the houses, ensuring that none of us would be seen; in that house, Aaron is already waiting for us. We sit in a room smelling very intensively with wet grass and herbs.

"This is my meditation place as a Spirit Catcher, none of the omegas, and basically nobody comes here without my permission so nobody will see you. And the herbs will mask your faint, human scent. Would you like something to drink as we wait?"

I shake my head, I'm not here for a tea party, and yet I ask the question:

"You don't seem bothered with what I come here to do?"

"I'm a Spirit Catcher and an old one, I've seen souls of many werewolves, and I think it made me familiar with each possible darkness hidden inside my kind. My Beta still feels loyalty and submission towards my Alpha, but I don't."

"Why?"

"I've seen the souls of his wolf and Luna's wolf. When all the problems with getting pregnant came, they both sought my help with understanding their wolves, yet it turned out futile."

"Why?" I am surprised by the warmth that comes from him; I've never seen such a pure look in all my life. Despite his age, he still seems innocent, like a child.

"Because both of them refused to accept what I told them. Despite her physical strength, Luna's wolf was too fragile to bear children; that she managed to get two healthy ones was already a miracle, and they should've cherished what they had instead of chasing after the ghost prize that would never be theirs."

"Why was he so obsessed with the son?"

"Probably because that's how our world is organized. You've certainly seen, hunter, that there are much more male Alphas than female Alphas, and that birth children are more important than adopted ones. The wolf's strength determines everything, not his selfless soul or kindness. My kind has lost itself in the pursuit of power, often burning through the way those who can't keep this pursuit."

"My grandfather and other leaders of the hunters' clans were the same."

"And they are gone today, aren't they? Call it a hunch, but I think something will come, something that will force a big change. I don't know when but it will, and I can only hope that when the time comes, the ones who will have to deal with this will be the right people, not only strong but also smart and kind."

Then comes silence; he seems to be meditating, and I recall all of the plan's details in my memory.

After the next hour, we hear the knock on the door, and Chuck brings me a change of clothes. They belong to the people who were in charge of today's dinner preparation. Mixing different scents with mine should make my presence in the packhouse unnoticeable; at least, I hope so.

"You should be undetectable on the lower level of the packhouse; the upper is the problem because Alpha hasn't allowed anybody there since Luna's death."

"So I presume no one was also cleaning there, and believe me, years of no dusting and no room ventilating makes its stench very good with blocking all other smells," I say.

Chuck waits for me to get ready; I check one last time if I have everything: the gas, the gun with sedatives, knives and robes, and more. I wish I could take more with me, but my choices were limited by time and my ability to carry.

I'm led towards the packhouse as Chuck again makes sure we are not seen; he guides me to the back door, where I wait, but thankfully not long. It's getting dark already when the door gets open, and Beta lets me in. We don't exchange a single word; he avoids looking at me and leaves me alone, going back to, I presume dining room when his Alpha and himself should be with people from my pack talking about the treaty.

I hear quick and nervous steps and spot some people in the kitchen and a girl with long hair walking down the hall with the big vase of, I presume, soup. I wait patiently until the corridor is empty and move a couple of rooms to be near the big dining room. I can distinguish the voices of Alexa and Chen, and I must admit she is an excellent negotiator.

I take my chance, and slowly, with as little noise as possible, I go upstairs. There are no locked doors here, and I presume that Ravenswood is sure no one dares to break his command. And yet I was right. The fug of the always-closed room did its job. The fact that all the sun blinds are also closed only strengthens the suffocation vibe. It stinks with dirt, dust, and something else. I would say it stinks with death. I slowly check the rooms, I have to find a good spot for my ambush, and I'm not sure how much time I have for that, even though Alexa promised to give me at least an hour.

Well, I don't need an hour because I actually make a gruesome discovery in one of the rooms. It's a bedroom that stinks with roses, so sweet it almost makes me puke. It clearly the women's room, with bright colors and glamour, flowers and so on, although now under a heavy layer of dust, but on the king-size bed, there is something, and to my horror, I recognize a bog body. Dressed in a gown with all sets of jewelry, it still has some leftovers of skin and hair. I'm sure I look at my Jewels' dead mother.

The son of the bitch didn't give her even the proper burial and has been sharing the house with her body for three years. Well, that explains why he threw out everybody from the packhouse.

I glance at the bedside table and see a picture of a beautiful woman. Ivory resembles her very much. Well, I mentally apologize to my Jewels because I'm now going to use their mother's corpse to set a booty trap for their father.

Danny POV

Mae asked me to check the supplies of the alcohol that has just been delivered to her bar. She has many things to do today, so I offered to help her. Pearl is sitting next to me, trying to help, and Trist and Ivory went with Mae to the basement and are helping with organizing everything in the supply room.

We all need to focus on doing something to stop worrying about our loved ones and if everything will be alright and...

"Hey Danny, you've disappeared, which worried me."

I look in the direction of the bar's door, which I left open, and see Nick Hornby; I must say I've almost forgotten about him completely; with everything that has happened recently, I guess I haven't had time to think about anything else.

He smiles and enters the bar, but somehow I feel unhappy with his presence here. Maybe it is the way he looks at me without his usual cheerfulness. Maybe it's a way he expressed his greetings, which sounded like a threat to me.

"We had some problems, but they are over now," I say slowly as Nick sits on one of the chairs.

"Do you believe that staying so close to Terry, the problems will ever be over?"

He takes the gun from his jacket, and I inhale sharply, trying not to panic. Pearl whimpers slightly; if any of us scream, he will shoot, I know it.

"What do you want?" I ask as Pearl huddles herself, stepping slowly behind me.

"Honestly, I had no idea what I wanted when I came here, Danny. I spotted you on the surveillance in Dylan's warehouse, the gun merchant Terry had killed. After all, we are from the same clan. We both know how to follow the trace, even a very faint one, Danny. You are surprised; you seem not to remember me."

True, I don't remember him, but if he said so, he must've come from my clan.

"I was one of Jordan's men. I escaped ten years ago, with Jordan, actually. He survived Terry's betrayal but not what I prepared for him."

"What do you mean?" I must ask questions and gain as much time as possible; I feel Pearl's hands squeezing the shirt on my back.

"Oh, don't be so surprised. Have you thought you were his first? Jordan had appetites for boys at a certain age; he stopped being interested in me when I reached 14, but before me and between you and me, for sure, were more. If you ask me, he preferred boys around 10, but you, Danny, were always very skinny and small for your age, so maybe that's why you caught his attention. Who knows?"

There is something hard in him, something cold, as he tells me all of this with total indifference as if he wasn't abused or hurt.

"You know what was funny?" Nick laughs. "Jordan used to say that I was his soldier, that he molded me into a perfect warrior, and the sex connected us in an unshattered way for the commander and his subordinate. He was so fucking surprised when I got rid of him."

"How did he die?" I ask.

"After our escape, he convinced me to take him to Dylan, and I did. Dylan made a deal with me, and I started working for him. Jordan thought I would let him nurse his wounds, fucking idiot. I kept him for a couple of weeks in the basement of Dylan's warehouse, who didn't care. He screamed so much during those weeks. Does it make you feel good knowing this?"

"No," I answer honestly. "To tell the truth, I don't feel anything, I was told he died ten years ago, and I didn't feel anything that time either. Not even a relief."

" Same me. Honestly, I was sure that gutting him would've brought me more satisfaction."

"And why are you here now? Why did you bother to follow us?"

He takes his time to think about it, rubbing his temples as if he has a headache, a dare to look around, trying to spot something I could use for protection.

"Honestly, I did it because I had no better idea. I'm stuck, Danny, I didn't move on, and I fear maybe I would never do it. But none of you recognized me, but I'm not surprised. I was sure I would feel bigger hatred seeing Terry in person, yet I didn't. And for sure, I wasn't expecting to see you and also the candies."

I gulp; true Nick was present when I received the parcel from Brandon; he saw my reaction.

"Was it when you realized that Jordan had abused me too?"

"Yes, but I also saw Terry's reaction, so I want an honest answer, Danny. Did Terry know what his uncle was doing?"

"No, Jordan made a deal with my father in exchange for allowing us to stay in the clan."

He nods as he says sadly:

"My mother was a widow. She believed that Jordan cared for me as if I were his son. He made me feel grateful, made me feel special for being chosen, made me silent that way."

"He didn't have to with me. My father allowed him to do it so Jordan didn't have to worry about anything. He had a free go in my house. Jordan is dead, Nick; he no longer has any power over you. Please just let it go; don't do anything stupid."

I beg him, I plead for him to go, and he just looks at me before finally standing up.

"I wanted a confrontation with Terry, but I guess I no longer need it. This couple of weeks with you here was funny, actually, so I think that's it. Give my regards to Terry, Danny."

He smiles once again and turns around. I don't stop him or move when I hear the car driving away. I gulp, feeling sad as I hug Pearl. I wonder where Nick will go and what he will do from now on. I wonder if it was the last visit from him. Will he find some peace and place for himself far away from here, or will one day he will come back to put a bullet in Terry or me?