Skyler, Kyle's wolf above

Kyle POV

I don't want to cry any longer, and yet I can't stop.

Since I lock myself in my room every afternoon after what happened at the training ground a couple of days ago, I just can't stop; every day, I cry longer and harder. Skyler and I are in so much pain I literally can't move.

Being so close to Rob every day isn't easy, even though, for a brief moment, I thought that something changed between us for the better. Rob's wolf seemed to be happy with being so close to Skyler; at least during our duties in the woods, I felt happy, and I felt him being happy.

But after every patrol or training, Rob's given me nothing but a cold face; Caleb, on the other hand... Fuck how I could be so stupid, the only reason I was flirting with him was to make Rob jealous, but once again, he didn't seem to care. Plus, it flattered that somebody noticed me, among many others, and thought about me as important.

When Caleb asked for a kiss, I thought, why not? Maybe it was high time to end this pity party I trapped myself in. In the beginning, it was okay, but the more he touched me, the more Skyler kept panicking. He is dead set on not allowing anyone but Rob to touch us ever again, and when Caleb's hands were on me, all I could think about was their hands on me.

And Rob...

He helped me only to hurt me a moment later; what is he going to do? I can't reject him; I just know that I will kill Skyler, just like I knew it would've killed him if I had had an abortion. Rejecting the higher-ranking wolf can kill the lower-ranked, and Skyler is still so wounded mentally that there is no way he would survive this.

So, I'm stuck with Rob at least till he'll reject me.

I sigh, hugging myself more. I should go to Hannah to get Carson back, but honestly, I have no strength left in me. I just want to sleep. I wonder, when my mother's mate died, was it what she felt, was it why she gave up and left me?

I can give up, too; Carson will be taken care of; I know that. Maybe, just maybe, this place will be better without me, and I could finally rest.

I slowly get up, step outside the house, shift, and enter the woods. My paws hit the cold ground, and the drops of rain make my fur wet very quickly. I ran into the forest, feeling the blood pumping in my veins, forcing both Skyler and me to stop thinking, forcing us to focus only on the here and now.

And yet suddenly, my nose detects something, a very faint smell of sweat and gunpowder, a smell of human and animal blood. My instinct and training experience almost immediately kick in. I take a stance and slowly, exceptionally carefully, follow the unfamiliar smell.

I spot him walking slowly in front of me, close to the truck parked at the edge of the road, close to our territory but also close to the town we brought Celia from.

The guy is dirty and seems quite tired; he thinks he's safe because he takes a phone from his pocket. That's when I sprint; when he hears me, it's too late already. He turns around too slowly. Without any noise, I land on his chest and sink my fangs into his neck. There is still no noise as his body hits the ground.

I know I didn't kill the innocent passerby; humans usually don't stink with wolfbane and blood. I sniff around, but I don't detect signs of anybody else.

I look at his chest and the tattoo of the Nightingale Clan. I sniff his body thoroughly; of course, it's there. In his pocket is the map of Black Moon's territory with our patrol route marked; it stinks with a smell I'm not familiar with, so I take a big sniff to imprint it in my memory.

I shift, take a phone he was holding a moment ago, and look at the number he was about to dial.

I press the button, and after some time, there is an answer:

"I hope you've done it right and our intel is valued. Have you seen Celia?"

"No," I say slowly, "Your intel is no longer valued; if you want to bury your friend, you may say where you want his body to be sent."

"And you are?" his voice in a moment gets calm and cold, but I also hear something else, something I can't identify.

"I'm Alpha's brother; never come to us again, or you'll die," I respond, somehow feeling braver, somehow feeling that it's my turn now to protect Black Moon.

"I just want my sister; she will go back to me, no matter what. Mind my word, boy, Celia will return to me."

Rob POV

David Nightingale is slowly walking in front of me, pressing his hand to for the still painful scar in his abdomen.

I see other pack members look at him with hate as we progress in the direction of the packhouse. He walks with difficulty; after all, sitting in a cell is never good for his health. They look at him, and I understand their hate. Nightingales weren't only hunters; they were one of the cruelest among other clans but also the most dangerous. Their actions were always very accurate and prepared; their bloodthirst reputation was earned. And it was them who made Hank an orphan or killed Alpha Mikkeli's father.

Per my orders, I take David to Alpha's office, where it is already quite a big gathering. Luna is sitting behind Alpha's desk, and he stands behind her.

Hank is here, along with Marc and Dalton, pack doctor Gideon, Hayden, and, to my surprise, Kyle. Blake immediately purrs in enjoyment at seeing him.

I motion David in the direction of the chair prepared for him. He sits and looks around:

"Quite a gathering; what did I do to get the honor?" he says, but not in a mocking way. He seems to be at peace with the fact that sooner or later, we will kill him.

"What can you tell us about Terry?" Hank asks, and David immediately gets focused.

"Why?" he asks.

"Because one of his men was recently killed on our land by one of our trackers," Hank says. "And Kyle talked with him, and he said he wanted Celia back with him again."

David pales visibly as if he has never expected something like that to happen.

"Terry is Celia's older brother. I don't know what he wants with Celia now, but you shouldn't underestimate him. My father saw in him the next leader of our clan, and he had reasons for that. Terry is very cautious and smart."

"Where could he have been hiding?" Mikkeli asks.

"I don't know, but he could go to many places because of who his father was. I mean, many out there would help him."

"Explain," Mikkeli speaks again.

"Celia's father wasn't from our clan or any other clans. He was once a normal human with a normal life until werewolves slaughtered his family. Your kind isn't as pure as you like to think you are. After all, that's why hunters were created, because someone has to protect normal people from bands of rogues traveling together, alphas who, when they want more lands, make their owners mysteriously disappear. That's how it was with my brother-in-law; a band of rogues killed his entire family during the burglary; he saw it but managed to get away that night. And, of course, nobody believed him, a teenage boy talking about werewolves; police thought he went crazy. He traveled around the country trying to find some answers until he met my clan. We gave him answers, took him in, and taught him how to fight with your kind. And he was good at the fight; through the years, he managed to become our best fighter. But he was more of a loner and was against the group's attacks on packs where there were kids and families. He took the job from people like him, whose families were killed or kidnapped, or threatened; he preferred to work alone. He didn't take part in any operation against packs in this region unless there was a reason for it. He often declined the job if he decided that it would involve innocent people."

"And your clan's leader just allowed it?" Dalton asks; he seems surprised.

Well, not only he. As far as I know, clans are organized the same way as packs: what the leader says goes.

"He was good in his job; he brought good money, so there was no reason to disturb him. He was married into my family, so my father saw no problem in allowing him to do what he wanted. But my point is during those twenty years I knew him, he saved and helped many people outside of the clan, and I'm sure every single one of them would help his son if needed. He and my sister were also saving money because they wanted one day to bail both Terry and Celia out of the clan so they would have a normal life. I know they kept it outside of the clan's budget, and Terry got access to it after they died."

"So even though I made sure to leave you with nothing but ashes, he and those who ran away with him still can have access to quite reasonable resources," Mikkeli says, and David nods.

"But what does he want to do with Celia?" Luna asks, and I see Hank clenching his fists.

"After their parents died, Terry changed himself a lot," David says.

"How did they die?" Dalton asks again.

"We don't know, one day they went shopping and never came back. We haven't found any bodies, just a crushed car. But they are dead because they would've never left children behind, that much I know. We presumed it had been someone of your kind because it's the only reasonable explanation. Terry was 15, he stopped being kind after that, he started being cruel, and he dedicated himself to becoming a merciless hunter. My father and my older brother Jordan took special care in training him. I don't know what he wants now, but when Celia left, he and I were the only ones to know that she was alive; the rest of my clan thought she was dead."

"When we first brought you here, the one who attacked you in Celia's apartment said that Terry could still finish the job; what did he mean by that?" Hayden asks.

David shuts his eyes for a moment as if he needs time to compose himself. The silence is taking longer before the pack doctor decides to speak:

"I gave Celia a full check-up this morning. She has many scars, clear evidence of strong violence on her body. It was intentional, am I right? Your clan tried to beat her to death?"

Hank's fist clenches tighter, and his eyes start shifting; Hannah squeezes Mikkeli's hand and looks as if she wants to throw up; Kyle shifts uncomfortably; I feel not so well either as David nods his head.

"My father said that she had humiliated the clan, that her baby had been an abomination. But I would've never thought that Terry was capable of hurting Celia before it happened. He didn't participate but was watching; he allowed others to do it. At that time, I wasn't at home; when I came back, Terry told me to get rid of her body. He told them that she was dead, but I'm sure he noticed that she was still breathing. And he told me specifically to take care of her body because he knew that I'd never hurt her. He never asked me about her after that, as if he wasn't interested even in knowing if she managed to survive. I don't know what he wants from her now, but Terry is a dangerous man."

"May he be interested only in revenge now?" Luna asks, and David nods.

"Alright, he may have a contact among our kind. Do you know who it can be?" she continues.

"No, I was from the family of the clan's leader, but I wasn't important enough to get access to our operation's strategies and classified information. Will you sell her?"

Hank growls, and Luna and Mikkeli look at David, confused.

"If he offers to stay away from your lands in exchange for Celia, will you do it?"

"No," to my surprise, it's Kyle who answers. "My brother and his Luna would never do that. Celia is safe here; all of you are."

Sorry for the delay; I'm back home and ready to work.