Shannon Wells died later that night, but not before she told us what she could.
She was in Elizabeth’s room, the one she’d shared with her late husband. I hadn’t been inside since I’d returned to Green Creek, not wanting to intrude on a wolf mother’s sanctuary. It was bright and airy, and the walls were a soft yellow, like sunlight on a spring morning. And though Thomas Bennett was nothing but ash, I swore I caught the scent of an unknown wolf embedded into the walls and floor and ceiling.
We didn’t want to crowd Shannon, but we needed to hear what she had to say, if she could say anything at all. She was awake, and her eyes flashed violet. She spoke in a low voice, but not to any of us. At first I didn’t think she even knew we were there.
She said, “Of course we can go, Jimmy. We’ll just have to wait for the weekend.”
She said, “Oh, why are you bleeding? What’s happened? Who did this to you?”
She said, “When I’m with you, I feel like I can breathe.”
She said, “Mom, look out! Look out for the—”
She said, “There was this song I heard on the radio. It’s old. Peggy Lee singing about Johnny Guitar, and it made me ache.”
The Bennett brothers all made wounded noises as if they’d been gut punched. I didn’t understand why.
And then Shannon laughed a terrible laugh, humorless and sounding almost like a scream. It went on and on until I thought I would go mad.
She fell silent eventually, hands twitching at her sides.
Elizabeth sat next to her, cleaning her wounds as best she could. The gashes were red and angry-looking, and though the blood had slowed to a trickle, it wouldn’t be enough. Death has a stench, low and sickly sweet, like rotted meat. It surrounded her like a black cloud, thick and overpowering.
Chris and Tanner stood just outside the room, heads bowed as they leaned against the wall. Rico was with them, muttering quietly about how they didn’t have to go in, they didn’t have to see this, to just stay where they were.
I wanted to be with them, but I couldn’t.
I had to witness it. The full extent.
She deserved as much.
Jessie moved in and out of the room, bringing fresh towels and bandages, though it was almost pointless.
Gordo stood on the other side of the bed, Mark behind him, his forehead pressed against the back of Gordo’s neck. The witch held his hand out over Shannon, lips moving but no sound coming out. His tattoos were vibrant as they shifted, and there was a sheen of sweat on his upper lip. His stump was shaking, and the raven was curling into the roses on his arm.
Ox and Joe stood at the foot of the bed, each with a hand wrapped around one of Shannon’s ankles. At first I thought they were keeping her from jerking her legs, but I felt their energy rolling off them in calming waves, pouring down onto Shannon. Joe’s eyes were red, Ox’s mixed with Alpha and Omega.
Carter stood at the window, looking out at the forest behind the house. The timber wolf sat next to him, as if on guard.
Kelly and I were out of the way in one corner of the room, watching, waiting, though for what, I didn’t think we knew.
We didn’t have to wait long.
I saw the moment clarity returned to Shannon, the violet fading away, leaving only eyes like frosted glass. She took in a deep breath, her chest rising and causing her wounds to stretch. They made a wet sucking sound that even magic wouldn’t be able to make me forget.
A tear fell down her right cheek.
Elizabeth wiped it away before it could fall onto the bed. In its place, she left a streak of blood. It only made things worse.
Shannon said, “This isn’t a dream.”
“No,” Ox said, and it was blue. “No, Alpha. It’s not a dream.”
Her bottom lip trembled. She squeezed her eyes shut. She exhaled heavily, and her face twisted into a rictus of agony that I didn’t think had anything to do with her injuries. Her throat worked, and her hands clenched. “I’m really here?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
She nodded. “I made it. They tried to follow me, but I lost them. I don’t know how.”
“Who?” Joe asked.
She laughed again, grating and harsh. “Suffer the little children and forbid them not. I never understood that. Not until now.”
“Where is your pack?” Ox asked, even though he knew the answer as well as the rest of us.
She chanted, “Gone, gone, gone. They’ve gone away, and I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye. I tried, Alphas. I tried to save them. But I couldn’t. It was too much. And I couldn’t hurt them. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt them.”
“Of course not,” Joe said kindly. “You would never hurt your pack.”
She shook her head. “Not them. They were already hurt. They were already…. Oh god. John. Jimmy. They were… they were…. Mother! Where are you? I can’t find you! It’s dark, oh my god, it’s so dark. Please, Mother. Please don’t go.”
I bowed my head as Kelly grabbed my hand. I held on for dear life.
Shannon continued, speaking to phantoms only she could see. She spoke of flowers and dragonflies. She said she was chasing them, but she would never catch them because she didn’t want to hurt them. She just liked their wings, she said, so pretty, so thin and bright.
Gordo sighed as he took a step back, arms trembling. He shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do. It’s…. She’s too far gone.” He looked spooked as he turned to his Alphas. “This wasn’t just one wolf.”
“They were many,” Shannon whispered. “So many. Like ants. Swarming. I went on a picnic once. It was lovely. I wore a pretty dress. I spilled juice on it. I felt bad, but my mother said not to worry about the little things, that stains would wash out and all would be well.”
“We’ll keep her safe and warm,” Elizabeth murmured. “It’s the best we can do. She will have that, at least.” She nodded at Jessie, who handed her another cloth. Jessie took the red-stained rags that had piled next to the bed from the room. It didn’t help. The scent of blood was sharp. I didn’t know if it would ever leave.
And then Shannon said, “Robbie. Robbie. Robbie.”
They all looked to me.
I blinked rapidly.
I thought about leaving. Just heading for the door and running as fast as I could for as long as I was able.
Kelly squeezed my hand as I stepped toward the bed.
“Robbie,” Shannon said again.
“I’m here,” I told her as Gordo and Mark stepped back. I took their place next to the bed. I knelt on the floor, unsure if I should touch her. That decision was made for me when she lifted her hand toward me. Her grip was stronger than I expected. For a moment I had hope, but her blood was smearing into my skin, and it was a desperately futile thing. “I’m right here.”
“Are you?” she asked.
I looked to Ox and Joe. Joe was furious, though he was trying to maintain control. Ox nodded at me, and I turned back to Shannon.
“Yes.”
“You were lost.”
“Yes.”
“And then you were found.” She chuckled. It crawled from her throat and died as soon as it left her mouth. “You were blind, but now you see.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know?”
I started to shake my head but stopped. “About what?”
“What he would do. What he was capable of.” She winced, her body tensing suddenly before relaxing again. “What he would bring upon my pack.”
Ezra.
Robert Livingstone.
I hung my head, unable to look at her any longer. “No, Alpha. I didn’t know.”
“Because he took that from you.”
“Yes.”
“We’re almost the same. He took everything from you. And he took everything from me. But you’re lucky. Because you got yours back. Why can’t I have mine?”
“I don’t know,” I told her. “I don’t know why.”
She nodded as if that was the answer she expected. “I heard him. I don’t know how he found us, but he did. He was in the walls. In the ceiling. He was everywhere, and he wasn’t happy. He wasn’t laughing. He sounded sad, Robbie. Like he didn’t want to be doing what he was doing. But he did it anyway. I heard his voice. He said that all this pain, all this suffering wasn’t something he wanted, but it was necessary. And I believed him. I believed him when he said he didn’t want this, but he did it anyway. What kind of person does that make him?”
“A beast,” I whispered.
She said, “Malik died protecting John and Jimmy. I told them to stay back, but it was too much because I couldn’t… I couldn’t hurt them. I couldn’t stop them because I couldn’t hurt them.”
“Who?”
She turned her head slowly to look at me. Her skin was sallow and stretched tight, like she was made of wax. I thought I heard her neck creak. “The children. Brodie. He… something changed in him. Something flipped. He turned on us. But it wasn’t just him. We were in the middle of nowhere. Nebraska. Waiting until we received word that we were safe. We never heard. We never heard.”
Joe growled as he shook his head, lips in a thin line.
Shannon only had eyes for me.
She said, “They came through the fields. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first. I thought there’d been an accident. A bus, maybe. But they didn’t answer me when I asked what was wrong, and there were so many of them. Their eyes were empty, and I had time to shout for my pack. Time to tell them to run, please, just run, but they swarmed. They fell upon me, and I tried to fight back, I tried to stop them, but they were kids.”
Her words were like ghosts dragging their chains as they haunted me. “He’s using the children?”
“Yes. And I begged for them to stop, I pleaded with them to listen, to just listen, that I could help them, that I could keep them safe, but they didn’t hear me. They couldn’t shift, not all the way. But they had their claws. They had their fangs. Just like Brodie.” She moaned, and it sent a chill down my spine. “Brodie. Malik… he was shouting inside the house. I heard him even as they tore into me. Even as his voice came from the fields, telling me this was a warning to all who would stand against him. We weren’t the first. I could feel it when their mouths were on me, biting and tearing. Transference. Like memory. We weren’t their first, and we weren’t going to be their last.”
Oh no. Oh please no. “He’s killing packs?”
Ox swore as he took a step back from the bed. His eyes were fiery, and it looked as if he was barely hanging on.
“Yes,” Shannon whispered. “The ones that took in Omegas. We defied him, and he is making us suffer for it.” Her hand tightened in mine. “I couldn’t hurt them. You have to believe me. I couldn’t hurt them. I couldn’t hurt them because they were only kids. They didn’t know what they were doing. I wish I had. I wish I’d slaughtered them all. Maybe then… maybe my pack would be….” She turned her face toward the ceiling again. “Malik died. John died. Jimmy died. He liked you. Even if you don’t remember him. He talked about you for days. You liked monster movies. It was simple. But it was enough for him.”
Kelly’s hands settled on my shoulders. His presence was soothing.
“I shifted,” Shannon said in a dead voice. “And ran. I left my pack behind and ran because I didn’t know what else to do. He let me go. He knew where I was running to. He knew where I’d go. And he gave me a message. For you. For all of you.”
“Tell me,” Ox said hoarsely.
“He wants what belongs to him,” Shannon whispered. “You’ve taken that which is his, and he wants it back. He won’t stop until this is done. And everything that has happened or will happen… it’ll be on you until you give him what is his. You can’t beat him, Alphas. Not as he is now. Not with all that he has. He has a hold on them, all the little cubs. They aren’t feral. They aren’t hunters. They’re children. And he is using them as weapons. You have to help them. You have to save them. Promise me.”
Spin me! they’d cried as they’d surrounded me in Caswell. Spin me! It’s my turn, Robbie! Spin me!
Was Tony one of them? The little boy with wide eyes and question after question, the little boy who had told me that he didn’t like it when I was sad, that he didn’t like it when I was blue, that he wanted me to be happy. Was I happier when I’d been there before? He’d asked me that behind the house after we’d run together. A secret just between us.
“Ease up,” Kelly whispered harshly in my ear. “You’re going to hurt her more.”
I looked down in horror to see I was squeezing Shannon’s hand so tightly, it was a wonder her bones weren’t splintering. I let her go and fell back, bumping into Kelly’s legs.
“We promise,” Elizabeth said quietly.
Shannon barely noticed. She was talking to her phantoms again, begging her mother to tell her this was all a nightmare, that she would wake up from this and nothing would hurt. She asked about a boy, a beautiful boy she had a crush on, and she giggled when she said it. “He’s so handsome.” Her voice had a dreamlike quality. “I know he’s older and he probably doesn’t even know I’m alive, but I can’t stop thinking about him. Can I tell you a secret?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, hand going to Shannon’s brow. “Of course you can.”
“He’s a human,” Shannon whispered. “He’s a human, but I don’t care about that.”
“Good,” Elizabeth said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s human or not.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“I—” Her eyes were wide but unseeing, and her chest rose and fell rapidly. She reached up toward the ceiling, her hand shaking. She said, “Mother? There you are. Where have you been? I’ve looked for you for so long. You left me, and it was endless. The dark. But I’ve found you again, and I can see the stars. Do you… do you remember when we played in the snow? That was my favorite day.”
And then her hand dropped. Her eyes slid unfocused. There was another exhalation that sounded like wind over water. Her chest didn’t rise again.
Her heart, her Alpha heart, continued on for another beat, and then another, and then another.
And then it too fell silent.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Elizabeth broke the spell that had fallen over us. She pressed her fingers over Shannon’s eyes, sliding her eyelids shut. The wolf mother had a strange look on her face, and I felt a conflagration rising in her. She stood slowly, staring down at Shannon.
Joe started for her, but Ox held him back, shaking his head.
Elizabeth Bennett said, “All this pain. All this death. Everything that has been brought down upon us. For what? What is the reason? What is the purpose of all of this? To make us suffer? To make us break? And for what?”
No one answered her.
“I’m tired of all of this,” she said, and her voice was low and wolflike. “We give everything we have, but it’s never enough. It’s a curse. A curse upon us all.” Her eyes were wet as she lifted her head, looking at each of us in turn. “And I’ve had enough.”
She moved then, pushing past her Alphas. They didn’t try to stop her. They looked at each other before turning to follow Elizabeth out of her bedroom. Rico asked what was happening, what was going on, but she ignored him. I made it out of the room in time to see her vault over the landing above the first floor. She landed on her feet below us and turned to head deeper into the house.
“Holy shit,” Rico breathed.
“Go,” Jessie said from the doorway. “See what she’s doing. I’ll stay with Shannon.”
The Alphas were already down the stairs, Joe calling after his mother. We hurried after them, Chris and Tanner nearly tripping over each other and falling down the stairs. Rico caught them by the backs of their shirts.
I heard the sound of a door flying open and crashing into a wall, the wood cracking.
Elizabeth was in the main office. She stood in front of her husband’s old desk. Her hands were pressed down on it, claws digging into it, leaving divots in the surface. “No more,” she muttered. “No more. No more. This ends. This ends now.”
“Mom,” Kelly said. “What are you doing?”
She looked at him, eyes blazing. “What should have been done a long time ago. We let ourselves become complacent. We told ourselves that since there were thousands of miles between us, there were bigger things to worry about. That others needed us more. First the Omegas. Then Robbie. We give and we give and we give, and for what? To be repaid in blood and death? I’m sick of it. I have had my pack taken from me. I have had my sons taken from me. I have had my husband taken from me. And all because of a name. Because of who we are. Because of where we come from. All we have ever wanted was peace, to exist and live and love like everyone else, but we can’t because of who we are.”
Joe looked uncomfortable. “We have a duty. We’re Bennetts—”
Her eyes flashed, and Joe closed his mouth. “Don’t you think I know that?” she demanded. “Don’t you think I understand? Because I do. More than you could possibly know. And it’s time we accept our place. It’s time we finish this once and for all. Because we will never know peace unless we take it for ourselves. Unless we fight for it. For too long we’ve stood idly by. No more. I’m done.” She rounded the desk until she stood in front of the computer.
“What are you doing?” Carter asked.
“What we should have done a long time ago.”
The large TV mounted on the wall lit up, the screen a deep and calming blue. I almost immediately recognized the little icon in the middle of the screen.
“Oh shit,” I breathed. “You’re going to call Michelle Hughes.”
“You’re damn right I am,” Elizabeth snapped. “I want to see her face. I want to see the look in her eyes when I tell her I’m coming for her. That she and Robert Livingstone are not long for this world if they don’t stand down immediately. She needs to hear it from me. This is the end, one way or another. It’s time.”
“You know they won’t stop,” Ox said. “They might not even listen.”
And oh, how she smiled at him, feral and twisted. “I’m counting on it.”
Ox looked at all of us. I wondered what he saw. Fear? Resolve? Defeated acceptance? I was more scared than I could ever remember being, which was fucking ridiculous, given everything that had happened over the past few weeks. But there it was, clawing at my chest. It was getting harder to breathe, but Kelly was there, always Kelly, and he took my face in his hands, forcing me to look up into his eyes. “We can go,” he whispered. “You don’t have to be here for this. Just say the word and we’ll go.”
“Where?” I asked, and I hated the way my voice broke. “There’s nowhere we could go. Nowhere that they won’t find us.”
He sighed. “We’ll figure it out. Just… let’s go, okay? Come on.”
But I couldn’t. As much as everything in me was screaming to listen to him, to do exactly what he was saying, to run, run, run, I couldn’t. I was terrified, yes, and I wasn’t prepared to see Alpha Hughes again, but it was overridden by something primal and fierce, a sharp tug of packpackpack that was pouring off Ox. He was scared too, but it was such a small thing in the face of his pack. He was strong and powerful, and I thought maybe I loved him.
I thought maybe I loved them all.
And I said, “No.” I stepped away from Kelly. He dropped his hands, looking resigned. “No. If we do this, then we do it together.” I squared my shoulders, trying to look braver than I felt. “Those kids, Kelly. All those kids in Caswell. If what Shannon said is true, then I have to be here. I have to hear it from her myself. You don’t—you don’t know them like I do. These kids, they didn’t do anything. They don’t deserve this. They’re innocent. And if he’s using them, if they’re both using them, then someone needs to stop them.”
“Hoo boy,” Rico said. “I got chills, lobito. Actual chills. Goose bumps and everything. But let’s be clear on one thing. If you try any martyr bullshit, I swear to god I will shove my gun down your throat until it reaches your intestines and then I will pull the trigger. You get me?”
Carter snorted. “I don’t know if that’s anatomically possible—you know what? That look you’re giving me right now makes me realize that you would certainly try, so I’m just gonna let you have this moment.”
“Damn right,” Rico said. “I’m sick and tired of the fucking people in this pack who think that self-sacrifice is a legitimate way to go. We do this together or we don’t do this at all. And Ox, don’t you dare say a goddamn word, because you’re the worst. Don’t think we’ve forgotten about what you did with Richard Collins. You aren’t going to be able to so much as breathe without one of us noticing. You thought a hand through your stomach was bad? Try it again and see what I do to you.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Ox said mildly. “I’ve got the most aggravating pack in the entire world.”
“But you love us,” Chris said without artifice.
“Yes,” Ox said simply. “More than anything.”
“Maybe she won’t answer,” Tanner said, sounding as if that was a fantastic idea. “I’m under the impression that being a dictator hell-bent on wolfy domination is a lot of hard work.”
“Then we keep trying until we get ahold of her,” Elizabeth muttered as she glared down at the computer. “And if we can’t, then we show up on her doorstep. She’ll know we mean business one way or another. But I have a feeling that she knows this moment is coming.” She looked up at me. “Doesn’t she, Robbie?”
I couldn’t speak.
But that was answer enough.
“Be careful what you say to her,” Gordo said. “We don’t know who else is going to be listening in.” He was pale, his tattoos flickering. Mark pressed his nose against Gordo’s ear, breathing in slowly. “My father… he… if he’s there, he’ll hear everything.” He glanced at me. “And I don’t know how far his reach will extend. If he’ll be able to do anything to… you know.”
I felt terrible when Rico sucked in a breath and took a step away from me. But before I could say anything, Rico shook his head and moved toward me again. He looked me up and down before turning back to Gordo. “Chance we’ll take, bruja. He’s part of this. No one gets left behind. Not again.”
Gordo rolled his eyes. “I told you not to call me that, you ass. I just…. It doesn’t matter. You’re right. Be ready for anything. Don’t underestimate my father. Chances are he’ll be there, hearing every word.”
Elizabeth’s expression tightened. “I know. I want him to. Ready?”
No. I wasn’t. I didn’t know if any of us were. We were angry, and it was like a fire spreading between all of us, this burning rage, but it felt like it was growing too big too quickly. I didn’t know how much longer we could control it, or if it would be snuffed out the moment all the air was gone.
“Hold on,” Ox said, and I exhaled explosively. If we were going to do this, I wanted to get it over with. We looked at Ox. “Chris, Tanner. I want you to leave.” They started to protest, but he held up his hand and they quieted. “I need you to do something for me. Get on your phones. Start calling around to all the packs we’ve sent Omegas to. See who answers. If anyone does, tell them to get to the safe houses we’ve set up. They know what to do if that call ever came. I need to know who else Livingstone got to. If it’s just Alpha Wells or if there are others.”
They nodded and headed for the door as they pulled out their phones. Rico stopped them both before they could leave and hugged each of them. After, they closed the door behind them.
There was nothing left to wait for.
“Do it,” Joe said.
The TV began to beep as the call went out.
Kelly took my hand.
It went on so long that I began to think no one would pick up. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck into the collar of my shirt. I pushed my glasses back up on my nose, and I heard my mother whispering little wolf, little wolf, little wolf.
The beeps from the TV cut off as the picture filled.
The office thousands of miles away looked as it did the last time I’d stood in it: the books in the background, the chair, the desk—all of it was the same. I remembered the first time I’d sat in it, but my resolve strengthened when I realized what I was thinking of wasn’t the first time. I’d been in there before, and they had taken it from me.
Alpha Michelle Hughes sat in the chair. She looked cool and calm, and if it was anyone else, I might have thought she was in control. That she had expected this and still thought she had the upper hand.
But I’d spent close to a year knowing her. Watching her. Working by her side. I could see the cracks in the steely façade. It was in the little things, the way she tapped her fingernails against the desk, the way her eyes widened briefly at the sight of all of us, the flaring of her nostrils, as if she thought she could get our scent from the other side of the country.
And there, for a split second, her eyes shifted away from the screen.
Like she was looking beyond it.
She wasn’t alone.
It was brief, and then she looked straight at us again.
It felt like she was looking straight at me.
She was.
She said, “Robbie. I see you’re—”
And Elizabeth Bennett said, “No. You will not say his name. Any hold you’ve had over him, anything you’ve done to him, it’s over. You are finished. If I ever hear you speak his name aloud again, I swear to you it’ll be one of the last things you do. I’ll see to it myself. It’s my turn to talk, and you’re going to listen.”
She flinched. “Elizabeth, I don’t know what you think—”
“No,” Elizabeth said coldly. “You don’t. You never have. And that’s always been to your detriment. You underestimate those you see as beneath you. I was only the wife of the Alpha to you. Someone to appease to get what you wanted but never to take seriously. That was one of your many mistakes. And it will prove to be your undoing. Because I am done with diplomacy. Hear me, Alpha Hughes, and hear me well. You tried to murder my pack with hunters. We survived. They didn’t. You tried to take Robbie away from us. And yet here he stands, with us as one of us. He is a Bennett, and he always will be. Your time is over. Stand down and stand down now. I will take your unconditional surrender. You’ll be held responsible for your treasonous crimes against my pack because of your alignment with the hunters, and against the wolves as a whole. My son will assume his rightful place as the Alpha of all, as he was always meant to be. And before you even think of speaking, know that this isn’t a negotiation. You do not have a choice in the matter.”
“Haven’t we been here before?” Michelle asked, shaking her head. She sounded aloof, almost airy, but there was something just off in her voice. I was sure most everyone else in the room missed it, but I didn’t. “You, the Bennett pack, threatening me from the safety behind your wards in Green Creek, while the rest of us live out in the real world. You think yourselves so high and mighty, so much better than all of us. And your husband was no different. He didn’t see the way things were supposed to be, and it cost him his life.”
“Maybe it did,” Elizabeth said. “But Thomas believed in the greater good. He believed in the strength of the pack and all that it was comprised of. You have forgotten what it means to be an Alpha, if you ever even knew at all. Thomas was infinitely more an Alpha than you could ever hope to be.”
“He trusted humans,” Michelle said, claws digging into the surface of the desk. “And look where it got—”
Elizabeth laughed, grating and harsh. “You don’t get to talk to me about trusting humans. Not after Meredith King. You trusted her enough to send her to do your dirty work. She and her people paid the price for coming after my family. You’re going to find yourself in a similar position unless you stand. Down.”
Michelle narrowed her eyes. “Are you threatening me?”
“You’re damn right I am,” Elizabeth growled. “And it would do you well to listen. There’s been enough bloodshed, enough good people giving their lives in the name of the wolves. But I will not hesitate to add to the body count. I will come for you, Alpha Hughes. And nothing you can do will stop me.”
She nodded slowly. “If that’s the way it’s going to be.”
“It is.”
She looked grave. “Then it is my unfortunate duty to inform you that the Bennett pack is now considered an enemy of the wolves. I’ll ask for your surrender. Your Alphas will be stripped of their power and Green Creek will be turned over to me. You caused the deaths of over thirty witches, slaughtered by Omegas under your control. You harbored these Omegas even though they should have been put down the moment they lost themselves to their wolves. Carter and Mark Bennett still breathe, though you were under explicit order to end their lives for the greater good. For all I know, whatever bonds that stretch between you all are infected and rotting because of them.”
“Rude,” Carter said, and the timber wolf woofed in agreement. “I think we’re doing fine. Why don’t you come here and I’ll show you just how much?”
She ignored him. She was getting worked up, though she was still trying to stay in control. “These are the crimes of the Bennett pack, and ones you will need to answer for. You will be tried for said crimes, and I will mete out your punishment as I see fit. Do you understand the terms as I’ve relayed them to you?”
“Yes,” Ox said. “And we decline.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What?”
“We decline,” Ox said. He stepped toward the screen. “Can he hear me? Is he there with you? I think he is. And I think he scares you. You’ve found yourself drowning in something you thought you could control. But you can’t, Michelle. You’re already too far gone. And for that, I’m sorry. I thought… I thought once I could save you. That deep down, there was still good in you. That was a mistake, and one I won’t make again.” His eyes filled with red and violet, and I could hear him howling in my head. His voice was deep when he said, “Robert Livingstone. You took from me. You took from my pack. Show yourself.”
At first nothing happened.
I thought we had it wrong.
That he wasn’t there at all.
Then I heard him sigh from somewhere in the office, and I was hit with a wave of agony, biting and tearing, thinking of how I’d lived with him. How I’d laughed with him. How I’d loved him when he smiled at me, when he put his hand in my hair and made me believe that he wanted nothing more than to have me by his side. He had found me, taken me in, given me a home, and it was all a lie.
Robert Livingstone stepped into view. Whatever glamour he’d used to disguise his true nature was gone. All that remained was the man from the bridge, the one who’d tried to kill my pack, the one who’d taken my mate’s wolf away from him.
Oh god, how I hated him.
And oh god, how I loved him still, knowing everything he’d done. It was a small part of me, twisted and gasping, but it was still there. I didn’t know how to turn it off. It made me feel like I was dying.
My skin crawled as he motioned with the flick of his hand for Michelle to vacate the chair, as if she were nothing but a little lapdog. It was extraordinarily disrespectful to do to an Alpha, and something I never would have thought him capable of when I’d been in Caswell. And she listened to him. She didn’t question it. She stood up quickly, as if it were the easiest thing to do.
Livingstone settled himself in her chair, hands folded on the desk in front of him. I could see flashes of Ezra in every part of him. It felt as if my vision were blurring, trying to see him for who he’d been and who he was now.
“Robbie,” Robert said, voice even as if this was a normal conversation. “I wish that we were seeing each other under different circumstances. I have so much to tell you, things you should’ve heard from me a long time ago. But time has gotten away from me.” He leaned forward. “How are you, dear? Are they treating you well? I expect they are. They always did care for you, just as I came to.”
I cowered. I hated it, but I couldn’t stop. I had a full-body twitch, and my shoulders hunched as I lowered my head. Kelly’s grip tightened on my hand, but it wasn’t enough. It would have been easier had Ezra spoken harshly, making grand proclamations about how he was going to destroy us all. Maybe that would still come, those threats, but here he was, sitting at the Alpha’s desk, and he sounded fucking hurt, like he had any right.
“Don’t,” Kelly snarled at him. “Don’t talk to him. Don’t even look at him. He’s not yours. He never was. And he’ll never be again.”
Robert simply nodded and said, “I understand. Kelly, isn’t it? How do you find being human? You may not understand this, but I know what it’s like to have something ripped from you, something important. I know more than you possibly think. I could have snuffed out the little thing you call your life. I didn’t. I showed you mercy. Could Richard Collins have said the same? Elijah?” He shook his head. “I think not. I gave you a chance.”
“Richard Collins was because of you,” Kelly retorted. “Elijah was your doing.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Really. Elijah was my doing.” He chuckled ruefully. “I’m flattered how Machiavellian you’re making me out to be, but I had nothing to do with the hunters. I wouldn’t have been so inelegant. One could argue that I was indirectly responsible, given the spread of the Omegas, but I’m offended you would think I’d be so brutish as to enact a group as unrefined as hunters.” He sat back in his chair. “Richard, on the other hand, well. When a beast is caged for so long, you can’t expect it to be as forward-thinking as one would hope. Live and learn, I suppose.”
“How dare you,” Elizabeth breathed. “How dare you think—”
“Elizabeth,” he said with a grave nod. “Do you remember what we once had? Because I do. The Bennetts and the Livingstones have a long history, one that goes farther back than even you could imagine. We’re tangled together, these little snips and snarls that connect us all. We were pack. We were harmonious. There was a synchronicity that I don’t regret. Abel Bennett was a good man. I was saddened to hear of his passing. But you managed to survive. Even after everything that’s happened to you, you survived. You flourished. In the face of everything thrown at you, you still managed to be the queen you are.”
“I am,” Elizabeth said. “And it’s my burden. I know why I do what I do. I have lost many. But I carry them with me always. And if you think fear of what could be will stop me, then you’ve made yet another mistake.”
“Of what could be?” Livingstone asked. “Oh, my dear. This isn’t going to go how you think. What do you hope to achieve? I expect you’ll storm the compound, your misplaced indignation filling you with justification for your cause. There will be casualties, you’ll all tell yourselves, but it’ll be for the greater good. You’ll wash the blood on your hands away as if it’s nothing, and then the future will be bright and shining as the little prince becomes a king. Is that right? Am I close? Please. Tell me.”
“Yes,” Joe said bluntly. “That’s exactly it.”
Livingstone nodded. “As I expected. Foolish, but then you’re animals, so I’m not surprised. You think with fang and claw but neglect to consider that I care not for the fate of wolves. I only want—”
“What you did to Alpha Wells says otherwise,” Ox said, rage simmering just underneath the surface. “I was with her when she took her last breath. Don’t tell us you don’t care what happens to the wolves, especially since everything that has happened to them falls upon you.”
Livingstone looked incredulous. “Everything? Alpha Matheson, how can you be so blind? Oh, the stories I’ve heard about the boy who ran with wolves. The human Alpha who led a fractured pack. The boy who became a man even though his daddy thought he would amount to nothing. Look at you now. The Alpha of the Omegas. I am fascinated by you, by everything that you are. And yet you stand where you are, spouting the things you do as if you think I’m some kind of monster. I know mercy. I know kindness. I know love. Isn’t that right, Robbie? Tell them how much I love you. I kept you safe. I gave you a home. And it took over a year for your pack to remember they give a damn about you. Why is that? Why didn’t they love you enough to—”
“They did,” I said through gritted teeth. “They do.”
He shook his head sadly. “I wish I could believe that, but I know better. When I found you, you didn’t fight me. You wanted it. You were begging me to take you away, and how could I ignore such desperate pleas? I couldn’t. Though I should have realized just how much of a hold the Bennett pack had over you. How deep their claws had sunk into your flesh.”
“I didn’t give in,” I said weakly. “I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t do that.” I could feel the others looking at me, but I only had eyes for the man on the screen.
“You did,” he said gently. “I can show you. I can give you your memories back. I can give Kelly back his wolf. I’m asking you to think, to really think about this. Any element of surprise you had is gone. Come tomorrow, next week, a year from now, it doesn’t matter. You, in your righteous fury, and me knowing the real truth. It’ll all end the same. Or….” His expression softened. “Or we can finish this now, and all it would take is to give me back what belongs to me. I know mercy. I allowed Alpha Wells to crawl her way to Green Creek to show you just how serious I am and how far I’m willing to go to make sure you understand the importance of what I’m asking of you. This could all be over so easily. No one else will have to suffer. Who is missing from your pack currently? Jessie? Tanner? Chris? Are they reaching out to your little network? You’re going to find some of those calls going unanswered. While you were wrapped up safe and warm in your territory, pretending you haven’t stolen from me, I’ve done my due diligence to make sure I have your undivided attention, and I think you’ll find you’re very much alone.”
“What do you want?” Ox asked.
Livingstone smiled. “Ah. Thank you, Alpha Matheson. It’s simple, really. I want Robbie. I’ve grown fond of him.” He took a deep breath. “And I want my son.”
Mark snarled as my skin turned to ice. “Fuck you. You’re never going to lay your hands on Gordo ever again. I won’t—”
“Down, boy,” Livingstone snapped, and there was the anger I’d been expecting. His face twisted into something dark. “Your threats mean nothing to me. Gordo has made his choice, and as much as it pains me to say, I know nothing will change that. Gordo was lost to me a long time ago. No. I don’t want him. This isn’t about him. It’s about his brother. My second son. I will have him and Robbie. Give them to me and all of this will end.”
An absolute, stunned silence followed. It was as if all the air had been sucked from the room. Mark looked thunderstruck, and Gordo gaped at the screen. Ox and Joe turned to him, eyes wide.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Gordo asked hoarsely. “I don’t have—”
Robert sighed. “Of course you don’t know. Yet another little secret the Bennetts have kept from you.” His smile was cold. “Your mother didn’t understand. I did love her, in my own way. But she wasn’t my tether. Wendy Walsh was different, unlike anyone I had ever met. She enchanted me. And when she became pregnant, I thought I could make it work. I thought I could have this. I was already a father, but this was a way to ensure my line would go on in the event of… complications.” His smile curved down as if his mask was slipping. “Abel Bennett found out, and he acted quickly. He went behind my back. He told her things she shouldn’t have known. Things I’d kept from her to keep her safe. About all of us. It scared her. And she listened to him. Abel, who only cared about his precious pack. He forced her to leave, to give up our child, and I railed against him. I told him he was making a mistake, that he would live to regret this.” His eyes widened dramatically. “But he didn’t, did he? Not for long, anyway. But by then it was already too late for all of us.”
“You’re lying,” Gordo whispered.
He shook his head. “I’m not. I swore to myself that when I was finally free, when I escaped my prison, I would find my children. I would bring them back into the fold and make everyone who had stolen from me suffer. And when Michelle found the strength within herself to free me from my captivity in exchange for the only thing she wanted more than anything else, I knew I would stop at nothing to get what I wanted. She became the Alpha of all. And I was free to search for my son.”
He ignored the roars of anger. The sounds of fury. The howls of betrayal. I couldn’t see Michelle, but I knew she was still there, I knew she was still listening. If she’d been standing in front of me right then, I would have torn her apart. Everything that had happened, all that I’d learned about the history of the Bennett pack, all that they’d—we’d—lost had been brought upon us because of Robert Livingstone’s escape.
Richard Collins.
Thomas Bennett.
Maggie Callaway.
The Omegas.
Kelly.
Me.
And now this.
Livingstone waved a hand at the screen in dismissal. “Yes, there it is. Such useless anger, hollow and empty. This was all because of the Bennett pack. If Abel had just let the chips fall where they may, we wouldn’t be here. All the death that followed would never have happened. But it has, and there’s nothing you or I can do to change that. I told you. I care not for the fate of wolves. I only want what’s mine. Wendy would have insisted upon it. I know it. Give Robbie to me.” The mask slipped further, and I saw the feral animal underneath. “Give me back my son.”
Gordo was enraged. “Who the hell are you talking about? We don’t have anyone! This is just another game to you, another trick to try to—”
Livingstone leaned forward. “Gavin. I know you can hear me. I can see it in your eyes. I don’t know what’s happened to you. I don’t know how you came to be as you are now, but I can help you. I can fix you. I can give you back your life so long as you return to your rightful place at my side.” His voice cracked, and his eyes were wet. “You are my son, and I have searched for you for so long.”
Nothing happened.
And then the timber wolf next to Carter rose to his feet. His claws clicked on the wood floor. Carter reached out for him, but the wolf shook him off. He stepped toward the screen, tilting his head as he looked at Livingstone. His muscles were tightly coiled, and his tail was stiff behind him. His shoulders shifted as he snorted, pawing at the floor.
“Yes,” Livingstone whispered. “You are a Livingstone. And it’s time you remember that.”
It wasn’t the Alphas who spoke.
It wasn’t the queen.
It wasn’t Gordo, who was staring at the timber wolf as if seeing him for the first time.
It wasn’t Rico.
It wasn’t Kelly or me.
It was Carter.
And he said, “No.”
Whatever spell had been cast over Robert Livingstone broke. He sucked in a sharp breath, and he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Carter. Carter, who stepped forward next to the timber wolf, Carter, who had a fiery look on his face, eyes shining violet, teeth bared, claws out. Carter, who looked as if he were ready to eviscerate the man on the screen if only given the chance.
Carter Bennett said no again, in such a deadly growl that I shivered. Carter was easygoing, aloof, cocky, and quick to smile. He loved his pack, and in the weeks since I’d come back, I had never seen him like he was now. Rage rolled off him in palpable waves, and though I was cut off from the bonds that stretched between him and the rest of the pack, even I could feel it. It wasn’t unlike what I’d felt from his mother, a great fire that threatened to burn everything down until nothing but charred bones remained.
He put a hand on the wolf’s back, fingers curling into its hair, holding on tight. He glared at the screen.
I saw the moment Gordo realized what it meant. He paled, looking between the two of them, an expression of utter disbelief tinged with awe on his face.
“You can’t have him,” Carter said, and his voice was quaking. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but I will never let you touch him. Not while I’m still standing. You want him? You have to go through me.”
The wolf growled from deep in his throat and snapped at Carter, teeth missing him by inches. It was meant to be a warning, but Carter wasn’t having it. “Oh, fuck you, man. You’re in so much shit, you don’t even know. And you can bet I’m going to deal with you later, you dick.” He looked back at the screen. “He doesn’t belong to you. He never has. He has a pack. He has a place. It’s here. With us.” His hand tightened in the wolf’s hair. “With me. And if you think you will ever take him away from us, then you’re out of your goddamned mind. I am done with this. With you. You’re no different than Richard Collins or Elijah. Than any other motherfucker who thinks they can come for us. You’re going to regret ever crossing the Bennetts. And I’m going to make sure of it. You want a war? Guess what, asshole. You’ve got one.”
Livingstone sat back in his chair, closing his eyes as he tilted his head toward the ceiling. He took in a deep breath and let it out slow. He opened his eyes again. The mask was gone. All that remained was barely contained fury. “Do you speak for your pack?”
“He does,” Ox said. He stepped forward on the wolf’s other side, putting his hand on top of Carter’s. The wolf hung his head, lips pulled back over his teeth. His nostrils were flaring, and his tail curled underneath his back legs. “But in case that’s not good enough for you, then hear me. I am the Alpha of the Omegas. I am one of the Alphas of the Bennett pack. And you can’t have Robbie. You can’t have this wolf. They’re mine.”
Livingstone nodded slowly. “I want you to remember this moment, Alpha. Everything that will follow, everything that comes to pass, all of it could have been avoided had you just given me what I wanted. The blood of your pack will be on you and no one else. You’ve played your hand too early.”
Ox Matheson said, “I’m going to kill you.”
And Livingstone replied, “You will try. Come, then. Bring your war. Let us end this, once and for all.”
The screen went dark.
No one moved.
We jumped when the door to the office flew open, Chris and Tanner barging in. They came to a stop, looking around wildly at all of us. “What happened?” Chris demanded. “What did we miss?”
