Circle of Lies (Red Ridge Pack) (2 page)

I put my bag down and hung my coat in the hall closet. The sooner I picked this place up, the sooner I could lock myself in my room and just crash.

“Oh…hey…when did you get in?” Dad asked as he stumbled inside from the backyard.

“Just now, actually,” I replied as I grabbed a trashcan. Trying to avoid confrontation, I walked around the kitchen and living room picking up the mess. Unfortunately, this only seemed to irritate my father.

“Don’t do that. I’ll do it tomorrow,” he slurred.

“Dad, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I need to clean up so I can attempt to cook this year. I told you that, remember?”

“I know damn well what tomorrow is,” he grumbled. “You think I can’t remember what tomorrow is?”

There was no use trying to talk to him like this. Instead, I handed him the trashcan and said, “Fine. Have it your way. I was just trying to help.”

He didn’t reach for the trashcan, so I let it drop to the floor and spill out even more evidence of his drinking binge. At first he looked shocked, but that shock soon turned to rage. Maybe I shouldn’t have done it, but come on, who was the parent? I was sick and tired of trying to make things better all the time when all he did was screw things up.

He just stood there, anger boiling inside him. I saw it in his eyes just before he snapped. He kicked the trash aside and tried to grab my arm, but I stepped out of the way just in time and Dad lost his balance and fell to the ground. He wasn’t hurt, though, just defeated. The look of failure on his face as he lay there was almost worse than the anger. I reached out to help him up, but he wouldn’t let me.

“Don’t touch me! Just leave. Leave like your goddamn mother did,” he yelled.

“Come on, Dad. Let me help you,” I said.

“Get out! Get the hell out of my house!”

So I did. I grabbed my bag and coat and left.

Leaving the house like this wasn’t new to me. It’s not like it happened every day, but I’d walked out quite a few times over the past couple of months so I knew where to go and how long to stay away. The 24-hour diner on the other side of town was always open, so I figured I’d go there and order myself a nice, greasy burger and a few sodas. I was hungry, and in a few hours my father would be good and passed out. Then I would drive home and pretend that nothing ever happened. Just like I did every other time Dad kicked me out.

3.

Aiden

“He should be fine…”

“…a few weeks…

“…muscles already healing…”

“Oh, thank God!”

I could hear bits and pieces of conversation, the drone of voices around me but I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t open my eyes, couldn’t move my body. I didn’t know how I’d ended up in this weird semi-conscious state, either. It was like one of those shows on TV where the person is having surgery and is supposed to be unconscious but he’s not, not completely anyway, and he can hear and feel everything. But I wasn’t in any pain; not really. And there didn’t seem to be any surgical tools maneuvering around my body, so thankfully I wasn’t in the middle of an operation. I just sort of felt…numb. My mind was fuzzy and my arms and legs were too heavy to move.

Suddenly, memories came flooding back: sitting at the dining room table, finding out from my mom that I’d soon be a werewolf. Yeah, a
werewolf.
Moving to New Mexico because of it, to be with a group of the same. A pack, they called themselves. A pack with an alpha as their leader. My younger sister Alli being abducted by Kendall Stuart and Dylan Christianson. Finding Alli and then realizing that I wasn’t able to shift. Apparently, not being able to get all wolfy when necessary was what had landed me in this hospital bed. Whatever happened after that was just a blur.

My mom and dad were here. I could feel them hovering over me, but as hard as I tried I didn’t have the strength to let them know that I was okay, that I could hear them. Instead, my mind wouldn’t stop replaying the last few weeks of my once normal, now crazy life. As if living on an estate in the middle of the freaking woods, populated by people who can turn into wolves at will wasn’t weird enough, my younger sister “mated” with our alpha’s son, which was what got her dumb ass kidnapped and almost killed.

Interrupting my thoughts, I felt Mom push back my hair from my forehead just like she used to when I was a little boy, and she gently kissed the top of my head. A single teardrop landed on my cheek. I wished I could open my eyes and see her.

“We have to tell him.”

“Oh, God. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“How are we ever going to get through this? What if he hates me for not telling him the truth?”

I tried again to speak, to answer the voices, to tell my mom that there was no way in the world that I could ever hate her, but I couldn’t move much less say anything. What could she have to tell me now? Last time she’d had a big announcement it was that Alli and I were freaking werewolves. Could anything really get more shocking than that? What else could she have kept from us? Maybe we were hybrid werewolf-vampires. Or witches! Not zombies, surely. I laughed to myself, indulging a grim kind of humor. But, what could be left unsaid that might actually make me hate her?

A warm tingle suddenly started in my arm and ran straight to my head. The voices in the room were no longer clear. It was as if my parents were slowly moving away, step by step. I called out to them but knew my words were only in my head. No one could hear me no matter how loud I screamed. But I kept screaming. The experience was straight out of a horror movie.

Somebody hear me! I’m here. Awake, sort of! Damn it, I’m—

And then there was silence.

*****

I was roused from what must have been an incredibly deep sleep by the touch of my sister Alli’s hand, and by her whispers in my ear. I recognized her voice. I had no idea how much time had passed.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, Aiden, but I’m here. We’re all here. We need you to wake up. We need to know you’re okay. We love you.”

Before she could finish speaking, I could hear a change in her voice, a familiar change which meant only one thing: tears. She sobbed and laid her head on my chest. More than anything I wanted to comfort her, to hold her tight and tell her I was fine. I hated this, hated just lying here paralyzed, unable to tell my little sister to stop crying, that I was okay. But I could do nothing else. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even open my eyes.

Seconds became minutes, minutes became more. Seeing me here like this must have been too much for Alli. I felt her stand up then, still crying, and she kissed my cheek. Then she left.

More time passed. Just when I thought I’d go absolutely crazy, alone in my head, my eyes slowly opened. I had no idea what I did that was any different, but one second I couldn’t see; the next I could. My mom was holding my hand and had her head down. She kind of looked like she was praying.

At the slight movement of my arm, Mom’s head shot up. With tears in her eyes she saw that I was conscious; then she kissed my forehead and said, “Thank God you’re awake.” Before I could respond, she darted out of the room shouting, “He’s awake! Everyone, Aiden is awake!”

In seconds, she was back with my dad in tow. Both parents rushed to my side, asking questions at the same time. The doctor came over and moved them both aside, again before I could respond.

“Can you tell me your name, son?” the doc asked.

“Aiden. Aiden Wright.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“I’m guessing the infirmary on the estate.” I couldn’t imagine they would let me go to a
human
doctor. It was weird being part of a compound of werewolves, but that’s where Mom and Dad moved us. Everyone here was part of the pack. That’s why we moved to New Mexico. I suppose it makes sense that you’d want to be near your own, even if we weren’t completely separated from regular humans. I mean, I still went to school with a bunch, though they didn’t know what I was. And then there was Dad.

“Good, Aiden,” the doc said. “That’s real good. Do you know what happened?”

I looked down at my mangled shoulder, which was completely wrapped in some type of soft cast thing, and my arm was confined to a sling. I closed my eyes and tried to piece together what exactly had happened. I remembered seeing Kendall’s phone with a cryptic text from Dylan, a text that we hoped would lead us to Alli. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if that phone hadn’t accidently been left at Shari’s. Then I remembered getting in the car with Cade, my sister’s “mate” and the alpha’s son, and as if by fate spotting Kendall’s car leaving town. We gave chase, but it didn’t last long. Kendall’s car suddenly veered off the road and then…the crash. Three wolves burst from the wreck of that car, not three people. The last thing I saw before everything went black was one of those wolves heading straight for me.

Well, I had to say
some
thing to the doc. “Do I know what happened? My memories are a bit fuzzy, but I know it had something to do with that crazy-ass Kendall and Dylan, her junkyard dog. What happened? Let’s see. Kendall’s car crashed, wolves jumped out, and the fight was on. The only thing I’m sure of is that Kendall and Dylan attacked us. What happened with those two anyway? The last thing I remember was a giant wolf trying to bite my head off.”

“Dylan was killed on the scene, and Kendall and her mother have been banished permanently from the estate,” the doctor answered. I guess he wasn’t much for elaboration. I guess it didn’t matter as long as Kendall was banished and Dylan was dead.

“So, I guess this means that everything turned out okay? Case closed?”

With a small smile, the doctor nodded. He then checked me over and told my parents that I appeared to be out of the woods, but that they should take it easy on me. They rushed to my bedside, ecstatic, but just as they did Allison and Cade entered the room. Allison hurried over, while Cade hung back in the doorway. He looked noticeably uncomfortable.

Mom brushed my hair back from my face with her hand and said, “We’re so glad you’re okay, honey. We were all so worried.”

They were huddled around my bed, acting as if I’d been brought back from the dead. I couldn’t help it, I said, “I’m
fine
, guys. Y’all are the ones that look like hell. Have any of you looked in the mirror lately?” They really did look awful, and I felt the need to lighten the tension in the room. Everyone was being so damn serious.

A smile spread across each of their faces. My dad said, “Well, sounds like you’re going to be just fine, son. Already back to your smart-ass ways.”

There came a light knock at the door, even though it was open and Cade stood visible just inside. It turned out to be his parents. Marcus and Noel Walker poked their heads through and gave a small wave. Weird. Why were they being so tentative?

“Mind if we come in?” Noel asked. “Marcus was getting antsy.”

I almost asked what the hell he had to be antsy about, but I caught myself just in time. That was no way to speak to him. He was the alpha. Rules, rules, stupid rules. I was still learning to be a good part of the pack. But it was really strange that Marcus would act tentative about anything.

Dad seemed uneasy with our new visitors, and he moved toward the window. It made me realize how strange it must be, being the only true human in the room. That just reminded me of how much he must love Mom, moving here to be with her.

Marcus made his way over to my bed, and Mom stepped aside. What was he doing here? All I could figure was that my almost being killed by another pack member was official business, so he must be in hurry to get to the bottom of it all. But when he walked up and just stood over me, I knew it was something else. Something strange. I got the odd feeling that he wanted to hug me, but thankfully he didn’t.

He’d always made me a little nervous, Marcus. From the moment we first met I could see why he was the alpha of our pack. There was just an air of confidence about him that most men never possess. It was both appealing and off-putting.

After a few very awkward moments he finally spoke. “How are you feeling, son? Are you in any pain?”

“No, sir,” I said. “Well, not much anyway.”

“Good. Good.” He smiled down at me.

“Sir, I wish I could tell you what happened, but I’m sorry. I don’t remember much about that night,” I admitted.

Marcus looked puzzled. Then he looked at Mom and said, “You haven’t told him yet?”

“Marcus, for crying out loud. He just woke up.” My dad was almost shouting.

Damn, Dad. Ballsy.

I half expected Marcus to bite his head off. To tell him that nobody speaks to the alpha that way. But Marcus just stood there with a blank face and the room fell into an uncomfortable silence, everyone looking around waiting for someone else to be the first to speak.

Alli reached out and took Cade’s hand. My dad put his arm around my mom, who was beginning to shake. Marcus’s wife Noel just stood beside him, her eyes glued to the floor. Everyone looked so…panicked. What the hell had happened while I was unconscious?

“What’s going on, Mom?” I finally belted out. I couldn’t stand the silence, the guilty look on my mom’s face, or the sadness in my sister’s eyes.

Mom glanced at me, and I knew that look. For a moment I could see in her eyes that whatever was about to be said wasn’t good. My blood ran cold, and I wasn’t sure anymore whether I even wanted to hear it.

With downcast eyes she admitted, “Marcus is right. You need to know the truth.” But she didn’t add anything, and no one else did either.

Little beads of sweat formed on my forehead, and if I could have managed to walk out of the room, I would have been halfway home already.

Finally, Dad moved toward my bed, having decided to be the one to speak up. “Son, you know how much I love you, right? And how proud I am of you?”

I shook my head, even more confused. “Wait. What the hell is going on here? Am I dying or something?”

“No, Aiden, you’re not dying. It’s just…well, the truth is…I am not your biological father.” He looked around the room and added, “There, I said it. Everyone feel better?”