Shift - 02 (45 page)

“But I understand why you did it,” Marcus added.

I looked up and met his gaze. “You do?”

“You’ve got a great deal on your shoulders, son. It wasn’t long ago you lost the person most dear to you. Your father’s trying to force an apocalypse, and you’re fighting an uphill battle against me and everyone else to stop it. The only person that’s supported you entirely is Rayna, a girl whom you’ve only known a few months.”

“You’re not making me feel better.”
 

Marcus smiled. “What I’m saying is, I’m proud of you. When everything and everyone is against you, you stay strong and push forward until you succeed.”

“Is this what you call success? I’m covered in blood and scars, I nearly got everyone killed, and I lost the only advantage we had.”

“We are our own harshest critics, but there’s more to it than what you see. You stood by Rayna while she relived a nightmare. And you went after her, alone, into a foreign world to save her. She’s alive because of you.”

I shook my head and turned away. Marcus was trying to point out the silver lining, but there wasn’t one. Not right now.

“You’re the one who convinced Rayna to go see Chief and learn to shift, saving her life again. Today you made a choice to destroy the ring, and when everyone told you it was too dangerous, you accepted that. You were willing to go alone.”

“But everyone came with me and we all nearly died.”

“But we didn’t. You did whatever you had to in order to keep everyone safe,” Marcus said. “I thought I was the one leading this crew and making the decisions, but today I learned that wasn’t the case. I found myself falling in line behind
you
. Following
you
into another world, not because I had to, or because I felt obligated, but because even if I don’t agree with your methods, I believe in you, just like they do.”

I was at a loss for words. I nearly got everyone killed and he was proud of me? I knew I wanted to thank him, but part of me couldn’t believe I was hearing this.

“You could’ve completed the trial in Theral and had the dagger. There’s a chance you might’ve even destroyed the ring before Drake arrived. All you had to do was sacrifice one person and this could’ve all been over.”

“I would never hurt any of you!”

“I know. For you, it wasn’t even a decision. Had anyone else been in your shoes–myself included–the outcome might’ve been very different.” Marcus stepped forward and extended his large midnight hand. “I’m proud of you, Chase, and I promise from this point forward, no more secrets. I want you to know that no matter what, I stand behind you. You can take my word on that.”

A warm feeling filled me in that moment. I looked to Marcus not as a boy, or some kind of mentor, but as an equal. I took his hand in mine. “That means a lot to me. Thank you. And I’m sorry about earlier…I didn’t mean the things I said. I know you had a promise to keep.”

“I appreciate your understanding,” Marcus said. “Had I not had a promise to uphold, I would never have let things happen like they did. But your mother was very…” Marcus trailed off.

“Important to you,” I whispered. “I know.”

 
Marcus nodded.

“What about the Circle? You never told us what happened at the meeting.”

“I’m not sure we’ve accomplished anything yet. Riddley Peterson has disappeared. Nobody has seen him since shortly after our meeting there. The elders suspect he is working with Riley, but I’m not convinced. As it stands right now, I’m still not sure who we can trust, but if I’m certain about anything, it’s that the council is feeling vulnerable right now.”

“Let them. They deserve it. I’m still not working with them,” I snapped.

“I know…”

I sighed. “Sorry. It’s just not easy for me to put my trust in them.”

“I understand, and I’m not asking you to. Right now we don’t know who we can trust. For right now, why don’t we try and get some rest? We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. Starting with the condo.”

“Yeah…sorry about that, too.”

Marcus smiled. “Goodnight, son,” he said, his massive form moving for the stairwell.

“Night,” I said.

I looked at the mess around me and guilt tugged at my insides. Books littered the floor, the table and desk had been turned upside down, and black soot still covered the walls. Marcus was right; we had a lot of work to do.

My body ached as I came down the stairs. I was exhausted, but I needed a hot shower. We could deal with our next move in the morning. I took the last few steps and tried to quietly walk past everyone’s room, but as I passed Rayna’s, her door creaked open.

“Sorry,” I said, wincing as my feet made the floorboards screech.

Rayna had washed the blood and dirt from her face and tied her hair back in a ponytail. She stepped out of her room and came towards me, but before I could say anything, her hands slid around my neck and she pulled me down against her lips.

Adrenaline surged through my body, forcing my heart to pound in my chest. I closed my eyes as our lips pressed together and slid my hands around her waist, pulling her against me. Her touch was soft and I could feel her magic simmering on the surface. It vibrated against me and brought my elements to life. All of them rose to the surface at once and intertwined with hers. Together, they danced as one, coursing from one body to the next.
 

Rayna's lips were soft, and as they parted, they filled me with warmth I’d never experienced. When she pulled away, I opened my eyes. Beautiful green cat eyes stared up at me, and I couldn’t control the smile that came over my face.

“What was that for?”

“Just because,” she whispered. Rayna smiled and walked away, disappearing into her room. I saw the last of her smile as she closed the door and I was left standing alone in the dark.

On second thought, I was going to need a cold shower.

Chapter
31

Voices moved through the floorboards and I opened my eyes. I lay in bed and listened as the conversation seemed to get heated. I recognized the first voice as Marcus, but the other two, although familiar, I couldn’t place.

I made my way downstairs before I recognized the other voices as Chief, and one of his werecats, Jesse. They were sitting in the living room, which was still destroyed. The talking stopped as I entered the room and they all turned to me.

“Chase is the one who made the arrangement,” Marcus said. “He is the one you need to speak with.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Sorry to barge in on you. Marcus told us you just got back.” Chief stood from the leather couch.

“What is it?” I asked.

“The tension between the Shadowpack and the Hollowlights is growing. In the past week, they’ve attacked twice, interrogating my cats for information about Rayna and the whereabouts of their new wolf.”

“Willy?”

Chief nodded.

“It seems,” Marcus said. “What was a day in Theral, was nearly two weeks here.”

Both my eyebrows rose. “I’m not sure why that surprises me, but it does.” I sighed. “Willy went back to the wolves yesterday; I’m sure he’ll clear everything up.”

“Chase, the werecats were not the only Underworlders Riley approached. Since we refused his offer, naturally, he’s moved on to the wolves.”

“Are you backing out of our agreement?”

“Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Some of us are still concerned where your loyalties lie.” Jesse interrupted.

“Jesse,” Chief warned.

“We’ve been through this already,” I said.

“Yeah, but that was before we learned you had friends in the pack.” Jesse spat the words at me.

“Quiet yourself.” Chief eyed Jesse and he sat back down. “If the wolves accept your father’s offer, he’ll force the war to start again. I don’t want to lose any of my family to another war, but we made a pact and we intend to stand by it. We just want to be sure that if push comes to shove, you’ll be fighting with
us
.

I stayed silent. The thought of having to go against Willy made me sick to my stomach.

“Well?” Jesse asked.

“I’m with you,” I said. I didn’t have a solution, but if the Shadowpack and Hollowlights went to war, I’d find a way to keep Willy safe.

“Really? Because if the wolves go to war with us, your friend will fight. He’ll fight, or they’ll kill him. You’re going to choose us over him?”

“I said I’m with you, so I’m with you.” I let Jesse feel the heat of my gaze.

“Chase?” Rayna came down the stairs, her hair ruffled from sleep.

“Forgive him,” Chief said. “The Underworld is growing restless. With Riley and the Dark Brothers throwing their weight around, there’s no telling who may be on his side. We aren’t the only breed to decline their offer and it won’t be long before an example is made out of someone.”

“What’s going on?” Rayna asked.

“I’ll explain later. Chief and his pet were just leaving,” I said.

Jesse let a growl slip through his lips and Chief silenced him. “We don’t want to intrude, so we’ll be on our way. Thank you for your time. I’m sorry if we imposed.” Chief grabbed Jesse by the arm and pushed him down the hall and out the door.

“What was that about?” Rayna asked.

I shook my head. “Marcus can explain. I’m suddenly exhausted again.”

“Chase, wait,” Marcus said. “You made a pact with the werecats and you need to understand how serious that is.”

“You did what?” Rayna stammered.

“Yes, I did. And I’d do it again. We need all the help we can get to stop Riley. The werecats are on board, which means they'll be there for us when we need it.”

“But are you prepared to be there for them?” Marcus asked.

“I can't stop Riley without more people on my side. I had a decision to make, and I made it,” I said. “If the cats and dogs want to fight, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

********

I tossed and turned, fighting to get back to sleep. The sun shone through the window and I couldn’t stop thinking about Riley and the Brothers. I felt lucky to be alive and even luckier to have everyone back with me, but we’d lost the only advantage we had. It was time to find another way to stop them.

I spent the afternoon working with my arch nemesis: the library. I went through book after book. I didn’t have any direction, but I was determined to find
something
that could help. When the phone rang through the condo, I waited for someone else to pick it up. I’d been living here for over two months, but I still wasn’t comfortable answering the phone. On the third ring, I sighed and picked up the blinking line on Marcus’ desk.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Ch–, Chase…” Willy gasped, his stutter as thick as ever.

“Willy, what’s going on? Did you get everything sorted out with the pack? Chief was here earlier and said–”

“We’re in trouble.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Riley and the Bro–, Brothers are here.” Willy panted and I could practically hear him wincing through the phone. He was hurt.

“Where are you? Are you okay?”

“At the ca–, camp. Radek ref–, refused an alliance with Riley and now he’s attacking.” Willy coughed into the phone. “I’ve managed to sneak away, but you’ve got to come. They brought purebloods. They’re killing everyone.”

“Stay safe and hidden. I’m on my way.” I dropped the receiver and raced down the hallway. “Come on, Tiki. We’ve got to go!” I yelled as I ran past his door. I jumped down the stairs from the second to the main floor in a single leap with Tiki right behind me. Rayna and Marcus were training together and they both jumped as I came through the door.

“What’s going on?” Marcus asked.

I pulled Marcus’ short sword off the wall and threw it to him. He caught it with ease and looked confused.

“Chief wasn’t kidding when he said Riley would make an example out of someone. He’s attacking the Shadowpack. Willy’s in trouble. We need to go.”

Rayna reacted with haste and pulled her usual weapons off the wall. Tiki strapped the sheath across his bare chest and slid two short swords into them.

“We can’t possibly fight them right now.
 
Let me call the other rogue hunters,” Marcus said.

“There isn’t time; the wolves are getting slaughtered now.”

“And we’ll be among the dead if we go,” Marcus reasoned.

“But Willy’s there…”

“Marcus is right,” Rayna said. “I don’t want anything to happen to Willy, but there aren’t enough of us.”

“Maybe right now there isn’t, but there will be.”

Chapter 32

The Jeep’s tires squealed as Marcus slammed the gas pedal down. With a jerk forward, we flew from the underground garage. Sparks fell around us as the jacked up SUV bumped into the concrete overhang and out into the street. We swung into traffic, forcing other cars to slam on their brakes. The screeching of tires, the sound of horns, and angry drivers surrounded us. Marcus ignored the rules and dropped down a gear, making the engine roar to life.