The Truth About Kadenburg (4 page)

“Presley, open your eyes.”

The disembodied voice echoed in the darkness and
Presley tried to search for the person it belonged to.
It was the voice of a man.
It
was s
omeone that she knew.

“Presley, it won’t end like this. I need you to
fight to open your eyes now.”

Presley groaned softly as she tried to force her eyes
open. Her eyelids felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds each. Everything
hurt. Why did everything hurt?

“Presley..”

“I heard you,” Presley called
out desperately. “I..I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Trust her.”

“Trust who?” Presley struggled to open her eyes as she
felt the searing pain surge through her arm and into her elbow. She sobbed
from the dull throbbing as she heard the low, animalistic growl sounding out in
the pitch black atmosphere she was surrounded by.

Even though her eyes weren’t open, Presley could see
the vision of the massive bear standing in front of her. She was beautiful,
but terrifying. Her light brown fur shimmered with gold as she nodded her head
up and down towards Presley.

“I’m scared,” Presley confessed. “Please don’t hurt
me..I’m already hurt.”

“She won’t hurt you, Presley. She’s here to help
you. Trust in her.”

Trust in her? In a bear? Why?
Presley was so confused, and frightened of what was happening. She felt the
cold air licking at her ankles as she tried to open her eyes once more. “I’m
so cold..”

“I know, Pretzerella, but you’re going to get
through this. Trust her.”

Presley’s body began to tense
up as the bear took a step towards her, large paws crushing against the moist
earth that separated the bank from the river’s edge. Her heart was pounding in
her ears as the bear sank down into the water and approached her.

“No, please,” Presley pleaded. “I’m hurt. I can’t
move! Get away!”

“Pretzerella, listen to me!” The voice urged her.
“It’s going to be okay. Trust me.”

That voice was someone she knew, someone she could
trust-she knew that. But only one person had ever called her Pretzerella and
it couldn’t possibly be him. He was dead.

Her eyes stayed on the bear as it continued getting
closer. Closer, closer, until finally it was nose to nose with her. Its large
head was five times the size of Presley’s, and there was something so gentle
about her…green eyes?

“You’re going to be okay now, Kiddo. You’re not
alone anymore.”

“..Liam?” she whispered, more
than aware of how crazy she sounded in that moment. “Liam, come back!”

But he was gone. She was left alone with the monstrous
bear who stared at her now, making an almost human-like sound as she took
another step closer.

“No, no! Don’t hurt me!” Presley repeated as she moved
her arms up to block her face. The bear continued forward and Presley suddenly
felt such warmth. She no longer felt the cold that had claimed her body
moments before. The pain in her wrist began to ease immediately as the bear’s
small noises quieted and Presley’s eyes opened suddenly.

She could hear the rushing of the water in the river,
and she could
feel it
. She slowly lowered her gaze to see that the jeep
was submerged in the river. God, it was coming true-her worst nightmare!

“No, no, no,” she pleaded as she reached her good hand
down to unbuckle the seat belt. She was amazed that it released her in the
first try. That never happened in the movies. She fell forward against the
dash, pressing both hands against it as she cried out in pain. It was too dark
to see what had happened, but she suspected a sprain.

“Jim?” She called out, looking towards the driver’s
seat. He wasn’t there. Her heart sank as she glanced at the windshield and
saw that it was busted, a hole big enough for a body to go through. “Oh, god
no!”

She tried the door handle, and that’s when Hollywood’s
cliché circumstances finally came into play. It wouldn’t budge. With a grunt,
Presley smacked her palm against the window before she let out a low breath.
There was only one way she was going to get out.

She wasn’t even sure how she managed to crawl through
the broken windshield, but she soon found herself sliding down the hood and sinking
into the ice cold water as she shrieked in surprise. Winter was arriving soon
anyway-why wouldn’t it be cold?

She fought the current to make her way towards the bank,
her hands wading around in the water as she felt for-and God she hoped she
didn’t feel it-Jim’s body.

“Jim!” She cried. “Jim, are you okay? Can you hear
me?” The chances were slim to none, she understood, but she had to try and
find the man. “Jim!”

Again, she wasn’t sure how it happened, but over the
rush of the water she heard the faintest of moans. She searched the darkness,
desperately looking for any sign of the man. “Jim!” She called out again.

The water had dropped down to her knees and she knew
she was close to the shore, but she still saw no sign of the older male as she
fought to keep her strength. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
She collapsed against the ground moments later, attempting to crawl on her one
good hand and both of her knees as she squinted her eyes. “Jim, please,” she
sobbed. “Say something. Let me know where you are!”

It was then that her hand came in contact with wet
denim and she felt around until her fingers curled around his ankle. She’d
found him.

“Jim!” She shouted excitedly as she scrambled to get
closer, reaching her trembling fingers down to feel his pulse in his neck. It
was steady. Thank God. “Oh, Jim. Jim, can you hear me?”

His only response was another groan.

“Jim, I’m going to get help,” Presley promised. “Just
stay right here.”
Yeah, like he’s going anywhere,
her mind sneered.
“I’ll be back for you, I swear. Just stay alive!”

Four

T
he drive home was eerily quiet for Lorcan. He
wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say or think at this point. What bothered
him the most was why Liam had kept such a huge secret from
him
.
They were brothers, so weren’t they supposed to
trust one another with things like this?
Of course Lorcan had always
wondered why Liam never dated throughout high school-they weren’t forbidden to
date human girls-but he always figured that Liam had just decided on waiting
for his own ursithrope mate.

He couldn’t wrap his head around it. Not so much the
fact of Liam being gay, but Liam mating himself to someone who was
not
an ursithrope. And worse-someone who was one of
them
.

Lorcan was almost
certain that his brother would’ve
been put to death for the act.
He couldn’t imagine how natural enemies such as a wolf and
bear-the two animals who commanded respect from one another-could possibly fall
in love.
It didn’t add up. It was the least natural thing he could
think of.

As soon as he got home, Lorcan tried to mentally
prepare himself for the conversation that was about to take place. His father
wasn’t a short tempered man, but he knew that this news would send him on a
rampage that would make Lorcan steer clear of him for a few days-maybe a week
for good measure.

Liam had been gone for nearly a month and already
the choices in his life were coming back to bite Lorcan in the ass.
Thanks,
Liam,
he thought to his self as he got out of his midnight blue Chevrolet
Chevelle and took a step towards his parents’ house.

The front door suddenly flung open and Mr. Bamey was bounding
down the steps towards him. Mrs. Bamey was right on his heels, her eyes wide
with worry. The only thought Lorcan had in that moment was
Oh shit, what
did I do?

“Dad, I-” Lorcan started, only to be cut off when his dad
walked past him and opened up the driver’s door of his car. Lorcan stared at
him in confusion.

“Get in the car, Lorcan. We don’t have time to talk.”

“But-”

“Get your ass in the damn car, Lorcan. We can talk on
the way.” His father demanded as he started the car. Damn it. Lorcan
really
needed to learn not to leave his keys in the ignition.

Lorcan obeyed his father, moving back to the passenger
side as he waited for his mother to squeeze into the back seat. She was a
rather hefty woman, but she managed to get in and pull his seat into place
before Lorcan slid in.

As his father put the car into gear and backed out of
the long dirt driveway like a bat out of hell, Lorcan’s hand flew out the
window to grip the top of the car. He turned his head to stare at his dad.
“Want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Alma Proffitt just called and said Jim hasn’t made it
home yet,” he spoke lowly. He kept his eyes on the road as they made it back
to pavement and he pressed his foot down on the gas pedal.

“Maybe he’s got a flat tire. Does that mean you have
to drive like there’s a fire somewhere?” Lorcan asked, glancing back at his
mother. Her face was pale. Why was her face pale?

“He’s an old man, Lorcan,” his dad said as he turned
his head briefly to glance at him. “It’s no telling what could have happened
to him at this hour.”

Lorcan’s eyes moved to the illuminated digits on the
stereo system and he frowned. 11:32. He’d spent most of his evening talking to
Dimitri. How had time gotten away from him?

“You know he has heart trouble,” his mother added as
she leaned forward to poke her head between their seats. “We just want to
check the main road to make sure he’s not pulled over to the side somewhere
having a heart attack.”

Lorcan sighed as he relaxed in his seat. His dad
wasn’t a
bad
driver, but Lorcan knew he was the
better
driver.
He chewed his inner cheek as his mind wandered back to the conversation he’d
had with Dimitri once again.

“We were planning to tell your parents,”
Dimitri stated sadly. “I wanted to ask your father for his hand in marriage,
but my alpha saw to it that that never happened.”

Lorcan flinched, feeling the bile attempting to rise in
his throat as he thought about his brother again. Liam must’ve been so happy
in the anticipation of his future union to someone he genuinely cared about,
and for some asshole to come rip it all away-why?

“He broke many of our laws when he killed Liam.
Lycanthrope are supposed to honor the coupling code and no harm is to come to
anyone a lycanthrope wishes to be with. By killing Liam, he invoked the death
sentence upon his self.”

“Then why isn’t he dead?” Lorcan demanded.

“Because he’s the alpha and he thinks he can do whatever
he wants. Including murdering innocent people.”

Lorcan’s blunt nails dug into
the top of his car as his eyes stayed on the road. If he thought about it too
much, there was a chance he’d shift in the car and there was no way in hell his
car was big enough for a 500 pound bear. He’d have to keep his mind occupied
for the remainder of the car ride.

His mind immediately drifted back to golden curls and
cherry red
lips, and those
sparkling
green eyes that enamored him every time he gazed into them. He could still
hear how musical her laughter was back in their teenage years. She had been
the most carefree person he knew. If only she’d seen him as more than just a
friend. He let out an inaudible sigh, but both of his parents caught onto it.
Sometimes, he wished they didn’t share his gift.

“What’s the matter?” His mother asked as she leaned
forward again, gazing at him with her soft brown eyes. “You seem down.”

“I am down, Mother,” he murmured as he avoided her
gaze. “My brother just died.”

“That is no way to talk to your mama, Boy,” his dad
warned as he glanced at him again. “And I know that ain’t what it is. Your
heart’s hammering like a woodpecker against an old tree. What’s going on in
your head?”

Oh, great. Lorcan rolled his eyes, debating on how to
start the conversation of his feelings when the erratic pattern of blue lights
up ahead distracted him.

“What on earth,” his father started.

“Oh no!” His mother gasped.

Lorcan frowned as he saw the three state police cars
that were parked in the curve, an officer standing in the middle of the road
with his flashlight signaling for them to stop. An ambulance was pulled over
on the side and the destroyed guardrail was visible.

“Shit,” Lorcan muttered as he got out before his
father rolled to a complete stop. He approached the trooper as quickly as his
long legs could carry him. “What happened?”

“Seems a gentleman broke through the guardrail and his
vehicle didn’t come to a stop until it hit the river,” the officer explained.
“He’s mighty lucky to be alive.”

“No joke,” Lorcan murmured as he watched the two
paramedics loading the man into the back of their ambulance.

“Jim!”
He heard his
dad called out as he jogged towards the ambulance.

Lorcan’s brows furrowed as he followed behind his
father, listening as he spoke to his long-time friend.

“Are you okay?” Mr. Bamey asked. “What happened?”

“It came out of nowhere, Richard,” Jim stammered as he
gazed up at the other male. “I didn’t see it until it was too late. It scared
the shit out of me.”

Richard frowned as he leaned over the gurney, staring
at his friend as the paramedic double checked his neck brace.

“What was it, Jim? What scared you?”

“It was so big,” Jim stated quietly as he lifted his
eyes to Richard’s again. “It was the most monstrous wolf I’ve ever seen in my
life.”

Lorcan felt the electric shock of realization tingling
through him as he looked at his father knowingly and the two males exchanged
glances.

Just then, another officer appeared from between the
broken guardrail. His uniform was caked in mud, his shoes and the bottom of
his pants drenched. He shined his flashlight towards the other state
troopers. “No sign yet.” He reported.

“No sign of what?” Richard asked as he looked back to
Jim. “Are they looking for the wolf?”

“No,” Jim frowned as his bottom lip began to quiver.
He looked like he was about to cry, but for good reason. Lorcan definitely did
not expect to hear the next words leave his mouth.

“They’re looking for Presley Goult.”