Chapter Ten – Octavia

“It’s so beautiful here,” Octavia said as Cade led her to his truck. Cade had spoken briefly with his brothers, and told them to call him if they found anything. Afterward, he had stood and watched them walk across to another house nestled in amongst the trees. “Do shifters live in all of these houses?”

“Yes. My aunt and uncle live there; this is ours. Then Roman lives in this one, he is retired now with an old injury, but helps run the furniture business that keeps us fed and clothed. This one is empty. And the occupants of the rest are not in the squad.”

“And Tally? She doesn’t live here?” Octavia asked, surprised.

“No, she lives in a cabin in the forest, about a ten-minute drive away, or a twenty-minute walk through the forest.”

“So that was why you were gone so long last night,” Octavia said.

“Were you jealous?” he asked.

“No.” Octavia shook her head unconvincingly as she climbed into the passenger seat of the truck. She wasn’t prepared for the feeling of closeness she experienced sitting in the confined space with Cade. His body heat, with a dash of animal magnetism, washed over her, and she wanted to fan herself. Instead, she opened the window.

“Hot?” he asked with a wicked grin.

“No, I just like to feel the wind on my face.” She was lying to him again, afraid to show her real feelings. Octavia had no idea why. He was one of the good guys. Why was she afraid to open herself up to Cade, when she had been more than willing to believe in love with Matthew?

Because despite Octavia trying to convince herself it was true love with Matthew, she now saw the lie. There had been no real spark, no heat, no wanting to drag Matthew’s clothes off and fall into bed. While Cade… Well, Cade was a completely different proposition. He offered her true love, served up on a platter, every time his eyes raked her body. And that scared the hell out of her.

They drove along the dirt road leading away from the small enclave of houses where Cade lived, and out onto a narrow road, which wound through the trees, before joining a wider road, where he turned right.

“How do you know where you are going?” Octavia asked. “I only have a vague idea where I left my car.”

“I worked it out that, from where I found you, there is only one road for ten miles. So unless you walked for hours, then it has to be along there.”

“I didn’t walk,” she corrected. “I ran. For around half an hour. Maybe more.”

“This has to be it.” He signaled to turn right and followed the narrow road, keeping his speed low as they looked for her car. Nothing looked familiar, but it had been dark and she had been running for her life. Or so she had thought.

“What if they are waiting for us at my car?” Octavia asked.

“Then we know who we are dealing with, and I drive fast to get away,” he said easily, and then pointed up ahead. “Is that it?”

She peered into the shadows cast by the trees. “Yes.”

“I’m going to drive past slowly and you can take a look inside. If it looks safe, we’ll turn around, and come back. When we do, I’ll pull up behind your car, check that no one is planning an ambush, and then put the gas in.” He slowed the truck. “You are going to slide into the driver’s seat here. And if anything happens you need to hit the gas and not stop.”

“What about you?” Octavia asked, not wanting another life on her conscience, especially not Cade’s.

“I have come up against degetty before. Chances are I can outrun him. If not, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” He slowed the truck. Octavia switched her attention away from Cade and looked out of the window as they drove by her car. Octavia took a good look inside the car, but nothing seemed to have been touched, there were no broken windows, and it all looked the same as when she had left it.

“Looks good,” she said, and then turned to Cade, who was casting a glance all around them. “Do you see him?” Octavia asked, her voice wavering.

“No. Nothing. I’ll turn around up here, and then drive back. Remember, you are going to stay in the truck,” Cade said firmly.

She nodded and rummaged inside her purse, handing him her car keys. “Here.”

“Thanks.” He stopped, and put the parking brake on. “When I’ve put the gas in, I’ll start her up. I’ll drive your car, and you can follow me in the truck.”

“OK.” She nodded.

Cade opened the truck door and jumped out. He stood on the side of the road, with the truck door still open and sniffed the air. “This would work a whole lot better if I was a bear.”

“Do you smell rotten eggs?”

“Nope,” Cade took another deep breath, and then another. “Maybe a faint scent of it. Which could be a residue from last night.” He shut the truck door. “Slide over,” he called, and she did as he asked, adjusting the seat so she could comfortably reach the pedals. Then she watched Cade through the truck’s mirrors.

Cade looked all around them as he went to the back of the truck, and opened it, taking out a gas can. Closing the tailgate back up, he walked around to her car and tried the door. It didn’t open, which meant it must still be locked. They hadn’t been inside her car, which gave her some relief.

Unlocking the door, he stuck his head inside and inhaled. Pulling back, he looked at her and shouted. “No one has been in there. No scent of degetty at all.”

“Great,” she called back.

Cade went to the back of the car, where she watched him unscrew the gas cap, and then begin to pour the gas into the tank. All the time he worked, he looked around, his body tense. Octavia decided she should do the same, even though she much preferred to watch Cade work.

“Ready?” he called, and put his thumb up. She did the same; he nodded and smiled, going to the trunk and placing the gas can inside, before slamming it shut. Walking back to the driver’s side he took one last look around before sliding into the car. It took him a couple of minutes to slide the seat back and get comfortable, then he started the engine and signaled to pull out.

With relief flooding through her, she pulled away, following him closely. The truck was so much bigger than her small city car, but she quickly adjusted herself to the difference in height and width. Cade accelerated, and she did the same, glancing at the mirror to make sure there was no other vehicle coming. There wasn’t.

But there was a pair of green eyes, fainter in the daylight, watching them from the trees.

Octavia slammed her foot on the brake. Cade drove forward another thirty feet before he glanced in his rearview mirror and saw she had stopped. With a screech of tires, he stopped the car, and then backed up, the tires squealing on the road as he shot backwards. Cade stopped the car with a jolt, and flung the door open, his feet hitting the ground hard as he exited the car, and lunged forward, running back to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“It was there, in the trees.” She pointed to where she had seen the degetty.

“Stay here,” he said. “Don’t get out of the truck for any reason. If it approaches, you drive. If it attacks me, you drive. Do you understand?” he barked.

Octavia nodded her head, but a wave of sickness swept over her. She didn’t know if she would have the strength to drive off and leave Cade there, if the degetty attacked him.

Cade crossed the road slowly, his body language defensive, ready to take on whatever came his way. Keeping one eye on Cade, Octavia also used the truck’s mirrors to watch all around her, trying to spot any movement. Nothing.

Cade was fifty feet from where she had seen the green eyes. He was standing still, looking, and then lifting his head to sniff the air. He glanced back at the truck, assessing the situation. Did he stay with her, or did he track the degetty?

She won, as Octavia suspected she might always win. His words about protecting her were true. She didn’t need to hear him say them, she saw it in his expression. This knowledge ignited flames of desire in her core, inappropriate considering the circumstances, but not unwelcome. Not unwelcome at all.

“I can scent the brimstone, it’s fresh. But it’s gone.”

“What did it want?” she asked.

Cade shrugged. “I have no idea. It could have taken us both on. But it didn’t.”

“So, what? It was spying on us?” Octavia asked, having rolled the window down. She should feel safe, knowing it wasn’t trying to harm her, but an attack would be easier to deal with. The degetty’s behavior left them in a kind of limbo, not knowing when, or where, the demon would appear from again.

“Spying. Waiting. It was here because of your car. My guess is they knew we’d come for it.” He looked around. “OK, back to the original plan, time to get you safe. Then I can come back here with Tobias and Wes.”

“I’d be OK on my own if you want to track it now.”

Cade shook his head. “No. I want to make sure you are safe.”

“It’s not hunting me, though, is it? This is the second time it could have attacked and didn’t.”

“True. But as the leader of the squad, I also know that it is never a good idea to go after an Other on your own. Not even if it’s a fairy. You always need someone to watch your back.”

“I’ll follow you, then,” she said, knowing he was right, but hating to think of it slipping away once more. She wished she were stronger, more like Eva. Octavia was certain Cade’s mom would not be expected to hide away from danger. She would be out there, chasing it down with Cade. Hell, even Tally would be out there helping with the hunt.

Cade walked back to her car, but as he put his hand on the door to open it, he froze, his attention on the trees on the opposite side to where they had seen the degetty. It must have circled around, and was coming for them after all.

Octavia froze in terror, the image of the man being torn apart in the park coming back to her. She didn’t want that to happen to Cade. Octavia could not bear to see that happen without putting up a fight, side by side with him. Instinctively, her hand went to the door and she pulled the handle. Hearing it click quietly, she pushed the door open, just enough to slide down out of the truck, her feet hitting the ground without a sound. She could use the truck as cover. But she needed a weapon.

Her hand went under the seat, and she felt around, until her fingers wrapped around something cold, hard, and heavy. A tire iron, that would do. Pulling it out, she gripped it in both hands, getting used to the weight of it, as she moved along the side of the truck enough to give her room to close the door quietly. Using the wing mirror gave her the advantage of seeing in front and behind her. There was no sign of Cade anywhere.

She listened, expanding her senses as far out as she could, but there was no sign of an attack. Scared the degetty had killed Cade with one silent blow, she rushed around the side of the truck, to be met by three shocked faces. “Oh.”

“Oh. What do you think you are you doing?” Cade asked crossly and reached for her makeshift weapon.

“I thought you were being attacked.”

“And I thought I told you to stay in the truck.”

Tobias laughed, and the man standing next to him spoke. “A woman with her own ideas. I like it. Welcome to the family, Octavia. I’m Wes, Cade’s cousin.”

“Hi, Wes,” Octavia said, trying not to sound mutinous as Cade stalked back to the truck with the tire iron. “Did you two follow the degetty trail here?”

“We did.” Tobias looked across to where his brother was walking back toward them. “I’m relieved to say, we only have one more degetty on the loose.”

“That is some relief.” Cade pointed to the other side of the road. “Do me a favor and go across and check that area out. Octavia saw a degetty, and I can scent one. See if your bear can tell if this is the same one. I don’t want to take it for granted.”

“Sure,” Wes said. He jogged across the road, and disappeared into the undergrowth, although Octavia could hear the sound of something big moving around.

“Is he a bear?” she asked.

“Yes. Our Other side is so much better at any kind of tracking.”

Within minutes, Wes was coming back across the road in his human form. “Same one.”

“He sure does get around,” Octavia said.

“Yes. The question is, why?” Cade shook his head. “Ideas?”

“He was here because of Octavia. He then tracked her across the forest, for maybe two miles.” He looked at Wes. “Then he decides to pay us a visit? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I know. That’s a big detour. Octavia was running that way.” Cade pointed into the trees. “And we were over there, in the opposite direction.”

“So he came to you for another reason,” Tobias said.

“To attack Cade?” Wes asked. “That would be the obvious suggestion. If he knew Octavia and Cade were mates.”

“The degetty had a chance to attack today, and it didn’t,” Octavia pointed out. “It just watched us. It didn’t even approach, or threaten us in any way.”

“Why? It makes no sense.” Cade looked at her, his eyes narrowing. “What exactly did the fortuneteller see?”

“Some general stuff, he told me I was an orphan, and that I had a long life-line,” Octavia said. “Then he told me, fates will collide and bring true love into your life. And that a change was coming my way.”

“A change,” Tobias said. “Interesting.”

Cade gave his brother a warning look. “Not relevant to this conversation.”

“OK, so how about this,” Wes said. “It didn’t kill you. It hasn’t attacked you. Either of you. Maybe it is set on neutral.”

“It nearly killed a man who tried to stop it from chasing me,” Octavia said.

“Right, so we knew it does attack. But not you two. Maybe last night, this degetty was worried the degetty called Zinan was going to take Cade down. Whoever commanded it might have been trying to protect you.”

“Protect us?” Cade shook his head. “From what, and why?”

“It kind of makes sense,” Octavia said, finding some relief in those words. “But I don’t need it killing anyone on my behalf.”

“Or mine,” Cade agreed.

“How did it know Cade was in danger last night? Does that mean it knew the degetty you were fighting?” Tobias asked. “Perhaps it knew it was OP and you might have trouble taking it down.”

“OP?” Octavia asked.

“Overpowered. Tobias likes his video games.”

“Ahh,” Octavia said. “I get what you are saying, but the thing still ripped a man to shreds.”

“Because he got between a degetty and his quarry,” Wes said. “They take what they are commanded to do very literally. It’s why they are so dangerous.”

“OK, so if this degetty knew Zinan, then Zinan might know this degetty,” Cade said.

“Too bad he’s stuck in a Druid Box,” Tobias said.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t get him out and have a little chat,” Wes said.

“You are joking!” Tobias exclaimed.

“No. We bind him, and we get him to talk,” Wes said.

“The Council will never go for it,” Cade said.

“So we don’t tell them,” Wes suggested. “Tally put him in, Tally can get him out.”

Cade ran his hand through his hair. “We’re hiding more and more from the Council. It’s not going to end well.” Cade shook his head. “I can’t take that risk.”

“But we need to know,” Wes insisted.

“Not this way. This way puts Tally at risk. We don’t know what she can do, this is going beyond Wicca.”

Wes nodded. “Good point.”

“That leaves us with only one choice, we track the other degetty. We work it as we would normally work a hunt. We rely on our senses,” Wes suggested.

“We need to get everyone together and come up with the best plan. For now, let’s get back. I’ll give Seth a call and tell him to head home. He is still waiting in the car, isn’t he?” Cade asked.

“We told him to go home. He said he would do the deliveries while we followed the degetty trail.”

“Good thinking,” Cade said. “OK, in that case, you can take my truck, and I’ll drive back with Octavia.”

“Sure.” They all walked back to the vehicles.

Octavia went to the driver’s side of the car. “Keys?”

“I thought I’d drive, since I know the way,” Cade said, coming up beside her.

“I have ears, you can direct me. It will be a chance for me to get to know my way around,” Octavia insisted, her hand open for the keys.

He chuckled. “If we need a quick getaway, I’m your best bet.”

“A quick getaway.” She looked around. “I have seen two cars go past in all the time we’ve been here. I thought we had established that the degetty is not chasing me. It’s tracking.”

“I’m not going to win, am I?” he asked.

“Probably not. I like my independence.”

He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out the keys. “Here. Let Tobias go in front and we can follow.”

He waved Tobias around them, while she got in the car and readjusted her seat and mirrors. “I like a man who doesn’t feel threatened by a woman.”

“I don’t feel threatened at all,” Cade said. “We’re partners, Octavia. You and me, through this, whatever this turns out to be, and for the rest of our lives.”

“I’m beginning to understand that.” She was also beginning to like being part of a family. They had all accepted her because of what she was to Cade, and the thought of going back to her lonely life was beginning to lose its appeal.

A choice was before her. Did she embrace this life, and the danger it brought? Or go back to her old life, alone, and hope one day she would meet a man who could compare to Cade?

She sighed, and pulled out to follow the truck. No one would ever compare to Cade. Not when it came to making her feel protected and cherished.