Chapter Eleven
As the night wore on and the packs continued to celebrate, Finn ended up buzzed, horny and frustrated.
He leaned against the side of the cabin and lobbed another empty bottle in the over-full trashcan. No matter how many Yuenglings he tipped back, he couldn’t get the gorgeous Tribe member off his mind. She’d ditched a little bit ago with Jess and Lucas, because the packs weren’t cutting completely loose with them around. Not everyone disregarded authority like he did and the East Coast Tribe ranked at the top of the ladder. Until they’d talked, he’d never considered how lonely her life on the road was. How she must feel to have everyone treat her as different because of how she’d been born.
This whole night stirred up far too many emotions, the sort he strayed from at all costs. Life was better when he stepped into the studio, laying punches into the bag with singular focus he couldn’t find elsewhere.
A piercing howl rang through the clearing, one he recognized at once from his alpha. Every eye zoned in on her while she stood on one of the picnic tables, her raven hair streaming behind her back with the gentle breeze that slipped by.
“Tonight I want to honor those who couldn’t be here—Greg and Seamus.” Sierra’s voice carried through the clearing and a hush fell at the mention.
Dax hopped on the picnic table beside her and lifted his beer. “Raise a glass,” he called out, his strength as radiant as hers. “We toast tonight to the pack we have now and those who have fallen. All of you are recognized—all of you are what makes us strong.”
Finn lifted his glass like everyone else and the following howl lifted the hairs on his arms. The sound was familiar, of home and pack. The thought dosed him with guilt after what he’d admitted to Navi earlier, but around her, he didn’t have to pretend. When he stood by her side, he was raw, real and unashamedly himself—no lies.
The soft tread of footsteps alerted him to a newcomer and those familiar winsome eyes held all the sadness to bring his self-loathing to the forefront. He’d been as clear as he could with Raven, but he wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to let him go—not fully. Finn reached down to the table but groped air. He’d already tossed his beer.
“Have fun with your Tribe fling?” she asked upon approach. The skirt of her violet swing dress swished around her calves with her movements, the dress fitting her effortless grace.
“Thought we had a conversation,” Finn warned, bursting with irritation. “What I do with Navi isn’t your business, Rae.” She eyed him up with that look, the sultry one that meant she had one thing on the mind, the same pent-up frustration riding his nerves.
“Not like she took you home with her,” Raven said, tilting her bottle to her mouth nice and slow as she took a swig.
His wolf itched, too, the need to fuck, to bury himself in someone and unleash the edge driving him in a real way. However, if he caved here with her, Raven would never take his words seriously. Ever since Navi had crashed into his life, he’d wanted more than ever for his word to mean something.
“I’m fine,” he bit out, averting his gaze in case she tried to keep pushing.
Rae could read him all too well after their years together and she’d pick up his frustration in a heartbeat. Not like he and Navi had made themselves exclusive or classified the raw emotion brewing between them as anything other than a fling. He didn’t give a damn. Finn didn’t want anyone else but her. For the first time, distracting himself with Raven held no allure, not compared to how his synapses flared to life in Navi’s presence. How she made him long for something real.
“You don’t seem fine to me,” she murmured before tipping back her bottle again. The way she said the words, he wasn’t sure who she referred to—him or herself. He might have his own demons he hid from, but Raven had so many that facing them might unmake her.
As he scanned the party, he caught Jer’s gaze, trying to wordlessly will him over. His best friend nodded in response once he caught the vibe of the situation between him and Raven. In less than a minute, Jer sidled over with one of the pack elders, Gene.
“What the hell is Finn Kelly doing hanging around the fringes like some wallflower?” Jer called out, his smile natural and casual, as if he hadn’t come to be the much-needed cockblock. “You should be in the middle of that mess, pulling out your wicked dance moves.” His eyes twinkled with amusement at his own joke—Finn didn’t dance. Not now, not ever.
“I’ve been watching yours, Jer,” Raven responded, crossing her arms over her chest while she leaned against the cabin wall. “The sprinkler’s been passé since it was invented. Stick to the bedroom.”
Finn snorted. He never got to experience her natural razor wit since she treated him differently from Jer, with that lovesick reverence that he’d come to detest. He missed the time before they began sleeping together, when they’d been friends and their lives were less complicated.
Gene sank into one of the lawn chairs beside him, kicking his feet out and putting a can of Bud in the holder. “The lot of you have too much energy to spare. I exhausted my party days a long time ago.”
Finn nudged the metal rim of the chair with his boot. “Come on now, you’re still up and hanging with everyone. You’re a trooper.”
The old man smiled, his wrinkles crinkling as he stared out to the leaping flames of the firepit they’d formed. Gene had been friendly with his parents, one of the few who’d given gave a damn about what happened to their waste-of-space selves. Finn scratched the nape of his neck. In all the chaos of today, he’d never gotten to do more research on the name of Dale Rossi, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he knew that name, deep in his marrow.
“Hey, boss,” Finn said, kicking the bottom of the chair to get Gene’s attention. “Mind if I ask a question?”
Gene’s gnarled brows drew together when he looked up, but he heaved a reluctant sigh. “Only if you find a better way of asking. Jostling’s not good for these bones.” They both knew that was bullshit. As much as he talked the old-and-antiquated talk, the man could sling a mean punch and kept up with them in the sparring ring.
“You ever run into a Dale Rossi?” he asked. Even saying the name out loud sent a chill through him, but the look from Gene that followed dosed his veins with ice.
“Boy, what are you of all people bringing that name up for?” he asked, his tone sharp. Despite the crackle of the fire in the distance and the laughter floating along on the gentle summer breezes, Finn’s skin pebbled with goosebumps. The same wrong, wrong feeling rushed through him, but despite the way he fought to remember, those memories stayed buried. He shook his head even as Gene’s brows furrowed and he pressed his lips tight.
“The man caused enough problems for your folks.” Gene lowered his voice and Finn crouched beside him. Jer and Raven stood beside each other, throwing barbs and feigning inattention, even though he caught the glances the two of them snuck. “Rossi’s the bastard who got them hooked on meth in the first place.”
Finn swallowed, hard. He’d known the name sounded familiar, but his folks had always called the guy Ace. If he’d dug up pictures, he would’ve recognized him on the spot. Finn would never forget the man who’d capped his parents after their deal went bad. Ace vanished for a while after the Red Rocks reported him, but Finn shouldn’t have been surprised the bastard aligned with the Landsliders.
Finn had spent the last fifteen years trying to expunge the memories of the day from his mind. Of the blood soaking into the floor, staining his feet. Of the dread choking him at the sight of his parents lying there, dead. Finn’s relationship with his parents had been complex, but he’d always wished for the chance to see them change. To tell them how much they’d hurt him with their addictions.
“Thanks, Gene,” he said, his voice coming out a lot steadier than he expected. If one of the biggest meth dealers in this region was helping the Landsliders, no wonder they managed to stay steps ahead. Tonight, he’d tip back another beer and watch the fire until it died out, but tomorrow, he needed to call Navi first thing.
* * * *
Finn woke to the sound of his phone ringing. He winced a second later when the throbbing descended, the celebration from last night catching up with him. He rolled over to face his clock, the neon-red numbers smacking him in the face with his late-morning wake-up. On any normal day, Finn was up and out by dawn, but, with how late the celebrating had gone on last night and the unrest that had set his nerves on edge, his sleep had been fitful at best.
“Hey,” he muttered into the phone, not even bothering to look at the caller ID.
“Rough night, champ?” a teasing voice responded. “Don’t tell me you’re just getting up now?”
“Okay, I won’t,” he said, tugging on a pair of clean gym shorts from the laundry pile he never put away. “You calling with news?”
“I’m on my way to pick you up,” Navi said. “We’ve got a shaman to pay a visit to.”
“See you soon,” he responded, ending the call as he rummaged around the mess of books and rumpled clothes on his floor. He found one of his work shirts and tugged it on. Shifter males always kept more pairs of clothes than the average guy due to the situations where they ripped through pairs of pants or lost a favorite shirt in the middle of an emergency. The carry-a-spare technique worked for most of them, but no one could anticipate every instance they’d need to shift.
By the time he’d brushed his teeth, and slipped into his sneakers, he caught the click of tires outside his place. He might have towed his car, but he needed to check on his Challenger at the shop after how she’d been battered by the asshole outside Jared’s Auto. No matter how good the mechanic was, they didn’t treat her with the same level of care he did. Still, with the folks he’d encountered involved with the Landsliders, he would be lucky if this was the worst that happened.
Footsteps sounded along the walkway, so Finn grabbed his keys and slipped his wallet into his pocket before making his way to the door. He’d never had the pleasure of meeting a shaman, but if this excursion ended the way the others did, he could burn some of this restless energy with slinging punches and tearing into Landsliders claws first. He opened the door, greeted by knuckles. Navi paused, her hand lifted and ready to knock.
“How is it that you keep getting more gorgeous every time I see you?” he flirted, shutting his door behind him as he joined her outside.
Navi rolled her eyes, launching an idle punch to his biceps. “I’ve got better uses for your mouth than false flattery,” she murmured, the seductive sound of her voice revving his engines in a way no one else could. His cock throbbed, sparking to life at the idea of spreading her legs and taking a taste. A smirk quirked her lips. “You can throw all that talented talk into charming the shaman we’re visiting.” The glint in her eyes was telltale—she knew what a tease she was being right now.
His flattery wasn’t false, though—despite the striking dress she had worn last night, he loved seeing her like this. Right now she wore jeans that hugged those dangerous curves, and a stained wifebeater with a film of sweat pressing it to dusky skin he longed to sink his teeth into. She smelled like sweat, oil and metal, his favorite things, and he breathed the scent in, slinking closer beside her. Navi walked with a power to her stance, a comfortable confidence flowing through every movement.
She hopped into her old Plymouth and he slid into the other side, the car creaking as he sat. This thing was a deathtrap on wheels, making him miss his baby all the more. Navi started the ignition, put her foot on the pedal and they took off down the winding road leading to his apartment.
“How was the rest of the night?” Navi asked. Even though she kept her voice light, she had caught the way Raven had stared at him and the edge in her tone. Finn might be an idiot and a hothead on occasion, but even he could figure this one out.
“I didn’t hook up with Raven, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said, a grin quirking his lips.
Navi scowled, but her body remained relaxed in the seat and her grip loose on the steering wheel. “Did those words come out of my mouth? Stop fluffing your ego, Kelly.”
He smirked and rolled down the window, letting the breezes flow in through the car. They raced down the highway, farther outside the towns and toward the deeper woods where the pines and oaks cast long shadows. He hadn’t known of any shamans living around these parts, but as they were reclusive and a rare breed to begin with, they didn’t often make themselves known to shifters or humans. Too many sought their elemental magic and a lot of the shamans ended up dragged into problems beyond their pay grade or used by whoever cornered them first.
“When we confront Rossi, he’s mine,” Finn said, his words coming out harsher than intended. Saying his name out loud made him want to flinch, his desire for revenge a secret he’d kept for so long. “The Landsliders recruited the biggest dealer this area’s seen. He’d been MIA for a while, but based on the information we got the other day, he’s back in action.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a personal vendetta against him,” Navi said as she turned off the highway down one of the gravel roads that crunched under her tires. “Promise you’re not going to bum-rush this scumbag when we get him in our sights?”
His heartbeat picked up and the numbness threatened to descend as he opened his mouth. The words dried there. He wanted to tell her more than anything, but he couldn’t force his past out in the open like that.
“Hey,” she said, her voice steady as a stone. “I’m not pushing for information here. I just need to know you won’t go jumping into any more caves headfirst.” The rational side of her was something he appreciated more and more while they worked together. She balanced his hair-trigger emotional responses like no one else could.
Finn tugged out his smokes and lifted the pack. “You mind if I light up?”
She waved him on. He peeled the wrapping off and tossed the plastic out of the window before slipping the cigarette between his lips. The first tug of nicotine was glorious and the exact thing he needed. His wolf thrashed in his chest, desperate to fight or fuck something. He’d been burning pent-up sexual energy after every interaction with Navi, which amped him up way more than normal. On top of that, the discovery of Dale Rossi’s return wired him like nothing else.
He sucked in another drag from his cigarette and let the smoke trail out of the window as he buzzed. The words slipped unbidden. “The bastard killed my parents.”
The car jerked as Navi’s focus slipped from the wheel, her brows furrowing. He clenched his jaw, bracing himself for the coddling or awkward response everyone gave to the poor orphan boy. He hated it. Yet both man and wolf couldn’t help the honesty erupting from him around this woman, part of the undeniable way she grounded him.
“Then you’ll be the one to kill him,” was all she said, a growl to her words and the panther in her eyes. In that moment, the sheer aggression in her stance, the determination in her voice and the way she delivered those words as the solemn truth gave everything he needed right now.
Finn had tried to fall for Raven over years of affection, touch and time, but he knew deep in his gut he’d never brushed the surface of what he should be feeling. However, with Navi, it was no quiet stream or gentle footsteps. He’d fallen for her like the sudden drop off a cliff face, with the fury of the rapids and with the deep awareness that this woman would be branded on his bones for the rest of his life.