Chapter Twenty Seven
After Mary told Easton where the community was, he had her flown back to the nearest city, where a rental car was waiting for her. She missed the soothing sound of Andre's breathing as she drove. More than once she had to pull over to the side of the road to cry. Was this really the right path to take?
Of course, it is. It's the only way Andre can stay safe.
She had written a letter to him, begging him again not to let his anger overwhelm him. But what if it did? What if she was driving to her death just so that he would follow her to his? What if he was so blinded by rage and grief that he would come after Peter?
Peter. Mary flinched, knuckles going white as she clenched her hands around the steering wheel. Could she blame Andre if he did kill her brother? Peter had killed his wife and daughter. Philip had been there too. How could she defend either one of them?
"I don't have to," she whispered. "Andre is not going to come after them. He's going to get away and live his life. He's my soulmate, but I'm not his. He'll find somebody else to love."
It was actually a comforting thought.
She almost missed the turnoff into the dirt road that led to Andre's farm. Mary yanked the wheel sharply, the car skidding over the road as she stomped on the brake.
The car shuddered a moment, but she was able to ease it onto the dirt road and avoid the ditch. There were still a few hours to go before she would get to the community, but she wanted–needed–to see the place where so many happy memories had taken place.
It was exactly as she had last seen, except the bodies of the sheep and goat her father had slaughtered had been picked clean by scavengers. All that was left of them was a disconnected bunch of bones. Mary's heart felt heavy as she gazed at the burned remains of the cabin, the charcoal ugly against the green of spring grass. A breeze blew down the mountain, bringing with it the scent of pine trees.
Yes, this was for the best. She would not get her happily ever after, but she had four blissful months with her soulmate, and then all the time they spent together afterwards. Although not free of fear, at least they were together. It was better that she found him and loved him than if she had lived for all eternity without him. Her heartache eased.
Darkness was quickly descending and Mary gathered the bones of the animals, putting them in the incomplete grave Andre had dug the day they found the animals slaughtered.
After she had completed that task, Mary took off her clothes and embraced her Wolf, perhaps for the last time and trotted into the barn.
The spare jackets still hung from a peg on the barn door. Mary pulled one down, wrapping herself in Andre's scent. She slept, accepting what would come in the morning.
***
It must have been days since he last saw Mary. Her frantic words, trying to make him promise not to let rage blind him if she died, kept ringing in Andre's head. Something was wrong. Why had he let Easton take her away?
Idiot!
Metal shrieked as he gouged at the door with his claws. When that did nothing he backed up, then threw himself forward, ramming the door. His whole body shook with the impact, but the door did not budge. Panting, he retreated, rotating his ears to check for any sounds on the other side.
He repressed his Bear to check the damage. He'd scratched the metal, but whatever it was seemed to have been made with keeping Bears captive in mind. Nothing he did seemed to do any good. Desperation burst from him and he pounded on the door with his fists.
"I want to see Mary!" he shouted. "Open this door now!"
There was a clicking noise from somewhere behind the door and Andre backed up, watching. The door swung open. Easton strode in, shaking his head.
"Will you quiet down? You're shaking the whole damn building."
"Let me see Mary," Andre grunted at him, muscles trembling. His Bear longed to rip the man apart. He should have trusted that sense earlier.
Easton glared at him. "You can't."
"Why not?" Andre froze, then rolled to the balls of his feet. He was getting out of this room and to where Mary was, one way or other! "If you've harmed her in any way, I'll kill you."
"All this for a werewolf? And not just any werewolf–a Locke! Don't you know how many of our kind that family has killed? Your own wife and daughter. And yet you look at that girl like she's a puppy! Do you think she's harmless because she's fat?"
"Where is she?" Andre roared.
Easton's gaze was cold and hard. "She went home."
Andre froze.
"Apparently she decided the only way to keep you safe from her family was to go back and face their justice."
"You—" Andre could hardly speak. "You manipulated her into going back so you could find out where they were."
Easton shrugged. "I did what I had to. You weren't going to help us. It was so easy to get her to tell me I thought she must be lying. But my scouts have confirmed it, and soon all those stinking werewolves will be where they belong. Worm food in the ground."
Andre didn’t let him say another word. He embraced his Bear as he lunged, his massive jaws opening. He caught Easton's head in his mouth and bit down hard, clawing and batting at his body while he crushed him to the floor.
When he tasted blood and felt bones break, he let the other Bear go and ran, his heart in his throat. He was in a long corridor. Freedom was through the doors on the right, down a set of stairs and through one more corridor. He pushed himself as fast as he could, adrenaline coursing through his body.
He scented other Bears and heard their shouts as he burst through the doors. A woman was in his way and he bowled her over. The stairs were treacherous and he slipped several times, but he made it to the bottom quickly.
Soon he was in daylight. The shouts of the Bears followed him out, but he would not stop.
Mary. Oh, God, Mary!
***
He stole a car and drove it through the border crossing. When border security took up the chase, he abandoned the vehicle and ran with his Bear until he came to the next town, where he stole another car. He didn't stop to eat or drink, and every second that passed felt like another second too long.
By the time he got to the Wolf community, he was half-crazed by worry and exhaustion. He didn't bother worrying about how the Wolves would react to a Bear in their community. He had to find Mary before it was too late, before the Wolves meted out their justice, and before the Bears attacked.
Mary’s sister, Julia, was in the yard of the Locke farm when he pulled in.
"Where is Mary?" he shouted at her.
She froze, staring wide-eyed at him. He bounded towards her and she screamed. Andre grunted, chasing after her as she ran. His feet sank into the muddy ground, slowing him. By the time he caught up, she was in the barn.
Peter was with her, holding a rifle.
Andre skidded to a stop. The Wolf's jaw dropped at the sight of him, but he quickly moved to stand in front of his sister and pointed the rifle at Andre's heart.
"Where's Mary?" the Bear demanded, resisting the urge to attack and beat it out of him.
A pained look crossed Julia's face. Andre's heart spiked. God, no! "Where is she?" His voice rose in pitch.
Peter lowered the gun. His expression, like his sister's, was pained. "She's not here."
Andre roared, leaping forward. Julia screamed again. The Bear caught Peter around the throat and hoisted him into the air, slamming him into a wall of hay bales. "Where is she?"
"Her Wolf was purged!" Julia fluttered on the spot. She stepped forward, eyes on the rifle still in Peter's hand, but Andre growled and she retreated.
"What do you mean, her Wolf purged?"
"It's…" Julia's eyes were wide and frightened as she met his gaze. "It means that it was taken from her. Purged."
Andre dropped Peter, feeling like his chest was caving in. His head swirled and he collapsed to his knees. "No! God, no! She… she's dead?"
"Not dead," Peter gasped, rubbing his throat. "Her Wolf wasn't taken away. It is buried too far to ever return to her again. She's alive, but the process does more than just stop the Wolf from coming back."
Andre somehow found the strength to look up. "What does it do?" he whispered.
"It does something to the mind. Erases memories." Peter knelt beside him, casting the gun away. A hand tentatively rested on Andre's shoulder. "Even if she was here, even if she was staring you in the face, she wouldn't remember you. Her memories are gone. Forever."