Chapter Seventeen

That same night, Raul had a sense of déjà vu. Once more, hundreds of people swarmed into the Bradford property to support him and his family. As much as he appreciated their attitude however, the Alpha sought solitude. He needed some time alone with his thoughts, and, more importantly, he was in need of some personal space. He wouldn’t ask anybody to leave. Instead, Raul grabbed the keys to the workshop from the kitchen, and then slipped through the crowd.

A childhood photo on the wall greeted him as he pushed the old, wooden door open. The scents that would otherwise make his stomach churn did not make him feel as bad as they had. Gasoline, grease and metal smelled like home again. Putting his hands on his waist, he sauntered towards the picture. He smiled to himself, as he took it off the wall. With his thumb, he swiped the dust off. The brothers’ faces became clearer, but he had no interest in looking at himself or Dean. He stared at the brother he had already started missing badly: Ray. But, Raul’s trip down memory lane was brought to a sudden halt. The hurried, yet light, footsteps outside compelled him to hang the picture back on the wall. Monica stormed into the workshop, with a thin pack of paper in her right hand, as he turned around. For some reason he could not fathom, she had a broad smile on her face.

“Doc, what are you doing here?” He asked, curiosity sending his voice two octaves up, as she stopped right in front of him. “Why are you smiling?”

“I just got back from the hospital,” she gasped, her eyes glinting with a mix of joy and relief. “The coroner concurs. The cause of death is exsanguination. But, I ran some blood tests. The person we cremated today…” she paused. “He wasn’t Ray. He’s got human blood.”

“What?” Raul squinted down at her, unable to keep his voice down. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s true.” Monica’s voice picked up volume as she gave an emphatic nod. “Analyzing genes and DNA sequences would take weeks. I did something much simpler. I took a sample of his blood yesterday, and infected it with the syphilis virus. Shifters are immune to sexually transmitted diseases by nature. The blood tested positive for syphilis this afternoon. Also, lab results showed that you share no genetic markers with him. You are not related to him.”

Raul lifted his hand up and banged his palm against his forehead, his mouth partially open, as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard. He wasn’t a doctor, he couldn’t understand technicalities, but the big, bold letters on the top page of the packet left him with no doubt. It read “NO MATCH.” His heart went into a flurry of wild beats, as he realized that his brother was still alive. Ray Bradford, his flesh and blood, still drew breath somewhere in the wilderness.

“Oh, doc…” he gasped, as a glorious smile formed on his face. “I can’t believe it.”

“It is undeniable,” she tried to say stiffly, but her own grin stayed on. “You have to.”

“Where the hell is he, then?” Raul wondered, thrusting his arms out to either side. “And who the fuck would have us believe Ray was dead?”

“Someone who’s out to hurt you,” Helena interjected her opinion, as she walked into the workshop. “I heard everything,” she said in her usual feathery voice, a blissful smile adorning her face, as she wrapped her right arm around Monica’s shoulders to pull her into a side hug. “Thank you so much,” she whispered, laying a tender kiss on the doctor’s cheek. “This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time.”

“I can’t think of anybody,” the Alpha stated, still struggling to recover from the shockwaves that the revelation had sent coursing through him.

“I take it you’ve been to the scene,” Helena speculated, turning to the left to face him. “Tell me, Raul. What did you see?”

“It happened a few yards away from ‘Joe’s’ diner. Julia didn’t hear any commotion. There was some blood, and a lot of flattened grass: there were no signs of a struggle: there was nothing to indicate that there’d been a fight there. It seemed like the body had fallen out of the sky. It got me curious, but what was I supposed to do? He looked exactly like Ray. He even had the same clothes my brother had on that night.” Raul’s reply was as quick as it was thorough.

“I saw the body last night. The resemblance is uncanny,” Helena admitted, as her smile was wiped off of her face. “But, you’ve been dealing with witches for a while now, Raul. You should be able to tell when witchcraft is involved. You didn’t. The signs were all there, and you missed them.” She reprimanded, her face hardening, her tone stiff, as she cast a nasty glare up at him. “Number one: Ray was in human form. Do you really think he wouldn’t have shifted, had he sensed danger? Number two: the lack of Noise. You know very well that your brother wouldn’t go down without a fight. If he had fought against anybody, the noise would have been heard for miles away. Number three: the lack of any physical evidence, other than blood. The claw marks on the body indicate the presence of a grizzly bear in the area. A fight between Ray and an animal of that size would tear up half the forest.”

“What the hell would you do?” Raul cried, pointing down at her, his eyes smoldering with unmasked anger. “He looked exactly like my brother!” He added, jerking his head in a spasm of frustration. “What should I do, pretend it’s not him, because there’s no evidence of a fight? And what’s all that crap about ‘witchcraft’? You think Donna’s behind this? Why?”

Breathing in pants, he felt his blood boiling in his veins and pounding in his temples. He couldn’t believe the witch’s judgmental tone, or her accusations, either. For a moment, he considered storming out of his workshop. Still, the immediate effect that his emotional outburst had on Helena, made him think twice. She ran her gaze down his face, pressing her lips together, as her face fell.

“I’m sorry, Raul,” she said, her voice but a whisper. “This must have been very hard for you. I don’t know why she would try to hurt you like that, but she’s the only witch in the area. That we know of, at least.”

“It was impossible for me,” he corrected her, using an emphatic tone, as he leaned closer to her, “to see my brother, my blood, butchered like that.”

“Listen to me,” Helena urged, as her gaze shot up to meet his. “What’s done is done. You are free to share the good news with your family, but, all of you must act like Ray is dead. This is important. You can’t tell anybody else that you know. Now, I’m going to your grandpa’s sanctuary. I have a few things to do. I’ll be back later.”

“Let’s go find Julia,” Monica suggested, as her eyes sparkled with excitement.

“After you,” Raul gave a satisfied nod, as Helena’s words swirled in his mind. He was somewhat curious about the secrecy she desired to maintain, but this was no time to guess on her intentions. Just like him, Ray’s mate had been through a world of pain in the past two days. Now, it was time for Julia to know of the biggest, happiest truth of her entire life.