Chapter Thirty-Five
Chloe
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
Gram appeared in the doorway before I’d taken more than a single step. “You need to stay in bed,” she stated.
“It’s been three days, Gram. I’m healed, just a little weak. Exercise and food will be the best things for me.”
Her brows lifted. “What did I say?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorjamb.
I met her stare with a level one of my own. “I’m not going back to bed. Darrell is in a holding cell, waiting to be interrogated, and Brian Kirkpatrick is being held by the Tribunal. I need to be up and taking care of business.”
“I said I would wait until you were better before dealing with Darrell. And the Tribunal will wait for your testimony against Brian as well.”
I sighed as I slipped on a pair of leggings beneath my t-shirt. “Look, the only way you’re getting me back into that bed is if you knock me unconscious. I know my limitations and I won’t overdo it, but I need answers. I’ve waited two years, don’t make me wait another day.”
“What’s one more day after two years?” she tossed back to me. But she echoed my sigh, sounding just like me, and moved away from the door. “Fine, I’m not going to force you, but only because I don’t want to have to explain to Lachlan how his m—” she paused. “How you were injured again. I don’t think even his respect for me would keep him from trying to tear me a new one if I did.”
I gave her a confused look when she stumbled over her words. She was right though. Lachlan had been a protective shadow, always hovering over me, since I’d been injured. When I awoke in Carter’s farmhouse the night after Brayden stabbed me, he’d been sitting in a chair next to the bed. That was where he stayed the next night as well.
Last night, he’d climbed into bed next to me after I was already asleep.
We hadn’t talked much. I had slept a lot, only waking to eat, shower, and use the bathroom. Now, I was feeling more like my old self. The wound on my side had closed, leaving behind a small pink scar where the blade entered my body. I was still sore, but considering I’d been at death’s door three days ago, I would take the slight ache in my abdomen.
“Fine. We’ll go to the police department.” My grandmother paused by the door as I slipped shoes onto my feet. “The Tribunal sent a representative. We gave him all the photos and videos. Darrell was removed as alpha of the pack and we were given permission to deal with him as we saw fit as long as Carter agreed.”
“Why Carter?” I asked.
Gram shrugged. “Because he’s the new alpha.”
“They’re not conducting a Call?” I asked.
She shook her head. “The representative offered, but the pack refused. They requested that Carter lead them. I think this is the first time that an alpha has been put in charge by vote rather than battle.” Her eyes darkened. “I worry that other wolves will hear about this and try to challenge him.”
I smiled at her. “I don’t think Carter will have any problems taking care of any and all challenges that come his way.”
Her mouth curved up at the corner. “Yes, you’re probably right. That wolf is more than he seems, isn’t he?”
“That he is,” I said, running a brush through my hair and pulling it into a ponytail. “Let’s go.”
“Only if you eat something first,” she argued.
Knowing that I would get what I wanted more quickly if I followed her directives, I went downstairs and plowed through several rashers of bacon leftover from breakfast that morning and a banana.
“There, I had a snack,” I told her as I rinsed the grease from my hands in the sink.
“Did you even chew?” she asked. At my level look, she sighed. “God, now I understand why my mother laughed when I told her I had a granddaughter. You’re just like I was at your age.”
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment,” she muttered beneath her breath.
“Considering I respect you more than any other she-wolf I know, I’d beg to differ,” I retorted.
She smiled at me.
“Now, stop stalling and let’s go,” I stated firmly.
Gram grabbed the car keys and Nicholas appeared at her elbow. “Where are you going?” he asked me.
“To the police department,” I replied.
He glanced at Gram, his eyes clearly stating he thought this was a mistake. “Does Lachlan know?”
Gram shook her head.
“Sophia, you know that—”
Gram lifted a hand, silencing him. “That’s between Ian and Chloe. I refuse to get involved.”
Nicholas’ mouth pressed into a thin line but he stopped arguing.
What the fuck was going on here? Why was everyone acting so strangely? I pondered my questions as we walked outside to the driveway.
I climbed into the SUV, gingerly buckling the belt across my lap. “Since when do you call Lachlan Ian?” I asked.
Gram shrugged, backing up and turning the car around to head down the drive. “Since he asked me to.”
She left it at that. Accustomed to Gram’s tendency to be closemouthed, I didn’t ask anything else. We drove in silence into town, not speaking again until I’d stepped out of the car and walked toward the front door of the building.
“I want you to stay outside of the cell,” she stated, taking my elbow in her hand.
I frowned at her. “Why?”
“You’re still recovering, Chloe, whether you admit it or not. Darrell knows what he’s facing now that the Tribunal has given us permission to deal with him as we see fit. I wouldn’t put it past him to attack you in hopes that we’ll kill him to protect you.” Her face darkened. “I don’t want him to get away so easily.”
I nodded. “Fine. I can do that.”
I followed Gram inside, waving at Tom, Miss Emma’s husband. He was helping Carter get the office back in order. Carter wanted to make him an officer, but Tom refused, stating he didn’t have the temperament for it.
I could see Carter in his father’s office, talking on the phone. The expensive, heavy furniture it once held was gone. In it’s place were utilitarian pieces, mostly made of metal. They were also old. It was clear that Carter intended to take his job seriously and that he wasn’t planning to waste pack money.
He nodded to me, his mouth moving as he spoke to whoever was on the other end of the line. I nodded back and followed Gram into the holding room.
As soon as I saw the bars, memories flashed in my mind. The ropes and Brayden’s bite on my shoulder.
Unconsciously, I lifted my hand to my neck. The sensation of smooth skin beneath my fingers broke me from the overwhelming thoughts. Brayden was dead and I no longer carried his mark.
But in destroying his wound, I’d also removed all traces of Lachlan from my flesh as well.
That I regretted.
A movement in the cell caught my attention and I stepped forward. Darrell sat on the cot in the corner, his eyes burning with rage and hatred.
“So you survived after all?” he spat. “How lovely.”
I grabbed a metal chair from against the wall and sat facing him, just out of his reach should he be stupid enough to try and stick an arm through the bars to get to me.
“I did,” I replied, crossing my legs and resting my hands on my knees.
We stared at each other until Darrell finally looked away.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“You know why.”
He briefly glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before resuming his study of the floor. “Your parents, you mean,” he mumbled.
“Yes.”
“And if I don’t tell you?”
For the first time since we entered the room, my grandmother spoke. “You will. Eventually.”
Her final word hung in the air, the threat it held clear. My grandmother disliked the use of torture, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t capable. She was well versed on a wolf’s body and the ability a shifter had to withstand pain. I didn’t want to know how she’d come by that knowledge, but I sensed it wasn’t from anything she’d read in a book. Information like that was cultivated through practice.
Darrell shuddered then sighed. “The Kirkpatricks approached me and I agreed,” he answered.
“I doubt it’s that simple,” I snapped back. “Start from the beginning.”
Darrell’s eyes met mine for a moment. “Brayden Kirkpatrick came up here to propose a mating between the two of you. Specifically for political purposes. He wanted your parents’ approval and backing.” Darrell scoffed. “Why he thought your parents could bring you to heel, I’ll never know, but he was convinced that you would agree if they were on his side.”
“And what did my parents say?” I asked, already knowing what the answer would have been.
“No.” Darrell laughed harshly. “Not only did your dad say no, he smacked that pup a good one for even thinking about forcing you into a mating you didn’t want. He said forced matings were outlawed centuries ago and threatened to go to the Tribunal if the Kirkpatricks didn’t let the matter drop.”
“And why did they come to you?” I asked.
Darrell’s eyes lifted to mine, the malevolence in them making my flesh prickle. “They knew I wanted the pack,” he replied with a shrug. “It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. When your parents were out of the way, Brayden could make you his mate without worrying about retribution and I would have the pack.”
Gram stepped forward, drawing even with the chair at my side. “Did they just assume I wouldn’t notice there was an problem?”
Darrell laughed again, the sound rough and devoid of amusement. “Brayden was convinced that he could force Chloe to play along. Otherwise, he intended to do to you what we did to your son and his mate.”
My grandmother’s growl rolled through the room, deep and intimidating. Even I slouched a little in my seat beneath the dominance she projected toward Darrell.
“You’re a disgusting excuse for a wolf, Darrell Whelby,” she said, her voice deeper than usual. I knew she was holding on to her control by a thread.
His expression said he knew it, but it also showed that he didn’t give a damn.
“How did you find us?” I asked Darrell suddenly.
Confused by my change of subject, he blinked as he turned toward me. “What?”
“How did you find Lachlan and me after we left your cabin?”
He smirked. “I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t gone grocery shopping in town.” He tapped his temple. “People owe me favors all over the state. They pay attention when I ask them to.”
I glanced at my grandmother and knew she was thinking the same thing I was. We needed to find out exactly who his contacts were and take care of them.
I rose to my feet, done with this conversation and with Darrell. “Enjoy Hell, Darrell. Be sure to give Brayden my regards.”
I left the room, feeling his eyes on me the entire time. Gram followed me, her expression forbidding and cold.
“We will mete out his punishment as soon as you’re well,” she promised.
I shook my head. “Do it tonight. Or even now. He doesn’t deserve to breathe another minute for what he did.”
“But you’re still weak,” she argued.
I shook my head. “I killed the man responsible for the murder of Mom and Dad, Gram. Even if he didn’t do it himself, he set the plan in motion. I’ll leave Darrell to you and Brian Kirkpatrick to the Tribunal.” I cleared my throat. “But I do have one request.”
She looked at me, waiting.
“Allow the she-wolves he abused a chance to get their pound of flesh,” I stated.
A slow, frightening smile crossed her face. “Why, that sounds like a fantastic idea,” she drawled.
I shivered, uncertain what might be in store for Darrell, but whatever it was, I hoped it was excruciating and it lasted for days or even weeks. It was no less than he deserved.
“I’m tired and I’d like to go back to the house and take a nap. I believe my grandmother would insist on it,” I said.
Her eyes moved over my shoulder and an unreadable expression crossed her face.
“You’re right, I do insist. Unfortunately, I have some things to discuss with Carter. You’ll have to get a ride back with someone else.”
“I’ll take her,” a quiet voice offered behind me.
I twisted around, already knowing who would be standing there by his scent. I’d smelled him as soon as we exited the holding room, but he hadn’t been in sight.
Lachlan was a few feet away, his eyes glued to me, moving from my ponytail down to the slip-on sneakers I’d shoved on my feet earlier.
“Make sure she eats again too,” Gram directed, heading in the direction of Carter’s office.
I tried to ignore the awkwardness between us, but it was difficult. We’d agreed to see how things went after this was over, but now that it was done, I was uncertain.
“My truck’s out front,” he said, gesturing toward the street.
I nodded and walked outside, surprised when he opened my door for me, helping me into the cab though I was perfectly capable of getting in under my own steam.
I watched him with narrowed eyes as he moved around the front and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Buckle up,” he directed.
I did as he said without argument. I stared unseeingly out the window as he reversed out of the parking spot and headed out of town. It wasn’t until we’d been on the road for nearly ten minutes that I realized we weren’t heading in the right direction.
“Where are we going, Lachlan?” I asked.
His face was grim when he answered, refusing to look at me. “We need to talk.”