Chapter Twenty-One

Luke

 

“God, you are a miserable bastard,” Tristan growled at me.

We were making our way up the sloppy hillside of a mountain about twenty miles east of Cobalt. Not far from Winfyre’s border, something everyone was glad about—except for me.

I didn’t answer Tristan, or even look at him. We’d been at each other’s throats the whole trip. Ever since we’d been in the service, he couldn’t resist meeting any sarcasm with his own brand of know-it-all-ness.

Usually, when I was in the mood to pick a fight, I avoided everyone and everything. Especially Tristan, since he was always too happy to oblige.

Nor was he wrong. I was a miserable bastard.

Every step closer to Winfyre meant dealing with Rea. Her name alone caused a torrent of agony and longing, one that struck deep. That went right through me. She plagued my dreams, and I could barely get her out of my head, which meant I should probably get her out of my house.

Xander wanted the opposite, however. As of right now, only we two knew that Reagan was a unique Riftborn, although Xander suspected that Risa Juarez, who’d traveled here with Reagan, might know. Our worry was that she was somehow attracting Rotted and other Excris to Winfyre.

However, we weren’t prepared to assume that correlation implied causation. It was concerning, though, that we’d never had breaches and attacks like this before Reagan came.

I’d gone to Yana the morning we’d left Winfyre to confirm what she’d sensed.

“You are worried, Wolf,” she’d said as I’d approached. It was barely dawn, but she’d been up in her garden, down on her knees and working the earth. Involuntarily, my eyes had flicked across the bay to where you could just get a glimpse of my house, wondering if Reagan was up yet.

“More confirming something. About Reagan Grace.”

Yana had stood up and wiped her hands. “Luke, you are a twisted-up mess inside. I already told you I deemed her trustworthy, even if I could not sense the full extent of her abilities. Why Tello could not, I do not know. It’s possible that part of her gift is an ability to conceal. They are like a flower still in bud.” She’d held up a hand and clenched it. "There, but not yet bloomed. Not yet."

“Is she a danger to Winfyre?” I’d asked.

“I told you then, as I will tell you now. I do not know. Do I think that she would hurt someone? No. She is broken in some ways, lost, maybe, but her heart is still open.” Yana had chuckled. “I think you should talk to her, boy.”

“Thank you,” I’d said, secretly feeling like I’d wasted a trip over here.

“Luke,” she’d called as I went to walk away. “She also has trouble trusting.” My jaw clenched. “Moreover, I am quite certain your fears are unfounded, while your hopes ring true.”

What hopes? I wondered.

“Where are you going, Swift?” Rett called, and I blinked, turning around. Everyone had stopped and was striking camp. "We're not going to push it."

Irritation flared up. “I’m fine.”

“It’s not only about you, asshole,” Tristan said and swung his pack to the ground.

“Never said it was,” I snarled.

“God, make up your mind,” Tristan drawled, and my fists clenched. “First, he can’t wait to get away from Winfyre, then he’s clawing to get back.” Leaning over, he plucked up a wildflower and waved it at me. “Here, pick this apart and make the call. Only way you’ll stop frettin’.”

“What the hell are you talkin’ about?” I asked in a low voice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kal and Rett exchange a look.

“Reagan, of course,” Tristan said and tossed the flower at me. He was tired and grumpy, ready to vent his hell on me, as I was on him. “Your claimant that you’re twisting yourself into a pretzel over. It’s sickening.”

In another second, my pack was off, and I had the front of Tristan’s shirt in my hands. “You think you know everything, don’t you, Llary?” I snarled. “You don’t.”

My head ached with exhaustion, and, somewhere, I knew that this was a bad idea, that I was blowing it out of proportion. But I couldn’t stop myself. If I didn’t let this out, I might explode.

He shoved at me, and I stumbled back. “More than you. Why don’t you admit what everyone in Winfyre knows?” His voice was somewhere between a snarl, a laugh, and real frustration. "You already know. It's written all over your sorry face. You knew from the moment you scented her, idiot." My heart rate exploded as I took a step forward. "What, forget how it works, you sorry—”

Tristan had always had a bit of a death wish.

A fist cracked across his jaw. Vaguely, I realized it was mine. I was swearing, the wolf rearing up, and I was on him, throwing another punch that he dodged.

“Don’t you say shit like that,” I snarled. “She’s more than that, she’s—”

“Exactly,” Tristan bellowed as we wrestled in the dirt, each getting some punches in. He caught me in the gut, and I groaned. “Why do you insist on torturing yourself? Shauna?”

“Don’t talk about her!”

“You made one bad call. Christ, Swift, you’re allowed to make mistakes.”

“Shut up,” I spat and threw another punch. “That has nothing—”

“Then why was Reagan asking me and Rett about her?”

“What?” I asked and froze, scrambling back. Tristan somersaulted backward and flipped onto his feet. I remained on my knees. “Reagan—she asked—you two were talking about this shit behind my back?”

Blind fury overtook me, and I shifted, attacking Tristan. He reared up and met me as a tiger. In another second, we were going at it, snarling, and then a white mass crashed into me.

An ice bear who was twice the weight of both of us combined. His paws held us down, and long teeth snapped. Then he shifted, eyes blazing and teeth gritted.

“Shift back. Now.”

Taking a deep breath, I shifted back, and Tristan did, too, not looking at me. My eye was stinging six ways to Sunday, and some of my stitches had reopened.

“Stupid, pathetic bastard,” Tristan spat out, and then he grinned, of all things. “I knew it.”

“Shut up, Tristan,” I said and lunged at him, but Kal caught me.

“Enough.”

“For the record, Swift, we didn’t say shit to Reagan. She asked us, but both Rett and I told her to talk to you. And that she shouldn’t be asking us that kind of stuff. But she was worried, and my guess is that you were either avoiding or not talking to her.”

“You shouldn’t have—”

“She went for the next best option.” Tristan’s words snarled in my brain, and I shook my head. “She’s a million times the person that Shauna was. She cares about you, asshole.”

Shoving Kal away, I stalked into the woods without answering any of them. Finally, I found a wide river and knelt down at the side of it, splashing my face and wincing. From the feel of it, Tristan had given me a black eye.

There was a rustle, and I growled. “Go away, Rett.”

Pup.

I turned sharply and saw Ayani emerging from the woods. He trotted over to me, butting my shoulder with his head, then sat back, tongue lolling out.

You are riled up. Fighting with your pack. His voice sounded dry and amused. Good thing the bears have better sense, although they shouldn’t have to teach a wolf not to brawl with his own.

“Please leave me alone,” I muttered.

Reagan stopped here.

My body tensed as Ayani bumped me again. Images filtered into my brain, of Reagan, gaunt and exhausted, covered in grime, cupping her hands in this very river.

I’d forgotten how thin and weary she’d been when she first got to Winfyre. Not that she hadn’t still had that damn radiance underneath it all.

Drue, Gabriel, and Bix interrupted her. I saw her tight smiles, her anxious eyes, and her seeking gaze. Then Bix kicked water on her, the brat, and she chased after him, swinging him into her arms. He shrieked with laughter, and my heart squeezed.

“Enough,” I said and pulled away. “Why are you showing me this?”

Ayani didn’t answer, and I brooded on his memories. Of course Reagan had managed to keep their spirits up during that trek. I’d let myself forget why Xander and I had been so eager to make sure she became a part of Winfyre. I’d let my baggage pile up and cloud my judgment.

Wait a second, I realized. Has the answer been with the wolves all along?

“Do you know what she is?” I asked.

Hard to say. Her abilities haven’t manifested. With proper encouragement, they will.

I waited, but Ayani wasn’t more forthcoming. “Is she a danger?”

In the way that a river gets dammed up by debris, the pressure behind it building, yes. But not to Winfyre. Ayani’s gaze was serious. But to herself.

Like shifters, I thought and lurched to my feet. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

We thought she would accept her abilities and they would come to fruition naturally. Do not worry—my brother and I travel to the coast tomorrow. We will talk to her.

His tone implied, Since you haven’t.

“I’ll come too,” I said. “We should be back by then.”

That’s why I let you know.

 

When I got back to camp, Tristan and Rett were gone. They’d gone ahead, not wanting to spend the night in the mud. Or with me, I guessed. Kal wouldn’t let me follow them, however.

“Both of you need to chill out. Yes, he crossed a line, but so did you.” His eyes flashed at me. “You know we do not brawl as beasts.”

The Northbane shifters’ most important rule. My shoulders slumped. Was there any way I had not let my pack and Xander down lately?

By the next morning, my body was aching all over, and I was filthy. As itchy as I was to take a shower, I was more impatient to go see Reagan.

I’d decided I would tell her that I knew she’d lied about being a stasis and there’d be no consequences. I was starting to understand why she did it. If the wolves didn’t know what she was, or even Yana, perhaps she’d been afraid of her power. Maybe she’d thought it would affect her family’s getting into Winfyre.

When I got back to the house, it was midday, and Reagan wasn’t home. The dogs and I traipsed upstairs. One by one, I scrubbed them off in the tub, and then they curled up in the corner, exhausted. As I took a shower, being careful of my torn stitches but thankfully not bleeding, I watched the dogs sleep. Lazu had said that in time, I’d be able to understand them and all beasts.

From what I could tell, Reagan already could. That’s why she hadn’t been afraid of them that first day—she could communicate with them.

So, did that make her a shifter? My heartbeat quickened as I wondered what kind of animal she’d be. Since the wolves had found her, maybe a wolf.

Eager to talk to her, I hurried out of the shower and got dressed. I was pulling on a hoodie, absently thinking about Reagan, when it slowly hit me. I could smell her.

I whirled around. I’d been too distracted earlier, but now I caught it. Her scent was all over my room. Nostrils flaring, I marched around, following it. Reagan had come in, wandered around, and sat on the bed. Then she’d gone to the closet, opened it, and closed it again. I followed her scent to the dresser, where she’d pulled open a drawer, rummaged around, and closed it. Then to the desk.

Here, she’d flipped through some papers and put them back. Almost as though she couldn’t bring herself to go through them. Or was that wishful thinking?

Panic swam up through me. She’d gone through my things. Was she a spy after all? If so, I’d left important documents all over the place. Documents she could read if she’d been trained.

I’d thought, at the very least, that I could trust her.