Page 13 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“You’ve never been here before?” I asked, glancing around.

“No, but I think I could be happy here,” he said, taking in the lush surroundings.

“It is pretty,” I said. “What about the pack? Have you gotten a feel for them?” More pack members passed by, smiling here and there and nodding.

“As shifters age they get less accepting, but I think it’ll be okay. My New York accent might throw them a bit, but they’ll get past it.”

“If New York is tripping them up, I wonder how a human is going to work for them.”

“You’re not just human. You’re also a guide.”

“A guide with a very bad history. You think it’ll be okay?”

“I don’t think anyone is going to burn down the cabin you just moved into, if that’s what you’re thinking. Not if they’ve got their heads on right. What I know of packs is that the head steers the body. If you’ve got a fair alpha, the rest will fall into place or move on to a different pack.” His voice grew a little ragged.

Like he and Rastin had? We hadn’t had a free moment to speak of Duncan, but he didn’t need to spell it out. There was hurt in his eyes. I wasn’t the only one who’d gotten the snub, even if mine had been worse.

“I’m sorry I put you in such a bad spot.I know that was your family.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t do it. The moment Duncan told us we were going to Groza’s, we all knew things would change. I’d held out hope that we wouldn’t stay too close or for too long, that we’d have enough distance to have autonomy and not get swallowed up by the venom of who she is. It was a pipe dream. If it hadn’t been your situation, it would’ve been something else that drove me out of there.

“Rastin as well.He might seem like an ass, but he’s actually one of the kindest of us. He wouldn’t have lasted there either. I think that’s why it was so easy to leave when we did. Once it became clear the packs were merging, the end was in sight.”

“It helps to know I wasn’t the only reason you left.”

“It’s the truth.” He fell silent but let out a sigh that held a thousand regrets. “I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed.”

“Yeah, so am I,” I said.

He was looking at me like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

“What?”

“I don’t blame you if you hate him. That note that he sent you about you pretty much being a dead woman if you came back—he didn’t bother to seal it or even put it in an envelope. Everyone knows what it said. He wanted to make it public knowledge.”

“I know.” It hadn’t just been a message to me. He’d obliterated our relationship in a way to make it known to all, drawing a firm line.

How had I been so stupid to think there could’ve been something good between us? It was hard to think of that and not shudder over the spectacle.

“He wasn’t a perfect alpha, but I never thought he’d do something like that. It’s like she got into his head and twisted who he was.” Buddie shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe what Duncan had become. “Do you hate him?”

Everything had happened so fast that I hadn’t really thought about it until right now. “He saved Charlie. He turned him into a shifter. Charlie would be dead already if he hadn’t. For that one reason, I’m not sure it would be possible for me to ever truly hate him. Short of hunting Charlie down himself, I don’t think I could.”

Buddie let out a low whistle. “Never think it can’t get worse. I’ve lived long enough to see what happens with people. They let the world start chipping away at them until there’s nothing left of the person they were.

“Why don’t you go ahead and check out the place. I’m going to hang out here,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye on Charlie, but it looks like he’s already finding his way.”

Charlie was on a seesaw with another kid, laughing.

“Thanks.”

Chapter Six

I’d checked out the cold house, the smokehouse, the schoolhouse, and the gathering house. I’d run out of houses and had since moved on to wandering around the massive farming area.

“Piper?”

I turned to see a woman walking toward me with a dirty apron and knees. Light brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun that was more utilitarian than fun. Still, she had a cute, fresh look about her that held a lot of charm. She was also the first member of the pack that had initiated any kind of real communication, so she got points for approaching the scary girl.

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