Page 55 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“Hey, Kicks. How’s it going over in Arkansas?” one of them asked, looking happy to see him.

“As good as anywhere else,” Kicks said.

“Yeah, I hear you there,” the guard said. “Okay, well, head on up. Nix is expecting you. Third house on the left.”

The other guard didn’t say anything, hanging back a bit and then opening the gate at the signal.

I didn’t miss the way they stared at me as we drove up through the gates. They hadn’t only heard some gossip—they believed it.

Nix looked a little older than I’d expected, but still in his forties if he were human. With his thick, wavy golden hair and perfect build, I had to wonder if being attractive was an alpha requirement. Or did it just go hand in hand with their strong genetics?

“Come in. I just put some coffee on,” he said.

We went into Nix’s house, which looked exactly like I’d expect from a high-end build around here.

He waved us over to a sitting area in the room, making a concerted effort not to stare. He was most definitely sizing me up, though, and weighing if I were a threat.

He poured us both some coffee, bringing over a plate of pastries as well.

“Where’s your mate?” Kicks said.

“She went up north, hunting with her brother.”

He’d known we were coming. Had he been trying to get her out of here before I arrived? Or was that just paranoia setting in? It was hard to know at this point.

“She wanted to be here to meet you, but it’s a family tradition that they go this time every year,” he added.

Definitely not paranoia. He’d sent her away. I would’ve too if I were him.

“I like the new place. You’ve got a good setup here,” Kicks said.

“The narrow roads make it easier to protect, although we’re going to have to eventually move again. Right now we’re running on generators, but we’ll be out of fuel eventually and have to set up something closer to what you have. Any word from those humans setting up that oil rig?”

I nearly spat out my coffee. The two men looked at me. “Wrong pipe,” I managed to get out.

“I wouldn’t count on that, at least with the same crew,” Kicks said. “Might be a bit before that situation is ironed out now.”

Nix nodded, obviously fluent in reading between the lines. “Well, there’ll be another. Maybe one of the packs will have to take a crack at it—not that I wanted to.”

“Maybe,” Kicks said, sounding as if he weren’t looking to get into that either.

There was an awkward stretch of silence as Nix seemed to be figuring out how to broach a topic. “You seem decent enough, and I hope you get whatever answers you need from our guide,” he said. “But for the sake of the stability and well-being of my pack, I’d like to ask you to limit your stay to as short as possible. Groza has been planting seeds throughout, and it makes things difficult.”

Kicks reached out and took my hand, making his stance clear. Even if I wanted to pull it away from him, I couldn’t. He had a death grip on me. He’d probably break my fingers before he’d let go.

“I understand. I appreciate your allowing us to come here at all.”

Was that a “thank you” Kicks had just uttered? Because if I hadn’t understood the words, the tone would’ve been more suited to a “go fuck yourself.”

“Kicks, you’re an alpha. You understand the need to protect your pack,” Nix said.

“I do. We’ll be out of here as soon as we can.” Kicks stood, pulling me up with him. “Just point us in the right direction and we’ll do what we need and get going.”

Fifo, the California guide, was standing on his porch as we walked up. If alphas were genetically inclined to be attractive, guides seemed to be on the other end of the spectrum. It wasn’t so much that he was ugly, just an odd-looking little man. His nose was easily twice the size of what would be considered normal, and his eyes specks in comparison. He nodded to us both and then ushered us into his home in an overly jovial way.

I wasn’t sure if he’d been assigned to this house or if he’d chosen it, but everything about the place was a shock to the system when compared to Jaysa’s dark cabin. The windows ran floor to ceiling, and although they had drapes on either side, they weren’t drawn. Plants lined the walls, big, tropical-looking things that filled the air with a fresh, clean scent.

“This is quite beautiful,” I said.

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