Page 58 of Bitter Discord

“He’s well educated, well cared for, and immensely loved by his foster father,” Heath began. “He’s never caused trouble at school that wasn’t started by someone else. He’s trained with firearms but only for hunting in human form, to teach him the responsibilities of taking life and using every part. I’m sure everyone here understands why that’s an important lesson for a young moon cursed. He’s not allowed to keep a personal firearm on him at any time.”

“You said foster father… is he an orphan?” Marnar asked.

“Both he and his foster brother were removed from their childhood homes because of the actions of their parents. His parents are deceased,” Heath said, keeping it vague, but the message was clear. “They’ve been under the guardianship of a Beta werewolf for some time. They chose to stay in the pack with him when I declared myself as a Rogue. Since they’re minors, they’ll be given a way back into normal werewolf society when they reach adulthood without needing to prove their loyalty. Someone here might ask why that matters—”

“Oh, I think I understand,” Roland said, crossing his arms a few feet from Marnar. “So they wouldn’t see disturbing this gathering or killing a werecat as a way to redeem themselves to the established packs. They don’t need it. One of your werewolves might, but not them.”

“Exactly,” Heath agreed. “Now to the next point I feel needs to be made. There’s no evidence that my wolf was planning something like this. We’re not even sure why he left his home last night. He disappeared inside Jacky’s territory, leaving us stumped on how he got away from the pack without leaving a trail. There’s no evidence he got into a vehicle. This makes us concerned he was kidnapped. He’s not skilled enough to evade even a single adult werewolf this long, much less the entire pack.” Heath looked back at me, and I put my phone on the closet table.

“Jacky is about to play a recording provided by the BSA,” Zuri told everyone.

“It’s my wolf when he called in to their help and tip line to report the murder,” Heath said before I could hit play. “We know he was there. From the timeline the BSA and Jacky trust, he probably witnessed the murder.” He gave me a nod, and I hit play.

The volume didn’t need to be raised for the room. They could all hear Arlo and the agent clearly. When it was over, I put my phone away, knowing the tense silence was everyone making their decisions about what Arlo’s presence meant. As the silence grew longer, I tried to keep my anxiety to a minimum. Every moment of silence was another moment of no sympathy for Arlo. Every moment of silence could very well be someone planning how they were going to leave through us and go after him.

I have to trust Heath. He’s right. This is the point. Trusting each other. Showing my relationship with him isn’t a hindrance but a boon. That werewolves can be trusted and that I can work for everyone.

I shot a look at Zuri, knowing I couldn’t be the first one to speak up. We made eye contact, and she caught on quickly.

“I, for one, am inclined to believe he wasn’t there of his own free will,” Zuri said, sighing heavily. “I’ve never spent time with him, so I don’t know his character. I saw him once when I officially met the Everson pack on Sunday, but that benefited the pack to know who I was in case they saw me without Jacky. To me, though, that’s the voice of a scared young man. If he is guilty of killing Mason, I am inclined to wonder why he felt the need. A cold-blooded killer would have fun playing the game and knowing he was winning. That young man is not having fun.”

“As his Alpha, I take full responsibility for his actions. Even if he didn’t pull the trigger, he’s at the scene of the crime. He wasn’t supposed to go out alone last night. If he committed this murder, I will personally handle it. What I’m hoping from everyone here is to let my pack and me bring him in. This is not enough evidence to make him guilty.”

“Bullshit, it’s not,” Lonan snarled. “He’s on the call. I don’t know if that was an act or not.”

“You are being paranoid,” I accused, giving Lonan a disgusted look. “You just want to kill a teenage boy that badly, don’t you? You can come out and say it, you know.” He was pissing me off, and I was getting more tired of his bullshit by the moment.

“He’s not just any teenage boy. He’s a fucking werewolf—”

“Seventeen years as a human and seventeen as a werewolf aren’t that much different,” Abraham snapped. “He’s a bit stronger and most likely a bit more temperamental, but that doesn’t make him a perfect hunter. It doesn’t add up. I’m pretty sure everyone in this room agrees unless this kid is a genius, there’s no way he could evade everyone who’s looked for him. Mason was a grown-ass werecat. He should have seen the boy coming. Calm down, Lonan, before you piss someone off.”

“Piss someone off? If they won’t do their fucking jobs—”

“We are!” I roared across the room, making Lonan turn his attention back to me. “Sorry for being sensible and rational as we try to figure out the chain of events and all the pieces on the board. Sorry we didn’t jump to the immediate conclusion that we should execute a child. Do you not realize how goddamn insane you sound? It’s been less than twenty-four hours. Everyone has lost the fucking trail. If we could get him right now, we would, but wecan’t. And don’t stand there and say Heath lied. He hasn’t and won’t, not when it puts his wolf at risk.” I was seething as Lonan took one step toward me.

“If you act out of turn while we’re trying to handle this, we’ll correct that behavior, Lonan,” Zuri said, much calmer than I was. “You won’t like how I decide to do that.”

“You’re lucky you have powerful siblings,” he said, glaring at me as he stepped back again. Before I had any retort to that, Zuri lifted a hand.

“Are there any questions for Alpha Everson or his second?”

“What’s your plan to find him if there’s no trail?” Chao asked.

“Considering how busy the morning has been, we were remiss in asking his guardian if there was any way to track his phone,” Landon said, stepping up to his father’s side. He’d been leaning against the wall, probably to keep himself out of trouble. “I texted his guardian before coming downstairs. We’re hoping the phone will be turned on, and we’ll be able to get his location. The last time it showed any activity was at the place of the murder. He probably used it to call the BSA and report the body.”

“Aside from that, we’re expanding our search area,” Heath continued for Landon. “With only so many werewolves, covering large areas can take time, but we hope to pick up a trail. I would send werewolves to the crime or go myself, but I won’t put myself in the position to be implicated in tampering or ignoring evidence. It’s highly unlikely we would find anything Jacky or Zuri missed.”

I caught most of the werecats nodding, seeing the wisdom of what he was saying. He could have found something, but they understood the angrier werecats in the room would only find fault in him. They would trust Zuri and my evaluation, which would have to be enough. Since it was a majority of the group, I took note of those who didn’t.

Lonan was the most obvious, still glaring, his wishes clear. Marcia was another, with no obvious expression. She was quiet for this meeting, a little surprising considering how she enjoyed taunting Zuri or being the loudest in the room to express her displeasure. The last was Chao, but I wasn’t really sure how to feel about him. He was intelligent but impossible to read.

“Can we ask the BSA for help?” I asked, realizing no one had anything else after a moment. I bought them time by throwing out my idea. It was also a good idea. “Maybe we can put his picture out there. Boy missing. See if any tips get called in by humans or supernaturals. We’re all so heavily reliant on our noses, we forget everyone has eyes. They can reach places with a search we might not, and they’ll have more people. If I quietly tell them the situation, they could put their entire Dallas office on it.”

“No, it would expose his image,” Heath said, casting a wary glance around the room. I waited to hear his reasons. “I don’t know if I trust everyone in this room not to use that right now.” He frowned as he looked back at me, clearly making a decision.

“The BSA is already too involved for my comfort, but if we can’t find him after twenty-four hours, I’ll reach out tomorrow. If we don’t have him in hand by dawn tomorrow morning, we’ll release a picture. The BSA can give it to the other human agencies and have them present him as a missing human boy, but not to approach because those around him might be supernatural and therefore, dangerous.”

“That’s a sound idea.” Zuri sat on top of the table in front of us, her back to the room. “Jacky?”

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