Page 93 of Bitter Discord

“He was waiting for me and the rest of the pack to arrive. We drove quickly. Now, spells like these often require an object, and it would have been activated with a drop of William’s blood. Considering William’s Talent is to completely obscure his scent, that could be difficult to find, but you need to find it. It’s not broken just because he’s dead. If you destroy it, everyone will be able to leave on their own. If I try to break it from out here, it could backlash and destroy the structure, potentially hurting or killing everyone inside.”

“Straight to business, huh?” I asked, shoulders sagging.

“Business is all I have until you can leave, and I can properly make sure you’re okay. I want to stay out here in case the BSA shows up. Half of the werewolves are in wolf form, and Landon is… well, not someone I would let talk to the BSA.”

“Yeah… yeah.” I nodded, smiling a little. “Thanks.”

“No need to thank me. You did all the work.” Zuri’s smile was humored and proud, a light of fucking sunshine to me during a very dark day. Then she turned her eyes to someone else, and her smile turned sweet, endearing, and affectionate. “Young man, you’ve been strong and brave. I saw how you threw yourself in front of Jacky. Thank you. Your father and brother will be here soon.”

I looked at Arlo as his chin went up in that defiant or proud werewolf way, and his chest puffed out a little.

“A werewolf defends the pack. She might be a werecat, but Miss Leon is our Alpha’s mate, and she’s part of the pack. She opened her home when we needed her. I wouldn’t let that guy hurt her anymore if I could stop it.”

The big wolf came over and very obviously sat between Arlo and me. He bumped me with his nose, but when I reached for him, he moved, and I saw how he leaned into Arlo. Arlo wrapped his good arm around Heath and leaned as well. Silent physical reassurance and acceptance.

“Jacky, you need to stop causing werewolves to fall in love with you,” Zuri teased. “Lonan, I’m sorry you have to see such a display.”

“It’s fine,” Lonan said hoarsely. “Big fucking werewolf.”

“He is,” I agreed.

“Now, Lonan and Jacky, you two hunt down the damn thing keeping you in there. Work together and check each other’s work. It could be anything, so long as there’s a drop of his blood on it.” Zuri clapped her hands, and that got us moving. We started in the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards, fridge, and pantry. When we didn’t find it, we moved to the first of the two bedrooms, leaving the door open.

Hours ago, I wouldn’t have trusted myself or Lonan to stay civil together alone in a room. Now, it didn’t even cross my mind until I realized how much things had changed in a single hour. Less than that, really.

“Would you have killed Arlo if I wasn’t here?” I asked softly, finally breaking the silence as I went through the bedside table.

“I don’t know,” Lonan said, clearing his throat. “I wish I could say no, but before you showed up, I knew William was going to kill both of us or stage it, so it looked as if we’d killed each other. He was… ranting and raving the moment I walked into the house, although he was cool and collected when he convinced me to come over. I hadn’t seen him in years before his father died, so I didn’t realize he’d gone mad. I even tried… warning him that there was a murderer on the loose, and he gave a very normal reaction. He wasn’t using his Talent, and he seemed fine.”

“Could you have beaten him in a fight?”

“I don’t know,” Lonan admitted softly. “He’s half my age, but William has always been…”

“Dangerous?”

“That.” Lonan nodded. “I’ve seen him kill werecats over a thousand years old, though back then, he wasn’t half-mad, just really intelligent. He’s always been like that. Something broke in him. I didn’t see it in time. So erratic, and…” Lonan sighed. “I didn’t know the kid was in the room. I was trying to buy time to figure something out, trying to keep William talking. I didn’t particularly want to die or become a murderer tonight, but when I saw how he was fighting you, and the kid wouldn’t go into a room and hide, I realized I could have taken him on earlier, so I jumped in. Didn’t expect your… fiancé to suddenly appear the way he did.”

“I wasn’t expecting that, either, but we’re alive now. William will wake up to silver bars and an execution date, so… I’ll stop asking what-if questions. It’s not fair to you. In the end, you helped, and I am very grateful, Lonan. Please understand that.”

“He’s… just a kid,” Lonan whispered, frozen, his eyes closed and a painful expression on his face. “He’s a kid.”

“Yeah.”

“And I thought…”

“You don’t think it anymore.”

“William was right about me. I was so easy to play right into his fucking bullshit plan,” Lonan snarled, but he seemed angrier at himself than anything else. “A kid.”

“Lonan?”

“I was about his age when werewolves stormed my mother’s territory, a thirty-deep hunting party,” he said, swallowing. “She pleaded for me to run and for them to spare me. I was born a werecat. I never hurt anyone, but this pack had recently moved into the area and decided all werecats needed to go. Preferably dead."

“Lonan…”

“It’s fine. I see what I became, and…” He grabbed something out of the closet and looked at me, holding it up. “I’ll just stay out of the way from now on. Go back to my territory and keep my mouth shut.” Frowning, he turned the object around in his hands. “You know, it was really something to see you offer your life for Arlo’s.”

“It was the first thing I could think to say to stop something from happening. I didn’t know where back up was yet. I just wanted to keep everyone talking for a minute until I had something good to say or do to change the outcome.”

---