Page 75 of Bitter Discord

“Arlo isn’t dead yet,” Heath said before I could think of anything to say. “If our theory is correct, when the killer is done with their plans, they’ll kill Arlo, and he’s not dead yet.”

“For all you know, your little punk werewolf killed Mason then ran off. He could be hiding with a different pack now,” Lonan snarled. “You’re a rogue, and every werewolf in your pack is as well, thanks to following you. You don’t have the connections to talk to the other packs anymore, so he could be hiding with any number of them.”

“If he did that, he would be at the mercy of the Council’s judgment, and they would never take in a werewolf who killed a werecat in cold blood,” Heath countered without missing a beat. “There might be a history of war and animosity between our kinds, but there is Tribunal Law we are all required to follow. Murder is punished with execution.”

“Like they would—”

“Callahan stood aside when I killed Alpha Price of the Boston pack,” I said, turning a steady look on Lonan. “He defended Price up to a point. He didn’t fight it once it was proven to be the truth that Price set me up and had Liza killed. While the rulers of both our species might not like each other, they understand the Law is required to keep the peace. If they sheltered a young werewolf guilty of murder, especially the murder of a guest of our family, they would need to be hidden and hidden well.”

“Even then, if Callahan and Corissa knew they needed to hand him over, they would,” Zuri added. “They’re smart, those two. Young Arlo is, practically speaking, worthless. Not yet a man, not powerful, and would have a terrible reputation after that point. They would reward him for one night of causing us grief, then turn him over for the inevitable execution.”

“Does Arlo know the rules kept by the North American Werewolf Council and the Tribunal?” I asked Heath, his eyes now ice blue.

“Yes. He’s about to be an adult. He’s fully educated on the laws of the supernatural world. It’s mandatory education for werewolves, at least from the perspective of the Alphas in this country.”

“If he was the murderer and wanted to get away with it, what would he do?” Zuri asked next. “Just so the room understands why we’re certain he’s not the killer. Not that it should need to be further stated since we have plenty of evidence pointing to the fact that it’s not him.”

“He could book a plane and leave the state, though he wouldn’t get far. We’re tracking his spending cards, and he has no resources of his own because he’s a minor. His foster father has access to everything. He’s a minor without the proper documentation to leave the country unless he did it on foot. He might run into border agents at that point and get shot… or arrested.”

“Or both,” Landon muttered.

“There’s no recourse for him,” Zuri concluded, Heath nodding in confirmation. “So, unless he’s the stupidest boy who has ever walked the earth, which I doubt, the theory is the only thing we have that makes any sense. Any more stupid accusations, Lonan?”

“I think this is madness,” Lonan growled. “Trusting humans and werewolves? You two are the ruling family of werecats, and you’ll go to werewolves and humans to solve this? He’s going to protect his murderous runt, and you two are going to let him. I getherbeing a soft idiot because she’s ridinghisdick,” He pointed in my direction, finger flying between me and Heath. “But not you.” He pointed at Zuri last, his fury more than apparent, contempt in every line of his expression.

“You used to be one of the most fearsome members of your damn family. You would have never considered using humans to protect your own people. You would have done it yourself. And werewolves? They’ve never wanted to keep us safe, and you think they willnow? You think they’ll come to save us, then take their boy and go? Or maybe they’ll kill us when they get the chance.”

“I choose the path that leads to the best outcome. This is not the first time that working with others has led to the best outcome. We picked peace and a bad bargain to protect werecats from being wiped out. If we had lost the war in Europe, it wouldn’t have stopped there, so we bargained. Wefoundedthe Tribunal with fae, witches, vampires, and werewolves. We only have one member at that table, but we did it, and werecats have grownstrongagain. Now the Tribunal is the most dominant coalition of supernaturals powers on the planet, and my father remains a member, not only able to shape werecat lives but the lives of all supernaturals.” Zuri lifted her chin, regal as a queen.

“This is why my family rules and no one else’s. We’re smart enough to realize we can take a small loss to gain more in the final victory. We can shake someone’s hand and work with them for the common good while continuing to edge out in power and take the long war in our favor. Yes, we will work with the humans and the werewolves today. Perhaps tomorrow, we will face an issue where we don’t. We’re not so weak as to call in unnecessary help. We’re also not so stupid to think we can survive alone in this world and succeed well enough to make the majority happy.”

Lonan opened his mouth, but Zuri lifted a hand.

“Don’t, Lonan. Stop asking stupid questions and throwing baseless accusations at us because you hate the werewolves. I’m tired of it. Since it’s clear you won’t help, the least you can do is stay out of the way. Is that understood?”

“There’s something wrong with you and your sister if she can get you to buy into this idiotic plan,” Lonan snapped. “If any of the rest of your family was here, they would make sure you didn’t need the help of the dogs.”

“Maybe the only problem here is your attitude, Lonan,” I snarled at him.

“The fact that you trust the dogs who killed your sister astounds me, but I guess it makes sense because you weren’t even born yet,” Lonan said, glaring across the room with pure, unadulterated hate. “You weren’t there for the war, so you don’t know how they tore our kind apart, limb by limb, with twenty of them and one of ours. You don’t remember the howls that woke up the night, even for those of us not involved. Chased from our homes, our humans killed, our villages burned, our lands desecrated. Even their children participated.”

“You and all the other fucking hateful assholes in the world just refuse to open your goddamn eyes to the truth. You look at someone, without regard to their character, and make a judgment without facts. You would rather believe wild theories about how a boy is a villain than look at your own black soul in the mirror. You look at my fiancé, who hasn’t lied once to you, and you believe the worst of him even though he wasn’t around for your damn war, either. He did nothing to you. I’m fucking tired of people like you, Lonan. You’reeverythingthat’s wrong with this world. You and Has—” I stopped myself as I choked on my father’s name. I looked at Zuri for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise and horror, then walked out of the room without saying anything else.

Breathing hard, I went out the backdoor and paced, fists so tight, I felt my nails in my skin.

Fuck.

I stayed outside even when I grew tired of pacing. Sitting, I stared at the backdoor. I couldn’t crawl back now. I didn’t want to. I had just made a monumental mistake, and if anyone caught it, they would know too much about the state of the family.

It was nearly an hour later when Zuri came outside.

“You’re everything that’s wrong with the world,” she whispered, repeating what I said. “You and…” She eyed me. “They’re all still in the basement, thinking about whether they want to help. Heath and Landon are in the office near the front door, talking to their pack. You can tell me.”

“You know the next word,” I muttered.

“Why would you go so far as to lump him in with someone like Lonan?” She was genuinely confused as she walked closer.

“He told me peace didn’t require me fucking a dog.” Chest tight, I looked away from her. “Well, that’s not the entire sentence, but the fucking a dog part is an exact quote. He said more, but it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. It doesn’t matter so much, I haven’t bothered to tell Heath anything he said. It wouldn’t help anything to do that. Just now… I guess every time Lonan talks, I can’t help but think… If I wasn’t his daughter, would he treat me the same way Lonan does? Would he have already had Hisao kill Heath and me?”

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