Page 27 of Under Dark Skies

“Fine.” She said, settling into her seat. “Wake me in about an hour. I want to know everything about Rafe. So don’t give me your spark notes edition.”

He smiled at her, then reached over to squeeze her thigh. “I will make sure of it my darling.”

Twenty-Four

Rafe

Rafe wanted to keep Layla privy to everything that was going on. But he wasn’t lying when he said that there were literally decades of information that she didn’t know about. It wasn’t because he didn’t think she could take it—quite the contrary. It was because she had already been through so much within the past two days that he was hesitant.

But she was adamant that she wanted to know, and he was going to give her that. It comforted him to know that she was so ready to leap into his world. Or at least, willing to dip her toe in.

She had slept for almost two hours when she woke up. She immediately looked at the clock, shooting her gaze toward Rafe.

“Hey! I told you to wake me in an hour.”

Rafe grinned. “You looked so comfortable, I couldn’t bear to wake you.”

She smiled, then sat up straight. “Excuses.” She crossed her arms in mock anger.

Rafe sighed. He was moving backward in time in his mind, trying to locate the proper thread to begin his tale. It even confused him, it had been so long.

“Wolves, as you may know, are all about loyalty. It is literally sown into their DNA. The pack means everything to everyone, and anyone willing to disavow that is generally frowned upon. This is a generational commitment.”

Layla nodded, listening intently.

Rafe continued with his eyes on the road. “Wolves tubes are run by their high council—their Elders. They’re basically the leaders of all wolves in the tribe. In this part of the world, wolf tribes pledge allegiance to the Lycan Legacy. The Lycan Legacy is run by some truly elder wolves and they give direction to the entire pack. They’ve existed for thousands of years. Even before the Veil fell, they were behind every action large groups of wolves made in this part of the world. My uncle at some point was a part of that council.”

The road was dark and consistently, almost hypnotizing. Rafe felt himself relaxed and comfortable sharing himself with this woman. She was sitting quietly and hearing his every word. He couldn’t help but to swell with affection.

“He wasn’t that old when he died, in wolf years that is. It was believed he was assassinated by a traitor, but no one really knew for sure. I was young, but Griffen was there for me. I could have become a much more reckless wolf if it wasn’t for him.”

“And this is the oldest wolf in existence, right?”

Rafe nodded. She was interested and listening.

“Hundreds and hundreds of years old. You stop counting after a while.”

Layla laughed, and continued listening.

“Anyway, he instilled a very utopian ideal in me from a very young age. He believed that wolves—shifters too if you want to include them—and humans could live in harmony. He was never violent or believed in killing. As I grew older I tried to follow this way of thinking. It eventually led me to LA and I’ve been, I guess you could say, ‘spying’ on humans and wolf relations.”

He lifted one hand off the steering wheel to use air quotes. “I’ve been reporting back to Griffen my whole life. The Legacy counts on me to keep an eye on things around here, and before your letter, I only really had to negotiate a few scuffles and far leaning extreme thinkers. I’ve always heard a few rumblings, but nothing this bad has ever come to pass.”

Layla sighed. “That does sound like a lot to cope with.”

Rafe shook his head. “It honestly has been calm for a long time now. But maybe I was lulled into a false sense of security.”

Layla stared out the window, her mind putting all of the pieces together. “So who do you suspect?”

“There have been rumors for years about certain wolves who want nothing to do with humans. You’re always going to find that amongst people with differences. The main threat has always been Sol, and Malcolm.”

Very few cars moved with them on the highway. Rafe wasn’t too worried about being followed. He would have noticed that a while back.

“Sol runs a nightclub in LA. He was the first I went to a few days back. He doesn’t know me too well, so I used that to get an inclination of his thoughts. He is an angry wolf, and angry ones often make mistakes. He basically told me that there was some plan in motion, and that I should get on the right side.”

“Christ.” Layla said to her window.

“I know.” Rafe nodded. “But Malcolm is actually where the real threat lies. He is in an Elder and has been on the council for a long time. He’s made it pretty clear that he doesn’t agree with Griffen, but Griffen generally gets the last word. He’s been mouthing off for years but could actually do something really harmful.”

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