Page 13 of Fallen
I didn’t tell Gerald or the others where we were going or what we found, a requirement of my new employment. However, I’m so used to doing all this shit on my own that it kind of slipped my mind.
In the time where the unicorn nearly speared through me and coming to sit in front of my ask, I used every last moment to research a man I thought I knew. Or at least, knew well enough. The problem is that with a few, quick, pointed searches, I found out that I didn’t really know him at all.
He didn’t have a rap sheet a mile long but he had more than just family. He had grandparents that he never mentioned. He also had a twin.Elias.Someone who just happened to attend the same college we did.
I never thought to research Silas before this moment. Even after we broke up, I just tried to move on. His ‘secrets’ or past life didn’t really bother me. I was too hurt to care. And now, I wish I had.
My shoulders fall as I stare at Silas, wondering what the fuck is going on in his head. He sips the whiskey in front of him, mine untouched. I’m not here for a social call. Although, Silas looks like I very well might have called him out here for a date. “It’s really nice to see you again, Leviathan.”
“Cut the crap, Silas,” I snap, leaning forward. My magic flickers, and I force myself to stay visible, my hands gripping the table. After Rowan threw out my ginger pouch, I decided to just try harder and control my magic. Hearing my mates constantly grumble about the smell wasn’t worth it. “Your twin, Elias. He’s the unicorn killer, isn’t he? And youknew.”
Silas’s smile fades as he sets his mug down, his fingers tightening around the handle. “You always were sharp like that. I didn’t know where he was until only recently and there’s lot of unicorn shifters so it never crossed my mind that it could be him.” He manages a shrug like none of this phases him.
I narrow my gaze at him. “Bullshit. You gave me that notebook and pointed me to the preserve. You knew he’d be there.”
He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I suspected. Elias and I… we haven’t been close in years. We had a falling-out after college. He got into some dark shit—smuggling, black-market magic. I tried to pull him out, but he went off the deep end. Started ranting about unicorn superiority, how he’s meant to rule over other shifters.”
I scoff, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Great family reunion. One twin’s a sleaze, the other’s a serial killer. You must be so proud. Why the fuck did you not tell me you had a fucking twin?” Silas winces, and I feel a pang of guilt, but I shove it down. He doesn’t get to play the victim here. “What’s his deal, Silas? Why’s he killing young male shifters? And why the hell is your scent all over this? Because, I get that yours are similar but distinctlyyoursis the one I found on the last body.”
He leans back, his eyes darting to Rowan and Amand, who are glaring daggers back at him. Silas lowers his voice. “Elias… he’s unstable. Always has been. He’s got this idea that unicorns are the apex predators, that other shifters are weak. He’s proving a point, I think. Killing to show he’s untouchable.”
“And the scent? You’re not a unicorn, Silas. You shifted for me once, panther, clear as day. So why do you smell like one?”
He hesitates. “We’re twins, Lev. Our magic’s linked, even if we’re different shifters. I’m a panther, yeah, but Elias’s unicorn magic bleeds into mine. And the other way around. It’s why you caught it on me. I’m not the killer, I swear.”
He’s telling the truth, mostly, but he’s holding back. “What aren’t you telling me, Silas? Because Elias isn’t just killing random shifters. He’s targetingme. People I know. People I’ve helped. That body in my truck? That wasn’t a coincidence.”
Silas’s eyes widen, and for a moment, he looks genuinely shaken. “He’s… targeting you?”
“Don’t play dumb,” I snap, my magic flaring. I feel myself fade, my skin blending into the booth, and I curse, focusing to reappear. Silas stares, shock filtering into his expression but I push past it. “Yeah, I’m a Chameleon shifter. Surprise. Now talk.” Probably not the best thing to reveal to him but I need his explanations. The more I give him, the more likely he is to open up.
And if he tries anything, my mates will be right there.
“Elias… he’s obsessed with you. I told him about you back in college, when we were still close. About us, how much you meant to me. He got it in his head that you were… special. When I cut him off, he fixated on you, said you were the key to proving his point. I didn’t know he’d go this far, Lev. I thought he was just… unhinged, not a murderer.”
Elias’s obsession with me is because of Silas’s stories? It’s like a bad soap opera and I’m the unwilling star. “You told him about me? And now he’s killing because of it? Fuck, Silas, you really know how to screw up my life. And why now? College wasyearsago.”
He flinches, his eyes pleading. “I’m sorry, Lev. I didn’t know. He only found me a couple of months ago and then found you while you were on that last case with the witch. I thought giving you the notebook would help you stop him.”
A bitter laugh falls from my lips. “Help? You led me into a trap! He nearly skewered me last night!”
Rowan’s chair scrapes across the floor, and I glance over to see him standing, his eyes slitted, fangs peeking out from his upper lip. Amand is mirroring his stance on my other side, my head hanging low at their need to put Silas in his place. I just shake my head and continue questioning Silas. “What else, Silas? What’s Elias planning? And don’t you dare lie to me.”
Silas exhales, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t know his endgame, Lev. He’s in the grove after driving out some of the other rogue shifters. Only those loyal to him are still hanging around. He’s got this… cult thing going, preaching unicorn supremacy. I heard he’s planning something big, but I don’t know what. I swear, that’s all I’ve got.”
I stay for a few more seconds before pushing Amand out of the way to leave the bar. This time, I’m not coming back here. If I need something else, I’ll call. Silas calls out after me but I just throw him the middle finger and stalk outside. Now that I knowElias is targeting me for some asinine jealous reason, I need a plan.
And I think I know just the one.
Chapter 10
ROWAN
“No. Absolutely not. I veto this idea.”
Lev grins at me as he fixes his bowtie in the rear mirror, the fucker somehow convincing Gerald to let him play bait at the shifter ball. It’s some supernatural gala that happens at least three times a year, perfectly coinciding with this case. After debriefing Gerald and the others on what we found, we all agreed that Lev sticking his neck out there was what would bring Elias out into the open.
The problem was how we agreed on making that happen. Amand and I thought about setting up a meeting, just to meet and not let him know that we were on to him or conducting more investigative work regarding his whereabouts.
