Page 22 of Huntress and the Splintered Court
“I thought you said you didn’t think it was vampires?”
“I didn’t.”
“And now?” he asked. I considered all the information stored in my head. It didn’t make sense. Sure, the vampires could be working with Reed’s squad, and all signs pointed to that they were, but Drake wouldn’t do something so childish as flaunt the capture of two werewolves unless he had a good reason. The signs were too obviously aimed at the vampires. The werewolves didn’t have the technology to hijack the Order’s system and modify results without a hunter’s help, neither did the vampires. If all three groups were working together why would they aim Gideon at Drake? Unless… What if Gideon was being set to attack the vampires and not Drake directly?
My eyes went wide as I turned and raced back to the manor. Gideon followed after me, calling out my name, but I couldn’t answer him. My mind turned as I charged into his office and to the elevator.
“Isabel!” He grabbed my shoulder making me look at him.
“Five minutes,” was all I uttered as the cart doors opened and we both stepped in. Once in our room, I headed to my computer. Gideon lingered back observing what I was doing without question. I was so charged with energy that I bounced waiting for the computer to awake. Finally, I had my program loaded and I was calling Eric.
“Isabel?” Eric answered rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“How sure are you that the vampires couldn’t have tampered with our files?”
“Ninety-nine percent.”
“And the werewolves?”
“Same. What’s this about, Isabel?”
“Hear me out. You say the vampires couldn’t have tampered with the files and yet the evidence was modified. First to make the vampires look guilty and then for the werewolves to appear hot tempered. The alteration could have very well been the hunters, but why? Why aim us in the vampires’ direction?” I tried my best to speak my thoughts as clearly as I could so as to not confuse Eric. I needed him on the same wavelength as me.
“The hoard was ready for you. Fabricated evidence to get you there… They baited a trap.”
“How? They couldn’t have known Gideon would react the way he had unless the werewolves against Gideon told the hunters who then alerted the vampires, but why would Reed when…”
“He’s hot on you?”
I nodded. “The two missing wolves were just delivered by what appeared to be two vampires, but what if they only appeared to be vampires?”
“You’re confusing me now.”
“None of this makes sense since you caught Drake meeting with Reed. There’s a werewolf rebellion rising up within the pack. The hunters are working with the vampires and so we can assume the werewolves are too. And yet, the evidence was all made to look like the vampires kidnapped the werewolves. Why would Reed double-cross the vampires unless he’s only crossing a portion of them, perhaps the faction that has begun uprising against Drake?”
The room fell deathly quiet. When the central air clicked on, I jumped from the sudden noise in the otherwise chasm of silence. Neither Gideon nor Eric spoke as they considered what I said. It was a perfect plan. Drake eliminated the threat to his power. The supernatural community alienated Gideon until the faction within rose up against him. Reed would have the two supernatural powers at his disposal, and while he could never openly move against my father without cause, he’d have the perfect plan if my father ever made the slightest mistake.
“If what you’re saying is true,” Eric whispered almost afraid to interrupt the silence. “Then we need to work harder to bring down the rebellion within the pack. If you can smoke out the party, they can roll over on Reed and this all ends.”
“And the vampires?”
He shrugged. “They know they’re divided. We just don’t need to add gasoline to their fire.”
After my call ended with Eric, Gideon stood patiently propped against the wall. He’d been out of the frame of the camera and I wasn’t sure if it was intentionally.
“You could be wrong, you know?” His eyes bore into me, as he considered all that I’d said.
“Oh?”
“Eric might be right and it was all a trap. Maybe Reed didn’t know you’d be there. Your life has been threatened multiple times since you’ve arrived. If Reed were involved don’t you think that that wouldn’t be the case.”
“I don’t know. Maybe he wasn’t involved the whole time. It’s been awhile since someone has tried to kill me.”
Gideon shook his head. With a huff he shoved off the wall. “A month.”
“No.” My brow furrowed as I thought back. Tonight was the full moon. Shit. It had only been a month. So much had happened. I went from being the huntress denying herself what she wanted simply because the Order commanded I shouldn’t desire it, to living with a werewolf who gave me almost nightly orgasms. I went from hating Gideon to loving him. Quickly I shoved the thought from my head worried Gideon would see it and I wasn’t ready to tell him. Like he said, it’d only been a month.
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