Page 21 of Bloodbane
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Uncharted Territory
{ G R A Y S O N }
When I lower myself back onto the bunk, I turn from the door, unable to watch Ruby step out of the station and into danger. The cot frame dents in my hold. Footfalls approach, and I shift to watch but remain on the bunk. My body is spent. When this new shifter decides to attack, I’ll go down swinging, but I will go down. I’m glad Ruby isn’t here to witness it.
The hulking lycan moves quietly for his size, with movements that speak of lethal confidence. He stops two feet from the bars.
“It was you? You’re the one who killed Rob and Gage?”
Irritation builds inside me. I’ve had enough of playing twenty questions, and I don’t owe the bastard anything, let alone answers. If the lycan knows who killed his packmates, he sure as hell knows why.
“Answer me, Eirik.”
The name cuts through me like a silver bullet. A thousand thoughts streak through my mind in a second: forks of lightning branching out, seeking grounding, seeking answers. Each one is as impossible as the one before. The only person still drawing breath who knows me by that name is…
“ Thay? ”
Throughout my centuries spent languishing on this planet, I have witnessed some genuinely extraordinary changes—yet all of them pale in comparison to the transformation of the man standing before me. Thayne had been so different the last time I had seen him. Barely reaching my shoulder, he’d been a study in contrasts: piss and vinegar pickling his bones and padding his skin, forever raging against the world even while his slight body struggled to contain an immeasurable heart.
I rise slowly. Uncharted territory is best explored without sudden movements; I’m not used to feeling at a disadvantage. The distance to the bars is closed with three measured strides, but the past twelve years remain a yawning chasm between us.
My eyes trace the hard lines of Thayne’s body, now much taller and broader, with sun-kissed skin stretched across endless swells of muscle instead of modest bones. The thin jaw has squared, too-sharp cheekbones have mellowed to chiseled perfection, and his eyes… once the color of bitter chocolate, they’re lighter now. Amber. Almost gold. And the familiar fragrances of charcoal and paint that always lingered on Thayne’s skin have changed too, chased away by the unmistakable scent of wolf.
“You were bitten.” The bitterness wrapped around my words is audible even to me, but there’s no way to fight the undeniable truth standing before me.
Something unreadable flashes in Thayne’s eyes, but it’s gone as quickly as it appears. “Why did you kill them?” His voice is cold.
“Why do you care?” I do my best to match the tone, shoving down the tempest of emotions raging inside me. “Aren’t they the ones that stole your life from you?”
“I care because you killed two people! I thought you didn’t do that anymore .”
The venom in Thayne’s voice stuns me, but it’s my own words being thrown back at me that lands like a physical blow to my chest. “They weren’t human, they don’t count.” A twisted sense of satisfaction blooms as the barb hits its target. “And if they were your pack, you already know why I had to.”
Thayne steps forward, wrapping a fist around a steel bar hard enough to reshape it. “Cut the bullshit. They were human when you slaughtered them. You can’t pretend it was a fair fight.”
I scoff. “Her scent lingers on your skin, just as yours taints her. I’m not certain what game you’re playing at, but I doubt it’s fair . Are you using her to get to me? Or do you enjoy playing with your food before you devour it these days?” I push forward against the bars, so close I can feel Thayne’s sharp exhale dance across my cheeks. “I saw them on the lake that morning. I don’t care how your pack-mutts mastered force-shifting, but I wasn’t going to turn a blind eye and let them kill an innocent, or worse, turn her. I had to stop them. And if it comes to it, I will stop you, too.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Forced shifting? Killing?” Thayne shakes his head. “Bullshit. Stop lying to me, Eirik! For once, just tell me the fucking truth.”
A muscle ticks over Thayne’s jaw. The anguish in his eyes burns more than the venom running through my veins. I swallow down the malice coiled on my tongue and retreat from the bars before saying something I’ll regret.
“I never lied to you and you know it. What do I have to gain from starting now?”
Thayne releases the bar and runs a hand through his hair. “Because what you said is impossible.”
“Jesus, Thayne, wake up. Your pack mates are lying to you.”
“They can’t lie to me! They’re not my packmates, they’re my pack.”
The words knock the fight right out of me, wilting even as Thayne squares his shoulders and notches his head higher as if waiting to catch my rebuke on the chin. Staring at the pain-pinched, strange-yet-familiar face in front of me, something deep inside me breaks.
“You’re an Alpha.”
I had abandoned Thayne to save him, unwilling to turn him into a monster. And yet… Fate’s capricious humor has triumphed again. Pushing him away to save him had damned him.
Without another word, Thayne spins and strides away from the cell. He makes it to the door just as it swings open, and Ruby and Jones step back inside.
The relief that rolls through me at seeing Ruby unharmed momentarily eclipses all else. “Did you find him?”
Ruby moves into the cabin as Jones shakes the dense layer of snow from his jacket on the threshold. “No. He’s gone, and the storm is rolling in faster than anticipated. We lost the blood trail, and visibility will be down to naught within a few hours. We thought we ought to come back while we could.”
“Is it still fine for me to borrow your truck? If it’s as bad as you’re predicting, I’d like to collect the bodies and get home before it really sets in.” Thayne’s voice is tight, but it’s nothing on the coiled muscles of his body.
“Uh-huh.” Ruby fishes the keys out of her pocket and drops them into Thayne’s hand. “Milo is expecting you.”
Thayne hesitates, turning the keys over in his fingers. “Thank you. I’ll bring it back first thing in the morning.”
“No rush,” Ruby says quickly, head down, oddly preoccupied with her boots. “Whenever the storm dies down is fine. But if you wouldn’t mind taking Cooper to the clinic with you—”
“I’m fine,” Jones interjects with a scowl. “It’s not broken. Nothing some pizza, beer, and Animal Planet can’t fix.”
“I’d like Milo to give him the once over, just in case,” Ruby finishes, ignoring Jones’ protests, still not meeting Thayne’s gaze.
“Fine,” Cooper says resignedly, grabbing the station’s cell from the floor where it had landed during the fight. “But I’m on call tomorrow. Now that babysitting duty has been officially canceled, it’s probably going back to snooze-city around here. You should try to take advantage of it and get some beauty sleep, Rubik’s Cube. God knows you need it.” He waves over his shoulder as he trudges to the door. He holds his hand out to Thayne. “Surrender the keys, man. I’m driving.”
The wind swallows Thayne’s affirmation as he follows Jones out the door.