Page 10 of Deadly Reckoning (Broken Ashes #7)

Neith

S he tenses, “There won’t be any on the compound, will there?”

River steps up on my other side, “They’re all being executed, Asher is ensuring it.”

Rana nods, relief filling her expression, “Let’s go then. Now that I know I can get away from here, I can’t fucking wait to leave.”

“What did Asher say?” I ask River.

“He did an alpha order over his pack bond to all of his wolves, none of them will be able to say anything about me, and my part in what happened today,” River replies with a relieved smile.

I nod, “Good. At least that means that there isn’t something else that we need to worry about.”

We head over to where Van is. I have no idea where the others have gone, but I’m sure that they’re milling around somewhere and helping out where they can.

“Hey, Nene. Everything okay?” he asks me as he pulls me under his arm and kisses the top of my head gently, before letting me go again.

I grin up at him and then quickly explain the situation. He smiles at a nervous Rana and then sends a quick text, receiving one back immediately.

He grins, “Mom says, the more the merrier. She’s going to set you up in the little cabin in the woods, instead of the B&B . . .”

“You’ll love it, fewer people, and it’s super fucking cute,” I tell her with a smile. “It was one of my favorite places.”

“Fewer people definitely sounds like a good thing,” Rana grins.

Van nods, “Mom has got people stocking it with food and supplies for you, including some clothes, so you won’t need to worry.”

Rana’s eyebrows climb high on her forehead, “Seriously?”

“I told you they were awesome,” I say quietly, and she just nods.

“She’s going to leave her number there for you, and you are welcome at the main compound whenever you like. She actually said that if it got too lonely, then there is a room there for you as well,” Van explains. When Rana just continues to stare at him, he adds, “Mom loves to help.”

“It's so kind,” Rana mutters quietly.

“They should be here any minute now. I’ve sent Merrikh, Logan, and Dare off ahead to the B&B. Things were getting a little bit tense as more wolves were recognizing him,” River adds.

I nod, “Yeah, that was a good idea.”

“Is that the wolf that set fire to the hellhole?” Rana asks me, curiosity and caution shining in her eyes.

I nod, “Yeah, that’s him.”

“He shouldn’t be able to use magic like that,” she mutters, her expression closed off.

After a moment of being lost in her mind, she adds, “Before you say anything, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.

I don’t have anyone to tell anyway, and I saw the way that Asher dealt with it.

So I know that it’s not something that is common knowledge.

Not that it should be anyway, it’s not safe. ”

She pauses again. She seems to know something about wolves with power, and if I had to guess, I would assume that it’s because she has power herself that she shouldn’t, or knew someone who did.

I felt her power level when she shifted, and she is far stronger than any of the wolves here.

Whether that’s because she’s got a gift like Merrikh is an entirely different question though, and one that I can’t answer without asking her.

Right now, getting her somewhere that she is safe is more important than asking that question.

Besides, she may tell me herself at some point, and if anyone knows about the importance of keeping quirky things to yourself, it's me.

“What’s his story?” Rana asks curiously. “I don’t remember seeing him around the rest of the pack. I wasn’t allowed around them often, but I recognize everyone else.”

“You wouldn’t recognize him,” River replies. He then quickly explains the situation, and the longer that he talks, the more horrified Rana looks.

“I had no idea that he was down there. Hell, I didn’t even realize that there was a basement.

I would have done something if I had known,” she says.

“God, he must fucking hate me. He probably thinks that I knew he was there and chose not to do anything about it. Are you sure it's safe for us to both be at the compound? I don’t want to piss him off any more than he’s probably already pissed at me.

River shakes his head, “He knows your story, too. He doesn’t hold anything against you, after all, what is there to hold against you? He was put there before you came here, and you didn’t do anything to him.”

She looks surprised by River’s words, “Are you sure?”

River nods, “Yes. Honestly, it’s fine.”

We all hear the rumble of engines, the sign that Calia and Eamon have arrived.

Van looks at Rana, “The compound is massive, bigger than this territory. Your cabin is right on the edge of the town, and the town is pretty big. He wants to avoid people as much as you do, for the same reasons that you do. So you won't have to worry about running into him, even though it wouldn’t be a problem if you did.”

Rana nods with a slight smile, “Thank you.”

“Can she just leave? Or does she need to sever ties or something?” I ask, I know some things about packs, but I have no idea how leaving a pack works.

River shakes his head, “I already checked her pack bond, and she’s not bonded to the pack.”

“I’m not?” Rana says, sounding surprised.

River shakes his head, “No, you’re not, and I can’t work out how or why. I didn’t check before, so I don’t know if you severed the connection yourself when you rejoined your wolf.”

“Is that even possible?” She asks.

River shakes his head, “It’s not supposed to be, but then again, you aren’t a normal wolf, so I guess anything is possible.”

She tenses at River’s words, but doesn’t say anything. I can’t decide if she knows what River is talking about or if it’s a surprise to her that she isn’t a normal wolf.

I’m not going to ask. Right now, she wouldn’t tell me anyway, and she certainly doesn’t know me well enough to share her secrets with me.

Maybe someday we will get to that point, but for now, I’m leaving it alone.

Just like I’m leaving alone the fact that she seems to have knowledge of wolves with power, something that is supposed to be impossible.

For all I know, the answers could be one and the same.

I certainly wouldn’t share all of my secrets with her, even though she knows a couple by this point, not as many as Merrikh though.

I really hope that the Voices are right about him, and about allowing him to see me shifted, and I really hope it’s not going to bite me on the ass.

That can be put in my ‘problem for another day’ pile.

A convoy of vehicles drives up to the still-smoldering house.

The fire burned hot and fast, and the pack house was reduced entirely to ash.

Even things that shouldn’t have burned have been turned to ash.

There isn’t anything that you would expect to find in a burnt-out husk of a building.

There are no random bits of metal, no charred wooden beams. There isn’t even a sign of the foundations. The entire place is just gone.

It’s fucking impressive.

“I didn’t realize that such a big group of wolves had gone to attack you,” Asher says as he comes to stand next to us.

“That’s because only one of those vehicles has what is left of the wolves loyal to Derek.

The others most likely contain food,” Van explains with a slight smile.

He knows his parents well, and there is absolutely no way that they would not bring food and supplies after hearing about what the pack has been through.

Asher grins, “Ah, I had almost forgotten how much Calia likes to feed people.”

“It's her solution for almost everything,” I reply with a fond smile as I wave at them as they get out.

“Well, I don’t think anyone will complain. We’ve all been on rations and basic food for decades,” Amari says. “I’ll go and organize it.”

As she walks off, I shake my head. The more we learn about Derek, the more grateful I am that he’s dead and that River unmade him.

“I don’t think she’s going to have to tell anyone,” Raiden grins, coming to stand behind me, and I lean back into him as he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head on top of mine.

We all grin as wolves start to appear from the woods where the cabins are, and pretty much from every other direction as well.

“I think we had better help set up,” Reed suggests with a smile.

We all move to help, and I reluctantly step out of Raiden’s arms as he gives me a final squeeze.

Calia and Eamon smile proudly at us as we approach.

Ransom calls over the chatter of the excited wolves, “Everyone move right back for a moment, please, and go and stand by the vehicles.”

Everyone immediately does what he’s asked, and Ransom makes a big show of producing a really long table and some chairs in the middle of the space so that everyone can eat.

Even though I know that he could make it appear with pretty much no effort on his part, and doesn’t need to use words or hand gestures like other warlocks need to.

“Thank you,” Calia smiles as she thanks Ransom. She turns to Amari, “Don’t worry. We’re not staying. We’ve just come to drop off the extra food we had, and then we’ll get out of your hair and leave you to it.”

“I’ve got the traitors,” Eamon says. “Let me know where you would like us to put them.”

“This way,” Asher says, his expression stoic, and a distinctive growl in his voice.

While they deal with that, we all start to set the table, and everyone spreads the word that there’s food out here. Not that there are that many wolves that aren’t already out here.

Several wolves begin to pick up food to take it into the medical building, but before they can, the doors open, and the wolves who were in there, needing treatment and time to heal, come out looking as good as new. I spot Doc following them with a huge smile and looking very tired.

“There were twenty wolves in there that needed high-level healing,” Griff mutters. His eyes scan the crowd, “From the looks of it, he’s healed them all.”