Page 9 of Deadly Reckoning (Broken Ashes #7)

River

I shake my head, “It’s not necessary, I trust you.”

Logan grimaces slightly, “Thank you, that really means a lot, but I’m a very chatty drunk, I don’t get drunk that often, but when I do, no secret is safe.”

“He’s right, that’s how we used to get any secret that we wanted out of him,” Dare replies with a smirk.

“That means you’re going to have to tell my dad whatever this secret is though, so that he can use the alpha voice. You won’t be able to give his wolves a command,” Merrikh says.

He must have forgotten that I used the alpha voice on him in order to get him to calm down in the basement. It’s not really surprising, a lot has happened in a short amount of time, and emotions are running high.

“River can,” Logan says.

“Well, that’s interesting, although I’m beginning to suspect that it's not exactly surprising when it comes to you lot. You all seem to be able to do things you shouldn’t be able to do,” Merrikh replies.

Neith grins, “That pretty much sums it up.”

I hesitate and ask Logan, “Are you sure, man?”

Logan nods, “Yep, do your thing.”

I shrug, and calling on my alpha magic, I say, “Logan, you are not allowed to speak of what you witnessed between me and Neith or anything to do with what you saw.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Logan replies with a grin.

“Does everyone know that you can do that?” Merrikh asks, his eyebrows drawn down in concern.

“Yep,” Raiden says. “He had control over the wolves, and his order overtook Derek.”

“Damn,” Merrikh says. “You know that’s not normal, right?”

I nod and sigh, “Yeah, I know.”

“Great. I’m going to assume that you don’t want everyone and their cousin to know about how you helped here, and what exactly you’re capable of,” he replies, making me smile.

I shake my head, “Not particularly, again, that’s something that’s going to cause me a problem.”

“In that case, you might have to put the order on the whole pack, which I’m just assuming that you can do, because otherwise someone is going to say something. Wolves are massive gossips,” Merrikh points out.

“He’s right, they’re going to want to tell everyone what they saw, especially the young ones. They’re going to want everyone to know what you did for us,” Dare adds. “It was fucking amazing. You freed us from decades of tyranny, and you did it with ease.”

I clear my throat. I really don’t like this kind of attention, it makes me uncomfortable. I did it because it needed to be done, not because I wanted recognition for something.

“I’ll talk to Asher, it’s his pack and I don’t want to step on his toes, or undermine him in front of his wolves,” I say.

“Speaking of, we should probably get this over with. I want to get the fuck out of this house,” Merrikh says, a sneer on his face.

“Would you rather do it outside?” Reed asks him.

Merrikh shakes his head, “Nope, I want to try and keep the reaction to as small a group as possible.”

“That’s a good idea,” Neith says with an understanding smile.

I hate that she understands and that she has experience with a situation like this. I guess it’s helping Merrikh, which is good, but I still don’t fucking like it.

Coen catches my eye and inclines his head. He knows what I’m thinking and how difficult I’m finding it. It’s actually not surprising that he has just settled back into the family and team with such ease, and he can obviously still read me like a book.

I turn around and pull the door open, finding Asher and Amari not too far away.

I gesture for them to come over, closing the door behind me so I can give them the same warning I gave Logan and Dare. I have a feeling that Merrikh isn’t going to take it quite as well as he did with Logan and Dare if his parents throw themselves at him.

“Can you guys come here for a minute?”

They both jog up the steps, looking extremely curious.

“Is everything okay?” Asher asks.

I nod, “Just remember to control your reactions, please, it’s really important.”

They both frown, but nod.

I open the door, but this time I leave it open. I have a feeling that we might need the space. Merrikh obviously decides that more space would be better as well because he strides out and meets his parents on the porch.

Amari gasps, her hands cupping her face as tears start to flow immediately, and Asher turns white.

“Hi Mom, hey Dad,” Merrikh says, sounding a lot more cautious than he was with Dare and Logan.

His mom slowly approaches him, thankfully remembering my warning in her shock.

She holds her arms, and he hugs her. Unlike with Logan and Dare, though, his body is tense, and he ends the hug a lot quicker.

Asher moves a little bit too quickly, and Merrikh flinches, releasing a harsh growl that seems to shock Asher.

Logan and Dare’s eyes are on Merrikh as they prepare to step in if he needs them to, but for the moment, they decide to stay where they are.

Understanding flashes through Asher’s expression, “I’m sorry.”

Merrikh nods and then hugs him, but I can tell that it’s getting difficult.

“I’m sure that you both have lots of questions, which you can ask in time, and when, or rather if, Merrikh is ready,” Neith surprises me by saying to them, a touch of alpha slipping into her tone and giving them a very definite warning that they need to leave it up to Merrikh and do everything on his terms.

Asher and Amari nod their understanding, and Neith smiles sweetly, like she didn’t just subtly threaten them.

She’s amazing.

“Let’s get the fuck away from this house,” Reed says.

We all head down the porch and away from the house. Amari reaches out to Merrikh as they walk, and he flinches away from her, prompting Logan and Dare to step up on either side of him.

Merrikh pauses and turns back around to look at the house that held him captive for years.

“Are you okay?” Amari asks gently, thankfully, her expression is understanding and not taking to hear Merrikh’s reactions.

“No,” Merrikh replies with brutal honesty.

I frown and share a look with Neith as magic begins to build. I realize that it’s coming from Merrikh too late, and with a precision that speaks of practice and a level of anger that only barely scratches the surface of what he must feel, he launches an enormous fireball at the house.

The magical fire spreads quickly, burning hotter than it should, and impressing me with its sheer ferocity.

The intense moment is broken by Rana, whooping loudly.

“Fuck yeah!” she grins, and points at a surprised and slightly amused looking Merrikh, “I have no idea who you are, but you’re fucking awesome, throw another one for me, would you?”

Logan and Dare burst out laughing, and Merrikh smirks and throws another one as easily as fucking breathing. Rana grins and nods in thanks before going back to staring at Derek’s body.

The thing is, wolves don’t have magic. They shift, they’re hunters and trackers, stronger and faster than most, but they can’t do magic like Merrikh just did.

“I thought we told you about that,” Asher starts, the tone of his voice instantly rubbing Merrikh the wrong way.

It’s also clear to me that the fire thing isn’t a new gift of Merrikh’s, and is probably one that his father has made him hide, most likely for his safety.

Merrikh’s eyes narrow as he looks at his father, and I already feel the alpha in him rise to meet Asher’s. Merrikh must sense it too, and he shares a look with Logan and Dare, who both nod.

“This isn’t going to work. I officially put my leave in from the pack,” Merrikh says immediately, with no hesitation, shocking his parents.

“I do too,” Dare says.

“Me too,” Logan adds.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Amari says, emotions in her voice as she realizes that her son is going to leave again.

Asher sighs, “Actually, it is. He’s an alpha, and he’s stronger than me. I accidentally triggered his wolf when I forgot he’s an adult and spoke to him like that. Which means that now, if we’re in the same pack, our wolves will insist on fighting it out at some point. You know this love.”

“I know, but we literally just got him back,” Amari says, emotions thick in her voice.

“It’s not goodbye, they can come back for cookouts, and I’m sure we will see them at the compound and family occasions, but we can’t be in the same pack or live in the same territory,” Asher replies.

Merrikh nods in agreement, then smirks, “Plus, there is such a thing as phones.”

Amari’s laughter is watery, but she rolls her eyes at his antics.

“And you better use it, understood?” she says.

Merrikh nods, “Yep, promise.”

“Is a week long enough to get things sorted?” Asher asks.

All three of them nod.

“We’ll get out of here as quickly as we can. We don’t want to upset the pack,” Logan says with a frown.

“They’ve been through enough,” Dare adds.

“Well, I don’t have anything to pack, so I’m good to go,” Merrikh grins.

“What about the compound?” Evander suggests, he looks at Dare and Logan, “If you grab your stuff and tell those you want to know that you are leaving, then you can stay at the compound until you figure it out.”

“Are you sure?” Merrikh asks.

Van nods, “Absolutely. Let me call them, they’re waiting for an update anyway.”

Following my instincts, I turn to Asher, “It appears that your new beta will naturally make himself known when these three leave the pack grounds. I don’t think that Logan was ever supposed to be your beta.”

Asher grins, “No. He wasn’t.”

I have to admit that I’m surprised about how well Asher is taking all of this, and it’s just even more proof that he is the right wolf to lead this pack. I am also one hundred percent certain that Merrikh is supposed to be the alpha of his own pack and that Logan and Dare are a part of that.

Somehow, I also know that his pack is not just the three of them, there are more. I’m not entirely sure how many more, but something tells me that at some point, that’s going to be a skill that I have.

My magic is fucking insane, and honestly, it's going to take me some time to wrap my head around all of the changes.

I shouldn’t know when a shifter is in a True Pack, I shouldn’t know whether they’re an alpha without them knowing, and I shouldn’t be able to tell an alpha how many wolves are supposed to be in their pack.

None of that is supposed to be possible.

Hell, even Ahren can’t do that. At least it’s not something that he’s shared, and that’s going to cause me problems if he finds out that I can.

Despite all of that, I fucking love my new magic, I love that I can see pack bonds, and help in this way. It feels right, and probably not as scary as it should.

I push the thoughts away to deal with later. I’ve definitely got some practice to do, but for now, we need to sort this situation out. Merrikh, Logan, and Dare feel like friends, lifelong ones, and I want to make sure that they’re all going to be okay.

They all hug again, although the hugs that Merrikh gives are incredibly short, and then the three of them rush off to pack their shit and tell the people they need to.

“He’ll be okay, they’re a True Pack,” I tell Amari and Asher as they look after them worriedly.

Asher’s gaze snaps to mine, “A True Pack? Are you sure?”

I nod, “Yes.”

“You know, if anyone else had told me that, I would have assumed they didn’t know what they were talking about, but I’ve seen and heard what you’re capable of, so I’m inclined to believe you. Thank you for reassuring us by telling us that,” Asher replies.

I nod and smile, “Of course, and speaking of things that you have seen and heard . . .”

“I’m going to go and help Rana burn Derek, I feel like that needs to be done quickly before she fixates,” Neith says, interrupting me with an apologetic look.

I nod, “Sounds good.”

Neith

T he guys all stay with River while he talks to Asher and Amari about not saying anything, and I quickly make my way over to Rana.

“Hey,” I smile as I reach her.

She glances at me with a smile, “Please tell me we can burn him to ash now?”

I nod, “Yep. Just give me a second to check his pockets for his phone, we might need it.” I do a quick search and don’t find anything at all, which means that his phone was most likely in the house, and now ash.

It’s not something that we can do anything about right now, so I call on my fire, making sure that it’s a normal color, and blast it at the body. I then ask my magic to take away the smoke and the smell, no one wants to smell that. Trust me.

“Thank you,” she tells me, as she watches the fire, a peaceful smile crossing her features.

She’s finally free.

I nod, but don’t say anything as I have a feeling that she has something that she needs to say.

“I don’t think I can stay here,” she says quietly. “The wolves don’t fully trust me, and the memories here are everywhere. My wolf is stronger than she should be, we are stronger than we should be, and that’s going to cause problems pretty quickly.”

I nod, “Okay. Well, how would you feel about staying at the compound? Van’s parents wouldn’t mind, and you could stay there for as long as you needed to or indefinitely if you wanted to. There are lots of different supernaturals there, although they are mostly water supes.”

Rana’s eyes fill with hope before they dim almost immediately, “I can’t, I have no money, nothing.”

“I’ll cover it all,” I say immediately. I’ve got more than I need.

She shakes her head, “I couldn’t accept that.”

“I promise you that it’s okay and that there are no strings attached. Would it make you feel better if it were a loan?”

She seems to war with herself for a moment, but then nods, “Yes. I promise I will pay you back.”

“You don’t have to, but okay. We’ll get you set up with an account and stuff when we go back to the compound,” I tell her.

This feels better than leaving her here, and I didn’t realize that it felt wrong to leave her here until just now.

“Thank you,” she replies.

I shrug, “It’s what friends are for.”

“Friends?” she asks with a slight smile.

“Yep, you’re stuck with me for life now,” I reply with an evil laugh that makes her burst out laughing.

“Thank fuck, I think you might be the only person whose weird matches mine,” she replies.

“Wait until I introduce you to Navy, Neera, and Joey, they’re just as weird,” I tell her.

She nods, “I’d like that.”

We stay and watch the fire for a moment longer.

“Come on. If I know Van’s parents, they’re about to turn up with a lot of food and supplies, as well as the wolves who were loyal to Derek,” I say.