Page 72

AVERY

I had a hard time concentrating on anything as the afternoon turned into evening.

My mind kept going back to that video. The man, screaming and writhing.

It had been like watching a horror movie, except it was real.

A living, breathing man had been given something that tortured his body until he turned into an animal.

Stormy stayed by my side the entire time, keeping an arm around me, rubbing my back, and trying to ease my mind. I appreciated it. I needed a safe place to anchor myself to, and my best friend was the best I could imagine. Her or Cole.

Now that I knew the true extent of the danger Ashton was in, my earlier fight with Cole seemed a bit silly. Cole was the first person I’d wanted to latch on to after seeing that video. His strength had kept me from shattering as I imagined all the awful things that might be happening to Ashton.

He and the others were now discussing what came next. Part of me wanted to get involved, but the other part was too distraught to do more than try to keep it together.

“Do you want some tea? Water? Anything?” Stormy asked.

“I don’t think so,” I mumbled. “I might puke if I put anything in my stomach.”

Nausea roiled in my gut. Terror, panic, and anger mixed together, making my stomach heave dangerously.

“Well, let me know if you need anything.”

Suddenly, I realized she’d been here for most of the day. Shame washed over me. “God, Stormy. You need to go home. Shiloh probably needs you.”

She shook her head and patted my back. “We’re good. I’ve been texting Mom. The two of them are having a grand time. No worries.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay,” I said with a sigh. “But if that changes, you should go. I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine. Cole’s here, so are Trent and the others. I have support. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

Stormy rolled her eyes. “Do you remember what a mess I was when Marcus died?”

Did I remember? Of course I did. Stormy had called me, screaming and sobbing.

It had taken me almost five minutes to get her calmed down enough to tell me what had happened.

A drunk driver had hit Marcus, pushing his car off a bridge and into the Des Moines River.

He’d died on impact. I’d felt like I’d been kicked in the gut hearing it, and that meant Stormy had been a thousand times more distraught and heartbroken.

I’d rushed to her side and went with her to the hospital to identify the body.

Stormy had wanted to be the one to do it, but I managed to talk her out of it.

Seeing Marcus like that, skin pale and cold, face expressionless, nothing but a husk of the jovial and kind man I’d known, had almost broken me.

I wasn’t sure Stormy would have survived seeing the man she loved like that—not mentally, at least.

“That was different. You lost your husband, Stormy.”

“And your son has been kidnapped,” she said vehemently. “He’s not dead, and he won’t be, either. That doesn’t mean you don’t need someone to hold you steady, keep you calm, and be your anchor in a storm. It’s what you did for me, and it’s the least I can do for you.”

Tears welled in my eyes and threatened to spill down my cheeks. To prevent another sobbing breakdown, I turned my attention to the guys talking at the kitchen table.

“Is this some sort of designer steroid or something?” Porter asked.

Zayde shook his head. “Doubt it’s a steroid.

Those alter the hormones already present in the body.

Whatever Kyle injected that guy with works at the fucking cellular level.

Altering DNA, forcing rapid skeletal changes, the whole nine yards.

What I want to know is where he got it, or how he made it. ”

“It doesn’t matter what it is, and it doesn’t matter how he got his hands on it,” Cole said. “What matters is what he has planned. Why is he developing it?”

Trent shrugged. “What if it works in reverse as well? Maybe he wants to change shifters into humans. Reduce the number of shifters he has to fight when he moves into a town?”

“Maybe, but that seems pointless to me,” Langston said.

“This guy obviously wants to be in control. What better control is there than the control an alpha has over his pack? If he changed all the shifters in Harbor Mills or North Crest to humans, they wouldn’t be in thrall to his aura.

They’d run off and start new lives. He’d be left with nothing. ”

“Maybe it’s exactly that,” Zayde added. “Control. What is more terrifying than stuff like body horror? Someone who’s threatening to turn you into something else.

Maybe it does go both ways, and he wants it as a threat or punishment?

Humans and shifters would both be terrified to get changed into the opposite being. ”

“Could be.” Langston shrugged. “Or maybe he wants to create his own pack. Force a bunch of people to become shifters and use them as some sort of fighting force. If he had an army of his own, he could make more money. Who’s going to put up a fight against extortion when there are a few dozen growling shifters at your door? ”

As I listened to them, I thought again of the awful things Kyle might be doing to Ashton. In the darkest recesses of my mind, I could hear my son screaming, calling for help, shouting out in a blood-curdling cry for his mother.

I didn’t realize I was even shaking until Cole was wrapping his arms around me.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” he said as he lifted me up from the couch.

Digging my fingers into his shirt, I pressed my face into his shoulder. He carried me as though I weighed nothing. Having him take care of me pushed back some of my fear and terror.

Cole set me down on the bed, then removed my shoes and pants, pulled the covers back, and nestled me into the sheets. The reddish-orange light of the sunset shone through the windows, tracing patterns on my bedroom floor as it arched through the trees outside.

Cole knelt beside the bed and brushed my hair out of my face. “It’s okay. You rest. Maybe sleep will help. It’s all gonna be all right.”

“How can you say that?” I asked, my voice trembling as I spoke. “You don’t know that for certain. We don’t even know how to find Kyle or his men. We don’t know the first place to start.”

Reaching under the covers, he took my hand and squeezed softly.

“When we were in North Crest, an older lady gave us some information. She said something about Kyle’s men coming on Thursday to collect ‘taxes.’ Langston and I are planning on being there.

Maybe we can get one of those henchmen of his to spill some secrets.

” His lips were set in a thin line, and a dark gleam shimmered in his eyes.

“I’ll make sure they understand it’s in their best interest to talk. ”

The inherent threat in his words sent a shiver through me, and the sensation wasn’t unpleasant.

Before all this, I’d never considered myself a violent person or someone who was prone to cruelty.

I’d never even spanked Ashton. Now, the thought of Cole beating in one of these men’s faces, shattering noses, breaking teeth, and spilling blood…

it awakened a feral maternal desire inside me.

The momma bear or she-wolf, who would tear the flesh off any creature that dared try to touch her baby.

“You promise?” I asked.

“I do.” The hardness in his eyes faded, and he lowered his head. “I’m focused now. I’m sorry for earlier today, I really am.”

He did seem more confident and mentally prepared. Before, it was almost like I’d been trying to talk to four different people at once: the Cole I knew, the jealous asshole, the guilty, absent father, and a rage-filled wolf.

“I let my jealousy get the best of me,” Cole said, resting his elbows on the mattress. “When I saw Langston… I don’t know, I started thinking he’d be a better match for you. He was there for you, helping you for the last decade. You said it yourself.”

A pang of guilt shot through my heart at his words. I’d thrown those words in his face like a weapon. At the time, he’d been acting so stupid that it felt justified. Now, I was ashamed of myself.

Reaching out, I stroked Cole’s cheek. “I don’t want Langston. I never have. He doesn’t want me, either. We’re like siblings. The furthest thing from lovers you could imagine. He wouldn’t even look at me twice in that way.”

Cole scoffed, but the corners of his lips twitched upward. “I don’t think you really understand how beautiful you are.”

“Stop.” I groaned and slapped his arm. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“It’s true,” he said, smiling at me. “I think because you see yourself in the mirror every day, you don’t realize it. You’re a fucking knockout. It’s not just that, either. There’s something about you that makes people want to protect you.”

“Great. I’m the damsel in distress? Is that what you’re saying? I always saw myself as a feminist. This is very disappointing.”

Cole barked a laugh. “See? You’re already getting back to your old self.”

My smile faded. “Can you hold me for a while?”

“Of course.”

Cole got in bed with me and wrapped me in his arms. His body wasn’t vibrating with tension like it had that morning. He smiled easier and was less pent-up and angry. I was glad he’d gotten over whatever had taken a hold of him that morning.

“I’m terrified, Cole,” I admitted after a few minutes of silence.

Cole took a few breaths before answering. “So am I. You saw that video,” he said. “Kyle is more of a psycho than we originally thought. It’s okay to be scared, but we can’t let that cloud our judgment.”

“And what about Dallas?” I had to hear what he thought, see if we were on the same page. After that video, how could he still think Dallas was an unwilling participant?