SHADOW
“Shut the fuck up!”
Horrified, I yelped and gaped at him. My heart was in my throat as Califf’s voice thundered in the entire house. Thankfully, my father was fast enough to come between them before he could snap Zack’s neck.
“Enough! Both of you!” My eyes narrowed at them. “We shouldn’t be fighting with one another. We should be looking for the bad guys. And this is what those hunters want, breaking us, tearing us apart because together, we’re stronger than them, but look at the both of you. They will win, Califf, Zack. And if you keep doing this, I’m out. I’ll go find them myself.”
“You should have told him,” my father stated.
“What does he mean, Cal?” Everlee asked, confused.
“Who killed those men?” Calder shifted his gaze to each one of us. “Did I kill those men?”
I wanted to break it to him, but I felt like it should come from his brother. When Califf’s face filled with guilt, Calder looked horrified.
“Oh, my God,” he kept repeating those words as he walked away.
“This is your fault,” Califf grunted at Zack.
“This isn’t any of his fault.” I held his arm, his muscles clenching. “We have to tell him one way or another anyway. That was the plan.”
“Is it true?” Everlee turned to me.
When I nodded, I just broke her heart. “I’m so sorry.”
Everlee didn’t answer. She went to Calder at the veranda.
“Well, that went well. Now, he may not tell us what he knows.” He then turned to Zack. His glare burned a hole straight through Zack’s face. “You will get your punishment later.”
“Let me talk to them,” I volunteered when Califf was still tensed, his jaw unhinged, and his knuckles turned white, still pissed off at Zack. I pointed my finger at them. “And you two, stay put, or I will walk out.”
My steps to the veranda took a while. “Calder.”
His eyes filled with tears. He wiped them away before he smiled sadly. “I killed those men. I’m a murderer, Shadow. I didn’t know I had that in me. My uncle was right after all-”
“You’re not a killer.” Everlee pressed her hand on her mate’s chest. “I know what kind of man you are, Calder. You’re a good person, and you accepted me despite my past relationships, and my father is a traitor. You wouldn’t have a gift if you didn’t have a pure heart.”
“It wasn’t entirely you, Calder. You didn’t know what you were doing. You were sick. For all I know, those men were the bad guys. The last guy was a mercenary, and he tried to kill me. So, you did me a favor, or he could kill somebody else, an innocent, for that matter. I didn’t say what you did was right, but he was a bad guy.”
“That still didn’t excuse my actions. I took lives, Shadow, with my bare hands.” His guilt was crushing him.
“Don’t go there. The first one, I couldn’t find the connection. I’m sure your brother does. He asked for a favor from the local PD. And you were really sick. Please help us find out about Obsidian Society.”
“This is the right thing to do, babe. So we can get some answers,” said Everlee.
“Okay.” He nodded, wiping away his tears. “But after this, I’m turning myself in.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” she said calmly.
“I’m sorry, Calder, that you have to find out this way.”
He nodded and drew a deep breath.
I went ahead to give them some time. “You both need to set aside your anger. And you, Zack, don’t forget who you are talking to. He’s still your Alpha, and you get used to defying us with your uncontrollable mouth. If I wasn’t here, you already get your head ripped off your neck.”
Zack turned to Califf, bowing down his head. “Forgive me, Alpha. For a moment, I lost control. If you give me another chance to serve you, I will be so grateful and never disrespect or disobey you again. My life is yours.”
I arched a brow at Califf.
“Very well. The next time you disrespect me. I will have your head hanging on the gate of the compound to remind everyone who’s the Alpha.”
“Thank you, Alpha.” Zack stepped aside.
“Let’s focus on our current problems. Shall we?”
Calder and Everlee came back.
“I will turn over myself to the cops.” His voice choked. His expression was utter misery.
“What?” Shaken, Everlee’s eyes widened. “We did not talk about you turning yourself in, Calder. I said we’ll talk about it later.”
My father snorted. “And then what? Tell them you grow claws at night and slash bad guys like a vigilante? Have you forgotten that not many people know our existence? If you do that and lose control in the prison, you’re exposing us, and I won’t let that happen.”
“Sheriff Carter knows what we are, but he closed the case for an animal attack because that’s the only thing that makes sense to humans.”
“Your brother is right, Calder. Right now, only a few of us know what happened, and we keep it like that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Calder asked his brother.
“You were sick, and then you found your mate. You were happy and got cured. I can’t let you carry that burden that you have no recollection of doing it. Of course, I was going to tell you, but it slipped my mind when Shadow got sick.”
Calder looked at Zack. “Thank you. And I will do everything to prove that I have no connection with Obsidian or whoever they are. They’re humans hunting my kind. I am their enemy, Zack.”
“Well-”
Califf cleared his throat.
“May I speak, Alpha?”
When Califf didn’t react, he begged. “Please?”
“Just let him. We wasted enough time finding these people.”
“You’re lucky you have Shadow to back you up.” Everlee smiled.
“Um.” Zack cleared his throat. “Where was I? Oh, yeah. Well, in my defense, it seemed so fitting. Everything makes sense.”
“He’s right,” my father agreed. “No offense.”
“None taken, Alpha King,” Calder responded with gratitude.
“So, spill it out. Don’t leave any details,” Zack said excitedly.
“His name is-”
“Kain Haynes, Navy SEAL, KIA seven years ago,” Sebastien continued.
“Yes,” he said, bewildered, unblinking.
“Did they find the body?” Zack inquired.
“It was hard when his body exploded, and the building was on fire and went to rubble,” Calder said. “But yeah. The body was not recovered for DNA. Not even a single tooth.”
“Let me guess. He broke the news to you that you have a monster inside your body and told you to drink Wolfsbane essence since what we have inside us is incurable and irreversible.”
When he nodded at Zack, Califf leaned back.
“Well, that makes sense.” Sebastien sat down and crossed his legs.
“I saw something in your mind when I touched your head. You have a cabin in the woods.”
“Yeah. I haven’t been there in years. Wait.” He stared at my father. “You have a telepathic gift?”
“Something like that,” my father replied.
I turned to my father. “How is it related?”
“Nothing, daughter. How did he find out about you? He must have studied you or your kind. He may have met a werewolf before. After his death, I couldn’t find any record of him. He could have been alive, and he’s the one hunting us one by one.”
Horrified, he stared at my father with wide eyes. “Oh, my God. So, I just put you all in danger. Maybe I’m the reason why Shadow almost died.”
“Now that he knows you connected with your own kind, you just hand us to him. I’m sure he’s been watching us for months now,” I told him truthfully.
“Why did he pretend to be dead? Why is he doing this?”
“We’re not sure, but I was hoping you could tell us. Was he ever married?”
“No.” He swallowed hard. “I can’t remember he mentioned any women. How did he find out about me? I don’t know. He just told me the basic knowledge about werewolves. At first, I laughed about it because there was no such thing as werewolves, and then he took me to an old woman who was a werewolf, but just like me, she wanted nothing from it.”
“She’s dead?”
“Yes. She died last week.”
We all shared a shocking look.
“So, if my uncle is alive, where could he be?”
“My guess is he planned all the explosion, went off the grid, and started building his guild. Where did he live?” Zack went all mystery-thriller movie junkie but was on the right track.
“After he died, I put the house on the market. That’s how I bought my apartment, but he still has his belongings with me. There’s nothing much but old papers, photos, and trophies.”
“We need those,” I quickly told them.
“Of course.”
“You, all of you here, can’t go there. He could be watching us right now,” Zarah said. She had a point. Kain was in the military. He clearly knew how to hide and camouflage while planning his next move.
“How about you portal us directly to Calder’s apartment, and we will carry those things here?”
“Nice one, Zack.” I pointed at him. “Here’s my theory. Kain Haynes met a woman who was a werewolf, rejected his ugly ass for her mate, and he went all bat crazy for revenge.”
I stared at Everlee until we broke out laughing.
“Yeah. You could be right.” I could see the light on Calder’s head blinking.
“Why do you say that, brother?”
“The last time I saw him, he had long claw marks on his back. I suspected a werewolf had attacked him. When I asked, he said it was an animal while he was outside the cabin.”
“But he was not bitten, so he didn’t turn,” Zack noted.
“I didn’t get to find out, Zack. But I still believe he was innocent. He didn’t fake his death, and I don’t believe he is alive or a part of this shadow guild. He took care of me, and that means something. It has to carry weights.”
“By killing your wolf, Calder. I’m sorry, but you already told us he had a ring with that symbol. He knew about you and the fact that he told you to drink Wolfsbane essence and faked his death. I mean, who does that?”
“We still don’t know Kain faked his death.” I wouldn’t blame him if he tried to defend the man who raised him while he had an incurable disease. I would do the same thing until I had proof. “Maybe he was a part of this, but someone reestablished this guild who is up for revenge, and that’s what we’re going to find out.”
“Are you still in Team Califf, Calder?”
“What kind of question is that?” Calder’s eyes narrowed at Zack. “Of course. Cal is my brother, and I owed him that much.”
“I’m still up for skewing their asses. Whoever is responsible for killing my wolf. I’m sorry, Calder, but if he did this to me, I will end his life myself.”