*Grayson*
“She was a complete mess when we first found her,” Nyx stated as we entered the house. Ria and I had been on patrol with a few of the pack warriors when we’d gotten a call that there was some kind of situation down at Tala’s house. It turned out that her mother had almost driven a wooden stake through her heart and killed herself. I frowned as Nyx closed the door behind us before coming to walk us to where the woman sat on the couch, tears streaming down her eyes.
I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach as my wolf howled inside of me.
It was just like I was reliving that morning all over again. We’d gone to inform her that we’d discovered her daughter in an alley and that she was no longer with us. Sarah and Will had been so distraught that morning and I could vividly remember that Sarah had been thrashing and screaming for almost the entire day. Ginny had stayed with her for a few days before she’d calmed down.
I pulled a seat close and sat down directly across from Sarah, watching as she cried and heaved and patiently waiting for her to calm herself down. “Will stepped out because he couldn’t deal with her when she was like this,” Nyx explained. I hadn’t asked why she was back to mourning all over again. I wanted to hear whatever had happened directly from her. I sent a prayer to the goddess wishing above everything that she hadn’t lost someone else.
“Sarah,” I finally called after a while, resting a hand calmly on her knee. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly with the way she struggled to breath and although tears were still rolling down her cheeks, she had calmed down enough that she could talk. “What happened?” I questioned, trying to meet her eyes. I was well aware that she had been a bit unstable since Tala’s body had been found. Anyone would be hanging on to a thread after losing their only pup.
Ria disappeared from behind me and then returned with a glass of water. I mouthed thank you to her when she made Sarah finish the content of the cup. She nodded in acknowledgement and carefully placed the glass on the center table with a soft clank. We turned our attention to Sarah as she took a tissue from Nyx and dried her eyes with it before blowing her nose and throwing it into the trash that was sitting beside the couch. I wondered for a second why Nyx had been the only one to come check upon Sarah but then decided that the others might be with Will.
Sarah released a deep breath and my wolf howled again when a tear slid down her face. I clenched my fists subtly, hating to see any member of the pack in any kind of pain. Especially when there was nothing I could do about it. “It wasn’t my fault that Tala died, was it?” She asked, her voice shaky. I met Nyx’s eyes and then Ria’s. I could see the confusion I felt mirrored in their expressions.
Why was she suddenly asking that?
I went quiet, struggling to find the right words. Sarah had obviously been thinking along those lines for her to have bothered asking the question in the first. I knew that a wrong answer or reaction could very well push her over the edge and as much as I hated to admit it, we couldn’t afford to keep an eye on her like we normally would have. Not when we were trying to make sure that we left no room for the killer to strike again.
“Of course not, Sarah.” I said calmly, giving her a reassuring squeeze as my eyes met that of Nyx and Ria once more. “Why would you even ask that in the first place?” I wanted to know what had even got her thinking along those lines. She sniffed, meeting my eyes and smiling ruefully. Her gaze drifted to Nyx and Ria and she looked a lot like she was trying to figure out what must be going through their heads.
I watched as she sighed, touching her hand to her unkempt hair. “Those humans were here today, you know?” She said, an accusing note in her voice. Sarah was definitely one of the many pack members who didn’t like having Keera and her team on pack grounds. More than that it was obvious she thought that I had maybe sent them to specifically question her. “They questioned Will and I,” She continued.
“Sarah, I-”
“And they weren’t polite about it,” She continued, not giving me a chance to speak. I felt my temper rise at her blatant disrespect but I was quick to quell it. She was distraught enough without me giving her an extra thing to be sorry about. “They just wouldn’t give up with the questioning.” I could detect a hint of anger in her voice. “They didn’t say it directly, but it was obvious they thought Will and I hadn’t been good parents to Tala.”
They weren’t wrong, I thought silently.
I pressed my lips together to keep myself from saying anything before she picked up on the fact that I in fact also felt the same way. It had taken them two days to report that their sixteen year old daughter had been missing. If they had been a little more involved in her life, they would have certainly been more concerned that they hadn’t seen or heard from her after twenty four hours.
Still.
Keera and the rest of her team had no right walking around the pack and laying accusations directly or indirectly. We already had more than enough losses to deal with. We definitely didn’t need them being the reason anyone took their own lives. They had no business poking wounds and causing grief. I felt a spike in my temper at the image of her going around the pack passing judgements on how my pack members lived their lives. It was none of her business and I was going to make sure she knew it soon enough.
It wasn’t like humans lived their own lives any better.
I patted Sarah’s knee, urging her to look at me. “I’m sorry, they made you feel that way.” I said with sincerity. “But if there’s anything I know it’s the fact that you didn’t end your daughter’s life and then leave her to rot in that alley.” She sniffed again, wiping her tears with the back of her palm. Nyx and Ria made comments to convince her that it was neither her fault nor Will’s. Tala had just been unfortunate enough to be targeted by a ruthless murderer. “Please for my sake, don’t let it bother you.”
Sarah managed a small smile in my direction as Nyx gently rubbed her back. She blew her nose into another tissue and then threw it into the trash. “I’ll try,” She finally agreed. “I won’t do anything silly, I promised.” I nodded, patting her knee once more and letting her know that I had faith in her. I moved to stand up when she said something else. “Although they did let me know that they were going to be back.”
My vision turned red.
***
I twisted the doorknob angrily and stormed into the house. Nyx had decided she would stay back with Sarah till Will got back and Ria had gone back on patrol. I took a turn, walking further into the house until I stopped short at the sight of Keera and her team having dinner. My teeth grinded as I took in the heart warming scene. They’d almost driven one of my pack members to suicide and they were here having fucking dinner like they didn’t have a care in the goddamn world.
My hands turned to fists.
Josie was the first person to spot me standing a few meters away from them. She paused in a way that drew attention from the rest of the team. They all turned to fix their attention on me, almost at the same time. I watched Keera’s gaze drop to my fisted hands and then back up. She definitely got the gist that I was in a shitty mood if the frown on her face was any indication. “Keera, I need to talk to you.” I informed her, my voice a little harsher than I intended. “Now.”
Her eyebrows formed a sharp V as she slanted a look at me, no doubt miffed by my tone. “We’re about to have dinner.” She informed me, carefully placing the plates in her hands on the table, her voice calm but firm. “Maybe later.” Her eyes met mine then and I could see the silent challenge in them. Was she spoiling for a fight? I was not in the mood for any of her silly antics.
I tried to calm myself down.
“We are talking right now, Keera.” I dead planned, glaring at her. Did she have to be so fucking stubborn all the time? We both knew she could very well have dinner when we were done talking but like every other time, she wanted to put up a fight first because the goddess forbid it ever gets said that she submitted to me in any way for once in her entire life. “I don’t care if I have to drag you to a chair and tie you up.” I warned.
She gave me a wolfish smile.
Her arms crossed over her chest and she brought a foot forward, cocking her hip to the side. “I dare you, Grayson.” We stared at each other, my temper rising with each passing second. Why did she have to make me so fucking mad all the time? I glared at her, wondering how, for a smart human, she could be so stupid. Did she really think getting an Alpha pissed and riled up all the time was something she wanted to keep doing?
She had better been smarter than that.
“Leave.” I calmly instructed the rest of her team. She uncrossed her arms and took two steps in my direction. She pointed her index finger at me but immediately lowered it down. Good, I thought. I would hate for her to lose it. The rest of the team watched us silently as they finally finished setting up the table. From the corner of my eyes I watched them give each other looks, visibly contemplating whether or not they needed to leave the room. “Leave now.” I repeated, my voice firm.
The room stilled.
“You have no business telling them what to do,” Keera argued, glaring daggers at me. “You’re not in charge of them.” She said with a shake of her head, giving me a look that would probably scare a lesser man and send him running. How this tiny creature managed to dare me every step of the way was something I wasn’t able to understand. And I didn’t need to either. All that concerned me was putting an end to it.
“Keera, it’s okay.” The bald man, Joe or something, said softly. Keera turned to look at him and he gave her a reassuring nod before signaling everyone else to take their food to their rooms. I watched her clench her jaws as they picked up their plates and exited the room. I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest and giving her a mocking look.
Guess she had no other option but to talk now.
She scoffed, meeting my gaze. “If you think that’s going to make me talk to you, you’re very mistaken.” Her eyes narrowed. “We’re going to talk after I’ve had dinner,” Her head tilted and she bared her teeth. “Just as I said earlier.” She moved to return to her food but I was more than done with her stupid power games. Seething, I grabbed her by the arm and slammed her against the wall.
“We are going to talk right now, Keera.”