Broken Blood (38 page)

I faltered as Vera’s predictions and visions came rushing back. There’d been an entry in her journal.
He’ll do as much to save them as she will ... but the alpha has to make her choice before he can choose a side.
Alex—I had to choose before he could choose. Of course. I stared at him, my chest pounding with the rush of my realization. He caught my eye and raised a brow, but it would have to wait.

Jack was talking again and I focused on what came next. This was it.

Beside me, Wes shifted in nerves and impatience. I wanted to reassure him but held it back. I’d smother him in kisses later, when I had human lips again.

“And finally,” Jack said, “there is the business of our leadership. Fee and I, we’ve had a great run, but we both agree, the future belongs to the next generation. It belongs to the ones who made this all possible to be standing here today, reformed and ready to usher in a new era. An era of peace. That credit, that leadership, belongs to another couple.”

Jack smiled at Wes, from one end of the bonfire to the other. “Wesley St. John, Tara Godfrey, you’ve each been nominated and chosen for the role of leader. Do you accept the role as it is offered and promise to execute your duties to the best ability of your conviction and commitment to peace and democracy and protecting the weak?”

Wes straightened, the fur along his chest puffing out. “I do,” he said in a clear voice.

I tried to do the same, putting off an air of confidence, but I made the mistake of catching Cambria’s eye and I could see the laughter in them. I fought a grin, which, as a wolf, felt like a snarl. A few in the crowd looked back at me with crinkled brows. Cord rolled her eyes.

“I do,” I managed.

And everyone cheered.

I turned to face Wes and the happiness in his yellow orbs was evident, overflowing into the very air around us. “You just wait until I have thumbs again,” Wes said.

I laughed. “What are you going to do with those thumbs?”

He leaned in, his voice gravelly and low. “Nothing compared to what I’ll do with my—”

“Congratulations, you two!”

We jumped apart. Alex looked back and forth between us in mock innocence. “Sorry, did I ruin a moment?”

I scowled and Wes cast his face to the sky. “I must be crazy to have taken this on,” he muttered.

“You talking about working with me or Tara?” Alex said and I snapped my teeth at him.

Around us, the meeting was breaking up and groups were forming. Jack and Fee huddled with Kane while Professor Flaherty and my mom made their way slowly back to the house where Grandma was laying out a Thanksgiving Day buffet.

Everyone looked happy and content and, aside from Alex’s barb—or maybe even because of it—the moment felt full.

“Is there something you wanted?” Wes demanded, but the words lacked any real bite.

“Just checking in with my new boss before I go out on my first assignment,” Alex said.

“I’m not your boss,” Wes said. And then his head tilted. “Unless that means I get to order you around. Let’s try it. Get lost.”

“Okay, maybe boss is a strong word,” Alex said. “How about point of contact?”

Wes remained stubbornly silent.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I head for DC tomorrow with Cord. I’m going to make sure she gets settled in and then I’m headed to Wood Point for a bit. I wanted to leave you both my new cell number so we can keep each other updated on the situation there,” he said.

“Sounds good,” Wes said.

“Wait, what situation?” I asked.

Alex raised his brows at Wes. “You didn’t tell her?”

“We’ve had a lot going on,” he said. “I haven’t had a chance.”

“Uh, now works for me,” I said.

Alex looked at Wes who just nodded. “Someone’s been leaving messages in the form of graffiti and unauthorized flyer distributions. A new group has formed that is against CHAS and its new democratic approach to leadership. Their numbers are small but they’re starting to get attention from the parents and alumni, a few of which seem to be buying into their accusations and conspiracy theories. Headmaster Whitfield has asked me to investigate.”

Headmaster Whitfield had proven to be an ally after all, even though he’d stayed hidden in a copse of trees that day at the cabin. He’d claimed he’d single-handedly fought three hybrids, but whenever my mom was around, his story get bigger and different. I suspected he just wanted to impress. Either way, he’d signed the treaty and gone back to his desk job without much fight.

“Do we have any suspects?” I asked.

Alex sighed and shared another look with Wes—a new habit I was quickly tiring of. “We think it’s Demi,” Alex said.

I frowned. “She’s a Queen Bee but is she capable of all that? Sounds pretty high-level for someone like her.”

“She’s a master manipulator. You know that firsthand,” Alex said and I remembered how Demi had known all along that Miles was no good and helped him anyway—even when she’d known he was after me. Especially then.

Alex was right. That girl was smarter than she acted.

“Be careful,” I said.

“Don’t worry about me, babe. If I get into trouble, you’ll be the first one I call.”

Wes huffed. “Excuse me—”

“Relax, I meant the two of you. You’re a matching pair, no question.”

Wes bristled but he didn’t argue it further. “Just text me your cell number and give us an update when there is one. We’ll be doing some traveling of our own.” He shot me a look and then said, “Well, I will. Tara will be here until graduation.”

Now it was my turn to give the silent treatment.

I was going back to public school next week and I wasn’t happy about it.

“Wes,” Jack called from across the yard.

“Excuse me,” Wes muttered before leaving us alone. He moved way too quickly and I suspected he was happy for the escape.

I glared up at Alex. “You don’t have to bait him like that.”

“But he makes it so easy,” he said.

I shook my head and looked up as my mother called my name from the house. “Go,” Alex said. “I’ll find you before I leave.”

I hesitated, unsaid words piling up in my mouth, but when my mother called again, I went. I was given instructions to “shift and put this on” as a dress was shoved at me and I was propelled up the stairs. By the time I returned, Wes was being given the same instructions along with a pair of dress slacks and tie. We managed only a fleeting smile as we were herded past one another from one dutiful leader task to the next.

Thanksgiving afternoon passed in a blur of celebration and congratulations. Fee and Jack danced around the fire—still in wolf form. Hot chocolate was passed around, although for some reason, I opted for the green tea Vera had always been fond of.

Back in human form, Derek and George managed to heft Wes up onto their shoulders and parade him around. They sang something that sounded like a garbled version of, “For he’s a Jolly Good Werewolf,” that hurt my ears.

“Boys are so ridiculous,” Cambria said, coming up beside me with a steaming mug.

“Nice to see you back on two legs,” I said over the boys’ off-key tune.

“Yeah, my mom’s coming over later, so I figured, two are better than four. For now.” She sighed. “Normally, I wouldn’t make allowances but...”

“Fee says she’s healing,” I said. “Is she still recovering at Benny’s?”

Cambria gave me a sideways look. “Is that what they call it?”

I didn’t love the idea of Cambria using her pseudo-relationship with her mom to gather intel, but she was our best shot at cracking the gambling ring Benny was rumored to be running. And I was a leader now—a weird feeling, but I was determined to act like it.

I snickered, but Cambria’s good humor was short-lived. “How can he promote violence among Werewolves, even for sport, after being there with us last weekend?” she asked, her tone clearly disgusted.

“Word is he’s running the books on the fights he’s putting together. I guess money talks,” I said, my lips pursing as I stared at the boys.

Wes had fallen and was now wrestling on the ground with Derek and George. They were laughing and I caught Alex watching them from the other side of the yard with a strangely wistful expression where he stood talking with Cord.

“I spoke to Logan earlier,” I said, changing the subject. “He and Victoria are settling into their place in DC. He says Astor likes it there.”

“That’s good. I never thought Victoria would end up working for a living,” Cambria said.

“Serving on the board for CHAS isn’t exactly blue collar,” I said. “And it keeps her close to Logan since he’s staying on to study with Astor. Headmaster Whitfield even said he’ll issue a diploma for it. He’s deeming it a work-study thing and calling it good.”

Cambria huffed. “Only because it’s Logan and he’s a genius. If it were me—”

“Are you complaining?” I cut in. “Because you’ve got a pretty good deal yourself, if you ask me.”

“A GED online is a good deal?”

“If it means you can stay here with me and Derek and the rest of us, especially since CHAS is officially paying you a salary,” I reminded her. “Yeah, that’s a pretty sweet deal. At least you don’t have to go back to public school.”

Cambria smirked. “I will if you want me to. Can you imagine me and you together in that school?”

I pretended to shudder. “I couldn’t stay out of trouble without you,” I pointed out. “I don’t want to think about what would happen if we were together.”

She laughed. “Exactly. Besides, we always have college.”

“True.”

We watched the boys another minute, jumping aside when their tumbling veered too close. The back door opened and closed. Emma joined us, a quiet smile spreading over her pink cheeks as she watched George with the others.

“Hey, Em. I hear you’re on your way to a family,” Cambria said and Emma’s smile widened.

“We go to court on Monday to make it official,” Emma said and I put my arm around her and pulled her in for a hug. Steppe’s attempt to get to me had backfired. When the smoke had cleared and I’d learned my mom had started the process to adopt Emma, I’d been ridiculously excited over it.

“Replace you?” my mother had said in horror when I’d admitted what Steppe had tried to make me think with his half-truths. “Tara, I can’t handle one of you much less two. I’m happy to adopt Emma because she’s the exact opposite of you.”

I had laughed at that.

“Tara, you and your mom have been so kind,” Emma said now. “Thank you for letting me stay with you until I graduate next year.”

“Emma, you’re not temporary,” I said. “That’s what the adoption is for. And Cambria’s right. You’re already family. We’re a pack, remember?”

“Thank you,” she said again, this time with tears brimming.

“Don’t get too excited,” I told her. “You might not be thanking me when people at school find out who your new sister is.”

“Why? Do people not like you?” she asked.

I shared a look with Cambria and then shook my head, thinking of Cindy Adams and the bloody nose that got me expelled last spring. “Let’s just save that story for another day, shall we?”

Someone tugged on my hand and I turned to find Alex. He nodded at me to follow him and lead the way around the corner of the house. The noise died off as the crowd disappeared behind us. The afternoon light slanted across the roof, sending this part of the yard into chilled shadow.

I rubbed my hands over my arms, half-tempted to shift just to get warm. “What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m headed out,” Alex said. “Just wanted to say goodbye.”

“When will you be back?” I asked, suddenly very aware of the shift I felt happening between us. This was it, the next chapter. We’d won, and now life would go on in decidedly different directions.

“A few days. I’ll pass back through on my way to Wood Point.” He grinned crookedly and flicked my shoulder. “You won’t be getting rid of me that easily and never for very long,” he added.

“I’m glad,” I admitted. “Alex, you and I...”

“We took a little longer than most to figure out how we fit,” he said, his words full of quiet understanding.

I nodded and bit my lip, suddenly too close to tears to talk.

“I’m sorry, for what it’s worth,” he said.

“For what?” I asked, looking up at him with crinkled brows.

“For making it difficult. I love you, and I think I always will, but mostly it’s a love borne from that strange place of connection when one person helps transform another.”

“Are you saying I’m like your therapist or something?”

“No,” he said, laughing. “Hardly. I just mean...” and the humor faded as he struggled to find words. “I’m who I am because of you. Open-minded, hopeful, accepting of people’s differences ... I’m helping enact a peace treaty, for goodness sake. I couldn’t have done this on my own. I will always be grateful to you for challenging me to see the world differently. Angela says—”

“Angela?” I raised a brow.

“We keep in touch,” he said with a shrug, but I caught the flicker behind his chocolaty irises and my eyes narrowed. “She was there in the hospital when I woke up and ... I promised her I’d keep her safe and out of it all. I’ve looked in on her from time to time.”

“Looked in on her,” I repeated knowingly. “Alex Channing, are you catching feelings for my very human best friend?” I demanded.

“Don’t make it weird,” he muttered, suddenly staring at some speck of dirt on the siding.

I grinned as I thought back over it all and something inside me released.  Alex glared but not even a dirty look could dampen my surprise. Him and Angela? But that was crazy talk. We might’ve come a long way in a short while but humans and Hunters? That was still a no-no. Then again, if anyone could change the world’s mind, it was Alex.

“Sorry, no weirdness here,” I assured him. I cleared my throat. “Angela? You were saying?”

“Nothing,” he muttered. I decided not to point out that his cheeks were flaming red. “You should call her. She misses you.”

“Oh, I plan on it, trust me,” I said.

His mouth tightened and he exhaled sharply. I’d gotten to him. It was kind of ridiculous how much fun I was having just knowing I could tease him about something like this.

Alex was fast, but I was faster. I danced out of the way just as his hand shoved at empty air where my shoulder had been. He dropped his bag to the ground behind him and crouched low. “I can still take you, Godfrey,” he said.