Clarity (22 page)

“Dad, settle down.” Byron nodded for us to continue.

“
Perdita
was right,” I said. “He wants the same thing as we do. He took us to the female, and we persuaded her to help us.”

“And you actually believed them?”
Opa
sneered. “Why would they help us after everything they’ve done?”

“The wolf who died was her father, but she’s past blaming us. Besides, she isn’t right in the head. And I’m pretty sure Jeremy and I can tell if someone is lying. They want to help the other wolves by getting rid of the alpha, Vin. She even told us there are at least four new wolves coming to take Amelia.”

Byron tensed. “When?”

“Soon. But not yet. She’ll tell us when, and they’ll help us fight them off,” I said.

“We reckon it’s about time we let this Vin wolf know we aren’t easy targets,” Jeremy said.

“And it’s also about time we stuck together like a family again.” I stared directly at
Opa
.

He looked away, but he wore a thoughtful expression, as if he might actually be considering the things we were saying.

“They aren’t going to stop until they’re afraid of us,” Jeremy said.

“Or until we get rid of Vin,” my grandfather murmured. “And you think these wolves are trustworthy?”

“Even if they aren’t, they’re still the best chance we have,” Jeremy said. “What do you think, Dad?”

Byron sat back in his chair. “I think I’ll do whatever the family needs me to do. I don’t want another person getting hurt.”

“There’s just one catch,” I said, flinching at the glares from Byron and
Opa
. “Vin has this werewolf’s daughters, just like he’s planning on taking Amelia. He, Ryan, wants our help getting his girls home, and he’ll help us protect Amelia.”

“We’ll have to go to Vin?”

I shrugged, holding my grandfather’s gaze. “Or lure Vin out. Force him to act like an alpha rather than letting the rest of his pack do his dirty work. First, we have to deal with the group that’s coming for Amelia. Who knows? Maybe this will persuade the others to leave us alone for good.”

“I don’t know. It sounds too simple.”

“This is what you wanted!” I reminded him heatedly. “You knew they would come. You wanted this. We have an opportunity to make the first strike, so what are you waiting for?”

“Dad, it’s about time we put this to rest. She wouldn’t have wanted this. Not at all. We all miss her, but now is the time to be smart, not full of so much anger we can’t think straight.”

Opa
stood. “We don’t lie down with the enemy to win small, petty battles.” He stormed out of the room.

“I can’t deal with his crap for much longer,” I said, clenching my fists.

“I need to speak to this Ryan wolf,” Byron said. “Can you arrange that?”

I glanced at Jeremy. It had to happen at some stage.

Jeremy took over everything—calling Ryan, setting up a meeting, telling everyone where they had to be. I was pushed into the background while he pretended to be alpha. Everything was happening too quickly. I didn’t have the chance to get used to the idea of us working with Ryan and
Willow
.

Opa
had to know what was going on, but he ignored us, and in a way, that felt as though he were giving us permission.

“He wants to meet tonight,” Jeremy told us after ushering Byron and me outside the house.

“Short notice,” I commented.

“Doesn’t give them time to screw us over, though.” Jeremy nodded at his father. “What are you thinking?”

Byron rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m thinking we need to move fast, before anything else can go wrong. I’ll give this wolf a chance, but if I think for a second that he’s lying, it’s over. Agreed?”

I trusted Byron’s instincts, so I had no problem agreeing. Jeremy hesitated, and I could tell from his expression that he preferred being in control of the situation.

Jeremy took Byron to see Ryan that evening. I went along, keeping my distance as backup. Byron was surprisingly composed when faced with Ryan. They had a quiet discussion for a while, but they were too far away for me to hear them clearly. I also had to concentrate on watching for any werewolves trying to sneak up on us.

Ryan jogged off in the opposite direction, and Byron and Jeremy strolled toward me, looking relaxed. The knot in my stomach loosened a little.

“I believe him,” Byron said when they reached me. “He’s not lying, but I’m worried about the other wolf. She’s the wildcard.”

“I can keep her under control,” Jeremy reassured him.

Byron stared at his son. “That’s partly what worries me.”

The atmosphere between Byron and Jeremy tensed, and I half-expected them to get into it right there. But Byron, careful as always, simply said we should head home. We walked together, but there was no easiness, and I realised that my family had a lot of work to do even after the werewolves left us alone. Relationships badly needed repairing.

By the time we got back to the house,
Opa
seemed to have had a change of heart. He approached us almost apologetically, avoiding our eyes.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll go along with your plan. But if it comes down to it, I must deal with Vin. It’s the only way. It’s the only thing that will get me through this.”

Jeremy and Byron agreed, but I hesitated. “Fine, but then you have to make this up to
Perdita
and her family. You’ve screwed everything up for them. Fix it.”

He seemed startled at how forceful I sounded, but he didn’t argue, and that made me wonder. Why had he even changed his mind?

“When it comes to the fight,” Jeremy said. “We have to be like them. No thinking twice. No holding back. Wolf against wolf. I know it’s not the way we do things, but it’s the way we’ll win. This is the only time we’ve ever had the chance to make this kind of an impact. I think we need to take it.”

The three older wolves talked strategy then, but I focused my thoughts on what it would really take to win, and what might happen if we didn’t. I would have to empty my mind when the fight came, because if we lost,
Perdita
and Amelia would be helpless. We had to trust our enemies to beat bigger enemies, and we had to trust in ourselves to make it until the end. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I had to try.

Everyone was depending on me. Even though I was the youngest, I still had a big part to play, and I had to thank
Perdita
for making me talk to Ryan. If she hadn’t, we would never have found out about Vin’s plan to kidnap Amelia until it was too late. The close call made my heart race. There was too much violence in the air, too much in the voices of my family members. But violence was all we had. Violence was the only way to protect our loved ones. And that sucked most of all.

Nathan

“Maybe I was wrong.” I fidgeted nervously. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”

“We need to get the initial meeting out of the way so we can all calm down and come up with a plan,” Byron said, his voice steady and firm.

“Dad’s right,” Jeremy said. “
Willow
needs time to adjust.”

I gawked at Jeremy, wondering yet again whose side he was on. “Since when do you care about her?”

“Since she became our backup. Nathan, we don’t have time for hate. We’re all after the same thing here. We need to work together, whatever it takes.”

“They’re here.”
Opa
stood ahead of us in the park, waiting. It had taken some arguments, but we had eventually decided that meeting on open land was safer than all of us packed into a room.

We stood together on an empty stretch of grass behind a football pitch. Sounds of a training session floated on the air. Byron had hoped the large number of ordinary people close by would help prevent any aggravation between us werewolves.

The dying sun hit the backs of two figures emerging from a batch of trees. I sniffed the air, catching their scent on the wind. Wolf twisted, eager to show the werewolves whose territory we were on.

Willow
trailed after Ryan, her head lowered. Ryan stood straight, but he didn’t meet our eyes to avoid provoking us. They looked like an odd pair, and I had to fear the way we were pinning all of our hopes on them. They stopped a couple of yards from us and waited.
Opa
trembled, struggling to hold in his wolf. Byron stepped next to him, and we all surrounded him, hoping he would calm down.

“You’ll help us,”
Opa
said.

Ryan nodded. “In return for your help. His fighters have orders to come after me, too. He still trusts
Willow
. He’s told her that they’re coming, that she should be ready to distract you so they can take the girl. They won’t expect us to attack first, and I think that’s our best defence.”

“We can’t leave Amelia alone,” I reminded. “In case one of them gets away.”

“
Perdita
will be with her,”
Opa
said. “She has enough sense to keep them both out of trouble.”

“No, I don’t want her involved.”

“She is already involved.”

“Nathan’s right,” Ryan said. “It’s safer if everyone is in one place. You have dogs. Your home is the best safeguard for now. I know some of the werewolves coming. They’re young and arrogant, and they won’t be a match once we outnumber them.”

“Nobody dies,” Byron said.

“Why do we care if they die?”
Opa’s
voice rose angrily.

“We use them to send a message,” Byron said calmly.

“What better message than death?”

“There’s been too much blood spilled. Sparing them sends a stronger message to the entire pack, that we’re not the monsters this Vin wolf is.”

Ryan nodded. “You’re right. Dominate them and send them home with a challenge to Vin. One he can’t ignore.”

“Keep out of it! You’re nothing but a traitor!”
Opa
shook with anger.

Ryan eyed
Opa
sternly. “You speak of traitors. Why is Vin after you? How does he know you? Why is he so intent on destroying your family? Why did you not heed the warnings I sent? What are
you
hiding?”

My grandfather made as if to charge Ryan.
Willow
hissed a warning as Jeremy held
Opa
back.

“Tell the truth,” Ryan said. “You knew Vin once. What happened? I’ve heard the stories. I know what he did to your son. And I see how strong you all are as a pack. So why have you done nothing against him before now?”

Opa
sagged against Jeremy.

“What happened to my brother?” Byron stepped toward Ryan, ignoring
Willow
’s growl. “Tell me what happened.”

Ryan dipped his head again. “I’ve heard stories about the one I replaced. They found a new tracker, and they knew a woman in the family had given birth to a girl as well as a son. Vin decided he had to have the mother in his pack, so he sent the tracker and some others after her. Her mate was there.” He took a deep breath and nodded at Byron. “Your brother fought like an animal until they pinned him down. The tracker was sadistic, taunted him with his wife, and… he went too far. She died, and your brother lost his mind. He tore the tracker apart, then killed two others before they finally managed to take him down. One of those died of their wounds later on. Vin used what happened to convince the pack that letting your family breed would lead to the end of everyone else. I’m sorry.”

Byron sank to the ground in despair. It was rare to see exactly how he was feeling. I didn’t know what to feel. My parents… my dad hadn’t killed my mother. He hadn’t gone down without a fight. But Vin had taken my family away, and the need for revenge surged through me. Maybe Byron was wrong about having mercy on the wolves coming to take Amelia.

Byron looked up at his father, his eyes filled with hate. “Tell me everything.”

“It’s true. This is all petty revenge.”
Opa
looked at Ryan. “What do you know about the tracker who stalked my mates?”

“You murdered her,” Ryan said, so matter-of-factly that I wondered what he had done since he joined with his pack. What was he capable of?

“I didn’t. Vin did. Although I’m sure he told a different story.”

“Why would he do that?” Ryan asked.

Opa
sighed heavily. “Vin met my wife first and fell in love with her. He saved her life when the tracker came along. He killed the tracker to stop her from sending others. He was trying to court
Lia
when I finally found her. The tracker’s lies had slowed me down, and
Lia
had the time to start up a relationship with Vin. Of course, the curse won that battle. He was desperate to do anything to get her back, but it ended badly. Over the years, he’s made threats, but we’ve kept moving. I hoped he would give up and go away. I had no idea he had become alpha.”

I exchanged a horrified glance with Jeremy. Could my family’s history get any more screwed up?