Destiny Sealed, page 4
“So you’re going to steal a car?” Cecily’s tone indicates she doesn’t think highly of the plan.
“I won’t scratch the paint,” Drew mutters as he tries the door. To my surprise, it’s unlocked. He slips into the driver’s seat and messes with the steering console.
I stand staring until Callum tugs on my arm. “Ye gonna get in or what?”
By the time I slide in and clip my seat belt, Drew’s got the car started. I glance around as we pull away from the corner, but no one seems to notice us go.
When we pull into the enclave, my eyes are drawn to Drew. When he left with the rest of the convocation yesterday, I couldn’t imagine a circumstance under which I’d ever want to see him on pack lands again. But if there’s anything I’ve learned in the last few months, it’s just how quickly things can change.
Sawyer and Dakota meet us at the bottom of the meeting house hill. When Callum climbs out of the car, Sawyer eyes him with open distrust. Not that I can blame him. We don’t have the best track record with witches at the moment.
“We should take him up to the meeting house,” Cecily says as Jack joins Sawyer and Dakota.
I tilt my head. “For what?”
She blows out a breath, the corners of her mouth twitching. “Sorry. I keep forgetting you’re not part of the pack anymore.” She presses her lips together and her cheeks tinge pink. “I mean—not officially. Because, you know…”
I nod, trying to hide my discomfort at the truth she’s spoken. “Yeah, yeah.” I wave my hand like it’s no big deal.
Her lips twitch again. “Jack was talking through his alpha bond. He contacted Dakota and asked her to keep Dr. Ostler here. He thought if Callum told the doctor what he told us, the doctor might be able to figure out if Kiara’s plan is even possible.”
“Of course.” It makes total sense. I can even see why Jack might have made the plans without speaking them aloud—since Callum is still such an unknown quantity, and Drew is known all too well—but it hurts that he left me out of the discussion entirely.
Cecily and I lead Callum up the hill to the meeting house. Dr. Ostler sits on one of the metal folding chairs, his medical equipment stowed in stainless steel cases on the table beside him. His face is set in the kind of glower people reserve for long waits. He doesn’t seem to notice when we enter the building.
“What is this then?” Callum’s eyes widen as he takes in Dr. Osler’s white lab coat. “I dinnit agree to be some kind of lab rat. I had a feeling what they said about you weres was true. Well, ye’ll not be turning me into a mindless drone to bake yer meat pies.”
Dr. Ostler lifts his gaze. His brows furrow as he inspects Callum. “This is him, I take it?”
Callum points at him, shaking his head. “Ye can hold it right there, Dr. Frankenstein. I’m not planning to go on the dissection table today.”
If Callum’s ramblings confuse Ostler, his face doesn’t show it. “Not today,” he says, his tone calm and even. “At this time, I’m only interested in what you heard about Kiara’s plan.”
Callum still studies the doctor as if he’s sure the older-looking man will jump out and attack him, but when Cecily sets a folding chair two yards in front of Ostler’s, Callum sits in it without being asked. “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be to ye. Like I was telling the lass, I overheard just bits and pieces while I was in the closet…”
I do my best to tune out the conversation. Instead, I turn my attention to the shimmering threads of awareness that connect me to the nineteen hybrids. I ended up sending my pack their assignment through my alpha link Although I know our best chance to defeat Kiara is to have as much help as possible, I can’t shake the sense I’m somehow sending these new hybrids into the lion’s den by asking them to go back to their old packs. But it’s the best option if we want the werewolf community to accept us. Those packs don’t know me, but they know the members Kiara stole from them. If we can get even half of those packs on our side, that’s hundreds of werewolves willing to help us stop whatever Kiara’s planning.
I let my awareness follow each thread. It’s strange, but even though the alpha connection is still new, my wolf seems to understand how it works. I can sense the distance between myself and each member—although the connection is spottier for the ones furthest away. But there are two members whose presence glows far too brightly. I focus on them and understand why: These two haven’t left the enclave yet.
I glance at Cecily. “Can you handle this?” I gesture to Callum.
She grins. “Go, do whatever you need to.”
I nod a thank you as I push open the door. I locate the two hybrids almost immediately, rounding the meeting house hill. I jog down to meet them, their names floating to the top of my recollections as I approach.
“Poppy. Dylan.”
The two turn when they hear their names. Poppy is tall and lithe with dark maroon hair in a shaggy pixie cut and thick-rimmed black plastic glasses. Dylan is tall and rail-thin, but muscular, with a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. I can’t imagine either of them were much older than I was when they were turned.
“What’s up, boss?” Poppy smiles. “We’re not shirking, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I’m surprised by her assumption. “Not worried, just curious. The others are all on their way already. At least one hybrid is at his old territory.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Dylan rubs the back of his neck. “We were the last ones to go in, and Dr. Ostler was pretty chatty.”
Based on my experiences with the man, this revelation isn’t shocking—but something reverberates through my connection with these two that makes me think there’s more he hasn’t told me. “What were you talking about?”
The two of them exchange glances. “Dylan asked why he wanted the blood.”
The corners of Dylan’s mouth twitch. “I wanted to be a doctor. You know—before. I don’t get a chance to talk medicine with anyone anymore, so…”
A twinge of pain twists inside me, although I’m not sure whether I’m feeling it through him or for him. When I became what I am, I didn’t have much of a life to give up. I had no family, no friends, and no real future. For the first time, I wonder what kind of lives to those of us who are changed leave behind.
“He said he’s working on a cure.” Poppy’s eyes are wide as she studies me. “A way to make werewolves and vampires human again.”
I nod. “Apparently he’s been researching the subject for years.”
Dylan squints. “Do you think he could really do it?”
“I don’t know. I guess time will tell.”
He takes a half step forward. “How much time?”
Poppy shakes her head. “The whole thing sounds shady.”
I tilt my head. “Shady? Why?”
Her mouth works like she’s trying to select just the right words. “Let’s say he’s successful. Who gets this so-called cure?”
I hadn’t thought about it. “Anyone who wants it, I imagine.”
“What about people who don’t want it?” she asks. “What’s to stop someone like Kiara from changing everyone back to human?”
I bite my lower lip. Now that she mentions it, she has a point. “I don’t think we need to worry about that right now. Let’s worry about today’s problems today, okay?”
Although she doesn’t look convinced, she nods. I expect them both to take their leave, to start off on their assignment, but instead, they both shuffle and cast each other sideways glances.
“Is there something else?” It’s clear there is, but it almost seems as if they’re waiting for permission to speak their minds.
They go from exchanging glances to having a full-blown conversation with their eyebrows. Finally, Poppy sighs and faces me.
“We were wondering about our halves.” Her gaze drops to her feet like speaking it aloud is cause for embarrassment.
I do my best to keep my face neutral. Last night, after I took control of the pack, they told me where Kiara had been keeping them. Jack sent a team to check out the location, and they found the hybrid halves—along with Gavin’s half—in a cage on the premises. I asked Vesna if she could keep them all safe—and debrief them about anything they may have overheard. I could have just as easily brought them here to the enclave and had our people take care of it, but I decided against it. Some of the halves are still human, according to reports, and bringing those individuals here seemed like too much.
At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself.
“We never met them—when Kiara had us,” Dylan says, not quite meeting my eyes. “I don’t think any of us even realized they were around until Echo…”
“We rode in the same car with her,” Poppy says. “She told us a little about how you found her to finish Mel’s transition. And that’s when we figured out that Kiara must have had our halves nearby since we’re all…”
My stomach twists at the longing in her voice. Maybe it was the wrong call to keep my pack separate from the people who would complete them. “They’re safe. The convocation is looking after them and trying to determine if they overheard anything about Kiara’s operation or her plans. I’ve only gotten one update so far. Everyone was slightly malnourished, and several of the human halves are still in shock.”
Dylan’s and Poppy’s eyes go round.
“Some of them are humans?”
“What about ours?” Poppy asks. “Are our halves humans still? Or are they weres already?”
“Can we meet them? I mean—when can we?”
I open my mouth, but I don’t have an answer. I press my lips together before trying again. “I don’t know if your halves are weres. And as far as meeting them…” I consider my words. “We’ll discuss that after you’ve talked with your old packs.”
The excitement drains from both of their faces. It’s not the answer they wanted to hear, but I can’t give them what they want—at least not right now.
They exchange glances once more before turning and nodding. In the next moment, they’re shifting and running toward the woods. But no matter how far they run from me, their disappointment lingers, curling like a snake in the pit of my stomach.
I wish I’d been able to give them a different answer. It isn’t fair to them to know their halves have been found but that they remain out of reach.
Movement up ahead catches my eye. Jack steps onto the road, still with Dakota and Sawyer. I study him, and the familiar longing to be with him surges within me. He’s been part of my life since I came here to the enclave, and there’s a hollowness inside me when the two of us are apart. How much emptier do the weres who have yet to find their halves feel?
I doubt Brady and Lola experience the same deep desire that is ever-present inside me. Now that they’ve merged, their soul is compete. They have nothing left to long for because they’re whole. But even though I have Jack, I still don’t have the peace that comes from being with him fully.
Dr. Ostler’s earlier assessment rings through my mind once again. If hybrids are too distinct a supernatural species from werewolves—so much so that we can’t belong to the same pack—does that mean a hybrid can’t merge with a were? If that’s the case, it won’t matter if my pack members meet their halves. The longing will remain.
But there’s another alternative that’s even more chilling. What if Poppy and Dylan meet their halves and they can merge? Where would that leave Jack and me?
Chapter Seven
The cabin, off the main road cutting through the enclave, nestles between two pine trees and is just as quiet as I remember. Although the air is no longer charged with the threat of impending death, sadness still clings to its walls.
I know why Echo chose to stay here. This is the place Mel spent her last days at the enclave.
It’s difficult to sort through my feelings about Mel. At times, I ache at her loss. At others, I’m numbed by the truth. Our relationship was complicated, but she died to help me—to help all the hybrids.
I pause outside the door, my knuckles inches from the door. She shouldn’t be alone, but I’m not sure what kind of comfort I’ll be to her.
Sound prickles my ears. Voices inside the cabin.
She’s not alone.
I knock and the voices die down. A moment later, the door swings open to reveal Echo. I didn’t notice at the failed pack combining ceremony earlier, but her eyes are bloodshot and rimmed red. Her cheeks, however, are dry and her eyelashes aren’t clumped together with tears, so she seems to be holding things together for the moment.
“Ava.”
Before I have time to respond, she circles me in a hug so tight it nearly takes my breath away. I’m so surprised, a few moments pass before I return her embrace. I’m not sure to make of it, considering when I met her only a couple of days ago, she was so closed off she would barely make eye contact.
She ends the embrace but doesn’t release me. She holds onto my shoulders, squeezing them with gentle pressure as she looks me straight in the face. “Thanks for coming to check in on me.”
I nod. “Of course. I was surprised you made it to the ceremony earlier. But I was glad.”
She shrugs, dropping her hands from my shoulders. “I can’t just sit around here forever, can I?”
I open my mouth to respond, to remind her that it’s been less than a day since Mel’s death, but before the words find their way out my attention catches on the other individual in the room. In my shock over Echo’s greeting, I’d almost forgotten the male voice I heard through the door. “Luke?”
The corner of his mouth quirks as he offers a wave. He perches on the edge of the couch cushion, his forearms pressed against his thighs. A steaming mug of coffee sits on the table in front of him.
I blink as I try to process the scene. Of all the people I can imagine who would come to check in on Echo and offer her comfort, Luke doesn’t fit the bill. Although he’s worked alongside them for the last few months, he’s never seemed to hold any love for werewolves. And he’s not someone prone to stopping by to chat.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Echo asks, edging toward the kitchen. “The pot’s fresh.”
I shake my head. “But thank you.”
She switches course and starts for the couch. She sits on the side opposite Luke, leaving me to the adjacent love seat. “I’m glad you stopped by. I was going to find you in a bit anyway.”
Luke leans forward. “We were just discussing next steps. I doubt anyone from Gavin’s old pack stuck around the void, but it doesn’t matter.”
Echo nods. “I never want to step foot in that place again.”
Luke’s eyes flash with something akin to pride. “So we’ve been talking about what her other options are.”
My eyebrows pull together as I try to make sense of what he’s talking about. “Options?”
Echo nods, offering Luke a small smile. “Gotta keep moving, right? No sense living in the past.”
Realization dawns on me and I could kick myself for not remembering sooner. I tamp down a wave of guilt for not giving Luke more credit sooner. He’s the perfect person to come talk to Echo after she lost her half. Luke experienced the same loss decades ago. Like Echo, Luke didn’t merge with his half before she died. When halves merge, their life force links so that their immortality becomes conditional: when one dies, so does the other. But when halves are unmerged, the death of one means the other is alone.
I try to cover for my slow uptake of the situation. “Of course you have to move forward. You don’t want to go back to the void. Not that I blame you. Have you decided on something else you’d like to do?”
Echo glances at Luke and doesn’t speak until he nods. “I’d like to talk to Jack about becoming a member of this pack—if he’ll have me.”
Pride surges in me. I can’t think of a better pack for her to join, but I’m more than a little biased. “I know he’d love to have you join this family.”
Her lips quirk, but she presses on. “And I’d like to help. We still don’t know where Kiara is, and I’m sure you’re still looking for her. Whatever’s coming next, I want to be part of it.” She twists her fingers together, not meeting my eyes. “I get that Mel wasn’t always the good guy, but I think she’d want me to be. I want me to be.”
My heart twists at her words. Her depiction of Mel is accurate, if not entirely fair. Mel was a high-ranking member of Jack’s pack for years before I came along. It was my arrival—my displacing her in the pack hierarchy—that brought out her jealousy.
Echo’s expression is expectant and it occurs to me I haven’t responded. “Of course. We’d love to have your help.” My mind spins with different possibilities—was she could assist our current efforts. “What skills do you have? Are you any good at tracking? Fighting?”
She shakes her head. “I was kind of a party girl before they turned me. I didn’t know much more than how to do shots.”
I smile. “Not to worry. I didn’t really know anything, either, when I got here. Lillie and Sawyer trained me. I’ll talk with Lillie about getting you on a training regimen. And I’ll talk to Jack about making you an official part of the pack.”
“Thank you.” Her lips twitch. “I actually… I wish I could be part of your pack, for what it’s worth.”
My stomach clenches, but only for a moment. I’m not sure what to say in response, so I nod and stand up. “I’ll check in with you again later.”
I half expect Luke to pop up and follow me out, but he doesn’t. I wave to both of them as I exit.
I should be glad that Echo has someone here who can understand what she’s going through, but an emotion I can’t identify snakes through my insides as I step off the porch and head up the road. I suppose I’ve grown so accustomed to Luke looking out for me that it’s odd to think of him extending his bubble of concern to others.
I’m several yards down the trail when I stop dead in my tracks. Am I jealous? No, I can’t be. Jealousy implies degree of emotional involvement, and I don’t care for Luke in that way.
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