Geez, this whole double Friday update thing is starting to confuse me. One of these nights, I'm going to upload an Empire of Ashes chapter on here and vice versa, and end up confusing all of you as well. Anyways, until that inevitable day, enjoy.
"You're beginning to make a habit of this," Rhodric grumbled.
"Not by choice," I replied dryly. Just as before, we were sat in the council chambers. But unlike before, Rhodric was in a more helpful mood.
"After Jeff shifted, how did any of you get out alive?" Ollie asked. He sounded genuinely worried, which was more than could be said for my adopted father. As far as the rogue was concerned, as long as we were still breathing, it was fine.
"I turned off my scent," my brother said. He was lounging back in his chair, using the table for a footrest as usual.
Rhodric blinked. The only sign of surprise he would ever show. "I had hoped you would be able to do that."
"And why on earth would that stop him attacking?" my second-in-command demanded, frowning.
"Because his mate was killed by werewolves. It's our scent that makes him break from reality — into a flashback of some sort," Rhodric explained. That sounded about right. There had been times when old Jeff thought he was somewhere else entirely. "My sister was caught up in one of those episodes."
Leo leant forwards. "What else can Shadowcats do?"
"Pray you never find out," Rhodric said. "There are some simple things — things like overhearing mind-links and a healing process even faster than ours. They're stronger than us individually, but they're not pack animals, so they rarely work together. I would imagine their insistence on solitude is the reason Shadowcats are extinct everywhere except Anglesey."
"Save for Jeff," I pointed out.
"Yes," Rhodric sighed then. "Maybe I should never have brought him here, but it felt safer to have him close to me. His own people were openly trying to kill him after he went mad."
"I have just one question," I said. "Will he help us kill Malcolm?"
He shrugged, looking uncertain. "If I ask him, most likely. The old man isn't actually as crazy as he would have everyone believe."
I suddenly felt uncomfortable. All those years, when we had visited him, we had acted like he was insane. What if Old Jeff had probably been laughing the whole time, amused by the kids who thought they were being kind to the local nutcase? And Rhys ... Jeff must have known he was talking to his grandson the whole time. He had even hinted as much.
Rhodric's eyes flickered between Leo and me. "But why stop there? Your sister would likely help us. Go to New Dawn and at least talk to Kara. Tell her who she is. But I'm well aware — and you should be, too — that she doesn't owe us anything."
"No. But she owes our parents a good deal, including her life." I stood up suddenly, pulling Leo with me. It only needed to be the two of us for a trip to New Dawn. Jace was still an ally, no matter what was going on with Keith's pack. We would have safe conduct.
"I'm coming too," Rhys decided. "Having a second Skye around is going to be so much fun."
I wouldn't count on it. We share genes and not necessarily much else.
Rhodric just shook his head. "I could use your help dealing with Jeff. He likes you, lad."
Rhys scowled but remained where he was. My second-in-command chewed on his lip. To my unending gratitude, he looked to me for instruction, not my father. "And me?"
"Stay here. Look after Haven while I'm away and raise hell for Keith's pack. I want all the raids focused on him for the duration of this pack war."
Ollie grinned. "Yes, ma'am."
***
"Have you ever written a will?" I asked Leo suddenly. For people who danced with death on a daily basis, we spent surprisingly little time discussing it.
"Nope," he said bluntly. "I don't really own anything of value. But I will give you a verbal one. All my meagre possessions go to you, worthless as they are. You might find a use for them ... as kindling, perhaps."
I frowned at him. "Don't be stupid. I wouldn't ever be able to bring myself to burn your things. Funnily enough, I've never written one either. I suppose you could all fight over my possessions, like dogs with a bone. Unlike you, I happen to be a brilliant thief. Rhys and Fion would lay claim to a fair bit of it, I'd imagine — and I would advise you not to contest that. They might just kill for even half of what I own."
"Like what?" he sounded doubtful.
"Well, there's you. You're mine, just as I'm yours." I allowed him a moment to smile at me before bursting the bubble. "But if we're discussing things of real value, there are several expensive cars and a savings bond in my name."
Leo shoved me jokingly. My shoulder knocked against the oak tree we were crouched under. I took the opportunity to peek out at the patrol again. The four wolves would continue down the treeline until just before the river before doubling back on themselves. Jace was one smart cookie to think of that. Any normal trespasser would fall for it and walk straight into the trap, but we were hardly normal. Needless to say, my experience dodging packlings was the only reason I wasn't fighting New Dawn's guard dogs right now.
"Do you usually spy on the patrols for hours?" Leo inquired.
"Not usually. There's a pack war going on, if you hadn't realised. Security is tight, so border hopping gets increasingly difficult. Besides, I want to spend some time with my mate. We were having such a nice chat. Let's talk funerals next."
He shrugged. "There's not much to discuss. Obviously, I would want to be cremated — that's the rogue way, after all. I don't have a tree, so you can pick any old hawthorne for the pyre. I guess you can all cry if you really want. Or you could just use it as an excuse to order pizza and get drunk."
"The latter sounds about right," I admitted. "I have a few ideas for funeral songs though."
"Oh yeah?"
I grinned. "There's a whole playlist: Another One Bites the Dust, Immortals (just not for long), Locked Out of Heaven, and last but not least, Highway to Hell."
"Skye! That's not even funny," he spluttered. "If you're really looking for irony, Stayin' Alive is the way to go."
"Ooh, that gives me an idea. How creepy would it be to play Hello?" I asked.
He nudged me. "Shut up."
"No seriously, can you imagine? Hello from the other side!"
Leo grimaced and clamped a hand over my mouth, hissing, "No, really. Shut up. They're looking this way. So unless you want to try out those ideas for real, I suggest you pipe down a little."
I snuck another peek at the patrol wolves, and sure enough, they were on the return leg of the journey. All four wolves had their ears pricked up. We were far away, so I doubted they could have heard that much. At least, hopefully not my awful singing.
After a few minutes, Jace's minions moved on again. I eased from where I had been perched for hours, groaning at my aching muscles. I shouldered my rucksack and broke into a fast walk. We didn't even need to shift for the few hundred metres to the borderline. It took just minutes to cross into New Dawn territory.
With a broad smile on my face, I pulled Leo towards me and kissed him right there in plain view, without a care in the world that the flockies could catch us. It didn't matter, not when my mate was beside me and the sun was shining. Trespassing was a habit I was letting slip, and the rush was twice as much fun after nearly a year of behaving myself. Rhys and Ollie had both been on raids to the local packs since the ferals, but I had always been too busy or too tired.
"Maybe it's wedding songs we should be thinking of," I teased him. "I want to play the Rains of Castamere and see how many people freak out."
He raised his eyebrows. "Is this a proposal?"
"Eh. We're marked already. I'd say that's close enough. Although ... you have escaped the customs that come along with that."
Leo folded his arms across his chest defensively. "Oh, you mean the one where Rhodric and Rhys get to beat me up?"
"It's not just about getting beaten up," I laughed. "But yes, that's the part they'll focus on, I'm sure. Does that make you nervous?"
"A little," he admitted, grinning. "But you're worth it."
Our lips met for a second time. We were really pushing it now, with the next patrol due any minute, but in that moment, he was all that mattered. When I finally surfaced for air, I grabbed his hand and dragged him into the forest. Once the hunters were defeated, we would have all the time in the world to do whatever we wished. But until then, there were other priorities.
Kara was not difficult to find. I figured she would be with the Luna, as they were such good friends. And Emma would be with her mate, Jace. All in all, it didn't take much brainpower to decide the pack house might be a good place to start. We managed to slink through the territory undetected, often going on long detours to avoid the flockies.
Sneaking into the pack house itself was very simple. Once I had climbed a trellis and then helped Leo up, the pair of us slipped through an open window. The corridors were completely unguarded. Therein lay an Alpha's arrogance. He assumed that anyone who made it to his inner domain wouldn't be a threat, because he was there. It was Jace's first mistake, and it could easily have been his last if I had been here under different circumstances. There were any number of ways to kill a man while his guard was down.
We simply wandered the hallways, trying to catch Kara's eerily familiar scent. She was inside the dining room with everyone else, eating lunch, if the smell of bacon was anything to go by. I could have waited to get her alone, but these were allies, after all. And I was fast running out of patience with being cautious.
So I sidled casually into the kitchen, stole a can of Pepsi from the fridge and popped the lid before anyone even noticed my presence. I only bothered looking up from my refreshment when the scraping of chairs told me that the packlings were at last paying attention. I knew Leo was hovering in the doorway because I could feel the force of his glare on my back. You're just showing off now, he seemed to say. And he was right. So very right.
A dozen bulky pack fighters were on their feet and dumbstruck. It was easy to pick out Alpha Jace from amongst them — the only one looking wholly unsurprised. He had some sort of magical control over his emotions at all times.
"Good afternoon, Skye," Jace said mildly. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? I'm assuming it must be very important, seeing as you failed to notify me in advance."
I took a sip of the sugary drink and smirked at him. "What, no how are you or hello for Leo? That's a little rude, don't you think?"
"Hello, Leo." He nodded at my mate. "And as for rude, I believe breaking and entering is as far from polite manners as it is possible to get."
"Oh, I can think of a few worse things," I said. My fingers brushed my knife hilt. Coincidentally, of course. "Besides, I was just entering, not breaking. Your window lock is intact, unlike your pride."
If Jace had been any other werewolf and not a robot, he would have rolled his eyes. But obviously, a facial expression was out of the question, so he just dismissed the fighters with a jerk of his hand. With them gone, I could see the Luna and Kara, the latter of whom was wearing an amused smirk. Oh, she was my twin all right.
"What do you want?" It came out as a snap. His patience must have been wearing thin.
"I came to talk to Kara, not you."
Her grey eyes widened in surprise. They were the same shade as mine, as was the head of dark blonde hair. How I hadn't seen the family resemblance last time was a miracle in itself.
Jace glanced at the girl. "Any reason why?"
"Actually, yes." I turned to face her, allowing only the smallest of smiles to grace my lips. "You're my twin sister."