Updated: March 29, 2019
Corvo
During the day, I found solace in the quiet pack house. Without the rowdy teenagers around I had a chance to breathe and catch my thoughts before they drifted off into oblivion. That and I channel surfed without the pack-kids begging to watch cartoons. There were Lycan channels only available to those within the community but they were mostly news about Council events. I clicked the channel over to one of the five we had, and a man, Albert Shiion, came onto the screen. He sat at a desk, hands folded around an empty mug as if he were about to drink out of it.
Latest news from the Council mentions the trial date for Eleanor Bates, the woman accused of planning and following through with an attack on her home pack, Ruby, twelve years ago, has been moved up to two weeks from now. The change was made shortly after a referendum was passed pertaining to the Twenty-Five law. The law protects children from being tried for crimes they've committed, and holds off any trials until they're of Lycan age. An audience of thousands is expected at the Council for the trial, as people hope to finally put an end to a decade long conspiracy about what really happened to Ruby.
The TV hummed with information I already knew. The man on TV rambled on and on about the upcoming trial. The conspiracies. The lies perpetrated by every single Lycan that walked North America. Anyone else and I would've flipped the channel again but hearing her name spewed by someone who didn't care at all whether she lived or died made my blood boil in my veins. Albert Shiion didn't care about her. He cared about ratings. He cared about what the Council told him to say about her.
I flipped the channels on the remote until I hit the high four-hundreds. With the house empty it seemed barren and cold. Everyone had their own lives outside the pack house; I couldn't expect Jax to be at my side every minute of the day. I gave him the rest of the week off to go see his son but he refused. Said something about how his priorities remained with the pack until the council business was buried and mourned over. It'd been months since he saw Ryder and the bags under his eyes didn't brighten my hopes for him. Without his mate, he hardly slept and even when he did, I knew his dreams were nothing but traumatizing. With Mattias back, I had someone else to go to when Jax was otherwise occupied. Being my third, Matt offered better support than Damien but I couldn't put the kind of pressure on him that I shoved onto Jax. It wouldn't be fair. The deafening pressure included L's case. I managed to keep my siblings and Jax quiet about her but I knew she'd come up before long.
Mattias watched the TV from the other couch. He had a fingernail to his lips, teeth extended out onto a piece of dry, loose skin just below the nail. His attention stayed on the continuously flipping TV until I landed on the news again. I set the clicker down and leaned my head back, content with the ceiling over another human yelling the broadcast over my television set. With the trial coming up faster every day, I slept uneasily. Without a proper connection with L we were blind to each others existence. For all I knew her body lay at the bottom of a shallow grave, a bit of dirt to shield her face from scalding sunlight and frostbitten snow. I pled that wasn't the case but I learned not to expect miracles long ago. It was foolish, childish to believe she'd make it out without a scratch and with each passing day I grew weary that she'd make it out alive, let alone in one piece.
A vibration against my leg forced my attention from the pale ceiling. I brought my head up, a bit of whiplash accompanied with it, and struggled to pull my phone from its cell inside my jeans. A proper pull and the screen lit up to an unknown number. Mattias and I exchanged a quick look while the vibrations continued before he nodded once for me to answer. I clicked the green circle and pulled the phone to my ear. I half expected a human-robot call, a mention about my overdue accounts or electric bill but the monotone voice didn't reach through the phone. I offered the first greeting.
"Hello?" I pressed only to be met with silence on the other end. I repeated myself again before someone cleared their throat.
"Corvo, hello – apologies," Jeffries called over the speaker. I sucked in a breath and stood from the couch. Mattias followed my movements but I shooed him off before he got too close. I didn't need anyone else involved with L's case. Too many people were already involved. I couldn't lose Matty as well.
"What do you want?" I hissed, stepping into a side room behind the living room. The door shut behind me, cloaking the room in a dark web before I flipped the light switch. A bright formal dining room lit up underneath the fluorescents. Dark mahogany, freshly polished, nearly blinded me. The long dining room table, stretching the length of the room, but much thinner than the width of the room, was positioned in the middle. Matching high-back chairs sat around the table, a shoulder-length distance apart. There was a dark green table runner with gold thread sewed around the perimeter, that extended the whole table right down the middle. While the table wasn't set for food, it looked clean enough to eat off. Dangling just feet above the center of the table was a giant chandelier with rope-like diamonds glittering from the dim natural light that peeked through shut blinds as well as the lights that came from bulbs around the stones. Portraits of past Alphas hung on the wall around the room, in giant frames that took up most the olive painted room.
"Now, now, Corvo I just want to talk," he said. I held back a scowl and sat at the large dining room table. While the chair was smaller than I needed, I made room. I pulled one leg up toward my chest, foot on the cushioned bottom, and leaned my elbows on the bare wood table. "Are you ready to listen or do you have any more snide remarks?"
"We'll see. Depends on what you want to talk about," I clicked my short fingernails against the wood grain and stared off the other side of the table. My father's portrait stared back at me, his face healthy and without a hint of the disease that ultimately took his life. An artist from Beryl painted it several years ago. I didn't have the heart to remove it. A large vase full of spring flowers filled a tall black bowl, textured in divots.
"My bounty hunters came back empty-handed."
"Did you think they wouldn't?"
"I wasn't aware of your knowledge of Alpha Cole and Beta Roderick's survival from the Ruby attack," Jeffries huffed. "If I'd known, things would've gone differently."
"What about them?"
"You're offering them asylum under Emerald guard," His tone seemed accusatory, like it was only a rumor spread by nasty teenagers in a school hallway. "Aren't they worth any monetary value?"
"No," I hissed. "Call your dogs off. I know they're sitting at the edge of my territory, and I will not hesitate to use force if they take a step out of line," I snarled. I knew Jeffries had his men out but I didn't think they had the guts to camp out right next to the border.
"Oh, I know nothing of that," Jeffries said, a grin in his words. "They're only there to make sure you haven't made a terrible decision."
I chuckled a bit, careful to keep my voice away from the speaker.
"Cole and Roddy are my friends. No amount of money will change my mind about that," I said after a moment. "Why did you really call?" I knew he didn't want to talk about the estranged rulers of Ruby – they weren't any of his concern now that I had them under my roof.
"During your conversation with Lena and Benji, the council's decision to overturn the Twenty-Five law was brought up. I wanted to inform you of the new trial date" Jeffries said, calmer now. I rolled my eyes, hard enough that Mattias probably felt it in the next room.
"OK," I said through gritted teeth. "That train already left the station, though, Jeffries. I got to hear it from the TV."
"In two weeks, Corvo. February tenth L will be put on trial for the ruby murders."
I bit at the inside of my cheek, catching a bit of my tongue between bites. Salty blood filled the space behind my teeth but I swallowed the taste away until my mouth ran dry. Zane pushed against the wall I built up in preparation for this conversation. His anger was expected, but I didn't want him attacking anyone.
"You're fucking joking," I barked, Zane peeking through just a bit but I held him by the scruff of his neck before he took complete control. I heard the news before, but getting an exact date sent the wolf in my head over the edge. "You're going to execute her in two weeks?"
"Who knows if she'll be executed. It all depends on her defense."
"We all know she has none because she was twelve!" I lost my grip on Zane. He shoved me back into my head while he took over the conversation with Jeffries. "Listen here, you low life," I cursed under my breath. My wall crumbled but Zane built one back up, much stronger than I would've ever created. I pushed against it to no avail. I yelled inside my own head. Zane ignored me. He built bricks up around me so I had no chance of escape until he allowed me out.
"Corvo please get a handle on your wolf, it's terribly embarrassing," Jeffries chuckled through the line.
"If you have so much as breathed on her I will remove your head from your shoulders one nerve at a time," Zane growled. The vase in the middle of the table vibrated with his voice, and the door behind him opened. Zane whipped around, canines bared. Mattias stood in the doorway, brows raised while he took in Zane's blackened sclera and irises. The man stood, hands up as a show of innocence, but he didn't move back.
"Oh, my dear boy it's too late for that," Jeffries said. "Don't forget, mutt, you're holding two fugitives under asylum. Hand them over and we might work out a deal to spare your precious mate."
A click. The line went dead, an incessant buzz tone sounded until Zane pulled the phone from his ear. One solid throw toward the wall next to Mattias resulted in a shattered phone, the bottom poking out from a hole in the plaster. Mattias hardly flinched, but once the dusty plaster settled on the floor below him, he turned to assess the damage to the wall. Snarls ripped through the room, the world blurring around Zane as his control over his anger dwindled a thread at a time.
"Hey, man, chill out," Mattias stepped forward but Zane barked, warning of the oncoming demise if he moved any closer. Zane grasped onto the dining room table, nails and tips of fingers dug into the wood until a crack as thin as a strand of hair ran down the middle of the table.
Zane, you have to calm down,I said, the wall between us had barely a scratch despite my best efforts to pull him back.
He didn't answer but continued the stare down between my third.
"Look man, I don't know what's gotten into you but we can work it out. Give Corvo control back, please," Mattias put his hands up again, moving closer one slow step at a time until they were close enough that their breath mixed.
Another moment passed before the black dispersed and the whites came back into my eyes. Zane threw me back into the world while he retreated into the safety of my head. I stumbled forward, hand caught on Mattias to keep me from falling onto my front.
"Whoa," he steadied me, hands firmly grasped my arms. "You OK?"
"Zane doesn't exactly give me warning when he gives me back control," I stifled a laugh and moved back, rolling my shoulders. "Sorry for that."
Mattias shut the door behind him and came close. I gulped and sat back down in my seat, face in hands.
"Who is she?" He said, sitting beside on another chair. I flipped my eyes up to meet his but I refused to answer hoping he'd lose interest. Enough people's lives were directly affected by this.
"Matty you shouldn't be involved," I hissed, standing. "Too many people are involved as is – I can't get you in it too."
"I'm your third. I have a right to know."
"No, you don't," I said. "That's the end of discussion. I am not getting you involved."
"If you don't tell me someone else will. News travels fast, you know that."
"Matty please, just don't get tangled in this."
He met my gaze again, his thin brunette brows furrowed toward the center of his forehead. Silence passed between us until he bobbed his head, just barely. I knew he didn't mean it but I needed the conversation to end before he pushed too far.
"Fine," he said. "Just don't do anything stupid."
Mattias went for the door and pulled it open. Once final glance my way before he stalked off. He left the doorway wide open. I followed after him but Mattias vanished before I had a chance to catch up with him. Instead, I swung into the kitchen and went for the large island in the middle of the room. I grabbed an apple from the bowl at the center and bit into it, allowing the juice to fall in the small lines dug into my lips. A gentle sting set my nerves on fire but I ignored the sensation and took another bite. Erin tended to a large pot. The pan steamed furiously from a small hole in the lid. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun with strands that fell from it in random directions around her head. A gray shirt was tucked into dark jeans, with a belt around her waist. She held onto the handle and a wooden spoon until her fingers turned white, but hadn't noticed my presence in the kitchen until I cleared my throat. Erin whirled around, eyes wide with the spoon held out as if it would protect her.
"You and I both know that," I pointed to the spoon. "Won't do anything."
"What else was I supposed to use?" She huffed and shook her head. "Don't you have business to attend to?"
"Whoa, didn't realize I wasn't allowed in my own kitchen," I chuckled and hopped onto a bar stool across from her. Erin laughed, head borne into the air for a moment.
"I guess I'm just used to being the only one around here during the day."
"Hey," I put a hand up and scoffed. Offense hit my face.
"You hide out in that cave of a room you have upstairs," she rolled her eyes and pulled a small bowl down from one of the open cabinets above the stove. She ladled some of what was in the pot into it, and turned on me. She grabbed a spoon from a drawer in the island and slid the bowl over to me without explanation as to what it was.
"It's comfy," I said and caught the bowl before it skated past me. "Your aim is terrible," I chuckled, unconsciously rolling my eyes a little. "What is this?" I asked.
"You know I heard that," Erin didn't turn.
"Heard what?"
"Your eyes going back into your head. And it's stew, your mother's recipe."
I smiled and finished dipped the spoon into the bowl of thick soup. Lumps of potatoes and carrots gathered on the wide spoon. The tomato red broth lifted with the chunks, and I took a slurp. Childhood slammed into the back of my throat. I chewed on the chunks of vegetables and swallowed, allowing the tomato-based soup to slither down my throat.
"Ugh," I said and threw my head back. "You're a culinary genius."
"I'll take that in writing, dear," Erin said over her shoulder.
The front door slammed, forcing my head toward the foyer. I dropped the spoon from my hands. It landed on the counter next to the bowl. As my heart settled, I gripped the edge of the counter to steady myself from the sudden intrusion through the front door. Ethel pushed her shoes off and hurried over into the kitchen, eyes wide as she approached.
"Why aren't you in the city?" I asked but didn't move from my seat. She ignored my question and continued her haste. Ethel spent most of her days in downtown Manhattan. She claimed she was with friends shooting for whatever blog she devoted her time to, but I knew she had other intentions.
"We have a problem," She said, just low enough so Erin didn't hear. I didn't take another moment to ponder. We still weren't on the best terms but the fact that she was willing to speak to me meant I needed to listen. I shoved from the chair with one of my hands at the top of Ethel's back, leading her from the room. As soon as we rounded the corner I leaned down. My younger sister blinked, terror stricken.
"What?" I urged her but Ethel could barely get the words out. She waited until the front door slammed again. I whirled around. Damien came toward us, Allison at his side. The scar on her face still screamed 'L did this', and at the point I was at in my relationship with Allison I couldn't have been prouder of L. The long pink mark vertical from her forehead to chin was a constant reminder of what she'd done in her past, and how her target finally fought back and delivered something Allison would never forget.
"Corvo we have a big problem," Damien said as soon as he got close enough.
I exchanged between Ethel and Damien waiting for one of them to speak but neither dared open their mouths. After a moment Allison stepped in front of her mate, sighing. She turned her gaze up to me, green eyes dulled from what they used to be. Fear struck her features, aging her by at least five years. It felt like centuries before she finally spoke:
"It's Claire."
_____________
Hey all!
Hope you're enjoying the second book so far! I'm trying to get hard at work and write for you guys so keep your eyes peeled for more chapters coming soon.
QOC: What do you think the "problem" with Claire is?
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Much love,
-Kate