Discovered, p.25
Discovered, page 25
* * *
Henry moved Ryan’s car as close to the house as possible, obscuring it in shadow. It wasn’t a perfect solution; there was still a risk of someone finding it. But with every moment that passed, Carter was more and more at risk of joining him in a double grave in the forest. The car had tinted windows and, coupled with the lack of streetlamps, it was obscured as well as possible. It would have to do. We didn’t have time to do anything more, and we had to rely on the unlikelihood of someone deciding to take a late night stroll. At least, with the black fabric interior, the blood wasn’t noticeable.
The body had to move, just in case. Henry used the blanket to wrap it, and then carried him inside to the den. Also not ideal, but I drew all the curtains, so nobody could see inside.
“He’d have loved that.” Henry commented as we walked across the lawn and into the trees, following the familiar beaten track. I turned my head to look at him, frowning in confusion. “Me tucking him in.” He explained.
I couldn’t help a laugh at that, despite the tears running silently down my cheeks. Which, I realised, was exactly the point. Henry was trying to distract me from my grief.
“Yeah.” I agreed.
“Do you remember, he never let me forget he wiped my ass as a kid, every damn time I refused to go to the kitchen for him. And how I apparently used to cry whenever he left on another of those damned research trips.” He rolled his eyes, and I chuckled again. “He was so full of shit.”
“He totally wasn’t.” I laughed. “I remember one summer you threatened to go on hunger strike until he promised to send you a postcard from every country he visited in Europe, and agreed to bring you back five bars of Toblerone.”
He nudged me. “Yeah, well, I just wanted five bars of chocolate. Just had to make him think I gave a shit for him to agree.”
“Mhmm.” I smirked, and then turned my head to check on Ben, traipsing behind us.
We’d tied his arms behind his back with the rope, and Henry was holding a length of it like a leash, so he couldn’t escape. He’d continued to argue at first, after the initial shock of my agreeing to it wore off, and he refused to turn around so Henry could tie his wrists. But once he’d realised I was serious, and it sunk in that his only options were to cooperate or take us both on… he switched to more subdued grumbling and submitted to it.
We trudged through the dense forest in heavy silence; the only noise from the leaves and snow crunching underfoot, and life in the forest carrying on like nothing was wrong. Because nothing was, I supposed, for them.
I dropped back to walk beside Ben, ready to help him if he tripped, much to Henry’s chagrin. He was more than happy to drag him along like a sailor condemned to be keelhauled. But whilst I understood the appeal, if there was even a chance Carter was okay, then I was willing to grant a stay of execution on Ben’s punishment. He’d seemed genuinely shocked by Ryan’s murder, and I wanted so badly to believe he would be true to his word about helping us.
If he proved me wrong again, though…
Ben stumbled then, drawing me back to the present, and my arms shot out to catch him before he landed face first in a mound of animal waste. Although, honestly, I wasn’t entirely convinced he wouldn’t deserve it.
He straightened himself up and then met my gaze. His eyes sloped down at the corners with sadness, and I found myself desperately wanting to comfort him. To tell him everything would be okay. But I couldn’t allow myself to go there; to forgive him so easily after all the pain he’d caused. So I turned away. But not quickly enough, and he took the eye contact as an opening – a crack in my resolve.
“I’m really sorry, Maddie.” He muttered whilst throwing furtive glances at Henry – who’d dropped back behind us – trying to keep his voice low so the conversation was private. But like with Henry earlier, it was a wasted effort. And Henry wouldn’t even try not to hear. He’d have his wolf hearing tuned as sharp as a knife so no one could sneak up on us. Any conversation between Ben and me might as well be through a megaphone.
I tried to twist my eyes into a glare as I looked at him, but his expression made my anger falter. Henry cleared his throat behind us, and I turned to see him throwing me a wide-eyed look, his eyebrows raised high, and a look that warned ‘do not fall for his bullshit again’ on his face. I just nodded and turned away from him.
“Why did you do it, Ben?” I asked. “Why did you kill them? That man at White Mountain… and the others.”
His face paled as his eyes widened, and he stumbled again. He caught himself this time, and then turned his body to face me. “I didn’t kill anyone! I swear, Maddie… You’ve gotta believe me.”
Henry scoffed but didn’t say a word, so I continued.
“How can I? You’ve done nothing but lie to me ever since I met you. And you led us there. To the mountain. That’s not a coincidence.” I trailed off before adding, “Why did you say all that about your dad? You made it sound like he was dead.”
He gulped and stopped walking, closing his eyes for a moment. I could see them twitching under his eyelids as his mind raced to come up with an explanation. Or more lies.
“He was. At least, he was dead to me, until recently. It’s a long story…” He trailed off, silence falling, and I thought that was it. That he wouldn’t say anything further. My stomach sank; I’d given him the opportunity to explain – to prove to me it wasn’t all one colossal lie. But clearly it was. Our friendship meant nothing to him.
I wouldn’t let him know how much he’d hurt me. I had plenty of anger to hurl at him, but I wouldn’t share my pain. Not anymore. He wasn’t worth it. So, instead, I shot him a glare, shaking my head as I turned away from him. When he sighed, I paused, but kept facing the other direction.
“I am in the pack… sort of.” He explained. “Officially, I’m under their protection until I come of age. Then… well then, I either join them properly, or I leave.” I turned slowly back to face him, and the look on his face… somehow I knew he was telling me the truth. “Become a rogue… Live on the run, never able to settle anywhere for long. Dad was a pack wolf. At least, he was until they exiled him when I was ten.
“He killed someone… a packmate. I don’t know the details, other than Dad always said it was an accident. Swore someone who didn’t like his relationship with the Alpha set him up. Cause he was the Beta, and—”
“If anything happened to the Alpha, he’d be first choice to step into his position, providing there was no heir.” I finished for him. “And he thought someone wanted him out of the way? That seems… extreme, doesn’t it?”
When he nodded, the moonlight caught his eyes, and I noticed the glassy sheen where tears threatened. “I see that now. That it didn’t add up. But I was ten, y’know? Fuck, I believed him. He’s my dad. Dads don’t lie to their kids, right? Not about shit like that. But now… Now I’m not sure.”
A memory surfaced then in startling clarity, and my head whipped round to catch Henry’s eye. He just raised his eyebrows questioningly, not working it out as quickly as me.
“On the mountain… the man… It was a different scent to the one who k-… to what I smelled on Ryan.”
Henry’s eyes widened in understanding, and then he growled, “You knew about that, didn’t you?” He rushed forward, planting himself between me and Ben again. Ben instinctively stepped back before recovering himself, straightening up to full height. Although, that was still almost half a foot shorter than Henry, and it didn’t even make him flinch. “You fucking asshole!”
“Yeah, I knew, alright? I’m fucking sorry. But it wasn’t my idea, and I had nothing to do with killing him! They just wanted me to be there. To bring you in. Earn your trust.”
“They?” I ask, stepping around Henry to put myself back in front of Ben.
He nodded, eager to give information as long as we were willing to listen. Like a puppy desperate to impress its owner by performing tricks.
“Dad recruited another rogue. Someone who caused a lot of trouble down in New York a couple of months ago—”
Henry cut in again. “Is he here? In the forest?” Ben gulped and then nodded again, his eyes downcast. I jumped as I heard Henry’s fist collide with a tree before he let out another humourless laugh. “So, you spill all this bullshit, trying to convince us you’re here to help, but fail to mention that your dad has brought fucking back up?”
“I’m sorry! I know I should have. But can’t you understand I’m just freaking out right now? My dad told me he was making a play for territory in Maine, that he wanted somewhere for us to settle down, where we could be a family again…” The tears he was fighting to hold back threatened to spill over, and he swallowed, taking a moment to calm himself before he continued. “The plan was to kill a few homeless people, drug addicts, people nobody would miss.”
“People who don’t matter?” Henry spat, earning a glare from Ben. But he didn’t bite. There was little he could say in his defense. Instead, he carried on.
“Make enough trouble in Canada to force Aiden to call in backup. Make them nervous. Just enough to give us an opening. Not fucking pick them off one by one. I thought we were trying to get everyone on our side…
“Then, when your guys were out of town, I’d get close to you.” He looked my way again. “Dad wanted you to join us. Willingly. He wanted to build his own pack. Said he didn’t want to hurt anyone. That it’d be easy once you two joined…” He trailed off, staring into the distance, lost in his memories. In the web of lies his father had tangled him in. Then he sighed. “Henry wouldn’t give me a chance, so I had to become your friend, Maddie. And I really did. All of it was real. I am your friend. I care about you. And I’m so fucking sorry—”
“Did you hurt Carter?” I asked, stomach tightening in anticipation of the answer.
He shook his head wildly. “No! I swear I didn’t. I wouldn’t. I—” He made to lift his arm, as if to run a hand through his hair to give himself a moment, forgetting he was still bound. He winced at the pressure on his shoulders from the pull, and then he sighed again.
“Not much, anyway. I was hanging around the school, keeping an eye on you both. Dad was panicking about how it was going in Canada. He had an inside man, and he was misdirecting the pack—”
My mind flitted back to my last call with Dad. His anger as he’d snapped, ‘How can one fucking rogue pull this shit off with two packs on his damn trail?’ And he’d been right. The Maine pack had some of the best trackers of the northern states. Canada was vast, but Aiden controlled his guys with an iron fist. There was no way one rogue could’ve evaded them. Not unless they had someone feeding them information. And I had absolute faith in my pack. Which meant…
“Lincoln?” I asked. “It was Lincoln, right? Your cousin.”
It made sense, considering his connection to Ben. Lincoln was so angry… he looked like someone who wanted more from life than being the Alpha’s guard dog. Did he want to be the Alpha? Was that what Sierra had wanted to talk to us about? The thing that had her so afraid?
“No.” Ben shook his head. “But you did meet him. He was here.”
My brow furrowed as I thought back to the Canadian visit. Aiden sitting stone-faced on the sofa. Lincoln at his side. Mason, the friendly smile on his face.
We came to the answer at the same time, Henry and I both saying in unison, “Mason.”
“Dad stopped getting updates from him maybe two days ago, and he knew he’d been found out. Thought your guys would give up soon, figure the threat was dealt with, and come home. Leave Aiden to deal with the clean-up. So, yeah, Dad got nervous, and he told me to spy so we knew exactly what was going on while he tried to figure out what to do next. Then I saw him, Carter, coming out of school on his own, and I saw an opportunity and…
“I just followed him for a while. Then I heard your phone call.” He admitted, and I flushed. Henry raised his eyebrow in confusion, but Ben continued his explanation. “Then, after that, he was just walking down by the river.”
“And then?” I prompted, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
“I… I approached him. He recognised me from that day in the diner, remembered you’d said I was your cousin. So, he stopped to chat, and then I told him I’d just seen you, and you were upset…” He trailed off again, looking ashamed. “I told him I’d seen you and Henry together. That Henry lost his temper with you, and you’d run off in tears. And you wouldn’t answer anyone’s calls and nobody knew where you’d gone. I asked if, maybe, he would try.
“He was so worried about you, he… he didn’t even question it. He just jumped in the car and… and I knocked him out and brought him here, to the forest. Then I left to follow your trail… and you know the rest. But it wasn’t too hard. I swear. He was breathing. He was fine.”
My stomach sank as I listened to Ben’s explanation. But it just solidified what I already knew but hadn’t wanted to fully accept – I had to call things off with Carter. It was his feelings for me that’d gotten him into this, and if anything happened to him… I’d never forgive myself. I had to let him go.
“He’s not fucking fine, Ben. You knocked him out and handed him off to your murdering son-of-a-bitch father.” I spat, and Ben flinched. I closed my eyes tightly for a second before I said, more calmly, “So, if the mountain guy was this rogue, then it was your dad who killed Ryan?” I phrased it like a question, but I already knew the answer. I just needed Ben to confirm it.
His eyes widened, and his cheek twitched as he bit the inside of it so hard the metallic tang of blood filled the air. “There must’ve been a fight. It had to be an accident—”
“He left him bleeding out in his car in my driveway.” I cut off his excuses. “It was no accident.”
He opened his mouth, as if to argue, but, seeing my expression, decided against it. Then he lowered his gaze to the ground again, and I turned my back on him, walking a couple of paces further into the forest, leaving Henry to drag him by the rope. The hiss of pain that came from him told me Henry wasn’t doing it gently, but I didn’t care. Not anymore.
After a couple of minutes, Ben’s voice came again, clear and confident. “No. There must be something we’re missing here. I know my dad, and he’d never—”
Henry suddenly yanked the rope so hard that Ben tumbled backwards, landing with a harrumph on his ass. He turned to snarl, but Henry’s own snarl stopped him.
“Did you also know that he had a child killed?” He growled, his voice thick with rage. His whole body tensed as he fought to keep his anger under control.
“Wh-what?”
“Yeah. Your precious fucking dad murdered a kid.” He snapped. “So, tell me again how it was Ryan’s fault that they killed him?!”
Ben stayed silent, his face contorting into a pained expression as he sat on the cold ground, unable to move. After a moment, I walked over and helped pull him up to his feet, even though I wanted nothing more than to leave him there. To let him drown in his own grief and suffering. But I needed him to find Carter. It was the only thing that stopped me aiming my foot at his chest.
Once he was upright again, Ben said in a shaky voice, “I want to help. Please.” I opened my mouth to disagree, but he rushed on. “I can talk to my dad… nobody else has to get hurt. Please. Let me fix this.”
I hesitated, but I had little choice. I’d do anything to save Carter, which meant trusting Ben, even when the voice in my head was screaming that it was a really fucking bad idea. So, after minute that seemed to stretch on forever, I nodded.
* * *
As we walked, we grilled Ben for more information, playing out a good-cop-bad-cop scenario. While Henry threatened him with another beating, I offered a more sympathetic ear, despite the rage burning inside of me.
He couldn’t add much more to what he’d already told us. He assured us there was only his dad and the New York rogue working together, now that Mason was out of action. He didn’t know if Mason was dead or alive, only that they hadn’t heard from him, but he suspected the former. Aiden took a hard stance against traitors.
We wouldn’t have taken his word on that, if not for the fact we’d only encountered two scents over the last few weeks in town, and those were the only two on the air, except for Carter’s. His grew stronger the deeper into the forest we walked.
Henry still had Ben tied up. He’d tried to convince us to untie him, saying we should trust him since he’d told us everything.
I really, really wanted to. I had no friends other than Henry and Carter, and it hurt to realise the friendship I’d built with Ben was all fake, and I wanted to cling to the hope that even a small part of it might be real.
Henry didn’t feel the same way, and I was glad he was there, because I could feel my resolve wavering. But he’d told Ben in his own colourful way that, no, we would not be untying him, but thanks for the suggestion.
After another fifteen minutes of walking, Ben pulled himself to a stop. I looked around, searching for a threat. My ears immediately caught the sound of movement to the left, but my nose soon confirmed it was a deer. I relaxed again and turned to ask what was wrong.
“We’re getting close… any closer and they’ll hear us.” He said. “I… Look, I know you won’t like it, but hear me out. I’m going to strongly suggest that just me and Maddie meet with him.” At a movement from Henry, his lips parting in instant protest, Ben rushed on. “He isn’t expecting you. He thinks Maddie trusts me, so he’s expecting her to come with me alone. That you’ll come after her later, when you notice she’s missing.”
“So?” Henry snarled.
Ben rolled his eyes. “So, if me and Maddie go in alone, they’ll hear us coming and it gives you cover to sneak up behind them. Stay upwind, and he won’t smell you. If things go to shit, not that I think they will… but if they do, then you have the advantage, right? You can leap in and save the day, Freddie.” He chuckled at the joke but turned it into a cough when he noticed I wasn’t laughing with him, the way I usually did whenever he poked fun at Henry. That felt like something friends would do, which was something we never really were.
