Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series) (49 page)

             
That wasn't enough, Jaz was certain. The fact Carr had known all this time what, and more importantly who, or at least partly who, had killed Lora- Nik's mate, the mother of his child, Jaz's twin sister- Carr was bound to pay.

             
And Jaz hated being right.

              Nik couldn't even look Carr in the eye because of his disgust in him.

             
In one line Nik banished him from the Pack. Jaz didn't understand the seriousness and weight of such a punishment but the expression on Carr's face showed it meant a great deal.

             
She remembered how she had felt, when she'd been away from her human life and got a glimpse of how it must be for him, to be driven away from his home. Only he didn't have anyone to leave with, or another home to go to.

              Fraya's punishment was far worse.

             
Jaz still couldn't believe or understand why Nik had allowed, in fact
insisted
, that she was present when Fraya was executed by hemlock poisoning.

             
She'd been given a lethal dose three hours before and Jaz had to stand and watch as Fraya gasped hungrily for air,  vomited repeatedly until she was sicking up stomach acid, writhed and trembled as she lost control of her muscles, and then died a slow agonizing death.

             
Maria and Erica stood either side of Jaz; a firm, supportive grip on both her arms. Halfway through she'd shrugged them off, unable to stand the feel of the hands of a community who could allow such cruelty.

             
Just before death, Fraya had smiled up at her Leader.
Smiled
! As if she was thanking him for finally being relieved and forgiven for her crimes. 

             
Nik had stood in front of her, watching her silently, his arms folded, as she died in front of him.

             
Before the execution, her last words were an apology to him, and then she'd begged him to spare Carr as Carr had done the same for her every day since she'd been imprisoned.

             
When her last breath had left her body Jaz had swallowed a sob, which came out of her mouth like a strangled cry of an animal. She'd pressed her hand to her mouth and left instantly,  turning her back on the man she didn't know if she loved anymore because of the immense hate and disgust and abhorrence she felt for him at that moment.

             
She'd seen enough.

             
She'd seen enough the moment she'd arrived but it felt like she'd owed it to Fraya. The girl had smiled thankfully at Jaz when she'd seen her standing in the crowd.

             
Despite the fact Fraya had killed Lora with her own hands, it had been unintentional. And Jaz just couldn't hate her for it. She didn't deserve this death. She didn't deserve to die full stop.

             
She'd marched away from the corral, having to flip her legs over the fence in a rush to get away. The sound of horses neighing in the stables to her left had pulled on the strings of her heart. She didn't know why, but the sound always made her want to cry.

             
She'd only been here once or twice. Now she didn't know if she'd ever be able to go back.

             
This place would never be the same again.

~
Chapter 42-
Grieve~

Monday, July 4th,  8:27 a.m.

             
For two days Jaz didn't speak to anyone. She didn't have the physical or mental energy to move her lips, to form a sentence. She kept seeing Alf's bloody, burnt face. In her dreams. When she woke.

             
He was being treated at a special facility not far from the arena. It was the closest place they could take him in his critical condition.

             
That morning, Skye came into her bedroom. She didn't speak at first like she hadn't for the past two days she'd been there. Jaz thought she'd just sit with her in silence like before. This time, Edda was standing by the door. Jaz's gaze fell on her for a moment before Skye spoke.

“
Alf is fine. He'll be back here by the end of the week.” Jaz watched Skye, reading her face. She put up her emotional barriers, preparing herself for Skye's next words. “He's badly scarred. And he lost his right hand.”

             
Jaz stared at her for one long minute without blinking before her entire body shook and she lost herself in a fit of racking, uncontrollable sobs. She began punching the bed and wailing.

             
Skye clasped her hands to Jaz's face, touching her forehead to hers and muttering soothing words that Jaz just couldn't absorb with her grieving mind. Edda wrapped her arms from behind her back, and after twenty minutes of full blown weeping -the two women holding her and rocking with her like they were on a swaying boat- she slowly stopped, replacing her cries with heavy, exhausted breaths.

             
He had jumped in front of that fireball to save her. She might have still been burnt, but she would have lived. Nik would have lived. They would have been far better off than Alf was now. But still for some stupid, idiotic reason Alf had believed he'd had to protect her. And she loathed herself for it. She could never live her life without guilt again. She couldn't look him in the face again. She couldn't see those scars. The torturous guilt and agony knowing it was her fault would chew away at her soul.

             
So it was like being thrown a lifeline when Nik made a proposition that would mean she could avoid Alf, at least for a while.

              When Nik walked into the cabin she'd turned away. Unable to look into the eyes of her ruthless Pack Leader. She couldn't see the man she'd grown to love, to care so much about, in the body of this stranger standing before her.

             
The truth was that even after what he'd done, she was afraid that when she looked into his eyes that's exactly what she'd see. Nik. Driver. Her friend, her secret love. The man who could have been the father to her niece, or nephew.

             
To still be able to see that person in those killer's eyes was more terrifying, than not seeing him there at all.

             
She stared out the window. The edge of the lush green field was empty. No one was out today. The rest of the view from the window was taken over by a symphony of beautiful, enormous silver birches, beeches, aspens, maples and pines amongst others. She had grown to love this place. Now it pained her to be here. To be alive and well when others weren't.

             
When he didn't speak she thought he'd gone -had given up trying to get her to talk when everyone else had failed- but as silently as the grave, he came up behind her and touched her shoulder.

             
She flinched, swinging round to find his chest in front of her eyes. She glanced up, scanning past his strong Roman chin, and sharp, sword nose to his dark, penetrating green eyes.

             
He looked tired. His eyes were ringed with dark circles and his face was shadowed with black stubble. She pinned herself as close as she could to the window frame. He didn't touch her again.

“
I won't try and explain myself because you're not stupid, and I won't justify it either because right now, I know you'd find it hard to understand. I'm a cruel, merciless monster. That's what your eyes are telling me.” Then his voice became softer as he said, “Those beautiful, green-blue eyes, that change colour like they're bewitched, and look deep into my soul making me see my true self. Right now, I don't like what I see.”

             
He then lifted his hand to her chin, risking her shrinking away. When she didn't he held it there. “But I did what I had to. Please believe that. Believe me because I
need
you.” Tears trickled from her eyes and he wiped them away with his long thumb. “I came here to ask you, if you'd like to join me on a trip down south?” Jaz looked at him, perplexed and curious. “I thought you'd like to visit your blood parents.” Her mouth dropped open in shock. He smiled lightly. “When you're ready anyway. I have a place we can stay. We can get away, see your parents. And then come back when you're ready.  I think it would be better for both of us to have some time away from here. What do you think?”

             
She knew she was still uncertain of what to think of him, and the thought of being alone with him on a long trip brought a lot of mixed feelings -the negative at present greatly outweighed the positive- but the prospect of getting away from here, of seeing her blood parents for the first time was too tempting. Maybe she could convince him to take her back to Sheffield to see her adopted parents? And her friends? She thought he owed her that much.

             
After a short moment to think about it she bobbed her head in acceptance.

             
Nik was disheartened she still didn't speak to him, but he'd take anything positive from her right now.”It's settled then.”

~
Chapter 43-
Investigate~

Tuesday, July 5th,  10:05 a.m.

“
Hello, Ms …..?”

“
Call me Lisa.”

“
Lisa, I'm P.I Lozier, I said I'd ring you when I had some information on your friend Miss Barker?”

             
Lisa sat up in her chair.

             
Ellie was next to her, halfway through a mouthful of Doritos when she stopped at the sight of harsh focus on Lisa's face.

“
Yes, sir, go on?” Lisa responded tensely.

“
Well I checked out the number you gave me and you're right, it's a fake. I did however manage to find a land-line and when I finally got through it was a recorded message. Something about they're busy and to leave a message and they'll get back. Anyway, I decided to go there myself and the woman at reception who I talked to -like getting blood from a stone- said that Miss Barker was no longer there. That she'd moved to another one of their facilities. When I asked where it was she said she couldn't say. That Miss Barker had specifically wished to keep it confidential.”

“
'Scuse my French but that's total bullshit.”

“
Most likely. All I can say is I've never heard of a health or detox or rehab facility as shady as this. They have a great reputation, but I can't find any solid proof that any of the people who've given the great reviews of it have actually been there. I'll need to go around asking, but I'm bound to have doors slammed in my face.”

“
Is there anything you can do?”

“
Have her parents done anything? Are they concerned?”

“
They aren't. But I get the impression it's either because they don't give a shit -'scuse me- or they're in on it.”

“
On what? What do you expect me to find?”

             
Lisa sighed heavily, shaking her head. “I don't know. A cult. Something creepy and dodgy. She's
never
like this. She always contacts us and she's only phoned us once. Her parents say she's called several times but I don't believe them.”

“
Who did you say she left with?”

“
Her aunt.”

“
Her mother's sister or her father's?”

“
She said her father. She's known her for about a year. The woman showed up out of the blue. Something to do with Jaz's dad and her having an argument years ago. They were apparently estranged and she wanted to make amends.”

“
What was her name?”

“
Erica. I don't recall her last name,” Lisa answered, unhappy with her own response.

“
She was married?”

“
Yes. Her uncle was called er... Bob? No umm... damn... Ellie?”

“
Bo I think.”

“
Bo, or Bob, but I'm not sure.”

“
Okay. I'll look into it. See if I can get their story straight. But I can't do much as it is. I'll need more proof, and honestly, it'd be much easier if I had her parents on board.”

“
I appreciate anything you can do. Just find her,” Lisa urged.

“
Don't worry. I always do.”

~
Chapter 44-
Crawl~

Tuesday, July 5
th
.

             
The next day Jaz was up early, her bags packed, ready to go.

             
She embraced Skye, and Ronnie who was much better now. He kissed her cheek and gave her the blue stone he'd found at the river that day. She took it as he said, “I like it, but it brings back bad memories for me.” She nodded in understanding. “Maybe it'll bring good memories for you.”

             
She smiled, kissed his forehead and held the pebble close to her heart. He understood the meaning. She didn't feel so bad then that she wasn't able to say it out loud.

“
Stay safe, Jaz. Don't forget us,” Skye muttered. She grabbed Jaz, pulling her into a long hug again. She whispered, “Don't punish yourself. He doesn't blame you.”

             
Jaz leant back to look at her, on the verge of tears. She nodded, 'I know' and moved on to say goodbye to the others.

             
Kenna was crying, and Kelda was waving frantically from the small crowd at the front entrance. Maria and Erica held her tightly, Garik swooped in out of nowhere and carried Jaz's bags to the car.

             
When she approached, he stood by her door, opened it and before he let her pass he said, “Give my regards to your folks.” She eyed him, giving him a sharp nod in response. “Be careful,” he warned. The words weren't just a casual sentiment. They had layers of ominous warnings to them.

             
She stared at him, he bobbed his head as if saying he knew she understood. She wasn't sure if she did. She swiftly sat in the car and he shut the door.

             
Nik got in next to her. He glanced her way, but she had her eyes fixed on the road ahead. He then set off down the dirt road she'd ran for her life away from him not so long ago and they were out of Deer Creek.

              Half an hour into the journey Driver broke the dragging silence. “She told me how she did it.” Jaz looked up but didn't meet his eyes. She stared at the back of the red RX8 in front of them. “She said she put it in Lora's favourite chocolate. Sunhild used to make it for her specially.” He laughed, suddenly remembering something. “No one else would eat it because it was this weird chocolate and chilli flavour.”

             
Jaz snapped her head to her right, ogling him with astonishment. “Dark chocolate and chilli?” she pried, her voice gravelly.

             
Nik catapulted his eyes off the road and onto her face. He studied her, amazed and relieved she was speaking again. It took him a short while to respond. “Yeah, I know, strange right?” he joshed.

             
She nodded slowly, gazing off into an unknown place between space and time. “Very,” she mumbled.

             
Lora had loved the same chocolate as Jaz. It had aided in her murder. It couldn't get much stranger than that.

“
She loved that stuff,” Nik added, drifting in and out of memories.

“
Me too,” she muttered.

             
He fixed his eyes on her but she looked straight ahead. He saw her frown as if confused by something and asked, “What?”

             
She inhaled sharply, still with a look of puzzlement on her face. “Sunhild made it for her?”

“
Yes. Why?”

“
She was Lora's
and
Fraya's friend...”

“
What are you thinking?”

             
She focused hard, her sight not seeing the road sweeping by. “I remember reading things in Lora's diary that gave me this weird feeling... I didn't know what. But now it's... I can almost...”

“
Think hard. List them to me.”

“
When she was talking about being pregnant, she said that Fraya somehow found out and used that moment to break the unpleasant news that she had-uh- that you and her had...”

“
Had sex one time?”

             
Jaz gaped at him, embarrassed and stunned by his casual response. She squeezed her lips together, made a move with her head that resembled a nod and cocked her head towards the window, steering clear of his intrusive scrutiny.

             
“It meant nothing. I told her the same thing.”

             
Rather than say all the things she was itching to say. The forgiving, the confiding, the confessing and the rather nasty things, she moved on. Which didn't go unnoticed by him.

“
If Lora was best friends with Sunhild, then I'm betting she would have told her she was pregnant. No one else knew. So it seems pretty suspicious that after telling Sunhild, Fraya found out. Sunhild must have told her. But then, why do that when you know they're at each other's throats?”

“
Unless she was playing them off against each other,” Nik obliged.

“
But why? What would she get out of it?

“
And another thing, why did Fraya put the hemlock in the chocolate if she knew it would put Sunhild at risk? I mean, she discovered afterwards it was hemlock but even so, you wouldn't just dump your friend in it. And to top it all off, why mention her name now? It wasn't necessary. But-I mean, did she mention Sunhild, or did you just put two and two together?”

“
She told me she walked into the kitchen and put a small teaspoon sized serving of what she thought was wolfsbane into the chocolate liquid when Sunhild was distracted. She then left and a few hours later found out Lora was dead.”

“
That amount of hemlock wouldn't have killed her would it?”

“
If she was human, probably yes. But she had Were traits, there was no doubt about that. Not as much as you, but enough that it didn't give her hybrid blood away. I was close enough to see the difference. And I'm pretty sure regardless of what she was, she was a child of Were parents. That must count for something in terms of her immune system.”

             
Jaz bobbed her head in agreement. Lora had been a hybrid. Of that she was certain.

             
She wasn't even sure she believed that Weres even had 'human' children. The term 'human' in the world of Weres just meant, not a true Were. That meant they must have at least one Were trait in their genetic material when both parents were Weres. Though this was only Jaz's guess.

             
She said what she thought out loud. “Then Fraya couldn't have killed her...?”

             
Nik's jaw tightened. She could see his hands firmly gripping the wheel as he avoided her gaze. “That amount of wolfsbane would have brought on a Change very quickly. We don't need much.”

“
And a teaspoon of hemlock?” she pushed.

             
He exhaled in irritation. “A little stomach irritation or pain, nothing more. Even during pregnancy.”

             
Jaz's eyes widened when she saw it clearly in front of her. “Sunhild increased the dose... Oh my God...”

             
Nik gnawed on the inside of his cheek. “Fraya was an easy target. She was bitter and jealous and emotional. She was used like a puppet for the killer's gain.”

             
The way he said it showed Jaz he'd thought this more than once before. “You knew?” Jaz was dumbstruck.

             
He anchored his sight on the road, his face an impenetrable mask. “Sunhild knew Fraya had poisoned the chocolate. She also knew it wouldn't have been enough.”

“
How?” she could only whisper,  as the realization sunk in that she was completely unable to fathom the complex mind of the man sitting next to her.

“
Isn't it obvious?” he asked, turning to her as he added, “They were consorting with the same person. He used them both to get what he wanted. The Black Cloak.”

             
She thought back to Fraya in her cell. When Fraya had said his name the terror in her eyes was so immense it had sent a chill through Jaz. She felt it now. Amplified by her own personal fear. “You just sent an innocent woman to her death,” she said with realization, in a distant, hollow voice. “And you knew it...”

             
She could feel the heat coming off his body as his anger was set ablaze. By her. She didn't look his way but even his words singed her skin.

“
You don't know what you're talking about. I'm not a murderer. When the time comes you'll see that. I just thought that maybe you wouldn't need proof of it to believe it!”

             
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force out the overwhelming emotional pain. After a minute she heard him exhale as if he'd calmed down and opened her eyes just as they were passing under a bridge. “She saw the bigger picture.”

“
And I don't?” She retorted. “What I see is a possible living, breathing, killing machine called the Cur Hunters with Black Cloak psycho as their leader, driving them all on a halfbreed killing crusade that has already taken Lora's and Fraya's lives and has caused Carr to be banished from his home.

“
Someone saw my hand Change. If they haven't yet, they'll put two and two together and the Hunters will find out. That's if they haven't already.

“
That fireball was meant for me, you and Alf would have probably just been a bonus. Carr told me and I don't know how he knew, but I believe him. I know I'm at risk and you bringing me out here is all an act to distract me so I don't find out I'm under 'Were Protection' rather than being where we should be and trying to find out who the real killer is!”

             
Driver gazed at her with intrigue, his lips curved up into a smile. “You've been paying attention,” he observed with approval. “But you're wrong about two things. This isn't just a distraction, it's a long overdue family reunion. And I already know who the killer is.”

             
Jaz's eyes snapped wide open. “You
know
who the
Black Cloak
is?!”

             
He nodded gravely. “More or less. Fraya gave me a suspect.”

             
When he didn't expand any further Jaz jumped up in her seat. “Well, who is it!? Is it someone we know? Someone in the Pack?” she demanded frantically.

“
Unfortunately.”

“
You
knew
all this
all
this time and we're
here,
on a weekend break?! What are you
doing
!? Turn around!”

             
Nik smiled grimly. “I'm waiting. For the piece of shit to crawl out from under his rock. If it is who she said it is, then I'll be there to kick the throne from beneath his filthy, lying, murdering backside.”