Cade (32 page)

His heart was hammering in his chest as he got down the stairs, sure that at any moment, Cade was going to come down and catch him in the act. He left the house downstairs in darkness, waiting long enough to confirm no one was coming, before sneaking out, locking the door and racing down the side of the house. He raced down the long road, his feet pounding against the ground. His stomach twisted inside, anxiety eating at him at maybe being caught. He was doing this for them—for Cade and for Gemma, and for Stephen, too. He didn’t matter … but they did.

Trevor’s big blue car was parked up outside the small collection of shops like they had arranged. He was alone. Phoenix checked behind him once more to make sure that no one had come and no one had realised that he had left. Then, he ducked into Trevor’s car and exhaled heavily.

Trevor smiled.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Cade’s head felt too heavy for him to lift. Gravity seemed to be yanking him down and he immediately lay back down again as pain shot through his temples. Rubbing his eyes, he tried in vain to clear his blurry vision, but the room swayed. His head pounded and his chest hurt with each breath he took. He felt like he had been hit by a god damn train. He rolled onto his side, expecting to see Gemma there. The empty space on her side of the bed, however, sent panic spearing into his chest.

“Gem?”

He coughed from the effort of talking. Everything hurt inside—literally everything—like being on fire. His wounds seemed to tear every time he tried to move, the searing pain of flesh ripping apart again.

“I’m just here.” She came into view, but try as he might, he couldn’t lift himself up to her. He reached a hand out to her and she slid back onto the bed, curling up beside him. “How are you feeling?” she asked him, running her hand along the side of his stubbled face and into his hair. He welcomed the touch, let it seep into him.

“I don’t know,” was his reply. Everything hurt, but that wasn’t the problem. Some part of his mind had disconnected from his body, and what he really felt was numb inside. Like something was missing. He needed to sleep again, he knew that, but something in the back of his mind demanded he get the fuck up. Something was wrong. With much effort, Cade pushed himself to sit up. He steadied himself and his vision so that his cloud-filled mind could actually focus and determine what was wrong.

It was Phoenix. The room was empty. Phoenix had slept on the bed these last few nights. Cade remembered, but it was all so very foggy. He had felt him each night curled up by his side, the warmth letting Cade know he was there. But it wasn’t just here he was missing from, it was in his mind, too. Cade placed his hand on the side where Phoenix would have lain, but the blanket was cold.

Shit
.

“Gem, where’s Phoenix?”

“He went to get food,” she murmured, her voice thick and heavy with the pull of sleep. She reached out to Cade absently, taking his wrist in her hand and tugging him down. Cade leaned down, fighting the pain in his body, and lay a kiss on Gemma’s temple. He kept himself there only long enough to take in the scent of her deeply—it gave him the strength he needed to drag his arse out of bed.

When he slipped out of bed, he took each step slowly. It was like walking on new legs. He wobbled, the sudden jarring caused by his steps sending pain ricocheting around his body like he was a fucking pinball machine. He swore roughly, which ended in a cough fit and he had to catch himself on the end of the bed. “I feel like I'm fucking sixty,” he cursed, angry with his useless body.

“Where are you going?” Gemma asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

“I’m going to see where he is …” He paused, unsure what to say, but this was Gemma. “I can't feel him.”

His head throbbed enough that it threatened to send him onto the floor, and he had to stop and press the balls of his hands to his temples just to let the pain subside enough so that he could move again. He had to check Phoenix’s room—even though he knew he wouldn’t find him there. He could feel it—he just didn’t want to believe it. He made it to the door without landing on his arse. Clinging to the door knob, he mentally counted to three before turning it and opening the door.

He used the wall to get to Phoenix’s room, pausing at the doorway to catch his breath again. Nausea rode his body like a bitch in heat but he swallowed it down, vowing he wouldn’t let his body get the better of him. He knocked lightly on the door and let his eyes close to stop the hallway from tilting. When he got no answer, he pressed the handle down and pushed the door open. His heart stopped as he took in the empty room and confirmed what he already knew.

Phoenix had snuck out again.

The downside of being so new was that Phoenix had no idea where he was exactly, all these places looking so similar that they could have been going in circles and he’d not have known. They came in two forms—it was either endless fields of black and charred remains of the woods, or it was thick green trees and hedges as far as the eye could see. Everything looked the same. There were no markers, nothing to put in his memory so that he might gain some kind of awareness.

Trevor drove them into a hilly area. It could well have been the place that they had done the pack run for all Phoenix knew. It wasn’t like home. Back in his
Human
life, he had lived in the same house since he was about three. Of course, it was the only house he remembered, but his mum and dad had told him they had started in a small one-bedroom flat until his dad got a break, a job that paid well enough that they could buy their first house. Phoenix had known everything in that area—every alley, every field, every shop. It was a small little town in the pocket of a city, but he had known every inch of it.

He was sure the turn off Trevor had just driven past was the same as the one Aaron had taken a few nights before, but the area around seemed different. Maybe there were just things he hadn't noticed. Like the tourist information cabin that stood there, or the public toilets. Trevor turned the car left and into the car park. Phoenix could smell the stench of urine from the public toilets even from the car.

“We’re meeting here?” It was isolated and apprehension filled Phoenix ... which was completely stupid since Trevor was about to do something that was against their laws. He wasn’t about to do it out in the open and say, “Hey, look at me’.

“Yes,” Trevor said, pulling the car to a stop.

Phoenix’s stomach twisted, his heart starting to beat like a drum in his chest as they sat in the darkness of the carpark.

“You're doing the right thing,” Trevor said, well aware of Phoenix’s nerves. “You're doing this for my son. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“He saved my life,” Phoenix said.

“Now you’ll save his—we’ll save his.”

Phoenix nodded.

“Cade doesn’t know you're here?”

“No. He is in bed, asleep.”

Trevor nodded in approval. “Good. No one can know. If anyone finds out what happened here tonight, it’ll be my head, and Cade’s, and many more. You understand what rides on this?”

“I won’t say anything. I promise.”

Phoenix flinched when Trevor suddenly placed his hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Good. I’m glad I can count on you.” Trevor smiled and started the car again. Phoenix frowned, having thought they were getting out here. Trevor drove the car up a small, steep incline just ahead that led into a second, more hidden car park. But there was no one else there. No other car.

“He isn’t here yet? The … maker?”

“He will be.”

“You found the right person? It won’t be the wrong one and then we do something terrible?”

Trevor shook his head and smiled at Phoenix again. “I see why Cade took you in. You’re the same, always thinking of others first. It’s a good quality to have sometimes … but sometimes it isn’t. Aaron found your maker. We matched the tracers. You know what those are?”

Phoenix confirmed that he did.

“It is the same one.”

“Why would he come to fight me?”

“Cade hasn’t told you these parts?” Trevor shook his head in disappointment before continuing. “It is in his interest to remove the problem—you.” He took in a deep breath. “I’ll just say this to you bluntly, no need to sugarcoat it. With you around, the
wolf
has a death sentence hanging on his head. It’s either you or him. He can't leave you walking around like a ticking time bomb ready to get him executed. So, if not today, or maybe not even tomorrow, this
wolf
would have eventually found you and killed you. It is better this way—he doesn’t attack you unaware.” The thought of killing made Phoenix sick, but he said nothing to Trevor. Being part of Trevor’s pack, Phoenix was sure that showing any kind of humanity would be a mistake.

“The
wolf
bit you and turned you, and that is illegal.”

“What if he doesn’t come?”

“He will,” Trevor said confidently. “Shall we go?”

“Go?”

Trevor motioned to the dark woods ahead of them. “We meet him there. There are grounds where we do this, when it is a proper challenge like this.
Others
in the pack will need to come and see that is done, but we can worry about that later.”

Phoenix swallowed hard, fear cutting deep inside. How was he even supposed to fight the other
wolf
? Phoenix had no experience and had had no training in how to confront another
wolf
. His maker lived in the
Other
world, knew about fighting and killing. Apart from hunting rabbits, Phoenix had no clue how to do this. Trevor seemed to think he would be able to fight and beat the other
wolf
, however. Maybe it wasn’t as hard as Phoenix thought. And he’d not be the one doing the actual killing—that would be Trevor.

He was out in the middle of nowhere. The thought hadn't even occurred to him till now. What if this other
wolf
beat both him and Trevor? What if he was that strong? But this was for Cade, he reminded himself. He couldn’t back out now. With shaking hands, Phoenix reached for the handle and pushed the car door open. Trevor smiled at him and followed suit.

They walked together to the edge of the woods, where Phoenix stopped and checked behind him. They really were alone. The other still
wolf
wasn’t here. The other
wolf
that was also a child—like him. No, he couldn’t think about that. He had purposely deceived Phoenix, bitten him when he knew it would be a death sentence for a
Human
boy. He had done it without a second thought, and with that, he had completely destroyed Phoenix’s life, and cost his mother’s, too.

“This way,” Trevor said, climbing over the small wall that was there to an eroded path behind it—one that had been created by countless
Others
walking on it. Phoenix nodded and followed. They walked for what seemed like ages and when Phoenix looked behind him again, there was no sign of the car park any longer. It was just masses and masses of trees. They had veered off the path at some point and Phoenix had only just noticed.

“Ah. Damn it,” Trevor exclaimed suddenly, making Phoenix jump. “I think I left the headlights on. Did you see if I turned them off?”

Phoenix couldn’t recall. “I don’t know,” he said. “Does it matter?”

“Yes,” Trevor said firmly. “It sends out a beacon to anyone in the area, and we need just me and you here. I can't help you if people come and watch.” Trevor pointed ahead—the path they had strayed from was just there. “You follow that, and I’ll go hit the lights. I’ll meet you there. He won’t be there yet.” Trevor dashed off before Phoenix could utter a word, leaving him alone and scared shitless. Heart racing, Phoenix glanced back at the path, everything in him screaming for him not to go that way. He didn’t know if it was just his own fears, but it was as if he could sense some kind of danger up there. Whatever it was, he wasn’t going that way. He followed Trevor instead, more willing to deal with Trevor’s possible anger than go up there on his own. If his maker wasn’t there yet, then what would it matter anyway?

He kept himself behind the trees, ensuring to keep Trevor within his sights, but not close enough to alert him. When Trevor got to the car park, and Phoenix dared to move close enough to see, the lights were off in the car. Relieved, Phoenix expected to see Trevor turn back, but he just kept going. Dread filled Phoenix, and he stepped out from the cover of the trees. He watched as Trevor reached the car, jumped inside and started the engine. Shocked and rendered immobile, Phoenix stared for a moment, and then started to run. Where was Trevor going?

Trevor turned to glance back and his eyes locked with Phoenix’s. He saluted him with a grin and then tore off, leaving Phoenix alone in the middle of nowhere.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Cade’s mind had trouble processing anything as he stared at Phoenix’s empty room. His
wolf
ached with such protective ferocity that it threatened to devour Cade. He knew in his heart, the same way that he knew Gemma was meant to be his, that Phoenix was a part of him. They both called to him like nothing else in his life ever had. He leaned back against the wall and focused his mind, trying to link with Phoenix through their bond, but all he found was emptiness. A dark chasm filled with nothing but dread and fear—his own.

Fighting a growing dizziness, Cade half-stumbled, half-raced back to his room. This was not happening.
No. Fucking no
. He tripped and fell, ignoring the excruciating pain that shot up his arms as his burnt hands landed hard on the floor. Gemma leapt from the bed with a shout.

“Phoenix is gone,” Cade roared. “He’s gone.”

“He went to make food?” she said, confused.

“No.” Cade pushed to his feet, his body shaking from the effort. “He’s gone. I can’t feel him anymore. When did he go to make food?”

Gemma frowned, thinking. “Erm …” Cade stared at her, desperately waiting for her to answer him.

“Come on, Gem,” he shouted. The minutes ticked by, and each was another minute that something bad could be happening to Phoenix.

“I don’t know,” she cried in the end. “I came here … maybe seven?” She shook her head, her eyes not focused on Cade, but deep in her memory somewhere. “I don’t know.”

Loud hammering on the door downstairs broke them both out of their thoughts. Cade headed for the stairway on unsteady feet, but Gemma rushed past him. “Gem,” he called after her.

“I’ll get it,” she yelled back, her voice trailing off as she ran down the stairs.

Cade swayed but dragged himself from his room as fast as he could manage, pushing from wall to wall as he made a shaky path to the top of the stairs. Stephen’s voice carried from the kitchen. “You two just can't help it, can you?” He glared at Cade when he finally appeared. “Why can't you just stay away from each other?”

Cade held onto the wall just to keep upright and Gemma rushed to him to put an arm around his waist. Stephen’s jaw clenched. “What are you doing here, Stephen?”

“I came here to talk. To sort this shit out. I came here because my fucking car was gone, and so was she.” He jabbed a finger in Gemma’s direction. “You're going to get yourselves executed.”

“I don’t care,” Gemma shouted. Cade began to slump against the wall, his legs unable to hold him any longer. Gemma tried to hold him up, but she wasn’t strong enough. Cade leaned heavily against the wall and tried to take his own weight, not wanting to pull Gemma down with him, but he was falling. Stephen lunged forward and grabbed Cade before he collapsed.

“Phoenix is gone,” Cade said to Stephen as he helped him to a chair. “He’s just gone.”

“What?”

Gemma nodded. “We were just looking for him.”

The look on Stephen’s face was not one of surprise—it was one of fear. He knew something.

“What is it?” asked Cade impatiently.

“Shit,” said Stephen as he backed away. “Fuck. I didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know?”

“Your dad …”

“My dad?” Cade swore. “This is
your
fault? Because you wouldn’t go and shift with him the other night?”

“No.” Stephen shook his head.

“My dad’s got him? Is that right? You gave him to my dad the other day.”

“No, I didn’t.” Stephen gabbed a chair and pulled it up to sit in front of Cade. “I didn’t. Come on, do you really think I’d do that?”

“You told me you fucking did,” Cade growled.

“I told you that to piss you off. Your fucking dad came and started ranting about shit about not being able to deal with his own pack and that my dad was insulting him. So my dad told me to let Trevor deal with it. I thought it didn’t matter—we would all run, and I’d vanish at the back and go to the wolves. But then your dad pulled some shit on me—he took his pack to run someplace else.” He paused and looked Cade straight in the eye. “You hurt me. I just wanted to hurt you back. Do you really think I’d do it by making Phoenix suffer?”

No, Cade didn’t. In fact, that was a huge part of why Cade had been upset—because it wasn’t something he had expected of Stephen. “Something’s wrong,” he told him. “I can feel it. It’s deep in here.” He pressed a hand gingerly to his heart. “I feel like I'm suffocating.”

Gemma came and sat with them, pulling the other chair up to sit beside Cade. Stephen said nothing as she rested her hand on Cade’s arm and then reached up to cup his face and get him to look at her. “Can you find him?”

Cade frowned.

“Close your eyes. Can you find him that way? Through your bond?”

“I don’t know,” Cade said. “I couldn’t before when I tried.” Despite that fact, he closed his eyes and searched in his mind once more, searching for a cub with the white fur. He felt himself falling and Stephen’s strong hands grabbed him once again. His eyes snapped open. “I can't find him.”

“I think he’s at the Wrecky,” Stephen said.

Cade narrowed his eyes. “Why do you think that?”

“I was looking for you.” He nodded at Gemma. “Saw you’d taken my bloody car again. Dad was in his office talking on the phone to your dad,” he said to Cade. “I couldn’t hear Trevor’s side of things, but my dad said that they’d be there to watch the challenge. Aaron’s found the maker. They were talking about him. They had to be. I assumed they meant at a future date, but maybe Trevor has pulled shit again.”

“If he’s challenging his maker …” Gemma started.

“They do it at the Wrecky. It’s quiet, out the way. No
Humans
to come and disturb the shit. Nothing.” The Wrecky was exactly as the name suggested. It was the nickname given to it, because it was where fights between
Others
went down. Only one ever came out when two went up. The other would be wrecked, and so it got its name. And it was a good half hour drive away. How much of a head start had Phoenix had? Had he gone with Trevor? Cade didn’t know, but he was sure as hell wasn’t going to waste another minute thinking about it.

“We have to go there.”

“I’ll go,” Stephen said.

“No,” said Cade sternly. “I’m coming. You have to drive.”

It was with cold acceptance that Phoenix realised that he had been set up. Trevor had laid a trap and he had naïvely walked right into it, not thinking at all. How stupid was he? He had trusted Trevor—trusted that he was helping Cade—that in itself was probably the most stupid thing he had done. He wanted to believe that people were good, but he was fast learning that they weren’t.

Darkness surrounded him, along with masses of trees. He had no way of getting back to Cade’s—he didn’t even know the way and had no means to call. He really was lost.

Perhaps this was Trevor’s plan—to just dump him out in the wilderness like discarding a puppy on the side of the road and knowing that it won’t be able to find its way home. Icy fingers travelled up his spine, and he shuddered. That niggling feeling that someone was behind him had him swivelling around, but there was no one there. It felt like there were a hundred eyes watching him and he backed out into the car park and the open space. It was an illusion, though. The car park itself, while open, was surrounded by trees and woodlands everywhere. The only gap was the small path Trevor had driven down, and that just led to even more greenery. The trees reached over the lane like lovers holding hands, creating an eerie darkness below.

Phoenix stepped out into the open lot cautiously. The air was still up here; as if it didn’t exist at all. A strange warmth settled on his skin, the woodland mist snaking ghostly fingers around him as he walked. The tiny hairs on his arms stood up, his
wolf
on guard, ever-listening and cautious. Something wasn’t right. He scrutinised every shadow, every corner that he could see, constantly glancing over his shoulder as he walked. There was nothing there, but his skin still crawled with trepidation, his senses on high alert as he walked to the lane. He stuck to the middle of it, giving himself a chance to run either way should he need to. This was so stupid. So damn stupid. He knew it. If it were the day time, he wouldn’t be afraid. He walked down to where he came to the public toilets that he and Trevor had passed earlier. Something stirred as Phoenix got closer and his heart stopped. He froze, his eyes glued to the cubicles.

A man stepped out of the shadows slowly. Dark hair, dark set eyes—frightening eyes—the same eyes that had met his in the car mirror as he and his mother had driven away. He wouldn’t ...
couldn’t
… ever forget that face. This wasn’t the maker—this was the maker’s father.

This was a trap.

“Good evening, Phoenix,” the man drawled in a southern accent.

Phoenix started to back-peddle, heart hammering in his chest.

“I had a very interesting conversation the other day,” he began. “This man called me up … I don’t recall his name really, but it doesn’t matter.” He waved away this piece of trivia. “He called me, said that there was this little problem running around. Apparently,” he laughed, “I had created a half-breed. Now this is the funny part, because I don’t actually remember biting anyone.”

“You didn’t bite me,” Phoenix said.

“No, I didn’t,” the man replied as he continued his slow approach. “I know that it wasn’t me. So I asked for proof, and this man sent me the tracer … and what do you know?”

Phoenix shook his head.

“It matched.” The man stopped and frowned dramatically while rubbing his chin. “So, that left me wondering. If I hadn't bit you, it had to be someone who shared my blood …” His eyes bore into Phoenix’s. “Robert, my son?”

“He didn’t bite me, either,” Phoenix said quickly. “It wasn’t him. It was someone else.”

“Ah, Phoenix,” he said, clasping his hands together. “I wish that were true, but you see, my son and I are the only wolves left from my family, and so, well, if I didn’t bite you, and my son didn’t bite you, then who else could it be? Either way, it is myself who would be brought to justice. Isn’t that a little unfair? Especially as I hear you killed a boy, and well, that would be on my head, too.”

“I’m sorry,” Phoenix said. There was no way to get past the man. He stood in the middle of the lane. Phoenix calculated each move as the man spoke. He’d not stand a chance if he tried to sprint past him.

“It isn’t nice to be punished for something I didn’t do.”

“No,” agreed Phoenix. “No one will know.”

The tilted his head to look up at the head of the trees. “No, they won’t, but there is always a ‘but’, isn’t there?” He smiled. “I mean, that’s just the shit of life, isn’t it? We think we can all sort it out and then this thing comes along and whispers
but
and then kicks us in the arse. I wonder if that’s why Americans call it a butt?” He waved a hand in the air. “I'm digressing. This
Human
you killed ...”

“It was an accident,” Phoenix said quickly. “They were hitting me. I-I,” he stammered, “didn’t mean to do it. It just happened.”

“It did, and that’s unfortunate.” The man began to advance again, this time a little faster, and Phoenix backed up carefully, watching every step the man took. He didn’t take his eyes from the man’s, not even when the colour in them seemed to come alive and deepen. They turned oily black, and Phoenix’s mouth dropped open at the sight. The man laughed. “Not everyone can do that. You have to have a certain amount of will to be able to shift only what you choose to on your body.” He held his hand out to show Phoenix, and Phoenix couldn’t tear his eyes away, mesmerised as the man’s bones moved with fluidity. It wasn’t like Cade or Stephen when they shifted—it was like he controlled every part of his body. Claws pushed through his nails, leaving his hand like some weird Freddie Kruger crap. “Impressive, isn’t it?”

Phoenix moved faster now, backing up and trying to put as much distance between them as possible, but the gap was closing quickly. He’d backed into the car park and was almost at the small wall on the edge. There was nowhere to go and space was running out. Swallowing hard, he spun on his heel and launched himself into a desperate run into the safe darkness of the trees. He ran fast, his feet pounding on the woodland ground, cracking twigs and debris underfoot as he went. A malicious laugh echoed from somewhere behind him, filling the darkness with sinister evil.

“Do you really think running is going to help you?” the man called. Phoenix stopped and spun around, trying to decipher the direction the voice was coming from. It wasn’t behind him like it should be, it was everywhere. “You're part of me—you and I are connected. Running will do you no good, you stupid boy.” The edge of his
wolf
deepened the man’s voice now.

Phoenix lost himself in the darkness. Every direction looked to be exactly the same. He had no idea which way to run to escape. He stumbled and caught himself on the exposed roots of one of the trees. He stopped to listen, straining his ears for even the tiniest of sounds, but there was absolute quiet. Even the woodland creatures had taken flight. He scampered down between the older trees—they were bigger, their trunks expansive. He hid behind one of those and stood as still as he could manage, waiting.