What little calm was left in the air is suddenly forced out when Camilla starts screaming and bursts into tears. She plunges her head forward harshly and stops just before making contact with the stone and buries her face in the palms of her hands. Her body rocks as sobs send shockwaves through her chest. Rachel shoots up the rest of the way on top of the table and turns around.
Daisy runs over to Camilla, pulling her up from the chair and taking her into her arms. Camilla wails, tears streaking down her face. She tries to speak through the sobs, but her words are choked and garbled.
The rest of us move closer. Adria watches in horror and something about Camilla’s display sends a streak of encrypted panic through us all.
“I’m so sorry!” Camilla finally gets the words out and Daisy continues to hold her. “I-I tried so hard…b-but I couldn’t—.”
ISAAC
Chapter 32
IN A FEW MORE hours, the sun will be rising and I’m growing more apprehensive.
Something’s off and I can’t put my finger on it.
We’ve been joined by nine different packs mostly from the northeastern states; a few—Arizona, Oregon and Nevada—are also on their way, but it will take them a couple of days to get here if they don’t catch a plane, but they always travel with their pack, so finding a short-notice flight with twenty to fifty empty seats, isn’t likely.
And we still haven’t heard anything from or about my father, so I’m sure he still doesn’t know and hasn’t even left Serbia yet. We still have time.
I think….
No, this isn’t right. Damnit!
I jump down from the hood of Xavier’s car and walk quickly over to Nathan who has been talking to Treven most of the night. There are dozens of little groups mingling in and all around The Cove, some down by the river not far away.
I lost head-count after one hundred twenty.
“Nate,” I say, taking him by the arm, “I need to talk to you.”
“Alright.”
Treven turns his attention on the others standing nearby, but I get the feeling he’ll listen in on us if he can. I would.
Nathan and I walk to the edge of the parking lot and stop.
“What?” he says, “Are you ready to get them all out of the town?—was thinking it might be best anyway; too populated this close in.”
“No, listen,” I say leaning in further toward him, “don’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
I glance downward in contemplation and back up at him again. “That’s just it, I feel nothing, Nate.”
He catches on fast.
“You’re right, bro,” he says and covertly glances around at everyone and keeps his voice low. “Yeah, I think he should know about Aramei by now and we should be fully aware of it.”
“What was that you said?” Treven says, walking up. “Come on, man, we’re here to stand with you, don’t put us at the kiddie table.”
Others nearby hear Treven’s words and the wave of conversations going on all around us ceases.
I look at Nathan and Treven both; Treven standing two full inches taller next to him. And then I go to elaborate more, just so maybe I can make some sense of it myself, and I hear Isis’ voice from somewhere behind:
“The dogs,” she says, “They’ve stopped barking.” She comes up next to Treven and loops her arm around his giant bicep; her face is imbued by unease.
We all stop to listen and she’s right; all night they’ve been barking sporadically, though nothing out of the ordinary, and now they are utterly silent all over the town.
Panic envelops Nathan’s face all of a sudden and his nostrils flare. He takes in a deep, aggressive breath and catches the scent on the wind. He always knows before any of us when others are nearby because of his powerful sense of smell. We all have it, the enhanced sense of smell, but Nathan’s ability is extraordinary.
The muscles in his arms harden and his dark eyes widen so quickly that it alone sends a jolt of panic through my bones.
“What is it?” I say, trying to look at him and keep my eyes peeled all around me at the same time.
“They’re here,” Nathan answers as his eyes shift black and his lips curl into a hard, bitter display. “Holy shit, they’re…everywhere.”
Instinct kicks in as Nathan’s announcement rolls through like a thick fog carrying grave news on the air and everyone becomes alert.
Xavier steps up, wiping sweat from his face, which in itself is strange. “It’s my mother,” he says with foreboding in his voice. “She just spoke to me.”
“What did she say, Xavier?” I’m too impatient. “Xavier, tell me what Nataša said!”
His eyes are so panicked that it puts me more on edge and I didn’t think by now that could even be possible.
“They’re at Adria’s aunt’s house,” he announces, “and so is Father. My mother demanded that we bring Adria to them now—they think she’s with us—or they’re going to kill everyone in this town.”
I start to pace furiously over the broken blacktop. My senses are going into overdrive as all of the beasts around me begin to go into an inner frenzy, each one of them preparing themselves mentally for what’s about to go down.
Focus. I have to stay focused on the plan which has just been shattered, and I’m realizing that with the unexpected turn of events, can’t be restored. The plan was to gather as many packs as we could and then take them into the mountains farther northeast into the Appalachians and away from Adria, station there for as many days as it took before my father found out about Aramei and then lure him and his army to us. We were going to be waiting, with an army and a plan.
But the plan has gone to shit. The plan has gone to shit….
“Isaac!” Treven says, bringing me back, “We can’t do this here. In the town.”
Isis glares heatedly at me next to him, but fear is dominant in her face. Fear of my father and not of me.
“He’s known all along,” I say vacantly; my intent stare absorbing the asphalt. “Why didn’t I know this? He knew the second that it happened—.” My head jerks up to see Nathan. “He knew, Nathan! He did everything we didn’t expect him to do, stringing us along to believe that he didn’t know when the whole damned time he was preparing and on his way back here—HE KNEW!”
Nathan steps toward me. “This isn’t the time to start blaming yourself, or questioning your position as Alpha.” He forces his hands on my shoulders, shaking me to. “This is our father, Isaac.” He pushes the words on me aggressively so that I’ll let the truth of his words sink in. “This isn’t some neonate half-breed Alpha, he’s the Sovereign and all of us—,” his gripping fingers fall off my shoulders and he points to himself with both hands, “—all of us made the same mistake, bro. None of us saw this coming!”
But I was the one supposed to be able to see it coming. I’m Alpha….
“Let’s go,” I say without another word and I make for my Jeep, jump inside and slam the key in the ignition.
Nathan gets in on the passenger’s side.
Everyone follows us out in a chaotic procession of squealing tires and bouncing headlights illuminating the dark trees out ahead.
In under a minute, when the first house comes into view along the dimly-lit road, I see them.
Nathan was right. They are everywhere, hidden in the shadows of every yard. Some are perched atop the roofs and in the trees. I can see their preternatural eyes glinting off the moonlight in the darkness like owls hidden in the branches.
The dogs are too afraid to bark anymore.
“Holy shit, bro…,” Nathan looks nervous and excited as we drive by that first house and see two brooding werewolves, still in human form, standing on the side of the house at the garage.
Our procession of vehicles slows down almost to a crawl. I feel like one of those kids sitting in the backseat as his parents drive him down the brightly-lit streets of a Christmas wonderland. Except this is much darker and the figures scattered about the lawns of all of these houses aren’t giant inflatable snowmen or nativity scenes.
Every. Single. House. From Water Street, to 2 and Litchfield and Smith and finally to Vaughan. All my father has to do is flutter his eyelids and every person as far as two towns over from Hallowell will be dead.
I open up my ears to hear the residents inside as we pass, but no one so far seems to know that they’re in danger. Thankfully, most of the town’s residents are still asleep.
Finally, I pull off the road and onto Beverlee and Carl’s long dirt driveway leading to their house. I pick up the speed now that I’ve got a better idea of what we’re up against all over the town and come to a hard stop outside the Dawson house. The only car parked out front is Beverlee’s old gray Chevy Malibu. But I sense those inside and I can hear Nataša’s voice slithering through the room.
We get out cautiously and more than a dozen vehicles pull in behind us, clogging the driveway all the way out onto the main street; some park along the main street.
There’s only one light burning in the house, downstairs in the den. Shadows move across the windows of the downstairs floor and so far I can tell there are at least six different figures inside. The tall light pole that stands between the old barn and the house casts a buzzing grayish-white light across a large portion of the west side of the yard. Movement stirs inconspicuously at the side of the barn. Two werewolves. And then on the top of the roof. Two more werewolves. The house is surrounded.
But I don’t sense my father.
“Nathan?” I say without looking away from the house. “I don’t think Father is inside.”
“I don’t, either,” he says in a low voice.
A large crowd walks in behind us and I turn around to see Treven standing at the head of them all; Sebastian is next to him.
“Treven,” I begin, “I need you to take everyone with you, spread out throughout the town wherever you see an enemy and do whatever you have to do to keep them from Turning in front of the humans and, more importantly, keep them from killing or infecting them.”
I look to Nathan and Xavier. “I’m going inside and it’s probably best that I go alone.”
Xavier shakes his head in refusal. “Oh, no way, brother,” he says, “my mother is in there and I’m going with you.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t go,” I say.
Xavier grits his teeth.
“I’ll do whatever you want me to do,” Nathan says, “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to face them alone.”
“You doubt me?” I say, offended, but quietly doubting myself a little.
“I don’t doubt your strength, Isaac,” Nathan says, “but I do doubt your heart.”
“My heart?” I say blankly.
Nathan nods. “Humans are involved; Adria’s aunt and uncle, which makes it worse. Nataša isn’t here holding them hostage so Beverlee will show her how to scrapbook—she’ll use them against you.”