I smoothed my hair back into a ponytail, my gaze following the words in front of me. I was giving Daniel's file another read. It'd been a month since Daniel confirmed he killed Michael and Bill. I was looking for anything in the file that indicated Daniel had a violent past, something I'd missed the first time. Kurtis sent me an updated version of the file. I couldn't find anything out of place about him. From the side table, my phone beeped loudly. I didn't accept the call, sending it to voicemail without looking at the number. Dominic had called and texted me repeatedly over the last three weeks to apologize. I hadn't answered him, but thanks to the technology, he knew I'd seen his messages. For some reason, that didn't deter him from still trying. I spread out the three pages of phone records from the months leading up to the murders. I had highlighted the only repeated number. Using Kurtis's detective skills, we found out it was Carrey's old phone number. The first time the number was mentioned, it was incoming. Carrey had approached Daniel. I pondered over what made Carrey approach Daniel and what was said to persuade Daniel to his side. Daniel had never done anything illegal and been caught. He never even had a parking ticket, under his own name or any known alias. He was a decent Canadian citizen after leaving the Pack. How he was able to kill two people who never caused him harm confused me.
The door to my room creaked open. Scarlett peaked her head around the corner.
"You're still reading that? Nothing is going to change, you know. No matter how hard you wished it would."
Letting out a breathy laugh, I nodded. She was right. I collected the papers, putting the file under my bed along side Mack Carrey's. I was doing my best to make sure James didn't find out I was reading it again.
"Come on, let's go make dinner. Maybe bring some homework since you haven't paid much attention to that recently."
I flipped her off, following her down to the kitchen to make tacos. Chloe joined us in the kitchen, abandoning whatever game show she'd been watching. Spending mundane time with my friends was relaxing. This was a peace I hadn't been gifted growing up. I helped in the kitchen, sure but it was to make food for large quantities of people and as quickly as possible. There was mindless chatter, but amongst the grown ups. I didn't always understand what they were talking about. As we finished the basic prep work, the front door opened and shut. Voices floated in from the front hall, signalling that James and Brandon were back from their run. The two boys entered the kitchen, Brandon shoving James lightly causing their laughter to grow.
"What are you girls cooking?" Brandon asked, throwing his arm over Scarlett's shoulders.
"Tacos. Sound good?" Scarlett said, jokingly shoving her elbow into his side.
"Sounds perfect. I'm starving," James responded, tossing his arm over my shoulder. I put the knife in my hand down, shrugging out of his hold and moving to the cupboard. Since the night of my horribly memorable date with Dominic, James was on my shit list. Unlike Dominic, James could force me into listening to apologies by bringing me breakfast in bed at six in the morning and then not leaving my room without physical violence. I'd done my best to keep my distance as much as possible. I could still feel the anger festering.
On top of the bad mood James was in since seeing Daniel, my ignoring him seemed to keep James on the edge of destruction. The image of James appearing in the parking lot and facing off with Dominic repeated in my brain every time James tried to speak with me. It helped me ignore him even when I felt guilty for it. This included when James threw his plate of food at the wall. The times he got in my face attempting to apologize. Even the moments I was ready to break, I thought about what I knew about his father. I was worried the residual emotions I still felt from the horrible date night, if we got into one of our infamously heated arguments, I would let it slip. It'd make everything worse. Especially if James found the file under my bed.
James let out a loud sigh, slamming the fridge door closed after grabbing a water bottle. I dropped the pepper in the sink I'd begun to clean and spun to face him.
"What?" I snapped. Doing my best to control my frustration seemed to cut it short. I'd had a shorter fuse lately too, I had to admit. I'd found the smallest things easily annoying. James looked me in the eye as he took a drink from the bottle. Twisting the cap back into place, he dramatically shrugged.
"Nothing."
"Good."
The TV in the background was the only sound. Out of the corner of my eyes, Scarlett shifted under Brandon's arm, going back to cooking. Chloe tapped her hands against the counter before wandering back into the living room. I toss the now clean peppers onto the counter to cut. James scoffed, grabbing his phone out of his sweatpants' pocket. We made eye contact as he started towards the living room.
"Are you going to crash any dates tonight? Because we could use your help with dinner," I commented, chopping a pepper up.
"Oh boy," Brandon muttered under his breath, letting go of Scarlett and sat at the kitchen table. I tossed the unopened package of cheese to him, hoping he'd understand I wanted it shredded. James walked backwards into the kitchen.
"What can I do to help you, Scarlett?" James asked, walking past me. I tried to hold back a bitter smile. I was angry but James acting petty was amusing. It came across like a bratty toddler. I glanced back at Brandon, who was doing a much poorer job at holding back his own smirk. A snort slipped out of my nose.
"What's so-" James began to ask, stopping himself. A small huff came from him as he turned back to the stove, where Scarlett had assigned him beef duty. Making eye contact again, Brandon and I burst out in laughter. I dropped the knife I was using on the counter while I tried to control myself. I heard the snapping of ceramic from behind me, causing me to jump. James was leaning forward on the counter, a small plate broken in his hand. I pressed my lips tightly together, the laugh dying in my throat but also a new wave of uncomfortable humour hitting me again. I swore between choking in laughter. I ran my hands under the water, shaking my head. I looked at James. He was still angry, but I could see it flickering. I didn't know what reaction it was going to turn into.
"I'm going for a run. I'll be back," I said.
I knew there was a purpose for staying angry with James and avoiding fights with him, but moments like this, I had to try harder. The way I felt, my emotions were changing on a dime. I could be angry and then James would do something silly, and that anger would subside. It was an infuriating feeling. I walked through the backyard to the woods, deep enough that through the trees, I couldn't easily see the houses.
Alone in the woods and in my four-legged form, I broke out into a sprint. The woodland creatures leap out of my way as my paws padded softly against the ground. The familiar scent of the trees filled my nose, neutralizing all my senses. I let all my attention go to how my muscles moved and how the wind blew through the leaves. I crossed the road with ease, no approaching vehicles in sight. The sun hung in the sky, meaning I couldn't run through the exposed field approaching. Instead, I rushed to the tree line. Farther away from the house, I felt less stressed than before. When I was a wolf, my human memories were foggier. The way a wolf functioned was simple and all instinct. Being like this, I wasn't concerned with other people's feelings. James' anger at me was a waste of time, as was mine. I slowed to a light jog now. It was quiet on this side of the road. The greenery was starting to die, and I rolled around in the leaves like a small child. Most of the animals had relocated, getting ready to hibernate. Rolling onto my stomach, I thought about the option of staying a wolf forever. No more worries about emotions, school, work, or really falling in love with people on a deeper level than sex. Simple. However, I stood up. That wasn't how life worked though. I had responsibilities. I had to go back. Eventually.
Charlie held the door open for me, as we entered the darkened bar. Most of the customers' heads turned and I caught a few checking me out. Until the door closed behind Charlie, and they got a look at my hulking father. Instantly, they turned back to their drinks. I surveyed the tables to find who we were supposed to meet.
"I see them," I muttered to Charlie. He nodded and ordered two beers as we past the bar. With Charlie in the lead, we made our way to the back corner. Mack Carrey and Daniel Blake sat in a booth, both nursing their own beers. At the edge of the table, we shook hands and took our own seats. The text Chrissy sent me during my date with Dom was correct. Carrey and Daniel wanted a casual meeting with us to discuss the details of work arrangements face to face. It appeared Carrey had finally understood all conversations should go through my father, which I'd told him each time he called me.
"How was the drive?" Carrey asked.
"Fine, light traffic. Your trip from wherever you are staying?" my father asked in return.
The small talk continued on this track for a while. It was like old business partners, maybe even casual friends. Daniel even added the occasional comment. I don't think I'd ever seen him talk so much. I knew this meeting spot was a contributing factor to the Pack making peace with Strays. This bar was crawling with Abilities. If what Carrey said at our first meeting, about Abilities not working with them due to their disagreements with the Pack, this could be seen as a good sign. The door to the bar opened and they were enveloped by the darkness, I watched Aaron and Scott entered. I saw Daniel's eyes land on the two then glanced back at my father.
"I see your back-up has arrived," he said. Charlie didn't turn around or change his expression.
"I may have brought one of the strongest back ups possible but I'm still the Alpha. The only thing I do by myself is use the bathroom most days."
I choked on my beer and glared at my father, "that's gross. I didn't need to hear that."
Daniel snorted, taking a drink of his beer. We made eye contact and Daniel rolled his eyes. This wasn't a side to Daniel I'd seen before. It was unnerving. I wondered if he would be this way around James, but I shook the thought of his son out of my head. I didn't need the protective energy effecting me today. Another round of beers was brought over, purchased by Charlie. Food was bought too. Aaron and Scott sat off to the side, at another table. They were here specifically to watch and step in if there were any issues. I leaned back against the seat, not resting my head. The entire bar had sticky vibes and I didn't need to wash my hair again today. The conversation continued easily, seeming like it wasn't going to change soon. Silently, I slid out of the booth and wandered over to Aaron and Scott. The casual feeling of the meeting was getting to me. As I leaned against the table, talking to Aaron and Scott, people approached and introduced themselves. They let it be known they recognized my father as the Alpha.
"It looks like it's getting serious over there," Scott commented, taking a drink. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Charlie sitting with a straight spine, and Daniel's face didn't have any humour on it anymore.
"Finally. Come on, you two should listen to this."
Sighing, I grabbed Aaron's drink, and swung back a mouthful. As their stools scrapped against the ground, I heard him complain at the lack of alcohol left in his glass.
"The jobs we've been forced into don't have much thought to them, lawn maintenance and grounds keepers," Carrey said as I sat down.
"I'll look at my contacts. I'm sure there are many people who would enjoy having you work along side them," my father said, "of course, it would have to be outside of Pack territory. The Northern territories have a great amount of work."
Carrey was staring at Aaron and Scott over my shoulder. He dragged his eyes away to my father, nodding his head, but his jaw shifted off to the side. He wasn't pleased with my father's answer. I don't know what he expected, for Charlie to say that he could stay in Ontario? Daniel gave no visual reaction, only taking a bite from French fries. He'd barely looked at his old friends behind me as if he didn't know them at all.
"I have one condition though."
"Which is?"
"You will no longer target members of the Pack to make a statement. They all stay alive. Any wolves that you work with must agree to this as well."
I'd told Charlie that Daniel was behind the murders. I had to tell somebody; I couldn't keep it to myself any longer. Charlie's theory was his old friend didn't decide to kill the two Pack members on his own, unless the man he was friends with since childhood was completely gone. I could see the flicker of hope in Charlie's eyes that Daniel was forced into killing Michael and Bill. I wasn't sure Daniel was so innocent, but I accepted my father's perspective. It would be hard for me to see James as a cold-blooded killer too. Carrey took a drink of his beer before answering.
"I'll agree to that, and I'll insist my friends do the same."
Charlie looked at Daniel, who nodded once and finished his beer. Charlie stuck his hand out to Mack Carrey. With the hint of a smile, they shook hands. I glanced at Aaron, and we shared a look. I don't think either of us had complete faith in this arrangement.