Catriona stood upright, her brows rising. “Well? Where is it?”
“About that…” I bit my lip.
Catriona growled, her patience wearing thin. “Ness. I want to believe you, but you’re all over the place. Don’t come in here and tell me that you have proof if you have nothing.”
I stiffened, angry. The smell of ozone rippled through the room. If everyone would stop talking down to me, then maybe they would see the truth. Instead, I was treated like a child. Were it not for my shifter healing, my body would be a latticework of scars from what I’d endured. I wasn’t a child anymore.
“The body disappeared.”
Catriona gave a pity-filled shake of her head. “You can’t go throwing accusations without proof.”
“Isn’t it proof enough that the body disappeared? He must have gone to move it. I think that’s why he called the meeting tonight.”
“No. Our Alpha called a meeting because you mauled his son. Harvey is missing aneye!” Her nose wrinkled as she stared me down. “We have others that we need to protect. Janessa has night terrors from watching what happened to Connor. Haylee and Kelsey have shown up with bruises more than once.”
Her hands fell down to her sides. When her eyes closed, she let out a forlorn sigh. “You have allies now. That dragon fella of yours is more than enough to keep you safe. We don’t have the same kind of protection. We never did.”
“And all the years before Ryder showed up? What about that?”
Catriona’s expression broke. Tears made her eyes shimmer when she looked at me. “There’s a reason I’m taking care of Janessa by myself. My sister tried to stand up against Alvin. He chased her out of Lakesedge so fast, she couldn’t even stop to get Janessa.
“We’re all doing what we can.”
Every hair on my body stood on end. My skin burned from every scar hidden beneath the unmarred surface. Static sparked around me like little stars. I sucked in a breath and tried to push the arcana back. Of course, it had to surface now, when it was of little help. At least, the arcana tied to my voice didn’t act up.
Just in case, I kept my lips sealed. My hopes that the pack would rally around me now were dwindling. I’d hoped that showing them the evidence of Alvin’s kills would do something. I shouldn’t have had such high expectations. The pack had already shown me just how they felt.
A primal scream tried to tear its way out of my throat. I turned and lurched out the door before Catriona could say anything else.
I got it. I knew why Catriona acted the way she did. There were others in the pack.
My heart clenched tight. I was also part of that same pack. Being the scapegoat for everything grew tiring. The desire to give in and run away crept into my mind once more.
I could escape everything. No one would be able to hurt me ever again. It seemed like the obvious choice, yet my determined hound dug in her heels and refused to budge. This was her territory. She would be damned if anyone ran her off it.
Though I tried to tell her that territory wasn’t as precious as my life, she refused to listen. Catriona’s statement about thinking like animals rang in my skull. I sighed, exhausted, and trudged back to the car while my hound growled about her territory.
The pack meeting would start soon. If I wasn’t there, then Alvin would hunt me down. I didn’t have the energy to run or fight. Reaching for my phone, I wished I could call Ryder. His presence would only make things worse.
Besides, I’d made it so that he couldn’t protect me. The command that I’d given Ryder the last time he and Harvey fought was still going strong. It kept Ryder from even touching Harvey.
Chewing on the tip of my thumb in the driver’s seat of my car, I wondered if Harvey was still struggling with the two commands I’d given him. The other night, I’d told him to drop it. Today, I’d told him to eat shit.
While it pleased me to imagine Harvey picking things up only to immediately drop them again, I hated the image of the second command. I hadn’t meant to do that. I’d just wanted to escape him at the time. He gave me no way out every time he cornered me.
Tonight was going to be an absolute nightmare.
* * *
Alvin’s houseloomed ahead of me like a monster ready to devour. I hated that this place used to be a safe haven. The sight of this house used to bring me joy, a sense of peace, even. That was well and truly gone. Dread rose to take its place, leaving my feet heavy.
Without taking my eyes off the house ahead, I kicked my door open and stepped outside. My heart leapt into my throat when someone grabbed my arm. I spun, fist clenched, and clocked Connor in the jaw.
He grimaced and rubbed at his cheek with his free hand. “When did you learn how to do that?”
“When a dumb fool decided to grab me. I still haven’t forgiven you. Now, let go of me.” I ripped my arm out of his grasp and side stepped him to put distance between us.
That was when I noticed Ryder behind him. Bri waved from the inside of her SUV. The look on her face told me that she wasn’t happy about her situation. She kept scanning the scenery like she was on high alert and couldn’t do anything about it.