“It’s Ox,” Joe said roughly. “Something happened to them.”
“We don’t know that yet,” I told him, even though it felt like a lie. “We’re still trying to get them on the line. Caswell?”
“The same as it always is,” Robbie said bitterly. “You would think Michelle Hughes was still in charge for all the bullshit that goes on here.”
I blinked. “What the hell does that mean?”
Kelly said, “They’re scared. Someone’s been talking. They’ve convinced half the people here that Livingstone is on a warpath and on his way to Caswell. There’s panic.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. I pulled the phone away from my ear and set it on the desk, switching it to speakerphone. “Do you have it under control?”
“Mostly,” Joe said. “I think me just being here helped.”
“Who’s been spreading shit around?”
“I don’t know,” Joe said, sounding frustrated. “We’re trying to find out, but it’s chasing a rumor. Everyone is saying they heard it from someone else.” He sighed. “They… they think it has something to do with Gavin.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What?”
Kelly was pissed. “They’re so full of shit. They know you found him, that we brought him back to Green Creek. They think it’s his fault somehow. A few of them told Joe that if he cared about Caswell at all, he’d hand over Gavin to Livingstone and end this. They remember, Carter. What Livingstone did to them and why. They blame him for Michelle’s death and everything that came before it.”
Gavin grunted as if punched. It pissed me off. I slammed my fist into the desk. The phone rattled on the surface. “Fuck them,” I growled. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“We know,” Joe said. “And I told them the same thing. Gavin’s one of us. I don’t give a shit what they say. He’s staying with us.”
“That’s good, Joe,” Mark said. “But you need to be careful. You can’t forget they look to you
. You’re their Alpha. Don’t burn bridges that you can’t rebuild.”
“I know,” Joe said. “But they’re not making it easy.”
Mom pushed by me as she rounded the desk. She jiggled the mouse next to the computer. The monitor lit up, bathing her face in blue. I hated how it looked. It felt too literal. Jessie was pacing back and forth in front of Bambi, who was shaking her head. Dominique too. Tanner, Chris, and Rico had surrounded Gavin, their arms crossed as if they were guarding him. I felt a savage pride at the sight of them, even as my heart twisted at the miserable look on Gavin’s face. Suddenly I wished I was in Caswell, daring anyone to say to my face what they’d said to my brother.
The TV on the wall lit up after Mom hit the keyboard a few times. Bambi shoved her phone back in her pocket as Ox’s name appeared on the screen. She connected a video call. A circle spun under Ox’s name as the monitor beeped over and over.
“Come on,” I muttered. “Come on. Pick up.”
The call disconnected with no answer.
“Do it again,” Mark said. “Try Gordo too.”
She did.
“Did Robbie find anything?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Robbie said. His voice was thin and wavery. “Maybe? It’s….”
“What did it say?” I asked, watching the circle spin on the screen again and again.
“A manifestation of rage. Fury so profound it causes a wolf to become something grotesque. It doesn’t say anything about a witch losing his magic and turning into a wolf or surviving a bite from an Alpha. But there’s something else.”
We all looked at the phone. “What?” Mark asked.
“Tell them,” Kelly said quietly.
“Elizabeth?” Robbie asked.
“I’m here.”