Chapter 30 Zemirah.

Chapter 30 Zemirah.

Three Years Later

Zemirah

That morning a dead wolf was found.

I found him at the north border, lying face down in the tall grass, his throat cut from ear to ear, there was no pack markings on his clothes, nor weapon nearby, he laid in the pool of his blood, as flies hovered around him, from the staunch smell his body emitted, I could tell, he'd been dead for a couple of hours.

I knelt beside him. His skin was still warm.

"Who found him?" I asked.

One of the patrol guards stepped forward. "I did, about an hour ago,there was no track leading away or signs of a struggle. He was already dead when we got here."

"Did anyone see anything?"

"No, Alpha."

I stood up and looked at the trees. The border was quiet.

"Double the patrols. I want every trail watched. Every road covered. If someone else crosses, I want to know where they're headed."

The guard nodded. He moved off to give orders.

I pulled out my phone and called Fernandez.

"Someone left a body on my border."

"One of yours?"

"No. It's unmarked so the pack it belongs to is unknown."

"Could it be Xavier?"

"Maybe, or someone is trying to send a message across."

"I'll send reinforcements."

"Don't. I need you watching your own borders. If this is the start of something, they'll hit you too."

Fernandez was quiet for a moment. "Be careful."

"Okay love."

I hung up.

\---

Julian was waiting in the study when I got back.

"I heard about the body," he said.

"Word travels fast."

"I was in the courtyard when the patrol came through."

I sat behind the desk. "What do you think?"

Julian leaned against the wall. "I think someone is testing you. Seeing how you react, maybe if you're scared."

"Should I be scared?"

"There's no need to be, I got you."

I looked at him. He'd been different lately. Quieter. More distant. I'd known him my whole life. Worked beside him every day. Trusted him with the pack when I couldn't be there. But something had shifted in the last few months. Something I couldn't quite name.

"Julian."

"Yes?"

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

He held my gaze. "No."

"Because if there is, now would be the time."

"There isn't."

I let it go. But I didn't forget.

\---

The dead wolf's identity came back at noon.

His name was Elias. He was a rogue, no pack affiliation for the last six years. He'd been seen in the mountains near the old pass about a week ago. No one knew what he was doing there or who he was traveling with.

I sent the information to Elara. She called me an hour later.

"Elias worked for Xavier," she said. "Three years ago. Before everything fell apart. He was one of the ones who got away."

"You're sure?"

"One of my wolves recognized the face, he added that Elias never left Xavier, just went underground."

"So Xavier sent him here, so he'd die in my border."

"Or it could be that someone else sent him,to send a message."

"Same thing."

I hung up.

\---

That night, I walked the walls, it'd been a while since I last did so.

The moon was full, bright enough to see the trees, the road, the gate. Guards were posted every fifty feet, their faces hard, their hands on their weapons.

Fernandez called.

"Any news?"

"Elias worked for Xavier. He's like One of his old men."

"So Xavier is back."

"I really don't know for now." I said.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to wait. Whoever left that body wants me to react, wants me to move my guards, change my patrols, show my hand and I'm not going to do that."

"That's smart."

"Nahhh, I'm just being patient."

He laughed.

"I really miss you," he said.

"Then come visit."

"Next week."

“Prepare because we're going to have long nights." He said

I hung up laughing.

\---

Three days passed.

The pack started to relax. Guards stopped jumping at shadows. Julian stopped hovering around my tent, and I had become a little calmer.

On the fourth morning, I got a letter.

No return address, nor name. Just a piece of paper folded in half.

I'll be at the old mill once it's Midnight, it'd be better if you come alone or don't come at all.

I read it twice. The handwriting was familiar.

Tasha.

\---

I didn't tell anyone where I was going.

Midnight came. I drove to the mill, parked by the road, walked through the dark to the door.

She was inside.

Tasha looked different. Older and Thinner. Her hair was longer, pulled back from her face. Her hands were rough, calloused, the hands of someone who worked for a living.

"Hey, mirah."

"Hi, Tasha."

"I'm glad you came."

"Well, I didn't think you left me any choice."

She stepped closer. The moonlight came through the holes in the roof, cutting the dark into pieces.

"I heard about the body," she said.

"Pretty much everyone heard about the body."

"I know who left it."

I went still. "Who?"

"Xavier. He's back. He's been back for months, and Living in the mountains, same place as before. And I bet he's building something new."

"How do you know?"

She pulled out her phone, scrolled through it, handed it to me. A photo. Xavier standing in front of a cabin, two men beside him, both armed.

"I took that last week."

"You saw him?"

"I followed him. From the town where I live. He passed through about a month ago. I didn't recognize him at first. He's changed, he Gained a little weight, he also Cut his hair."

"Why didn't you come to me sooner?"

"Because I wasn't sure yet, I wanted to be very sure."

I handed the phone back.

"Where is he?"

"The mountains. North of the old pass. There's a cabin about ten miles in, but you have to walk, because the road is bad."

"The same cabin from before?"

"No. It's a different one, he made it smaller, so it'd be harder to find."

I turned to leave.

"Zemirah."

I stopped.

"I'm sorry. For everything. For what I did to you. For what I did to our father."

"Sorry doesn't fix anything."

"I know."

I walked out of the mill and didn't look back.

\---

I called Fernandez on the drive home.

"Tasha found Xavier. He's in the mountains. Same area as before."

"You trust her?"

"I trust he was the one in the photo she showed me."

"Send it to me."

I did. He called back five minutes later.

"That's him. That's definitely him."

"Then I'm going."

"You can't go alone Mirah."

"I'm not taking an army, He'll see them coming."

"Then take me."

"You're three hours away."

"I'll leave now."

I looked at the road.

"Fine. Meet me at the old pass at dawn."

"Okay."

I hung up.

\---

Julian was waiting in the courtyard when I got back.

"Where have you been?"

"I stepped out."

"I've been calling you for an hour."

"My phone died."

He stepped closer. "You're lying."

I looked at him.

"Tasha found Xavier. I'm going to get him tomorrow. Fernandez is meeting me at the pass."

"You should have told me."

"Well, I just did."

"You should have told me first."

Something in his voice stopped me.

"What's going on with you, Julian?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

He looked at the ground.

"I've been loyal to you my whole life," he said. "Since we were children. I've never asked for anything in return."

"What do you want?"

He looked up. His eyes were wet.

"You."

I stepped back.

"I know you're married. I know you love him. I've watched you build a life with someone else and I've stayed quiet. But I can't anymore. Not after everything."

"Julian—"

"You don't have to say anything. I just needed you to know."

He walked away.

I stood in the courtyard and watched him go.

\---

Dawn came cold and gray.

Fernandez was waiting at the pass, his car parked off the road, his breath fogging in the air.

"You look terrible," he said.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I."

I told him about Julian, about what he'd said in the courtyard, the way he'd looked at me with passion in his eyes.

"He's in love with you," Fernandez said.

"I know."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"It's going to be a problem if he does something stupid."

"Like what?"

"I don't know yet."

We started walking.

\---

The cabin was exactly where Tasha said it would be.

Small, built into the side of a hill, smoke coming from the chimney. No guards outside. No tracks in the snow. Just the cabin and the trees and the quiet.

Fernandez knelt behind a boulder. "Could be empty."

"Why do I feel it could be a trap."

"Well, we can find out."

I stood up and walked toward the door.

Fernandez cursed under his breath. I heard him following.

I knocked.

The door opened.

Xavier stood there, older, thicker, his hair short, his face lined. He looked at me and Fernandez.

"Never thought I'd see you again," he said.

I hit him in the face. He stumbled back, hand going to his nose.

"That's for the body you left on my border."

He laughed, blood dripped through his fingers from his nose.

"I didn't leave that body."

"Then who did?"

He stepped aside. "Come inside, we have a lot to talk about."

I walked past him into the cabin.

Fernandez followed.