63

63
Everett trudged up to us, rain trickling off his arms and the damp coils of his beard. “We’ll take Muriel and protect her,” he said.

“No,” grunted Gavin. “That wasn’t part of the arrangement.”

“Gavin,” growled Everett.

“You heard what David did. You saw what he’s done to us. The Mythguard has no reason to abstain from exterminating him now.”

Everett stared firmly at Gavin, but it was clear neither man would be willing to back down, nor did they have the energy to continue arguing. Despite Eastpeak and the Mythguard’s assistance, Everett had only complied out of duty; there was no camaraderie in the wake of the battle. He turned away and gestured for his wolves to retreat as well.

My anger burned hotter in spite of the rain. Ambition had crawled out of the cage of my heart and towered over all else. I would prove to David that I wasn’t the weak, pathetic little runt he tried to make of me.

Chapter 30: Gavin

With all that David had taken from Grandbay that I had to mourn, there was no room left in my heart to mourn Catrina. I knew that if I dwelled too long on my guilt, it would only tear me apart, so even though I hated that I had allowed myself to kill her, I accepted it for what it was: an inevitability. It never would have happened if she didn’t push me to do it. Catrina Hexen had sealed her own fate.

That night, my pack gathered in the pack house and finally laid to rest the family that we lost fifteen years ago. Shifters disappeared sometimes, and there was nothing we could do but merely accept their absence. Joshua and Shannon Rathbone were said to have taken their daughter Elizabeth and left in an attempt to mend their marriage. They never came back and my parents assumed they had found happiness elsewhere, but that wasn’t what happened. They never had a chance to find happiness. The daughter that David claimed Rebecca had left him with wasn’t a secret, illicit child at all; it was Elizabeth, her parents and Rebecca murdered by a vengeful man who couldn’t let go.

We lit candles and sat quietly, cleaning our wounds until there was no blood and Muriel could safely try to heal us. I listened to Oslo tell stories about Billie’s parents to her.

“They were good people, even your father, at his core,” said Oslo. “Even though he might have lost his way, I believe that he would have realized the harm he was causing to his family. Joshua was devoted to Grandbay. And he adored you, Billie; he was proud of you, his beautiful daughter. He and Shannon didn’t always see eye to eye, but… a relationship can be made stronger from its fractures, as long as they are allowed to heal.”

I remembered little of Joshua and Shannon. Their memories were meant to console Billie, but I could tell they troubled her; not in the way that she hated Joshua for what he’d done, but because they presented a benchmark of a family that she wanted to surpass. She didn’t want to let Joshua’s actions influence her, nor did she want her upbringing under David to define what she could become. She was better than both of them, and wouldn’t allow herself to become a victim like Shannon. “I won’t be a source of weakness to Grandbay,” Billie told everyone. “I’ve learned from my mistakes. I want to be what my parents couldn’t… I’ll be the backbone that you all deserve.”

She regretted running off in the night to find Colt. I didn’t blame her for wanting to reach out to her brother, especially after I had hurt him, but now we all knew where Colt stood alongside David. Her loyalty need not be divided between Grandbay and Dalesbloom anymore, and I had faith that she could develop into the leader that she was meant to be.

As rays of pink sunrise filtered into the pack house, my packmates gradually dispersed back to their homes until it was just me, Billie, the Mundys, and Muriel. The unicorn was exhausted from spending so much of her magic on us, and I was among the last to see her, placing my packmates before me. My gunshot wounds had closed up. The gash across my left eye sealed into a fresh pink scar and damage to my retina left my vision spotty. There was nothing more Muriel could do for me, but I would survive, as annoying as it was that David had left such a permanent reminder of his cruelty on me.

“Thank you again for caring so deeply for me,” Muriel said to us, clasping my hands in hers. “You’ve made me feel like I’m one of you.”

“You are one of us,” I told her.

She smiled softly. “I only wish my daughter could be here to take refuge in your kindness as well.”

“After we get rid of David, we’ll find her,” Aislin said with certainty.

“Yes,” said Gretel. “You’re our kin, Muriel. Your journey—and your daughter’s journey—ends with us.”

I nodded. “There will always be a place for you here.”