"Where to?"
"You"ll see. Meet me at the truck. I didn"t want to bring Icarus into the cul-de-sac in case anyone here still believes the werewolves are the killers." He turned and left before I could respond.
I hurriedly got ready, wondering exactly how awkward my night with Phoenix and Icarus would be. I had to tell Phoenix the truth; I knew that. I just didn"t know how to begin. He"d kissed me, and then I"d almost forced him into a blood bond. That wasn"t going to go down well no matter how I presented it.
I left the cul-de-sac and found the truck outside. Icarus let out a warning growl as I approached.
"I did the best I could," I barked at him.
The werewolf snapped at air in response.
I ignored him and got into the truck. Phoenix drove away as I pulled my seatbelt across my body.
"How is this working then?" I asked.
"We"ll be starting the search at the south point with Shay and Callista," he explained. "There will be other bases manned by Layla and James, and Willow and Daimhn. Each pair is in charge of organising those they"re responsible for, and hopefully, we won"t all get in each other"s ways. Each pair will set off at different times in a bid to flush the wendigo out. If we"re lucky, it"ll be us who comes across it."
We did have experience, but I couldn"t believe he actually wanted to face the creature that had pretty much impaled him. "Are you sure you"re up for this?" I asked. "You were in a pretty bad way last time we confronted this thing."
"I healed quickly," he said.
I fell silent as I imagined how my confession would go. Every attempt ended in my death at the hands of an angry fae prince.
"Where are we going?" I asked when I realised he was driving in the wrong direction.
"I told you. We have a stop to make first."
"I was thinking it was like a stop for supplies or to pick up Shay or something."
"No. We have other business to take care of."
I stared at him. What does that mean? He turned on the radio as if to end the conversation, and I settled into my seat to wait.
We eventually drove into a ma.s.sive car park, where a dozen shifters were waiting.
"What"s going on?" I asked nervously.
"Come on," he said. "I told you I"d help you with the shifters when you helped me with the werewolves. You cleared the werewolves of the crime by finding the ident.i.ty of the true culprit. I owe you."
He jumped out of the truck. I followed as Icarus leapt out and landed next to me.
"I"m going to tell him," I whispered. "So you better stop glaring at me like that."
The werewolf growled again. I pretended not to notice. If Phoenix didn"t kill me, then Icarus surely would.
I strode after Phoenix as the group in front of us gathered, eyeing me with hate and distrust. Something about me always provoked such strong reactions in people.
"I called you here to warn you," he said. "This woman is off limits."
"She"s an enemy of the pack," a young man shouted.
"She"s a friend of the werewolf pack," Phoenix said.
I groaned inwardly. Icarus would not be happy about that proclamation.
"That has nothing to do with the Senate," a middle-aged woman said. "Pack rules apply."
"I"m not here as a Senate member," Phoenix said coolly. "I"m here as prince of the fae."
My stomach turned. It had to be a blood bond. There was no way Phoenix would go out on a limb like that without some encouragement from my pesky blood.
"Phoenix, wait," I whispered. "I have something to tell you."
Icarus growled; Phoenix ignored me.
"Your next alpha will decide if she remains an enemy of the pack or not," Phoenix called out. "And if you choose to target her in the meantime, then you"ll have to go through me, the fae, and the werewolves, first."
The crowd murmured, exchanged cowed glances, then shuffled away like a horde of zombies.
"There," Phoenix said brightly. "That should keep them out of the way for a few weeks."
"Phoenix, you don"t understand." I winced. "I really need to tell you something."
Icarus"s growls grew menacing.
"Oh, shut up," I said. "Keep out of it, werewolf. I"m trying, here."
"There"s a problem between you two," Phoenix said slowly.
"No, it"s I did something I probably shouldn"t have, and Icarus wasn"t impressed, and I"ve been too chicken to tell you, but after that, I have to. You wouldn"t have said that to the shifters under normal circ.u.mstances because-"
"These aren"t normal circ.u.mstances."
I swallowed hard, ignoring the furious werewolf. I held Phoenix"s gaze. "When the wendigo attacked, I thought you were dying, and I panicked. I fed you my blood because I thought I had no other options. I know that was wrong, that I had no right to make that choice for you, and I"m sorry about that, but it really was my last option. And now I think it must have affected you if you"re going around telling off shifters for me."
He stared back at me, his face blank. "We made a deal. You help with the werewolves; I help with the shifters. That"s what this was today."
"Oh, G.o.d." I ran my hands through my hair, completely stressed out. "I think I must have accidentally bonded with you. You"re taking this too calmly."
"Ava." He took a step closer. "I already knew what you did."
I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, unable to form words, never mind sentences.
"You saved my life, and I thanked you for it. I wasn"t aware we had an obligation to discuss the details. There is no bond. I awoke briefly during the process. Your blood helped me survive long enough for a transfusion and likely helped my recovery process in the meantime. That is all." He walked past me and got into the truck.
Icarus huffed and jumped into the truck bed. Dazed, I got into the pa.s.senger seat. Phoenix drove us away from the shifters. It took me a while to find my voice.
"You looked disgusted," I said.
"Are we still on this?" He flashed me an impatient glance. "I"m not repulsed by what you are."
"But are you angry? I mean, it was dangerous. It could have gone wrong."
"You did what you thought was best at the time. There"s no point going over this."
We drove to our meeting point in uncomfortable silence. It was at the edge of a forested area, and the place was full of people already. Phoenix left us abruptly to speak to Callista and Shay, so I sat on the truck bed with Icarus.
"You know I wasn"t trying to hurt him," I said sulkily. "You could cut me a little slack."
The werewolf leaned against me in answer, pressing me against the side of the truck.
"You a.r.s.e," I said, gasping for breath.
"Making friends with the werewolves again?" Shay called out.
I waved at him, and he came over to chat for a moment.
"You"ve obviously been busy lately," he said.
"We all have. How are the shifters who were held captive doing?"
"Better, I"m told. It"s a delicate situation, but we"ve been rooting out anyone who might have been responsible. Most of the women we recovered have been helpful."
"I"m glad. And thanks for helping me back at the old headquarters," I said. "Sorry I a.s.sumed the worst."
He shrugged. "They fooled me, too. I wasn"t going to let children be murdered, no matter what else has happened."
I swung my feet. "Glad I can count on you, at least."
He eyeballed the werewolf. "Yes, well, the way you dealt with those bodyguards was pretty impressive. Think I could persuade you into helping me set up some more cla.s.ses at the boxing club?"
I grinned. "Maybe I"ll think about it."
"Great. I should get back to work." He took a few steps before looking back at me. "Think hard."
When he left, a familiar car pulled up a few feet away. Val and Peter got out and approached me. Great, another person who"s mad at me.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked, shoving the werewolf back onto his side of the truck bed.
"The same thing you are," Val said. "We volunteered, and they accepted our help."
"Oh." I looked at Peter, who was looking anywhere but at me. "Well, good luck, you two."
Val clapped me on the shoulder. "Same to you. Don"t look so worried. This creature will be ours tonight."
Peter finally met my gaze. "Good luck, Ava."
Callista came over. "Good, you"re here. Here are your packs. Torches, food, water, medical kits, and, most importantly, walkie-talkies. If you see the wendigo, call the closest team for backup. Val, Peter, head over to Shay to find out your position."
The pair thanked her and left.
Callista beamed at me as she handed me a bag. "Phoenix should be ready to leave soon. It"s been exciting, setting the werewolves up with partners. This will go a long way toward repairing the damage the paragon did with his little interviews."
"Any experience with a wendigo?" I asked her.
"I"ve heard old stories that I never really believed," she said. "You should be extra careful. I"m told I had a great-great-great-grandmother who was speared to death by a wendigo claw."
"Oh," I said. "I"m sorry."
"Catch this wendigo for me to make up," she said with a grin. She moved on to gather up more victims.
I hefted the bag over my shoulder, ignoring Icarus"s heavy panting in my ear. Phoenix returned to us after the sun had set.
"Let"s find this wendigo," Phoenix said. "This way. We"re up next." Icarus eagerly bounded after Phoenix.
I followed them both into the darkness.
Chapter Nineteen.
Phoenix barely managed to hold on to Icarus"s leash. The werewolf panted as he struggled to move faster. But Phoenix had warned everyone not to let go of the leashes unless faced with the wendigo itself, and apparently, he had listened to his own advice.
"It"s somewhere out here." He sounded excited. "We"re going to find it tonight."
"I"m not sure that"s the best plan anyway," I said. "Don"t you remember what happened last time?"
He patted the sword hanging from his hip in a sheath. "I"m prepared this time. Besides, if we don"t kill it, someone else will. The woods are full of searchers."
"How sure are you that we"re in the right place?"
He nodded at Icarus, who whimpered. "Very. All of the attacks circled this area. It stands to reason that the creature is nearby. And if not, we"ll keep looking until we find it."
"I wonder if the demon dies when the wendigo does," I said. "I don"t think any of the books said."
"Maybe it returns to the place it originally came from."
"The thought of demons roaming around, persuading people to turn cannibalistic, doesn"t make me feel safe."
He shrugged. "I wouldn"t have thought this would worry you so much."
"You almost died already. You. And the werewolves were almost exterminated because of it. What next?"
"It"s just a little bad luck."