Secrets in the Fade (Secrets of the Sequoia Book 2) Page 18

  Holden started toward them, but Aaron spoke suddenly.

  “You touch this child and I will rip out your lower intestine and feed it to you.” He raised his gaze to his former charge, his dark eyes murderous. “Slowly.”

  Holden stopped in place. He clenched his fists, but the rest of him seemed oddly relaxed, as though he had somehow found peace in all the insanity. “Don’t worry,” he said calmly. “I don’t kill kids.”

  Aaron’s upper lip curled.

  The little girl gasped and moved closer to Nathan. The blond boy hugged her protectively, but when he looked at Holden his dark eyes were pained.

  For a moment the only sound was Coleen’s gradually ebbing sobs.

  Something about Holden’s words struck a chord within Rachael. She lifted her face from Coleen’s hair, catching her friend’s eye. His expression was so serene. He wasn’t even trying to ask her to understand what he’d done anymore.

  Hoarsely, Rachael said, “You need to go.”

  Holden merely nodded. He took one last glance at Aaron, and then turned on his heel and calmly walked away.

  After he disappeared from sight, Rachael shuddered and tightened her grip on Coleen. She looked over to her brother, who stared past her at Vera’s body with a dead expression. It had to hurt just as much for him, she thought. Once he’d loved her. She was certain a part of him still did.

  “Jackie, I’m so sorry,” said Rachael. Her voice began to crack.

  He strode over to her, bending down to one knee so he could meet her eyes. Solemnly, he said, “It’s not your fault, RayRay.”

  That was almost enough to break her. Rachael bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and stave off tears.

  Gently, Jackson disengaged Coleen from her. Coleen bawled loudly again, but threw her arms around Jackson for support. He held her, this girl he never knew, and seemed to share her grief. When he looked to his alpha, his eyes were wet.

  “Can I take her home?” he asked.

  Aaron nodded.

  “No,” cried Coleen. Her hand lashed out, grabbing Rachael by her long sleeve. “Rachael, we can’t leave her here!”

  With calm she didn’t feel, Rachael covered Coleen’s hand with her own. “I won’t let anybody hurt her anymore,” she assured her classmate. She squeezed Coleen’s fingers. “Please, go with Jackie. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Before Jackson led Coleen away, Aaron rose to his feet. He stared down the pup, his expression dark. “Jackson.” When the teen looked at him, attentive and serious, he continued, “There has been enough death today. Do what you must, but try to avoid violence.”

  Jackson hesitated, his eyes flickering back to his sister. “I’ll have to tell her.”

  “Do it,” ordered Aaron. “As Rachael said, she will be right behind you both.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Rachael watched them leave. Her fingers tingled and she clenched her fists to dull the pain. Then, with great care, she knelt beside her fallen friend and brushed her hand over her face. Trembling, she closed Vera’s vacant eyes for the last time.

  “Hello,” she heard Aaron say with unusual gentleness. Over her shoulder she watched him lower himself down to face the terrified little girl. Rachael found herself staring, wondering how the child looked so familiar. “What is your name?”

  Nathan loosened his hold on his small friend. “She doesn’t speak English.”

  “Ah,” murmured Aaron. “Yes, that explains it.” Then, as fluently as ever, he said, “¿Cual es su nombre?”

  The girl looked from him to Nathan as though seeking permission. When the boy nodded his assent, she said, “Mi nombre es Ana Sofia.”

  Ana Sofia Quintero. Rachael felt as though she’d been punched in the gut. She didn’t understand the language, but the name stood out. It was the same girl whose MISSING poster had been plastered over all of Jackson’s just weeks ago. The first of many kids to vanish, but the only one to not turn up dead.

  She was beautiful, too. As in wolf form, her brown eyes were small and set close together, but her cheekbones were high and her skin was like milky cocoa. When she spoke she showed off large front adult teeth, and she had the same gap between her teeth as she did as a wolf.

  Aaron smiled faintly. “Supongo que eres ha chica que fue secuestrada.”

  “Sí,” said Ana Sofia.

  “¿Le explico Nathan loque está sucendiendo?”

  “Mas o menos.”

  The two began conversing rapidly, with Aaron doing most of the talking and Ana Sofia punctuating his sentences with what sounded like questions. Rachael watched them, mystified.

  A little loudly, though the two near him hardly paused at his voice, Nathan said, “He’s tellin’ her what it’s gonna be like as a lycan.”

  That made sense, Rachael supposed. She bowed her head, trying not to look at the pale corpse of her best friend. She knew she should leave, yet her legs didn’t seem to want to work. Plus, she knew, if she abandoned them now and later found Aaron callously buried her in the woods, she didn’t think she could ever forgive him or herself.

  Ana Sofia stared up at Aaron raptly. Her mouth grew larger and larger as he spoke, until finally her lips could part no further. She blinked several times in utter silence.

  Eventually, Aaron wound down and stopped explaining. Then Ana Sofia said, “¿Soy un... Licantropo?”

  “Correcto,” said Aaron.

  “¿Y yo… yo mate a todos esos níños?”

  “Por desgracia, sí.”

  Ana Sofia quickly drew in a breath. She clutched at the jacket covering her small body and began to shake terribly.

  “¿Me voy a morir?”

  “No,” Nathan said loudly. Passionately. He clutched at his friend, pulling her close. “No, you can’t. This is all my fault. I won’t let you die!”

  “Nor will I,” Aaron said steadily. He chucked the girl under the chin, forcing her to look at him. “Absolutomente no. Te enseñ aré cómo sobre vivir pero hay que haler eyactamente lo que te dicen, o puedes carer en esos momentos oscuros de nuevo. ¿Entiendes?”

  Ana Sofia nodded quickly.

  “Excelente!” Aaron turned a sharp look toward his brother. Even from where she knelt, Rachael saw the warning vividly. This didn’t stop here, the consequences would be dire, and he was utterly enraged. Nathan shrank back a little, but stubbornly set his jaw.

  “I’ll help,” he insisted. “I can help take care of her. She won’t have any more fades, just like you said.”

  “Arguably, you have done more than enough,” censured Aaron. He dusted off his knees, gesturing back toward the house. “Take her home. Keep her there.”

  Nathan didn’t bicker. He helped Ana Sofia to her feet, ensuring she stayed modestly covered. Before they left he took the little girl’s hand and grinned at her. She smiled back, and Rachael tried not to wince at the blood streaks in her teeth.

  They walked a few steps before Nathan stopped. He gripped Ana Sofia’s hand tight, pulling her back when she tried to keep going. Then, slowly, he turned to look at Rachael. His black eyes were flooded with shame.

  “I’m sorry about your friend, Miss Rachael,” he said.

  Rachael just nodded stiffly. She didn’t trust herself to speak without screaming.

  And then, once they trudged off, it was just her, Aaron, and Vera’s cooling body. Rachael remained awkwardly kneeling, trying not to look at either Aaron or her dead friend.

  But Aaron didn’t give her a choice. He stopped before her and grabbed her by the arms. Firmly but cautiously he pulled her to her feet, his hands clasped around her shoulders. “Rachael,” he said sternly. “Look at me.”

  She shook her head.

  Aaron shook her slightly, his voice dropping an octave. “Look at me,” he repeated. When she grudgingly obeyed, he held her gaze intently. “I have to deal with this. Something must be done with her body.”

  Rachael’s knees went weak. “No,” she said. When he sighed, she grabbed his arms. “Aaron, please. She
deserves better than being buried here in the woods. Her family loved her, she had so many friends. Vera... Vera is...”

  And with that she lost control. Rachael hadn’t cried so hard since her mother’s illness years before. Her body jerked with each sob. In spite of her wailing, Aaron pulled her close. She took his offer and buried her face into his chest.

  Only when she began to calm did he speak again. “I cannot let her be found,” he murmured. “It may be my pack’s doing, but I still must put them first. You know that.”

  “But—”

  “I cannot,” he said firmly. “Ana Sofia’s DNA is all over the bite mark. She is a missing person. Surely the police have it. This will quickly turn bad if that is found, particularly under such a suspect death.”

  “No,” Rachael wheezed. “There has to be a way to give her back to her family.”

  Aaron stilled.

  Sensing his reluctance, Rachael pulled away without letting go. She tightened her grip on his arms, which she dimly realized must have felt pathetically weak to him. “What?” she demanded. “You have an idea. If it’ll get her back to her family, we have to do it.”

  His mouth twisted in distaste. “I do,” he admitted. “But you will not like it.”

  “It’s not about me,” she said stubbornly. “And it’s not about your pack. Sometimes it’s just about what’s right. Out of all of us, Vera was the last one to deserve this.”

  With a reluctant nod, Aaron disentangled himself from her. He stepped back and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Turn around,” he ordered.

  Rachael couldn’t summon up the energy to be embarrassed. She complied.

  A few soft sounds of clothing being removed touched her ears. A stick crackled as he moved. And then the sound of his body crunching and grinding set her teeth on edge. Rachael clenched her eyes shut.

  Within a minute it the sounds stopped. She knew better than to turn, but Rachael gave in to curiosity and glanced over her shoulder.

  A large, sleek black wolf approached Vera’s body. It sniffed around the bite mark on her arm. Then, with sickening care, the wolf bit down on her wound and yanked. Rachael blanched and spun away. It was necessary, she told herself. And by his logic, she completely understood. In doing this, the DNA would mix, and it would all become confusing. Very few would leap to the conclusion that lycans existed from two human saliva mixtures on what was clearly an animal bite. It would look like a strange, sloppy cover-up.

  But it still made her ill.

  Rachael didn’t realize she was holding her breath until a nudge to the back of her knee startled it out of her. She spun to find Aaron still in wolf form, looking up at her. A little blood remained on his muzzle.

  With a quaky breath, Rachael said, “Now what?”

  The wolf tilted his head toward his clothes. She blinked, and then moved to pick them up. Carefully she folded them and draped them over his back, with the exception of his shoes. She held them in one hand, eyeing him questioningly. The wolf opened its jaws, as though indicating she should place the heels in its mouth.

  Rachael started to, but then drew back and shook her head. “No,” she murmured. “I’ll carry them.”

  The wolf gave her a stern look. To her surprise, it didn’t make a fuss. It simply turned and began to walk back toward the house. With a substantially heavier heart, Rachael fell into step behind it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A month passed before Aaron could get Nathan’s side of the story. In part it was for lack of time, as the most important matter was training Ana Sofia from the ground up. Due to Nathan’s negligence, Ana Sofia came equipped with a deep fear of the dark and other humans. Aaron had a lot to work with.

  Over the first few weeks, Nathan confessed little by little how Ana Sofia had come to be a lycan. He’d heard about her story in school, and quickly located the one girl who couldn’t speak English. Thanks to spending several years in Mexico just a couple decades ago, Nathan had been fluent enough to converse with her in her native tongue.

  It was clear, Nathan argued, that Ana Sofia fit the profile. Her parents were dead, she had nobody but him to speak to at school, and her adoptive family was distant. They’d spoken mostly in English, leaving the six year-old even more lost and confused.

  So Nathan had stepped in. Befriended her, as Holden had befriended Rachael. Then one day he coaxed her into skipping class, lured her down to Douglas Park, and infected her.

  But, he explained, he knew Aaron would be furious. So he’d hidden Ana Sofia in the massive sequoia, where the knot at the bottom could easily fit the both of them on a rainy day. It hadn’t been easy. Only Ana Sofia’s terror had kept her in the same spot, and her reliance on Nathan to make it through her transition fostered a deep dependence on him.

  It showed when she tried to interact with the others in the pack. She rarely left Nathan’s side, and he translated for her frequently until Aaron could no longer tolerate it. He began to force them to spend time apart. It was, he explained to her, so she could one day become strong and independent. She had to be if she wanted to protect Nathan, as she was now his closest companion.

  Ana Sofia took him seriously. And in time Aaron could see another reason Nathan had chosen her—at her core, she was a little ball of determination.

  With her gradual independence came a slow understanding of some English. It would benefit her, Aaron said, but she had to be careful never to forget her roots. Where she came from would always be a part of her. She must never forget that she was once human.

  It was not easy, nor was it fun. Initially, Ana Sofia was terrified of Aaron. He spared her no pain, just as he hadn’t with Jackson. When she acted out, he raised his voice. If she bit, he slammed her to the ground until she submitted. None of it was personal. She just had to respect him as the alpha.

  But as she grew to understand how the pack worked, Ana Sofia also started to open up. She’d been pleasantly surprised when Nathan chose her as his friend in school, especially since he was several grades above her. The first time Aaron saw true delight in her eyes was when he explained that one day, due to their slow aging process, she might be capable of joining the same classes as her friend. It would entirely depend on how youthful Nathan remained and how maturely Ana Sofia could present herself in the future.

  At first, she once blurted out one day while coloring, she was absolutely terrified. The bite had hurt, and she’d thought Nathan was going to kill her. Then she fell violently ill with a terrible fever. Holding down liquids was a pipe dream for days.

  But gradually she got better. And once she could eat, Nathan brought her a bunny. She’d been so ravenous that she’d pounced without a thought, and then afterward she’d cried. Rabbits were her favorite animal.

  So Nathan stopped bringing them to her. She fed off birds for a while and berries when they could be found. In time her appetite grew, and she began to better stomach wildlife. Her favorite meat now, she proclaimed, was deer.

  Aaron considered her of refined palate from that day forward.

  Winter gusted by uneventfully. With the truth now out, Jackson had more freedom. He bought an old junker car for cheap and began using the garage as a repair shop in his spare time. Aaron didn’t mind, so long as the end result was a car that ran, and so long as Jackson didn’t shirk his duties.

  Holden never once stopped by. That suited Aaron more than fine.

  On the other hand, Rachael was constantly over. For the most part, Aaron stayed out of her way. He was polite, greeted her when she entered, but otherwise left her to spend time with her brother. Of course, he couldn’t help but overhear that she was not doing as well in classes. More than once he had to bite his tongue on the subject. She was not his pack; it was not his place to interfere.

  Plus, it was clearly a side effect of her grieving the loss of her friend.

  Losing Vera seemed to set Rachael back to square one. Her grades dropped and she stopped taking dutiful care of her father. Once, as he stepped outside for a smo
ke just out of line of sight from the garage, he overheard her explaining to Jackson that their father had started drinking. First it was a six pack per week, then twice per week, and then per day. He was never violent, she assured Jackie, but his mental absence was never more apparent.

  Honestly, Aaron wasn’t certain he could take the blame for that. It largely seemed to be the longstanding side effect of losing his wife to heart failure complicated by her illness.

  Rachael threw herself into her visits; helping Jackson, making dinner for the kids, even cleaning once in a while. It made Aaron uncomfortable, but when he attempted to distract her she firmly turned him down.

  Notably, she avoided Ana Sofia in the beginning. She mostly spoke to Nathan, likely because he spoke her language better. But it was clear it bothered Ana Sofia, and eventually the little girl made it known.

  Rachael was cooking macaroni and cheese one afternoon when Ana Sofia sidled up to her. She politely tapped Rachael on the arm, and Rachael glanced down at her in surprise. She glanced around nervously, not finding Nathan, and then said, “Yes, sweetie?”

  Then, in halting English, Ana Sofia said, “I am sorry I hurt your friend. I... I hope you don’t hate me. I never wanted her to die.”

  Rachael stood at the stove, stunned into silence. Then in one sweeping motion she knelt to the floor and drew Ana Sofia tight into her arms.

  “No,” she whispered to the girl. “Of course I don’t hate you. You didn’t kill her. It’s not your fault.” Ana Sofia buried her face into Rachael’s shoulder, limp with relief.

  Aaron quietly left the house so the girls could bond.

  Things got a little better by spring. Rachael spent more time on homework in the dining room. She still dropped by frequently, but began to go home earlier and focus on her classes. Before she left she began to make small talk if she saw Aaron. She would graduate, she once assured him. Her GPA wouldn’t get her on any Dean’s lists, but she would not flunk out.

  She was better, but not entirely well. Her grey eyes seemed to hold a permanent sadness these days.

  One damp Saturday morning, the doorbell rang. Aaron strode to the front door and opened it, mildly surprised to find the girl standing on the front porch.