A burst of anger sparked at the implication, and I marched toward him to slide my bloody hands down the back of his coat. “I liked it better when you weren’t here.”
He gave a low rumble, half growl, half chuckle. “Yeah. Me too.”
“Everything you told me, Archer…” I said, pointedly ignoring Grady.
"It was the truth,” Archer said. “Most of our pack was murdered over our turf in the Crimson Forest. Grady and I are what's left, and Sasha. Our alpha is missing, has been for years.” He paused for a moment. “I think he's dead."
"And I think heisn't,” Grady yelled, and Archer hissed in pain right after like Grady had taped him up a little too violently.
The tension in the room tightened, just as thick and smothering as the silence.
Had that been where Grady had gone, then? To search for their—I swallowed, barely able to entertain the idea—alpha?
Grady huffed, and I imagined I could feel the edges of teeth in the sound. “Our pack was close, real close, and I know I would feel it in my gut if he was dead."
"So this…this pack that kicked you out,” I said, feeling like I was stepping on shaky ground. “Would they ever come to finish the job?"
"I doubt it," Archer said.
"Probably so," Grady said at the same time.
"Well.” I nodded. “That clears everything right up."
"We're not even in the Crimson Forest," Archer said. “We’re right on the edge, in the Slipjoint Forest. Neutral ground. That’s what Faust said anyway.”
Faust, as in the guy above rank from Gabriel, who we sold the poison to. Had Baba known all this? That he was dealing with wolf shifters the whole time?
“Slipjoint Forest…” I began. “Is that where you found me, Grady?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Slipjoint Forest bled right into the Crimson Forest. If I’d made it there, I’d gone a little too far north, but not much. The two forests converged around Old Man’s Den, where I still needed to go…
"Those wolves who just came here…” I said. “I think it was a distraction to get the poison. It’s gone. The bald man took it. You saw him in my bedroom yourselves.”
Which was how I’d seen him too.
A heavy sigh from Archer. "Shit."
Grady stood and limped away, and the air around him crackled with tension. “What the fuck, Archer? You’re upset the poison’s gone?”
“It belonged to Aika, asshole. It’s how her family gets fed.”
“Well, right now, the biggest deer I could find in the Slipjoint Forest is probably still feeding your family, even after a week,” Grady said. “I even delivered it to their doorstep. You’re welcome.”
I sucked in a breath. “You did? Did you see any—?”
“I didn’t stop to take in the sights,” he snapped.
I sank my eyes closed with relief. Jade would’ve found it, probably while it was still fresh, and would’ve used every part of it she could to keep her and Lee alive. Possibly my baba, too, if he’d made it. But even a deer wouldn’t last through the winter, despite all our other ready-made foods like deer jerky, dried fruits, and pickled vegetables.Maybehalf the winter, so about two and a half to three months, if they spread it thin. We really needed payment from the delivery for one last run into Margin for more supplies.
But now the bald guy had it, the very definition of my family’s survival. Gone.
“This bald guy,” Grady said. “Why does he want your poison?”
“Control, maybe.” That was the only thing that made sense to me, at least.
Archer shifted again on the couch and groaned. “So…this guy is nudging you out of that business just like the wolves kicked us out of our home. For control.”
