Julien’s injured leg hasn’t had enough time to heal yet, so there’s a hitch in the step he takes toward Doc, but the action is no less threatening.
“Take your trash and leave my territory,” says Julien, his upper lip curling in disgust as he glances at Zachariah’s body. “You have an hour.”
Doc is smart enough—or, unlike his asshole sibling, he actually has a sense of self-preservation—not to argue. He tilts his head, baring his neck to Julien, then gestures his pack members toward their former Alpha. “Load the body into the back of the car. We’ll deal with this mess when we get home.”
Julien turns his back on them as they head toward Zachariah’s body, and walks over to Dante and Brody, one arm still curled under my thighs to hold me up.
“Follow them and make sure they leave,” says Julien. “I’ll get Luke to take us home.”
The two shifters nod, then head toward one of the SUVs. They watch as Doc and the others load up Zachariah’s body and then themselves. Brody climbs into the driver’s seat, and Dante crosses in front of the vehicle to get in the passenger seat.
The SUV with Doc and the others in it pulls out first, Julien’s men following close behind. Julien watches them go silently, his shoulders slumping with exhaustion once both vehicles are out of sight. But he still doesn’t let me go. He buries his face in the juncture of my neck and shoulder, simply breathing me in.
I’m not sure how long Julien and I stand there, lost in our own little world, before someone else clears their throat.
Luke. My…notcousin steps closer. “Thank you, Alpha Matisse.”
Julien huffs out a laugh. “No worries. As much as I would have preferred to avoid a challenge altogether, killing that asshole isn’t something that will weigh on my conscience. At all.” He pauses. “Plus, I know what you did for Keir and what you were willing to do tonight.”
Julien pats my thigh and I release my legs as he gently lowers me to the ground, then tucks me into his side and slightly in front of him.
“I’m just sorry I couldn’t have done more,” says Luke, holding his hand out to me. “I know we were never close, but you’re the only family I have left, so I’m hoping we can at least be friends.”
I debate for a second before speaking. “That thing about being your only family might not entirely be true.”
His brows draw together. “What do you mean?”
I glance up at Julien, and he nods. “It seems the Anderson family—maybe even the whole pack—had a habit of kidnapping shifter kids. I was one of them.” I pause. “And so were you.”
Luke doesn’t respond, only blinks as if his brain is failing to process that information—or he doesn’t believe me.
“I don’t know all the details,” I continue. “But I met my real father yesterday and when Smith and Yang—the praetorians we met in Chicago—came by to tell us about Randall’s death, they showed us a poster that was found near Randall’s body. It was one of those ‘have you seen me’ things and the picture on it looked just like you.”
“Okay,” says Luke slowly. “And this means…what?”
I shrug. “No idea, but I don’t think Randall was your real father. Whoever killed Randall—”
“Zachariah killed Randall,” interrupts Julien. “He admitted it earlier this evening.”
For some reason, I’m not surprised.
“Zachariah then,” I say. “He knows…er…knewabout it somehow. Maybe his pack was involved in whatever was going on, too.”
Luke’s eyes widen, and his gaze falls back on me. His voice drops to a whisper. “But that would mean I’m not really Randall’s heir. If I’m not the new Alpha, then I don’t have the authority to release you.”
Julien holds a hand up, leaning closer to Luke. “Since both the cleric and Zachariah treated you as the Sweet Water pack’s Alpha, then we’ll just go with the idea that you’re Randall’sadoptedheir. The whole kidnapping mess is not something that needs to be dealt with or figured out tonight.”
Luke nods in agreement. “You’re right.”
“Now, how about giving me and Keir a ride home?” asks Julien.
“Sure. I can—”
“Hold on a minute,” stammers Everett, whom I’d completely forgotten about. Julien’s uncle charges over to where we’re standing, his chest puffed out like he’s trying to be intimidating. “Julien Matisse, I hereby challenge you for leadership of the Madison pack.”
Sixty-Six
Keir
