“I need a favor from you.”
“A favor? As in you owing me?”
Growling, “yes. I would…owe you one.”
“Hmmmm…. I have a beautiful woman already with a son that will carry on my legacy…I’m rich so I have no need for your petty little coin checks from the school.”
This is how it is with Bellamy, and I could either play the childish games. Going back and forth with him or get straight to the point and end up digging myself in a hole I can’t get out of.
“I’m sure I’ll think of something. How can I help you?”
“I plan on announcing your sister as my mate when I become Alpha.”
“My sister as…your mate? You realize she’s neither wolf nor were…She’s more human than not.”
“I need you to gather your family or what’s left of them so they can be there to witness history being made. No more rumors, no more hiding, no more fairytales about Gaia this and werewolves that…We’re not doing that anymore. I’m taking her hand as Maggie Grey.”
“No more fairytales…hmmm…How do you plan on explaining to the so-called moon princess that she was married off to the big bad wolf king without her consent?”
Chapter Fifteen
Himora Clarke
“You think this is it?” Trevor asked as we drove down the broken crumbling road. The houses were separated by long stretches of dried field grass with powerlines twisting about every few yards. Old, abandoned cars were parked on the side when Trevor ducked his head from the left to the right, looking at each home. “This shit is country as fuck…I thought Georgia was bad, but Mississippi might take the cake. Shiaat.”
He draped his arm out the window as he tapped the side of his door while driving. The windows were rolled down as my orange hair blew back against my face. After everything that has happened with Cynthia Norwood and her mother Poette, things were finally starting to take shape. Ms. Davis was no longer speaking or refusing to speak. Ms. Norwood finally opened up about the contacts and others like herself in the area, including her older sister, Raven Holmes who she’s only spoken to on the phone a handful of times. Raven wanted nothing to do with her mother, very much the same as Trevor. She lived a quiet life with her children in the rural part of Mississippi and kept her distance from anything involving the First Family.
“It says we are 1.7 miles away from our destination.” I read from the GPS on my phone. Trevor cut his eyes at me before motioning towards the never-ending road ahead of us, passing nothing but house and fields. Earlier, we drove through a small downtown that looked abandoned with windows busted and apeculiar man pushing a shopping cart with his feet dragging. His skin looked like oil the way the sweat bubbled and drenched his face. Just by the look of him, I could tell he was more than human but unfortunately, life hadn’t been too kind to him in both above and below.
“I haven’t seen one regular human since we’ve entered this town.” Trevor dragged his hand down his face before leaning his arm out the window again. “You noticed that? Not a single human. I can even smell the blood in the air.” He stuck his nose out the window with a loud dramatic sniff before shaking his head. “It just smells like flesh out here.”
“Hunting grounds.”
Trevor shook his head in disgust, as if he wasn’t the very thing he was smelling in the air. The truck slowed when we came across an abandoned railroad track covered in weeds and tall grass, and as we crossed over it, I could see the small white house in the distance. It sat back, away from the main road with a few cars parked in the grass, and a small white shed in the back.
“I think this is it,” Trevor said as he slowed the rented truck down. The road became rockier as the dirt soon turned into gravel. I sat up and adjusted my frames as we crept slowly up towards the mailbox and looked out my window at the home. A porch, screen door that was detached from the main, a bunch of shoes gathered on the side, and a small brown cat laid out in the heat to bathe in the sun.
Looking down at the address Ms. Norwood gave me, I gave myself a firm nod as Trevor slowly turned into the driveway. He didn’t show any signs of being nervous about meeting his twin sister, not especially after familiarizing himself with hisyoungest sister Cynthia, but I still planned on doing all the talking. It was better that way, so we don’t waste any time.
“This place looks like hell on earth.” Trevor slammed the door shut with his eyes squeezing tight against the bright sun. He looked up at the sky before irritably looking back at me. “You’re not hot in that fucking turtleneck, Himora?”
“No.”
I stepped out, tugged at the collar of the black turtleneck, adjusted my glasses and tucked my hair behind my ears to expose my physical fae trait. It was better to show that side than for most to find out my true nature. The creaking noise of the door went off as I watched a little boy run out and rush down the wooden steps with denim shorts, bare chest, and feet. He took one look at us, eyes widened before hurrying back into the house.
“MAMA?!” He shouted as the door slammed shut behind him. I looked back at Trevor realizing he was tucking his gun behind the waist of his black slacks.
“Is that absolutely necessary?" I asked. Trevor cut me one look that usually meant there was nothing to discuss. A rare moment in someone who usually felt the need to talk during the quietest of times. The screen door flapped open, slapping against the house as a heavy-set woman stepped out with her hand on her hip and a red bonnet on her head. She wore a floral print top with shorts, capri jeans and house slippers flattened from the wear. She glowered at us with suspicion just as another woman who looked around the same age as her, stepped outside. They both looked like the official guards of the home, but it was merely women protecting their children that peeked from behind and between their legs.
“You better speak before I do,” Trevor warned under his breath.
“This is private property!” One of the women called out. “Who y'all is?!”
“We are looking for Raven Holmes,” I said. Neither of their faces gave it away but I could see their demeanor in their bodies shift ever so slightly at the mention of the name.
“Who is WE?!”
“Do she live here or not?!” Trevor barked back annoyed. The heat was starting to get to him.
