Page 148 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

Another whistle sound peels out, and my body reacts before I think, straightening. I hear the whistle again and again in my memories. Not in memories with him, but memories with the pack. People passing us on the street, on the sidewalk, the neighbour. He had people watching us. The only time the whistles were silent was when we were in the forest.

He was always there. Always watching.

I never got away.

The rage burns deeper and more intensely. Five years ago, when I crawled out of the hole he left me to die in, I was afraid to leave, but I was more afraid of what I was going to become if I stayed. I didn’t want to be a monster.

Movement in the shadows is the first sign. They come like wraiths, trained, dangerous, armed. The Nightingales step out, each garbed in black with a bird skeleton over their faces.

That’s the big, giant secret of Father. He isn’t alone.

He has all of us.

His Nightingales.

When one fails or dies, we are replaced with another. We are his disposable army.

My eyes trace over all of them. I can’t tell who they are, but I know their names. Except there’s one missing.

Korax, the only other who is my age, is missing.

He’s violent and more adept at vanishing. It gives me hope that Father couldn’t find him.

Egret.

Wren.

Sparrow.

Pigeon.

Korax.

And me, and Robin.

Seven birds.

Except, he never replaced Robin. I never understood that. All of us range in ages, but Pigeon is the youngest.

He went and took her back from the home I gave her. How fucking dare he?

“You disgust me,” I snarl at him.

He turns and really looks at me. “Who am I talking with now? This switching is getting on my nerves, but judging by the raging bitch that is out, I’m going with the trio of troublemakers, Kestrel, Raptor, or Raven. So, which is it?”

I lift my chin. “Why does it matter?”

He shrugs. “Curious. I don’t really care, but it’s fascinating how fast and almost invisible the change is. One has to really know you to see it. Does it please you to know that I know you so intimately, my bird?”

Again, I shrug, but there’s two more masked figures. I know one of them instantly. Brian, his offsider who is a beta but wishes he were an alpha. He only gets a half mask, one that covers his jaw and mouth. That piece of shit made my life hell for so freaking long. Tonight, he’s going to die if nothing else.

I was wondering where he was.

The other figure is female and small but fully grown. I don’t recognise her at all, and she is a surprise that I’m not happy about.

“Ah, my children are all here. Well, almost, but I will deal with the death bird when I find him. How dare he defy me?”

I snarl at him, but he moves suddenly and grips my hair, tossing me to the ground in front of him. I land hard and roll to my feet, lashing out as he comes in with a punch.