Gregory looked at his watch. "One-forty-five."
"They're going to meet Aiden." She turned to Gabriel. "You've got to stop them. Please. Go after them."
"Where?" he asked.
"The rocks by the river behind my house."
"Greg, get back to my place and tell Finn," Gabriel said. "See how many pack members you can find. Willem, you and Ulf see who's still at Tooley's. We'll need some strong teeth tonight. I'm calling a Judgment." The boys took off.
"Vivian, you get that kid out of there before Astrid shows up. I'll round up whoever's at your house, then I'll be right behind you in time to meet Astrid."
"No," cried Vivian. "I can't go."
Gabriel stopped in his tracks. "Why, for the Moon's sake?"
"He's frightened of me," she said. "He won't listen to me."
"You told him," Gabriel said. His tone was resigned, as if he'd already guessed.
She nodded miserably. "But only about me, no one else," she explained in a rush. Sweet Moon, she hadn't signed his death warrant, had she?
Gabriel took a deep breath. "Not good, but not the worst of our problems right now. We can't risk another body showing up in our territory, especially if there are others who know that he was meeting you. Chase him out of there if you have to."
An ache swelled in Vivian's throat. "But what if he's going there to kill me?"
"If you don't, he may be the one to die. Do you want that, Vivian? You wanted him as a mate, remember. We don't abandon our mates."
He abandoned me, she cried inside. But Gabriel was right. She owed Aiden help. His life was in danger because of her.
"Come on," she said. "We're wasting time."
They raced up the river side by side, their backs to the tardy moon, and Vivian wished she could lope on all fours, but if Aiden saw her in fur it would terrify him. When the rocks rose ahead, their paths diverged, and Gabriel sped to her house. It was then she saw two shapes, close to the ground, come coursing down the meadow. Even in moonlight she could tell that one was foxy red.
A ripple flowed through her, but she forced her limbs to stay straight, although every molecule screamed that the best way to protect Aiden was to change. The effort gave her cramps, and the sweat of panic broke on her brow. She skidded around the rocks on loose scree. There he was, crouched in the rubble.
Aiden leaped to his feet as she ran toward him, his face etched sharply in the light of the moon.
Vivian reached for him. "We've got to get out of here." He jerked out of her grasp. "Come on," she pleaded. "I can't explain now." A twitch in her back and a stab of nausea made her stagger; maybe she'd have to chase him after all.
"Don't touch me," he cried, and brought up his arms. He aimed a gun at her with both hands like a cop on TV. He would shoot, she knew by the look on his face.
"Oh, Aiden." Her words were a broken sigh.
"I've come to release you from your torment," he said.
Chapter 28
28
"I've got a silver bullet," Aiden said, and the gun trembled slightly. "I made it myself with my dad's equipment."
"Out of what, the best knives and forks?" Her derision was hollow. She remembered the silver crucifix in his room, and his father's gun collection.
He looked surprised that she had questioned him. "I made it out of stuff I had, like the necklace you threw back at me."
Blood rushed to Vivian's face; the necklace at Kelly's wasn't hers. But this was worse. He had saved his love gift to kill her with. She shivered. "Only one bullet?" she asked.
"That's for me to know." His dark eyes were glassy with fear in the moonlight.