“No? How curious.”
I was tired of this. Of him. “Tell me what I need to know.”
He spread his hands on his thighs. I thought I saw a hint of claws, but they were gone a moment later. “There’s nothing. Or rather, nothing new. On either front.”
That couldn’t be possible. “I warned you that Elijah was still out there. What her brother told me. How is it possible that a hunter of her caliber is slipping under your radar?”
He shrugged. “Maybe she’s hung up her mantle. Maybe she’s dead. Or maybe, just maybe, David King was full of shit and faced with a
ngry werewolves while bleeding to death, saying whatever he thought you wanted to hear in order to save his own life.”
“You’re missing something. Maybe Michelle’s not—are you okay?”
He was breathing heavier than he’d been just a moment before. He closed his eyes, nostrils flaring. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. If he hadn’t been a wolf, I would have thought he was ill. But since wolves didn’t get sick—not like humans did—it had to be something else. It was almost like he was losing control. But that wasn’t—
“I’m fine,” he finally said, opening his eyes. “It’s been a long trip out here to make again in so many weeks. If I thought I could handle a plane, we would have flown. But all those scents in such small place is just… it’s too much.”
I frowned. “You don’t look so—”
“There have been no reports of any hunter activity in years,” Pappas said evenly. “The old clans have either been dealt with or have died out. Honestly, we have Richard to thank for that. He killed more hunters than any wolf has in years. Regardless of what he became, he did the dirty work for us better than we ever could. He had his faults, but he proved useful, in the end.”
“Faults,” I echoed incredulously. “He murdered Thomas Bennett. He murdered Ox’s mother. He nearly killed Ox. Those aren’t faults.”
“I know it’s difficult, Gordo. And while his crimes were terrible, sometimes I don’t know that you can see the bigger picture here. You’re too close.”
“And my father? How does he fit into your bigger picture? How is he going to prove useful to you?”
“You deliberately misunderstand me.”
I growled at him, scrubbing a hand over my face. “He’s still out there.”
“We know. But whatever he’s doing, it’s in shadow. He’s a ghost, Gordo. You can’t catch what isn’t there.”
“Are you even looking for him?”
“Are you? It would seem to me that if anyone had a reason for making sure he didn’t hurt another living soul, it’d be you. What have you done to find your father?”
“I was just a kid,” I snapped at him. “When you all came and took him away. When I was promised he would never hurt anyone again. And guess what? You lied.”
“That was Osmond—”
“Fuck Osmond, and fuck you too. You should have known. About Osmond. About Richard. About my father. Because of you, people have died, good people. Thomas didn’t deserve—”
“How human of you.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Just a moment ago you said Thomas Bennett didn’t give two shits about you. And yet here you are saying he didn’t deserve the death he got. By implication, you’re saying you cared about him, even though you don’t feel it was reciprocated. It’s such a human thing to do. A born wolf sees things in terms of pack and Alpha. Of scents and the emotions associated with them. Turned wolves tend to war with themselves, remembering both what it meant to be human and what it means to be a wolf. Humans, though. They are more… complex. More fallible. Your magic doesn’t preclude you from this complexity.” He shook his head. “It’s why humans aren’t often in packs. They don’t have the understanding of what it means to be pack.”
“We do just fine, thank you.”
There was that smile again. “Oh, I know. Another oddity of the Bennett pack. Ox is… unlike anything that’s ever come before. I find myself fascinated with him. We all are. He’s the topic of many conversations.”
I took a step toward him, slowly rolling up my sleeve until the raven was exposed. I pressed two fingers against its talons and for a moment felt the sharpness of them, the heat of them burning into my skin. I took a savage satisfaction when Pappas’s eyes widened slightly. “When I was young, I sat in this room and my father carved magic into my skin. My Alpha told me I would do great things. That one day I would be his witch. Things have changed. I have new Alphas, even though I never expected to belong in a pack again. One of these Alphas also happens to be my tether.” His expression stuttered. “And from where I’m standing, it sounds like you just threatened him. I don’t take kindly to threats against my tether. Against my Alphas. Against my pack. If I wanted to, right here, right now, I could stuff you with so much silver, all they would have to do is strip your skin and they’d have a goddamn statue.”
“Careful, Gordo,” Pappas said, voice flat. “You don’t want to burn the bridge when you’re standing in the middle of it.”
The raven was agitated. “When you go back, you tell your Alpha that if anything should happen to my pack, that if I get even an inkling of a plan against them, against us, I’ll tear all of you apart, and I’ll do it with a fucking smile on my face. Are we clear?”