Deceived By the Others (9 page)

“I don’t care who the hell it was,” Mr. Cassidy said, wiping one of his hands off on a rag as he stepped out of the cabin. “Somebody’s paying for that mess.”

“We’ll figure out who it was and make them pay for it,” Nick put in, watching Chaz with concern. I didn’t think he’d shift, but it was so close to the full moon, and his temper was already shot, so there was a chance he might.

A few other people seemed to be having the same thought, watching him closely, lending a supportive hand or a calming word here and there. Even Paula and the guy she was talking with had quieted down, presumably because they’d figured out that the last thing Chaz needed was more stress and discord in his space. After a little while, he took a deep breath and relaxed somewhat, closing his eyes. It was good to see the tension visibly easing from his shoulders.

“All right. Mr. Cassidy,” Chaz finally said, turning to the man, “I’m sorry for the mess. I don’t know who is responsible, but we’ll find them.”

“Damned right, you will. George and I will help. In the meantime, you and the young lady can stay in cabin twenty-seven. It’s the last one on the lot, and the only one that isn’t occupied right now. Sorry, son, but I’ll need a second deposit on it. You understand.”

Chaz gritted his teeth, but nodded assent.

“Good. George, can you clean up this mess and see about fixing that door? The rest of you, go on inside. You two, come with me, and I’ll get the paperwork and keys from up front.”

Chaz and I followed Mr. Cassidy, listening to him harrumph and curse every now and again under his breath. The other Weres headed off to their own cabins or trailed along as we headed up to the lodge. Chaz’s grip on my hand was a little tight, but I didn’t think now would be a good time to start complaining.

Before we reached the doors, Mr. Cassidy gestured for us to halt, waiting for the others to go in before speaking. The only thing breaking the silence was the whisper of leaves and muted chirp of a cricket somewhere nearby.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of trouble you kids brought with you from the city, but I don’t want it. I’d be more understanding if it were an accident, someone shifting outside the lunar cycle and not making it outside in time. But if this happens again, I want the whole lot of you out of here. I don’t let troublemakers into my range. You get me, son?”

Chaz nodded solemnly, looking drawn and troubled. “Yes, Mr. Cassidy, I understand.”

“Good,” he said. “I may not look like much, but I’m still alpha enough to kick somebody’s ass, and it
will
be kicked as soon as I find out who did this.”

That I could believe.

“As for you, missy—”

I started when he turned to me, giving him my wide-eyed attention.

“I don’t want to see innocent blood spilled on my turf either. I’d appreciate it if you’d limit yourself to the lodge or your cabin after sunset while you’re here.”

I frowned, pulling my hand out of Chaz’s so I could fold my arms. “I came out here to see the pack. I’ve been around when they’ve shifted before.”

“That may be, but it’s not just your safety on the line. I’ve got a reputation to uphold, and that isn’t going to happen if things get rowdy and you end up getting bit or scratched in a scuffle.”

“That’s not fair! Chaz can protect me. He’s done it before. Right?” I looked at him, pleading for assistance. He nodded a bit grudgingly, not meeting my eyes, just enough to show Mr. Cassidy I was telling the truth. “There, see?”

“I don’t think you understand the danger you’re in. Someone went Were outside the lunar cycle. Yes, it’s close, but it takes some powerful emotions to force that out of a person. Judging by the state of that cabin, somebody’s a mite pissed at you or your alpha here. I’m not risking my business just so you can appease your curiosity. You get me?”

Some of my anger deflated. “Yeah, I get you.”

“So you’ll stay inside, then?” he prodded, frowning at me.

I threw one last, pleading glance at Chaz. No help from that quarter. With a deeply resigned sigh, I nodded, thinking for the umpteenth time of throttling whoever had trashed that cabin.

“Good,” Mr. Cassidy said, turning back to the doors and heading inside. “You made the right choice, m’girl. We’ll keep you safe.”

My mood as black as the shadowed forest surrounding this little valley, I trailed in the wake of Chaz and Mr. Cassidy. Somebody was really going to pay for ruining my vacation like this.

Soon.

Chapter 8

The next day, I woke up a little stiff and very cold. The fire had long since burned down to ashes. Chaz wasn’t in bed with me. I didn’t have my cell, so I had no idea what time it was, but I was guessing probably midmorning by the amount of sun peeking through the drab tan curtains of our new cabin.

I burrowed under the covers and groaned as I thought about facing the day. More unwanted mystery and avoiding unknown monsters out to make my life miserable did not sound like a good time. Neither did finding out how much further the “rumors” about my being a “leech’s pet” had spread.

Soon enough, hunger and a desire to find out what the heck had happened to Chaz were enough of a goad to get me to leave the bed. I didn’t bother to shower. Instead, I grabbed a T-shirt and jeans out of the lone bag to survive our little “visit” yesterday, the bag that held the scant remains of my wardrobe. I got dressed, slipped on my shoes and track jacket, and headed outside, shading my eyes with a hand as I scanned the surroundings.

The sun was well over the horizon, the sky a flawless blue, not a single cloud to hint at rain or fog. Birds chirped merrily in the underbrush, and the air smelled clean and fresh. It was warmer than yesterday, but the grass and dirt paths were still damp and a bit muddy. If I still went out for a walk in the woods with Nick and Sean, I’d have to wear my hiking boots instead of sneakers. Fortunately, they’d survived the rampage.

I took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp mountain air as I walked the longer trail up to the lodge. A couple sharing a cup of coffee on the step in front of their cabin waved and smiled as I passed. I could tell by the amount of hair visible on their arms and the backs of their hands, as well as the thick stubble on the guy’s face, that they were Weres. Maybe word about my ties to Royce hadn’t spread to the entire pack after all. I wasn’t sure who else was staying here, but I had seen people who weren’t part of the pack in the dining hall. It was good to know that some of the other people here didn’t have a problem with the Sunstrikers, because that would’ve made the rest of this trip positively intolerable.

Feeling a little better, I continued with more of a spring in my step. There were some people making a ruckus in the game room, but the dining hall was practically deserted. Mrs. Cassidy was clearing away a few dishes from a table, but she gave me a friendly smile and a nod when she saw me take a seat by one of the windows.

I wondered where everybody was. There was a skinny, geeky-looking guy munching on some toast as he read a paperback off by himself in the corner. Not part of the Sunstrikers, though I’d seen him in here with a couple other guys yesterday. There was another stranger reading a newspaper at the far end of the room. George and Daisy the bartender were sitting together, heads close, and I could see the light touches to each other’s hands and gentle smiles they were giving each other. They made an incongruous couple, what with his bulk and her diminutive stature, but they seemed happy. I couldn’t tell if the girl was human, but I was sure George was Were of some flavor or another. Judging by his size and the ponderous way he moved, somehow I didn’t think it was wolf. No, it was something else. Something bigger. Bear, maybe.

Mrs. Cassidy came by a few minutes later, a mug and coffee pot in hand. “Your young man has his hands full with that poor boy who’s turning for the first time this month. He said you might come by looking for him.”

I lifted a brow, cradling my hands around the mug for the warmth as she poured coffee for me. “Oh, is that where he is? All right.”

“Mmhm. In the meantime, what can I get you? We’ve got some fresh-made blueberry pancakes.”

“That sounds great, thanks.”

“Okay, I’ll have that out to you in a jiffy. Don’t you worry about your boy, now. He’ll be along once the new blood’s settled down a bit.”

I hadn’t been particularly worried, but her repeated reassurance made me wonder if I should be. At my absent nod, she whisked off, deftly weaving between the tables to refill the coffee mugs for George and his girl, then for the geek in the corner. Everything was quiet except for the muted whispers of the lovers, and as I tasted the coffee, bitter from sitting on the burner too long, I pondered what to do about all the problems that had cropped up.

Someone was behind it all. Someone was whispering bad things in the ears of the pack, stirring them up, pissing them off. Somebody didn’t want me here or was angry at Chaz, and was willing to do some bad things to drive us away. Why?

As convenient as it would be to blame Alec Royce, I didn’t think my being bound by blood to him for a whopping twelve days was enough to piss off the Sunstrikers. They knew I had a connection to him after that deal with the
Dominari
Focus, and that I had saved the vamp as well as Were packs in New York City from enslavement by a crazy sorcerer. Shouldn’t that be enough to balance out the ugliness of being bound for a few measly days?

Granted, I’d never fully work him out of my system after what had happened. You could say the same of Max Carlyle. If the guy was in close enough proximity, he could call me back to his side. I didn’t think Royce would tolerate Max’s coming back to New York for any reason, and if the police caught wind of his return, his butt would fry in the sun in no time. He’d tried to pin the mass murders he’d committed on Royce, and while it had been proven conclusively that Max was the one responsible, it had still tarnished Royce’s relatively good name. There were questions of his involvement and, now and again, mine as well. Could it be that someone was upset about the murders and was trying to turn everyone against me?

No. No, the “flavor” of the pranks of the last few days seemed too personal. It wasn’t just an attempt to turn Others against me for something as nebulous as my possible involvement in the massacres of a month ago. Actually, it probably wasn’t even because I had some kind of connection to Royce. Whatever it might be, it had something to do with my relationship with Chaz.

You don’t burn someone’s clothes and shoes unless you’ve got a special beef. The rumors and handwritten notes didn’t seem like the handiwork of the same person. You don’t leap from weird, somewhat childish notes to violence on this scale without some serious provocation, and I wasn’t sure that Chaz or I could’ve managed to piss somebody off this badly in so short a period. For that matter, was it me or Chaz they were targeting? Both? Did that mean that the same person was mad at us for different reasons, or that two different people were simultaneously taking out their frustrations on one or both of us?

I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair, concentrating on piecing together what was going on with the clues I had. Sara would be laughing her ass off at me right now. Sitting around drinking coffee, hiding inside when I should be hunting down the root of the problem and confronting it. Whatever. I’d take care of the problem on my own time. Aside from which, I doubted whoever it was would be raising his or her hand and conveniently saying, “Oh yes, that was me!” when I started asking around to scare up some clues.

“Here you go, sweetie. You just call me over if you need anything else.”

I cracked an eye open as Mrs. Cassidy set the plate down. Just looking at the mile-high stack of blueberry pancakes dripping with butter was enough to give me heart palpitations.

“Thank you,” I said with a grateful smile, tugging the cloth napkin out from under my silverware and putting it across my lap. She settled a dish with extra butter and a trencher of warm syrup down in front of me, giving me a light, friendly pat on the shoulder. I dug in, giving a blissful moan of pleasure at the first bite. The soft, fluffy pancakes were fantastic, practically melting on my tongue.

I stuffed myself, taking some time about it after the first few hurried bites. After all, I didn’t have anywhere to be today, and I wasn’t going to go traipsing around in the woods by myself. If I was going to go hiking later, it would be with Nick and Sean, but I had the feeling they were most likely busy helping Chaz deal with Ethan if the new werewolf was having a rough time with the change.

I downed the last of my coffee and rose, stretching languorously as I considered what to do. Maybe the geek didn’t have such a bad idea with that paperback. I thought I might have stuffed some cheesy romance novel in my remaining duffel before I left, just in case of emergencies—like now. Still, I didn’t feel like reading; I wanted to do something. Hanging around the garden, or maybe catching some sun by the creek should be safe enough.

The man with the newspaper folded the pages down, revealing his features. His sharp hazel eyes were locked on me, watching my every move, and I inwardly cursed my lack of attentiveness.

Jim Pradiz was getting up to join me. I thought about making a run for it, but there wasn’t anywhere for me to go unless I wanted to stay locked in my cabin for the rest of the trip.

He gave me a blindingly white smile, extending his hand as he approached. “Ms. Waynest, good to see you again.”