“I want to rip Travis apart for causing this,” I growled, my fingernails digging into Caeden’s skin.
“Shhh, my she-wolf,” he whispered.
“What? You don’t feel the same way?” I questioned, gazing up at him with wide eyes.
“Oh, I do,” his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched, “I plan on avenging the deaths of everyone in my pack. I can promise you, Travis will experience tenfold what he dished out. He won’t know what’s hit him.”
Two.
I stood in the kitchen, half asleep, and jumped when the orange juice I was pouring into a glass sloshed on my feet.
I jumped back, blinking blearily at the mess I had made. Orange juice pooled on the counter, dripping off the edge onto the floor. The tops of my feet were covered with the sticky substance and I knew if I went upstairs to wash my feet, I’d track through the house. So, I jumped up on the opposite counter and swung my feet into the stainless steel sink. I turned the water on warm and began to scrub the stickiness from my feet.
“Good—what the—?” Nolan stopped in the doorway of the kitchen looking at me like I’d grown three heads. “Is your shower broken or something? ‘Cause you do know you’re a little too big to bathe in the sink.”
“I spilled orange juice everywhere,” I explained with a sweep of my hand.
His eyes landed on the mess and he chucked. He crossed his arms over his muscular chest and eyed me. “And how does a shifter make a mess like that?”
“Tired,” I grumbled.
He tilted his head, indicating that I needed to explain further. “Nightmares,” I mumbled under my breath. Nolan was the last person I wanted to talk to about this. I didn’t know him like Caeden did.
“Oh,” he nodded. “I’ve been there.”
“You have?” My head shot up.
“Mhmm,” he nodded, striding further into the kitchen. He grabbed a rag and began to mop up the mess. He also took the time to toss a cloth at me to dry my feet.
“Mhmm? Is that all I get?”
“Life sucks and shit happens,” he growled with his back to me. “Sometimes we can’t escape the residual effects, no matter how far we might run.”
I knew I wouldn’t get anymore out of him after that. Nolan never talked about why he left. I knew it bugged Caeden, but since he was scared of Nolan running off again, he didn’t push the topic.
“Thanks for helping me clean up,” I smiled at him as I hopped off the counter.
“It’s not a problem.”
Before either of us could say anything, we heard Caeden call our names.
Nolan and I exchanged a look and hurried to Caeden’s office.
“What is it?” Nolan asked.
“Has something happened?” I chimed in as my heart raced a mile a minute in my chest.
Caeden sat in the leather chair behind the desk with his head in his hands. “Sit.” He commanded.
I had never seen Caeden sound so…official.
“What’s going on?” I asked, feeling like I had been called into the principal’s office.
He lowered his hands from his face and sighed. “The elders can’t be trusted.”
“But Gram—”
“Not even, Gram,” he whispered. “Do I think she’s the mole? Hell no. But she’s around the elders too much to be trusted. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”
I was shocked. Not trust Gram? But she was my grandma!
“I think you’re being ridiculous,” I argued. “Gram would never betray the pack! If the other elders are a part of this, Gram must not know!” I knew there was no way Gram would betray us like that.
“I know that, Soph,” Caeden’s blue eyes rooted me to the spot. “But the less she knows of what we plan, the safer it is for her. If there is indeed a breach in the elders, like I believe there to be, then they’ll pump her for information. I’m trying to protect her.”
“Oh.” I sat back, soaking in his words. He’d really thought this through.
“The only people we can trust, is each other,” he pointed to the three of us, “Bentley, Chris, Bryce, Charlotte and our parents. I have to say though,” Caeden looked at me sadly, “we need to be careful what we say to our parents, just in case it gets back to Gram or one of the other elders.”
“This is a mess,” I groaned, lowering my head into my hands. “I feel like we can’t trust anybody.”
“That’s kind of the approach I’m going with,” Caeden rubbed his stubbled jaw. “I know there will be casualties, but I want to keep them to a minimum. The less everyone except for the three of us knows the better.” His eyes were tired and his shoulders sagged in defeat. Losing Logan, and other pack members, had taken a toll on him.