Chapter 174

Matt

I stocked up on clothes for Celeste, making sure to grab multiple of everything, just in case she wolfed out again. I picked up a few things for myself as well, but I didn’t need as much. While my clothes were slightly baggy, they didn’t bother me if I had a belt on. Celeste, on the other hand, was swimming in fabric.

It was one of those combat stores, run-down and off-putting from the outside. The sort of place respectable people didn’t shop. It was perfect for what I needed.

I put the clothes in my car and walked down the street, heading for a corner store at the end. Ted sent me out with a few bills and a plea for a carton of cigarettes. We weren’t supposed to leave the compound if we could help it, and Ted was getting desperate for nicotine. His boyfriend, Andrew, called it a nasty habit, but Ted didn’t seem to care.

“I need it,” he’d insisted. I was taking pity on him.

I was halfway down the road when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I reached the corner but didn’t go into the shop. Instead, I continued down the street, not glancing over my shoulder, but knowing anyway that I was being followed.

A narrow alley appeared between two stores, and I turned down it, moving into the shadows. It took a moment, but eventually, someone followed me in. It was a stupid thing for them to do, and I braced myself for a confrontation.

The minute they were close enough, I grabbed them by the collar and shoved them against the wall. Their head slammed back into the brick. “Why are you following me?” I snarled, careful to keep my wolf back in case this was just some random human.

“Please, Matt. It’s me,” the man gasped. I didn’t recognize his voice.

I shook them roughly. “Who?”

“Celeste’s father. Henry.”

I let go and stepped back with wide eyes. He stayed pressed against the wall, his expression one of equal shock. He wasn’t expecting me to attack, apparently.

“You should be more careful who you follow,” I said.

He nodded. “Apparently.”

He looked the same as when I’d last met him–disheveled and dirty. His beard hung down to his chest, untamed and scraggly. Apparently, life on the run wasn’t doing him any favors.

“Sorry about that,” I said, scratching at the back of my neck. “Can’t be too careful these days.”

“So, I’ve heard. That’s why we need to talk.”

I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to go on. I knew he was Celeste’s father, but that didn’t mean I had to trust him. With war swiftly approaching, I wasn’t willing to trust anyone. Especially not a Schreiber, even if he was excommunicated from the family. There was always a chance he’d use Celeste to find his way back in. It wasn’t a fair assessment, but I had to be cautious, nonetheless. I wasn’t willing to risk her.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the Schreibers,” he said. “They think they’re sly, but the new generation lacks some of the…finesse that the older one had.”

“Yours, you mean?”

“Not to toot my own horn, but pretty much. My dad always has his favorites. I had my time in the spotlight for a while, now it’s Freddy Schreiber. That little shit gets up to a lot, but recently, he’s been circling a very important target.”

I braced myself.

“They’re after my daughter, and I can’t let them lay their hands on her.”

I’d heard of Freddy, but never met him face-to-face. He was notorious for his cruelty, which was likely why he did so well as a Schreiber.

“We never used to prize ourselves on how ruthless we were,” Henry went on as if he’d read my thoughts. “It was about being the most effective, not the cruellest. The new generation relies on their cruelty, and I think my father delights in that. He always thought me, and my brothers, were too soft, even though we were more skilled.”

“These are your kids we’re talking about here.”

“I must exclude Jack,” he said. “He’s always been more temperate than some of his cousins. Although, he’s also the reason I’m here.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed and turned his head to watch the street. A few cars passed on the road, but few people were out walking around. It wasn’t a good part of town, precisely why I chose it. I didn’t want to run into anyone I knew, and people from his school weren’t likely to stray this far south. I didn’t have to worry as much, being a wolf. I could handle myself.

“He’s been in contact with Freddy,” he said.

“Huh?”

“Freddy knows where Celeste is. The whole family does, thanks to Jack. I don’t know if they have something on him, or what, but he’s been feeding them information.”

I frowned, my mind reeling. Jack wouldn’t do that. He hated us, sure, but he wouldn’t give up his sister.

“No,” I said. “I know Jack is a Schreiber, but I don’t think he’d give her up.”

“I’m not saying he had a choice in the matter,” Henry went on, “but I know it was him.”

“How do you know?”

“One of my skills when I was younger was working with technology. I’ve kept up that skill as time has gone on. It’s how I stay ahead of the Schreibers. I developed their firewalls, and I know how to get into their system.”

“So?”

“They communicate in code, but I know how to decipher it. Freddy has been communicating with the old man, sending updates from the road. Again, they’re coded, and it took me some time to decipher them, but one word stood out to me the right way.”

I braced myself.

“Protea. It’s the code name they always used for the Maiden, back when it was Celeste’s mother.”

“Alright, so what?”

“Freddy’s been getting his information from Jack. He’s been updating him for months. Not only where you guys were bunking, but any updates on Celeste as well. He has to give her over to them.”

I swore. “You’re sure?”

He reached into his pocket and handed me a paper. It was a transcript of a text conversion, written in code and translated by Henry. I skimmed the page, my face heating. When I reached the end, I crumpled the paper in my fist. I was going to kill Jack.

“I need to go,” I snarled.

“I’m coming with you.” I opened my mouth to argue, but the look on Henry’s face stopped me. “She’s my daughter. I’m going to help her.”

“Fine, let’s go.”

Henry followed me to my car, back around the corner and up the street. I didn’t stop at the corner store. There wasn’t time. Ted would just have to deal for a while longer.

I started the car and pulled away from the curb, executing a tight three-point turn in one motion. I took off back toward the compound, pushing the car over the speed limit in the areas I knew the cops rarely patrolled.

“What are you going to do when we get there?” Henry asked. He had his hand braced on the edge of the car as I took a tight turn way faster than I normally would have. The back end of the car drifted.

“Nothing good,” I muttered.

Henry just gave me a nervous look and held on tight as I pressed down on the accelerator.