Page 4 of Cimmerian

“All right, all right.” Jasper was still shirtless, and still on edge. “Can we get a move on now?”

I rolled my eyes, sharing a grin with Merrick. Is this what it would’ve been like to have a sibling growing up? “Let’s go.”

We headed down the narrow path single file. Beau went first, full of energy. Next was Jasper, still radiating irritation. I wanted to know what his problem was, but he was keeping a tight lock on his emotions. Whatever it was, he didn’t want me to know. I trailed close behind, and quietly bringing up the rear was Merrick. I had filled him in on the rough idea of my plan while he had driven over, but he hadn’t said much either way.

As the trail disappeared, and the woods took over, I slowed my pace so Merrick could catch up with me. “It’s a lot, eh?”

Merrick perked up his head, his gaze watching the two other men trample around in the forest like they had been born to it. Which, in some ways, they were. The ultimate predators. Silent, able to sneak up on you before you’d even thought twice about that sound you had heard a mile back. Cunning, willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. Merrick was one of them too. I knew this. But something about him was softer. Gentler. A quiet soul, so at odds with the dark world around him.

I guess in a way I was just as much of a predator as they were. I had learned to become stealthy, to obscure myself in the shadows as I stalked my prey. But when push came to shove, it didn’t matter. I still was too weak to do what needed to be done and remove my mother from the situation, and now that was coming back to bite me in the ass. Whatever. That had been round one, and I was more than prepared for our next encounter. I nodded to Jasper ahead of us, muscles tensing in his broad back as he shifted his hiking backpack. “The guys. They can be a lot to take in sometimes.”

Merrick laughed, a gentle sound that echoed the soft bird calls around us. “Ava, I grew up in a pack far rougher than Jasper’s. I can handle a few big personalities.”

I grinned at him. “You only say that because you haven’t spent a full day with them yet.” We walked in a companionable silence.My brother. Shit. “You know, I always wanted a sibling.”

“So you really had zero clue?” He shook his head. “My dad told me some pretty fucked up shit about Monica, but I never imagined you’d be that out of the loop.”

My laugh lacked any humour or emotion. “Believe it. I didn’t even know about werewolves or Venators until Jasper showed up in my life.”

Merrick gave me a look of utter disbelief. “But, I thought… I thought Venators passed the title down.”

Join the club. “They do. My parents --ourmother -- seemed to think I wasn’t capable of handling such a title. So they did what any good parents would, and lied to me about it my entire life.” A pang of disappointment, or regret, passed through me. What would life have been like if I had known about Venators from the start? Jasper shot me a sharp look over his shoulder, obviously wondering what was wrong. I smiled at him, hoping it was reassuring. We could talk later when we were alone. And then he could also explain his problem with Merrick to me, and why he was being such a jerk to him. He knew my reasoning for using Merrick. Knowing I was alone, my mother would never come to me. But seeing that I had found my brother… I hoped that would be shocking enough to draw Monica out of hiding.

Next to me, Merrick nodded. “Well you caught up quickly. People in my pack were talking about the Venator who took down the wolf killer.”

I laughed. “Yep, that’s me. The killer of wolf killers, Ava Green. Besides, I heard rumors that your pack didn’t like humans.”

Merrick was about to speak when Beau whipped around, miming for us to be silent. I crept up behind him, the four of us clumping together.

“What happened?” I whispered. “What is it?”

“Monica’s scent.” Jasper’s response was so faint I had to strain to hear it. “She’s been here recently.”

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” We were wasting time sitting here on our asses.

Jasper shook his head, his gaze boring into me as he spoke through our bond. “Monica is tricky. This could be a trap, and we need to be careful.”

It was kind of crazy, thinking back over how rapidly my life had changed since I met Jasper. Here we were now, discussing my mother as if she were the enemy, a villain in a cheap comic book. But in all reality, she was. She had fucked up a lot of shit during her time as pack Venator, and now we were left to clean up all of her Goddamn messes. So yeah, if Jasper were describing her as a villain, he was pretty close to the truth. I looked between Jasper and Merrick, making sure Jasp knew Merrick understood exactly what was at stake here.

“Believe me, baby. If his dad hates Monica as much as we do, he’ll know without me saying anything.”

“I don’t hate her.” My response was automatic, but I wasn’t sure if it was entirely truthful.

Jasper merely raised a dark brow in my direction. Did I hate her? Shit.

Beau grumbled low, spearing a finger in both mine and Jasper’s direction. “If you two are done with your secret little lover’s chat, we can move. She went south. Probably less than a few hours ago. Why the hell does she keep coming back here? She knows she’s wanted.” He tugged Merrick ahead with him. “Come on, Ava’s brother. You can walk with me and stand guard.”

“Uh, my name is Merrick…” Merrick shot me a bewildered look but allowed Beau to drag him further up the forest, toward the almost indistinguishable fork in the trail. If you knew what you were looking for, the signs were there. If you didn’t, the trail wasn’t for you.

* * *

Jasper and I trailed behind them, both of us quiet, listening for the sounds that might give Monica away, on alert for signs of where she might have gone. The forest was thicker here, similar to the woods outside my apartment. Branches stretched against one another, growing out of trees as old as time itself, with roots thicker than my leg. This wasn’t the greenery of new life. This section of the world was ancient, and I felt like if I listened close enough, I would be able to hear the trees whisper the secrets of time into my ear.

Jasper bumped my shoulder. “What are you thinking about, baby?” he whispered.

“Nothing important.” I tipped my face up toward the canopy of branches above us, shielding out the dwindling sunlight. It seemed unlikely we would find Monica tonight, so we’d have to make camp soon. Otherwise, we’d be stuck pitching our tents in the dark, which did not sound like my idea of a fun time. I bumped him back, giving him a stern look. “Why are you being such a jerk to Merrick? He’s just trying to help.”

“I’m not being a jerk.” God, he was stubborn sometimes.

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