'Then we're good?'
Tommy's expression did not fill me with confidence.
After a few minutes on the road, the Bluetooth headset inside my helmet beeped with an incoming call, which I answered by pushing the button on my bike handlebars. 'Tommy,' I said.
'How's you know it was me?' he asked.
'Good guess, so what's wrong?'
'Nothing, Kasey wanted me to tell you she's thought of some questions for the next time you meet.'
I chuckled. 'Excellent, I look forward to my inquisition meeting. I haven't had one of those for a few hundred years.'
There was silence for longer than I would have expected. I was about to ask if everything was alright when Tommy came back on the phone. 'Nate, I have a bad feeling about this.'
'Me, too,' I said, as I switched lanes to overtake a caravan and catch up with Tommy, who had managed to get through some red lights before me, leaving me behind. 'I saw Hilary's body. Whatever is doing this has a reason for picking the women he's killing. No one goes to that much trouble for random murders. But I'm suspicious that suddenly there's a distinct scent at a crime scene when all of the kill sites before were completely muddled. It shows sloppiness where none previously existed.'
'An over-confident killer makes mistakes,' Tommy pointed out.
'This guy has always been confident. He calls the LOA for crying-out-loud. No one does that unless he's isn't certain he's going to get away with it. And he has no reason to think he's going to get caught.'
There's no blood or DNA register in Avalon. A lot of very bad things can be done with a person's blood and DNA, and no one would ever willingly give such samples. Anyone found keeping such samples from an Avalon member would be executed on the spot. So even if we found blood or DNA on the scenes, it would be less than useless.
Tommy was quiet for a few heartbeats as I narrowly avoided an idiot in a car who decided to pull out without watching where he was going. Moron.
'So what's the plan?' Tommy asked, taking me from the anger I felt at the idiot who was now behind me.
'You know the Alpha best, what type of man is he?'
'He's honourable, usually fair and just. But don't piss him off, or underestimate him, he's more than capable of taking care of himself.'
'What's his name?'
'Matthew Sheppard. He's somewhere around seven hundred years old, although no one knows much of his past. He's not exactly forthcoming with details.'
'Will he help us?'
Tommy pulled up to the front gate of a sizeable field. Two large men stood guard at the entrance, and Tommy spoke to one of them before the other pulled the gate open and we entered, their stares boring into my back as I went by.
Tommy drove towards the dozens of cars that sat in the field, and parked. I stopped the bike next to him and noticed that the two guards were still following our movements. I picked up a third and fourth walking around the rows of cars. Every now and then they glanced over in a nonchalant way, making them appear anything other than nonchalant.
'We need to make our way to those trees over there,' Tommy said. 'It's a few minutes walk through them into a large clearing. That's where everyone will be.'
From the number of cars littering the field, I figured there were nearly a hundred people waiting in that clearing. And I was suddenly very aware of how exposed the two of us were, standing in the middle of a field. 'So?' I asked again. 'Will Matthew help us?'
We walked away from the cars, and Tommy remained silent until we reached the woods. 'If he thinks that someone in his pack is responsible,' he said 'He'll kill them himself.'
Chapter 14
'We're here to see Matthew,' Tommy said to the big man who barred our way.
'The Alpha is busy,' the man said, holding out his hand palm first to ensure that we moved no further.
Behind him dozens of people milled about, drinking, eating and talking to one another. Everyone was still in human form, and, unlike the last pack meet I'd been to, no one appeared to have been murdered and left on the floor. Yet. In the centre of the clearing a huge fire roared as it roasted two large hogs. Two other hogs had already been cooked and were being picked clean by the hungry revellers. More food was placed on a long table that was at least twenty feet long. It reminded me of the old banquets we'd had in Camelot many centuries previous.
'It's Avalon business,' Tommy tried.
The man laughed. 'Fuck your Avalon, and fuck you, too.'
'Your Alpha would want to see us,' Tommy said again, his tone hard as stone.
Violence was coming, and the three large men sitting nearby knew it; they stood as one and walked toward us. My body tensed to put them down as hard and fast as possible.
'Enough of this foolishness.' A man's voice boomed from somewhere behind the three goons and they turned and bowed their head in unison, parting to allow a slender man through. He was no taller than me, and a good ten inches shorter than the monster who had tried to bar our entry, but he was lean with muscle, and had a quiet power that rolled over him in waves.
He brushed his long dark hair from his shoulders, never even glancing at the three men who had parted for him, and they all made sure they were doing something else as fast as possible. Despite the cool weather and moist ground, he was barefoot and topless, and showed no signs of either bothering him.
'Go back to your kennel, Randal. I can hear your master calling you,' the newcomer said.
The meat mountain known as Randal flinched as if slapped. 'You are my Alpha; I obey you in all things.'
Matthew turned to stare at Randal. 'Do not insult my intelligence. Now, leave my sight.'
Randal skulked away and the alpha, Matthew, turned to face Tommy. There was a slight tension between them for a few second, and then they both burst into smiles and embraced one another.
'My brother,' Matthew said, slapping Tommy on the shoulder. 'You don't come here often enough.'
Tommy looked upset, but the smile returned a moment later. 'This isn't a social visit.'
'I understand, but still, it's good to see you. Although, I'm not exactly dressed to greet new friends.' Matthew motioned to his bare torso, which could have been used to break rocks. His gaze settled on me. 'You must be Nate. I heard what you did in Canada.'
'They were slaughtering people for fun,' I said, 'I did what needed to be done.'
Matthew continued to stare at me and I tensed for a fight.
'No smile or warm hug?' I asked. 'How about you flex those pecks for me, I bet it just melts hearts.'
'You mock me?' he asked me with a raised eyebrow.
'I mock everyone else, why would you be special?'
Instead of throwing a punch or telling me to fuck off, he laughed and grabbed me in a hug. 'Tommy said you weren't one to let stupid shit pass. I'm sorry for winding you up. You are welcome here as if you were one of my pack.'
I was genuinely surprised. Alphas don't usually allow anyone from outside the pack to enter when a meet is on. It's considered a secret, and in some cases a sacred, thing. But I got the impression that he wasn't the gambling type, and a quick glance around confirmed that at least four wolves were watching me intently.
'Nice security,' I said, breaking up a conversation between Tommy and Matthew.
'How many did you see?' Matthew asked.
'Four,' I said.
Matthew raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'Most don't manage more than two.'
'I'm not like most people,' I pointed out.
