'What did you do?' Sky asked with raised eyebrow.
'Tore his arm off,' I said. 'In my defence, he did try to murder me.'
A few minutes later, as everyone was seated on the comfortable couches, the doorbell rang. Gordon went to answer the door, returning a moment later with a pale Randal in tow. He appeared almost healed, although when he saw me, his eyes dropped to the floor. He wasn't afraid, or too proud to meet my gaze, his expression was one of sorrow. For a werewolf losing an arm meant a long hard recovery. And a serious question of whether he'd be able to participate in any hunts the pack went on in the future. His stature within the pack had diminished and he would have to fight for everything he needed to reclaim.
'My Alpha,' he said and dropped to one knee.
'Get up off the floor, you imbecile,' Matthew said. 'You owe your life to me, yes?'
'Of course, my lord, you allowed me to be saved after my wound. Even though I'd dishonoured myself.'
'What game is Elijah playing?'
Randal's expression switched from that of boot-licker to confusion in an instant. 'I do not know what you mean.'
Matthew tossed the knuckle-duster onto the carpet beside Randal. 'This was used in the murder of an LOA agent, and the abduction of Tommy and his daughter. It's Elijah's, isn't it?'
Randal picked up the weapon like it was made of radioactive material, holding it gingerly between thumb and forefinger. 'This is Elijah's, yes. But he would not be so foolish as to use it on Tommy. No one would wish to incur the wrath of Avalon and yourself, my Alpha.'
'Would Elijah have given it to someone else to use?'
'I don't know.'
'Can I talk to Randal alone?' I asked.
Matthew and Gordon exchanged a glance, but Matthew allowed it and everyone left the room. Although Olivia had to be almost picked up and dragged at first, she eventually allowed herself to be led outside.
The turning of the cogs in Randal's mind was as clear as glass. He knew the answer, but didn't want to give it. 'Old allegiances die hard,' I said. 'I should know. It takes a lot to remove those chains, even when they're not really there anymore.'
'Like my arm,' Randal said. 'It itches.'
'You lost your arm because you tried to kill me. You're lucky I didn't return the favour on a more permanent basis.'
'I'm a cripple,' Randal said, launching himself to his feet, the silver knuckle-duster held tight in his hand until he was forced to drop it to the floor.
'You were a thug, a bully and a murderer,' I said. 'If you want redemption-”
'I do, I swear.'
'Then you will help us. The truth, all of it, now.'
'Elijah is working with someone by the name of Peter. I only met him once, but he's… horrific. He scared me, I mean really scared me. I was charged with getting women for that idiot Neil to have his way with. He liked to fuck prostitutes, to hurt them, too. Sometimes he went too far, and then Peter's ghouls would dispose of the body.'
'What does Elijah hope to get out of this?'
Randal shrugged. 'I have no idea. He was just helping, he never told me why.'
'Where is Elijah now?'
'Tonight he'll be at home. He's always at home during the night; he would never stay anywhere else. It's why he doesn't travel abroad often.'
'How many guards?'
'Ten or twelve, depending on their shift.'
'Will any stop the alpha from entering the building?'
Randal shook his head. 'No, they all know what would happen. They work for Elijah, but none of them want to put their lives on the line for him. He just pays well.'
'After tonight, I'm going to bet that it won't be enough.'
Randal nodded and sighed. 'I'm going to go to prison for what I've done.'
'Matthew told you that?'
Another nod. 'Matthew… sorry, my alpha, wants me to atone for my behaviour under Elijah. There's a werewolf prison in Canada. I'm to be transferred there for the next twenty years. I helped Neil get women that he hurt, I helped dispose of bodies. Human bodies. I… don't know if I can atone. I don't know if I can be a wolf anymore.'
'What do you want?' I asked. 'Are you looking for absolution? Forgiveness? Because I'm not a priest. And if I was, I'm pretty certain I'd still tell you to go fuck yourself. You committed crimes because you liked it, because you had the power to do it. And now that you've lost that power, you want everyone to believe that you've found your lost soul, that you've decided to turn your life around and be a better person. But that decision isn't one you've taken, it's one you've had forced upon you. You were a piece of shit with two arms, and now you're a piece of shit with one. The only difference is you won't be able to hurt people as easily with only one arm.'
'You're wrong,' Randal said. 'I am going to change.'
'Then you go to jail, you serve your time and you leave a better man. Because until that happens, until you prove to everyone that you've really changed and that it's not just some bullshit 'I feel sorry for myself' nonsense, everyone is going to think the exact same thing I do. That nothing has changed, and you'll go back to your old ways just as soon as you figure out a way to cause people pain. Because let me make this clear to you. You will never hurt people in the way you did before. Never. You will never be allowed to maim and kill for fun, or to help Elijah in his standing with the pack. To intimidate those whom you deem weaker than you. I would bet a huge bag of money that Matthew will make sure of that.'
Randal nodded once and left the room, the front door closing with a thud as he exited the house.
'So, what did he tell you?' Matthew asked a short time later as he entered the room with Gordon, Sky and Olivia in tow.
I explained everything about Elijah's involvement, which only served to anger Matthew even more. 'We will go to Elijah's, and he will give us the information we require.'
I retrieved the knuckle-duster from the floor and placed it in my pocket, as a shot rang out from the woods outside of Matthew's home.
Olivia was the first outside, gun drawn, with Matthew and I close behind, as chaos erupted around the grounds. People were running toward the fight pit, something I had very little interest in going back to, but I followed Olivia and Matthew anyway, until we reached the crowd that had formed around the still-destroyed edge of the pit.
I knew what I'd find from people's reactions. Some were indifferent, some were almost happy. A few looked mournful as their friend, Randal, lay dead in the bottom of the pit. A pistol in his only hand and a bullet hole in his head.
Chapter 37
'What the hell did you say to him?' Matthew asked me as Randal's body was removed from the fighting pit and placed into a body bag.
I didn't ask why a pack of wolves would keep body bags around; I was almost certain it was an answer I didn't want to hear.
'I told him that his days of bullying people and doing what he liked were over. That if he really wanted a chance, he'd have to earn it.'
Matthew sighed and rubbed his eyes. 'We need to prepare to go to Elijah's. We leave in ten minutes.' He turned to Gordon. 'I want a full security team ready to go.'
Gordon removed his phone from his trouser pocket, before walking off to get some privacy.
Matthew glanced back at the blood where Randal had once lain. 'What a fucking waste.'
'I didn't think he would kill himself,' I said.
