Chapter 13 Ch 13

"Would you like to go somewhere?" Basileus asked.

I awkwardly shifted between my feet and looked around at the bluish-green streetlights. "Where?"

"Isn't there someplace you like to go?" He lowered himself onto all fours and gently nudged my side. "You have lived here the longest of all of us."

While that may have been true, I hadn't even been here that long. I tried to search my memory and push aside the cobwebs from everything before the shit-show Basileus started.

"I think . . ." I trailed off to rub my temples. "I think there's a pond not too far from here. There's a running path that circles it. The view of the stars is fantastic."

He moved so that I was touching his side. "Let's go find it then," he said.

Oh my God, he was serious. We were leaving? I squeezed my hands together nervously.

"You can trust me, Anna. I will never hurt you again. Please, allow me to prove it."

Nodding, I took a deep breath. Even if this didn't end well, at least I would be away from here. I was sick of the hotel and feeling contained. It would be a nice getaway.

My palms brushed over his soft fur. He lowered himself to make his back easier to mount. I tensed my muscles before springing up and slinging my right leg over. When I started to slide off, his muzzle caught my foot and pushed me back up.

"Hold on," he ordered.

I barely had a grip on the strands of his fur before he leaped into motion. We were soon loping down the avenues. Savannah's historic homes and brick buildings swept by. The fresh night air filled my lungs and I heard a giddy laugh flow out of me. It felt like riding a horse, only he wasn't quite so smooth. I told him where to turn as my memory came back to me. We soon reached the neighborhood park I used to frequent when I needed to just run.

Basileus gradually slowed to a walk. He followed the park's trail until it dumped us out on the running path. The pond shimmered an inky black under the quilt of the night sky. It was a little cloudy, but I could still make out the distant twinkles of light. Lowering himself, Basileus let me slide off.

"It's quiet," he noted. "Peaceful."

I nodded and walked closer to the edge of the pond. He followed.

"Back home," I told him, letting my mind wander, "there was a pond like this. It freezes over in the winter and my sisters and I would ice skate. We used to have so much fun together."

He sat back on his haunches. "I know you miss them. Soon, I will take you there."

My eyes felt warm but I managed to stave off the tears. I sighed. His promise didn't mean anything to me. It was hard enough for me to believe he wouldn't hurt me, much less parade us across the country to my family. I sat down beside him and looked up at his face.

"Did you have a family?" I asked. "Before you died?"

He tilted his head back to see the stars. "I don't think about the past often. It was a very long time ago—longer than your human brain allows you to imagine. However, I did have a family. We all come from somewhere." His eyes drifted back down to me. "My father was a powerful Alpha. He ruled one of the largest packs in the world. My mother died birthing me, and I only had my brother."

"What happened to them?"

"My father eventually died of old age," he told me flatly. There was no nostalgia or longing. It was simply a fact from his memory. "Being older than myself, my brother was supposed to inherit Alphahood. He wasn't strong enough, though. I challenged him for his right and won."

"You killed him?"

He shook his head. "No, I could never. He was all I had left." Breathing deeply, Basileus closed his eyes and said, "I did something worse . . . I made him my Beta."

A world of dawning crashed over me. I touched his arm, felt the silky fur slide between my fingers, and stared at him in disbelief.

"Peter is your brother?" I asked.

"It is hard to believe, isn't it?" he said with a gruff chuckle. His eyes were open now and he leaned into my touch. "Like you and your sisters, he and I also used to have fun together. That was all before our father died. He was a weak leader but he didn't want to be second to me. He felt entitled, as the eldest son, and it took him a long time to learn his place. Clearly, he still struggles to understand."

I was still having trouble comprehending this. Peter hated him. He wanted to kill Basileus and torment him by taking Lee away.

"Peter said he was on the side of humans—that you just wanted us all dead," I told him.

"He is a liar, Anna." Basileus turned so his body faced mine. The glow in his flame-blue eyes intensified. "Yes, he believed we shouldn't wage a war against humans. Because he believed in something much worse."

What the hell could be worse than genocide? Or even just a war in general?

"The reason Peter gave up his title as my Beta," he continued, "was because he thought I would lose. Not because he didn't want humans to die. He watched the rest of our kind die to Nature's upgraded version of us: wolves. He was ostracized from them as an ancient species, but Nature gave him the ability to shift. It gave him a human form to help him blend in with descendants of apes. So he chose to immerse himself in their lives and cultures. He gave up his identity as a Lycan. Even so, he despises humans. I watched him from the celestial realm for millennia. He hates them just as much as he wants to be one of them."

"Why? Why would he hate us if all we've done is accept him?" I demanded.

I didn't want to believe what he was telling me, because I spent time with Peter. It was hard to imagine he hated humans when he adopted me and used Nathan as his sidekick.

Basileus suddenly got to his feet. His head cocked towards the woods surrounding us. I hurried to my feet too, not bothering to ask what the hell was happening. One of his clawed hands reached out to push me behind his muscular leg.

"I think I can answer your question," hissed a familiar voice.

I peeked my head out from behind Basileus. A pair of glowing silver eyes emanated from the darkness. Peter made his way into the starlight. He was in his Lycan form, tall and silver. Even though he wasn't as big as Basileus, he was still huge.

"I envy you for your mortality, human," Peter said. His eyes cut down at me. Basileus snarled at him in a warning. "My brother knows what I want. He knows that I have tried to end myself in every way possible if only to prevent him from getting what he wants."

"Nature chose this," Basileus rumbled, his voice as deep as a canyon and just as strong. "You could have led a glorious life with me. You will never be a mortal and, because of what you have done, you will never obtain the fleeting happiness of humanity that you so desperately want."

A thunderous growl charged the air as Peter leaned forward. "I can become mortal. If I take you, brother, then I can have whatever I want."

"You have let some wicked oracle lead you astray," Basileus replied. "You cannot take me. My death would not grant your desires, even if you found a way."

The growl sounded again as Peter leaped out. Basileus sprung towards him with so much force that their bodies crashed together with the sound of falling boulders. I crumpled back into the grass. Holy shit! Their eyes flashed while their bodies danced, claws slicing through the air and teeth snapping. Blood spewed across the running path. Their snarls and roars competed for volume until I thought I was deaf.

Breathing shakily, I got to my feet and ran away from the edge of the pond. I watched them continue their deadly spar. What would happen if neither of them could die? Could they just fight on forever? Or would one of them eventually tire out? I didn't really want to wait to find out. Either I could try to get involved or go back to camp and recruit help. The former sounded like a death sentence, so I decided to go with the latter.

I turned and bolted. Once I was off the running path, the grass and sticks bit into my bare feet. My teeth ground together to ward off the pain. Leaving the park, I took to the streets. It was going to take me several minutes to get back because the camp was several blocks away. I pushed myself to a faster pace.

My gaze was so focused on the pavement before me that I didn't notice the shadows converge on me until they were already here. Someone shoved me off my feet. Shrieking, I flew into a traffic sign and crumpled to the asphalt. Streaks of agony cracked through my skull. I couldn't open my eyes or breathe. Someone was grabbing me, throwing me, rolling me.

Consciousness leaked hastily from my body.