"But the start point is in Texas and the destination is somewhere near, let's see—London? That can't be right. Am I operating this correctly?" The President turned the tablet around to show the Director of the Joint NSA/Homeland Security Department.
"You're operating it correctly, sir. This has been confirmed by firsthand witnesses. The kid relocated from Texas to England in less than a second."
"Kid?"
"Yes, sir. It's time you knew, sir, since I intend to recruit him the minute he turns eighteen."
* * *
"You'll sit there and behave or I'll come back there as my wolf and we'll have a chat," Trajan threatened Chad and Jeremy. The two boys sat in the back of Diane Booth's car while Trace drove. Winkler was driving Sali's car home with Hayes's body in the back seat—Ashe had already transported the others to Winkler's temporary home in Star Cove.
"Hayes is dead?" Jeremy sounded bewildered.
"You pulled the trigger; why act so surprised now?" Trajan growled. "If Ashe hadn't come, Cori would be dead, too."
"I was aiming for Sali," Jeremy still sounded confused.
"Even worse. You expect Packmaster DeLuca to have any mercy for you when you tell him that?" Jeremy huddled farther into his seat. Chad was sullen and refused to speak.
"Doesn't matter, bro," Trace said. "As soon as those vampires are up, we'll find out what these two were planning."
* * *
Ashe rubbed his forehead. He had the worst headache imaginable. Marco sat on the sofa nearby, his arms wrapped protectively around Cori, who huddled against him. Wynn was still shaking while Ace attempted to calm her. Dori and Sali stood together in the corner, wrapped in one another's arms. Jeff sat on the floor near Marco's feet, staring at his shoes. All of them waited for Mr. Winkler to arrive and for parents to come. Ashe knew Hayes had been Jeff's best friend since first grade. Now, Winkler was bringing Hayes's body back to his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Howard would be devastated; Hayes was their only child.
"What kind of poison was that?" Jeff looked up at Ashe. "Werewolves don't usually die from poisoning."
"Jeff, this was batrachotoxin, from those poison arrow frogs in South America," Ashe sighed. "That stuff can kill just about anything. I have no idea how those two got it. I don't think they even knew how dangerous it was. Stupid, stupid, stupid," Ashe pounded his forehead with a fist.
"Ashe, son, come with me for a minute," Winkler walked into the living room. Ashe felt weary as he followed Winkler into the kitchen. Marcus was standing there with Micah, his Second. Ashe wanted to snap at Marcus. Marcus was responsible for ruining his friendship with Sali.
"Kid, we've got Weldon's forensics team coming in to examine Hayes. We need to know what killed him," Marcus sighed, raking a hand through black hair in frustration.
"You can bring 'em in, but I already know what killed him. It's Batrachotoxin, from the poison arrow frog," Ashe said. Marcus cursed. Ashe figured Marcus knew what it was—he'd been Special Ops for the military.
"The kind that can kill a man in just a few seconds?" Winkler asked.
"Yeah. Only it took a little longer to kill Hayes. Almost killed Cori," Ashe muttered. "If she'd been human, I wouldn't have been able to save her, either. I didn't have time to save both, Winkler. I wish I did."
"I know, son. I just don't understand how you saved Cori to begin with."
"I don't want you to know." Ashe stared at Marcus when he said it. Marcus tossed a hand out helplessly and stalked off, muttering.
"Ashe, one of our Pack died today, and another member of our Pack is likely responsible. I don't think Jeremy would have any hand in this if Chad wasn't urging him on," Marcus turned back and leveled his gaze on Ashe.
"They're both guilty," Ashe said. "I'm sure those vampires can lay compulsion and get the truth. I suggest you have Jeremy's parents and Hayes's parents there when you question them."
"We'll do that," Micah said gently. "Ashe, you did a good thing—an impossible thing—today. I know we've persecuted you lately, and I want to apologize for that. Winkler says that Jeremy was aiming for Sali when Hayes stepped between them. If you hadn't arrived with Winkler and the others, the rest of them might have been killed as well. We found four more darts inside that case."
"Something to ask them about," Ashe nodded, settling on a barstool and staring at the kitchen wall. Whoever had lived in the house before had left a calendar hanging there. Winkler hadn't bothered to change it and it was still on July. Ashe recalled that a month ago, his life hadn't been so complicated and he still had parents. Now everything was different and he found himself navigating unfamiliar terrain. "Hayes was always the peacemaker," Ashe said softly. "He would joke around or do something to distract everybody and ease the tension. I know you don't think of your submissives as particularly brave, but Hayes may have been the bravest of all of us."
"I'm not going to argue with you on that," Marcus said. "He certainly proved it today—gave his life to do it, too. No Packmaster can ask for more than that."
"Somebody grilling one of mine?" Bear Wright walked into Winkler's kitchen.
"It's okay, Mr. Wright," Ashe sighed. "We were just talking about Hayes."
"Good. I don't like arguing with werewolves," Bear sat next to Ashe. "Has anyone informed Mrs. Evans?"
"She knows." Marcus said the words flatly. Bear Wright hunched his shoulders and didn't mention it again.
* * *
"Aedan, Casimir and I just finished placing compulsion on those restaurant guests," Nathan reported. He'd called his vampire sire as quickly as he could afterward. "Ashe, as I understand it, managed to save my oldest today. Nobody seems to understand how he did it—the same kind of poison dart killed Hayes Howard."
"Nathan, what are you saying?" Aedan was confused.
"We'll get the particulars, once we place compulsion on Jeremy Booth and Chad Daniels. They had tranquilizer guns, loaded with poison darts. Marcus says the poison was deadly—from those poison arrow frogs in South America. That will kill werewolves and just about anything else short of a vampire. Cori took a hit, as did Hayes after Salidar got into a fight with Chad Daniels. Chad started the fight but Sali was taking him down. Jeremy pulled the guns from the boot of his mother's car and shot Cori, who was protecting my youngest, and then Hayes, because Hayes stepped between Jeremy and Sali."