Chapter 122

Kadeem made it home around dusk.

Inside the cabin, Mateo looked up from a large box he stooped over on the floor. “Just in time.”

Kadeem scowled. “For what?” He sat his sunglasses and keys down on the sideboard near the door.

Mateo tore off a piece of tape and smoothed it over the box. “Moving me out of course. This was the last box I had to pack. Everything is ready to go.”

Kadeem sighed wearily. “I thought you had already taken over most of your things.”

A sharp laugh escaped Mateo’s lips. “No,” he said. “Just a few things here and there. I left the bulk of it - especially the heavy things - for you.”

“Nice of you,” Kadeem said. He fell onto the sofa. “If you can afford that swanky condo, maybe you can afford some movers?”

“My things are too delicate. I don’t trust anyone else, plus - I’ll owe you.” Mateo smiled. Kadeem growled in response.

Grumbling, they set to work. They were done by 9, and after, Mateo took Kadeem out for their drinks at a fancy downtown cocktail bar close by the condo building.

Kadeem was actually having a decent time with Mateo, and realized begrudgingly that he would miss him a little.

At midnight, Kadeem’s phone buzzed. Liquored up, he hoped it was Ardal, but no such luck.

A group of intruders had been spotted by his patrol in breach of the border at the edge of the Red Moon territory.

“I have to go,” Kadeem yelled, trying to be heard over the noise of the lounge.

“What?”

“I said I have to go,” he said, shouting louder. “I can’t drive. Can I leave you with these?” Kadeem held out his keys and phone to Mateo.

“Yes, totally,” Mateo slurred.

“You can’t drive either,” Kadeem said sternly. “Walk over to your new pad,” he said, demonstrating with his fingers - moving them like miniature legs walking, “And make sure my things make it safely with you.”

“I’ll miss you,” Mateo burst out desperately.

Kadeem patted his back. Time for the drunken sad portion of the night. Mateo’s eyes rolled back in his head slightly.

“On second thought,” Kadeem said, “I’ll make sure you get home, first - but hurry the hell up,” he added in a growl.

Mateo clumsily fished out his credit card to pay their tab. Distracted, he chatted with the bartender while signing his receipt, before Kadeem yanked him away, forcing Mateo out of the lounge, stumbling.

“Hey, watch it,” Mateo said.

“You were wasting time,” Kadeem snarled, but he put his arm around Mateo’s waist to keep him from tipping over, and somehow, they made the together to Mateo’s new condo building - Mateo singing the whole way.

“Home, home on the range…”

Pushing him inside, Kadeem sent Mateo with the doorman.

“Don’t you dare lose my things,” he warned Mateo as the elevator opened.

Then he sprang away, as quickly as his feet would let him - his own world tipsy.

Kadeem ducked behind the alley and transformed into his wolf. He took off away from the city lights and into the darkness, wishing like everything his brain was clear of the vodka haze.

Kadeem finally joined Riley and his gammas to search over the widest expanse of land they could fan out into - and still stay a somewhat cohesive group.

The night was pitch black, with no moon to guide them behind a thick blanket of clouds. The werewolves were silent as they moved along the riverbed, their sharp eyes probing the darkness for any signs of the intruders. The breeze was chilled and a heavy fog had settled in, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. Kadeem and Riley were in the lead with Jason, Embry, Sara, and Miles trailing closely behind.

They searched for what felt like hours but found nothing. Kadeem was growing more and more frustrated at their lack of success, though less intoxicated, which was good - when Miles stopped dead in his tracks, a hundred yards away.

His nose twitched as he sniffed the air. He growled low in his throat.

Kadeem vaulted over to meet him when his own nose detected the potent scent wafting to them from nearby.

Werewolves. He met Riley's glowing eyes and she and the rest of the wolves fell in line behind him as the scent grew stronger.

The intruders were close. Kadeem signaled the wolves with a sharp bark, and they closed in on their target.

Kadeem's heart raced as he led his pack forward through the fog, all senses alert despite the alcohol still slogging through his system. He could sense the presence of several more wolves now, and their scent was now stinging his nostrils.

As they drew closer, Kadeem could make out the outlines of a small group huddled together in an alcove of trees.

Kadeem barked towards Riley, signaling to her, before he raised his head to howl a warning call that echoed through the night.

They were met with the sounds of growls and snapping jaws, before the rogue wolves began to descend upon them. Kadeem's fur bristled, hackles rising.

The two packs of Weres clashed in a chaos of snarls and yelps, claws flashing through the dark.

Kadeem stopped short when he caught an all too familiar scent amidst the chaos - it was a scent he knew only too well.

He froze and a large silver wolf he’d been sparing with seized on the moment, slashing into Kadeem’s neck with sharp fangs.

Kadeem yelped, and his attacker soon met half of his pack jumping in to his defense. Embry clamped onto its leg, while Miles swiped at the wolf’s face, and Jason hurdled himself onto the wolf’s back. Riley and Sara and a few others were too entangled in their own battles to assist.

As soon as Kadeem was freed, he immediately quickly into his human form, standing up to face the familiar enemy.

“Layla,” he panted breathlessly.

Across the fog, his sister, the Pack X Alpha, transformed. Behind her, the rest of her wolves shifted as well.

“What the hell are you doing here,” Kadeem snarled.

His own pack transformed. Riley was still on the ground and clutching her bleeding shoulder, next to a burly man with red hair. He made an attempt to help her up, but she yanked her arm back and stumbled up herself. “Get off me,” snapped.

“I could ask you the same,” Layla said, her expression fierce as she glared at him. “Your pack attacked us for no reason.”

Kadeem rolled his eyes. “Trespassing, maybe?”

“That’s merely incidental,” she said, waving her hand slightly. “We were hunting a common foe.”

“I couldn’t give less of a shit,” Kadeem growled. “You have no right to cross over into our territory - and you know it.” He felt the bile rising in his throat. “Seeing as you designed the entire system in the first place.”

Layla laughed and walked closer. Her dark hair spilled over her shoulders. Her frame was petite - delicate, but Kadeem knew what she lacked in brawn she more than made up for in brains and political savvy. She was Alpha for a reason.

“Oh,” she asked lazily, “Like the way you crossed over into Pack X territory back in May?”

Kadeem felt the eyes of his pack members on him. He shifted uncomfortably before crossing his arms. “I plead the fifth,” he said, shrugging.

“Trust me,” Layla said, her fangs showing, “There’s plenty of evidence of your little visit.”

Although his pack stood perfectly at attention - giving nothing away, he could almost feel the questions forming in their minds.

“Back to reality,” Kadeem said, standing up straighter. “You’re here, and you have no right to be. I want you gone, and I’ll personally escort you back over the border.”

Layla crossed closer. “You don’t scare me, little brother,” she said. A luck of disgust came over her face and she rolled her eyes. “Of course, you reek of alcohol. Not much has changed, has it?”

“And you still have that stick up your ass,” Kadeem snarled. He gestured for her to follow. “I’ll give your regards to Mom.”

Layla stood rooted to the ground. “Don’t you want to know what we were hunting?”

Kadeem paused, putting his finger to his chin. “Hmm… no.”

“Funny,” she said. “I should think you’d like some intel on Jack Rayburn.”