Chapter 16 · Blood Under the Floor

The fence was ten feet out. Pierce's gun stayed cold against the back of my skull.

Lydia stumbled next to me. Marcus's hunter had her arm. Her face was gray, blood crusted under her nose, but her eyes—her eyes locked on mine.

They weren't asking me to stop.

They were telling me to listen.

"Rena." Her voice cracked. "Your father didn't die in the pack surge."

Marcus went still.

I didn't. Kept walking. Fence ahead. Cain somewhere in the trees. My hands were zip-tied but my feet were free, and Pierce was too damn close.

"Lydia." Marcus's voice came out calm. Too calm. "You're in shock. The wolf got in your head."

"You shot him in the back," Lydia said. Words coming faster now, like something breaking open. "You shot Simon in the back during Coldwater. I saw you. You told me it was pack protocol. You told me he was turning."

I stopped walking.

Pierce's gun dug into my neck. "Move."

I didn't move.

Marcus stepped around to face Lydia. His expression didn't shift. That was the worst part—no surprise, no anger. Just the same flat look he'd worn when he taught me to fieldstrip a rifle at twelve.