Cernunnos - 42. Chapter 42

“Status!” Shelly sprinted to the limp body. She looked to her left and saw Clive’s vehicle already gone. Fuck!

Saige touched the scrawny man’s neck, “He’s breathing, but unconscious. Help me get him to the car.”

The commander brushed off her subordinate’s order and lifted under Anton’s arms. Together, the ladies carried him to the hatchback. Saige hurried to stow away the back seats and open the rear door. “Gameplan, Commander?”

Two options came to Shelly. Either we both take Anton to the hospital, or Saige does and I go after who did this. She growled. Anton comes first. God damn it! It could be Eike! “Get him in the back, I’ll crawl in next to him and secure his head. Call Farren and get another team out here—”

“Pris…”

Shelly flung her head to Anton. He’s awake? “Take it easy, Anton.”

The hazel irises were barely visible over the blood on his eyelids. He shook his head, “Pris… Priscilla. Going north. Fifteen… minutes lead.”

“Commander?” Saige stared in desperation.

Shelly bit her lip. I can catch her. It’s against protocol to go solo. “Anton, can you shift?”

He grunted, attempting to raise himself. As he put pressure on his right hand, he cried out, falling on his back. The commander’s decision was made. “Hospital, now!”

***

Shea hastily ended the call and immediately started another with Wendel. “Agent! We had a northern unit attacked, one confirmed survivor. Suspect is Priscilla Nichols, countershaded brown and tan. Survivor stated she was traveling north after the attack and had a twenty minute lead. Start at the Ice Age Trail parking area off East Moraine Drive and fan out.”

“Roger. Divert some of your units towards the south as a second wave in case she slips past.”

“Got it.” Hanging up, the enforcer paced nervously. I should be out there helping! A growl from his wolf stopped him. No? We can track and end her before she tries something again.

No. It’s my place at the alpha’s side. His order trumps anything else. He sighed and slumped on the couch and texted out further commands.

Something ran across his arm, “Are you okay?”

He looked at his mate. Cyn’s eyes showed concern. Taking a deep breath, Shea palmed the deer’s knee, “I’m fine. It’s taking a lot to keep me here. I want nothing more than to be out hunting these assholes.”

“And Arric wants us here.” Cyn furrowed his brow, “You seem madder than usual.”

“It’s because one of my team got hurt. Anton Greathouse. You’d like him, pup. He’s soft spoken like you.” Reclining, Shea bit the inside of his cheek. Stay strong, Anton. “Hey, Arric! Has Anton’s next of kin been notified?”

The alpha took a pause from typing on his laptop, “Walter said he's taking care of it but from how he sounded, the little whelp doesn’t have anyone.”

Disappointed by the news, Shea held onto Cyn. Just like him, I guess. I heard his dad wasn’t proud of him, but I didn’t think his family pushed him out like that. A knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts and rose immediately. Assuming the patrolling guards deemed the entrant as friendly, Shea opened the door, “C’mon, Jaime. Hauser’s envoy will be here soon.”

Slinging off a backpack, Jaime unzipped his coat, “Gotcha. Who’s all going to be involved?”

“Arric said it was up to you, but Cyn is to assist.”

“Good.” Stepping into the living room, he bared his neck to Arric, not before showing his surprise to Kieran. “Hey, Kieran. Comfy?”

Before an answer could be made, Arric’s snarl forced Jaime to turn away in submission, “I know you’re a comedian, Turbin, but he’s with me.”

Kieran straightened, “Arric!”

“He disrespected you.”

The scribe crossed his arms, “He asked if I was comfy. Jaime’s my friend, so I don’t need my boyfriend causing fights.”

Arric’s eyebrow subtly twitched, “Boyfriend?”

“If you apologize and chill out, then yes.”

Silence lingered in the room. Shea’s attention rotated between the three men involved. Whoa… Can Kieran handle Arric like that?

With a huff, Arric eased back into his seat, “My apologies, Jaime. I guess I need to take my exes’ advice.” Glancing at Kieran, a half-smile formed on the alpha’s face, “You didn’t answer his question… boyfriend.”

Toothily, Kieran grinned and crept back into place, “Yeah, this is pretty cozy. A little firmer than my bean-bag, but I dig it.”

Jaime composed himself and dug in the bag to retrieve a notepad, “I’m sorry for being cheeky, Alpha.”

Arric waved his free hand, “Nah, Key’s right. It’s better you said something first instead of Kara. She would’ve said something worse.”

“True. Getting down to business, I’d like to have as few people here as possible.” He sat on the available loveseat and etched on the paper, “Particularly you, Alpha. Hauser might not be able to handle a higher-ranked wolf here. It’ll be bad enough we’re interviewing him here.”

“Makes sense. Would you oppose having Shea here? It’ll be hard to separate the newly mated couple.”

“I’ve debated on it. On one hand, a delta’s presence might make the job harder on me. But on the other, seeing Cyn and Shea together might open Hauser up a bit. I can try having him here.”

Shea snorted, “Good, because I’m not leaving my mate with him.” Nuzzling Cyn by the neck, he growled sultrily.

“Remember the goal, Farren,” Arric said, “We need Hauser to spill every secret he has about Eike. In the meantime, Key’s going to be my security while we go out.”

As the two rose, Kieran grasped onto the alpha’s wrist, “Can we go see Anton? I’d like to see how he’s doing.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Gives me a chance to talk to Walter for a minute.”

The couple gathered their coats. As they walked to the door, Shea saw Arric hold Kieran’s hand. Those two… I never thought it would happen, but they’re pretty cute together. “Alright, Jaime. What do you need from us?”

***

Being led out of the van in cuffs, Hauser shivered from the cold. Entering the alpha’s home scared him more than anything. Am… Am I being sentenced? Alpha Claude’s going to kill me himself, isn’t he? The smell of the pack leader throughout the hallway filled his nose. There’s others? The cernunnos is here… and black pepper? No, that’s Shea. What’s he doing here?

Stepping into the living room, he saw Jaime, Shea, and the deer, but they fell back to the larger of the three. D-delta! He’s a delta now! Taking a small step back, Hauser shook and nearly fell. One of the guard’s held him up, but squeezed on his elbow roughly.

“Hauser, please take a seat. We just want to ask some questions.” The sincerity in Jaime’s voice nabbed his attention.

“W-why?”

“Alpha Claude expressed his concerns for initial therapy to Alpha Rogier. I’m here to ask questions and give a diagnosis to your mental health. Altogether, we’re trying to help you. You turned yourself in, and that was the best step you could’ve taken.”

Hauser glanced at the cernunnos, “And them?”

“You responded well to Cyn, so he’s here to help me. A lot happened while you were with Eike.”

As a reaction, Hauser sniffed and caught the couple’s scent. Blended? They’re… “You’re mated? That means… you’re pack. What did you say your name was?”

The deer smiled, “I’m Cyn.”

Darting his vision between Cyn and Shea, Hauser grew unsettled. Shea’s staring right at me! “How did you know… that I was telling the truth earlier?”

“My instincts told me you were scared, but not in a bad way. You weren’t running in fear. It’s like you accepted your fate.”

Hauser whispered, “I accepted… my fate.” He’s right. I chose to run from the camp.

Jaime coughed, as to gain his attention, “Shea’s here to help, but he made it clear he’s here to protect his mate. Understood?”

Lifting his hands slightly, the cuffs jingled. “Yeah.”

“Why don’t we start from the beginning? When did Eike approach you about hunting prey shifters?”

Hauser grimaced, then clenched his fists, “Six months ago. He didn’t approach me about hunting them specifically. Him and Marric started bringing me and Richard on these treks. We came across a fluffle one day, and our wolves wanted a snack. We each took one down, but when I was halfway done with mine, Marric flung his to me. He said it… it tasted…”

Familiar bile rose. Swallowing it left a trail of burning acid in his throat. “They didn’t tell me what they were doing until Richard stopped coming on the hunts. That was… two months later.”

Jaime leaned forward, “And yet, you continued?”

“Do I have to say it?” Seeing the room’s blank faces, Hauser bit his cheek and averted his eyes, “Yeah, I did. Eike kept us hunting in the forest, but steered us away from popular trails the packs took.”

He saw Shea’s arms cross, forcing Hauser’s instincts to react submissively, “You hunted the wild shifters. Makes sense. They either had no connection to humanity, or broke it and had no intention of reporting the issue.”

“Or knowing a law was being broken.” The deer’s hand ran along the delta’s knee.

Hauser saw this and nearly choked. This is what happens when one of them lives. How many? How many of them did I ruin?

A near-silent creak made him blink. Tears fell from his face as he looked up. The deer was standing a foot from him. How did he get so close without making a noise?

“You’re not proud of what you’ve done… right?”

The gentle tone’s words carried serious weight. Not… proud. “Cyn, right? I’m ashamed of it, man. I see you and Shea… and I can’t help thinking…” Breathing harder, his voice cracked, “I killed so many! They could’ve been just like you!”

Gripping his hair, Hauser inched further into the seat. Flashes of every shifter he killed rushed into his mind. Countless rabbits, a few foxes, some sheep.

Something landed on his shoulder. It trembled slightly, but it was somehow both firm and tender. His vision was blurry, but he traced the silhouette up to the slender figure. The deer?

“I forgive you.”

Hauser couldn’t breathe. He barely comprehended the sentence. He… forgave me?

“Pup?”

“Sheamus, he’s sorry.” The fuzzy cernunnos turned, allowing Hauser to see Shea’s leaning position. “I understand he has to answer for the other crimes, but I don’t think it’s his fault. The silver wolf made him like this.”

Jaime crossed a leg and his pencil moved rapidly, “I agree with Cyn’s deduction. Eike had a play in the change of mentality. It’s safe to assume that the Green Bay killings were the first civilized prey shifters?”

Hauser nodded.

“How can we help you, Hauser? I’m not going to be the guy to tell you how to fix you. You had the desire to turn yourself in, so there has to be one to right your wrongs. What can we do to help you?”

Help me? The question lingered. Even after the atrocities that replayed in his head, his former pack was prepared to assist him. There was only one solution that came to Hauser. “Put a bullet in my head.”

Shea rose and whispered, “Gladly.”

The response shook Hauser, causing him to cower on the loveseat. The statement rang false in his head. No, I don't want to die! Shit! Why did I say that?

“Shea… He passed.” Jaime raised an arm, signaling for the room to be calm.

“I’ll be damned, you were right.” The delta took a seat once more. “You show fear, which means you’re afraid for your life. You still want to protect it.”

Grasping the underhanded ruse, Hauser gritted his teeth. They did that to make sure I wasn’t ready to die?

“I’ll repeat the question. What can we do to help, Hauser? You want to live, perhaps go back to your normal life. I’ll tell you our goal is to catch Eike, kill him if necessary.” Jaime set his pad down. “Anything you can tell us is going to be helpful.”

Hauser’s nod was slow, but increased in pace. I do want to live. It can be in prison for all I care, but I need to make things right. “I’m not sure what I can say. He’s out there with a truck and enough camping supplies to last four months, now that I’m not there.”

“Let’s start with what happened after we confronted Eike during the attack on Cyn.”

He sighed, “Eike called for us to retreat. He had a nasty gash, so we didn’t ask questions. We sprinted for a few miles before he told me and Marric what happened. It wasn’t until then that we realized we were done for. With y’all aware of the crimes against the alpha’s ruling, we knew it was either fight or flight.

“Marric used his head for once. He knew you guys would take the cern to a hospital, but it wouldn’t be smart for us to go immediately.”

Shea squinted, “You three knew to go to the hospital? It wasn’t our first option, since the Campbellsport clinic couldn’t perform surgery.” The delta’s nostrils flared, “Someone told you we were at the hospital.”

Hauser nodded feebly.

Jaime was at the edge of his seat, encompassed in the new development. “Hauser. It’s important to tell us who is helping Eike.”

The wolf’s eyes wanted to let the tears fall. Is this what I need to do? Rat out the people who tried to help me hide from my mistakes?

A whine came from the back of his mind. His wolf felt the same way, but advised him. Taking a deep breath, Hauser licked his lips and whispered, “Doctor Morgan.”