Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den (18 page)

The accusations tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, and his face grew hot once he realized what he'd said. Darryl stared at him for several long seconds, and at last he cleared his throat.

“Your mother wouldn't want you to risk your life for her,”
he
said quietly. “You or Nolan. And I'm sorry I never told you about all of this, Simon—it's a discussion your mother and I have had countless times, but ultimately we both decided it was safer if you didn't know. Not until you absolutely had to.”

“I absolutely had to yesterday,” said Simon. “I absolutely had to when the rats started chasing us.”

“And we were going to tell you. Your mother had already started to,” said Darryl.

“It was too late by then.” Simon hesitated. “It doesn't matter. I'm not leaving Mom or Nolan.”

The scar running down his uncle's face twitched. “Simon—”

An infuriated roar filled the entrance hall. A hulking wolf stood at the top of the stairwell, his hackles raised and his teeth bared.

“I was wondering when you'd show your face,” said Malcolm in a dangerous voice as he advanced on them. “I see you're not nearly as dead as you wanted us to believe.”

Darryl's grip on Simon tightened. “We were just leaving.”

Simon opened his mouth to protest, but Malcolm cut him off. “You're not going anywhere—either of you.”

“And how do you plan on stopping me?” The dangerous rumble in Darryl's voice made Simon shiver. “Twelve years or not, I can still take you.”

A chorus of low growls echoed through the entrance hall, and at least a dozen wolves appeared from the shadows,
surrounding
them. Three gathered at the exit, blocking their only escape route. Simon's heart raced.

“Both of you, into the Den,” said Malcolm. “I'll let the Alpha decide what to do with you.”

Behind him, Simon could feel his uncle shuddering with the effort not to shift. “You have no idea what's going on, Brother. If you did—”

“Then I guess it's a good thing you'll have plenty of time to tell me, isn't it?” Malcolm jerked his head, and the other wolves moved closer, gnashing their teeth. “Stairwell. Now.”

“And if I don't?” said Darryl.

“Then I hope your pup doesn't get in the way while we rip you to shreds for treason.”

“Please—listen to him,” begged Simon. The last thing he wanted was for the Alpha to sink her claws into Darryl, too, but there was no escaping without a fight his uncle would lose. And maybe, just maybe, Darryl knew where she might have hidden his mother. It was becoming painfully clear that Simon couldn't save her by himself, and they had only one more day before the Alpha returned. He needed all the help he could get.

At last Darryl nodded tersely and headed down the staircase, taking Simon with him. The rest of the students had long since disappeared into the Den, and part of Simon was grateful. An audience wouldn't help his uncle's temper.

“If I find out you've touched a hair on Simon's head—” said Darryl as they passed over the bridge.

“
Why would we want to hurt him?” said Malcolm, nipping at their ankles. Simon hurried along, but Darryl kept the same slow, languid pace, as if he were daring them to try to rush him. “Now explain. What's going on?”

“Not here,” Darryl growled. “Not in front of everyone.”

“Then walk faster,
Brother
. I expect you remember the way.”

The corridors were strangely empty, and when Simon smelled food, he remembered it was dinnertime. The brothers said nothing as they entered the Alpha's section, and it wasn't until the door shut firmly behind them that Malcolm shifted back. The members of the pack who had escorted them remained outside, and for one horrible second, as Darryl stared at his brother with clenched fists and shaking shoulders, Simon thought he was going to attack Malcolm.

“Now tell me,” said Malcolm, not taking his eyes off Darryl. “Why did you abandon the pack? Why did you fake your death and leave me to—” Malcolm stopped, and the cords in his neck stood out.

While Simon perched anxiously on the sofa, Darryl began to pace through the trees. “Had you been in my position, you would have done the same. Luke was dead. Isabel was pregnant with his potential heirs. With the war brewing between Mother and Orion, there was no safe place for Isabel within the kingdoms.”

Malcolm glanced at Simon. “Orion didn't know,” he
muttered,
ducking his head as if it would somehow stop Simon from overhearing. “He would've had no reason—”

“He knew. He caught Luke shifting. Why do you think he suddenly began to support Luke's relationship with his daughter after years of fighting it?”

Malcolm paled. “He wanted to control—?”

“You can say it, you know,” said Simon. Both men stopped and looked at him. “My father was the Beast King's heir.”

The brothers gaped at him for several seconds before Darryl rounded on Malcolm. “You told him?”

“Of course not.”

“Have you told Nolan?” Darryl said, and Malcolm faltered.

“We had to. If he shifted into a member of another kingdom without any warning—”

“Malcolm didn't tell me,” said Simon. “But I know now, so you can stop pretending.”

Darryl headed over to the couch, sitting beside Simon and clasping his hands together. “That's exactly why we did this, your mother and I. You mentioned you know about the Alpha seeking the pieces of the Predator—”

“What are you talking about?” said Malcolm. “Mother isn't—”

“Of course she is,” said Darryl. “Why do you think she's been manipulating the other kingdoms into following her?”

“For peace,” said Malcolm. “Since she's brokered the treaties, there haven't been more than a few skirmishes—”

“
Except between the mammals and the birds,” said Darryl.

Malcolm scoffed. “The birds refuse to join the pact. Isabel assured Mother that as soon as Orion died and she became their ruler—”

“If she trusted Mother so much, then why did she ask me to hide Simon?”

Silence settled over them, and now it was Malcolm's turn to pace. “I don't know. And if you're going to tell me Mother had something to do with you faking your death, too—”

“Mother has
everything
to do with it. She and Orion,” said Darryl. “I had to protect Simon. Their war over the kingdoms, their fight to best each other—Mother's been collecting the pieces of the Predator. She wants to put it back together, and when she does, she's going to kill whichever boy inherited Luke's powers, and then she's going to seize control of all five kingdoms.”

Simon found nothing gratifying about having his worst fears confirmed, and hearing his uncle lump Orion in with the Alpha nauseated him. His grandfather was nothing like the Alpha, even if he had known Simon's father was the Beast King's heir. Orion hadn't been the one to send the rats after them, and he hadn't been the one to try to kill his family. He had saved Simon.

Malcolm's face twisted as though he'd smelled something horrible. “I don't believe you.”

“Think about it, Brother.” Darryl closed the distance
between
them, taking Malcolm by the shoulders. “Mother's been holding Nolan hostage, using him against Isabel to make her scour the country searching for the pieces. Why else would Mother send her traveling so often? It wasn't for diplomacy. Isabel spent
years
researching the Beast King and the Predator with Luke. If anyone was capable of finding the pieces, it was her.”

The hot knot in Simon's chest returned, and everything turned to static as Darryl's words settled over him. His mother was the one putting the weapon together. That was why she almost never came to see him. That was why he'd never had a real family. If she was doing the Alpha's bidding, then she must have been watched closely, which meant it was a risk every time she'd visited him. But she'd done it anyway. She'd still wanted to be part of his life. And that, he realized, must have been why Darryl stayed in the city the whole time. So Simon could have that relationship with his mother.

Knowing the truth didn't wash away the bitterness or fill the hollow ache inside him, but at least now Simon had an answer. At least now he knew that his mother really did love him.

Malcolm shoved his brother away. “And why should I believe a word you say? You abandoned us. You lied to us—you lied to
me
. For twelve years, you let me think I was alone, and now—” His entire body trembled. “I don't
believe
you.”

“Mother knew I was alive,” said Darryl. “Maybe for years.
She
sent the rat army to our apartment yesterday after Orion found us, and they took Isabel. They would've taken Simon if I hadn't stopped them.” He took another step toward Malcolm, using his height advantage to look down at him. “If she doesn't trust you with that much, what else is she keeping from you?”

An inhuman snarl cut through the air, and in a flurry of teeth and fur, Malcolm shifted and leaped at Darryl, knocking him to the grass.

Darryl roared. In an instant, he also shifted into his wolf form, and Simon jumped back as they collapsed in a heap of limbs and claws.

The wolves snarled and ripped at each other's fur, pawed each other's snouts, and rolled over and over again as they each fought to gain control. Simon knew he should have panicked—they could kill each other, and he couldn't lose Darryl, too. But he stared at them, frozen, his mind reeling. There was something off about the fight. After several seconds, he realized what it was.

Neither wolf was drawing blood.

At last the larger wolf—Darryl—pinned the smaller one to the ground, putting all his weight on Malcolm's torso. “You're the only one I can trust now, do you understand? Mother wants the twins for their abilities, and I need your help to stop her, Brother.”

Malcolm gasped for air. “Mother—only wants peace. She loves—she loves Nolan. She would never—”

“
Are you willing to bet his life on it?” Darryl jumped off him, and both men shifted back into human form. “She already has four of the pieces. All she needs is Orion's.”

Wheezing, Malcolm sat up and rubbed the red marks on his neck. “If it's true—
if
—then you know I'd never let anything happen to the boys. But you've given me no proof, no reason to trust you, no plan of action—”

“The rats said they took my mom to the Den,” said Simon suddenly. Both men turned to face him. “If she's here, then where would the Alpha hide her?”

“She wouldn't,” said Malcolm. “It's a school, not a prison.”

Darryl snorted. “Tell that to Isabel.”

“I'll have the pack scour the grounds, but I promise you, she isn't here,” said Malcolm, climbing to his feet.

“But what if we do find her?” said Simon. “Will you believe us then?”

Malcolm's nostrils flared, and his knuckles went white. “Yes. Then I'll believe you.”

Darryl clapped his hand on Simon's shoulder. “
We
will not be looking for her. You will stay safe in the pack's care. Is that understood?”

“But—”

“I've already lost you once,” he said, his dark eyes flashing. “I won't lose you again. I know every room, every tunnel, every brick below the zoo. If your mother's here, I swear I will find her.”

Simon
slumped and nodded reluctantly. He didn't doubt his uncle, but he also didn't trust Malcolm, not completely.

When dinner finally arrived, Simon was too tense to eat much. He was painfully aware of both Darryl and Malcolm watching him as they talked tersely about the past twelve years, so he forced down a few bites, but all he could think about was where the Alpha might have hidden his mother. It wasn't until later, after he'd excused himself and headed to his bedroom to read more of his mother's notebook, that his uncle's words echoed back to him.

I know every room, every tunnel, every brick below the zoo.

Simon's insides tightened. Of course.
Of course
. He was an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. Darryl could search the Den all he wanted, but Simon knew exactly where he would hide an Animalgam right under someone's nose, and it wouldn't be a place where someone could accidentally stumble across her.

No—if he was going to hide a golden eagle, then there was only one place that made sense: the Central Park Zoo.

15

NIGHT OWL

With his heart pounding, Simon dashed out of his bedroom and onto the balcony, looking down into the atrium. “Darryl?” he called, but his uncle was already gone. Instead, Vanessa sat at the base of the spiral staircase, whittling something.

“They've gone on patrol,” she said, craning her neck to see Simon. “Anything I can do for you?”

Simon shook his head. “No, I just—wanted to ask him something. I'll do it in the morning.”

He returned to his bedroom and closed the door firmly behind him. If he couldn't tell his uncle where he thought his mother was, that left only one choice.

“Felix?” said Simon. The little mouse crawled out of the corner where he'd made a nest of socks, bleary-eyed and yawning.

“
If this doesn't involve food, I'm not interested.”

Simon offered him a napkin full of bread and cheese he'd saved from dinner. “When you looked for my mom, did you search the zoo aboveground?”

Felix's whiskers twitched. “I was going to, but the idea of being eaten didn't appeal to me.”

A small thrill of hope ran through him. If Felix hadn't looked up there, then it meant there was a chance Simon was right. “I need to get into the zoo without anyone finding out.”