The True One

Chapter 16 Part 1

Alek

Verity reacted to our destination exactly as I thought she would.

"An old warehouse?" She flicked a piece of chipped paint off the building's doorframe. To the side of the door, faded letters spelled out what had been its original business: Merrow Haberdashery. "This is sufficiently creepy. Is this where you bring unsuspecting women to murder them?"

"It's not what it looks like." And that was the point. A medium-sized wood-framed warehouse set amidst several similarly warn-out and dilapidated structures could hardly be the likely location of a secret society's hidden archives. But that's exactly what this warehouse was. Or, it had been the last time Norvin had brought me here.

"How do you know about this place? Wait, are you a secret billionaire and this architectural blight is actually hiding your high-tech headquarters?"

"I'm not a superhero. Definitely not a billionaire." I felt for the folded sheet of paper stuffed into my back pocket. "And this place—it's not mine."

"So, does that mean we're breaking and entering?"

"We'll be entering, but as for breaking," I gave her a bit of a side-eye. "Let's avoid any of that."

"Why are you looking at me like I'm guilty of a crime I've yet to commit? I'm not a drunken psychopath."

"No, but you're a werewolf. Of sorts."

"So?"

"So," I looked at her directly this time. "I'm going to need you to leave the wolf outside."

Scowling, she fingered the jade necklace her father had given her a few weeks ago. "Why would I do that?"

Verity Jayne did not appreciate being told what to do. At another time, I might relish her petty reaction, but right now, too much was on the line, including my neck.

"If your answers are anywhere, they're in this building. But they may not make you happy. They may make you angry." Angry enough to unleash a wild beast. I refused to be in the middle between a werewolf and her reality check.

"How little you think of me. "My wolf isn't some separate, unruly monster. It is me. I am in control of myself."

"None of us are in control of ourselves one hundred percent of the time, Verity." I certainly wasn't when I was around her.

"This isn't necessary."

"Just humor me, okay? I told you, we need to trust each other to do this thing. And what I'm about to do? If they found out...my whole life. Everything..." My voice broke. I couldn't bring myself to finish.

"Who's they?" She placed a hand on my shoulder. Compared to her customary hand to chest gesture, this touch seemed gentler, as though she genuinely cared that I was about to blow up my life for her. "What is going to happen to you if they find out?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. It's too late to go back anyways."

She considered me for another moment before nodding her head. "All right, you win this round."

Stepping back, she scanned the empty lot behind us, and then closed her eyes. Less than a minute later, a wolf materialized at her side, golden eyes doing their usual soul-penetrating glare. My human companion eyed me with a similar intensity. "Satisfied?"

"Never." I unfolded my sheet of paper, revealing the nine numbers I'd written on it. "But thank you."

Verity shifted her suspicion to it. "What's that?"

"Our way in." Before picking up Verity for this expedition, I'd swung by the Treasure Adventures headquarters, telling the clerk minding the storefront that Norvin had asked me to get something from his office.

I may not be able to count on him for a lot, but Norvin was ever faithful to his analog passcode keeping methods. Sliding out the shallow desk drawer, I felt on the underside of the desk until hand met paper. Pealing it away, I brought it out and gawked. Norvin must have kept nearly every password he needed on this worn-out sticky note. But there, right at the top, was the one I was searching for. Nine numbers and next to it, one word: archive.

It had been that simple. If Verity found out I was in a secret society, her head would likely fill with images of ancient ceremonies, blood sacrifices, and hooded robes. But Aurum Venari wasn't a television show. It didn't involve a lot of ritual, our hunts weren't sacrificial in nature, and what it lacked in costuming, it made up for in boomers with an inadequate grip on cybersecurity.

At the door to the archive, I punched in the code and the door thanked me with a ding, its handle sliding open as soon as I pushed it. Ushering Verity inside, and with one last look at her wolf, I followed her.

A motion light came on as soon as we stepped inside, revealing several rows of metal racks, each shelf stacked with an assortment of boxes, legers, and crates.

"Wow, this is..." Verity ran a finger along the shelf closest to her. It came away coated in grey. "Disgusting. What a mess. How are we going to find what we're looking for here? And what are we looking for exactly?"

"Answers." I said.

"But specifically."

"It's easier if I show you." I had next to no experience in these archives, but I'd helped Norvin transport files here once. At the time, he'd said something that might help us now.

The farther you go back, the farther back in time you go.

"Seriously, Alek, do you know where anything is here? It's totally disorganized. Flora would have a meltdown if she saw this place."

"It's not as bad as it looks at first," I said, pointing to a label on the front shelf that had been partially obscured by a plastic bag. "2022. See? We just need to find the right year."

"And what year is that?"

"The year your mom died." And mine. And my dad. Our parents' fates, all intertwined in the most horrendous of ways.

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Author's Note: I've done it again, I'm dividing this chapter up into two parts. Part 2 will be posted in a few days as a bonus update for you! 

How do you think Verity will react to Alek bringing up her mom? Will they find what they're looking for?

As always, thanks for your support! xoxoxo