I sighed and shook my head. For some reason, I had a feeling the conversation wasn’t over. I really needed to figure out what was truly Yuri’s problem with Daniel and Matt. Right now wasn’t the time for that though. I put Mabel’s address into the GPS and then followed it on foot. She was a walker which would mean she probably wouldn’t be home but running some errands for the Clan. I wasn’t really sure what I would be looking for. Anything suspicious probably. She had to communicate with the mercenaries and needed some way of paying them.

At least vampires didn’t have a keen sense of smell. If I didn’t leave any blood and if I put stuff back exactly the way they were Mabel would have no idea I was ever there. Hopefully, she wouldn’t just teleport in while I was there. That would be unfortunate…

The vampire Clan owned the more lively part of the city. Many shops and even some clubs could be found here. It was moderately busy today. Luckily for me, Mabel’s house was more to the edge of the city. I could hide in the trees nearby and watch it for a bit. It was a two-story house with a garage and a small garden, all covered in snow. It didn’t even look like anyone shoveled away snow since the start of winter. Oh well, I guessed that if you could teleport at will you had no reason to shovel snow. I didn’t see anyone in the windows and I heard no heartbeat inside though it was a bit hard to be sure since there were a few people around. So I decided to wait outside and just watch for a bit.

Soon my thoughts started turning back towards Yuri and Matt. There was no reason the two shouldn’t like each other. At least Matt knew what he wanted and accepted who he was. Unlike Hiro. So what if Matt was perfect? I counted myself lucky and didn’t question it. Hell after all I’ve been through I deserved someone like Matt, didn’t I? Maybe they just needed time to get used to each other…

“You seem lost in thought,” a voice made me jump. I turned and immediately tensed ready for a fight.

“Baltazar,” I growled. He was leaning against a tree, wearing a damn suit, smiling at me.

“Bran used to do the same, just staring into space, his mind spinning endlessly,” he said with an affectionate smile.

I bared my teeth at him, everything inside me was riling up against that. “You have no right to talk about Bran.”

His smile fell away. “I guess not… He never wanted me to meet you, to even see you. He even made me promise I would never hurt you,” he said. “He was keeping you all to himself like a precious treasure. My, did that make me jealous.”

“Stop it,” I growled, feeling my muscles rippling with the need to silence him myself. Bran would never…

“So he really did succeed. He made himself the perfect god in your eyes. Flawless, all-knowing, all-powerful… So much you wouldn’t even consider for a second he wasn’t that perfect after all,” he said almost as if feeling bad for me. “I wonder what his obsession with you was…”

“Bran loved me, like a son,” I said.

“He also loved me, as a mate,” Baltazar threw right back at me. I almost physically flinched at the words. There was no way… “You might not want to believe it but it’s the simple truth. And trust me that my love for Bran and his love for you are the only reason why I will not kill you for all that disrespect,” he said, his eyes cold and deadly. They made me shudder, made me feel like a coyote standing in front of a bear. “It’s not Anderson nor Mabel. It’s Daniel.”

“What?” I barked out stunned. “Why should I trust anything you say? In my opinion, it’s you.”

He glared at me. “Believe what you want, brat. But for the sake of Bran who loved you so much I’m telling you right now it’s Daniel. He’s been conspiring with Riah to overthrow me and create a base for their clan here from which they could slowly conquer the whole of the North American continent. But they know very well they can do nothing while the Old Wolf King Alistair holds power here. So they have been working on eliminating the Ghealach pack.”

“I do not believe you. How did you find out then?” I frowned at him.

“I am Daniel’s Maker. I know everything about him. It took only a few simple questions and some searching. Anyway, he’s the only one stupid and angry enough to conspire with Riah. He despises me, because of Bran and because of what happened after. It can only be him,” he said with actual sadness in his eyes. “Daniel has always been arrogant. I should’ve seen this coming.”

Everyone seemed to point at Daniel… But why would he do that? Why would he help us? Why would he even tell me about Riah and her plan to take over the North? That had nothing to do with this. I didn’t need to know it. So why did he tell me? Why did he let me find the mercenaries? It just didn’t make sense!

“Stay away from this. I only came to tell you because of Bran. Do not senselessly risk your life. He has thrown everything away just to be the perfect man for you. He has always said you were meant for great things…”

Meant for great things… Memories in my mind stirred and quickly enveloped me.

It wasn’t fair! I didn’t do anything! It was Trystan’s fault. He was bullying Scotty. Was I supposed to just ignore that? How was I the one who got scolded for attacking Trystan? Was Father totally blind to Trystan’s cruelty? I wiped the tears from my cheek furiously and ran up the stairs and right into Bran’s room. I slammed the door closed behind myself and turned to start roaring how damn unfair Father was when I noticed Bran was standing by the window looking out at the forest and the room reeked of sadness. My mouth fell shut immediately. My own tears forgotten. Bran was sad? Why was he sad? I took a few steps toward him and carefully touched his arm. He turned to face me. His eyes were red and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Now, now little one there’s no need to cry,” he said, wiping at his own tears.

“So why are you crying then?” I asked, feeling stunned by the glistening tears in his eyes. He smiled gently at me, then sat down on the bed and gathered me up onto his lap. I nuzzled close, hoping the touch would comfort him, just like his touch could always comfort me.

“Do not cry little one… You are meant for great things. One day you will play an important role in the future of wolves. It will be a hard path to follow so you must be strong. And so I too need to be strong…” he said. Petting my hair. Then he grimaced, his face clouded with sadness. “Sorry, Baz… I have chosen,” he whispered.

I had no idea what he was talking about. I simply held him as he had held me many times before when I was sad. He cried quietly into my hair…

I shook my head, chasing the memory away. As I came back to reality I realized I stood alone. Damn Baltazar poisoning my mind! I turned back to the house, but then my phone started ringing. What now? I frowned at the screen but when I saw it was Matt I picked it up.

“Hey, wha---”

“Reid! Reid you need to help me!” he whispered nervously into the phone. I immediately went on high alert, my heart pounding.

“What is it? Where are you?” I asked, already heading towards the library.

“Someone is following me… I’m so scared, Reid,” he sobbed. “Please meet me in the parking lot behind the general store. I’m hiding there,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few seconds, just hold on,” I assured him, then hung up and ran as fast as I could. Damn it. It was only a matter of time before someone came after Matt to hurt me. Why didn’t I make someone watch over him? Damn it. Damn it! I would never forgive myself if he came to harm because of me.

The people in the city stared and yelled at me, but I didn’t care. I needed to get to Matt. I ran as fast as I could but it still took me way too long. I was gasping for breath, my lungs burning when I finally stopped in the parking lot. It was surprisingly empty. “Matt!” I called out looking for his scent. Where are you? God, where are you?!

“Reid!” Relief washed over me as I finally heard his voice. He was hiding behind a black van, tears on his cheeks and his eyes wide with fear.

“I’m here, god I’m here, it’s okay!” I said as I grabbed him and pulled him close, breathing in his scent. “Who was following you? Did you see? Where is the last place you’ve seen them?” I started asking immediately, looking around cautiously. Whoever it was they would pay dearly for scaring Matt.

“It’s alright, there’s no one here,” he said into my chest. Then suddenly something sharp bit into my chest right by my heart. For a second I froze, confused as the pain spread all around my chest. As Matt pulled away my limbs seemed to grow heavy and I fell to the ground. There was a syringe sticking out of my chest and it was empty. I looked up at Matt in confusion as the world around started to go blurry. He was smiling. “There’s no one here to see us, so sleep little Reid…” he said. What? I wanted to ask him what was going on, what was he trying to do, but the world around faded away into darkness.