Chapter Twenty-one
"Rhett was the quarterback for a high school team in Anchorage," Howard began. "Since his father was Pack Master of Alaska, Rhett enjoyed the support of hundreds of werewolf minions all over the state. Those who worked in the media turned him into a star. Werewolf boys who played on other football teams let Rhett's team win. Their loyalty to the Pack Master's son was greater than any loyalty to a mortal school. Werewolf teachers gave him perfect grades. He could do no wrong. He was the state's golden boy, destined for greatness."
Phil nodded. "We heard about him in Wyoming. The rumor was he was being groomed to run for governor or senator, and, ultimately, president."
"What went wrong?" Ian asked.
"I did." Howard grabbed his beer and took a drink. "Harry and I were defensive linemen for the football team in Port Mishenka."
Phil snickered. "The Port Mishenka Marmots."
Howard arched a brow at him. "I'm looking for a fight if you want to accommodate me."
"Enough, you two," Dougal muttered. "Back to the story."
Howard drank more beer. "It was our senior year, a pre-season game just for fun. Everyone was expecting the bigger team from Anchorage to slaughter the little team from nowhere. We knew we'd been selected as a scapegoat to make Rhett look good. The media was there, ready to fawn all over him."
Dougal sat forward. "What happened?"
"Harry and I could tell his offensive linemen were all werewolves, willing to die to protect him. And of course, they realized Harry and I were were-bears. We were the only shifters on our team. The rest were mortals, who had no idea why the game was suddenly becoming so violent. Harry would attack as many linemen as possible, keeping them busy so I could barrel my way through. I sacked Rhett ten times."
Phil chuckled. "I wish I could have seen that."
"The werewolves in the media reported I was a vicious psychopath, but the mortal media, who didn't care for the Bleddyns, made me into a hero." Howard sighed. "I started getting more attention than Rhett."
"Rhett's father probably beat the crap out of him for that," Phil muttered.
Howard nodded. "The media was eager to see us pitted against each other again, so they arranged for an all-star game at the end of the season. I was selected to play on one team. Rhett was named quarterback for the other. It was televised all over the state."
"Did ye sack him again?" Ian asked.
"Twelve times. I was named MVP and won a trophy. Scholarship offers came in. I was considered a state hero."
"And that honor was supposed to go to Rhett," Dougal said.
"Right." Howard shrugged. "I didn't think about the consequences at the time. I was too excited about the future. My college expenses would be paid for. I was dating a mortal girl from high school, and I wanted to marry her. Carly was her name."
"Did she know ye're a were-bear?" Dougal asked.
Howard nodded. "She was okay with it. She spent a lot of time with me on Paw Island, and she liked the were-bear community. I was going to propose to her the night of the senior prom. I went to Anchorage to buy an engagement ring. While I was away, there was a full moon, and Rhett and some of his werewolf buddies went after Carly."
"They attacked her?" Ian asked.
"They surrounded her." Howard took a deep breath. "I assume it was Rhett who bit her. They didn't have to do anything more than that. A simple bite, and she was lost to me forever."
"She would become a werewolf instead of a were-bear," Dougal said.
Howard nodded. "When I returned, I didn't see her much. She was ill and missed a lot of school. Her parents thought she'd been bitten by a wild dog, so they took her to get shots. I never realized . . ."
He sighed. If only he had known, he could have prepared her. She could have lived. She'd be a werewolf, but she'd still be alive. "The senior prom took place in the school gym on the next full moon. I was ready to propose, when her body started wavering. She didn't know what was happening. She ran from the school, screaming."
"Puir lass," Ian murmured.
"I followed her outside," Howard continued. "I could tell she was shifting, but I didn't know why. Then I saw Rhett and his buddies, waiting for her. Rhett laughed and said she would be his bitch."
"The bastard," Dougal muttered.
"Poor Carly was so terrified. She shifted and ran up the mountain. Rhett and his buddies shifted and chased after her." Howard scowled. "I knew I had lost her as a bride, but I couldn't let Rhett and his friends take her and abuse her. So I ran up the mountain to stop them."
"The same place where we found you the other night?" Dougal asked.
"Yes. I found her on the cliff, surrounded by snarling werewolves. I told her to stay put, that I would help her. I shifted and started fighting my way through the wolves." Howard rubbed his brow. "Two of Rhett's minions attacked me, and I tossed them off the cliff. The other minions ran away, and Rhett howled with rage. He pushed Carly off the cliff, and when I rushed forward to try to save her, he attacked me. We fought for a little while before I managed to throw him off the cliff."
"And that's why ye thought ye'd killed him?" Ian asked.
Howard nodded. "The three werewolf guys, including Rhett, had turned back to human form, so I thought they were dead. Carly had turned back to human form, too. I shifted back and went to the police to report her murder. Her family thought I had killed her, since I was the last person seen with her. I was arrested that night."
"You dinna tell the police about Rhett and his gang?" Dougal asked.
"Yeah, I said they had chased her off the cliff, but when the police checked the mountain, the werewolf bodies were gone. I figured Rhett's minions had cleaned the place up right after I left."
"But Rhett was still alive, the asshole," Phil muttered.
Howard grunted in agreement. "I was never put on trial, for lack of evidence, but I was banished to keep Rhett's father from declaring war on the were-bears. I was gone for years, so I never knew that Rhett had survived."
"We heard in Wyoming that he was dead," Phil said. "His father must have kept him hidden to make you look guilty."
"And to keep my people afraid of retaliation," Howard added. "Harry was the first were-bear to publicly challenge them in twenty years."
Ian finished off his bottle of Bleer and clunked it down on the desk. "Rhett needs to die."
Howard couldn't agree more. In fact, if his friends hadn't shown up, he might have given in to his berserker instincts and gone after Rhett. "I want him to suffer."
Phil nodded. "From what I can tell, nothing bothers him more than public humiliation. Harry was humiliating him and became his number-one enemy."
"And I humiliated him in high school," Howard said. "He was too cowardly to go after me. He used Carly as a pawn to hurt me."
"A pawn." Ian stood and fumbled around in his sporran. "That reminds me. Tino wanted you to have this. I doona ken why, but he insisted I give it to you." He handed a wad of napkins to Howard.
Howard unwrapped the napkins and found a chess piece inside. The white knight. Harry.
"An odd gift," Phil murmured.
Howard swallowed hard. Tino must have taken the piece from his chess set in the office. The marble was smooth and cool against his fingers. Harry, what have I done? How could I lose you like this?
He curled his fist around the piece. "Tino asked me once if it was possible to win the game without losing any pieces."
"Ye said nay?" Dougal asked.
Howard nodded slowly. Like a fool, he'd boasted that a player had to take his losses like a man and press on. His eyes grew moist, and he blinked. Tino was reminding him of his own advice. I'll press on, Harry. I will avenge you.
Every tear that was silently shed by Harry's mother felt like a knife thrust into his heart. Howard sat stiffly in a wooden church pew, his clenched hands resting on his knees, while the editor-in-chief of Northern Lights Sound Bites stood at the podium, talking about Harry's bravery and persistence when it came to chasing down a story.
Several of Harry's journalist friends had taken turns speaking at the memorial service, and they were all fighting back tears. Howard didn't want to show any weakness, so he tried not to mourn but to focus more on his anger and need for vengeance.
The fact that he'd never met Harry's friends before this service was a painful reminder of the long banishment he'd endured. Twenty years away from home, and it had all been based on a lie, for Rhett had been alive. Even so, the banishment had been easy to endure compared to the guilt he'd felt over Carly's death.
Now he had more guilt. Harry. Howard pushed that thought aside. The guilt would cripple him, make him weak, and he needed to stay strong to avenge Harry.
He turned his thoughts back to the enemy, Rhett. Apparently, old man Bleddyn had punished his son, too, for Rhett had been forced to live in secret, his existence known only to other high-ranking werewolves. It wasn't until the old Pack Master had died a year ago that Rhett had emerged into the public eye, making sure the media knew he was powerful and rich. Rhett's history of embezzling from his father's companies had probably been his way to repay his father's cruelty. Like father, like son, Howard thought. The twisted Bleddyn family needed to end.
The pastor said a closing prayer, then mourners lined up to pass by the small wooden box that rested on a table, wreathed with flowers. Howard stood behind his grandfather, his cousins, Jesse and Jimmy, and Phil.
The editor-in-chief, Mr. West, stopped by Harry's mother to convey his condolences, and lights flashed as several journalists snapped photos.
"Bastards," Howard muttered.
Phil turned to look at him. "We could arrange for their cameras to accidentally - " He suddenly stiffened, his eyes wide.
Howard glanced back. "Holy crap!"
The woman in line behind him fussed at him, but he didn't hear. His ears buzzed as red-hot rage engulfed him.
Rhett Bleddyn and two of his minions had just entered the small church.
Phil grabbed Howard's arm, but Howard shook him off and stalked toward Rhett. The werewolf stiffened with surprise, then masked it with a sneer.
"Howard," Phil hissed as he followed him. "Not here. There are too many cameras."
"What's up?" Jimmy asked as he and Jesse joined them.
"Why are those stinky wolves here?" Jesse whispered, then added, "no offense, bro."
"That's Rhett Bleddyn," Phil muttered.
"Whoa," Jimmy breathed.
Howard stopped in front of Rhett and his minions. "Get out. Before I toss you out limb by limb."
Rhett gave him a bland look. "I thought you were permanently banished from Alaska."
"I could only stay banished as long as you stayed dead," Howard said. "It's been a great disappointment all around."
Rhett snorted. "And look who's standing by your side. Phil Jones, the traitor to his own kind. Why am I not surprised?"
"You bastard," Phil growled. "You were going to kill my entire family."
Rhett cast an amused glance toward the journalists who were inching toward them with video cameras. "Go ahead, attack me. I'd love to get that on film."
"Leave," Howard growled.
"I will," Rhett smirked. "I just came to see who showed up. I knew Harry couldn't be the mastermind behind his little smear campaign. He was never all that bright, you know."
Howard seized Rhett by his tie and jerked him forward. Lights flashed as pictures were taken. Rhett's minions jumped on Howard, but Phil dragged one off while Jimmy and Jesse held the second one back.
"You're wrong," Howard hissed in Rhett's face. "We're not smearing you. We're going to destroy you."
"Yeah," Jimmy added. "We already got two of your houses, a-hole."
"And we've got proof you were embezzling - " Jesse started.
"He's a killer!" Rhett yelled to the journalists. "Howard Barr was arrested twenty years ago for killing his girlfriend, and now he's threatening me!"
Howard twisted Rhett's tie till he turned red in the face. More lights flashed. "You will die for killing Harry."
Gasps echoed around the church.
Howard released Rhett with a push that sent him stumbling back into the doorway. His cousins and Phil shoved the two minions back.
Rhett straightened his tie. "You have no proof. I could sue you for libel."
"Try it," Howard said. "We have proof of your embezzle - "
"You saw how he attacked me!" Rhett shouted at the journalists. He glanced at Jimmy and Jesse, then whispered to Howard, "How many friends are you willing to lose?"
With a growl, Howard stepped forward.
Phil grabbed his arm. "Not now."
Rhett and his minions hurried to his car.
"Wow," Jimmy whispered. "That was cool, man, like really intense."
"Yeah," Jesse added. "It was like a scene out of a movie."
Howard groaned. His cousins didn't realize they'd become Rhett's new targets.
"They're in danger?" Aunt Judy's voice grew louder. "My boys are in danger?"
"Calm down," Uncle James murmured.
"I won't calm down!" Aunt Judy glared at Howard. "You come back from Harry's funeral to tell me my boys could be next?"
"I'll take full responsibility for their safety," Howard assured her.
Six hours had passed since the memorial service, and during that time he'd taken the ferry from Anchorage to Port Mishenka, along with his cousins and grandfather, Phil, and Harry's mother. Then they'd all taken the smaller ferry to Paw Island.
For the entire trip, Harry's mother hadn't said a word. He'd offered to walk her back to her house, but she'd refused.
With the box containing Harry's ashes clutched against her chest, she'd glared at Howard. "He should have never gotten involved with you and your foolish quest for revenge. I told him you were trouble. You're no better than your father! Because of him, I lost my husband. Now I have no husband and no son!"
"Mrs. Yutu, I never meant - "
"Your line is cursed!" she interrupted him. "I regret Harry ever knew you." She marched off, leaving Howard behind.
Regret. The dreaded word echoed in his mind.
"It's the grief talking," Phil whispered. "Don't let it get you down."
Howard snorted. Harry's mother was definitely in pain, but she was correct. Her son would still be alive if he hadn't gotten involved with Howard's plan.
"Walter." He turned to his grandfather. "Will you take Phil home with you? I'll be there in a little while."
"Sure." Walter motioned for Phil to follow him. "You want a beer?"
"Oh." Howard called out to his grandfather. "There'll be two vampires in your basement."
Walter snorted. "Now you tell me. Does your mother know?"
"Yeah, I called her." Howard hadn't wanted his mother to freak out when she went downstairs to do the laundry and found two Vamps in their death-sleep.
Now he was in his cousins' house down the street, trying to break the news to Aunt Judy and Uncle James.
"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of security expert," James said. "How could you let this happen to our boys?"
"No one expected Rhett Bleddyn to come to the memorial service," Howard explained.
"Yeah," Jesse agreed. "I mean, the dude killed Harry. He had some balls showing up there."
"Language," Aunt Judy growled at her son, then turned to Howard. "We should have never let our boys get involved with you."
"We wanted to do it," Jimmy insisted.
"Yeah," Jesse agreed. "We're tired of our people cowering on these little islands, afraid of a few stinky wolves. We need to stand up for ourselves."
"Rhett needs to pay for his crimes," Howard said. "He killed Carly and Harry, and his father killed my father. Uncle James, don't you want the Bleddyns punished for killing your brother?"
"Of course." James gave his sons a worried look. "I was proud to let my boys help you out, but now - "
"It was a mistake from the beginning," Judy grumbled. "Now my boys have to go into hiding? We can't afford to send them away."
"I have it all covered," Howard assured her. "They can go to the private school where I work."
"School?" Jesse grimaced. "Dude, we graduated last spring."
"Yeah, and it's summer," Jimmy added.
"You won't have to take classes," Howard said. "Academic classes, that is. I will expect you to take martial arts and fencing so you can defend yourselves."
"You mean, like swords and karate stuff?" Jesse's eyes lit up.
"Cool," Jimmy said.
"You'll like the school," Howard continued. "There's a swimming pool and bowling alley in the basement, a horse stable close by, and plenty of mountains for hiking. Think of it as a free summer vacation."
"Cool," Jimmy repeated.
"Awesome," Jesse added.
Judy sniffed. "I feel like they're being banished! How long will they have to stay away? Twenty years, like you?"
Howard winced. "No."
"Where is this school?" James asked. "Can we visit?"
"Only if you let one of my vampire friends teleport you," Howard replied. "We have to keep the school's location secret, and booking plane fare could leave a trail." He groaned inwardly. He shouldn't have flown to Anchorage from Albany. But he hadn't been thinking clearly at the time. And he hadn't expected this development.
"Boys, go ahead and pack," James told them, and they hurried off to their bedroom.
Judy watched them go with tears in her eyes. "We should have never let them get involved." She turned to Howard. "What will Rhett do? Will he try to kill them? Will he have his minions attack our island? Are we all in danger because of you?"
"Judy, calm down," James said wearily.
Her eyes flashed with anger. "You should never get between a mama bear and her cubs. I wish they'd never met Howard!" She stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door.
James sighed. "I'll send the boys over to Walter's house when they're done packing."
"Thanks." Howard shook hands with his uncle, then wandered down the street to his grandfather's house. Regret. Harry's mother wished her son had never met him. Aunt Judy wished her sons had never met him.
Were all his relationships doomed to end with regret? He knew Elsa was falling for him, but still she kept trying to reject him. Did she regret being attracted to a berserker? Did she regret lying to her aunts, her only family? Did she regret falling in love with a man she couldn't trust? Was it wrong for him to keep pulling her back?
After a few beers with his grandfather and Phil, he felt even worse. Walter was being strangely quiet. He probably regretted that all three of his grandsons were going into hiding.
"If Rhett attacks the island - " Howard began.
"Don't worry about it," Walter grumbled. "If he wants a war with us, he can have one."
Howard sighed. How many people was he endangering? Regret.
Jimmy and Jesse arrived with packed duffel bags. After the sun set, Ian and Dougal came upstairs, sipping on bottles of Bleer. Howard explained the situation to them, and they teleported Jimmy and Jesse to Dragon Nest. They would return in a few minutes to take Howard and Phil.
"You have to go again?" Howard's mother watched him sadly.
Regret. "I'll bring the boys back as soon as it's safe."
His mother sighed. "I know you don't mean for others to suffer." She hugged him, then wandered into the kitchen.
"It's not your fault, Howard," Walter grumbled. "It's the damned curse." He sat in his recliner and opened a new can of beer.
What a miserable family, Howard thought. His mother had never recovered from his twenty-year banishment. His grandfather was suffering, too.
And so many more had suffered. Carly had been terrorized and murdered, leaving behind a grieving family. Harry had been killed, and now his mother was in mourning. Jimmy and Jesse would be forced into hiding, leaving behind distraught parents.
No wonder Walter said they were cursed. Even Harry's mother had said his line was cursed. Everyone who loved him lived to regret it. If they lived.
His heart sank. Elsa's instincts to reject him had been right all along. It was the only way she could stay safe. If he tried to hang on to her, it would only cause her regret. She shouldn't have to live with a man she couldn't trust.
If he loved her, he needed to let her go.