Part Five

Malachi hugged Adara tightly and kissed the top of her head as they stood in the airport in Anchorage. She was crying and she hadn’t really stopped since Kiran had left. She was withdrawn, depressed and moody, everything he felt as well.

Malachi put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You’re not being punished. I just need you to be safe. With everything going on, I can’t keep an eye on the pack and keep you safe at home.”

“I know, I just wish I knew what I did wrong,” Adara said to him.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s hard to explain, but one thing I do know for sure is that he’ll come back,” he replied gently.

There was an announcement that the boarding gate would open in five minutes and Malachi looked at his watch.

“You have to go and before you know it, you’ll be coming back with Kiran standing right here waiting for you.”

Adara hugged him once more and then walked away. The smile faded from his lips as he walked back to his car. He drove back to Seward in silence; he hadn’t even bothered to put the radio on, his thoughts were keeping him busy enough.

He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. His phone rang and he pressed the answer button without looking at his phone. James’ voice filled the car.

“Malachi, Kiran’s phone is off. Is he with you? I have a bad feeling.”

Malachi could identify with James' worry, he felt it too. “James, he left.”

“Why? When? What happened? Where did he go?” James rambled the questions one after the other as his voice grew louder.

“James, calm down, I don’t know where he went. He only left a note saying he was leaving. We need to trust him on this. He left last night. His GPS shows him on the Alaskan highway, towards Canada, I haven’t told Adara and I just dropped her off at the airport.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Where is she going? She could drive to Canada, you know, it’s not that far.” James rambled on without taking a breath and he inhaled sharply as he finally stopped talking.

“I sent her back to Ireland. Robert came to see me last night and confirmed that Officer Adrian Peters is the man hunting us. I plan on having a pack meeting tomorrow night at my house, just the men. Are you still in Seward?” Malachi asked him.

“I’m at the house now, we’ll wait for you to come back. So you sent her to Ireland for her own safety?”

“Yes, listen, we’ll discuss everything as soon as I get back. See you later,” Malachi said and disconnected the call.

Malachi dialed Garrick’s number and asked him to convene the pack at his house the following evening. They needed a firm plan on what to do about Adrian Peters. He wanted to drive to Adrian’s house and rip his throat out but an unsanctioned murder would lead to his own execution.

Malachi pulled his Navigator into the garage and let the doors close. He climbed out with a heavy heart and walked inside the house where he heard James in the kitchen.

“Where’s Shoran?” Malachi asked as James took out another cup.

“Asleep upstairs,” James said as he made coffee for Malachi and handed him a cup.

Malachi sat down at the counter and sat in silence for a few seconds as James crossed his arms over his chest. “His note just said that he was sorry, he had to leave and that he would come back when he was ready.”

“Why though, without talking to anyone?” James was confused by Kiran’s actions and silence.

“That day in the basement, it’s hard to describe if you weren’t there to witness it. He took so much emotion that it physically threw him against the wall. You saw what he looked and acted like when he eventually woke up after that,” Malachi explained.

“I know, he scared the hell out of me. So, in the meantime we just wait?” James asked.

“We’ll talk tomorrow night with the pack here. If you want to understand what he’s going through, Montgomery’s lupiary is in my second drawer. Start reading at page one hundred and seventy-nine.” Malachi stood up from the counter and looked at James. “I’m going to sleep, I’ve been up since yesterday morning.”

James went to Malachi’s study and opened the second drawer. He took out the journal with the worn leather cover. He opened it and flipped the pages until he got to page one hundred and seventy-nine.

He walked to the living room as he started reading and fell down on the couch reading the story of Montgomery Sinclair. He was lost in his own world and he only closed the lupiary once he had finished reading the account of what would be six months in the life of Montgomery Sinclair.

It was close to midnight as he finished reading and he desperately wanted to discuss it with Malachi, but it would have to wait until morning. He went upstairs to his bedroom and got into bed next to Shoran. He worried about Kiran, alone in Canada and he was planning on telling Malachi that he was going to go look for him.

He woke up the following morning and the bed next to him was empty and the house felt too quiet. He walked down the stairs and found Malachi in the kitchen, staring off into space.

“You okay?” James asked him as Malachi looked up and briefly smiled at him.

“He disconnected his GPS, just across the border.”

“He’s going to Wolf Peak, I’m going after him.” James had stood up and looked at Malachi with determination in his eyes.

“No, this is something that he needs to do. I can’t have you running off after him. You need to go back to Fairbanks and let me handle Adrian Peters,” Malachi said sternly. “The pack will arrive from six pm tonight, please welcome them. I have to go see a client.”