BLOOD DREAM (Ongoing)

9.3: Hunt Scavengers

She had to get to the pack house right away. The more time she gave for Frank to learn she'd helped Theron, the more suspicious it would become that she was searching for the lock box. Kitra showered and changed her clothes, then hopped into Theron's car and made her way to Amir's house.

The skies darkened by the time she arrived. It looked like it was going to rain again. Theron was still all she could think about, but now her compassion for her brother motivated her. She would fight for him. She would leave Liam and prove to Frank that Theron was worthy of a second chance. Yes, he would wander tonight, alone and cold in the rain, to serve as atonement for everything wrong he had done. This exile was his punishment, but in the end, they would take him back. She was certain.

Kitra entered the house to voices in the kitchen. She popped in, smiling at Madeline and Rory, a couple in their thirties, and their 6-year-old son, Tyson. All wolves. Well, not right now. "Where's everybody else?" asked Kitra.

"Hunting," grumped Tyson, scratching a pencil on a paper in front of him.

"Have they been out long?"

Madeline leaned in to look at Tyson's homework. "They went out earlier this afternoon. Should probably be home any minute."

"Yeah? Did they leave you in charge of protecting the house?" Kitra asked, leaning in on Tyson's other side.

Tyson steadfastly poured over his homework. "No, Mom said I can't go hunt until I finish."

"Oh. Well, that's very important," said Kitra. She stepped away from the table. "Keep at it, Ty! I know you can do it." She looked to Rory standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes. "I just came by to grab something from upstairs. I'll be right back!"

Madeline and Rory dismissed her, unsuspecting.

Theron told her that the lock box was kept up in Frank's office, which used to be Oliver's office, and that the combination was a simple 2-5-5-5-2. Kitra watched her feet, cautious not to creak any floorboards as she opened the door to Frank's office. It was breezy and cool, the window half-open, the large cherrywood desk kept clear of unnecessary papers and the desktop computer powered off. She opened the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet beside the desk, also shiny and grey, and found the lock box. It was old and encrusted with red rust on the corners, scuffed, scratched, and well-loved, leading her to wonder what her father kept hidden in there all this time.

She carefully entered the combination and pulled the lock apart. Kitra opened the lock box, finding inside mostly documents: the title deed to the house, photocopies of birth certificates, a couple appraisal papers of some old farm equipment, Oliver's passport, and scraps containing the passwords to various bank accounts. None of it stood out to her as being important to Imogen. Kitra flipped through the passport, pausing on the glossy photo of her father.

These days, she rarely had time to miss him. Looking at him now left her heart aching.

She wouldn't lose another member of her family.

Kitra sighed and leafed through the remaining pages when a slip of paper fluttered to the floor. She picked it up, turned it over, and found... a QR code printed on it. The paper was old and the code faded some. "Seriously? Who even uses these?" she muttered, examining the code. But Kitra didn't have any more time to look. She heard the door open downstairs, a tidal wave of voices announcing the return of the hunters. Kitra tucked the paper in her pocket, took photos of everything in the lock box, then put the lock box away, hoping she wouldn't need to revisit it. She closed the door behind herself and only then realized how she had left her scent all over the room.

Ah, shit. That meant she had to bail before Frank could interrogate her.

Kitra jogged downstairs to see the hunting party gathered in the living room, among them Dorothy, Gabby, and Liam. The way Liam's eyes lit up when he saw her made her stomach turn. She smiled, then caught Gabby's eye and felt a hundred times more comfortable going to her. "Hey, how was it?" asked Kitra, placing Gabby between herself and Liam.

The sudden attention had Gabby blushing. "It was fine," she said, looking away.

"We just beat the rain," said Liam. "Looks like we got home right on time, too. How was work?"

"Fine," echoed Kitra.

"I'm taking a nap," Dorothy announced, pushing past them to go upstairs.

"Hey, you stopped at home today, right?" Liam asked Kitra.

"Yeah. Don't worry, it was safe," said Kitra.

"Good. I was worried," he said, inching closer while Gabby voluntarily inched away. "I was hoping we could do something tonight."

She didn't think she'd find Liam annoying until he sold out her brother to hunters and acted like there was nothing wrong with it. It only bolstered her desire to get away from him. Kitra glanced at Gabby and almost gave the excuse that they had plans, but if she was meaning to cut it off with Liam, why not just do it now? She inhaled and smiled. "Yeah, we can hang out."

Unseen, Gabby withered. She stepped away, but Kitra caught her in the corner of her eye and turned again. "Wait! Gabby, can I message you later?"

She froze. "Yeah. Any time."

"It's about the cam placements," Kitra clarified, which it wasn't.

"Sounds good." Gabby suffered a smile back and went on her way.

That felt bad. Kitra sighed and went back to Liam, now keenly touching her arms. "Let's go to your place, okay?" she said quietly, feigning intimacy. "But I have to take my car. I can't stay the night, I have to work some things out with Gabby later."

"Okay." Liam was none-the-wiser.

A crisp wind coughed raindrops onto her windshield. Kitra scrolled on her phone until she found a QR code reader app and downloaded it. Liam was already pulling away down the road; she turned on the car and followed his headlights into the rain. At a red light, she used the app to scan the code, but wasn't fast enough and had to leave it for the next light. Text popped up that she couldn't read until she parked in front of Liam's house. She hastily took a screenshot while Liam got out of his car. Kitra sent it as an attachment in a community discussion app that both she and Theron had accounts on. She hoped whatever it was meant something; she ran out of time before Liam was at her window, his reflection smoldering.

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