BLOOD DREAM (Ongoing)

12.3: Boys Will Be Boys

Kitra arrived at the pack house at sunrise. Gabby had texted her around 3 AM, but she didn't see the message until she woke for work that Monday morning. Usually, Kitra prioritized work above all else, but the message from Gabby was urgent: You need to see this. We caught Theron and Liam on a trail cam. She called the library to let them know she would be a couple hours late.

It was her first hope that this footage would prove her brother's innocence. They would see visual evidence that Liam was the one provoking Theron. Or, preferably, they spoke and worked out their problems. Kitra had covered for him on Friday after his boss called asking where he was, providing the excuse that he'd been injured and would present a doctor's note next weekend. She looked forward to resolving the issue of his exile so they could return to normalcy.

The footage eliminated any chance of that happening.

Gabby got out of the chair and let Kitra sit, then pressed play. The scene unfolded with the arrival of a wolf, who Gabby pointed out as Liam, and then another that Kitra recognized as Theron. Her brother's Dire form had become massive and frightening in their teenage years; she swore, sometimes she even saw him in her dreams, that snarling obsidian wolf. She had no real reason to be afraid of him, but watching him savagely attack Liam left her second-guessing everything. The neck in his teeth could have been anyone's.

Then Theron was human, and she was grateful for the low quality video in that she didn't have to witness all the details of her brother's nudity. But the image of him arched over Liam remained jarring. His punch made Kitra flinch. As they fell still, sharing dialogue that evaded the trail cam, Kitra's innards twisted up in dread. He was supposed to be trying to get better. He was supposed to be laying low! What was he doing here on Sadie's trail, getting violent with Liam?

They visibly argued, then Liam shoved Theron. Kitra had never seen Liam so aggressive; she could only chalk it up to a result of emotions running hot, which brought the fighting boys to the ground. Their hands were obscured by Theron's malevolent spine, his body engulfing most of Liam, the sight striking horror into Kitra as she realized that Theron might not have mercy—that he killed animals often, and he could kill Liam.

The fighting paused. Theron's head turned, his eyes flashing as he recognized the trail cam. Kitra shivered.

Reeling to his feet, Theron stumbled away, turned wolf, and ran. Liam smiled in the lowlight.

Kitra looked at Gabby, mortified. "What was that?"

"I don't know. I was the only person awake when it happened," said Gabby. "I told Frank as soon as I could... I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, Kitra stood and covered her mouth. She couldn't slow down her racing thoughts. It couldn't be true—Theron said he was telling the truth. He wouldn't blatantly deceive her, he was better than that, he was trying to be better! Kitra stared at the wall. "Where's Liam?"

"He hasn't come in yet."

"Did they go check out the area?"

"Frank and Rory are out there now," said Gabby.

It didn't even feel like him. It couldn't have been the same person she was messaging just yesterday. But it was! How could he...? "Do you think there's any chance Liam started it?" she ventured, weakly grasping hope.

Gabby shrugged. "If he did, it would have been off screen. He knows where the cams are."

But Theron didn't. They never got a chance to brief him on the project.

"Given that they'd been hanging out recently, it seems odd for Liam to provoke Theron," said Gabby.

"Liam said to me... he said that everybody would root for him in the end," Kitra said quietly. "I can't help but wonder if this happened on purpose. You saw the way my brother ran away. You saw Liam smiling, right?"

Gabby adjusted her glasses as she digested what Kitra implied. "You think Liam is setting Theron up?"

Kitra nodded.

She knew it would be hard for Gabby to believe. For so long, Gabby hid behind Dorothy and Sadie and Liam as their weakest link. They protected her from Theron. Now Kitra was asking her to forget all of that for Theron's sake, and it scared her that, like everyone else, Gabby would be ruled by her bitterness.

But Gabby chewed her cheek and sighed. "You know, Liam has been giving me bad vibes for a while."

Maybe Kitra was wrong. She fought to hide her surprise.

"I thought it was shady how he found the hunter on that dating app," continued Gabby.

"I thought that was part of their plan."

"No, not originally," said Gabby. She looked around, ensuring nobody else could hear them in Amir's surveillance room. "After Frank got in contact with the hunters, they were expecting the hunters to catch Theron on Sadie's trail. But they never did. Presumably because Theron hadn't been in contact with Sadie. It wasn't even part of the plan for Dorothy to get you to record the video, but then Frank thought telling Theron about the hunters would push him to seek out Sadie. When he still didn't, that's when I first heard about the plan to meet that hunter at the bar."

It wasn't all flawlessly orchestrated from the beginning. Their whole plan shapeshifted in a desperate attempt to get Theron to expose himself. And when he didn't, they did it for him. "So Patrick's death...?"

Gabby looked pained. "They wouldn't have. That was just a coincidence. But they still exploited it to use against Theron."

It probably gave them closure to blame somebody within reach, but it was still wrong. Kitra slumped in the chair, thinking. "So you knew about this plan when we were preparing our proposal."

Guilt dashed across Gabby's face. "You weren't supposed to be involved."

"You wouldn't go behind my back now. Right?"

Gabby sought her eyes. "No. I wasn't trying to..."

She wasn't angry. Gabby was the only person she felt she could trust; she'd been honest with her thus far. Kitra touched her arm, smiling dully. "I trust you," she said. Gabby sighed with relief and Kitra stood. "I have to go to the library. Are you staying here?"

"Yeah."

"Will you keep me updated if something happens?"

"Always," said Gabby.

Kitra's smile strengthened. Her hand was still on Gabby's arm, and when she realized it, she pulled away with a laugh and drifted toward the door. Only then she stopped and looked back. "Was Liam giving you bad vibes while we were dating?"

Gabby sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Super bad vibes."

"Hm." No wonder Kitra didn't sense it. Kitra's longtime crush on Liam blinded her to the sinister undertones of his hatred for Theron. "Well, good thing I got out of there. I can't imagine what Liam's gonna say to me next."

At this, Gabby chuckled. "Be careful then."

"I will. Let's do something later," said Kitra.

A vibrant smile lifted Gabby's face. "Sure!"

She liked seeing Gabby brighten like that. It was such a nice change from seeing her small and meek around the other Dire. Kitra thought about her as she left the pack house, only realizing once she got into Theron's car how she'd never expressed for Gabby to be careful too. She tapped out a text, Watch your back, okay? I worry sometimes.

The response came a few seconds later, I'm head of security. Maybe Liam should watch his. :P

She liked this confidence in Gabby all the more.