Finding Rhodes

RHIANNON

“Madelyn sent me the coordinates to a location about three hours from here. We’re going to meet her there,” Isaac informs Dylan over breakfast.

Alpha Dylan offers to lend us a car to make the trip. I can see the guilt in his eyes. I know Heidi didn’t mean to tell me, but I wish I would’ve found out from Isaac, not a stranger.

The first fifteen minutes of the drive are uncomfortable. I know Isaac is tense about the possible dangers that could await us.

Madelyn told him that she hasn’t seen anything particularly dangerous, but I can feel his hesitation to bring me into this situation.

I watch him as he drives, white knuckles on the steering wheel.

I’m going to lighten the mood. There is an aux cord hanging from the radio. I move slowly and quietly, making sure he doesn’t notice me plugging my phone in.

As soon as the beat starts, he throws his head back and laughs, loudly.

“We hate this song, you know,” he laughs.

I dance in my seat until the chorus starts. Throwing my head back, I sing along loudly to “Werewolves of London.”

“No!” Isaac laughs. “Don’t howl!”

Just as I’m about to change the song, he starts to sing it. He looks young and carefree. I love these rare moments when his responsibilities fade for a moment.

The rest of the drive flies by as we sing and dance in our seats.

We pull up to an abandoned gas station.

“We have to park here and walk the rest of the way.”

I pull my thick parka around myself tightly before pulling on my hat and gloves.

When I look up, Isaac is laughing.

“Hey, I get cold!”

He throws his hands up in surrender. “I know, you’re just cute all bundled up.”

We’re walking through the woods when Isaac suddenly pushes me backward and shifts. A much smaller, mangy-looking wolf jumps out of the tree line at him.

It only takes Isaac a moment to subdue the other wolf. He stops fighting and rolls onto his back in what I assume is a surrender.

Isaac jumps up and comes to stand in front of me protectively. The other wolf rolls to his stomach and puts its head down to the ground.

Isaac growls loudly and the wolf shifts. Isaac steps forward and sniffs the air for a minute, looking around, then shifts also.

“Who the fuck are you?” Isaac growls loudly.

“My name is Quincy. I’m sorry for attacking you, we just don’t get a lot of outsiders around here.”

I look down at the dirt, studying the ground intently. I will never get used to everyone just standing around talking naked.

“I’m Isaac Jackson, I’m here looking for my gamma, Madelyn. She sent me coordinates for a location near here. We’re looking for information on Sybil.”

Quincy’s face drops. “You knew Sybil?” he says sadly. “You know what happened to her, right?”

Isaac nods solemnly.

“Here, follow me. We shouldn’t talk here. It’s not safe.”

He steps behind a tree and pulls out a backpack, pulling on some basketball shorts. Isaac stops to rummage through his bag too, finding some clothes and dressing quickly.

We follow quietly behind Quincy for what feels like forever.

Eventually, we come to a particularly dense patch of trees. As we maneuver our way through them, we come to a clearing in the center where the trees have been cut down.

It’s a small camp with a cluster of tents and tiny structures.

Everyone eyes us warily as we follow Quincy into a small tent near the center.

Cutting right to the chase, Isaac stares at him pointedly and demands, “I need information about Sybil.”

“Look, man,” Quincy runs his hands through his beard nervously, “if you knew Syb, then you know what she was like.”

Isaac cut him off. “I know she was no angel. I just really need you to be honest with me and tell me what she was up to in her last few weeks.”

“She got mixed up with some fairies,” Quincy says nervously.

We both gape at him. I assume our surprise is for different reasons. I didn’t know fairies existed, but I’m sure Isaac is surprised for another reason.

“What do you mean mixed up with fairies?” Isaac asks him.

“Fairy blood is a really powerful hallucinogenic for wolves. She met a couple of fairies in Toronto and brought them back here.

“You know how she was, a wanderer, a free spirit. They were just hanging out. Next thing I know, she’s dead and the fairies split.”

“My friend spoke to someone named Rhodes, is he here?” Isaac searches for more information.

“Yes, he’s here, but I should warn you he’s not likely to talk to you. He’s the one that found her body, he’s been pretty paranoid since then.”

We walk to the edge of the camp. A small, mangled tent sits alone against the tree line.

“Rhodes?” Quincy calls to him. “There are some people here that need to talk to you.”

The tent shakes as the person inside moves around. The man that exits the tent surprises me. He is so tall it’s a wonder he fit in such a small tent.

He has a few inches on Isaac, but he’s much leaner. His cocoa skin is so smooth and looks so soft.

Everyone we’ve seen here looks weathered and, to be frank, like people who are living in tents in the woods. This man, while clearly exhausted, is not mangy or downtrodden.

Madelyn exits the tent behind him. Isaac and I are both clearly surprised to see her.

“Alpha,” she says, bowing her head.

Rhodes looks angry and starts to walk away.

“Wait! Rhodes, please!” Madelyn begs. “I didn’t know he would be here today, but please, please talk to him.”

Isaac turns to him and says, “Please speak with me. Anything you know about Syb will help.” His voice is uncharacteristically lenient.

Rhodes sighs and scrubs his hands over his face. He looks around the camp before turning to Isaac. “Not here. There is a small town not far, she knows where it is. I’ll meet you at the diner.”

Before we can respond, he turns and disappears into the thick tree line.

“I found him yesterday,” Madelyn explains. “I’ve been trying to convince him to talk to you. He’s skittish.”

“So we’ve been told,” Isaac deadpans.

“Something strange is going on here,” she says as we walk from the camp. “No one will talk about it, but something bad is happening.”