赤裸裸的滑稽故事

But Alice found herself feeling restless on their return. Her priorities hadn’t changed, her family was still most important, but she felt like something else was missing. Something else that she needed to do.

A few months later, when Ashleigh sent Axel her proposal about Alice’s return to work, she felt irritated by the request. But as Corrine and Axel talked with her about it, when Fiona and Galen also weighed in, Alice began to see the fear each of them held.

As she listened to their troubles, each encouraging the behaviors that most of them had held against her for a long time, she realized there was cause for concern.

Alice thought of her cousin and his son playing in their yard.

Of those children raised and experimented on in the underground lab. They were created from humans kidnapped, tortured, and used as broodmares before they were finally murdered.

And of all the other families that had no idea about the monsters that lived in the shadows of the world around them.

It suddenly became clear to Alice why the Queen that became a Goddess, had been willing to allow the last of her people to die to create the werewolves.

Alice put forth her own proposal. She was willing to help seek out those that sought to create chaos or harm other packs, so long as that was not the primary focus of her job or those she trained.

She found a new purpose in this task and was surprised by how satisfying it was. Helping Axel to stabilize the wolves while also keeping the humans safe. It was the best of both worlds.

There was a third, quiet benefit to her focus on the human world. A secret that she had kept even from Axel when she started.

She gathered old records from the international packs and compared the places where the fae had been spotted in the past and now. Looking for any connection to ancient fae mounds or territories known to have belonged to the fae.

But the fae monsters didn’t seem to follow a pattern. They were merely showing up in the climates that most benefitted them.

Alice almost gave up on her search. She wasn’t sure where else she could look. She had searched through all the historical books and compared the ancient stories, but she was stumped.

Until she heard Axel reading a story to the boys. They laughed and giggled. But then Jonas asked, very seriously, why the big bad wolf would eat little red riding hood and why his Alpha wouldn’t stop him.

“Because,” Axel had chuckled, “this is a human tale about the dangers of the forest and strangers. The Big Bad Wolf is not one of our wolves. The humans don’t know about us.”

Alice laughed from her spot hidden around the corner, but then it dawned on her. Humans had their own lore. Their own myths and legends.

She began her search anew. This time focusing on human stories.

While most of what she found was nothing more than wild imagination and entertainment, some came quite close to the truth.

She even found mention of the ley lines.

Myka was the first she got involved in her side project. She shared with him all the random stories and legends that she thought might have a basis in reality. They spent months translating old maps and reports, finding the places they actually referred to and what they were now called.

He visited many of these places in short trips, searching for any sign of ley line activity or any hint that there had been. Eventually, they figured out that the ley lines connected in temporary places worldwide, but only for a short time.

Of course, having Myka leave the territories and venture into the human world created a lot of questions for Peter and Axel. It was then that Myka and Alice decided they couldn’t keep this search to themselves any longer.

Eventually, Axel brought Galen into the search as well.

But they all agreed that Ashleigh and Fiona should only know if they actually found Caleb. There was no reason to get their hopes up when all they had to go on were old stories.

Throughout the years, there had been moments, trips when they thought there was a real chance they might find him. But none of them had ever panned out.

Axel and Alice had argued more than once about the right time to tell Ashleigh, but every time they came up empty, Axel knew it was the right decision to keep it from her.

That was why, when Myka arrived at their door a few days ago, out of breath and talking fast about something he had found. Axel didn’t bother to bring up telling Ashleigh.

But on the flight, Alice surprised him.

“I think,” she said softly. “We need to tell Ashleigh about our search.”

“What?” Axel asked, turning toward her.

Alice took a deep breath.

“Myka thinks this might really be something,” Alice said. “He’s been following a pattern, the next window should have been much farther south this time, but all signs point to this area near Liam’s pack.”

Axel nodded.

“He said he felt something,” Alice continued. “All the way in Winter, he felt something.”

“What does that mean?” Axel asked.

“According to Myka, the last time he felt something even remotely like that was more than five years ago… after he woke up from dying.”

Axel furrowed his brow.

Alice looked up at Axel and drew a deep breath.

“Axel,” Alice said, “do you remember what Ashleigh told you about ancient beings?”

16:40

Axel’s eyes widened, and then he looked at Alice again.

“If this isn’t what we hope,” Alice continued, “there is a chance that this is something far more dangerous.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Axel,” Alice said, “do you remember what Ashleigh told you about ancient beings?”

Axel’s eyes widened, and then he looked at Alice again.

“You can’t think… She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t.”

Alice looked away.

“I think she would do anything to get him back,” she said, “and something about her has changed. She is withdrawing again.”

“Because she missed one meeting?” Axel asked.

Alice shook her head.

“I don’t know what it is,” she said. “Ashleigh has just seemed on edge the past couple of months. I’m worried.”

“That’s a big leap to assume she would do something that dangerous just because she seems off.”

“Maybe,” Alice sighed. “But I’d rather be safe than sorry. Telling her that we’ve been looking for Caleb all these years might make her realize she isn’t as alone as she thinks.”

“Or,” Axel sighed, leaning back in his chair, “it’ll make her think we’ve all been lying to her all this time.”

“You don’t think we should tell her?” Alice asked.

Axel swallowed and closed his eyes. He knew that telling Ashleigh wouldn’t be a calm and peaceful conversation. There was no way she wasn’t going to feel betrayed. But, if Alice was right, if Ashleigh was standing on another cliff and looking over the edge, hopefully, it would be enough to help her take a step back.

But what they really needed was a miracle.

“Let’s hope we find Caleb,” he said. “Then, maybe, she’ll be so happy she’ll forget about being angry.”

Alice scoffed.

“Does such happiness exist?”

***

“He’s really back?” Axel asked.

It was the third or fourth time he had asked since Alice had told him everything Ashleigh had told her.

“It seems like Myka was right,” she said. “The ley lines opened here, and Caleb found his way out. He thought he had only been gone a few days… a couple of weeks at most.”

“Five years gone overnight,” Axel whispered.

Alice nodded.

Axel looked at her.

“Does he know about the fae monsters across the world?” he asked. “Or about Ashleigh and Summer? Or Galen?”

“Well, he saw Liam and Maeve, so he certainly doesn’t think he is in our territories… I don’t know what all Ashleigh has told him about the people left behind... but knowing her, she’s held back… and knowing Caleb, I’m sure he noticed.”

Axel nodded with a sigh.

“We need to call him,” he said.

A buzzing came from the table that sat beside them. Axel and Alice both looked down. It was Alice’s phone that was ringing.

She reached down and looked at the caller ID. She let out a gentle scoff as she smiled.

“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.”