Pack Bound

by Holly Hook

  "Go!" Ted repeats.

  Backing away first, I leap again, putting my body behind it.

  I ram into the glass, headfirst, ignoring the pain. All that matters is the prize inside. A spiderweb crack splits the window. I back away again, ready for another leap. I'll go through. Matt's throat is soft. I'll end him with a single bite and he'll hurt no one again.

  He starts the car.

  I leap.

  I'm fast, but the BMW is faster.

  Tires squeal. Gravel strikes me in the face, forcing me to look away. The blue vehicle blasts out of the parking lot, leaving me standing on dirt, wiping my face off with a paw.

  Matt speeds up, doesn't slow at a stop sign, and makes a left so fast he almost hits the street sign. But he gains control over the car's back end and vanishes.

  The brutal instinct vanishes, leaving horror.

  I just tried to kill a human being.

  Chapter Thirteen

  No one else visits the park, and Matt must call his friends coming up the trail, because I hear the ringing of a phone, low, muffled words, and then feet thudding in the opposite direction.

  But I stand there, a blond wolf, with my clothes lying a few dozen feet behind me.

  Matt and Ted know what I am.

  But that doesn't horrify me as much as my deeds.

  Running back over to my clothes as if I can escape my thoughts, I will myself to retake human form. My body won't obey at first. Matt still exists. But then the popping and the dizziness returns, this time complete with a curtain of darkness. Two seconds later, I kneel on the grass, bare and next to my clothing. As if trying to shed Matthew, I dress, thanking luck I slipped out of my clothing without tearing it. Baggy jeans saved the day. I focus on that instead of what I wanted to do—no, what the instinct in me wanted to do.

  I didn't have to shift to get rid of Matt. I could have just shoved him or even punched him in the face.

  But I did.

  "He deserved to wet himself," I say, standing and eyeing the trail. My hearing's dulled some since changing back, but I can still hear the two guys running back to the school.

  My heart races. No matter how much I try to distract myself, I can't get rid of the horror.

  Because I didn't just want to scare Matt.

  He wanted to do something horrible but I would have done worse.

  I'm supposed to be Noble, but is there some Savage in me, too? A Savage Wolf bit me right before I turned. I was only half wolf before. An unusual case. Maybe the Savage filled the other half. That might explain my fighting ability, too.

  But if I ask Cayden, he'll know what I did.

  He's already worried enough. And I showed regular people what I am. I acted like Cayden. Brash. Careless. I moved without thinking.

  And now I'm in my little box all over again.

  How could Cayden do this? We need each other right now.

  Darting into the trees, now on two legs, I run and run.

  Cayden's scent doesn't return. My phone buzzes with a text, probably from Noah, but I can't talk to him now. What if my instinct tells me to kill him, Ellie, or Sarah next?

  Matt wanted to rape me, I think.

  He was going to. He premeditated it and everything.

  I defended myself and might have saved other girls from the same. Maybe I even defended Olivia, hurting Matt's pride.

  But I wanted to kill—

  Reaching the trail that leads to my street, I stop and debate heading back to school. Lunch will end in a few minutes. Maybe I'll see Cayden, and he'll know something's wrong. I can tell him and take the weight off. Maybe he'll know why my instinct took over. I didn't want to rip out Matt's throat with my teeth. The mysterious fighting instinct did that and didn't even let me choose to run away or fight in human form.

  Had the animal within given me a choice, I would have shown my strength and fled. Maybe I could have even broken Matt's arm to make my point and to keep him from touching Ellie and Sarah.

  Cayden would say that, too.

  Noble Wolves protect people.

  I'll run home. Otherwise, I must face Cayden in the final hour of school.

  The trees zip past as I bolt, down the trail Cayden and I have used before. The backs of houses show through the trees, but I stay unseen and Cayden's scent stays absent. At last, at the fork, I take the right path and dart through the Lowes' yard, but they're not home. Everly wanted me to talk sense into Cayden. I can't even talk sense to myself.

  Once I reach the street, I slow, but only because an old man is out, pulling dead flowers from his garden. When I reach the house, I find Aunt May gone and working at the store. Unlocking the door, I head inside and slam it behind me like I'm trying to hold out monsters.

  Why? I'm the scariest one in town.

  My phone buzzes again.

  "Leave me alone," I say, pulling it out. Noah.

  Where are you?

  Please respond.

  Brie, where are you at?

  Ellie has sent me a string of texts, too.

  If you're not back soon, I swear I'm going to call the cops.

  It hits me.

  Ellie must have seen Matt leave the cafeteria right after I did. And now she fears the worst.

  I'm fine, I text back. Felt sick. Walked home. That's all.

  Are you sure? Ellie.

  Yes. I can't tell them the truth. I can't even tell Noah that Matt wet his pants like a baby.

  I might have stopped Matt from touching Olivia, but at the price of having my secret out.

  Walking upstairs, I flop onto my bed and turn my phone off. I consider going out to the tire swing, my usual worry spot, but I want no one to find me right now. Instead, I close my eyes and curse into the pillow.

  When footsteps approach the house, I snap my head up and listen. They're not Cayden's graceful steps, but Noah's, because he drags his left foot and lets his shoe scuff the driveway. Ellie walks with him. Her footsteps are crisper, more like a dancer's. Until now, I haven't realized I can make out my friends' individual gaits.

  Ellie knocks.

  They're worried.

  Great.

  I rush downstairs, stopping myself from going too fast down the steps. I open the door to worried faces. Noah sighs in relief, but Ellie's eyes shine with fear.

  “I'm fine,” I say. “And I mean it. Just because I went home doesn't mean it's because Matt did something and then threatened me.”

  “Well, both of you vanished at lunch time,” Ellie said. “And it made us all think the worst.”

  “Why didn't you tell me what he said this morning?” Noah asked.

  “Because you don't want to go up against that guy,” I say.

  Noah hikes his backpack up. The two walked all the way here, out of their way, to check on me. Worrying them only makes me feel worse. And so is seeing them. What if Cayden and I have to act at the party, and I harm one of them?

  If the pull came when I faced down a crappy human, it will pay me a visit with a Savage Wolf.

  And after that, the pack will have to leave Breck. Abandon the territory we won from the Savages and leave its people to them. Hasn't Cayden thought of this?

  Or is he like Aunt May and doesn't want to tell me because he thinks I can't handle it?

  “Can we come in?” Noah asks.

  “Sure.” It's the correct answer.

  They come inside and I pour water since it's all we have in the fridge. “Tell us what happened with Matthew,” Noah says.

  “Nothing happened!” I'm digging myself into a deeper hole.

  “It did,” Ellie says. “And you don't look sick. Brie, do you have to go to the hospital?”

  I know what she means. Do I need them to collect evidence against Matthew?

  “No,” I say. “I didn't even see Matt today. Well, I did, but he and his buddies were driving away.”

  “We saw two of his friends talking in the halls,” Noah says. “They looked pretty freaked out.”

  I know why. “Nothing
happened.”

  “We're just trying to help,” Noah says. “You don't have to push us away.”

  “I'm just not feeling well.” He's right about me pushing them away. I've shut things away from them before, but this is different. I'm not like my friends anymore and now they'll never understand what I'm going through. Even collective gripes about Olivia are over.

  “Matt's not a good guy,” Noah says.

  “I know you're hoping he goes to prison,” I say. “Well, so am I. It would knock him out of the way, but I have no evidence to lock him up. Sorry.”

  “That's not what I wanted,” Noah says. “What kind of friend would I be?”

  “And I'm not accusing you of that,” I say. “My point is, Matt did nothing and I'm being careful. He won't bother me again. Remember when Cayden pushed him down? I'm wondering if that happened again at lunch. I didn't see him, either.”

  But why in the park?

  Noah sucks down his glass of water. “We'll get going, then.”

  A knife of pain stabs through my chest. Noah's getting the drift, and I hate it. So is Ellie. She sticks beside him as they prepare to head back out into their world, leaving me alone. I don't want them to go, but they can't stay, either.

  “I'll see you at school tomorrow? Everything's fine. Trust me. I needed time to think.”

  The tension in the air thins, but it doesn't vanish. “Tomorrow,” Noah says.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cayden, text me back.

  Come on, Cayden. You never leave me hanging this long.

  Don't start this crap again, okay?

  With each text bubble I send, my anger grows. What is he doing and why won't he even talk?

  Then again, I'm not much better, shoving my friends aside. I know how that treatment feels, which makes the thought of it so much worse.

  I text every hour, on the hour, and as the light fades outside, it's clear that Cayden will not answer.

  He has no excuse.

  Seen at 3:01 PM. Seen at 4:01 PM.

  Everly's given me her number, so I text her instead. Cayden's not answering my messages. Couldn't find him at lunch, but smelled him in the park.

  He's not home. Remo's checking the woods.

  I sigh. Remo might be with Leonora, hoping he can become a regular human again and failing to find the cure. Everly must wait at home for him to show. Where Cayden could be, I don't know.

  I'll look for him again.

  Aunt May remains at the store and she hasn't contacted me, either. It's as if she's giving me and Cayden room to figure this out on our own. And besides, she accepts the whole werewolf social order.

  And what am I doing, sitting here and waiting on him? Waiting has never gotten me anywhere, especially with Cayden.

  After checking out the schedule Aunt May has on the fridge and realizing she won't be home until nine—a few hours from now—I pull my jacket over my body and head outside, locking up behind me. No one waits at the end of my driveway. Though it's almost dark and cold, I break into a jog and then run down the street and into the night. The cold air blows against my face, pushing my hair back as I up my pace down the road and pass the Lowe's cabin. A single light's on inside, inviting Cayden back, but nothing but Everly's scent surrounds the place.

  Even the traces of Cayden are fading. He hasn't been home since yesterday.

  Everly appears in the window and watches me as I slow, cross the yard, and head into the trees. I face her one last time and she nods, giving her approval. As if I need it.

  Though it's dark under the trees, my vision adjusts, turning everything from pitch black to deep dusk. I break into a run again, down the trail that leads back to the school. But I stop when I reach the boulder where I spotted Cayden in wolf form for the first time. The moon peeks through the trees here, bright and waxing. I squint. It's only a few days from filling out and a few days from dooming Olivia and anyone else infected.

  But for a moment, I feel close to Cayden. His scent lingers here. This is his favorite spot to shift and begin his journey through the wilderness. I sit, but even here, his scent has faded, taking on a stale overtone.

  It's almost as if he's left the forest.

  “Cayden,” I mutter. Anger and hurt fill me. I throw my jacket on the boulder. Doesn't he realize that by leaving us like this, he's throwing all his responsibility on the pack? Cayden's as broken as Wyatt. Only his scent from earlier tells me he's not hurt. Physically, anyway.

  But how do I fix him?

  The deep pull returns, begging me to run through the night. Maybe it's the moon drawing near. Maybe it's something else. But instead of the vicious fight instinct, this is different. It's about Cayden.

  I remove the rest of my clothes, leaving them in a pile near the boulder, and stand for a moment in the middle of the woods. My phone remains silent as the pull comes again and this time I give in. I have a second to fear the pain before the wave overtakes me and the world spins. Trees grow. Everything stretches and blurs for a moment, and true darkness dances at the corners of my vision before retreating and leaving me in my other form, with strength flowing through my limbs. Senses pop. My vision improves further, and every smell takes on a color of its own. A few hardy bugs buzz. In the distance, twigs snap as a squirrel scrambles up a tree.

  I burst into a run.

  I'm better able to find Cayden this way.

  Scents pop and fade. Animals. Pine needles. Even a few dogs, with just a trace of wild, who have taken these trails. I approach the school, detecting no Cayden, though Remo lingers in the air along with traces of cafeteria food. Turning to avoid the parking lot, I head away from town, deeper into the trees, as a few terrified rabbits dart into burrows. I ignore them though a part of me wants to snap my jaws around their necks to see what they taste like. Somewhere far to my right, the musky smell of a moose turns to metallic fear as the creature crashes through underbrush, trying to avoid me.

  Still no Cayden.

  All trails vanish. I'm heading towards the north end of town now, and at last, I inhale Cayden's scent. It's fresh here, and I stop at a tree, picking up his essence. The godly wilderness. It's all over this tree trunk, as if he's rubbed his form all over it, warning out the Savages. Cayden was out here not too long ago.

  Traces of rotting wood and swampland ride in on the wind as the branches creak far above.

  The Savage Wolves. The Baltic Wolves or another pack, I don't know. Perhaps they all smell the same. The wind changes, taking the scent away, and then it returns. I can't tell which direction it's coming from, but I judge the scent can't come from more than a few miles off.

  I'm at the edge of our territory.

  Any farther, and the Savage Wolves can attack. I'll be in the true wilderness.

  Sniffing again, I realize Cayden's scent extends no farther than this. He must not have ventured past this tree. Perhaps he's still renewing the border, but why avoid telling anybody what he's doing? He doesn't need to hide this.

  So I follow his scent trail.

  The moon rises, providing light, and I run from tree to tree, following where Cayden has been last. He seems to have marked a large circle around Breck. Few people live out here.

  A dirt trail cuts through the woods.

  I stop in the underbrush, a drying leaf tickling my nose, as my gaze lands on a wide trail complete with dirt bike tracks. Fresh ones, too. Traces of gasoline linger in the soil, and the trail snakes over the territory line, vanishing into the gloom. Someone rides a dirtbike way out here, and if I look far enough, I spot a wooden jumping ramp held up by a pile of rocks.

  And then, the angry motor of a dirt bike in the distance.

  Someone's out here riding. At night. And close to where the Savage Wolves can roam.

  A light stabs through the trees, and I back away from the trail as the sound grows. Ducking in the foliage, I watch as a speeding dirt bike cuts down the trail, complete with a driver in a helmet and a yellow and black suit. Though I make out no facial featur
es, the rider has his shoulders hunched in distress. He cranks the throttle, gaining speed. Dirt kicks up. He dodges the ramp by inches, slowing and speeding up again.

  The noise of the bike masks that of the Savage Wolves.

  But the scent that hits me tells the truth.

  Two Savages, a sandy and a light gray wolf, bolt after the bike, canines bared. The light gray one growls. I recognize them. The sandy wolf I fought first back in the clearing, and the light gray one helped to kill Cayden's parents. They're the source of his pain and now they want another victim.

  I charge the light gray wolf.

  Crossing over the edge of our territory, I dart out behind the dirt bike so close bits of dirt strike my face. Shaking my head, I regain my composure and leap at the gray wolf, crashing all my body weight into the creature and snapping my jaws. Shocked, the wolf lands on his side, growls, and bucks me off. I fly back, hitting a tree as the dirt bike and the headlight vanishes around a curve.

  I'm several feet outside our territory.

  It's a free-for-all out here.

  The sandy wolf keeps chasing the dirt bike for a moment but stops at the scent border, panting. Rising the gray one turns his ruthless gaze on me and advances. The other wolf does, too.

  I could back into our territory. Running would get me out alive and unhurt. But I hate these Savage Wolves for what they did to Cayden and to his family. So I pick myself up, turn to the side, and growl back. Our stares meet. The light gray wolf does the same, and the two of us circle while the sandy one, a female, backs off. He's bigger than me. I can fight, but this will be to the death. Cayden's scent lingers behind me, but he's miles away.

  And my rage won't let me back down.

  I fake charge the gray wolf, making him back into his partner. He surveys me with hard, brown eyes. Then I take the distraction and lunge, clawing the wolf's side and closing my jaws on his muzzle. He whimpers, hitting me with huge paws as the sandy wolf charges me from the side. She rams me, throwing me back from the gray wolf as teeth sink into my back leg.

  Pain explodes. She digs in deeper, refusing to let go. But I thrash and slash her across the eyes, digging a claw into one and drawing blood. My fighting ability remains even as my leg screams in burning agony. She backs off, but I refuse to let her go. I won't let her live. I lunge again, this time sinking teeth into the nape. Blood flows, vile just like her.