by M H Soars
“Looks like we’ll take two for the price of one,” one man says with snickers.
His companion points his gun’s muzzle in my direction, but oddly I’m not afraid of his weapon. Instead, I take a step forward, making my aggressive intentions clear.
He fires, missing me by a hair when I leap to the side. I hit the ground running. Like a speeding train, I’m on him before he has the chance to take aim again. My teeth sink into his arm, and the momentum of the jump pushes him to the ground. Crimson rage tinges my vision as the taste of his foul blood hits my tongue. I shake my head from side to side, thrashing his body like he’s a rag doll, shredding skin and muscles in the process. His screams of agony don’t faze me one bit. The wolf doesn’t give a fuck about his pain. Honestly, my human form doesn’t either. I want this man dead.
Sharp pain explodes on my temple when I’m hit on the head by the butt of a shotgun. I let go of the man, rolling on the ground to get away from another hit. The second hunter lets out a string of curses as he aims at me, and I know I won’t be fast enough to avoid the bullet this time. In my rage, I forgot there was a second threat.
Suddenly, fiery energy surges within my body, something powerful and foreign. It is most definitely not the wolf’s essence. If feels different, not as primal as the wolf’s, but equally as overwhelming. It expands from my core down to my limbs until it explodes out of me. Tendrils of blue crackling light spread in a spider web-like manner, covering the ground around me. The hunter with the gun pointed at me widens his eyes, then takes a couple of steps back.
“Motherfucker, what the hell is that?”
Reluctant to break eye contact with the man, but also wanting to know if there’s a new threat coming, I break my gaze away from him for a second, looking in the direction he is. In bewilderment, I watch the tendrils of energy wrap around twigs, rocks, and leaves, then lift them in the air and assemble them together. Piece by piece, they take the shape of an enormous wolf. I blink my eyes to make sure I’m not hallucinating, but if I am, so is the hunter. He switches his aim to the beast with shaking arms. A growl that sounds nothing like the sound a real animal would make erupts in the forest, and I feel it down to my bones. For some reason, I’m not afraid. I know the wolf monster is not a threat to me. Actually, it almost feels like we’re connected somehow.
I look at the tendrils of energy that still surrounds the beast’s paws, and the pattern those links made on the ground, leading to me. Somehow, I am bound to the monster. But how?
“Kill the wolf. Kill the fucking wolf!” somebody shouts out in the distance, the third hunter.
“Which one?” The terrified man begins to switch his aim from me and the new threat in a jittery motion.
A gunshot echoes. A split second later, pain explodes on my shoulder. I let out a whine, and my front legs fold under me. My entire left side is burning, and I know I was just hit by a bullet. The mysterious wolf jumps, taking the man in front of him down. In a vicious frenzy, the apparition sinks his teeth into the man’s flesh, tearing him to pieces. At first, his desperate screams are loud, mixing with the sounds of his bones cracking under the weight of the monster on top of him. But soon enough, once his blood has soaked the earth, he falls silent. He’s dead.
A sharp smell of urine hits my nose, and I turn in the direction the stench came. The third hunter is frozen to the spot, hand slack on his gun, staring wide eyed at the gruesome scene in front of him. Horror is etched on his face, and he doesn’t seem to have noticed he’s soiled himself.
The monster wolf raises its grotesque head, blood and torn flesh dripping from his large teeth, and growls at the paralyzed man. Finally managing to snap out of his terror, the guy runs away, tripping over nothing as he makes his way back up the hill. The monster wants to give chase; I’m as aware of it as if its will is my own, but I notice the energy that links us is beginning to fade, just like my strength is diminishing with every breath I take.
The monster wolf turns to me as if it he’s waiting for my command. His eyes are nothing but two blue spheres of swirling energy, and they seem to carry secrets that transcend time and space. A great sense of familiarity takes hold of me, as if the beast and I are old friends.
What are you?
The sound of howling in the distance distracts me from my musings. The pack—they’re finally coming for me. I feel the three brothers before they even appear up the rise. Tristan, Dante, and Samuel break through the forest shrubbery in all their wolf glory. They pause when their eyes take notice of the monster in the clearing. The last tendrils of strength desert me, and the power that links me to the apparition begins to recede. I turn just in time to see the pieces that make the supernatural wolf fall to the ground until the monster is gone.
There’s a nudge on my flank, then a warm furry body pressing against my side. The black wolf has crawled all the way to me from the stream’s bank.
“Thank you,” he whispers to my mind before closing his eyes. His chest stops moving, and his presence in my head is gone. The wolf is dead.
Overwhelming sadness takes over me. I throw my head back, howling long and hard because it’s the only thing I can do in wolf form to express the crushing grief in my chest. I didn’t know this wolf, but I’m feeling his loss as if I lost a member of my own family. With tears in my eyes, I lay next to him and wait for a fate that might not be too different from his. I ran away from the pack again, broke the rules, and I know the punishment will be severe.
Did the Wolfe brothers come at the order of the alpha? Or did they defy him? I don’t know which outcome would be worse.
Chapter 22
Samuel
There’s a collective gasp when Red up and runs toward the forest while Rochelle remains immobile on the ground, whining in pain. I glance at Dante first, finding him staring in shock in the direction Red went.
Lyria howls and leaps forward, ready to chase Red, when the alpha commands her to stop.
“Nobody follows that wolf. I’ll deal with her.”
Mom leans closer to whisper something in his ear. He shakes his head, then kisses her cheek, but the sadness I find in her gaze is enough to clue me in. Dad thinks Red ran away, and he’s going to make her pay. I can’t let that happen.
Before my father can stop me, I break into a run. Jumping aside when Seth moves to block my way, I shift in midair. When my paws hit the ground, Dante’s voice is loud and clear in my head. “Right behind you, brother.”
He soon joins me, being the fastest in the pack and all, then he takes the lead. Another wolf is close behind me, and I know without looking that Tristan is with us as well.
“So, what do you think Dad will do to us for disobeying his orders?” I ask.
“Flay us alive, no doubt,” Tristan replies.
“I’m surprised you’re here,” I say.
“I’m not,” Dante chimes in. “Tristan has finally pulled his head out of his ass, and realized fighting the connection to Red is futile.”
“It might be all moot. I’m not sure Father will let Red live after this,” he replies, his tone now somber.
Dante doesn’t have a reply to that, and I wish now more than ever that he would say something reassuring. We do have a strange and yet powerful connection to Red. It’s almost like we all imprinted on her, which is crazy because if that were the case, we would be fighting amongst ourselves for the right to be her mate. And yet, I don’t feel the urge to rip out Dante or Tristan’s throats.
I don’t see any sign of Red, but her scent is fresh in the air, which means we’re going in the right direction. But how in the world had she managed to run so fast? She had less than a minute of a head start.
I hear angry shouts right before a gunshot is fired. Adrenaline kicks in, spurring my legs to run faster. We all seem to have pressed the turbo-speed button, zooming through the forest like a speeding bullet. I smell Red’s blood before I get a visual of her. She’s down the hill, close to the stream with her face down. A black wolf is slowly cr
awling his way to her. He’s hurt, badly so. But it’s the creature not too far from her that makes my heart leap into my throat and get lodged there. A dark creature made from twigs, leaves, and rocks is staring at Red. It has the shape of a wolf, but it’s twice as tall as one. His eyes shine with an unearthly blue light, and I can safely say I’ve never seen anything like that before. The creature glances in our direction for a second before it loses its shape, crumbling to pieces on the ground.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask no one in particular.
“Witch-fucking-craft,” Tristan replies, not hiding the disgust in his tone.
“Red!” Dante takes off down the hill in her direction. The mental shout wasn’t meant for us. He’s trying to reach her mind, but in this situation, I don’t blame him for messing up the mental channels.
Tristan and I follow him. By the time we reach Red, Dante has already shifted into human form. Red raises her head, whining a little when Dante touches the area on her shoulder that’s drenched in blood.
“I know it hurts, sweetheart, but you need to shift back so I can have a better look. Can you do that for me?”
Red howls before lowering her head to the ground. Nothing happens. She’s not attempting to shift, her gaze trained on a spot behind us. I turn to the carnage a couple of feet away from us. Next to a pile of rocks and twigs—what’s left of the wolf creature—there’s a body that’s so mangled it’s barely recognizable. Limbs are torn, and where the torso should be, there’s nothing left but a bloody pulp. If I weren’t in wolf form, I might throw up.
The sound of leaves shuffling puts me on a high alert. Flaring my nostrils, I pick up another blood scent. A second man is slinking away, trying to hide behind a boulder. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen him before. Shit! Dante just shifted in front of him. Dad is definitely going to flay us alive.
Tristan leaps in the guy’s direction. The human curls into a ball, begging for his life. My brother ignores the pleas, snagging his teeth in the man’s shirt and forcing him to look up.
“He saw Dante,” I say.
“I know.” Tristan’s reply is pissed, even in my head.
“We need to get Red back to the compound.” Dante has Red in his arms, and I wince when I see she’s already shifted back. Blood drips down her arm from the torn skin on her shoulder. “She got shot, and she needs medical attention ASAP.”
The fur on my back stands on end as a warning shiver ripples through my spine. The alpha is here. I turn, seeing the magnificent white wolf at the top of the rise, flanked by Mom, Seth, and Lyria. Damn it. The presence of the top wolves in the pack doesn’t bode well for my brothers and me.
“What happened here?” my father asks.
“We don’t have time to explain.” Dante makes the trek toward him. “Red is hurt. She needs assistance.”
Dad takes a step forward, baring his teeth and growling at Dante. Right now, he’s not our father. He’s the pack’s alpha. Dante realizes he crossed a line, but he doesn’t show fear or submit to our father’s warning.
“You can punish me all you like later. But please let me get Red some help.”
Mom howls, then turns to Dad. They’re communicating mind to mind, a private channel that doesn’t include us. Meanwhile, Tristan doesn’t waver his hold on the only witness to what happened here. I have a feeling Dad won’t take Red’s word for it, and the black wolf she was protecting can’t speak on her behalf since he’s dead. That reminds me… who the hell was he?
Returning to his carcass, I take a good whiff of his fur. I don’t recognize the scent, which means he’s not from the area. That’s good and bad at the same time. If he’d been a Shadow Creek wolf, it wouldn’t be good for Red. Most likely, Dad would ship her off to those assholes up north without blinking an eye if he thought she had any strong connection to them. So the biggest mystery remains. Why had she bolted like that? How had she known this wolf was in danger? Is it possible she has the sight just like Mom and Dante? The wolf was killed by professional hunters, which poses an even bigger problem. Hunting is forbidden in Crimson Hollow. We need to know who these men are. Were they working alone, or can we expect more of those assholes to come?
Mom’s voice brings me back to the here and now. She has shifted, and is now examining Red’s wound. “Let’s get the girl mended, then we’ll talk about what happened here.”
I decide to shift back because somebody has to carry the dead wolf back to the compound. Maybe Mom or Dad will be able to tell where he came from.
“What about that vermin there?” I point at the man Tristan has trapped under his jaw.
Dad howls, then answers into my mind. “I’ll handle him. Then I’m coming for you and your brothers.”
Of course he is. We’re so fucked.
Chapter 23
Tristan
I was the only one who didn’t shift back. Dante and Sam had their reasons. Dante carried Red, and Sam brought the fallen wolf back to the compound. I also had a load, but the scumbag who tried to gun Red down didn’t deserve to be carried. So I dragged him through the forest, careful enough not to inflict any fatal injuries, but if he got more banged up than he already was in the journey, it was fitting.
Hunters in our fucking forest. We hadn’t had those since I was a young kid. Montgomery wasn’t the mayor then, and I can’t help but blame her for their presence now. Maybe not directly, but through negligence. She needs to be voted out of office.
Seth tried to talk to me telepathically—even when our channels aren’t open, we can feel someone’s presence outside, like a knock on the door. I shut him out, which I’m sure he didn’t appreciate. But he has questions I’m not ready to answer.
Once back in the compound, Dad orders me to leave the hunter with Seth. Despite the fact I want to start interrogating the motherfucker right away, I can’t defy the alpha again. I’m in enough trouble with him as it is.
In silence, I follow him into the alpha’s manor, shifting as I go since he has already done so. Sam joins us a second later, the stench of the dead wolf all over him. I don’t recognize the scent, but at least he’s not a Shadow Creek mutt.
“What did you do with that black wolf?”
“I left him at the infirmary. Mom wants to perform the autopsy.”
“Did she—”
“No, she doesn’t know where he’s from,” Sam answers, knowing exactly what I was going to ask.
I glance to my right. More precisely, to the door that leads to the infirmary.
“Where the hell is Dante?” I ask Sam.
“Where do you think? He went with Mom. He won’t leave Red’s side.”
“Stupid Dante. Dad will kick him out of the pack.”
“I know, but I think Dante has imprinted. I’m mean, we probably all have, but since he and Red hooked up, I think it might have sealed the deal.”
I clench my jaw hard because I can’t deny there’s a strong possibility my brothers and I imprinted on the same woman. The biggest question is why? What makes her so special? Sam’s idea she might be like the legendary Mother of Wolves is hard for me to swallow. I never believed in that story. It’s not in a wolf’s nature to share.
Dad disappears inside his office down the hallway. Even though I’d prefer to put some clothes on before facing his wrath, I don’t want to keep him waiting. We find him already dressed in jeans and a muscle T-shirt when we enter his office. Even in human form, there’s no doubt the man is the alpha. Corded with powerful muscles, he could easily win a fight against me or my brothers without putting forth a lot of effort. His eyes are crackling with fury, the irises glowing an intense ember color.
“Shut the door,” he commands, standing by the side of his desk. He’s too wired to sit.
Sam clicks the door closed, but remains near the exit. Without being conscience of doing so, I position myself in front of my younger brother, protecting him from Dad. If the alpha decides to strike, I’ll take the first blow. As the oldest, I’ve always seen it as my duty t
o protect my brothers. I know they think I’m an asshole, and maybe I’m harder on them than I need to be, but I don’t know any other way to prepare them for a future where I’m not around.
“You don’t know how much it costs me not to punish you like the pack’s law dictates. How dare you challenge my authority like that!”
“You were going to kill Amelia,” I say.
“You’re damn right I would. That girl has caused nothing but trouble since she arrived here. She’s a Shadow Creek wolf through and through. It was a mistake to allow her to stay.”
“She belongs with us.” Sam takes a step forward, his hands balled into fists at his side.
Dad cuts a glare in my brother’s direction. It’s meant to instill terror, but Sam doesn’t cower. “Why? Because you think you’ve imprinted on her?” Dad laughs without humor. “That girl comes from a powerful witch bloodline. I’m not convinced there isn’t a ploy here to destroy our pack from within.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, a mix of worry and adrenaline swirling in my chest.
Dad lets out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slouching forward as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. The aggressive stance seems to evaporate out of thin air, a change so out of character for him that it does my head in. What the hell is going on here?
“Dad, what happened at the meeting in Vancouver?” I ask.
“Nothing out of the ordinary there.” He raises his head, the ember color gone from his eyes.
“Your mother has seen my death.”
“What?” Sam and I say at the same time.
Dad’s gaze seems to go inward as he stares at a point over my shoulder. “Right before I left, Mervina told me. She was afraid something bad would happen during my trip, so she warned me to be careful. I knew she didn’t part with that information lightly. Certain visions should never be discussed. As it was, I didn’t think much about it. Your mother has had visions in the past that never came to pass. But when I returned to the compound and met Amelia for the first time, I saw the shadow of death surrounding her.”
