by Holly Hook
I eye my crossbow which I'll only be using for the next few hours if the curse does take me. Tyler has told me that his kind can't even handle silver weapons without feeling ill. I'm still okay, other than the racing heartbeat, and I sit up tall in the back of the truck as Sarah's cabin vanishes into the trees.
The roads are clear today, almost too clear. Gavin has to park off the road and in some trees not far from Rose Ranch as we can't be seen near Tower High School. The sound of vehicles and people headed to class echo in the distance as we get nestled between some tall pines, well-hidden from the road. I wish I was there right now, settling down for a day of note-taking and classes.
Gavin pulls to a stop off the side of the narrow service road, probably one that loops around Rose Ranch, and we all jump out.
"Well, this is it," Gavin says with a gulp. He looks to Marion. "Are you sure you can see what's going on from inside the truck?"
She nods, pale. "I have some phone signal out here, and Grandma will let me know once she's at the visitor office. And yes, I'll lock myself in."
"Your grandma is badass for agreeing to this," Gavin says.
Marion grins. "Well, after Chaz and I showed her the truth, she was willing to do all she could. I told her to go full Karen on that mean lady in the office."
I grin. Once the press meeting at Rose Ranch is over and the Roses are done giving the press whatever excuses they've come up with for gouging Tower, Darlene will show up at the visitor's office to go insane over her new rent. She'll demand to see the Roses themselves for an explanation, and she'll refuse to leave until she does. It's our hope that she'll draw security outside and away from us to deal with the dispute. And Chaz has already agreed to go off and keep the Tower police department busy so they can't arrive and kick Darlene out.
Chaz jumps down from the truck. “I had better go start the diversion.”
Gavin frowns. “Good luck, man.”
Something passes between them and I know this is hard for both Gavin and Chaz. Chaz hesitates, and Gavin gets out and wraps him in a hug. The moment seems to last forever, and then Chaz walks into the trees, back in the direction of Tower, and we watch him go.
I look to Tyler. We might have to separate at some point during this plan, and I hate that. Tyler holds my hand as we jump down from the truck as well.
“We're down one wolf,” he says, gulping.
“Chaz is smart. He'll do his best to keep the cops at the station. They're not the hunters. They'll have a very hard time killing him.”
“But so much more could go wrong. I hate letting my pack members go off like this.” Tyler watches the trees. He's responsible for the whole pack being here. “And I smell the two rival wolves, on the other side of Rose Ranch. They've already shifted into their wolf forms, and I'm feeling the urge myself.”
I gulp but that's exactly what we've hoped for. Us, the hunters, and the rival wolves all here in the same place. “So, us against two rival wolves and four hunters. Plus, the security Rose Ranch already has.”
“And we can't let the wolves or hunters near the visitors' office, either,” Valerie says, steely. “This won't be easy.”
“I wouldn't say you're down one wolf,” someone says from the trees.
We all whirl. Marion presses her face to the glass from inside the truck's cabin.
An imposing figure in leather and covered in tattoos steps out from the woods, grinning.
“You know, this is a stupid plan that can go wrong on so many levels, but I'm game for it,” Alan says with a wicked grin. “I want to kill something. So you'd better assign me something to kill before I take everything out on you.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Alan is about to lose control. He's shaking. The redness in his eyes is undeniable, and he's worse than any of the Rose Pack. Alan is barely holding onto any of his humanity at all.
“Alan,” Tyler says. “You smell like a car air freshener.”
He crosses his arms like they're having a standoff. “Those hunters have some good equipment that must have cost a pretty penny. They've got this spray they can put on themselves to mask their scent. They can't mask their footsteps, though, so rely on sound, not scent.”
“You stole from them?” I ask.
“You gotta do what you gotta do. Now, give me a job or you're all going to regret it,” Alan says, facing all of us.
I look to Tyler, who then looks to Valerie while Cammie waits. Alan doesn't want to hurt us anymore, but he could if he loses control. He's dangerous to have here, but we need him.
“We should have Alan help lure the evil wolves,” I say.
“No. We could have him keep the hunters away until the last moment and back up Cammie and Valerie,” Tyler says. “Luring the evil wolves is my job, since I can access places the others can't. I know my way around here better.”
“I can do that,” Alan says. “I'm a little less angry at Val and Cam. I take it you two lovebirds will go into the mansion together?” He faces me and Tyler.
“We are,” I tell him.
I'll need to protect Tyler when the time comes. And he, me.
It will be the two of us, plus Gavin, up against whatever security is left after the others go after Marion's grandmother. And those men are just there to do their job. We don't have any ill will towards them.
“Okay,” Alan says, backing into the trees. “Distract the hunters and don't let them in until we get the signal. Got it. I've heard most of your plan already.”
“Good,” Tyler says. “I hope we can all get together after this. And as normal humans with the freedom to do what we want.”
Alan's trembling, he's fighting so hard to maintain his human form. Then he motions to Valerie and Cammie, and the three run off into the trees, circling around to the back of Rose Ranch. I know they're going to the spot where Gavin and I told the hunters we'd seen wolves, and where we're almost sure the hunters are stationed, way on the other side of Rose Ranch.
“Will they be okay?” Marion asks from the truck. Her voice is muffled.
“We have to hope,” I tell her. “Now let us know when your grandmother reaches the visitors' office.”
Marion checks her phone. “She's on her way right now.”
Tyler and I draw close to the trees' edge, leaving Marion behind, though I keep my phone ready and fully charged in my pocket. The world clears up about two hundred feet from where Gavin has parked his truck, and opens into the vast field that surrounds Rose Ranch. I wish there were cover out there, but even the tall grass has been flattened under layers of snow. Not the best conditions.
“Your scarf,” Tyler reminds me.
I look down at the cammo scarf around my neck and pull it over my face, hopefully hiding my identity. I wear a scrunched up pair of Gavin's old hunting pants and overalls, and a plaid shirt that Marion says her grandmother hasn't worn in years. I look to Tyler, who will have no need to disguise himself if all goes well.
“How are you feeling?” I ask as we close the distance to the edge of our cover.
Tyler grimaces. “Like we need to end this now.” The redness in his eyes is unmistakable. Right now, his eyes match those of the rival wolves.
The rose bush must be very close to dying.
I swallow, unable to get my racing heartbeat to calm down. It hasn't since I woke, and I know that in a few hours, we're both facing sundown on any hope we have to free ourselves from the curse.
“I agree.” I want to take Tyler's hand, but we have business, and now is not the time for romance. Instead, I allow Tyler to flatten the black baseball cap onto my head, which I've stuffed my hair under.
Rose Ranch stands tall over the surrounding hills, overlooking the woods in every direction. The white mansion with the charming magenta trim looks like an evil lair under the cloudy winter skies. I think of Alan, Valerie, and Cammie circling around the back of the huge property—a walk that must be one or two miles—and I shudder. Both the hunters and the rival wolves will be out there.
“Do you smell anything?” I ask Tyler as he holds his arm out to stop me from walking forward.
“I smell the bad wolves. They're a couple of miles across from us and they're right where we want them,” Tyler says. “With three of us over there, someone can draw the rivals right onto the grounds. The other two can distract the hunters. And then it's my job from there. Since I can run fast as a wolf, I'll lure the rivals in."
“If the hunters shoot,” I force, “there's a chance they'll shoot one of the nasty wolves and not one of you. And we need them alive until the last moment."
Tyler frowns, and grief shoves out the redness for a moment. “Yes. I've calculated so many possibilities.”
So have I. I quicken my breath, and Tyler looks to me with worry. “All we can do is wait. I trust Alan to help us. There is no reason for him not to.”
“You're worried about him.”
He gulps. “Yes. He wants to come back. He wants to get better. I'm just...he might...try too hard.”
I gulp as I get what he means. Alan might sacrifice himself to make this plan work.
We duck down, watching like a pair of hunters, surveying the gentle hills of Rose Ranch and the horse stables in the back. A few horses wandering outside nod their heads as their breath spirals into the gray sky. An employee walks from the stables to the employee lot, gets in her car, and leaves. Two security guards patrol around the parking lot where the reporters are parked. Inside, the Roses are having a news conference and coming up with whatever BS they have. I smile, knowing Will won't let them have it easy, and neither will many of the reporters who are meeting in the Rose Room.
And at last, the reporters begin to leave.
They file out, cameras and notes under their arms, and walk to the employee lot. I spot Will with his sandy hair and glasses, and I'm glad he's getting out of here before things go down. I'm glad they're all getting out of here because most are on our side. Will gets into his rental car and is the first to back down the driveway, oblivious to our plan. He and the other reporters will meet at the motel in downtown Tower for sure.
They're all gone within ten minutes, and then Rose Ranch is quiet. Tyler crouches beside me and listens, and then Gavin joins us a moment later and lowers himself into the brush in silence.
“You're worried about Chaz,” I whisper.
He gulps. “Yeah. I was hoping we could do this side by side. But I get why it has to be this way.”
I think of Marion, now sitting alone in Gavin's truck and covered in the scent of pine needles that she rubbed on herself. She's far from the action, but not completely safe. Then my phone vibrates and I pull it out, reading her message.
Grandma arriving now. She's got a surprise.
I strain my neck to look around a tree trunk, careful not to get under the game camera that's far up on a nearby tree. Yes. I spot an SUV coming up the Rose Ranch main driveway, and it pulls into the visitors' parking lot. It's an older SUV that's long seen better days, and not one I've seen before, but when the door opens, I see why. Darlene comes out of the passenger seat and four other elderly women get out also, plus two men who are holding folders of papers.
“She brought a small army,” I say.
“Well,” Tyler says, “They will all be holding up the security for us. Marion's grandma is a smart woman.”
Of course, Darlene is the only one who knows the full plan. The group of angry residents march into the visitors' office to start raising hell with the mean receptionist, and no one comes out for the next five minutes. I can imagine the argument that's happening inside, and the receptionist trying to give everyone her hand. It won't work for long, and soon—
“There's security,” Gavin says ten minutes later.
Several men in light blue uniforms and black pants run down the main driveway of Rose Ranch towards the visitor center, one of them with a radio in hand. Neither of the Roses come out with them. They're still sheltered inside Rose Ranch itself, safe in their mansion.
Or so they think.
“This is it,” Tyler says, pulling off his shirt and revealing his bare skin to the elements. “The last charge.”
I gulp, readying my weapon. I text Marion the signal—a happy face emoji—to let her know that we're about to charge.
The six security men vanish behind the back of the visitors' center and I know they're confronting several angry elders who aren't going to take their crap. Drag this out, I silently beg Darlene. Drag this out for as long as you can.
No one comes out, and I know the security guys are scared to manhandle old people. That'll take them forever to calm things down.
“Now,” Tyler says, letting the shift come over him.
Gavin backs away as the transformation happens. Tyler's form cracks and pops. Dark fur sprouts. And at last, the dark wolf walks out of Tyler's jeans, leaving them discarded on the snow. The dark wolf looks to me as Gavin steps out of his sight, and the redness in his eyes beg for blood. Yes. The curse is almost complete.
I don't dare look at Gavin, just in case Tyler loses it and attacks the wrong person. I've got to keep him locked onto the right targets.
“Your parents. They're inside the mansion,” I say, and then Tyler growls and lowers his ears, locked onto the mansion where he's never been allowed. “We have to clear a path to them.”
Tyler growls again as if to say, I know.
And then I shout, “Go! Gavin, cover us.”
With that, the three of us charge straight into Rose Ranch.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The snow is deeper than I expected, but I've had plenty of cardio walking through it and on worse terrain. I pace myself as the dark wolf runs into the open in front of me, and Gavin does the same all wrapped up in his disguise. The open air settles over us, exposing us, but we can't stop. The game cameras have seen us. There's no turning back. Rose Ranch looms larger and larger uphill.
In silence, we let Tyler lead the way as he kicks up snow, aggression fully focused on the real enemy. I keep my bow down, and so does Gavin as he runs beside me with his long legs. Neither of us speak. We close the distance, and I scan the area for security guards, but it seems no one is watching the cameras—
“Hey! Hey, you!”
“Shit,” Gavin mutters, whirling to look over my shoulder.
Tyler continues on, and I face a single security guard that's coming out of the mansion through a side door. He freezes when he spots the wolf, and then backs inside, slamming the door as Tyler growls loudly at him. The man pales so much it's obvious from a hundred feet away. And the out-of-shape guard doesn't come back out.
He knows about the werewolves. And he'll call the hunters.
“We have to hurry,” I gasp. Let the other wolves hold them off.
Tyler growls in response, and then runs not for the closed door, but for a large picture window near the front of the house. He picks up speed, kicking up powder.
“Holy shit,” Gavin shouts.
Tyler leaps straight at the large window as if attacking the darkness inside and the plants on the windowsill.
And with a deafening crash, the glass explodes inward with Tyler.
I stop, unable to catch my breath as my heart continues to race. The dark wolf lands inside the mansion as a few plants fall to the floor, and Gavin has to slug my shoulder to get me back on track.
Shouts echo from the visitors' center and I know the security guy has gotten on the radio. I look back to see two of the uniformed men coming out of the building and running uphill, and Gavin raises his crossbow in shock.
“No,” I warn, not daring to use his name.
“Stay back!” Gavin shouts in a guttural voice, disguising his real tone. “There's a wolf in there!”
The two security men stop and motion to each other like they're not sure what to do. They're also scared. We can't shoot them. We can't commit a major crime.
“Come on,” I say, climbing through the broken window. My gloves hit broken glass, and sharpness and h
ot pain scrape my palm. I bite in a shout of pain as I hoist myself inside and Gavin follows. The smell of iron fills the air, and my heart races from the pain as a low growl fills my head.
I stop and squeeze my eyes shut.
This isn't normal.
The smell of blood. It's awakening—
“Beckah,” Gavin hisses, slapping my back. “You just got a scrape. That's all.”
The horrific sound vanishes and I open my eyes to a large sitting room meant to look out on the visitor center. Plants stand everywhere and heat blasts down from the vents. Leather couches and expensive rugs now hold broken glass and Tyler, now standing across the room from us, is bleeding. Blood leaks from his muzzle and drips on the floor, but she shakes himself off, impatient. Then he glares at Gavin, who has climbed in, and peels back his lips, revealing teeth.
“No,” I say, regaining my composure. “Your parents. The ones who betrayed you.”
Then Tyler snaps his attention to the double doors that are closed, the doors that lead to the rest of the mansion. I rush forward and pull them open as Gavin watches the window. The security guards outside yell something.
“We're with the werewolf hunters!” Gavin yells back, and then the shouts go silent. “Keep those people safe in the visitor center!”
“Smart,” I tell Gavin as I pull the ornate wooden doors open, revealing a hall that leads to a large welcome room with a chandelier and two sets of spiral steps. Marble floors are decorated with magenta rugs (decorated in horses) and plants in polished brown pots stand everywhere. Pillars hold up the balcony of the second floor.
And the single security guard runs to meet us, then skids to a stop as Tyler rushes him.
“Run!” I warn the guy, whose jaw drops.
He drops his radio, turns around, and races back down the hall.
Tyler loses it and gives chase, nails screeching against the marble floor.
Then the guard bolts up the spiral steps as Tyler skids to the first stair and collides, stopping. I take my chance, follow Tyler, and seize him. He's almost out of control. He snaps at the leg of the guard as he curses, falls to the stairs, and seizes a cane on his belt.
