by Laura Hysell
The waiting was the worst part. Mark sat there, unmoving, his eyes glued to the knife in his hands. I felt drained, as though I had just run a marathon. My head drooped in exhaustion, and I leaned back against the seat. I closed my eyes, but kept my hands around Mark’s as I struggled to stay awake.
Mark made a small sound, and I jerked upright instantaneously. His eyes had already changed, taking on the ring of yellow that indicated his wolf was forming. I pulled Mark’s hands from the knife and touched his face, gently turning him toward me. “Mark, please, can you reach Jed?”
He said nothing at first, and I found myself holding my breath. Had he understood me? Was his wolf in control enough? “Yes,” he finally breathed.
I let out a breath and whispered, “We need him!”
After several moments of silence, Mark spoke again. “He wants to know where,” Mark replied.
“We’re in Canada, but we’ll probably need help getting across the border. What about Vancouver?” I suggested.
Mark was silent for several moments, then he shook his head. “Too populated. He says to go to Cultus Lake. It’s close to the border,” he added.
I grabbed the map from the front seat and squinted at it, searching for the lake. I found it, near the southern border of British Columbia. “Tell him we’ll meet him there,” I said, my heart racing at the prospect of being reunited with the wolves again. I hadn’t realized how much I truly missed them. Not just for the strength the Pack provided, but the sense of security and belonging.
“He wants me to turn,” Mark said, his voice strained. I looked up from the map and my heart skipped a beat. Mark’s eyes had turned fully wolf golden, with an odd tinge of green glowing around the edge. Sweat had formed on his forehead, and he seemed to be struggling to maintain his human form.
“No, no, don’t change. I don’t think that’s safe,” I said. “Mark, hold on. I need Jed’s number.”
Mark rattled off his phone number as I searched for a pen and paper. Raoul handed a pen back to me, and I scribbled on the corner of the map. “Izzy,” Mark whispered.
“Mark.” I touched his cheek with my hand, and saw the recognition in his face. When the wolf took over, Mark was definitely more himself. However, I wasn’t sure if I could keep the wolf version of Mark in line. I also had no idea what would happen to Henri’s control of Mark after he was in wolf form, and couldn’t speak to me anymore. “Mark, please tell Jed we need to speak first. Don’t go wolf on me just yet.”
Mark nodded and closed his eyes. He relaxed slowly and finally slumped back in his seat. When he opened his eyes, only the edges were ringed with gold. “He says call soon. He’ll wait.”
“Killian?”
“I’ll get you a phone as soon as I find one,” Killian replied, knowing what I was going to ask.
“Just hurry.”
Chapter 17- Jared
Human form. Wait for the call, Jed said in my mind. Jed didn’t elaborate more, but it was hard to communicate complex messages as a wolf. I had been running through the woods chasing a rabbit, and my stomach growled in angry protest when I stopped. Breakfast would have to wait. The others had heard Jed’s command as well, and we all gathered together.
Our expedition group was small, consisting of Hugo, the twins, Vanessa and me. Beth had tried to come along as well, but Jed had pulled her to the side for a personal chat. I wasn’t sure what had transpired there, but I hadn’t seen Beth since. Jed had hand-picked our group, and despite my problems with Lucas, we worked fairly well as a team. Having the second in command along with us helped. Hugo was a steady presence, keeping everyone in line.
For whatever reason, I had found over the past few months that my ability to shift between human and werewolf grew easier and faster with each shift. That didn’t mean it hurt any less, just that I was faster. I still couldn’t match Vanessa in her speed and smooth shifting, but I had still been voted the official human shifter for this outing. Mostly, I think it was because I was the best fighter in human form, due to my military training. My wolf fighting abilities were getting better, but I was definitely the new guy. Sights and scents tended to distract me more than the others, making me vulnerable. I couldn’t help it though. Everything was louder and smellier than ever before. The others would guard me, since I was still considerably more vulnerable as a human. It also meant I was the one carrying our few human items. The heavy weight on my front leg made it harder to run, but after a week racing northward primarily in wolf form, I’d grown used to it.
I closed my eyes, willing the transformation. Each time it was smoother, and perhaps a little less painful. The fur swirled and diminished until I felt cold air on my naked skin. Muscles and bones shifted and twisted as my body contorted from that of a wolf back into human form. The entire transformation took only a few minutes, but it felt like I broke and mended each and every bone in my body in those few minutes. It was agonizing.
As soon as I was back in human form, I reached down and untied the bundle strapped tightly to my wrist. The first time, we’d tried tying the bundle to my ankle, but as soon as I shifted to wolf form it fell off. My wrist was closer in size to my wolf leg, so the bundle was tied as tightly as possible to it instead. I had to work quickly to remove the tight leather strap, before it cut off circulation in my hand. Originally, I had suggested tying the bundle to someone else, but had been vetoed. If I was the human, I needed to carry the human items.
The bundle was small, containing a cell phone, charger, cash, credit card and my passport. The others didn’t have any human items, since they planned to stay in wolf form as we traveled. Designated human, that was me.
I sighed in relief as soon as the strap came free. First thing, I turned on the cell phone and checked the battery. It looked good, so I made myself comfortable on a pile of leaves as I sat down to wait. The others roamed around, chasing birds and squirrels, but not going far. I wasn’t sure where we were. We had avoided all signs of humans, keeping to the forests as much as possible. Occasionally we had ventured closer to civilization, and had to bide our time until night fell. We had travelled for most of the night and were hunting for breakfast before finding a place to rest when Jed had sent his message.
My stomach growled, but breakfast would have to wait for me. After twenty minutes, I realized it might be a long wait, and I piled more leaves up to make a makeshift bed for my naked, human body. It was always harder to get comfortable in human form with every little rock and pebble digging into my tender skin. I finally gave up and plopped down unceremoniously, closing my eyes with the cell phone resting on my bare chest. Warm fur nestled my side, as one of the wolves shifted down beside me. I sniffed the air until I identified the wolf beside me as Hugo. The presence of the wolf lulled me to sleep.
I wasn’t sure how long I had slept when the phone suddenly rang, jerking me wide awake. The other wolves were all nearby, resting, but their wolf ears perked up at the sound. I fumbled with the phone as I sat up and murmured a quick hello.
“Hello?” came the voice through the phone, and I thought my heart stopped for a moment.
“Izzy?” I asked, my voice cracking. “Izzy, is that you?”
“Jared?”
“Oh, my God, Izzy,” I said, relief welling inside me. “How did you get this number? Where are you? Are you alright? What’s going on? Did you get away from the vampires? And Mark, is he with you?”
“Jared, I’m okay. Yes, Mark is with me,” she added, but I heard the hesitation in her voice. I swallowed and waited for her to continue. “Mark was able to communicate with Jed. That’s how we got this number. Is Jed around? Can I speak to him?”
She wanted to talk with Jed? I ground my teeth in immediate irritation before replying. “He’s not here.”
“Shit, where is he? I need to speak with him.”
“He’s back at home, Izzy. Obviously, he gave you this number for a reason,” I added sharply.
She was silent, and I wondered if she hung up. Then I heard h
er breathing into the phone. “I’m sorry Jared,” she said softly, her voice breaking. “It’s just Mark. I think Jed was trying to get him to shift into wolf form, but I needed to talk to him before he tried some wolf mojo on him. Mark isn’t exactly himself, and I’m not sure if it’d be a good idea to have an unstable wolf as a travelling companion.”
“Travelling companion? Izzy, I think you’d better tell me what’s going on,” I said.
“We’re heading home, Jared. It’s a long story, but we managed to get away from Henri. We’re in Canada right now, heading south toward Cultus Lake. That’s where Jed told us to go,” she said, but I cut her off before she could continue.
“A couple of us are heading up into Canada looking for you right now. Not sure where we’re at exactly, but you just keep heading toward Cultus Lake and we’ll meet you there, wherever that is,” I added.
“It’s close to the border of Canada,” she replied. “In British Columbia.”
“I don’t have a map, Izzy. We’re not exactly travelling by car.”
“Huh? You’re not travelling by car?” she asked.
I chuckled and replied, “Izzy, we’re werewolves. It might not be faster than travelling by car, but it’s easier, especially considering the current state of things.”
I heard the rustling of paper before she responded. “Okay, looks like that lake is on the edge of a forest. Um, north of Mt. Baker some ways I guess. My map doesn’t show very far down into Washington, but that’s the closest thing I can see. It’s not really near any towns.”
“That’s okay, mountains are easier,” I replied, turning toward Hugo. “Do you know what Mt. Baker looks like?” The wolf looked at me, nodded his massive wolf head once, then loped off to scout.
“It’s going to take us a while to get down there, Jared. We’re trying to travel as fast as possible, and throw Henri and his vampires off our trail at the same time. Even with three of us taking turns driving, it’ll probably take a couple days. Longer, if we have to go off road,” she added. I could hear the defeat in her voice, and I felt bad for snapping at her earlier. The vampires were chasing her?
“Just do your best, Izzy. When you get there, try and find a campground or day use area, somewhere we can meet.” I scratched my head, trying to figure out a plan. “Who else is with you?”
“Two humans who helped me,” she replied. “I trust them.”
What was I going to do with three humans and a vampire-controlled werewolf when I found them? Izzy was one thing. I’d go to the ends of the earth for her. Mark, too. He was Pack; he was family. But now I had to worry about two more humans on top of it. “I only have one extra battery for this phone, and I’m miles from civilization, Iz. Unless you need something else from me, I’d better hang up.”
“Can you message Jed?” she asked. “About Mark, I mean. Mark’s better when he’s touching his wolf, but I can’t help him if he’s fully wolf.”
“Of course,” I replied, looking at the other wolves who were eagerly listening to every word. Lucas nodded his big, shaggy head, and I felt a shiver across my skin. He was speaking to our Alpha. “I’m not sure what Jed will do, but he’ll get the message to be careful.”
“Thanks, I guess,” she said softly, sighing into the phone. “I’ve missed you,” she added, her voice so quiet I barely heard it.
My heart thudded in response and I closed my eyes. “I’ve missed you too, sweetheart,” I responded, trying to make my voice sound light even though my heart was heavy.
“Sweetheart, huh?” she laughed into the phone, but I could tell it was forced. She was faking it just as much as I was. “I’ll call you when we get there.”
“That works, but call if you get in trouble or anything. If you see a vampire, you pick up that phone. Leave me a message if I don’t answer. I’ll try and check it as much as possible. And if Mark can get in touch with Jed, he can get in touch with me too as long as I’m in wolf form. Or any of the Pack, for that matter. Hugo is with me, too.”
“Okay, thanks Jared.”
“Izzy…” I stopped, stood up and walked away from the others. They’d be able to hear every word I said, but I liked the illusion of privacy. “Izzy, please, be careful. I need you back. I don’t know what’s happened the last few months, but it doesn’t matter. Just come back to me. Please.”
“Jared…”
“I love you,” I said, forcing the words out quickly and awkwardly. I immediately regretted it, but there was no taking it back. I said it again. “I love you, Isabella Howerton. Izzy.”
“Oh, Jared…” she said softly, and I stopped her there before she could continue.
“Don’t, Izzy. Don’t overthink it. The world is going to hell, and this isn’t the time or place, but damn it I can’t let you go again without telling you. I didn’t plan on saying this over the phone. Damn it,” I said as I stalked further away from the others. There was no going back, and part of me was glad for it. The other part was terrified. I took a deep breath. “I love you. Just tell me you love me too. Please,” I implored her.
The pause was long, and I could hear her crying on the other end of the phone. Great, now I was making her cry. Damn it! Then her voice came back on the line. “Jared, I love you, I truly do,” she said softly, with no hint of the tears I had heard seconds before. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice again, and I can’t wait to see you.”
My heart swelled so much I felt it might burst, but then that negative part of my brain told me she was just telling me exactly what I had asked her to tell me. Fuck it! I was going to hold on to that feeling forever. “Love you, sweetheart. I will see you soon, and everything will be better. I promise.”
“Soon. Bye, Jared,” she said, and the phone went silent.
I closed my eyes and ran a hand across my face, scratching at the whiskers growing there. What the hell had I just done? Hadn’t she just said she was with Mark, being chased by vampires? And I chose that moment to tell her I loved her, over the phone. What the fuck was I thinking? I turned around and faced Hugo, who was staring at me with his big, wolf eyes. “Don’t even think it, Hugo! Not now. Do you know where we are?” I asked, and he nodded his large head. “Well, then, let’s go. I need to eat first though.”
I turned off the cell phone and packed everything away into the little pouch before strapping it tightly to my wrist. Brushing off the leaves stuck to my body, I began the agonizing process of changing back into a wolf. The transition was smoother this time, and I barely registered the pain. As soon as I was back in wolf form though, I could hear the others chattering at me.
Idiot, Lucas said simply. Wolf speak was short and simple, usually, and Lucas excelled at simple. He wasn’t wrong though. I felt like an idiot.
Past Mountain, Hugo said, and I turned my attention toward him. Yes, please, change the subject.
We’d already passed Mt. Baker, so we were that much closer to Izzy. How far? I asked, trying to turn my human thoughts into wolf thoughts. Sometimes it was difficult, especially when trying to convey anything complex.
Hugo shook his large head and turned away, ending the short conversation. I stretched out, relaxing into my wolf form. The other wolves had already gone hunting, but they’d been nice enough to leave a small rabbit for me. I bit into it, but it had already turned cold. The human part of me was disgusted, and the wolf part of me wasn’t very happy either, but food was food. I dug into the soft flesh, making short work of the small rabbit. I was still hungry, but it would have to suffice. The others had already started ranging ahead, and they were antsy to move on. I wiped my muzzle with my paw, sniffed the air, then eased into a steady run.
We ran easily through the forest, and for a time I was able to forget everything and concentrate on just being a wolf. I felt the soft grass beneath my feet and relished in the wind brushing across my fur. The sounds of the forest surrounded me, and I listened to the birds take flight, and smaller animals scurry away as we loped through the woods. Being a wolf w
as still new to me, but I loved every minute of it. It felt as though I had been missing this my whole life.
We moved together through the woods easily, following Hugo’s lead. Vanessa raced ahead of us, scouting out the path ahead. After several hours of travelling, we caught up to Vanessa, who had gone ranging farther ahead. She was sitting in the middle of a small clearing, waiting for us.
Fence, she said simply, and we all stopped.
Where? Hugo asked.
I sniffed the air, stepping forward to catch any scent on the breeze. Vanessa’s thoughts came again. Close.
No humans, I added. The only scents I caught on the wind were the usual in the forest. Why was Vanessa making a big deal about a fence? Was it a really big fence? Or really important? Border?
Yes, she replied simply.
We were already entering Canada. My heart thudded in anticipation. We were that much closer to Izzy. We were also likely that much closer to danger as well. Henri had made it clear that he wouldn’t just let Izzy go. He had taken measures to keep her with him, and under his control. What if she was still under his control? What if she wasn’t escaping, but being allowed to leave? I shook my head, trying to clear away the thought. One problem at a time.
Find a path, Hugo ordered, and Vanessa hurried off.
The rest of us waited while Vanessa scouted ahead again. I took the opportunity to hunt for some game, but had no luck. Vanessa returned after a short time, and we followed her to the edge of the fence. It was a sturdy fence, and tall, but there was a small section broken and bent backward. The break in the fence was a tight squeeze, but we all managed to fit through with most of our fur intact. As soon as we were through, Vanessa raced ahead again and we followed her scent.
We didn’t travel far before we met up with Vanessa again. The forest had been thinning slowly, and the scents had been changing. Occasionally, I caught whiffs of humans, but now I smelled horses, cows, and other farm animals. Another sign we were leaving the forest and getting closer to civilization. We moved together now, silently sneaking through the forest until we found a suitable place to wait out the day so we could continue on at night.
