by J. A. Saare
She removed the cuffs from her wrists and went to the cage with the male trapped inside. She unlocked it and came to me, resting her hand on my back.
"Are you sure?"
I wasn't good at conveying emotion in wolf form. Not to a human.
I cocked my head and looked at her, wagging my tail again.
"Slow, easy, and cautious. That's what you said." She let me go and put the scalpel and syringe in her right hand and gasped the zap wand in the left. "I'm going to open the door now."
I'd told her to open the door from behind, letting me take the lead. She'd listened. She grasped the handle, gave it a turn, and pulled it back toward her. As soon as she did, I moved. Not too fast, not too slow. I flared my nostrils, taking in scents, and paused. There were two solid scents nearby. Both male. Both wolf-men. The hallway leading up was narrow and long and opened on both sides. I needed her help, but I had to keep her secure.
I stepped into the small corridor before the stairs and stopped.
There were benches on either side and hooks for coats or clothing.
This was where Dante changed.
I wanted to look through his pockets, but couldn't.
There was no way to ask Angie to.
When she made it to me, I stepped back until my rear bumped her. I turned my head and looked at her. She knew not to speak, I'd warned her not to. When she stopped, I started forward. She followed and I stopped again, backing up. I looked at her again, and she got the message.
Wait.
When I knew she understood, I slowly inched up the stairs.
I kept using my sniffer and ears.
Someone was on the right.
I could hear the sound of texting.
I made it midway up and caught another scent. Also on the right.
I paused, took two more steps, and inhaled.
I didn't detect another person or wolf-man.
I thought there were three.
Two? I can't be that easy.
I had to be certain, carefully gliding up, listening for creaks in the stairs. I had to flex my pads at an awkward angle, as my nails would click on the floor. It wasn't easy and felt wrong. I worried I'd make too much noise. When I reached the level area and could actually see, I realized we weren't trapped in a building.
We were in a house.
Angie had been correct. There were no windows.
Thin wood had been placed over them.
Then another smell hit me, and I took a step back.
The scent of industry. We were in a city.
Dante had been reckless and stupid.
I couldn't tell if we were in a suburb or the slums.
The horrid son of a bitch had put us directly near people.
Humans.
I used my nose again, not wanting to make a mistake.
Only two wolf-men.
What about the yells and screams?
It didn't make any sense.
I took a moment, wondering if I was walking into a trap.
My heart fluttered, my nerves tense.
I felt a hand caress my haunch.
Angie.
She'd followed me.
The time was now. I had to decide.
I proceeded, going forward, trying not to make any noise.
As soon as I heard wood creak, I knew they'd heard it too.
I charged.
One was on his cell phone. The other had passed out in a chair.
I went for the closest one, barreling toward a desk.
His head jolted up, but not in time.
I took him down, sinking my teeth into his neck, when I heard a soft whoosh. My body shifted, my rear going in the opposite direction of my torso. It felt like someone had doused my right hip in gasoline and set it on fire. I let the man in my grasp go and pivoted toward the sound.
The other male had a gun leveled at me.
He was using a silencer.
I went at him, he aimed, and the same raging fire hit erupted in my right shoulder. I went down, my paws slipping on the floor. I saw movement to my left, I tried to stand.
I couldn't.
The injury had been created by silver, but it felt different.
The injury was deeper, harsher.
Angie appeared and used the wand on the man. She kept constant pressure on his back, and I watched as he jerked and cried out. Another male appeared, coming through the front door. He looked stunned. He went for a gun tucked under his jacket. Angie left the werewolf she'd stunned and ran at the other male. He turned, aiming for her.
No. No.
I'd promised I'd protect her.
And the pack needed me. Noah needed me. The pack needed my wolf. Noah needed my wolf. They needed us. Something shifted. It felt like a bomb detonated inside of me. Everything fell away and suddenly there was no air, earth, or sky.
There was me.
Not a woman. Not a wolf.
Something else.
Both.
I made it to my feet and charged.
He spun at me and fired.
I took him down hard, snapping my teeth around his throat. This time, I feasted on his blood, going for the kill. He gurgled and writhed against me, but I didn't let go. Not until I scented his death and knew it was mine. I released him and turned, seeing and feeling everything in a clarity that felt too powerful.
I went to the male Angie had taken down.
His head lolled toward me and our eyes met.
I finished him off, going for the jugular.
As the blood gushed, I snarled.
"What the fuck?" Angie screamed.
I scented something else.
Something out of place.
Children. Human children.
"Call the police!" Angie shouted. "Stop! Stop it!"
I realized they stood right outside the door. It was evening. I could see shining streetlights. They were filming everything with their phones. I let go of the man in my grasp and tried to part my front legs for balance. I staggered back, trying to breathe. The wolf was stronger than it had ever been, so much a part of me. Still I sagged, realizing my injuries were severe.
I'd wanted to escape, and I would.
But I wasn't sure if I'd do it alive.
I went down, arms splayed, struggling to stay alert.
"No," Angie said. "Stay with me."
I felt her stroke my face, and then my side.
"Call the police! Call an ambulance! What is wrong with you?"
She moved, darting away from me.
I watched as she grasped the wolf-man's phone, shifted her finger on the screen, and punched her finger over it. As she did, she came back, crawling to me. She touched the top of my head and gave one ear a firm rub.
"I need help. Right now," she said. "I don't know where we are. I've been kidnapped. I've been in a cell for months. The woman with me has been shot. No, I don't know where I am. I told you! No, I can't look for an envelope for an address. She's been shot, more than once. Find us, please! She's bleeding to death!"
Light footsteps approached. I couldn't move, couldn't dodge.
Couldn't protect.
I tried to growl, but the noise sounded wrong.
I felt metallic tasting wetness seep into my nostrils.
I knew it was blood.
"Give it to me." A small arm swept over my head. I heard little boy say, "There's a naked woman and a dog here. What? Oh, they're in an abandoned house. Yes, that's it. 1416 Ridley. Yes, ma'am. Right beside the park. Yeah, just by the old basketball court. The woman? She's okay. I think. But she looks bad. The dog? It's really hurt. I think it was stabbed or shot or something. Yes. Yes. There are men too, but they're dead. I think the dog killed them."
"Ray?" Angie lowered her head. I felt tears on my muzzle. "Ray?"
I couldn't answer even if I wanted to.
Relying on what I had, I tried to move my tail.
"To hell with this," she snapped. "Time for the big red button."
I saw her
snatch the phone from the child and closed my eyes.
The big red button.
She didn't have to use it.
She could have made it out and let me die.
It was only in case of emergency.
To keep her safe. Not me.
She was unique and needed to be protected.
"Contact Michael Preston. Immediately. Yes, the werewolf. Stop asking questions and listen to me! Tell him it's Eleonara Carthy. No, I'm not her. What? I don't know if she's from the news. Yes, she's the one that's hurt. Of course we need care for her, are you completely stupid?"
She stroked my head, more to soothe herself than me.
I settled, wanting to calm her.
"Contact Noah Cameron, too. That's her husband. This is an official werewolf matter, and this shit is being recorded. If you don't do it, they'll find out." Her breath caught, and she screamed, "No, I will not hold! Get someone here. Right now! I'm not kidding! There are children watching us." Angie shifted from me and shouted, "They are recording everything on their phones when they should be calling for help! Keep asking questions, and it'll be on the internet before any of you get here."
I felt dizzy and realized I was probably bleeding out.
I closed my eyes and accepted I'd reached the end of the line.
Angie had done good.
Michael would take care of her.
I'd done my job. If I died, it happened on my terms.
"Hurry the hell up!" Angie screamed again. "She's dying."
Her voice faded, as did lights from cellular devices.
I wondered if Heaven existed.
If the good book was right, I'd find peace. My mother had told me as much. She promised she'd watch out for me, and I thought she had. As much as she could. I hoped she'd be waiting for me.
I missed her so much.
Or maybe Steven would guide the way.
He'd be there to greet me.
That would be icing on the cake.
"Ray?" Something shook me, hard. "Wake up."
It sounded like Angie, but I couldn't be sure.
And why did I care? Death wasn't so bad.
I could go to sleep and dream forever.
I heard my father's voice.
I was back in bed, one of my earliest memories.
Before he'd left Mom.
When things had been happy and carefree.
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore," my father said, stroking my hair. "While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as if someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. 'Tis some visitor, I muttered, tapping at my chamber door. Only this and nothing more."
"Raven." Something grasped my head, forcing it to move. "Wake up."
I tried to listen, but the pictures in my head were so much better.
I stayed in my happy place, envisioning life as it used to be.
There was no pain anymore.
Only light.
Chapter Twenty
Raven? Can you hear me?" Something nudged me, and I tried to ignore it. "If you can hear me, say something. Or open those pretty eyes and look at me."
"Steven?" I gasped, reaching for him.
"Not Steven." A hand grasped mine. "Noah."
Noah.
"I'm not dead?"
"No, you're not dead."
"Is it really you?" I wasn't sure I believed him. "Noah?"
"It's me, angel. It's me."
It was him, I could tell him what I should have.
A long time ago.
"I didn't think I'd see you again." Tears came to my eyes, making them burn. "I'm sorry. I should have said so much to you. I love you, Noah. I'm sorry I didn't say so before. I should have."
I tried to move and cried out.
It felt like I'd been hit by a car. My shoulder and hip pulsed and burned.
I wheezed and warm and thick wetness seeped across my chest. "It hurts."
"I know it does, grá." I heard movement and shifting. "Don't move."
I heard a machine beep. In seconds, the pain faded.
"Here, take this." He placed a controller in my hand. He moved my fingers until my thumb was over a button. "When the pain is too much, give this a push." His voice was laced with emotion. He was both furious and relieved. "I love you too, angel. You scared the hell out of me. I thought I'd lost you."
"Where's Angie?" I'd promised her safety and protection. "Is she alright?"
"She's fine. She's in the room next door."
Room next door. I inhaled carefully. No humans.
"We're at the compound?" The medical facility had been created for Michael, in the event he needed emergency care and constant security after an attack.
"Yes. Don't worry." Noah put his hand over mine. "She wants to see you."
"Then let her. Get her."
"She wouldn't let us provide care, so we had to sedate her. "
"Don't do that. Not to her." Even with medication, it hurt to talk. "She's been through enough."
"She's been changed." Noah sounded awestruck.
"Yes, she has. Against her will."
"How?"
"She didn't tell you?"
"We tried to talk to her and ask questions, but she wouldn't answer any of them. She became confrontational, and said she'll talk to you and only you. Since she wouldn't let us tend to her, and she was getting in the way of the doctor prepping you for surgery, we had no choice."
"She doesn't know what's happening to her. When she wakes up, I need to be there. She'll talk to you then. I know she will." There was also something else. "How's Trisha?" Dante indicated she was fine, but I needed to know. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine, angel." I felt his lips brush my knuckles. "She told us what happened. Everyone knows what you did. We've been looking for you. The entire pack has been worried. We were in Nashville trying to find your trail when we got the call from the police."
Suddenly, fear struck. "The spies you mentioned, werewolf and vampire. I think I know where the information is coming from. There's a mole in the pack, Noah."
"What?"
"Dante Orr sent the male from the mall to get me. Ensel. He's the one who came into our home and took me. He wasn't at the house when I got free. I don't know where he is."
"Who's Dante Orr?"
"The mastermind of this as far as I can tell. He's the one that changed Peter and Angie. He came to the compound and made Peter shift. He's the alpha we scented at the cabin. He had information about me, you, Steven, and the pack. Someone told him things. I think that's how he got into the compound. He's been experimenting on werewolves. He's been changing and killing them." I tried to get comfortable, wanting to ease the ache in my lower back. I whimpered as soon as I did.
"Don't move." Not an order but a plea.
I pressed the button under my thumb.
In moments, I could breathe again.
"What did they shoot me with?" It had to be silver.
"The bullets were specially made. The silver splintered. It took over an hour to remove the fragments." He inhaled sharply, I thought he might be close to tears until he spoke and I heard his anger. "If the bullet in your shoulder went even the slightest bit to the left, one would have hit your heart."
"I'm here," I told him, wanting to ease his worry. "You said it yourself. I'm not dead. I'm alive."
"You're lucky to be," he confessed, somber. "You lost so much blood. Too much. That alone could have done it."
"Maybe I should shift? I'll heal faster."
"As soon as your stable."
"When did I get out of surgery?" I felt groggy and yucky.
"A few hours ago. Michael had Benjamin see to you. That's why we brought you to the compound. If it had been the normal staff, with the severity of your wounds, we would have been forced to take you to the hospital."
Benjamin Foley: the best werewolf surgeon in the world.
Last I'd heard, he'd
moved to Florida. But knowing the good doctor, he'd probably changed his address more than once in the time I'd been gone. While he was technically part of Michael's pack, he had more freedom than most. He moved often to do research, learn new techniques, or teach students.
"Benjamin's here?"
"You're very fortunate. He flew in a couple of days ago to attend a medical conference."
Not only was I fortunate, so was the pack. "You should have him examine the bodies from the house. He might find something we could use."
"He's performing autopsies today," he informed me.
"Have you identified anyone?"
"Not yet. The man we found alive in the basement is still out of it. He's infected and will shift during the full moon. We'll notify his family when he gives us his personal information. We're hoping to question him beforehand, just in case."
Just in case he died, Noah meant.
"You have to look for Ensel. He knows where we live, Noah. He was in our house. The lemon scent? It's from a injection of some kind. I think it keeps the wolf at bay, but I'm not sure."
"The one from the mall?"
"Yes."
"I have a basic description from seeing him. Are there any details you can give me? Anything that might help?"
"Only that Dante must have created him."
He didn't speak for several seconds. I smelled guilt wafting off him.
"We did try to find you. The scent went cold outside the compound. Violet did a tracking spell, but it didn't work. She went to the house to take a look and told us the grounds had an extremely old and powerful masking charm. We think that's why he chose it, even if there were humans nearby. We're searching the history of the place. Which is another thing we have to deal with. Do you remember the children filming you?"
Oh no. Not again. "Yes."
"Then I don't have to tell you how bad this is. If anyone wants to see a werewolf mangle a man, they only have to visit the internet. The police arrived before you lost consciousness and shifted to human form, so they didn't get a shot of your face, but Angie used your name while she was being filmed. You've been all over the news again. That's twice, in less than a month."
Not good. Michael would have to clean up the mess.
He'd already warned me he'd had enough of that.
"What's Michael's plan? How's he dealing with it?"
