by Alexia Purdy
Maybe they were twins. It would be interesting if they were. But he could see that the blonde hair of the woman next to him was slightly darker than the platinum tresses of the queen. There was a spray of freckles across Tully’s nose and under her eyes, while the queen’s skin was flawless. Tully’s eyes were even a shade darker, more ocean blue in color rather than light hazel, and Tully’s lips were also slightly fuller than the thin, pressed mouth of the queen. They were related all right, but he now doubted that they were twins. Still, they were so close in age and so incredibly similar in appearance they could probably make themselves up to look like one another and fool the entire court.
Tully didn’t seem to care for the king’s mirth. She rolled her eyes while everyone laughed. She was the only one not laughing.
“Take it off,” she demanded, tugging hard at his jacket. “Drop it in front of you.”
He peered at her curiously, but he didn’t wait long to comply. He slipped off his winter jacket and let it drop to the ground. His sweater was still soaked with blood along the left side. Without warning, she grabbed the sleeve and tore it off where the shoulder met his chest, exposing the entire arm and ripping off the handkerchief he’d applied earlier.
He sucked in a sharp breath, waiting for the pain to hit as she ripped off his sleeve but it never came. Instead, he now stared in horror at the dry, crusted blood smudged along the hair of his arm where the wound had been. The deep puncture wounds should have still been seeping blood, but there was nothing there. Nothing but smooth skin, hair and dry blood along his tanned arm. He’d spent a lot of time in the sun during the summer, and the color still lingered. Staring hard at the nonexistent wound, he swallowed. He knew what the rapid healing meant.
He was one of them now. No longer human but a freak.
He turned toward Tully and found her studying him with deep, scrutinizing eyes. She pulled his arm up to her face and gave it a long sniff. Once was all it took to capture the scent of the perpetrator, and her eyes widened as she knowingly looked up at Hayden. The secret between them told of the sins of an Alpha who thought nothing of breaking their sacred rules. It was the last thing she’d expected, and the fear flickering on her face told him this was the start of something terrible.
Tully turned back toward her sister, meeting her eyes as though they were silently speaking to one another. Her sister pressed her lips together and threw her the slightest of nods before leaning back in her chair, looking pensive. The Alpha king stared down at them as their chuckles faded away and took a swig of whatever alcoholic beverage sat in front of him. The others of his council followed suit.
Robots, Hayden thought. All but Tully, her sister and Hayden were brainwashed to follow their leader with blind and pure devotion. They’d disturbed dinner, but neither he nor Tully cared. His stomach didn’t rumble, but his spirit hungered for revenge. He drew in a breath, about to speak, when Tully took his arm and squeezed it once more. He glanced her way again, and her widened eyes told him to be silent as she gave him the slightest shake of head. Whatever Tully feared, he had to take that into consideration, especially when it was obviously not a custom to challenge an Alpha outright. He knew a bit about shifters from his studies, but the specific rules of this pack were unknown to him. He sensed a crash course heading his way.
“What is your name, stranger?” the queen inquired.
“Hayden Night.”
“Welcome to the pack, Hayden. You have much to learn before you can challenge an Alpha of any pack and must wait one full cycle of the moon before doing so. Your captor, Tully, will show you around.”
“I did not agree to this, Talia,” Tully snapped.
Queen Talia narrowed her eyes at her sister. “You must do as you’re told. You know this more than anyone. Hayden will remain with you at all times while in the village; otherwise we cannot guarantee his safety.”
“Oh, she’ll tuck you in tonight, so be sure to obey her,” the Alpha king interjected, snickering at Hayden. “And if you get any bright ideas about sneaking out to kill me, know that she is duty bound to protect her leaders and won’t allow you to attack us in any way. She’ll sacrifice her life to stop you. All the members of my pack would do the same.”
He waved them away without another glance as he turned jovially toward his queen and began chatting. Tully gripped onto his arm even more tightly and gave him a good, swift tug in the direction of the door.
“Come on,” she hissed, already fed up with all the politics and probably annoyed with the fact that she had to babysit him. He complied, knowing from the looks of all those wolves on the council that he’d never ever be able to get through all of them to tackle the Alpha and get the revenge he sought. He was going to have to play this idiotic game their way. It would start with Tully.
So, she had to show Hayden the ways of the pack. How convenient. As long as he was patient, he could challenge the Alpha with no interference from anyone else. Besides, he had all the time in the world now that he was banished from the Agency. He was contaminated; they would not welcome him back for being so careless and allowing himself to be converted to a wild thing. A werewolf. A wolf shifter. Whatever you wanted to call them, there was no turning back now.
Fortunately, he was more than likely presumed dead. The Agency would not look for his body. Not in this deep snow and violent weather. The risk was too high, especially in a notoriously dangerous forest after a violent attack on one of their teams. His body would be left to freeze beneath the drifts of snow. Maybe they might search for it come spring. Maybe.
That was fine. Hayden felt at peace with his decision to stay here. There would be no attempt to return. He was dead to the world.
He looked about as they exited the lodge, taking in everything. Tully continued to pull him along, dragging him out into the snow, through the center of town, again parading him past the rest of the pack. It allowed him to get a better look at them as they lined up along the pathway to study the new “pup” and greet him with growls rumbling in their throats. The cold bit into him since he’d lost his jacket and sweater, exposing his skin to the biting frost.
She led him to the outermost ring of the village, and they soon came upon one of the smaller cabins located at the edge of the forest. Hayden was relieved to be far from the center of activity; it was a small comfort. He didn’t want to escape, but if he had to, it would be easy to overpower Tully and run off into the woods.
As though she could hear his thoughts, Tully glanced his way now and then, daring him to act out. Did she know what he was thinking? He had never heard of a clairvoyant person or werewolf before, but anything was possible. Nevertheless, he would have to try to clear his mind so she wouldn’t have anything to be suspicious about. He was here to stay, and he had to accept his fate. Revenge would be so damn sweet when it did come after a long, cold month of waiting.
Patience, Hayden. All in good time.
Chapter Four
* * *
Tully
She watched the whole night pass by without leaving the cabin, staring at the stranger sitting on the bed in the cell across from her. He had balls, the way he had walked into the lodge and challenged their Alpha outright. She could understand why. Who wouldn’t want revenge for unwillingly being turned into a wolf shifter? He would be unable to control the shift come full moon, which was just a few days away. He’d need all the help he could get.
So why was she the one to help him? She wished she’d shot him on sight.
A stranger could uproot the entire pack if he won a challenge. The hunt earlier in the evening wasn’t supposed to come close to the outskirts of the city of Wicked Grove. His coming was the beginning of so much change, it would shake their world. Tully knew it like she knew the lines on the back of her hands. There was no doubt their lifestyle was not ideal, but were they ready for the next step in evolution of their pack? She didn’t think so. He represented that, and she, along with her sister, knew it.
No one else could k
now. Not even Gregory, their Alpha.
Hayden hadn’t slept much during the night. She’d fed him his meals, sliding the trays through the gap beneath the bars and keeping watch as he ate and kept to himself. He didn’t ask any questions, which made her curiosity burn with a ferocious need to be quenched. Being on guard the whole time was her job. As sister of an Alpha queen, it was her lot in life. The politics were left to the leaders, not the second-born wolves. She was considered more of a guard dog, a messenger, and an executor of orders than anything else. A puppet to be controlled. You did as you were told in a pack or suffered grave consequences, even as the sister of the Alpha’s mate.
So here she was, doing the dirty work for everybody in the pack, as usual. Her ho-hum existence was tasting quite bitter as of late.
“Hey.” Hayden’s voice called out from inside the cell, and Tully turned to see the stranger peering back with two large, brown eyes reflecting the light of the embers glowing in the fireplace. They matched his hair, a dark, rich chocolate which looked like it would melt if he stood too close to the fire. A flutter rose in her belly, and she frowned to drive it away, not wanting this stranger’s looks to affect her like a smitten schoolgirl. She had to keep her wits about her, especially with an unknown.
It reminded her how much she was itching to go for a run. She hadn’t been on a run for a while, and it was starting to wear on her. Running in the wild was the closest to relaxing that shifters got. Not prison duty. This had to be one of the worst jobs ever. If there was any way she could get out of it to run, she’d do it in an instant.
But it was her duty, and there was no getting out of it. She didn’t respond to the man, flicking her eyes toward the window, even though she wished he would continue. She was starving for some good adult conversation.
“Hey, Tully. That’s your name, right?”
She snapped her eyes back toward him. There something in the way he said her name that caught her attention. It was a good thing they were not like the Fae who could be controlled if someone knew their full names.
“Your leader… he did this to me. You know that, right?”
“It’s against the rules to fight the Alpha if you’ve just joined the pack. There’s no way you’ll get close enough to even give him a scratch. Why did you even come deeper into the forest? Why didn’t you turn around and go back to your people?”
She already knew why, so why was she asking?
“It was your Alpha who bit me and turned me into this creature.”
“I know, but it doesn’t matter now, does it? Besides, we are not ‘creatures.’ We’re humans with magical abilities.” She looked down her nose at him like he was muck. “You really are something, aren’t you? Anybody else would’ve crumbled beneath the stare of our Alpha, but you—you have a death wish or something, don’t you, Holden?”
“It’s Hayden. Hayden Night.”
“Hayden Night.” She let his name roll over her tongue, looking as though the syllables were made of some new, sweet, and marvelous taste.
“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.” He grinned at his childish joke, but Tully was unamused. “What’s your last name, Tully?”
She resumed glaring at him, her eyes flickering with distrust.
“Hey, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. All my friends think I’m dead. Besides, it’s not like we’re faeries or anything like that.”
Her eyes widened. “How do you know about faeries?”
“I know a lot of things about the supernaturals around Wicked Grove. It was part of my job.”
Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. “You’re an agent, aren’t you? You’re one of those killers who take life without regard to what you’re doing.” Her eyes narrowed as she spat out the next words. “Cold-blooded murderers.”
Hayden regarded her, intrigued by the sudden anger he’d stirred up. Had his Agency hurt her pack before? He’d always been on the other side of the fight. He’d been judge, jury, and executioner, but never the defendant. His entire world had been flipped. Fear washed over him, churning and morphing into a steaming anger.
“What you’re doing—this prejudging me—is quite like how my Agency judges you. So, you see, we are both wrong, and both of our groups are blinded by prejudices. You and I are not that different, and we both need to adjust our views of the world. I’m no longer on the other side, but I’ve seen it. I can offer a lot of insight into the Agency… why it does what it does and how your pack could avoid getting into situations with them. You help me, I’ll help you.”
“You may be right, but I don’t trust you. It will be a cold day in hell before that happens. My pack is strict and will not tolerate your insubordination. You have tons to learn if you hope to be allowed to stay. You’re lucky you’re still alive. In the old days, you’d have been butchered on the spot. Humans have no business transforming into wolves. You’re impure. An abomination. To allow half-wolves to live—I don’t agree with it.”
Hayden clenched his fingers around the bars, wishing he could smash them. “So, it’s supposed to be illegal to turn a human, yet your Alpha walks away squeaky clean without consequences for his actions? You think I asked for this? And why was I allowed to live? It’s obvious your pack doesn’t want me here.”
“It is our responsibility. No one else’s. Our Alpha is… defiant, yes. Moody. Rebellious. But we can’t just unseat him for being careless. There are rules. Rules you need to learn and abide by.”
“So, who’s going to teach me your ways? You?”
It was obvious to Hayden she had been tasked with the unfortunate job of teaching him their ways. Poor girl. It apparently rolled downhill in her direction a lot. Even an outsider could tell who cleaned up the messes around here.
Tully pressed her lips together, failing to disguise her disgust at the situation. She said nothing further and instead stood and headed off to the small adjoining kitchen to whip up something to eat. He watched her walk away, smiling as he enjoyed the view. She wasn’t harsh on the eyes; in fact, he admired her tenacity. Paired with her beauty, she was damn near irresistible. If only she would let him in, then he could get to know her better. But the way things stood, it was going to be difficult to insert himself into the pack and gain the trust he needed to achieve his goal of challenging the Alpha.
If only they had met under different circumstances….
He could hear Tully banging around in the kitchen. The sweet smell of bacon and eggs wafted into the room, through the bars, and into his nostrils, smelling divine. His senses had amplified. Everything was sharpened, clarified. If he’d had these super senses when he was but a regular agent, he would have been unstoppable. It made him question whether he would be able to defeat an Alpha who’d had a lifetime of experience using those senses. It didn’t matter; he would adjust and be ready to take down the Alpha in a short period. He’d make sure of it. There was no turning back now.
“Tully?” he called out.
She came around the corner, looking slightly annoyed, with a plate of food in her hands. “What is it?”
“Thanks for helping me. I know it’s not your favorite job in the world, and it probably is a bit frustrating taking care of someone like me, but I want you to know that I appreciate it.”
Her mouth dropped open as she stared, gawking. She’d almost forgotten she was holding a plate until she flicked her eyes down to it and remembered.
“Here’s your breakfast. I don’t know if you know the pack is nocturnal. We usually head to bed about this time after being up all night.”
Ah, he knew that. It was obvious she was exhausted, and daylight was rapidly approaching. She probably spent the entire night patrolling the surrounding areas. He’d hardly realized how exhausted he was too. He was a moron to forget that wolves operated during the night.
“Of course, I’m sure you’re exhausted. Thanks for the breakfast. We should probably get some rest after we eat.”
She returned with her own plate, sat cross-legged in a chair
by the small table sitting next to the cell, and without another word began to eat, thoughtfully chewing and pretending to ignore his presence. Her small mouth was pink and plump, easily kissable, as was the rest of her. He wondered if he’d ever get close to her. It would take some work, but as he ate, the obvious crossed his mind. He’d get on Tully’s good side however long it took. He could tell it’d be worth it.
Chapter Five
* * *
Sweet Cold
“I’m exhausted.” Hayden slumped down on the ground. After playing out on a patch of new snow, he was staring up at the sky and luxuriating in the late afternoon sun. He was ready for dinner.
“You’re such a lightweight. How do you expect to beat the Alpha if you can’t keep it together? You think this is hard? Training is the easiest part. It’s the fight that’s going to really push you over the edge.” She shook her head at him, crossing her arms and biting her lip distastefully.
Hayden elevated an eyebrow. He didn’t like how she was looking at him like he was a failure. A disappointment. He had a fair chance of taking Gregory out, and he was pretty sure Tully knew that too. So, what was the problem? Why was she so invested in this fight, even more so than him, the one desperately seeking revenge? He decided to find out.
“What’s all this to you anyway? Do you want me to lose, or do you want me to win?” He leaned back on the ground, staring hard up at the sky.
Tully tilted her head, looking exasperated. She sat beside him then fell backward and stretching out to create a snow angel in the soft drifts of fresh snow. He turned his head and watched her calmly. Making a snow angel had her smiling, something he found he quite enjoyed. He wasn’t surprised; he liked Tully a lot.
