by Jade White
"Reign, there are things about me and Richard you don't know, and I can't tell you. Do you trust me?"
"Yes, of course, is Richard in some kind of trouble?"
"No...we are. Listen, there are men here, men I know, and they're coming for you, we need to move and I mean right now!”
Cara dumped her coffee to the ground, grabbed Reign’s arm and plunged into the crowd. Half the market was built up on a hill, many of the shops took advantage of this by building multiple stories diagonally up and down.
"There's a staircase over there, it goes to the next level," Reign pointed out. Her stomach clenched as Cara hustled her through the store.
"Cara, what's going on?"
"I can't explain it, you just have to trust me, how do we get to the docks?"
Reign led them through the next shop, around a handicap accessible ramp that connected the buildings, then down a long flight of switchback stairs.
Once they were a few floors down from where they started, Cara flipped her phone open.
"Yeah it's Cara, get Richard."
She hung up the phone, and opened the next door.
Reign blinked and Cara went flying past her, a full fifteen feet to the wall behind them. She slammed into it hard enough to shake the whole building.
"Well aren't you a fine one, I see why he picked you."
The man who spoke was easily twice Reign’s size, and from the way his shoulders curved under his leather jacket, he was built as well as any athlete Reign had ever seen.
"Who are you?"
"Edward, at your service, and now, you're coming with me."
He didn't really ask her since he grabbed her arm with unbelievable force and dragged her through the door. A quick look back and she could see Cara's eyes flutter open.
Since the night Reign met Richard she'd feared that someone would try to grab her again. The powerlessness she felt was not something she ever wanted to feel again.
Martial arts took time to master and could often be countered, a permit to carry a gun was too hard to come by and she would have to train for a long time before she felt confident to use it, However, Tasers, were easy to buy and use.
Which she did.
Edward howled as fifty thousand volts coursed through his arm, his muscles froze and spit flew from his mouth. Reign kicked him in the crotch as hard as she could, then slapped the Taser on him again.
"Cara, help me!"
She was there, her ruined shirt covered in blood that flowed from her broken nose.
"Keep Tasing him!"
The smell of ozone and burnt hair quickly filled the hallway.
Cara found what she was looking for, decorative ropes that hung on the wall, she looped it around Edward’s neck and pulled it as tight as she could.
"Don't kill him!"
"He won’t die, but it will take him a minute. Let’s go."
Edward continued to spasm as Cara led Reign around the corner.
"Good call with the Taser, you saved our lives."
Cara put her phone to her ear. “It's East Cascade, Edward. I think three others at least."
They paused at a door while she carefully opened it, the open stairway that led to the next street was empty. She nodded to Reign, and they ran down the steps as fast as they could.
"You are here? You knew? I had my phone with me. Right, we’re almost to Alaska way, Reign is safe, and they’re right behind us."
Cara finished and tossed her phone off the stairs.
"Looks like they tapped my phone. C’mon, Richard is waiting for us at the bot..."
Reign let out a scream as a massive man, taller and broader than a football player, scooped Cara up by the neck and slammed her into a telephone pole.
She pulled the Taser out and tried to hit him with it. He slapped her with an errant swing. Her vision swam and the sky darkened, she struggled to not lose consciousness. Warm coppery flavored blood filled her mouth, her teeth hurt, her eyes filled with tears, she couldn't see, and could barely hear.
The brute held Cara by one hand, her boots scraped the pavement as she struggled. His grip was like iron, she kicked and pounded, clawed and slapped, but he would not let go.
Precious seconds ticked by. Reign tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Reign crawled forward, grabbed the boot of the giant and tugged. Laughter rang in her ears.
There was a growl, like an animal, Reign couldn't look up to see. Suddenly the giant screamed, and clutched his bloody face.
"Bitch," he spit out from between his fingers. Blood seeped around his hands and poured down his shirt.
Reign could see Cara's hand, it looked like she had a knife, or several knives, then they were gone, and Cara was picking her up.
They stumbled down the street half a block before tires squealed beside them. Edward got out, a large black pistol in his hand. Cara shifted so that she was between Reign and the gun.
"This isn't what you want Eddie, you're risking war, and no one wins if we fight."
"I'm betting that coward you call a leader thinks the same thing, and he's not going to go to war over a bitch like you, or a cow."
Richard barreled around the corner and slammed into the first wolf he saw. The giant of a man folded in half as Richard drove him to the ground. The man's face was ruined, four long slashes cut in deep gouges from left to right. Richard slammed the back of his head to the ground twice before rolling off of him. It wouldn't stop him, but wolf regeneration wasn't instant, and it was even slower when the damage was from claws.
Richard froze as he looked up.
Cara stood with her arms out in front of Reign, using her body to shield the human from harm. Edward's pistol pointed between her breasts. They were thirty feet away, too far to cover before Edward would see him, but he had to try. Richard pushed off and flew through the air like a sling stone.
He was too late.
Edward’s hand moved in slow motion. His finger flinched, the gun went off.
Three loud cracks echoed off the pavement.
The bullets ripped into Cara's torso spraying blood and bone on Reign.
Her scream was cut short as Richard picked her up and leaped twenty feet.
Bullets ricocheted around him as he ran.
Indigo was there behind the wheel of an SUV that screeched to a halt.
Richard threw Reign in the back, and turned to see Cara one last time. C’mon Cara, get up, get up!
She was still alive. Edward stood over her, looked up at Richard with a wicked grin before he pulled the trigger on Cara. Four rapid fire shots landed in her back.
Reign screamed, "No!”
"Go, go, go!"
Indigo pushed the accelerator down sending the SUV hurtling down the narrow street.
“Stop, stop, go back, she's still alive," Reign yelled at Indigo as tears flowed down her face, she pulled on the back of the driver's seat.
"Reign, Reign, calm down, she will be okay."
"You're her husband, how could you leave her?"
The SUV took another corner, knocking Reign into Richard, "Let go of me, call the cops, do something."
Richard couldn't afford tears now, and he knew that Cara wasn't dead, it took more than bullets to kill a wolf.
He almost wished she was, though.
"Let’s get out of town, Indigo."
"Where to boss?"
"Home."
Indigo's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"It's gonna be real hard to maintain that, sir."
Richard noticed the shift in his beta's voice. A slight warning.
The rules of course, no human can know.
"We’re going to have to make an exception, without her we have no future."
Reign looked at the older man, fear and sadness clouded her eyes and now that the immediate danger was over, tears began to wet her cheeks and drop on her jacket.
"Richard, what's going on, why did we leave her like that?"
"I can't tell you right now,
Reign, but I promise you, you will be safe."
"Safe from who? And how do I know I'm safe with you?"
Cara slipped in and out of consciousness. She tried not to move, to make a sound, in the hopes that her captors wouldn't think she was awake. She'd done this plenty of times with men in the bed with her that she was pretty sure she could fool the ones around her.
The wounds on her chest closed gradually, the pain departed, the blood remained. Well, at least Reign got away.
"Is she awake?"
She knew that voice. Edward.
Ten years before, she'd belonged to the East Cascade pack. Belonged was the exact right word. At the time they had twenty four men and four bitches. She'd been passed around so many times she'd forgotten everything else. They hadn't turned her, or at least she didn't think they did.
She'd been a college student hiking in Northern Idaho as a part of her Biology degree, when she was attacked by a wild eyed wolf. It bit her arm before running off. Worried she might have rabies she tried to make it to the nearest town. That night was her first shift. Internally, Cara cringed as the memories of being in the same truck as these four were brought back. They smelled like acrid sweat and moldy bread. Some things never change.
After she shifted, she killed at least five people, the sheriff, two deputies, and the two unfortunate drunks who were in the jail where the first aid kit was. She wandered the area of upper Idaho and western Washington for at least a year.
She couldn't bring herself to end it. She lived like an animal, more wolf than girl. It was easier to embrace it than to fight it. Then they found her. At first, she was just so excited to not be alone, then the torture began.
They had an idea of how wolves were supposed to be. They were chosen by the wolf, and if they could take something, or do something, and no one could stop them, then it was their right. That lasted for two whole years. Two years of hell.
When you can regenerate any wound, sadists can inflict a lot of pain.
All the smells, sounds, and even the touch of the two brutes she was squeezed between engulfed her in memories that she worked hard to suppress.
Richard’s pack was different, men and women had their roles, and each was free to be, and not be. With whoever they liked.
They were a family, and it pained her to think how she'd selfishly manipulated that family for her own gain. She just hadn't wanted to be hurt again, not like that, not ever.
Deco, the giant of a man whose face she ruined, held his hand over her heart, she tried not to squirm as he took liberties with her chest.
"Doesn't feel like it."
"Okay, we get her back to Spokane, she can have a little talk with the Chemist."
If she knew Richard, he would make sure Reign was safe, then he'd be coming for her. The pack was a family. And you did anything for family. She could endure till then.
It wasn't like she hadn't before. She relaxed a little. Her mind drifted, her wounds healed, and she could feel the pack, feel Richard. It gave her strength, strength these fools knew nothing of.
They would learn, though.
Reign had stayed silent for the four-hour drive up into the mountains. She was familiar enough with Washington to know right where they were, she'd even been near here a few times. The thick green forest hid anything beyond the next turn.
And other than trees, there wasn't much to see. The well-kept lodge peeked out from behind the trees. At first just a hint of it was visible. As the SUV made the last corner the entire two story building was visible.
It was a modest lodge, waist-high railing circled both floors. The windows had external storm shutters, and modest drab curtains that concealed what was inside.
What was not ordinary about the lodge was the dozen or so men and women who were waiting on the steps. Each were as ripped and chiseled as Richard and Cara. They were all young, the oldest couldn't have been more than thirty. Reign’s skin crawled as they all looked at her.
The SUV came to a stop. Richard exited first, followed by Indigo, who stood a foot behind the older man.
"I know what you're all thinking, and I promise you, it will be okay. Unusual times call for unusual actions."
Oh god, they’re a cult, she thought, that’s why the protection and lavish spending.
Reign looked for a way out. She was still in the SUV, but she could get out the side doors and make a run for it. She was familiar enough with the woods to make it to the highway by nightfall. Someone would pick her up.
But she couldn't stay here. She didn't hear the rest of the conversation, but Richard spoke about unity or something. She didn't care. Every story about cults came parading through her mind. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then she carefully opened the car door. She was half way out before Indigo spotted her.
"Richard, she's spooked."
She ran. The woods were just twenty feet away, she could make it.
"Reign, stop, I can explain."
She stumbled, how was he right behind her? He caught her in his powerful hands, just enough to keep her from falling.
"Reign, let me explain."
"Explain what? You're a cult? You left Cara to die? How can you explain any of this! Why didn't you call the police, or an ambulance?"
Reign was on the verge of breaking down, she was tired, alone, and scared, and nothing that was happening made any sense.
Richard sat down on the ground next to her and rubbed his face in his hands.
"It's a lot to explain. How about we start with a small thing. We're not a cult."
"Okay, then what are you? They all look like they take orders from you, Cara died for you, and you just left her like you didn't care."
Reign knew she was wrong the second she said it. A profound look of sadness passed through Richard’s eyes.
"So you do care, then why did you leave her?"
"She's not dead, for one."
"I've seen enough movies to know that you don't get shot like that and not die. Maybe if we'd called an ambulance I could believe you, but Richard, face facts, she's dead, and you let her die."
There was an edge to her voice, she was desperately trying to not sound hysterical, but her morning was just too much for her. The shooting, the running, it was exhausting.
"She's not dead Reign, because she's a werewolf... we all are. That's why I know she's not dead. She's part of my pack, and I can feel her even now, even though we are separated by hundreds of miles."
Richard held his arm out, finger extended to the east, he didn't even look in the direction he pointed.
"She’s that way, about two days travel on foot. When I know you’re safe, I'm going to get her."
"Are you out of your mind, I wished you'd said cult, then at least you wouldn't be crazy! I want to go home and I want to go home right now."
"I'm sorry Reign, but there’s another pack, and well, there's a lot to explain, but suffice to say they want you, and they are not very nice. This is the only place you'll be safe."
Reign rubbed her eyes, it was obvious they were all crazy, they really believed this bullshit. She had to wait, to bide her time, to make them think she bought it, then maybe she could steal the keys to the truck and get out.
"Well, if I'm going to stay, can I get some food?"
Richard smiled, "Of course, you're our honored guest."
* * *
Once Reign was sitting comfortably in a big overstuffed chair, with a bowl of soup, and the red headed Skye for company, Richard and Indigo stepped outside to plan.
"Did she believe you?"
Richard gave his friend a cockeyed look.
"Yeah I wouldn't have, either. What are we going to do?"
"First, we make sure she's safe, and in no danger of losing the baby."
Indigo nodded, "Skye used to be a nurse, which should work for the most part, second?"
Richard's eyes dilated, the yellow flecks that normally floated unnoticed congealed and came together, threatening to push out all color, "
Then, we go get Cara back, and we kill every sonuvabitch who gets in our way."
Richard hovered just outside the kitchen in on the lower floor of the lodge. It had been two weeks since they brought Reign to safety, and she still wasn't convinced. The only real way would be to turn into a wolf and show her, which Richard found rarely did the trick. People would believe then, they would believe so much that they would run screaming from you.
