For fuck’s sake. I thought she was over this morning. Chills ran down my spine. Unless she was in trouble.
Your pack is in danger? My wolf growled, hackles raising.
Maybe. Maybe not.
They’re fifty metres closer.
I clicked the button again. “Initiate phase one.”
If the Luthers wanted to congregate in a nice, tidy group, then we’d use that to our advantage. My stewards were about to funnel them into a gulley that three teams spent an hour rigging with every kind of quick set-up trap we had in stock.
I heard muffled shouting in the distance as my stewards opened fire to drive the pack into the gulley. Other than that? Nothing.
I shook my head. Those generators were fucking annoying.
Adrenaline, my wolf growled.
The smell of prey rose from my trapped enemy.
They’re running, Andie. Closer to us.
Into the trap. Good. They just had to keep going. If the north and south teams could hold the exit point at their end, and east and west could do the same, then the traps in the gulley would do the work.
A howl rocketed through the air, and I gasped, fangs and claws exploding. I strode farther from Pascal.
It’s him, my wolf said in fury. Greyson.
Not here! I frantically tried to assemble my mental forest. Stepping farther into the trees, I grappled with her for control.
“Andie?” Pascal asked.
My wolf was losing the plot. I had to get out of here.
Forcing my fangs away with every scrap of energy I possessed, I blurted in a rough voice, “Change of plans. I need to see what’s going on. I’m entering the grid.”
“You’re certain?”
“I’ll see you afterward.”
That was all I could manage. My fangs slid back into place as I gave up the battle for control.
I broke into a human-paced run. I had to get away from Pascal.
And fast.
Another howl. Sascha could make the sound in his two-legged form, but that was 100 percent Greyson.
His call was impossible to deny. To turn from it would be like leaving the pup to drown at the river. His howl forced a reaction from me.
Not the need to protect.
Kill.
I licked my lips and focused on keeping my wolf at a human-paced run until we were far enough from Pascal.
Then I just let go.
Oh my god. We were too weak to run last night. This felt…
Glorious didn’t sum it up.
This was freedom. Elation filled every part of me. For a moment, the need to tear Greyson apart took second place.
It feels even better with four legs, she grumbled.
I look forward to shifting after the grid. Smelling a steward nearby, I slowed to a lope and veered west.
But you said Luthers lose points for shifting in the grid.
I halted behind a tree, scanning for company. You’re evil. And smart.
Thank you.
Glancing around once more, I sniffed hard. Nothing except small prey.
“Wizard here. Phase one successful. Over.”
I jerked at the jubilant message from west and hastily clicked on my walkie. “Big Red. Initiate phase two. Over.”
“Roger.”
Three replies.
Again.
You’re worried about your sister.
She could take care of herself, but the protocol was clear. If Rhona went down, the closest member of the unit took over communication. I should have heard from Billy, Foley, or the others by now.
My gut churned.
Ripping off my clothes, I crouched. Okay, shift. Quickly though. I need to get back to the walkie.
Greyson’s distant howl hammered in my chest.
My pleasure.
My gasp was more from shock as my human body split into a thousand pieces. Last night, I felt every breaking bone and every snap of sinew. Tonight, my mind couldn’t process the rapid breaking and reforming.
FurLegsSnoutFangsKneeBendTeeth.
An ancient strength infused us, filled us, completed us.
Mmm, my wolf said, shaking her coat.
She wasn’t wrong. I felt invincible. We should walk close to a heat sensor to make sure they lose a point for a shift.
If you like. She took off at a lope through the forest.
This was our best speed. Not a sprint as I would have assumed prior. We could keep up this loping pace for weeks on end if our tummy was full. Nothing in the world could rival our stamina.
Nothing could outlast us.
I focused on our senses, relying on memory of the grid. There’s a sensor to the left. There’s no way it missed our shift.
I’m glad for you.
Okay, let’s go back. I need to be by my walkie.
I think not.
I blinked. Now is not the time to go off on a vendetta. If you attack Greyson, my pack comes to harm.
If any are near, they will only see a wolf attacking another wolf.
And you think the Luthers will just allow that to happen? I rely on their secrecy.
Human politics.
Politics that keep me safe.
Greyson must die.
Then I hope you enjoy watching Sascha die too, I snapped.
She shrugged, and I focused on forcing us back to human form. What was I meant to do? Imagine my human legs. My ears… and… Where are we going?
I’m drawing him out.
Of course. He could feel where we were. You have access to my memories and knowledge then?
No, those I must earn in time, as you must earn mine. I listened to your conversation with my Sascha this morning. It is bothersome that I can’t also feel where he is.
My wolf circled around the north and south team. I could smell the barricade of their human bodies and knew the tribe were holding strong.
If I didn’t fuck it up, we may have another grid in thirty minutes.
It is time, she announced.
Time for what?
Resting on her haunches, she bared our throat to the waning moon and howled.
I shrivelled and died inside. You didn’t!
She did it again, and I caught Sascha’s hypnotic scent. It stood out from the chaotic smells of his pack like a red flag in a sea of black.
He can’t get to us, she cackled. He’s stuck.
Another howl burst from our snout. This one was filled with glee.
Don’t forget my pack will hear that and try to take you out. I smelled for company and located a small group advancing from the north.
We took off south, settling our pace after a brief sprint. My wolf howled again, laughing as Sascha’s smell remained within the gulley to our right.
Greyson is listening to Sascha, she scoffed. He’s trying to do what’s right for the pack. Loser.
It’s nice to know that’s possible, I scowled. This isn’t funny. I need my clothes and to direct my team. You want to kill Greyson, that’s fine by me. We’re meeting him in two days. Let’s do it then.
They’ll lose another point if he shifts.
Not everything is about points, I said angrily. It’s about winning the game, not the battle. It’s about keeping what we are a secret.
This will get him out.
She yelped, injecting pain into a short howl.
My jaw dropped. You faker!
I inhaled. His scent was growing stronger. Fast.
For fuck’s sake. He’s coming.
Yes, my enemy is coming to die, and he’s not alone. Four wolves.
Despite myself, I couldn’t help tallying the points they’d lose.
Boom. The final cannon exploded.
In control of our body, she took off at full speed south. Without her speaking, I knew we were looking for high ground. An ideal place to fight.
We were small but very quick.
I studied the forest. We’re approaching one of the Luther’s entry points.
I want his people to watch him die.
<
br /> Oh, was that all? Her Greyson hate was nice and all, but it didn’t gel with her girl crush on Sascha. I’m not sure I’m down with the public death thing.
I really wasn’t sure killing was my thing at all.
We left the last frequency generator behind, and less than ten seconds after we’d sprinted past, the distinct tread of four wolves reached our ears.
One was lighter than the others, fast like me.
We found a narrow path between two rock faces and my wolf turned.
This is crazy, I hissed. His pack won’t let you eat his damn heart.
They won’t have a choice. The stronger wolf will lead. This could end all your problems.
I stopped at that. That’s ludicrous.
Is it? You lead one pack. Why not two?
We stopped bickering as the largest damn wolf I’d ever seen padded into sight. It was the third time I’d seen him.
Greyson.
His luscious dark brown coat had thinned for summer. Honey eyes blazed into mine from across the space. He was a strong wolf. Able-bodied. Sharp teeth. Powerful contender for breeding.
You’re kidding me, I snapped.
Doesn’t mean I like him.
I took in the white wolf on his right. Leroy. A shaggy black wolf to his left. Hairy? And a smaller wolf I’d seen at the reading of Herc’s will. Mandy.
Mate.
The word was pushed into my mind by force.
We flattened our ears, snarling a warning.
You’ve come to fight me? He seemed amused.
Is that what we just said?
At a look from him, the wolves relaxed their stances and strolled away, looking at us from rocky perches.
They’re taking us super seriously.
When I have my teeth at his neck, they will, she whispered back. And when his blood dribbles down our chin, they will bow to me.
I swallowed back queasiness. This is going pretty far.
More wolves spilled into the clearing now Grids was over. Some snapped my way, but most just obeyed looks from their leader, taking up onlooker positions around the clearing.
Fuck me. Just get it over with. I sighed wearily.
Like a catapult, we hurtled across the clearing. Greyson lowered, waiting to strike, but at the last second, we zigzagged, biting his back leg as we passed at a blur.
He didn’t make a sound, but his pack stood as one, hackles raising.
We loped around Greyson, careful not to get too close. His strength beat our speed.
In another burst of speed, we dragged our claws deep in his left flank.
It will take hours to beat me this way, beautiful wolf, Greyson said.
You killed a member of her pack. I do not care how long it takes.
Hercules Thana would have killed her.
You treated her as though she had no say. You killed him before giving her second thought. You are not a worthy mate.
I did not know they were father and daughter.
Uncle and niece wasn’t enough?
He bared his teeth. I only thought of protecting her. I could smell murder on his skin. I was in peril. You know what that would do to her. There was no other choice, even if you both hate me for it now. I knew that was the risk, but I can live with her hate. I cannot live with her death.
I cut off my wolf’s reply. The murder on his skin was for you, Luther.
Your father was revolted by you. How long before he turned the gun in your direction? He may have done it after my death when he saw your reaction. He could have blamed me for your death while he was at it.
Theories aren’t a good enough reason to kill someone, I exploded. You took him from me and my sister. You took him from our tribe.
If you expect me to regret the decision, little bird, then you are talking to the wrong part of me. We are alive and whole because that human is gone. I will always regret your pain. I regret that you no longer trust me as you once did. Though I can live with it, I regret the hate you feel when you look at me.
I’d never trusted him.
I regret, he kept going, that your heart was broken. That is also mine to protect, and if there was another way, I would have protected you in all ways at once, rather than sacrifice one part for another.
Growling, my wolf went for him, and I had no qualms with giving her complete control. Claws extended, we went head to head with Greyson, slashing through fur and flesh.
He batted us away with a great paw and pounced.
Teeth gnashing in warning, Greyson snarled an inch from my throat.
Good plan, I told her sarcastically.
She didn’t answer.
Hello? I called.
Where the hell did she go?
I kicked and scratched at Greyson’s underbelly, refusing to expose my throat. He lay on top of me and brought his teeth to my neck, gripping it.
Fuck you, I spat.
He shook me slightly, and whatever his leader status gave him, the power battered at my mind, ramming into my refusal to turn my head.
I will never submit to you.
Little bird, beautiful wolf, I would never want you to.
He released my neck and stepped back. I launched at him, latching onto his throat.
Greyson froze.
I didn’t dare relinquish my lethal grip on his throat. I felt more than saw the frantic pulse of his watching pack. I listened to their whines and relished their fear.
I could end their leader with a single bite.
His blood would drip down my chin.
The thought slammed into me.
Andie, Greyson said wearily, I cannot submit. While Sascha has the ability, like your wolf, I do not. You must kill me or release me.
If I killed him, I’d lead both the pack and stewards. My wolf was right. This could all be so easy.
But the images my wolf had painted of Greyson’s death were graphic. The thought of his heart in my mouth. Of crunching through the artery held between my teeth.
It made me feel…
Vile.
Filthy.
Diseased.
Releasing him, I backed away.
Thank you, Andie, she whispered.
Oh, now she was back?
What the fuck was that? I seethed at her.
Sascha and Greyson cannot be separated.
That’s what I was telling you the entire time!
You cannot deny the existence of one.
I bared my teeth. Whoa. What?
That’s not what she’d said up until now. She was all about hating Sascha’s wolf. She— This was a fucking set up.
Liking Greyson is not a must. It is something he must work for. Acceptance of his presence is a must. Today you admitted to yourself, to Greyson and Sascha, and to this pack that the loss of him is beyond you.
I’d never wanted to attack myself. She’d betrayed me. An actual part of me had betrayed me. She’d lied the entire time and put me in danger. Not just me, my tribe. I thought you were on my side.
There really wasn’t anyone I could rely on.
My mistake.
I—
Forcing her into a box, I threw my mind at my human form, away from this farce; this joke I fell for last night.
The shift back was rapid.
Naked, I crouched in front of Greyson and lifted my head before standing.
“I apologise,” I said stiffly. “My wolf decided to take over.”
The enormous creature blocked my attempt to step around him.
Crack. Pop.
Sascha unfolded, naked, to stand over me, and I was so fucking angry at my wolf that his scrutinising look bounced straight off me.
“The marshals are tallying the grid. That’s not a great place to be right now,” he said eventually.
“That’s where my clothes are.”
His wolves were shifting back and stared on in condemning silence. Whatever. I didn’t give a flying fuck what they thought.
Sascha strode past me to a bag. He drew out a
flannel shirt, tossing it my way. “Take this.”
Circling, he glared at the watching wolves, a warning growl rising from his throat. They found other places to look.
He barely gave me enough space to shrug into the huge shirt. “Thanks,” I grunted, moving away.
“What was that?”
I couldn’t look at him. “You deserve an explanation, but I can’t give it to you. My wolf isn’t who I thought she was.”
The pine was intense. Heady. Sascha shoved his curiosity back. “I’ll drive you back to the manor.”
The manor? He knew perfectly well I wasn’t there anymore. I peered around…
But his pack didn’t?
Interesting.
“No.” I could find my cabin. Ella F was there. It shouldn’t be far. I’d change and head back to the manor.
Hopefully people weren’t searching for me.
Sascha gripped my arm, and before I knew it, I’d whirled, my claws fully extended under his chin. I latched onto the strange calm inside me and lowered my fangs as I stared up at him.
Gasps rang from those watching, but Sascha smiled widely.
“Clever wolf,” he whispered.
“Don’t touch me without permission,” I bit out.
He released his hold, and I retracted my claws and fangs, eliciting further gasps from his pack.
Ignoring them, I took off at a fast clip to the river that I could follow toward my cabin.
Hopefully this night hadn’t exploded in my fucking face.
14
If no one looked closely, they wouldn’t notice the different outfit. I inched Ella F into the last available park at the manor and listened to the thrumming bass rocketing from the stone building.
Party time, apparently.
I jogged for the steps. I had to find Rhona.
“Andie!”
My heart jolted. “Pascal, I’ve been searching for you. What’s the verdict?”
A smile curved her thin lips. “A convincing win. They lost five points for shifting in the grid. The final tally was 145 to 110. The bottleneck strategy was a success.”
And something that wouldn’t work again. “That’s great news.”
At last. Talk about a week from hell.
“I was worried,” she said as we walked up the steps. “Not long after you entered the grid, a Luther shifted ahead of you.”
Thankfully she had no idea my faster speed meant that was me. “Yeah, the wolf chased me, but I managed to outsmart it just before the final cannon sounded. I didn’t get a chance to reach the gulley.”
Moon Claimed: Supernatural Battle (Werewolf Dens Book 2) Page 14
