by Deena Remiel
“Josiah named me alpha while he was away, so, yes, I am the new alpha. There ain’t no way in hell I’m givin’ up my appointed role of this pack. So, I guess there’s your answer, Greyson, The Wolf Who Would Be Alpha. Nice speech and all, but we’re doing just fine as we are. Ain’t we?”
The crowd agreed with cheers and hoots.
“We’re here until tomorrow. Sleep on it, okay? Don’t be so quick to run me out. I have a lot to offer. Give me the chance to show you why I should be alpha.”
Footfalls on the steps told her the meeting was over. The group dissolved to points unknown. She’d lost her chance to save herself. Or had she? She waited and listened for the telltale revving of an engine to signal the pair’s departure. None came. Instead, silence enveloped her. Desperate, she scuttled to the stove to reassert her energy and will to break free.
Simply trying to push the damned thing over hadn’t worked. She needed a different plan of attack. Frustrated, she pounded her fists against the floor, sending a cloud of red dust into the air. That’s it! Why didn’t I think of it before? If she weakened the foundation underneath the feet of the cast iron stove, maybe the chain could slide out. All it sat on was a single layer of red brick. She could use a butter knife to chip away at the brick directly under one of the feet. There was a knife in the drying rack by the sink.
Renewed hope mixed with cautious optimism, spurring her on as she excavated for her life. “Come on, come on!” Bits and pieces of brick showered the living room, spraying her hair with a fine powder. Every so often, she nudged the stove to see if her work was paying off. The chain slipped free of its mooring. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.”
The long length of chain weighed her down. Given her frail condition, she feared she’d wind up buried beneath it before she could reach the outsiders. But, determined to exploit her only chance at freedom, she tapped into her last vestiges of energy and hoisted the coiled mass over her shoulder. Struggling to stand, she then shuffled to the front door as a free woman. Already hunched over from the weight of the metal, she dropped to the floor when the door creaked as she opened it. The clatter of the links hitting the floor clutched her heart with fear. Someone would be coming to see what had happened! She chided herself as she scanned the area. Really? Exactly who would bother to check on me? No one. She could scream the house was on fire. No one would give a damn if she burned.
Five minutes passed without so much as a howl, so she hobbled as quickly as she could to her ticket to freedom—an RV parked at the entrance to the village. She supposed it belonged to the strangers. None of the pack owned so much as a bicycle, but she’d heard the rumbling engine of some large vehicle earlier in the day. With a flattened palm, Shiloh rapped on the RV’s door.
A man with a shock of pure-white hair and a furrowed brow peered out from behind the curtained window. Not a good sign. The door opened. The seeming disapproval on the mammoth man’s brow softened into one of surprise. He took a quick scan of the area then stared at her, a question in his eyes.
“Please, let me in?”
He agreed with a wave of his hand.
“Thank you,” she whispered, relieved. She scrambled past him, because, as much as she loathed entering the confined space, desperation won over fear. She sighed when her battered feet hit the soothing coolness of the vinyl flooring. “Please, hurry. Close the door.” How ridiculous she must’ve seemed to him. It wasn’t every day an unkempt woman, jingling and rattling, scrambled into a person’s home. She sought a place amongst the furniture to hide, where no curious eyes could see her from outside. Crouching in the corner of the kitchenette would do. “No one can know I’m here, or they’ll kill me.”
“You’re safe with us.” The woman—Willow, she presumed—stooped down and flung her long, brown ponytail behind her shoulder, looking aghast at what throttled Shiloh’s throat. “What’s your name, sweetie?” Willow smoothed hair away from Shiloh’s sweaty brow. The woman’s gentle brown eyes sought to soothe Shiloh’s frayed nerves. “What brought you here?”
“M…my name is Shiloh. I am…was Josiah’s.” She used the back of her hand to swipe at the tears beginning to well and pursed her lips. “He kidnapped me, bit me, forced me to mate with him. He’s been keeping me chained to a stove in his house for…for two years, maybe? But today…today, I finally did it. I heard you talking to those assholes out there. When you said Josiah was dead, I knew you were my only chance to escape. Otherwise, I’d have rotted in his house.” Her trembling caused the chains on her arms to rattle, underscoring the seriousness of the situation. “Please say you’ll help me.”
“Jesus Christ,” Greyson muttered in disgust as he joined them on the floor. “Of course. Of course. Willow, did this RV come with a pair of bolt cutters by any chance?”
“No, but you ought to know me by now. I go camping prepared for any situation. Give me a minute. I’ll find them.” She smiled down at him, nodding—a private message clearly exchanged—then scurried to a storage bin by the bathroom.
Greyson turned his attention to Shiloh. “How did you free yourself?” His tone held anger, revulsion.
“I’ve been working on pushing the iron stove over for days now, ever since he left to find you, I guess. Wouldn’t budge. When I heard you speak today, it gave me an extra bit of motivation. I was able to dig out some of the foundation and move it just enough to pull the chain out from around one of the legs.” She took a moment to breathe in deeply and calm her racing heart. “Thank you. Thank you for killing those evil people and coming here. I thought I’d never be free again. But I’m not out of the woods yet. Silas could claim me since Josiah’s dead. I can’t stay here. I will die. The pack isn’t going to let you take over leadership. I think you know that already.”
“I do. I won’t fight for it, either. Had at least some of the members shown the smallest desire to get out from under this subsistent way of living, to make something better of themselves, I would have considered it worth the risk. But I have a mate, the love of my life, who I must protect at all costs. Quite frankly, I can’t live without her. If I were to fail in a battle to overthrow Silas, she wouldn’t live beyond my last breath either. She’s human.”
Shiloh’s jaw dropped. So focused on herself, she hadn’t acknowledged the unfamiliar scent of human in the camper or even considered this couple’s own trials and tribulations bringing them to her on such a fateful day.
“Wow. I completely understand. Maybe one day you’ll share your story with me. As for these lowlifes, you’re spot-on. There’s nothing to be redeemed here. Except me. You’re leaving tomorrow. Take me with you. Please? You can drop me anywhere far enough away from here. Then you can forget all about me.”
“Sure, we can take you, but we wouldn’t dream of dropping you just anywhere. You could run into the same unfortunate circumstance all over again. We can take you to your pack lands. Just tell us how to get there.”
“No!” A fresh wave of tremors racked her body, setting off a cacophony of metal clinking against metal. “I left because I suffered other abuses there. There’s no going back. Only moving forward.”
“Okay, okay. Well, we can take you to our pack lands. You can become one of us.”
“Is it like here?” Fear anew muffled the volume of her voice.
“No! People respect one another there. You would need to swear a blood oath of loyalty to our alpha, though.”
“I-I can do that. I just can’t…I won’t live in a situation like the one I’m in now anymore.”
“You have no reason to trust us beyond taking you out of here, but believe me when I say you will be safe and able to live a life free of harm.”
Willow returned, bolt cutter in hand. “Here you go, Greyson.” She handed it off and turned to Shiloh. “No more chains or shackles for you, missy.”
“Thank God. My wolf won’t hold up much longer. The bastard collared me as a woman, knowing if I shifted, it’d be too tight, and I’d choke myse
lf to death.”
A growl vibrated the air around them. Greyson’s stormy demeanor helped make quick work with the cutter. As metal clipped metal, Shiloh gritted her teeth and closed her eyes while her heart thrummed in anticipation. Her shackles fell to the floor by her feet with a loud rushing thunk. Shiloh winced as she touched her abraded neck. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at the metal pile by her feet.
Free. She was finally free!
She shifted into her wolf and twirled around in place a couple of times, not quite sure what to do with herself. Turning to her saviors, she put her front paws on Greyson’s chest to lick him. Willow patted her gently on her haunches. They both gave her wide berth to be. She howled but quickly stifled it. Chuffing instead, she bowed her head to the would-be alpha and his mate.
“Glad I could be of service. No one should be chained. Ever.” He sat at the driver’s console, hunched over the map. “You should stay with us tonight. You made it here safely, but who’s to say if anyone will see you return to your house.”
Shiloh shifted to human form. “Thank you. I don’t think I could return.”
“Can I get you something to eat or drink?” Willow drew the floral kitchen window curtains closed then guided her to the dining table. “How about a shower? Some fresh clothes? I think I have something to fit you.”
Her stomach growled. “Sounds wonderful. I could eat a grizzly right now, bones, fur, and all.”
“I’ve got hamburgers and chips. Let me get you some water, too. While I fix you something, you can clean up. Follow me to the shower. Oh, wait. Greyson?”
He peered up from the maps.
“Can you grab me the emergency first aid kit, please?” She turned back to Shiloh. “Honey, you’ve got some serious scrapes on your neck. Once you’ve showered, I’ll put some soothing ointment on them and cover them up so they don’t get infected.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe it’s really off. I could cry. I think I will. In the shower.”
“It seems you’ve more than earned it. Come on.” Willow grinned, urging her toward the rear of the RV. “Let’s take care of you.”
Chapter Three
“When she’s out, will you tell her?”
Shiloh opened the bathroom door and walked out with steam billowing around her. “Tell ‘her’ what, Greyson?” She’d wrapped Willow’s robe around her, making sure hardly any skin showed at all. Her long hair, once caked with filth, now draped over her shoulders in long, lustrous, fiery-red cascades. She’d curtained most of it over her left eye and cheek.
“We decided we’re leaving tonight,” Willow said. “Now, actually. No sense in staying any longer when his mind is made up.”
“Thank God. I was dreading the hours until morning.”
“Shiloh, can you tell us a bit about the pack’s habits? Is it fair to say we can get out of here without anyone really noticing right now?”
Habits? They were disgusting, pathetic. Yes, she could tell Greyson all about them. “Most of the males are probably drunk off their asses. That’s all they ever do come sunset. That, fight, puke, and pass out. All’s quiet out there now, so my guess is they’re done for the night. The few females here are either sleeping or hunting off to the west. I came from that direction. Lots of prey out there. Which way are we headed?”
“Southeast.”
“Good.”
“All right, then. Let’s get going. The sooner we’re gone, the happier I’ll be,” he said.
“I agree, honey. Shiloh, I fixed you a plate of food. Why don’t you go to our room, relax, eat a little. You can even sleep for a while. We’re going to be up most of the night, but you need to recuperate from your ordeal. This would be a good place to start.”
“Okay, sounds really good. Thank you both. I can’t believe this is really happening. If it wouldn’t hurt so much, I’d say pinch me.”
Willow approached her with warmth in her eyes, extending her arms. “You’re safe. You’re welcome. You don’t ever have to be afraid of being hurt again.” She hugged her gently then passed her the plate full of food and a tall glass of water.
“Just letting you know, once I’m done eating, I’ll be shifting again. My wolf needs out, but don’t worry. She’s been cooped up so long, I think she’s forgotten what it is to run. I’ll just be asleep on your bed, as you said to do.”
“All right. Whatever you need to do, you do.” She offered her one last pat on the shoulder for reassurance then headed up front, by Greyson.
As they prepared to leave, Shiloh’s heart pounded. Blood shushed in her ears. She refused to look behind the window curtains for fear of seeing any sign of life snooping around. Once they reached the open highway, she could relax in her seat and release her death grip on the armrests to eat.
“I’m ready to roll, sweetheart. Glad I parked this monstrous vehicle the way I did. I had a feeling we’d be needing to make a hasty exit at some point. We never should’ve come here. I had a decent life with the Tao. I don’t need to be alpha to feel happy or complete. I have you and my job as tracker. That’s always been enough. It always will be.”
Willow took her seat next to him then buckled up. “Aw, I’m so glad you feel that way. But so sorry it didn’t work out the way you’d planned. Their loss completely because you are totally alpha-worthy. But I trust what you sensed at the meeting. We knew it was a long shot. Don’t regret coming, honey, because look what we gained. A sister.”
“I think we made out much better in this deal.” He turned the engine on and shifted into drive. “We saved a soul rather than a pack, but the soul we saved is worth thousands more than the weight of the rest of them in gold. Can you text Drew and Ryker? Let them know we’re coming back with my sister.”
“Sure.”
One thing about RVs was the lack of privacy. Anything anyone said could be heard by all. While Shiloh devoured her plate of food at the table, she’d listened in on the couple’s conversation, curious about the two people who risked much to help her escape. She wiped her mouth and took a final sip of water. As she headed to the rear of the RV, she shifted into her wolf then mounted the bed, grinning as she drifted off to sleep.
Scampering from the base of one pine tree to another, she stopped at each to groom herself, anticipating the appearance of her beloved mate. The black wolf, once he spied her, would no doubt fall victim to her beauty and intoxicating scent. She skittered about, anxious to see him, to tell him what she’d done this very evening. He’d be so proud.
Her nose twitched. A familiar honey-almond scent wafted through her nostrils. It could be only him. Closing her eyes briefly with relief, she smiled straight from her heart.
“My love.”
“I am here.” He stalked into view from the surrounding mist, an imposing figure, with piercing moss-colored eyes. He loomed large above as he leaned down to touch his muzzle to hers. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me, too.” She nuzzled and nibbled at his neck. “I have exciting news.”
“Really? What is it?”
“I broke free tonight! I’ve been saved by a couple. They’re taking me to their pack. They promised it’s a good one. I’m free!” She bounded about him, over him, letting her joy go unfettered.
“Ha ha! Wonderful! I prayed this would happen someday. We must celebrate.”
“I agree. With lots of lovemaking, if you can catch me!”
She nudged his side with her snout then dashed off, barking and howling with delight. It didn’t take long for him to capture her, given their difference in size. Breathless, he pinned her to the ground to growl in her ear. “I believe I’ve won this chasing game.”
“Oh, but, honey, in this game, we both come out winners.”
They tussled playfully on the soft earth until he decided playtime was over. Mounting from behind, he mated with her in a jubilant frenzy. Replete, she fell asleep nestled within the warmth and protection of her black wolf lover.
***
Shiloh’s wolf ears perked up, hearing voices speak in hushed tones just outside the bedroom. She no longer felt the soothing roll of the wheels beneath her. They’d come to a stop.
“Greyson, honey, are you okay?”
“Last time I saw this place, well, let’s just say the pack cleans messes up well, but the ghosts still linger.”
“I love you. We’ll have many days to replace the bad memories with the good.”
“Your words are as potent as any cure.”
On four paws, Shiloh padded to the closet where shorts and a T-shirt had been set out for her. She shifted into her human form then changed out of Willow’s robe and took a cleansing breath, steeling herself for the unknown. Opening the bedroom door, she was thrilled to find it hadn’t been locked with her inside. “Are we there yet?”
“Yup. We’re home,” Greyson said. “Welcome to my piece of the woods, ladies. We’re just inside Tao pack lands. On the very edge. You know me, Willow. I like my privacy. This keeps me, us, from being under a constant microscope.”
“I get it, sweetheart. I love the idea.”
Confidence be damned, a strong wave of nerves washed over her, flooding her brain with all manner of irrational thought.
“What’s wrong?” Greyson hoisted Willow off his lap and stood, dwarfing Shiloh, like the little kid sister she’d become in this family.
“What if they discovered I escaped? What if they followed us here? What if they’ve come and are lying in wait to kill all of us?”
