Cade (Society Book 2)

by Mason Sabre

  Phoenix’s scent was easy to follow, musky and light. But there was something else—someone else—a scent that Cade didn’t know nor recognise. Phoenix and Trevor’s scents went one way, and the foreign one went another. Cade stayed on Phoenix’s. The trail leading him deeper into the thickness of the trees. A crack and a yelp had his ears pricking up, fear and dread flooding him. The cracking of something underfoot came from one direction, but Phoenix’s scent went the other way. He picked up a faint sound in that direction, almost indistinguishable. Pushing down the urgency and the panic in him, he stopped and searched for Phoenix in his mind.

  He found him, or he thought he did. Cade launched himself forward just as Gemma and Stephen caught up to him, leaving them to run on foot after him. They wouldn’t shift just yet, not knowing what exactly they would be coming up against. It was better if they held off. But even without shifting, they were fast, and Gemma had recovered from her wounds more quickly than he had. The fact that he had held onto the silver bars for so long seemed to have let it pervade his every cell more than if he had stayed away from them.

  Cade trusted their instincts, and he trusted that they had his back and Phoenix’s. He raced through the trees, jumping over roots that stuck out, divots of dirt and broken branches. He raced through them all, pushing himself forward until he reached the water’s edge. The embankment slid down, sliding into deep water. Cade lowered himself to the ground, sniffing, listening. He could hear the sounds of Gemma and Cade to the back of him. He looked to the right, and that was when he spotted it.

  White fur emerged from the trees and headed towards the heather and brambles. Cade tried to reach his mind, but it was so lost, so terrified, that nothing could penetrate it. Cade launched himself in that direction, but something big and black cut him off, slamming into his side. Pain from his injuries erupted under his fur, and it took him a moment to regain his bearings. Wrapping his paws around the big, black wolf that had him, he bit down, hard, breaking the flesh with his canines. He caught sight of Phoenix enough to see that he had come back. He could hear his howl and saw the blood that marred his fur. Fury rose in Cade and he bit down harder, tearing flesh from the other wolf. The black wolf whimpered, then growled, shoving into Cade and rolling down the embankment and into the water with him. They both plunged under the surface and water filled Cade’s lungs as he gasped for breath. The shock of the cold knocked the wind from him and he let go of the other wolf. The black wolf kicked his back legs out, catching Cade in his already-injured chest, and used the momentum to get to the surface. The water was deceptively deep, but Cade recovered quickly. He broke the surface and paddled after the black wolf that swam ahead. Phoenix was at the top of the embankment, growling and snarling, his top lip peeled back. Run, run, Cade wanted to yell at him. Cade lunged forward as the black wolf began to pull himself free of the water, biting down on one of the black wolf’s hind legs. The wolf spun on Cade, swiping at him and sending him flailing back into the water. Cade plunged down, taking in mouthfuls of dirty water. He came back up choking only to see the back wolf making his way to Phoenix.

  Utter determination drove Cade on. All he could see was that this wolf killing Phoenix and Phoenix standing there and letting it happen. Cade would not let him die. He dug his paws into the mud and propelled himself forward. The black wolf leapt at Phoenix, making them roll in a cloud of teeth, paws and vicious growls. Cade launched himself at them both, slamming into them, his only aim to separate them. Phoenix rolled to one side, the black wolf to the other, and Cade was on him again, biting down. He kicked at Cade, gnashing at his face. Cade struck him with a paw, but his injuries made pain explode through his shoulders and he yelped. The black wolf took advantage of the moment and twisted away, going straight back for Phoenix. The black wolf’s fur was shiny with blood where Cade had bit him, but he didn’t seem to care as he went for the cub. Phoenix was no match for him and he took him down easily. The black wolf pinned Phoenix by the back of his neck, pushing the young wolf’s snout down into the dirt, showing his dominance over Phoenix. Cade let out a warning growl, but the black wolf raised black eyes to Cade, growling threateningly.

  From the darkness, Stephen suddenly leapt out and landed on the black wolf. He hadn't shifted, he was still man, but he threw himself against the predator, tangling his hands into his fur and yanking him back and off Phoenix. Phoenix let out a screaming howl as his flesh was torn from him where teeth had sunk into him. Stephen raised a fist and slammed it into the wolf’s head, forcing him to release Phoenix. Desperately, he scrambled towards Cade, and Cade stepped protectively in front of him.

  Stephen battled with the wolf while it bit and snapped and growled. They tumbled down into the water, Stephen’s big body intertwined with black fur. Even in man form, his strength was great. He punched the animal over and over, yelps echoing through the dark. Gemma reached them, panting, and Cade placed himself in front of her, too. She would be pissed about it—being treated less than equal—but right now, he didn’t give a shit. What mattered was protecting both her and Phoenix.

  Stephen growled, a sound that was neither tiger nor man, but somewhere between. Grabbing his adversary on either side of his throat, he picked the wolf up and launched him up and towards the trees. He went sailing into the air, a blur of black fur. He hit the trunk with a sickening thud, and Cade raced to him, teeth bared—but the black wolf didn’t move. For a minute, Cade thought that he might be dead, but then his eyes opened and he looked right at Cade. Stephen came to crouch beside him as the black wolf tried to get up, but his leg was broken, and he let out a yelp as he tried to stand. Blood ran down Stephen’s arm and head but he didn’t seem to notice as he bent down and placed his hand just on top of the wolf’s head. He closed his eyes, nostrils flaring, and inhaled deeply. When he opened his eyes again, they were set with hatred as he looked down at him.

  “I see you. I see the filth inside you. I see what you have done.” The black wolf’s top lip curled as he snarled. “This is just a boy,” Stephen said. “Your son was just a boy, too. I see what you did to him.” Stephen leaned closer. “Shift back,” he demanded. He pressed his hand down hard on his head. “Shift back now.” The wolf squirmed as if he was fighting it.

  Cade watched his friend, could feel the power emanating from him. He was controlling the wolf, making him shift. This wasn’t right, but he couldn’t deny what he was seeing. Tiger should not be able to control wolf, and yet Cade looked on as the black wolf howled and began to buck as his shift took hold of his body, leaving him with no choice.

  The man lay screaming and naked on the ground as if he hadn't yet realised that he was a man again. After he had stopped, panting, he threw Cade a hateful glance before turning to Stephen. “What are you?” he whispered, and Stephen grinned down at him. “What the fuck are you?” He glanced around at all of them, searching their faces desperately as he tried to push himself up. He laid his right arm in his lap, the paw that had been broken. “This is wrong,” he said to Cade. “Don’t you realise? That boy is wanted for murder.”

  “We know what he is wanted for,” Stephen growled down at him. “We know what it is that you did to him, too. We know what you did to your son.”

  “That is none of your business.”

  “You gave him to the Humans. You sold him.”

  “He was defective,” the man spat.

  “He was your child. You gave him to them. You sold him to them, cast him out like a fucking stray.” Stephen turned to Phoenix. “You have to finish this. It has to be you. This is the time.”

  Phoenix took a tentative step forward, but Cade stepped protectively in front of him. He was not going to give this memory to the young boy. He was not going to have him living with the knowledge that he had killed a man and feeling his life ebb away. Cade had done things that were needed, things to protect the pack, but it didn’t mean that he slept well at night. He wasn’t giving this to the boy. Cade growled, letting Stephen know in no uncertain terms that Phoenix
would not be killing anyone. The man launched himself at Stephen the moment that he had his head turned. Stephen ducked, then caught him and pinned him to the ground with one hand as the other slammed a fist down into the man’s throat. In one fell swoop, he dug his fingers into the flesh and pulled. The man’s eyes went wide as he saw his own throat in Stephen’s grip. He gurgled, raising hands to his throat, and then he fell forward into the dirt.

  Stephen stared at the lifeless corpse in front of him, breathing hard. “It’s over,” he said coldly. “I’ll call my dad. He can verify the kill and report it to the Humans. Case closed.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The elephant in the room. That was the phrase, wasn’t it? A big, fat fucking elephant that they both knew was there and neither mentioned. Instead, they had both danced around it, avoiding the topic altogether. His face was so god damn contorted with fury that Cade almost felt sorry for him—almost.

  Cade stood with his arms firmly crossed over his chest as he regarded his father. He hid his guilt well. He had set Phoenix up, used the father of his maker to get rid of him, and it had backfired. Fucking idiot, that’s what he was. Cade’s hands throbbed still and he wasn’t quite healed, but he was more himself now. He stood side by side with Phoenix, no longer hiding, no longer afraid. Trevor and Malcolm had set down the rules, and they had been met. Phoenix had his place in the wolf pack and there wasn’t a damn thing Trevor could do about it.

  Days later, as they stood opposite Patterson, the look of Trevor’s face was nothing less than disgust as he scowled at Cade. It was the day of the meeting, the deadline the Humans had given for the Society to give answers. Oh, and they had got answers all right. The look on Patterson’s face was almost as priceless as the look on Trevor’s face. Stephen had taken the man’s body, and what was left of his throat, and delivered it to Patterson personally. The Human had backed away in disgust and told him to keep it.

  Stephen stood facing the Humans now with his father. Patterson seemed more disappointed than anything else, but that was because their kill had got away. “The tracer was a match,” he said to Malcolm.

  Malcolm stood with his usual stoic pose, giving nothing away. “The matter is now closed.”

  Patterson nodded and his eyes flicked to Stephen. “We have been more than compensated.”

  “And what of our compensation?” Malcolm asked, raising his brow.

  Patterson frowned.

  “You burnt our lands, destroyed places where we run and feed. You have taken things from us. You acted first, asked questions later. We delivered what you asked of us. Now I ask …”

  “You delivered a body with his throat gouged out,” Patterson said. “That was not what we asked.”

  “You did not specify the quality of the product,” Stephen remarked.

  “You dumped it at my door.”

  “I didn’t have any other address.”

  “My daughters were there … they could have seen,” he said furiously.

  “Did they see?” Malcolm inquired.

  “No,” Patterson bit out. “They did not.”

  “Then there was no damage done. You, on the other hand, destroyed our land. Great damage was done to our race.”

  Patterson shrugged. “That isn’t my concern. What is my concern is that monster beside you.”

  “He has done nothing wrong.”

  “No,” Patterson agreed. “He hasn’t. But he should watch his back. I see the way he stares at my daughter.”

  “Are you threatening my son?”

  He sneered, but said nothing more. Cade hadn't dealt with Patterson before, but Malcolm had assured him that as part of the DSA, he would need to. He had also warned him that he’d be dealing with an asshole, and watching him now, Cade knew that Stephen’s father was right. But he was looking forward to that day. Things were changing, Cade could feel it in the air—it was thick with promise. It seemed that maybe war would be coming after all.

  Back at Cade’s house, Gemma sat waiting for him outside on the porch with Phoenix. They were reading together, and she was teaching him something about the laws of physics. They didn’t spot Cade at first, so he took the moment just to watch them. That was his world right there–his life. Yet he knew the fight was far from over. He had won this battle—won for Phoenix. But he had more to fight.

  Gemma and Phoenix both turned in unison as if they suddenly both sensed him standing there. He smiled at them both and Gemma’s own grin grew wide.

  “He can stay? It’s finished?”

  He nodded. “He can stay.”

  Gemma threw her arms around Phoenix with a squeal, knocking the poor boy off balance. For a moment, there was pure happiness there, and it filled him up inside.

  “I think you all need to get me dinner,” Stephen drawled, walking to stand beside Cade. “And none of that freezer shit.”

  Gemma turned and Cade could see her apprehension at her brother’s presence. But he didn’t shout, didn’t yell. Instead, he walked over to his sister, wrapped his big arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back with a big grin on her face. When he eventually let her go, she raced to Cade and jumped into his arms, latching on around his neck as he caught her and lifted her up to swirl her around once. She laughed—a happy, delighted laugh—and hugged him tighter.

  He looked over at Stephen as he held her, met his friend’s gaze. Stephen’s expression was sombre, unsmiling as he stared at them, but now there was acceptance in his eyes. “Whatever happens, we’re going to fight it together.”

  Cade smiled and nodded at him. They would always fight together—each would give their life for the other. And Stephen almost had the other night. Cade would never forget what his friend had done for him. He would never forget what he had seen him do that night, either, but he would hold his secret forever. Not just that one, but the other one, too. The one he didn’t want to talk about just yet. The one Cade would wait for until Stephen was ready—if he ever was.

  But the rest? It was that simple. Together they could do anything. They had proved that. But Cade had the feeling that just maybe the next fight was the biggest yet—bigger than them all. Maybe the next fight they wouldn’t survive. But Stephen was right about one thing ...

  Whatever happened, they would fight together.

  The End

  Thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to drop me an email or visit me on Facebook.

  Mason

  masonsabre2@gmail.com

  https://www.facebook.com/msabre3