I reached for it but before I could touch it, Jet ran into the room. “The wolfborns are going crazy outside. I think someone’s approaching the property!”
“What? Are you sure?”
He sniffed the air. “Smells like unknown werewolves.”
Victoria crumpled to the ground.
Chapter 24
Victoria
I struggled to my feet. Toby wrapped his arms around my sides and helped me up. “Are you okay?”
“Just dizzy. What happened?” I asked. “Where’s Jet?”
“He’s gathering the pack. Why don’t you go up to our room and rest while I figure out who our visitors are?”
“No.” I stepped away to show him I could handle myself. “I’m staying by your side.”
“We don’t know what that welt is.”
I glanced at my arm. The swelling had already gone down, and now it was just a flat red mark. “It’s already getting better.”
“But what is it?” He ran his finger over the mark.
“Part of the stone? It felt like something cut into my skin when the stone made that popping noise.”
“You think it was the stone?”
“What else? It was glowing.”
Footsteps thundered down the stairs and everyone spoke over everyone else.
I took Toby’s hand. “Don’t worry about me. I already feel better. Let’s figure out what’s going on with the werewolves headed our way.”
“I’d feel better if you went upstairs to rest.”
“And I’d feel better standing alongside the pack until we know what’s going on. If the wolves are friendly, I’ll rest. Otherwise, I’m fighting with you.”
He opened his mouth as if to protest, but closed it and shook his head. “I’m never going to convince you otherwise. Come on.”
We joined everyone in the front room and peered outside. As Jet had said, the wolfborns were going crazy in the yard, running around in frenzied circles around each other, howling. The scent of unknown werewolves drifted in through the slightly-open windows.
“Does anyone recognize the scent of that pack?” Toby asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
My mom walked over. “It smells like a mixed pack.”
I sniffed the air, holding onto the odor. She was right. Each pack had its own unique scent, and this was definitely an array of packs. Not unlike our own. That was probably why none of us had noticed right away.
Toby turned to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Mom’s eyes widened. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
“I got cut. It’s nothing.”
She arched a brow.
Jet cleared his throat. “They’re here.”
A group of about twenty stood gathered behind our gate.
Toby stepped toward the door. “Jet, Sal, and I will go talk to them. The rest of you stay on guard. Gather your weapons.” He gave me a quick kiss before heading outside, grabbing a large knife from the coat rack and sliding it into his pants, tucking it under his shirt.
Stella came over and stood next to me. “What do you think is going on?”
“The only thing I can think of is the secret society.”
Her eyes widened, and everyone turned to me.
“What else makes sense? We killed everyone at that factory, and we destroyed all the bugs they planted here.”
Bobby leaned closer to the window and glanced out. “You really think there’s more of them?”
“I’d be surprised if that group there was it. Think about it. They’ve survived for hundreds of years. There’s no way they only have one home base. If one got destroyed, they’d want another as backup.”
Bobby swore.
A warmth radiated from my new wound, but it was different than before. Power and strength surged through me from that location. I rubbed the sore spot, finding that it no longer ached. It radiated the strength out through me faster.
Outside, Toby, Sal, and Jet all stood in aggressive positions as they spoke with the group on the other side of the fence. I wanted to know what they were talking about. Part of me wanted to run out there and take on those pompous society members and rid the earth of them.
“Should we do something?” Elsie asked.
I turned to her. “Go up to the attic. You and Stella.”
Stella shook her head. “I’m tired of being a liability. If you guys fight, so do I.”
My stomach twisted in knots. I’d been the one to change her. If anything happened to her, it was on me. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I am. It’s not like I’m human and hiding from the supernatural world anymore. I’m a werewolf.” Stark determination shone in her eyes.
I took a deep breath. “Okay. You’d better pick out a weapon before it gets ugly out there.”
She bolted out of the room. I turned to Elsie and arched a brow.
“I’m in, too. Those jerks used me to find the pack. There’s no way I’m letting them get away with that.” Elsie ran off in the same direction as Stella.
“Are the rest of you ready?” I made eye contact with each one of the remaining werewolves.
Everyone nodded and spoke their agreements.
“Good. Let’s gather what we need. I’m ready to take them down.”
We all went in our separate directions. I had weapons stashed in various places around the mansion, including my new bedroom and near the front door. I didn’t want to run upstairs in case fighting broke out, so I ran over to the coat rack and found one of my winter jackets. My seventeen-inch tactical knife rested in the inside pocket. It was hard to hide when I was wearing shorts and a crop top, so I pulled on a thin hoodie to cover it up and went back to the window.
Soleil strolled over. “What’s going on? I take one lazy summer nap, and everything goes to the dogs. Well, you know what I mean.”
“We think it’s the rest, or at least more, of the society.”
She leaned closer to the window and studied the men on the other side of our fence. “I do pick up a sense of werewolves, and it looks heated out there. I’m not talking about the weather, either.”
One by one, the rest of the pack rejoined us. Each person had his or her own blade, all of varying sizes.
Outside, Toby was waving his arms around and several of the men on the other side were making gestures of their own.
I gripped my knife’s handle. “We should go out there.”
“Toby hasn’t given us any kind of signal,” Bobby said. “Aren’t we supposed to wait?”
“If anyone makes a move, I’m going out there.”
“We’re right behind you,” Carter said.
The others spoke their agreement. We stood in silence for a few minutes. I was ready to run at a moment’s notice. That moment came quickly. One of the opposing werewolves backed up, ran to the fence, and jumped right over it.
I stared frozen for a moment. I’d never seen anyone attempt that before, much less accomplish it.
“Victoria?” someone asked.
“Attack!” I pulled out my blade and ran for the door, followed closely by everyone else. We were evenly matched as far as numbers went. Their skill levels were yet to be seen, but if they were anything like those at the factory, we had the upper hand.
I ran faster as a tall, burly man lunged for Toby. He appeared to move twice as fast as me. I cried out and held my knife, ready to rip it into the horrible werewolf. But before I even reached them, Toby had killed the brute. Once I made it to Toby, the other man lay bleeding at his feet.
More wolves arrived. They broke down our fence—our electric fence—and piled into our yard, clearly outnumbering us.
“Find the stone!” someone shouted.
My stomach dropped. “We don’t have it!” And for once, I was glad.
Toby stabbed a werewolf running at him and turned to me. “They don’t believe us.”
Two more men lunged at us. I swung my blade at the one nearest me, but he darted out of the way. Anger
pulsed through me, and I aimed for him again. He moved out of my way just before I could slice through his skin, and he jumped on me, knocking me to the ground. I dug my knife into his chest. His eyes widened and then he went limp as his blood pooled over me. I shoved him to the side and jumped to my feet, wiping the blood off my hands.
Three more men were fighting Toby, and most of the rest of the pack were also battling two or more society members. Carter had shifted into a jaguar and was attacking with his sharp teeth and claws. Our wolfborns were also in on the action, tearing into our attackers.
I ran to help Toby, but Soleil grabbed my arm and yanked me to a stop. “We’re completely outnumbered. Run to the Faeble and get help.”
“I’m not leaving the pack!” I pulled out my cell phone, but it had no service. “What’s going on?”
“They took out all the wireless coverage in the area.”
My mouth dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She spun around and dug a sword into a werewolf headed our way, then turned back to me. “Go to the Faeble. We need all the help we can get.”
“I already told you, I’m not abandoning the pack!”
“You’d rather us all get killed?” She ran over and sliced the head off a guy who had Stella pinned to a tree.
An enormous man ran in my direction. I sliced his arm with my blade. It didn’t even slow him down. He jumped right for me, blood dripping down his arm. I stepped to the side and forced my knife into his chest. He grabbed my hand and yanked it away, shoving me aside, before he pulled my weapon out of his chest and threw it halfway to the house.
Fear tore through me. How could I fight without my weapon? He balled his fists and stepped between me and my blade so I couldn’t reach it. I moved to the side to go around him, but he blocked me again. He wasn’t going to let me by, and there was nothing I could do to him without a form of protection. His nostrils flared and he furrowed his brows. “Come here, little girl.”
Fury exploded within me, replacing the terror. His taunt was the same as so many before him—jaguar shifters and werewolves who had tried to defeat me but failed miserably. These shifters were going to suffer the same fate.
I glared at the man, took a step toward him, and then spun around and ran for the woods. My inner wolf clawed and howled to get out. A couple of my ribs popped.
That wasn’t possible.
Or was it?
The pain in my arm from Gessilyn’s spell—what if it really was from a piece of the wolf essence stone? Could a shard have broken off and embedded itself into my skin? Become part of me?
An elbow cracked. One of my knees almost gave out. I stumbled, but caught my footing.
Shouts sounded behind me. A group of the society members were following me into the woods, and they were quickly gaining on me.
Chapter 25
Victoria
My inner wolf howled and continued clawing at me. My bones wouldn’t stop popping and cracking as I ran and barely evaded the rapidly approaching society members. There were half a dozen of them and only one of me. Even in wolf form, I didn’t stand a chance.
I gritted my teeth and fought my wolf from emerging. I needed to get to the Faeble and tell Tap what was going on. My wolf couldn’t do that.
Stay down, I ordered.
She didn’t stop fighting me.
How would I ever make it when I needed to win against both my wolf and the shifters who were now only a few feet behind me?
You’re making this worse. We’re going to die!
My wolf howled and clawed, not backing down.
Do you have a death wish? I don’t.
A thick patch of bushes and trees caught my attention. Something inside of me urged me to go in there. Was it my wolf or something else? The area pulled at me. It wanted me.
Better mysterious plant life than enemy werewolves. I leaped into the air and dove into the nearest bush, scraping myself on pointed leaves and branches. I hit the ground and rolled over dirt and pebbles. It was enough of a shock to my system to send my wolf into retreat.
The other werewolves shouted and cried out, upset that I’d hidden myself from them.
I crawled farther into the thick brush, the pull growing stronger. My arm warmed where I’d been wounded earlier. Could the tiny piece of stone—if that was really what was in my arm—be directing me somewhere?
Gasping for air, I pulled myself along the ground toward the… whatever it was.
The plant life thinned, leading to an open clearing. Nothing but tall grass. The pull grew stronger. I couldn’t fight it—my feet carried me into the empty field. Inside, my wolf had calmed. All fur had retracted and my bones had stopped popping and had returned to normal.
The scene before me blurred and became a cemetery. It took me a moment to realize I’d been here before. Underneath the old-style gravestones rested my loved ones—and me. I walked toward them and read the names. Wilder, Lakelynn, Toby, Elsie, Victoria.
I paused in front of my grave, chills running down my spine. Could I really be in two places at once? How was it possible?
“Mother?” came a familiar feminine voice from behind.
Heart thundering against my chest, I spun around and faced Lakelynn. All memories of the cemetery flooded into my mind.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You look terrified.”
That’s when I remembered the secret society. “I have to go. The secret society—they’re attacking the pack.”
Her face paled. “Is it the battle you always told me stories about?”
Blood drained from my head. “I… I don’t know. Were they good stories, by chance?”
She skittered toward the mist where she always came in from and left to. “I have to get Wilder and the others. We have to change the outcome.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “You can leave this place and go to my time?”
“Yeah, just like Dad came and helped us with—oh, you wouldn’t know about that yet.”
I stared at her, unable to find words.
“Now isn’t the time. Hold on. Don’t leave until we’re with you.”
“Wait!”
Lakelynn turned and stared at me. “We don’t have much time! I want to meet my grandma.”
My stomach lurched. “Mom’s going to get killed today?”
“Not if I can stop it.”
“But what about not changing the past? I always thought it was best not to mess with things.”
“This is real life, not the movies. Stay here.” She burst into a run and disappeared through the mist.
I crept over to the mist and studied it. It swirled in a circle with tiny rainbow fragments dancing around. I stuck a finger to it, and it went through, disappearing to the other side. My pulse drummed through my body. I pressed the rest of my hand through. Then the other one. The air on the other side felt exactly the same. I took a deep breath, stared at the mist, and pushed my head through.
A magnificent city loomed before me. The buildings practically reached the sky and shimmered as though made from gold. A bubbling stream full of leaping fish ran between the city and me. A gorgeous white, shimmery bridge stood to the right.
What was this place? Did I dare try to cross?
Footsteps sounded in the direction of the bridge. Lakelynn and Wilder ran over with a handful of others.
“Mom!” Lakelynn called. “Don’t come over here.”
“She knows better,” one of the girls with her said.
“Not this version of her,” Wilder said. “She and Dad just got married.”
I stared at the group. Were they all my children?
“Back up, Mom!” called one of the young men. “We need to get through.”
It took me a moment to recover, but I followed his directions. Just as I stepped back to the graves, the group piled in through the mist.
One of the young women turned to me. “Who are we up against?”
I struggled to find my voice.
She step
ped closer. “Are you okay, Mom?”
“Yeah.” I studied all of them If they—or even just some of them—were my kids, that meant Toby and I survived. Relief washed through me. “It’s the secret werewolf society. They’re trying to kill our pack back at Moonhaven. Some of them followed me into the woods.”
Lakelynn’s eyes widened. “They didn’t follow you here, did they?” She glanced around.
I shook my head. “I’m the only one who can come here.”
“What?” asked one of the young men. “But the—”
“Are you going to help me or not?” I stood taller. “I need to get back and help everyone.”
Wilder stepped forward. “We’re with you. Show us where to go.”
I ran in the direction I entered from. It had no mist. I’d have to ask them about that later. We pushed our way through the thick plant life and came out where I always did. Shouting sounded not far away.
“This way.” I ran toward it.
“We should shift,” Lakelynn said.
My mouth fell. “The curse of the moon was broken?”
Had Gessilyn finally figured it out?
Wilder shoved her. “This is why we have to be more careful about passing through time.”
She glared at him. “Mom and Dad need our help! Dad came over and helped—”
“Don’t talk about that in front of this version of her.” Wilder stormed past her to me. “Do you have a weapon?”
“Not right now.” I shook my head.
“And you can’t shift?” he asked.
“I can turn when I want,” I told him. “Nobody else can.”
He looked at me like I’d grown another head. “Things really were messed up before—uh, never mind. If the society members can’t shift, we’re all better off fighting them as wolves.” He and the other guys ran behind some trees.
“Let’s do this.” Lakelynn pulled off her shirt.
I hoped I could. My wolf had nearly come out before. Hopefully it hadn’t been a fluke. Let’s do this, I told my wolf.
She howled in response. I removed my clothes and stuck them inside a bush. Ribs popped, then my knees and neck. I held back cries of pain as the fur sliced through my skin. I closed my eyes and gave into the shift. When I opened them, I was a wolf.
Cursed Wolf Page 14
