“I told him that you were taking us to the shack. The boys told me where it was and I told him,” the girl sobbed. There was no need to ask who it was she told.
“Bull. Did you tell them about Bull? Did you tell them about the women?”
Bull’s strategy depended on surprise. He wasn’t there for the first standoff. They didn’t know he existed and without him the women couldn’t change. If there was any hope of success, the Alpha had to believe he would be fighting a weakened force of males.
“No! He didn’t care about the camp,” Macey answered. “He said the camp would be no problem once he had you and the young. He said no problem,” she repeated and began to sob again. “I thought he meant he’d leave them alone, but he didn’t, he didn’t.”
“No, he didn’t,” Tommie said harshly. She had no time for mercy. “Which one of you is fastest?” she asked the cubs. They didn’t waste time arguing. Daniel stepped forward.
“I am.”
“Good. Go back to camp. If there’s been no attack, you tell Bull we need him here. If there’s fighting, you wait. Don’t put yourself in danger.” She scooped up her backpack and handed it to him. There was no time to be gentle. “If there’s no one left to help, it’s up to you to find a phone and call the number. If no one answers, leave a message. Say Bull’s name. You’re the only hope we’ve got, Daniel. You run like you never have before, but be careful. Don’t get caught. Got it?” Daniel nodded and she pushed him toward the door. “Go!”
As soon as he was gone, she turned to the other two. “We need weapons, rocks, branches, I don’t care, anything we can use to defend this shack.”
“But if they come as wolves, Primal Law...” one started to interrupt.
“They won’t,” she snapped. “If their plan is to take us, they have to do it as men.” Belatedly she added, “And the Law doesn’t apply to us.”
Tommie had no idea if it did or not, but Bull said it could be overridden and if ever there was a time to do it, it was now. She knew she was right, but they had to understand it.
“Hear me.” Her incensed wolf screamed for her to listen. Tommie closed her eyes and the answer was there.
“You aren’t adult wolvers yet, you can’t fight as wolves, but you can fight as men and you will follow the Law. Protect unmated females and pups. Now go, get what we need and keep your eyes and ears open. If you can’t help beyond that, stay out of my way.”
As soon as they were gone, Macey started talking.
“He said he’d only hold you for ransom, that once they paid the ten thousand dollars, he’d let you go.”
“They don’t have ten thousand dollars, Macey. You were there. You heard Samuel.”
Tommie felt like she was split in two. Her human mind spoke words while her body followed her wolf. She began hurling bags and blankets out the door. She needed room to fight.
“I thought he meant Bull would pay it?”
“How could he if he doesn’t know Bull exists?” One of the toddlers sat up and began to cry and at the sound, another began to stir. “I don’t have time for this,” she said to the girl who was still trying to explain. “Stop your crying and take care of the pups. You wanted to be an adult, now act like one.”
Macey backed away, her eyes wide with fear, and turned to the pups.
The boys returned. One handed her a thick piece of wood like the one he carried. He showed her his branch, hastily sharpened to a rough point. The other handed her a folding knife with a wicked looking blade.
“Bull gave them to us. You keep this one with you.”
“We need bags for the stones,” the other said. He was already emptying one and casting the contents aside.
“Good,” she said while her wolf said, “Teeth. Bite.” She shook her head as her brain adjusted to thinking two things at once. “Only one of us can be in charge here,” she muttered. The boys were looking at her oddly and the sensation came again; of two things happening in her head at once. “Fill your bags. Get up in a tree and take them with you. There and there.” She pointed to trees with good, sturdy branches. “You fight from above. If anyone comes after you, use your spears.”
Cory stopped and cocked his head, listening. “They’re coming,” he hissed, stuffing his bag and heading for his tree. “They aren’t even trying to be quiet.”
It was true. Tommie could hear them, too. They were still a good distance away, but they were coming. They didn’t think there was a need for stealth and why should they? They were grown men about to stage a raid on women and children.
Sounding more confident than she felt, Tommie called softly to the cubs, who were already in position in the trees. “Show them you’re wolvers. Show them your teeth.”
And pray that Daniel makes it to Bull in time.
~*~
Bull’s howl of victory was joined by those who could still raise their heads. They ran to him, tails wagging, feet prancing, amazed they’d survived an attack by clearly capable forces. They dropped their bodies to the ground or rolled before him exposing their bellies and throats to his powerful jaws. He laid his muzzle against theirs, nuzzled their ears, and pawed playfully at their heads, but he would not accept their homage. This was their victory, not his. They had stood together. They had stood for each other. They didn’t need him.
Victory came with a price, however, and three of their number had not fared well. Every wolf was torn or marked by the battle in some way. All showed evidence of their willingness to fight for what should be rightfully theirs. Shorty was dragging his right hind leg, the one that had already suffered a crippling injury when he was a cub. Louise’s neck was scored from chin to shoulder with the deepest gouge over her carotid artery. A half inch deeper and she would have bled out. Bogie ignored his own wounds to tend to his mate with his tongue.
Boris was still down and the dark shadow surrounding his body showed just how much blood he’d lost. The air around him was ripe with it and the smell irritated Bull’s nose. He approached the grey wolf who still refused to give way to any who approached. It was the young wolver Bull had noticed pacing back and forth before the raid. He was afraid, and no wonder; all his companions were dead.
Bull drew as near as he dared without inviting an attack. He sat on his haunches and cocked his head to the side, hoping the frightened wolf would see his curiosity and not his aggression. The young wolver seemed to settle, but his hackles rose again when Cora came to sit by Bull’s side. Cora’s chuffed response showed little patience.
Bull had no mental connection with these wolvers. They were not his pack. There was no way to communicate except in the way of animals and the animal before him was too scared to listen. Primal Law said man shall not attack wolf, so Bull called on the moon to bring himself home. Others followed him, and when Cora pawed his leg, he nodded in understanding, and brought the women home, too.
Louise screamed as the change hit her and Bull realized too late that the less experienced females wouldn’t know that the pain of a fresh wound was often re-experienced during the shift. Males tended to talk about the healing properties of shifting and not the pain.
“He’ll do you no harm, Travis. He’s not like them others,” Cora told the young wolf.
Bull heard her through a wave of dizziness. He’d anticipated this with the first shift of the women and had been prepared to fight his way through it. Instead, he’d felt energized as if sharing his power with them had strengthened his own. He had not expected to be hit so hard in bringing them home. Of course, he was inexperienced, too. Usually when he forced a shift, he was forcing his prey into a permanent state with no hope of ever coming home.
“Listen to her, son,” Bull told the young wolf. “I don’t think I could scratch a flea from my ear at the moment.” He nodded to the wolf lying on the ground. “He’s going to bleed out if we don’t treat those wounds. He’s got to come home and so do you. I don’t know yet about Boris, but I promise you’ll live. Beyond that I can’t say.”
It w
as enough. In a short burst of light, the grey wolf became man. It was the nervously pacing wolver, the one who stood apart from the others. Bull ignored him and focused on the gravely injured wolf. He slapped the unscarred side of Boris’s face.
“Boris,” he called sharply. “Use what you have and come home. I can help, but you have to do the work.” He shook the wolf’s body and removed all kindness from his voice. “You fought well. Your enemies are dead. Don’t give them the victory of taking you with them. It isn’t your time to run in heaven. I know this and you need to know it, too. Wake up and bring yourself home.” He shouted the order and Boris’s eyes flickered open.
“Can’t.”
The voice was barely a whisper in his mind. This shouldn’t be happening. They weren’t pack.
“You can and you will.” Bull ordered. “You’re the only one who can.”
He felt it, then, the tiny surge of power all wolvers reserved to shift back to human. He added his own and the light appeared, so weak and slow that every shift of muscle and bone was visible to all who watched.
Bull turned and without thinking, began issuing orders. “Start treating the wounded, beginning with Boris, Louise, and Shorty. Clean the wounds, sew what needs to be sewn, bind them up with whatever you have as long as it’s clean. Everyone needs food and plenty of water.” His earlier concern about the missing Alpha came back. “This may not be the end of it and we need to be ready. You’ll sleep in shifts.” He gave them a string of orders and not one of them complained. His main concern was the Alpha. Was he waiting to hear from his cadre? Would he mount another attack when word of the slaughter didn’t come?
“Daniel!”
Bull turned in time to see the cub stumble to his knees.
“Help,” the boy gasped, sides heaving. “Tommie...sent me... They’re coming...coming to take the cubs. Can’t run...need help.”
“Stretch, Bogie, with me. Samuel, Shorty, get everyone in the bus. Break out the guns and if they come as men, shoot them. No talking, no games, just shoot the fuckers. You,” he pointed to the newcomer. “What do you know about this?”
“N-nothing. I only knew about the raid on the camp. I volunteered. I begged to come because of Boris. I thought I could protect him, convince him to come back. That’s all I know. I swear it.”
“It’s too late to go back. Like it or not, you’re with us now, but make no mistake. If you betray these wolvers, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and you will pray for death. Let’s go,” he shouted and took off, shifting to wolf as he ran.
He knew the others were behind him, but he didn’t wait for them to catch up. Minutes passed before he became aware of another wolf silently running parallel to him through the woods and thought, at first, he might be running into an ambush. He almost lost his footing when he realized who it was that ran beside him.
If there was an ambush ahead, the big black wolf wasn’t a part of it. His human noted that Eli could be taken here and now. It was his job, after all, and a feral wolf should take priority. His wolf, however, was in charge of his legs, and the wolf had higher priorities. Tommie and the pups were in immediate danger. Eli posed no current threat and could be hunted later. Relieved, Bull allowed his wolf free reign.
Both wolf and man were in full agreement as they headed toward the shack.
Chapter 25
The pups were all awake and crying. Macey was still weeping, but at least she was keeping the little ones close and out of the way. Tommie wanted to scream at them to shut up so she could think. She didn’t, but only because it would do no good and there was little to think about.
As she predicted, they were coming as men. She could hear their voices and laughter clearly through the trees. They were close and much louder than they needed to be. She was sure they were doing it on purpose. They wanted her to panic. They wanted the fun of seeing the little band run from the big bad wolves. They wanted the pleasure and excitement of the chase. They wanted to terrorize.
And they were doing a damn good job of it. Tommie was shaking so badly she needed two hands to keep her wooden weapon from clattering to the ground. She could only imagine what the boys were feeling. They needed reassurance that all would be well once Bull and the others arrived.
She took a deep breath to calm her voice and opened the door a crack. “Don’t let their laughter get to you,” she started to say, when the door was yanked out of her hands and Macey ran through it, toward, not away from, the approaching men.
“Macey, no!”
But it was too late. The girl was running and waving her arms and shouting, “I’m here. I’m here. The others ran off, but I’m here. Let’s go.”
“What would I want with you?” the voice of the Alpha sneered. “Get her off of me.”
The sound of fist against flesh was sickening. Macey’s cry was worse. There was another thud and another cry and then one of the cubs was yelling, giving away their positions and all hope of surprise.
“Leave her alone. Leave her alone you coward! She’s just a girl. Leave her alone.”
The cubs began their bombardment of stones. The grunts of pain as their missiles zeroed in on the targets gave some satisfaction, but it was much too soon for them to do real damage.
The door to the shack flew open and Tommie stabbed with her spear using all the strength she could find in her trembling body. She felt flesh give way under the poorly sharpened point. She heard the man’s grunt, half in surprise, half in pain. She saw the strong hand that yanked the spear from the body, and then she was dragged through the door and past the howling Cory who rolled on the ground holding his arm to his chest. He was injured and she tried to go to him, but she wasn’t strong enough to escape her captor’s grasp.
“No!” she cried both for the cub and for herself. Cold fear was replaced by hot anger. She was about to become a captive again and her time with Gantnor had taught her complacency and reason wouldn’t win her release.
Instead of resisting the hand pulling her along, she ran forward, grabbed the wolver’s wrist and bit down on it hard enough to draw blood. Her captor yelled and tossed her to the ground, then raised his bloodied fist to strike.
“Don’t,” the Alpha commanded. He held a sobbing Macey by her hair and lifted her toward Tommie’s captor. “If she doesn’t come quietly, snap this one’s neck. You,” he ordered another, “Leave that one in the tree and go help with the pups.”
Power flowed from him, sending a different kind of shiver through Tommie. She refused to bow her head to that power, but she couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. She felt him move up beside her, winced as he grabbed her cheeks and forced her to face him. He brought his nose within inches of hers.
“You and I are going to get along.” He laughed as his power flooded her body with desire.
She felt dirty and ashamed and betrayed by a body over which she had no control. Had Gantnor done this to her, too? Had he stripped her of all decency or moral restraint? Was she no more than an animal physically responding to the most dominant male available?
“No!” her wolf responded along with her human mind, yet her next move proved her theory of her animalistic reversion might be right. She wasn’t sure if the snarl began with her or the she-wolf, but Tommie felt her eyes begin to burn and her lips pull back from her teeth. She lunged. She bit and though his blow to her head almost knocked her senseless, she would not let go of the Alpha’s nose. He struck her again and this time she fell away from him, taking a chunk of him with her.
Dazed and fighting to retain consciousness, Tommie saw the blood spurting through the fingers of the hand the Alpha held to his face. She heard him yell, “Kill her!”. She tried to rise, but another voice, not her she-wolf, yelled “Tommie, down!” in her head. Her face hit the dirt as the dark shadow of a wolf passed over her to land not on the Alpha, but on the wolver holding Macey.
Blood spurted. Macey screamed. Another wolf sailed over her and disappeared into the flare of light as the Alpha shif
ted to wolf. Babies cried. Cubs shouted. Wolves snarled, snapped and yelped with pain. More wolves arrived, but whether they were friend or foe, Tommie didn’t know. Macey continued to scream. Tommie could do nothing but curl into a ball and shield her head while wolvers battled around her.
Her human mind was repulsed and rejected all she’d done, seeing it as proof that her change in status meant nothing. Wolver or human, she was still insane, maybe more so now than before. Her she-wolf joined the cacophony of noise surrounding them and howled with joy.
“Mate, mate, mate! Mine, mine, mine!”
Movement stopped. The snarls and growls faded. The cubs were silent. The toddlers’ cries subsided to whimpers. Macey ceased screaming. Tommie uncurled from her fetal ball and looked around. A few feet away, a majestic brown wolf stood with bloodied muzzle over the ravaged body of the Alpha wolf. The Alpha was dying. She could feel the anticipation of the others as they watched and her she-wolf repeated their thoughts.
“Kill. Kill. Take the mantle. Kill.”
She felt nothing for the Alpha’s death, except satisfaction. Her concern was solely for the brown. When another wolf stepped forward, he curled his lip in warning. The other stepped back. When the staccato bursts of breath from the dying wolf subsided slowly into nothing, the brown raised his snout to the sky and howled, not in pleasure or in victory as she expected. The loneliness of that howl tore through her heart and she reached out to bury her hand in his ruff.
He turned sharply, teeth bared, but immediately relaxed when he saw that it was her hand that touched him. His eyes softened. He lowered his head and leaned into her comfort and she was comforted in return.
Long moments passed before the wolf stepped away from her touch. He nodded to the others and shifted to human, then with a courtly bow, offered Tommie his hand and lifted her to her feet. His kiss was quick, more greeting than passion, and then he laughed and looked around at the items scattered on the ground.
Wolver's Rescue Page 21
