by K. R. Willis
Again.
Chapter 20
Well technically, I hadn’t killed their first Alpha—Leo had—but they didn’t seem to be concerned with the semantics. It was my fault he was dead and that’s all that seemed to matter to them. Now I really had killed their Alpha, and even though she was sadistic and evil, and I’d just saved them from her tyranny, they probably wouldn’t care about that either.
Several of them advanced toward me, the wolves with heads lowered, growling deep in their throats, and the humans with murder in their eyes. I backed up into the middle and gripped the chain harder. Rya growled and hissed in her cage, but remained quiet in my mind so I could concentrate.
One of the wolves was now close enough I felt his snout tickle the hairs on my calf as he leaned in and...sniffed me? What the hell? Was he trying to decide if I smelled more like a hamburger or a steak? I raised my hand and angled myself so that I could strike him with the chain, but he didn’t look aggressive. In fact, he flattened his ears against his head and cowered beneath my raised hand. Submissive.
The other wolves tentatively followed suit, sniffing and smelling, cowering beneath me, some even stealing a quick lick with their tongues before jerking away. The humans looked as baffled as I felt until they sniffed the air, then they too began retreating from their trek of attack, and showed signs of submission. Randall approached me, but unlike the others, he appeared calm, as though he knew what was happening.
“What’s going on?” I asked him. “Why are they behaving like this?” I mean, I was glad they weren’t attacking me and all, but this was just downright weird. They scattered like frightened rabbits when I spun in a slow circle. The chain clinked and rattled in my hand.
A peculiar grin spread across Randall’s face. “They won’t attack their Alpha unless they are ready to issue a challenge for the position themselves. Most of the ones who were strong enough to do so were either run out of the pack or killed by Victoria. She didn’t take lightly to being threatened for dominance.” He made a slow trek around me, examining me, but at a respectable distance. “I’m probably strong enough, but not interested in the job.”
I was confused. “Who’s the new Alpha? I want to talk to him. Or her,” I quickly added. “I don’t want to fight anymore. I want peace with the wolves.” My eyes jumped from one wolf to another, searching each of their muzzled faces for one who looked like they had what it took to be Alpha. Randall was the only one who seemed capable in the group. My attention centered back on him.
He stared at me, the look a mixture of relief and a little bit of anger. Reluctantly, he knelt before me and bowed his head, the other pack members following his lead. I glanced around at all of them, and realized I was the only one left standing.
Oh, you have got to be kidding me.
“No, no, no,” I said, half choking on the words. “I am not your Alpha. I can’t be. I’m not a werewolf, or a shapeshifter by any sense of the word.” Though I had partially shifted when I merged with Rya to defeat Khalid, but they couldn’t know about that, and I wasn’t about to tell them.
Randall stood and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter how. All that matters is that you smell like a predator, like an Alpha. You were challenged, and you killed her in a fair fight, so the position is yours.” I looked around and saw that Randall was right—they all looked at me now with respect and fear, wondering what I would do next.
Trouble was, I had no idea.
As the adrenaline of the fight began to fade, the claw marks on my back caught on fire, burning with a heated intensity that nearly brought me to my knees. Rya moved in her cage, drawing my attention as I gritted my teeth against the pain.
“If I really am your new Alpha, release her,” I ordered, indicating with a tilt of my head who I meant. The same two wolves who carried her to the clearing rushed to open the cage door. As soon as it opened, she rushed through the door and loped to my side.
You okay? she asked as she rubbed against me. She snapped at a curious wolf who got a little too close, sending it scurrying several feet away, tail tucked between its legs.
It hurts, I said. Like someone has set fire to my flesh. Can you do your healing thing?
You think you’ll be okay with them?
I took one last look around at the wolves surrounding me. None of them showed signs of aggression. Yeah, I think I’ll be just fine.
With that, she head-butted me, then kneaded my skin with her claws. The tingle of her magic surrounded me as she dissolved into my tattoo, and set to work healing the claw marks on my back.
“What do we do now?” I asked Randall. He had his arms crossed over his chest, a dozen emotions on his face.
He settled for serious, but non-threatening. “There will be a ceremony cementing you as Alpha on the next full moon, just over a week from tonight. At that time, you’ll assume all the rights and privileges afforded to you by your position. If you wish to not be Alpha, you must find a suitable replacement to challenge you.”
“What’s the catch?” I asked, because I knew it couldn’t be that simple. If it was, I’d give it to someone and be done with it. But that’s not how my life ran these days.
Randall smirked. “The only way wolves accept the leadership of a new Alpha is if they are strong enough to defeat the old one. The challenge is to the death.”
Of course it was.
∞∞∞
An hour later, I was back at my apartment. Randall dropped me off with a piece of paper that had his phone number scribbled on it, and a warning not to miss my inaugural ceremony. He would call me in a few days to give me the details on time and place. I’d grumbled, but taken the paper, not knowing what else to do. It was just one more screwed up part of my life I had no idea what to do about yet.
Rya had almost healed the wounds on my back, which left them itching like the devil. I took a warm shower, letting the water cascade over my tired, sore body, careful not to get any on my back just yet, and washed the blood and dirt from my skin. My hair came next. I lathered and rinsed it quickly with my hair tossed over my head away from my back, then climbed out and toweled everything off. The bathroom mirror caught my attention, and without thinking about it, I turned to inspect the wounds down my spine.
They were red and angry looking, but Rya’s magical efforts were doing wonders to heal the worst of them. I tried to count them, but the claw marks weren’t lined up neatly. Instead, they crisscrossed all over my back, making them hard as hell to track and count. I finally gave up when I reached nine, pulling the towel back up to cover them. I knew Rya would do her absolute best, but the chances of me not having scars on my back were slim at best. Another reminder of what my life had become.
After dressing in my favorite classic Mustang nightgown, I crawled into bed. The feel of the soft cotton covers lulled me to sleep almost immediately, and the nightmare hit me like a punch in the gut.
The Evil One was nowhere to be seen this time. Several lit candles sat in alcoves scattered throughout the room, most of them burned down to small stubs. Everything seemed to be as it was the last time I was here: sparsely furnished with just a writing desk, and a couple of chairs to sit on. For a moment I thought I was alone, but then Loukas rounded the corner, striding toward me and smiling like the cat that ate the cream.
“It’s gone, isn’t it?” he asked, his tone way happier than I wanted it to be. I backed up as he approached, retreating behind one of the chairs, using it as a measly form of protection against the master vampire.
“What’s gone?” I asked. My voice came out shakier than I intended, so I cleared my throat and tried again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He glided around the chair, his eyes all but twinkling with excitement. I scurried away, trying to keep some distance between us.
He laughed, the sound vicious and mocking. “Whatever was keeping me from pulling on the Lorum as you did, and returning to the outside world where I belong. Where before I felt a hum of magic, now there is no
thing.” He sounded nearly gleeful now.
My heart lurched to a stop as I realized what he was talking about. The amulet. It had been protecting me from something: Loukas.
And Vicki destroyed it.
“Shit,” I cursed. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I had to wake myself up and get the hell out of here. Trouble was, I didn’t know how. This seemed to be more than just a nightmare—it seemed to be part reality, too.
Loukas’ smile grew even wider. “You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?”
We’d been circling the chair in a game of cat and mouse, but Loukas had just been playing with me. He snatched the chair up off the ground and threw it across the room. The pieces crunched and rained to the floor.
“Rya, help! Wake me up. Do whatever you have to do to wake me up, now!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and took off running across the room. The room was tiny; there was nowhere to go. I just hoped Rya could hear me and woke me up before he got his hands on me.
Too late—he laughed triumphantly as he latched onto my shoulder. I screamed as he pulled me backward. Then the Lorum began tingling, burning, and I felt his fingers dig into my flesh where I knew it was.
I screamed again.
And sat straight up in bed. My sheets were soaked with sweat, and Rya sat on top of me. My nightgown filled her mouth as she had tugged on it in an effort to force me awake. She spat the fabric out and dropped her forehead even with mine.
What happened? She rubbed me with her face, purring, trying to comfort me.
I scrambled back against the headboard and drew my legs up to my chest. The shaking followed soon after, and my teeth began chattering as the truth settled into my bones. I didn’t understand exactly what had just happened, but I knew one thing for sure as the Lorum still tingled.
Loukas was back.
Epilogue: Sam
“Are you ready for this?” Keira asked. The smile that curved her lips reached the corners of her eyes. She stood a few feet away from me with Sally by her side, dressed in her traditional Native American garb, with turquoise beads braided into her long black hair, and prairie chicken feathers tucked into the back. I knew she hated wearing the deerskin dress, but the Elders were sticklers for tradition during ceremonies. Everyone in the tribe had turned out for today, each dressed in their own deerskin clothes. Beads twinkled in the sunlight, and feathers flashed their iridescence in waves as I looked around.
“Absolutely,” I said, my voice coming out more even than the nerves rattling around in my belly should have allowed. I’d waited for this my whole life. After saving Keira from the spell the witch threw in the shop several days ago—even though it hadn’t been deadly, I hadn’t known that at the time—and giving her the skills she needed to defend herself, the Great Spirit decided I had done enough to earn my Spirit Warrior. He visited one of the Elders in a dream, who then contacted me.
Today was the day I found out who and what my Spirit Warrior would be. No one knew ahead of time, except Keira, who had been gifted Rya when she was born. We each had to take a journey, a spirit quest, and the spirit of the animal that chose us would appear. Once that happened, the Great Spirit would descend to Earth, taking over the body of an Elder long enough to tattoo the animal’s likeness onto the warrior, tying it and the warrior together for the rest of their lives. It was very ritualized, and had to be done with absolute precision.
“Good luck,” Keira and Sally both said at the same time. Sally offered me a hug, but Keira punched me on the arm instead. “Don’t get eaten by anything,” she said with a laugh.
“Gee, thanks.” I couldn’t help but smile. My chest felt tight with the magnitude of what I was about to do. This was it. My father nodded from where he stood on the sideline, pride filling his sun-aged face.
Everyone cheered as I left the clearing and headed deep into the woods. My destination was a cave, hidden about a half mile away from camp. The Elder who gave me the news also relayed where I was to find my animal spirit, though the directions had been pretty vague. “Follow the deer trail deep into the woods, until you come upon the gaping mouth of a cave. Your animal lies there.”
Sure. Piece of cake.
The brambles and brush scraped at my bare arms as I jogged along the path. It was midday, but the trees shaded the path enough that it wasn’t too hot, making the steady jog easier to maintain than it would have been had the cave been out in the open. Sweat beaded on my brow, but I pushed myself to keep going, anxious to meet my warrior.
I’d jogged quite a ways into the woods when the sensation of being watched prickled along my skin. I slowed to a walk and looked around. Trees swaying gently in the breeze stared silently back at me. There was no one there as far as I could tell, but I spun a slow circle anyway, checking again in each direction. That’s when leaves rustled somewhere off to my right, and the sound of heavy breathing caught my attention. When I followed the hair-raising sound, branches seemed to part, allowing me to see the dark mouth of the cave I’d been searching for.
“Warrior,” a deep, baritone voice echoed from the entrance. “Come, let me have a look at you.”
I shivered as the commanding words crawled down my spine. They somehow managed to be an order and a request at the same time.
I stood up straighter, and did as I was told.
As soon as I entered the cave, the atmosphere changed. Whereas outside had been warm with a steady breeze, inside the cave was cool and dank. Water dripped into puddles somewhere along the walls, but I stayed close to the middle, trying to avoid touching anything. Other warriors had brought back tales of caverns and caves similar to this, swallowing men whole. I didn’t want to be one of them.
Jagged rocks jutted up from the floor, making the going slow, but steady. The heavy breathing continued, acting like a lighthouse beacon leading ships to shore. It got darker and darker as I went, until I finally had to stop and light the small lantern I’d been allowed to carry. I held it up in my hand, and continued onward.
After what seemed like forever, but was only a matter of minutes, I stepped into a sort of clearing. The ceilings were higher here, and the floor was smooth, as though something had lived in this part of the cave for a long time. The light bounced around the walls, illuminating a puddle of fresh water that had gathered into a pool off to my right. Moss grew on the damp walls, spider-webbing up and out until it had covered every square inch.
“What is your name?” the disembodied voice asked. The loud sound bounced around the walls like an amphitheater, making me have to fight not to wince or hold my ears.
I lifted my chin. “Samuel James Lightfoot of the Blackfoot Nation. I’ve been given permission to seek out my Spirit Warrior.”
“And what makes you think you are worthy of such a gift?” he asked.
I thought about my answer for a moment, then said, “I do not believe any warrior can ever truly be worthy of such a magnificent gift, but I believe I have what it takes to carry my Spirit Warrior with honor. We will be equals, and I will use the strengths he shares with me to help my people, and those around me.”
Silence echoed around the cave; not even the heavy breathing remained. I held the small lantern up and searched the room, but whoever owned the voice hid himself well. After a few more moments, the voice spoke.
“Your heart is true, and you help the one we call Little Sister.” A snuffling sound caught my attention, but the walls threw it around the cavern, making it hard to tell where it came from. “I am the strongest of our kind, the one the others look to. I will be your Spirit Warrior. I will give you the strength you need to help Little Sister on her quest. Do you accept me?” he asked.
I dipped my head in honor of his gift. “Yes, I accept. May I ask your name?”
The snuffling sound grew louder, somehow managing to be everywhere and nowhere all at once. I couldn’t tell where it came from, or from whom. A deep rumbling growl vibrated through the space, making the hairs all over my arms stand at attention.
; “You may call me Chola,” he said, then the deafening roar of a grizzly bear filled all my senses as the lantern blew out, pitching me into total darkness.
∞∞∞
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About the Author
K. R. Willis grew up in the South dreaming about unicorns and fairies, and now lives in Oklahoma with her very understanding husband, three dogs, two horses, and tons of books. She’s graduated from dreaming about unicorns to writing about vampires, werewolves, and anything else her mind can dream up. If it goes bump in the night, it’s fair game in her world. When she isn’t writing, she can be found horseback riding, reading, or antiquing with her husband.
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