We pulled into the parking lot of a big-box, buy-in-bulk store. Kaylah pulled into a spot and cut the engine. As we entered, I had a hard time focusing on any one thing. The store smelled of packing material and boxes and wooden pallets. And then there were the people. I hadn’t realized how much people and werewolves smelled different. People smelled like soap and deodorant, sweat and shaving cream. Kaylah’s sweet, flowery smell had an underpinning of something wild. I suppose that’s the best way to put it. But I hadn’t been able to tell that there was even a difference until I passed a person who lacked that wild scent. People just smelled bland by comparison. It was no wonder we were always preening with deodorant and body sprays.
They. It was no wonder they were always preening. I’m not human anymore. I sighed.
“Knock it off,” Kaylah said, lightly tapping my bicep with the back of her hand. “Y’look like a serial killer, sniffin’ everyone like ‘at.”
I looked at her. She had three bulk packs of undershirts in her hand, all of them black. She tossed them into her cart and turned to the folded stacks of grey sweatpants. Grabbing some in a few different sizes, she dropped them in the cart as well.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Who the heck is all that for?”
“Them boys are all hard on their clothes,” she answered. “They go through this stuff like crazy. You’re lucky most of ‘em are even wearing shirts. Plus they keep scatterin’ it all to the four winds, stashin’ ‘em all over town, so we always seem to need more.”
I guess it made sense. If the guys were always playing that game from the other night, I could see how it happened.
She turned down the detergent aisle and I had to cover my mouth and nose with my hand. The scent of all of the cleaning agents and fabric softeners was so strong and so sharp that I could taste it in the back of my throat. It made my eyes water.
Kaylah hurried through the aisle, picking up unscented detergent and dryer sheets and adding them to the cart. We rushed to the end of the aisle and around the corner, where the air cleared and I could move my hand away from my face.
She hadn’t covered her face.
“How did you manage that?” I wiped at my eyes in turn, trying to clear them.
She rolled a shoulder. “Ya jus’ breathe lightly. Or hold yer breath. I prolly shoulda said som’n afore we went down th’ aisle.”
Another few steps and the air just smelled like boxes and packing material again. I sucked in a lungful of cleaner air. “That’ll take some getting used to.”
She nodded and then whipped her head around, turning to look behind us.
A pair of college-aged girls were hanging out by the aisle with the shirts and sweatpants. They were the only people in sight who didn’t have a cart. Except for a guy over by the batteries. How odd.
“I smell sheep,” she said under her breath. “You smell it?”
I sucked in another lungful of air, trying to pick through it. Something made my skin crawl, but I couldn’t place it. “What do sheep smell like?” I matched her quiet tone.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Like vamps, but not as strong. Rot and dead things.”
I breathed deep again. There it was. I nodded. “I smell it now.”
She nodded gently once, turning back to the cart before she started walking again. “I think it’s them college girls. Some vamp’s keepin’ tabs on us.”
“I think the guy by the batteries is with them,” I said, matching pace with her. “Sheppard said there was a vamp watching my apartment. Maybe they’re with him?”
“Prolly. Let’s see how far they follow. Sheep ain’t a threat. They’re jus’ people.”
“But they serve vamps,” I whispered.
“Well sure, but they’re humans—jus’ like th’ rest a th’ people in this fine establishment.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “They’re just addicted to bein’ fed on is all. They’re like druggies. You get ‘em help, not kill ‘em for their mistakes.”
“So what do we do?”
“Nuthin’. Let ‘em follow a borin’ ole supply run. Ain’t worth it t’ call attention t’ anythin’ unless they make a move.”
I kept looking over my shoulder as we turned into the aisle with the paper goods.
“Quit’cher rubberneckin’,” she said. “They ain’t gonna leave jus’ ‘cause we know they’re there. Besides, y’c’n hear them followin’ if y’jus’ stop thinkin’ so hard ‘bout it.”
Really? How had I missed that? But I tried to do what she said as she grabbed some paper towels and napkins..
She was right. I could pick out the three sets of steps that only moved when we did.
Then there were only two.
Kaylah stopped the cart. The guy had placed himself in our way. No one was in front of us. I turned to look behind us. The aisle was empty.
Well shit. Looks like they were making a move.
“Things will go much smoother for the pack if the girl comes with us.” The man said in a quiet voice that seethed with menace.
My heart pounded.
“Not a chance, hun,” Kaylah replied. “Sheep don’t get a say ‘n what pack does.”
One of the college girls came around the corner from behind us, all legs and sultry walk. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” Her voice was low and almost sing-song in its taunt.
The other girl came around the front of the aisle and draped an arm on the guy’s shoulder.
“Don’t say we didn’t give you a chance to make it easy.” She met my eyes and gave me a wicked smile.
I took a step toward her as a low growl began to rumble in my throat.
Kaylah’s hand hit my chest as she turned to face me. “Not here. Too public.”
“Oh come on, little girlie,” the guy said. “Let’s play.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“S’what they want,” she whispered. “Sheep wanna make a display. If th’ wolves out themselves, then th’ vamps can take th’ fight to broad daylight.”
“Vamps can’t go out in the daylight,” I said, not taking my eyes off the two in front of us.
She looked over my shoulder. “No, but th’ sheep can. N’when they get th’ humans involved, everything goes nuclear.”
“She doesn’t have it in her to play,” said the girl Kaylah watched behind us.
Kaylah smiled. “Oh, she plays jus’ fine, don’tchu worry yer pretty little head none. She jus’ won’t be playin’ wit’ you lot.”
“Make a move.” The words were out of my mouth before I knew that I had even said them. They came out as more of a growl than actual words, but I’m certain the two in front of me understood them.
The girl lifted her chin at me, but hooked her arm in through the guy’s.
“Ya know ya don’t stand a chance agains’ e’en one’a us,” Kaylah said. “Best run off t’ yer master now. Yer overdue fer y’fix by now, ain’t ya?”
The girl in front slapped her free hand to her neck, covering the tiny pinprick scars. I balled a fist tightly at my side, knuckles cracking as I resisted the urge to touch my own.
“I don’t wanna fight them,” the girl whispered into the guy’s ear. “He didn’t say anything about fighting them.”
The guy brought his hand up, batting her away from his ear. “If she doesn’t come with us,” he said. “Then things are about to get ugly for the pack. Starting tonight.”
The full moon.
Kaylah smiled and turned her back on the sultry girl behind us. “He ain’t gonna hurt us tonight,” she said. “Now run along home now. Shoo.” She matched the words to the shooing motion of her hands.
I kept my eyes on the guy as the sultry girl’s footsteps brought her in a wide circle around us so she could join her companions. There was a sharpness to their scent, something underpinning the subtle rot and death that Kaylah had pointed out. My eyes flicked to hers, which were wide, though her demeanor suggested she was ready to fight. But something was off.
They were afra
id.
I smiled at them as they turned to leave.
We finished grabbing what we needed from the big-box store and checked out. We loaded everything into the truck bed and began the drive back to pack central.
“What was that about?”
Kaylah shook her head. “I dunno. Sheep ain’t usually that aggressive.” She thought a moment. “But they ain’t gonna do anythin’ to hurt us tonight. S’th’ full moon! Your first run!”
I bit my lip. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this run. But then eagerness filled me. My skin itched, and I rubbed at my shoulder to keep myself from fidgeting like I was covered in ants.
I took a breath. “What is the deal with all of this ‘get used to skin’ business? How do you get used to just getting naked in front of strangers?”
Kaylah gave me a knowing look. “We ain’t strangers, we’re pack. Ain’t a one a ‘em that gives a rip about whatcha look like under the clothes—‘cept maybe Jonathan, a course.”
Heat rose in my cheeks and I looked away.
“Look,” she said. “When changin’, ya gotta get out a yer people clothes, or you’ll tear ‘em all t’ shreds. Maybe even hurt yerself.” She laughed. “This one girl n’my old pack fergot t’ take‘er bra off when she’s changin’ n’she got her paw stuck on th’ strap.” Her laughter overtook her. “Poor girl looked so silly hoppin’ around on three legs tryin’ t’ get r’self outta th’ bra.”
I laughed too then. “Did you help her?”
“Well sure! Once she stopped hoppin’ aroun’ n’let us, one a us who still had thumbs unhooked it fer her. She darted off int’ th’ woods in embarrassment,” her laughter died off. “But she ne’er did it again.” Kaylah thought for a moment. “Actually, m’pretty sure th’ poor girl stopped wearin’ bras altogether. S’why th’ pack likes quick change clothes so much. N’why they keep squirrelin’ it away all over God’s creation.”
“So since you have to get naked for a run, no one even bothers worrying about being naked otherwise?” That seemed hard to believe.
“It’s not like we go runnin’ around th’ house nekkid all a time. Jus’ the boys don’ like wearin’ shirts, ‘n all a us like stuff that’s easy t’ get on an’ off.” She looked over at me. “Ain’t you noticed we all run a li’l hot?”
Now that she mentioned it, it was warm, though the heat wasn’t on in the truck. I hadn’t even grabbed a coat for our shopping trip, but half the town was in layers, and it was cold enough outside that you could see your breath. I should have been colder in just a long sleeve shirt and jeans. Guess I didn’t need my winter coats anymore.
ELEVEN
BACK AT THE HOUSE, Chastity helped us unload the truck, both showing me where to put away the supplies. We told Sheppard about the sheep at the store, and though he was concerned, there wasn’t really anything to be done about it.
My head buzzed with more questions I couldn’t quite put words to, and before I was fully aware of it, the sun dipped below the horizon and cars were being packed for the drive to the preserve. I rode with Sheppard in his big black truck. Ian and Jamie rode with Jonathan in his Jeep. Bringing up the rear was Matt’s ’69 Camaro, packed with what seemed like entirely too many people for a rumbling muscle car: Matt, Chastity, Daniel, and Kaylah.
Once we got to the reserve, we drove out past the campsites and parked in some brush near an old park ranger shack. There was still enough light from the dusk to see by, and the air was crisp and cool. When we got out of the cars, Sheppard took sure steps that led us along a path that—to me—was indistinguishable from the rest of the spaces between the trees. As it got darker, the light of the full moon shone bright through the trees and I felt a pull in my gut.
My wolf. She was anxious to come out and play.
The less I could see, the more I found I could sense the things around me. I followed the pack along the path more by scent and sound than by sight.
The trees thinned, and we stepped into a clearing. The moon hung just above the treetops, and I couldn't keep myself from staring at it. My gut clawed at me.
No. My wolf clawed at me, itching to break free and run wild. My skin felt too tight, my clothes too restrictive.
"Hun,” Kaylah’s soft voice murmured near my ear. “Now'd be a good time to keep yourself from ruinin' the clothes you came in." Her flowery scent filled my nostrils as she put a hand on my shoulder. Her face was turned skyward.
Blinking my gaze away from the moon’s spot, I looked around, rolling my shoulder as Kaylah released it. Most of the pack was shirtless, including Kaylah and Chastity, and a couple of the guys were already out of their pants too.
No one was staring at anything but the moon.
I kept flicking my eyes back to the moon, but I couldn’t stop looking back at the others.
They all had scars—viciously nasty ones that should have easily killed any of them when they were human. Instead, something about the attacks had changed all of these people into being more than they were before. None of them were human any longer.
I was surrounded by werewolves, and I was as much a part of their pack as they were mine.
Another pull at my gut and my skin felt it had shrunk a full size too small for the rest of my body.
Sheppard watched the pack. He met my eyes and nodded, looking pointedly at my shirt and pants. The ones I kept pulling at to try to make comfortable. Everything itched and pulled, even my joints ached. I knew the clothes were holding me back, but the moon was so bright. With a fierce growl that felt distinctly less than human, I peeled off my clothing, dropping it in a pile at my feet. It was all the invitation my wolf needed.
An indescribable amount of sharp, breaking pain slammed into the whole of my body. It felt like each of my muscles cramped all at once, and did it hard enough to break the bones underneath. I yelped and hit the ground. I forgot how breathing worked, and my lungs burned for air. I think my heart was still beating, but with the pain in my chest, I couldn’t be sure. Red spots danced at the edges of my vision. I wanted to just black out, to let the agony take me.
Arms covered in faint scars wrapped around my aching chest. Warm skin pressed against my back. I fought against it at first, but stopped when the arms loosened enough to simply hold my body against theirs. My skin was on fire, but—somehow—the added warmth soothed me. The heartbeat against my back grounded me from the rising panic that maybe I’d get stuck in some painfully misshapen half form.
A calm, quiet voice in my ear echoed in my head. “Just let go, Dreamer."
Jonathan. His scent was still as woodsy as ever, but more electric than I had smelled thus far.
Through squinted eyes, I could see the contortions of my packmates becoming wolf. Their shapes transforming from human to canine. My gut twisted again, tearing a guttural yell from me.
“Let her free,” Jonathan whispered, “like your dream.”
With a growl that transformed into a howl, she and I became one.
I was a wolf.
Every cell in my body froze and my heart stopped for a breath of a second.
Sneezing dust from my elongated snout, which now ended in a light brown nose surrounded by white whiskers, I looked at the ground beneath my...paws. They were creamy white, like an arctic wolf. I looked between my legs at my creamy white belly and saw a pale golden-brown patch of fur waving lazily behind me. My tail. With an effort, I waggled it. My breath came out in little clouds, but I didn’t even feel the chill. Then, like a puppy who must go everywhere all at once, I bounced into the air and darted off through the forest, the pack trailing behind me.
An iconic timber grey and brown wolf caught up to me, his scent warm. Sheppard. He nudged my heels to direct me and then lead the way for our run.
Looking around as we ran, I was surprised to find I could pick out the others too. Matt’s spicy musk belonged to a timber wolf in darker shades of black and brown. The one that jumped off the rocky outcropping beside us. Chastity ran alongside him, her rust-colored wolf
keeping easy pace with her mate.
As we changed direction to run along a ridge, I caught wind of the flowery sweet Kaylah and the cinnamon-and-clean-laundry Daniel. The former was a grey wolf with a white belly, while the latter was a black wolf. Ian’s orange chocolate scent trailed behind them, his coloring more like a coyote than a wolf.
Another black wolf rushed past me, the scent of motor oil indicting it was Jamie. Chasing him was a familiar wolf, whose coloring was almost raccoon-like. Jonathan. I remembered the day I had first seen Jonathan’s wolf—the day I first woke up in Sheppard’s home—and my tongue lolled out of my mouth in a wolfish grin as I sped up to chase after them.
Jamie had found a rabbit, and we couldn’t help but give chase to the little patch of brown fur racing along the cool earth and decaying leaves. The crisp night air was filled with the scent of tree sap and the occasional wild herb. Moonlight sparkled between the branches of the trees, lighting little patches of ground here and there. Things brushed past my face and I twitched my nose at the new sensation that whiskers introduced. I flicked my ears around at the sounds of the reserve that felt more amplified now that I had the proper ears to hear them.
The best part was the sound of my pack’s huffing and footfalls around me as we ran, their breath coming out in tiny puffs of exertion as we followed the natural trails. I found that if I concentrated, I could feel something pulling us together. It was strongest when I was closest to Sheppard. Instinct told me it was because he was our alpha, but it ran through all of us in the pack—tying us together in a way that no human bonds could match.
A Place to Run (Trials of the Blood Book 1) Page 10
