by Strider, Jez
“Nothing has been suspicious?”
“The high pack scoured everywhere trying to find his scent. No trace whatsoever. Commoners came out to help, too. Nada.” His hand shook as he slung back his shot.
This caused Kaden’s worry to deepen. Levi and the rest of his men could track anything or anyone. It didn’t make sense for the boy’s trail to be gone completely. “There’s no way he could manage to disappear without a trace with no help.”
“If things keep going at this rate, there will no longer be a pack.”
Kade swirled his whiskey in his glass. Jack Daniels was an old friend. He drank the alcohol and then handed Levi the glass for a refill. “Our elders have all died out but Old Finn. A child hasn’t been born in years. Now a wolf nearing his first shift has disappeared without a trace.”
Levi lowered his eyes and frowned. “Who do you think is behind this?”
“I don’t know.” He swiped the refilled glass from Levi before kicking it back. “But, I intend to find out.”
Mara picked up the money Kaden had left and glanced around the apartment. Was it that easy to go home? She certainly wouldn’t miss the apartment. She’d done her best to make it feel like home, but she was a wolf, not a magician. Or better yet, a demolitions expert.
After hiding the money under a loose piece of floor tile and placing the trash can over it, she headed toward Jak’s room. Lightly, she gave the door a few knocks. He opened, smiling like she’d never seen before.
“Come in.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her over to his cheap laptop. It had been his Christmas gift. An image search of wolves was on the screen. Jak mooched wi-fi off one of the neighbors. Mara didn’t like it, but she didn’t make him stop. Internet access was a must for the modern kid.
“Wolves?” She asked.
“Yeah, I was wondering if I’m going to look like Dad.” He pointed at the screen. “This one here is black with green eyes kind of like you and me.”
Marala had never heard him so excited about anything before. Apparently the fear had worn off. She smiled tightly. “It’s going to be hard for you when the time comes. I’ve thought about it since you were born. We’ll have to go far away from the city. Maybe get a cage to keep you safe during it.” She sat on the edge of his twin bed.
“Mom. I want to go live with Dad and the others. I don’t belong in this city. We don’t belong.”
She’d known he would want that. The moment Kaden had walked back into their lives, she’d known. “It is not all fun and games. They fight for rank and to prove themselves. Everything is a testosterone slugfest of dominance and supremacy.”
“Tell me the good things you remember. What was it like before you ran away?” His eyes pleaded and she couldn’t argue.
“In the spring, it smells like honeysuckle. At night, there are lightning bugs everywhere.” She closed her eyes, picturing the days of her youth. “There’s always a ritual during the full moon, even if no one is shifting for the first time.” Mara inhaled deeply, as if she could remember the scents of the forests. Then, she opened her eyes. “It’s the most beautiful place in the world in fall. Leaves are red, orange, yellow… such amazing colors. And there’s just peace.” Her face grew serious. “But, the noise of this city drowns out all the bad things, Jak. I can’t handle the quiet.”
“He loves you, and whatever he did, I know he regrets it.”
Mara wiped at the corner of her eyes. “You spend one day with him and you think you know him?”
Jak frowned. “I know you and you’re better than this grudge you’re holding. What’s it going to hurt to give it a try? You can’t work like this for the rest of your life.”
“I am so very tired, Jak.” She sighed, giving in a little.
“I know, Mom. Let him take care of us for a while. I’m sure you still have friends there.”
“My world revolved around Kaden even before your grandparents’ were shot. There are people I know, though. Used to know.”
He patted the top of Mara’s hand gently. “I’ll take care of you. We’ll be alright together.”
She smiled, tucking Jak’s dark hair behind his ear. “You’re not a kid anymore, are you?”
“Not by a longshot.”
“Get only the most important stuff you want to take. You can use trash bags for your clothing and I’ll get a few boxes. Tomorrow, I’ll rent the car and we’ll go.” She said. They were really going home. This had to be a mistake, but Jak deserved to be with his kind.
“Yes!” He even did the motion to go along with it, making a fist and tucking his elbow back. “Thank you, Mom.”
“You’re welcome. Maybe you’re right and it’s time for a change.” She left him alone and headed to her bedroom after getting a trash bag of her own from the kitchen. It was a poor woman’s luggage, but it worked. One by one, she tugged articles of clothing off the hanger, folded them, and then tossed the items into the large drawstring bag.
In the very back of the closet, underneath an old blanket, she found a shoe box. It hadn’t been opened since she had left home. She’d hidden everything that reminded her of Kaden inside. After bringing it to her bed, she sat down and flipped open the lid.
On top was a picture of her with Kaden. He was grinning and had his arm around her shoulders. They were young, maybe fifteen. She ran her finger over the photo and smiled softly. Underneath, there was a leather necklace with a metal pendant in the shape of a wolf’s paw at the end. Only, it wasn’t really a pendant at all. It was the piece of metal that had been heated in a fire and placed on the back of her shoulder to brand her Kaden Dakota’s mate. It was a rare honor to be performed before the shift, but the coinciding of her birth with the future pack leader’s had led to the marking.
Before she’d realized what she’d done, she slipped the leather cord over her neck. Mara moved to the mirror and stared at herself. The branding pendant hung low, nearly to her cleavage. Why did it feel so right when everything had gone so wrong? Why did no one prophesize the heartbreak and mistakes? She shook her head back and forth. Her hand went up and she held the wolf’s paw in her palm tightly. Angry, she wanted to tug and rip the necklace from her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Instead, she hid it inside her shirt and felt a strange comfort when the metal touched her skin once again.
This was going to be very complicated.
Both mother and son were up at the crack of dawn, one anxious and the other excited. It was strange for Mara to be up and not getting ready for work. But that was over now. For her son, she had given up her independence. The moment she had said she would go home it was gone. Or was it when Kaden had walked back into their lives? No. Since the night she was born, she had never truly been free. It had only been a matter of time before the wolf called her home.
A knock on her door brought her back from the precipice of fear. He kept her going. Jak. She drew in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds then exhaled. When she opened the door, Jak grinned from ear to ear.
“Ready?” He asked.
“I think so. The rental car should be delivered soon. Last chance to change your mind.” She said.
“Not in a million years.”
Mara nodded in the direction of her bags of clothing. “Help me carry this to the kitchen.” She grabbed one. Jak picked two up, but promptly dropped them. A photo on the nightstand had caught his attention. He studied it closely without speaking at first. It was the one of Mara and Kaden when they were young.
“You both look happy.” He said.
Her heart ached a little. Her emotions were raw from all the old, unearthed memories. “Life gets complicated quickly when you do stupid things.” Whoa. That came out more bitter than she’d intended.
He unzipped the front pocket of his backpack and slipped the picture inside. “I’m keeping it. I want to meet those people again someday. My parents before they let bitterness and anger take over.”
She gave a short laugh. “You don’t act like a teenager. I want y
ou to know that.”
“One of my teachers said I have an old soul.” He shrugged and picked up the bags again, carrying them into the kitchen.
Mara followed. “Maybe she’s right.”
There were a couple of raps at the front door and Jak answered while Marala pulled a few hundreds out of her purse. She showed the man her driver’s license. He traded the rental car keys for the cash. She turned around and looked at Jak. “Ready?”
“Yes! I’m driving.” He gathered up everything he could carry, leaving Mara only with one small box and a trash bag.
“No way.” She smiled and stole one last glance around her apartment. It was difficult to decide if she would miss the place or not.
“Dad said my driving was good.” He argued, heading out the door, not even giving the place a last look.
Dad? That was quick. She thought, but understood. Everyone admired Kaden Dakota. Not her. No. She would find a way to keep herself in check in his presence. No more animal attraction weakness. This move was for Jak and nothing else.
Per usual, Taylor entered the diner with a smile, expecting to see his favorite waitress. Especially since he knew her absence the day before had not been because of illness. He was a little later arriving than usual. An early morning family photo shoot had taken longer than expected when the baby wailed for an hour straight. After that, he was thankful he didn’t have any children.
“What can I get you?” The waitress asked, the same one for a second day in a row. More importantly, not his favorite. He wondered if Mara was avoiding him.
“No offense. You’re a very lovely woman, but could Marala wait on my table please?” He gave the waitress his dashing smile and leaned back a little in a relaxed posture.
“It’s against policy to disclose information about employees, but I don’t think Mara is coming back. That’s all I can say. What can I get you?” She smiled back at him.
Taylor slid out of the booth, running out of the restaurant. He had the sensation of déjà vu and wondered if he was reliving yesterday. This time, the first cab he lifted his hand toward stopped.
He didn’t know why he cared so much what Mara did, with whom, or where. She was odd and he didn’t know hardly anything about her. But, he wanted to. And with all the weird talk he’d heard the day before, he was none too convinced of her ex’s sanity. Or hers, for that matter.
Jumping out of the taxi before it had completely come to a stop, he ran into the apartment building and up the stairs. Loudly, he banged on the door of apartment 406. When no one answered, he did a quick check of his surroundings and kicked the door in. No one came to check on the noise. Sounds of arguing, fighting, and destruction were common place in the building.
The apartment looked mostly as it had the night he’d made dinner. He walked into the living room, noting photos were missing. This caused him to rush to Mara’s bedroom. He’d never been in it, so he couldn’t say what exactly was gone or not. The closet. Taylor grabbed the tarnished knob and pulled the door open. It was empty except for the hangers and a couple of old shirts and a pair of jeans.
She hadn’t owed him a goodbye or explanation. He knew that. Then again, he didn’t owe her the courtesy of missing her either. There were plenty of women in the city with pie just as sweet.
Furious, he left the apartment and had a taxi drop him off at a massage parlor he frequented. The woman led him back to a private room. Getting a happy ending from the masseuse would help dull the regret of missing out on a relationship with Marala Dakota.
The high pack gathered around the large table in the meeting hall. The term meeting hall was used liberally, considering it was actually the poker table in the cabin that doubled as a man cave. There were four men other than Kaden. These elite wolves had earned the right to be leaders and protectors through ruthless combat with each other.
Levi Boone was the most troubled of them all because the weight of responsibility rested heavily on his shoulders. He had been in charge when the teen disappeared. His rank in the pack was no longer secure and all the other lycan knew it. Even though a close knit group, wolves always wanted to be at the top of the chain of command.
The biggest threat in the group sat to Levi’s left. Nashoba descended from a long line of Choctaw Indians that lived in the Mississippi River Valley. As the oldest member of the high pack and the only pureblooded Native American in the group, it was no secret that he thought he should be the pack leader. Nash made women swoon with his perfect dark complexion, strength, and waist length black hair braided on each side. His disinterest in them only made the females want him that much more. He had one rule. He would not dilute the wolf bloodline of his forefathers by mating with a woman that wasn’t a pureblood like him.
Blake and Luke Hanson rounded out the rest of the group. The brothers, nearly two decades apart in age, could have passed for twins if not for their hair color. The youngest, Blake, wore his blonde hair short and nearly to the scalp so it didn’t curl. Luke kept a similar style, only his hair was a deep brown. When they shifted, they were like night and day standing beside each other. Blake had tannish, bushy fur where Luke was sleek and dark. Neither had caused trouble during Kaden’s time as leader, but you never could tell when a wolf would snap.
“So, we all know why we’re here.” Kaden said, not sitting down, but walking around the table slowly to make his presence known. Today, the hall was all business, no fun and games. “Does anyone have anything to share?”
The brothers shook their heads, Nash remained silent, and poor Levi looked like he would vomit.
Kaden slammed his fists down on the table. “The pack is dying. A boy is missing. Not one wolf here can find him. I can’t pick up his scent. So what do we do?”
Nash snarled faintly.
“Something to say, Nashoba?”
“You are the leader. We are falling apart because you fail to pay homage to the spirits. What kind of pack leader spends nearly twenty years without a mate? What kind of wolf cannot satisfy the mate he was handed by the Moon herself!”
A cold, quiet fell over the room. No one talked to Kaden that way. The truth in the statements only pissed him off that much further. The other wolves lowered their eyes, not wanting to challenge their leader or Nashoba.
“I will whip your pureblood ass back into submission soon enough.” Kaden enunciated each word through clenched teeth. “Now.” He pressed one finger down on the table. “Our priority is finding Mason.”
Kaden kept his eyes locked in a stare with Nash, who finally dropped his gaze with a half shrug and said, “So let’s interrogate everyone. For all we know the kid skipped out because he was scared of the shift. There’s no room for weakness.”
Levi sighed. “I talked to him. He was not afraid. Nervous.”
“Nashoba, I want you to talk to all the wolves. No violence. Levi, see what you can find out from the boy’s human friends. Maybe have Elle help you out with the school. Blake and Luke, go up into the mountains and see what Old Finn has to say. Good?”
Nashoba had a sadistic grin on his face. “And what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to find the traveling medicine man.”
“Alone?” Levi asked.
“Yeah. I can handle it. He’ll never reveal himself if more of us show up.” Kaden sighed, remembering his last visit to the infuriating and unnerving man. “Dismissed. Levi, hang back a sec.”
The wolves left to attend to their assigned tasks. When they were out of ear shot, Kaden spoke. “Call Marala and tell her to stay where she’s at. I doubt she’s coming, but I don’t want her and Jak here when I don’t have things under control.”
“Sure.” He hesitated. “So, you and her… things didn’t go so well?”
“I’m not discussing it.” Kaden gave Levi a look that ended the conversation and the beta left the cabin.
Kaden thought of Jak and how he’d lose his mind if it were his son out there, lost or dead. The walls he’d built up with anger were falling do
wn around him and it wasn’t a good time for it. At least his family would be safer for the time being where they were.
“Careful, Mom! You’re going to drive off the side of this mountain!” Jak panicked every time he looked out the passenger window. That drop was a long way down and his mother was not the best driver in the world.
“Calm down. You’re not helping.” The GPS had led most of the way, but now they were off the grid in the mountains. Secret lycan communities didn’t have addresses. She knew where she was going. Sort of. But the nearby cities and surrounding forests had changed a lot since she’d runaway. The darkness didn’t help. The drive had taken longer than she’d expected, too. Jak had wanted to eat what seemed like every five minutes. She dreaded the day he changed. He’d never stop eating.
“Stop!” He called out and she slammed on the brakes. The front wheel stopped just short of the overlook plummet.
“That was too close.” She put the car in reverse and backed up a little before parking. “The entrance should be around here somewhere. We should have stayed in a hotel until morning.”
Jak hopped out of the car and stood frozen as he took in his surroundings. He heard crickets and owls, the scurrying of animals in the woods. “We should have. We’re going to get murdered out here. Someone is going to chase us and when we look back we’ll fall. The killer will catch us even though he’s walking and slash us up.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s safer here than in the city.” Mara found the makeshift roadblock and tried to pull the heavy log out of the way. “Did they really need a log this big? No one even knows this overlook is up here anymore.”
Jak ran over and pushed while she pulled. He was too skinny and lacking of muscle to do much. It wasn’t budging. He stopped shoving and panted from the exertion. “What do we do now?”
“We would have to walk. Let’s wait in the car until morning. Someone will probably leave by then and move the barricade.” She dusted her hands off on her jeans and headed back to the car.
