Wolf Sirens Night Fall: What Rises Must Fall (Wolf Sirens #3)

by Tina Smith

  “He was a guy I barely knew. I adored him. I loved him, even when I knew what he was and not in spite of it.” I admitted. “I wasn’t afraid of them; I wanted to become one of them...when it was revealed that I was the huntress instead, they took him away and told me he was dead.” That was the truth.

  “But he wasn’t dead?” she uttered.

  “No and they were all keeping me in the dark. The wolves had a plan, because to kill me meant more hunters would be born.”

  “But Cresida is your friend, still?” C.J enquired.

  Tisane had told her too much. “She was blackmailed. She knew if she held me back and told me he was gone forever that her little brother would be safe and no one would be hurt, or have to risk their life...”

  “But you wouldn’t be held back.” She looked alive when she said it, like she was in awe. She walked ahead of me.

  “I refused to believe he was dead. I believed I was ready to hunt.” I caught up with her a little as she listened. “They want to keep us quiet and placid, so they can do as they please.”

  “So we hide?”

  “For the time being, yes. I won’t drag you into a fight before you’re ready, before you are at least trained. The more of us they kill the more of us are made,” I said certain of the fact. The other edge of that was if she was killed more hunters would be created.

  “Who makes us?” she enquired watching her step in the undergrowth.

  “The Goddess,” I said as though I truly believed it, but really there just was no other explanation.

  She seemed to contemplate this as her pace slowed. “Where is he now?”

  “With them in the Cult. I will meet him in secret in a couple of days,” I admitted, my face hard. Then I would know if he had willingly left me and for sure if he felt for me, what I felt for him. C.J would be my backup.

  “And they grow stronger – everyday,” she stated, sure.

  “Yes, but I won’t put you in harm’s way,” I said with inflected determination.

  “What happens when they find us?” She said when, not if. I clenched my jaw.

  “Then we are forced to fight,” I said slowly. I feared they had found us, but I wouldn’t break the news just yet.

  She frowned. “Will we attack them?”

  That was the better outcome. “We will know when the time is right.”

  “Have they found us?” Her concerned eyes met mine.

  “Cres will tell me."

  “Do you hate Cres for what she did?” She tried to read the truth in my face. I noticed her eyes were lighter than before.

  “No. I forgive but I don’t forget. I understand her reasons; she lost her parents in an accident. She did what she had to at the time...and she helped me escape – she had risked her brother’s life.” I shook my head. “He was all the family she had left.” There wasn’t a bad bone in her. “She trained me, when she didn’t have to.”

  “What about him, the guy? Do you forgive him?” She pressed her budded lips together and then continued walking toward where the dead wolf lay.

  I paused too long and the words dropped from my mouth. “I remember him and the time we spent together. I understand why we can’t be…together.” I heard myself recite as I had practiced it in my head.

  C.J had stopped abruptly. Over her shoulder, I saw the white human skin of a body lying in the copper leaves, her knife still stuck in her chest. I was both delighted and devastated but I guarded how I felt, how Caroline’s participation made me feel both good and bad, simultaneously. She had now seen the fragile monster for herself. She was reminded that no matter what they did, what I claimed they were capable of; they were just human underneath it all.

  I tucked my hair, behind my ear, stabbed the shovel in the earth and took off my vest. As the breeze blew more clouds and the slow roll of thunder clapped low and loudly with a sudden crack, I dug at the mud, preparing the loose earth. I went over and squatted down to pull the large hunting blade from the body. I looked closely, it had the tint of metallic gold spread though it like improperly mixed paint. I was impressed with how deeply C.J had plunged the blade. I caught her unease. Not at the knife or the body, but at my expression.

  “Nice and deep,” I said, pleased. I stood upright. “She must be from the Cult.” I handed her the bloodied blade. “See the blood.” I kicked my foot towards the limp corpse. The sound of rain began to tap on the leaves above us, cold large drops. The She Wolf’s face was not recognizable to me. She was not the blonde wolf who had been and gone a couple of nights ago in the rain like a ghostly apparition near the graveyard, though she was just as pale. This was a red head. I assessed the implications; this could mean more were coming. I was perplexed. Something strange was going on. Caroline’s finger lingered near the blade.

  “Don’t touch it,” I cautioned.

  “What?” Her scared amber eyes met mine.

  “The blood. It won’t infect you unless you are bitten, but I wouldn’t…I err on the side of caution,” I advised, holding the shovel ready to dig. “They might be closing in on me,” I admitted stiff lipped. I chipped at the soil some more. I looked up at her and she was holding the knife awkwardly. “Just wipe it on a leaf or something, it won’t infect you,” I assured her a little annoyed by her fearful stare.

  She pinched a leaf with her forefinger and thumb, and cautiously ran it over the blood on the blade.

  I looked towards her as the rain came down heavier and the noise of it falling echoed around us. I sighed. “I’ll walk you home tonight.” I handed her the shovel and I took the knife wiping each side of the blade on my jeans.

  “Lila, Thanks.”

  I paused. “For what?”

  “Telling me, saving me. I believe you.” Her face was already different. I glanced at the body, glad she had seen a wolf for herself. I nodded. “Dig,” I urged, sticking the knife in the front of my belt. What was perhaps a game before was now very real. I watched the forest around us with caution. When the hole looked deep enough, I stepped over and grabbed the corpse with both hands firmly by the ankles and dragged it closer to the shallow hole. She looked on with a hesitation that both endeared and concerned me as she dug the out rest of the grave.

  I wiped my brow with my mud splashed wrist. “You seemed to have finished her all by yourself.” My tone was full of pride as my eyes traced the wound. “My bullets wouldn’t have been enough.” I handed her back the knife, I folded the limp body into the gap in the earth and piled the wet dirt and leaves over her.

  We didn’t need to be sitting ducks when they came. This was her first kill, she wouldn’t forget it, and it may even haunt her at night. I knew the truth was the sooner she hardened up, the better. The reality of what we were would hit home, once her shock subsided. First thing would be to get C.J a gun. I needed her to live and be the next huntress.

  “You did well.”

  “Thanks,” she muttered, sounding distant.

  “Next time you might get a scar or two if you’re lucky,” I teased mildly.

  We stared at the grave. I hoped this incident didn’t mean we had been exposed. “More might come.”

  In fact, I was surprised more hadn’t already shown. “If the wolf hadn’t had a temper, both our arses would be grass right about now.” It occurred to me that the She Wolf had the temperament of a newborn. Her attack was not premeditated. She had launched at us with craving. “They’re not normally that insane, unless they are new. She was out of control.” I said contemplatively with a deep sigh.

  “Would they send a new one?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Not alone.” I shook my head. I had to figure it out.

  “Do you think we are safe still?” C.J’s small voice chimed.

  “I don’t know. I think we are.” I pressed my lips together. “It didn’t seem premeditated. We will have to check the missing persons. She seemed newly turned.” I scrutinized the circumstances staring at the grave. I scrapped more leaves over it to hide the freshly turned soil.
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  “But we won’t be for long,” C.J confirmed, meaning safe.

  It looked like they were in our neck of the woods. I patted down the newly dug earth with my foot. “No, we have to stay on guard. I can’t remain hidden forever under their noses.” They knew from my visit over two weeks ago that I was hiding somewhere close. “You’ll have to stop wearing any human fragrance.” I had already warned her about the strawberry scented shampoo. “Get contacts, those glasses are dangerous.”

  “Will we attack?”

  “Yeah, while we still have the element of surprise,” I agreed. I smiled to reassure her but it was a solemn expression.

  “Do we take them all out soon?” she uttered.

  “Soon, every last one.” I turned to go, “Of the Cult.” But first we had plans to make, and who knew if even the best laid plans would save us. “I’ve got to visit Cres first.” We headed back towards Tisane’s.

  “Lila, what would happen if I was bitten?” She followed me through the trees.

  I gave her a questioning glance as we walked along through the wet bush land, beside our last path.

  “I mean, what if you or I were accidentally infected?” I saw her concern.

  “If I was, it would be your job to take me out,” I said to the trees.

  “What about me?”

  I looked at her again, my glance cold.

  “What if I was infected?” she urged.

  “I would expect you to take yourself out.”

  “If I didn’t?”

  “Then it would be my job to do it,” I said reflectively.

  She nodded, slowly, understanding too well that I was serious, but I knew though my words were hard, I couldn’t do it, I wanted her to be able to. C.J had to be different and succeed for the huntress, where I had failed.

  After putting the shovel back in the shed, we took Tisane’s old station wagon. I dropped Caroline off close to her home, and I went to find Cres as the sun began to set over the mountains; contemplating our conversation in the car as I drove.

  She must have known that I was thinking of him as she brushed out her blonde hair.

  “Would you have shot my brother?” I heard her mutter.

  “If he was a wolf, yeah, I would have,” I said frankly.

  “He won’t tell…he’s good like that,” she assured me.

  I nodded vaguely.

  “Hey, listen you don’t take that stuff do you?”

  She frowned not understanding.

  “The, pipe?”

  “Pipe, oh that, no…” She shook her head in a repulsed way and ran her finger back through her hair.

  “Good,” I replied mildly. “We need our wits about us.” I added.

  “Okay.” She nodded and watched the hills passing the window as the time reached curfew. “Lila, I won’t be out for training Saturday night.” I wondered if it was because of what I said about Aaron. I raised my brows.

  “Umm, Willow Archer and I are having a sleep over.”

  I considered this, she was Giny’s little sister. I pulled up my sunglasses but hid my surprise “She’s younger than you, isn’t she?”

  “Not much.” She was being vague and she had waited till I was about to drop her off to tell me.

  “When did you two become friends?” I tried to hide my curiosity.

  “We go to the same school. My mum knows her mums.” She shrugged. I remembered Willow and one of Giny’s mothers from my party.

  “A girl's night, huh?” I took the opportunity to make sure she understood that we had to be careful of who we spoke to. We were silent for a moment as I drove into Tarah.“You haven’t told anyone about us, have you?” I asked, my eyes on the road. “It’s bad enough your brother has seen me.”

  She snapped to attention. “What? No. I told you, he’s cool.”

  “Good.” I nodded and watched the scenery ahead. “To be hunter you have to be independent, there is no other option. We can’t be too careful.”

  She let it sit a moment. “Should I ignore all my friends now, too?” She said brusquely. I could see the frustration as her cheeks coloured.

  “Yes.” I answered doing my best to sound matter-of-fact. But my jaw tightened.

  “So you have to dislike humans in general then, as well as wolves?” she said unhappily. I guess she wasn’t as ready yet as I had thought. I had a feeling it would be the last time she would get to be a kid, so I let it slide. Soon her level of dedication wouldn’t be up for negotiation. I worried C.J had bitten off more than she could chew. But it wasn’t me who had cursed her. I pulled over. She got out without speaking.

  “C.J?” I called.

  She stopped.

  “Don’t forget.” She bent to look at me questioning, “Training Sunday.” You are the next huntress. She didn’t answer as she closed the car door.

  I took the fork in the road driving into Shade and found my dear friend reading in her bed. She didn’t look at all surprised to see me. I put the charm back in my pocket, seeing she was in. She spoke without removing her eyes from the page of the book she studied.

  “How’s your protégé?”

  I wondered if I should regret telling her about C.J. “Fine, only, we were attacked by a lone wolf.” I frowned. We had to get her a gun.

  Cres sat up and folded the page of her book. “What?” she said sharply. She looked surprised enough.

  I smiled momentarily at her concern. “She stabbed it through the heart; I put a couple bullets through it. The thunder should have covered the noise.” There was a smile in the corner of my mouth.

  “Are you sure it was a loner?” she enquired as her brow furrowed.

  I shook my head. “No, we’re not sure. That’s why I’m here.” I could hear her Aunt snoring down the hall. Cresida’s door was still held open with the doorstop. I went over and slid it further closed. We hadn’t been attacked yet, so something was up.

  “What did she look like? Who was it?” Cres asked alert, her eyes anticipating. It seemed that maybe it wasn’t to do with her then, which put me more at ease.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t have my camera phone on me,” I said sarcastically. “It wasn’t anyone I recognized from the Cult line-up.” In truth I was amazed they hadn’t ambushed me yet.

  “Have you checked the online missing persons register?” Her book was evidently forgotten.

  “I haven’t had time. We buried it, I got Caro – I mean C.J, home and I came straight here.” I rubbed my face.

  Cres wrinkled her brow “What’s Ceejay?”

  I resisted laughter. “Yeah,” I breathed. “Don’t ask. It’s a nickname she likes.” I aired my misgivings uneasily. “I saw the News, Cres.” My face met hers, “Was it you, did you infect him?” I asked with heaviness.

  There was a momentary silence. “You mean Lovett?” she replied with a stoic expression. I got the impression she knew I would find her out as though she had waited for me to confront her.

  “You turned him, didn’t you?” What was to stop me thinking she hadn’t turned others? “Tell me the truth.”

  She was quiet. “Reid did it. We needed to distract you.” Her lips were rigid.

  Maybe I had hoped it wasn’t her fault. I frowned incredulous. “So you infected a human on purpose?”

  “He was a bastard.” She solemnly shook her head. “He would have gone to court and been let off…” she said with a distant resonance to her tone, the colour drained from her cheeks.

  “So you turned him?” I accused.

  “We got rid of some scum.” She admitted it with a blank stare of guilt. “You were getting bored, Reid infected him, my venom didn’t seem to do it.” I turned away momentarily in disgust. She pulled off her sheets and sat up. “He injected him with a hypodermic needle and made sure he kept out of trouble when he turned. The guy was bad.” I shot her a hostile glance. She looked up at me. “Yes we turned him, no I’m not proud of it,” She admitted dolefully with a shake of her head.

  “Did you turn
this one?” I scowled referring to the red-headed rogue. “To entertain me?” I was growing infuriated, but my voice was cold.

  “No. Lila, no. He was the only one.” She was firm. Either Cres is a good actor she was telling the truth. I glared at her.

  “No more secrets, Cres,” I said frustrated. “Don’t you think I have a right to know who I kill or why? Did you think I’d never find out?”

  She looked pained as her stubby fingered hands rested helplessly on her white night dress. Her Aunts snores snuffled loudly.

  I turned my attention back to more important matters, my voice lowered. “Cres, I need to know, right now are we safe?” My eyes asked her with more desperation than my words could express. I asked what I knew I had to. “Can I trust you?”

  “Yes,” she pouted defiantly. “You can.” With a troubled expression that indicated she was pondering the implications, she added, “And I don’t know.” Her eyes filled with grave honesty. I stared into her face. I was at her mercy. But I knew her.

  Finally I remembered that I understood her…I believed her. Maybe I had no choice. “Then we have to attack soon, before they find me, or find out about C.J. You need to get Reid and Jackson, even Giny. Don’t mention C.J,” I warned. She was a secret. I wanted to keep it that way. I neared the window and looked out into the dark. I had no option but to trust her. It pained me. I hoped I wasn’t on a sinking ship.

  “Where should we meet?” she asked as I readied to leave.

  I looked out at the night sky before me. The breeze brushed my face. I was pensive, until I realized we had somewhere.

  “Lily’s house,” I suggested with confidence. “I’ll be back in a few days.” I threw my legs out the window and jumped.

  15. Jackson the Lone Wolf

  Jackson was the target of Narine’s next attempt at inserting a more reliable spy into this rouge territory, since Reid was unreceptive to her gift. Jackson had wisely lain low since Sam’s attack on Lila, since his friend Sky had been brutally wounded and taken away to die. His own impending destiny became all the more real.