Diamond Butterfly (EJ Hunter pack Book 3)

by Cyn Bagley

  Eventually we were off the dirt road and onto the pavement, I felt the exhaustion settle in and I fell asleep to the purr of the engine.

  The drive took hours.

  The snow melt mixed with ice was treacherous. Jake drove on long lonely highways that went through desert, then mountain ranges. I kept looking at my phone to see if I could get a signal, but the signal would go up and down so quickly that the phone could not lock onto it. We were in the backwoods, driving on the spine of the Sierra Nevada. Hours later we reached a two-lane highway. The truck picked up speed as we went down, down, down through switchbacks and straight stretches. I held onto the back of the seat, my knuckles white.

  “Too fast for you?” asked Jake. There was a laugh in his voice.

  I refused to speak. He just liked to needle me. Even Dave was bracing himself. He had been very quiet during the trip.

  The highway had been plowed and salted. The sides of the road were steep. Once I closed my eyes for a moment so that I wouldn’t feel like I was falling. Eventually we reached the traffic light at the bottom of the mountain. We turned left onto a highway with no hills. I breathed a sigh of relief. To my right there were pastures filled with cows. To my left the same. Instead of snow, I saw mud. At least the four-lane highway was dry.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Nevada,” Jake said. Dave was too busy watching the lights and cars to answer. I saw one truck cross lanes in the middle of the intersection. I was still feeling the effects of the adrenaline so I began to breathe deeply. My pulse calmed and the cars and trucks didn’t look like they were playing tag. We drove through a small town and a couple more traffic lights before turning right.

  Houses, trailers, and businesses lined the roads. The highway was smooth and long. My son was fast asleep. I would have liked to get out and stretch my legs, maybe use a bathroom, but Dave kept driving.

  “How far?” I asked.

  “An hour or two,” Dave said.

  I wouldn’t last an hour or two. “Can we stop for gas or something?”

  Dave looked surprised and I could see the amusement on Jake’s face. “We have dual tanks so we can make the long haul.”

  I groaned. “I think the lady is telling us that she needs to pee.” Jake laughed a little. “I don’t know a woman who can go the entire distance without needing to pee.”

  I glared at him. He was so right. “We need to find something now.”

  Dave looked back at me, noticed I was bouncing up and down. Jake was already turning into a small gas station. I was out of that truck and inside asking for a bathroom key. I rushed into the bathroom. I felt much much better after I used the facilities and washed my face and hands. The bathroom was dingy, but had been cleaned recently. The smell of bleach covered a slight smell of urine. When I came out I handed the key to Dave. Jake was filling the tank. Soon we were back in the truck.

  Jake handed me a soda. I accepted it and even said thank you. “Did you get some chocolate?” I asked. Jake handed over the chocolate-covered nuts. I ate them all.

  “Thank you.”

  My son began to fuss. I checked his diaper. Yes, he needed to be changed. Soon the baby was quiet and drinking a bottle. When my son was back in his car seat, Dave continued driving.

  I ignored Jake.

  ###

  Dave turned on the truck lights as the sun settled in the west. It dropped and the night turned black except for the streetlights and the twinkling stars. Jake quietly said, “We need to stay at one of the hotels tonight. You know there isn’t any place for us to stay there.”

  My ears perked up. Neither Dave nor Jake had mentioned where we were going. I opened my mouth and Jake smiled. I would wipe that smile off his face someday. That smile said he expected me to act like a little girl. He annoyed and intrigued me. Although I felt an attachment to Dave, what I felt for Jake was extremely confusing and more intense. My hormones wanted to do dances whenever I got near him. At the same time I wanted to hit him.

  What annoyed me the most was that I knew that Jake was a werewolf and he could sense more than a nose-blind human. I wasn’t sure if Dave was a werewolf, but I assumed he was. He was too comfortable with Jake to be just a human. Jake though— I knew he was smelling those unruly hormones. Behind that mask, he was probably laughing at me.

  “We can’t leave them alone.” Dave, of course, was talking about me and my son.

  I waved my hand near Dave’s head. He ignored me. Then I said, “Hey guys, I am right here. Adult. With Baby.” I singsonged the words.

  “No one can forget you, darling,” Jake drawled at me. I was past the schoolyard fights, where I punched other girls and sometimes boys in the nose for taunting me. But right now, I wanted to punch him in the nose and forget the consequences. I fisted my hands. Jake waited for my reaction as if he expected to be punched.

  “Quit needling her,” Dave said quietly. “And Nova, quit letting him get to you. We will have to stay in the room with you and the baby because someone has to stand guard. Have you forgotten the pursuers?”

  Yes, with all the needling and annoyance from Jake, I had forgotten. I saw what you’re doing, I thought at Jake. I wrapped my arms around myself. “Whatever.” I said. I couldn’t help but sound like a sulky child.

  My son began to fuss. I turned my attention toward him. Soon we were in the parking lot of a hotel. Dave picked one that had better defenses with exits that were only accessible to key holders and a night watchman. He went to get a room for the four of us. I sat in the truck with Jake. I didn’t say a word. Jake didn’t even ask if the cat got my tongue. I was grateful.

  I unlatched the baby carrier, sniffed the baby’s bottom, and my eyes began to water. “Oh dang, it's a ripe one.”

  “Why don’t you change it here?” Jake asked. He opened the truck door and I pulled out a diaper, blanket, and wet cloths to clean the baby. Soon I had the baby out of the carrier and was cleaning his bottom. We had the usual fun when the baby peed, almost hitting my face. Jake would have laughed, but he was out of the truck as soon as the stink started.

  “Damn,” he said behind me. “We could make those into stink bombs.”

  By the time Dave came back with our room keys, the job was done. The smell lingered though.

  “Why did you do it there?” Dave complained.

  “Did you want that smell in the hotel room?”

  “Good point.”

  I hated to remind the men that my son pooped more often than once a day. They would learn if they stayed around us long enough. Dave went back to the hotel clerk and bought some air freshener. He sprayed the entire inside of the truck. I was happy to learn that Jake found Dave funny as well. “Still can smell the poop under that perfume,” he said. Dave punched him in the shoulder.

  It didn’t take long to find the elevator, walk down the hallway, and open the door, leading to a suite. I guess Dave decided that he could afford the extra expense. It had two bedrooms and a sitting room. So they weren’t going to stick me into a one bedroom room and stand at the edge of the bed while I tried to sleep. I was relieved.

  Jake left to get some food. He was sure he could find something more edible than fast food. Soon Dave and I were alone with the baby. I handed him my son while I went into the bathroom to wash my hands, face, and generally freshen up. I looked longingly at the shower, but I didn’t want to be naked around either of them.

  I made a nest for the baby and Dave put him in it. My son was moving his legs and smiling. He punched his hands out. “See,” Dave said. “He is going to be a fighter.” Then he said, “look, he can lift his head.”

  I rolled the baby on his stomach. He looked like a turtle with arms and legs around him, moving vigorously. It was like he was exercising so he could crawl. I knew it was too early, but watching him and encouraging him was fun. He took life in with such sweet abandon. I felt my heart swell. Then suddenly my son was tired. I rolled him on his back and he fell asleep.

  “Dave, are you a werewolf
too?” I asked, not looking at him as I watched my son sleep.

  “Not exactly,” he said. “I have the werewolf blood, but I can’t change.”

  “Oh,” I said. “What does that mean exactly?”

  I had a sudden thought, “Are your parents, werewolves?”

  “They both have the blood, but women can’t change,” he looked down and then at my son.

  I waited. Normally I didn’t have such a hard time getting information from him. He liked to talk.

  He paused to gather his thoughts and then said, “My father can transform, so when I couldn’t they were surprised. I am a rarity. It means that I am stronger than most men and my nose can smell more scents, but I am also weaker than a werewolf.”

  “I see,” I said, and I did. I knew the feeling of not belonging because I was more than one thing— Native American, but also Caucasian. Still I was human.

  “Are werewolves human?” I was curious.

  “Yes,” said Dave “with other abilities.”

  Then he said, “You like Jake, don’t you.”

  I knew he wanted me to say, no. Instead I turned toward my son. The big rule right now was that I couldn’t have any men in my life until my son could take care of himself. Before I could come up with an answer, Jake burst into the room. Saved by Jake, I thought in amusement.

  “We were followed,” he said. “Nova needs to leave now.”

  Chapter Seven

  Before I could run, there was a knock. Dave pushed me and my son into the bathroom and told me to hide in the bathtub. I laid the baby in the tub, got into it, and crouched over my son. He closed the door.

  “Who’s there?” challenged Jake.

  There was a crash.

  I heard a roar as Jake changed into his wolf-man form. Dave yelled, and there was another crash. I heard gunshots, one after another. I curled in the bathtub over my baby. I was quiet, so quiet. I didn’t know if these men were werewolves too. I tried not to breathe too deeply.

  My son opened his mouth to cry. I hushed him softly. The invaders probably already knew I was in the bathroom. There was no escape. I was still for what seemed like an eternity, but the sounds of fighting eventually stopped. There was silence.

  I stayed as quiet as I could. The baby didn’t coo or cry. Then there was another knock, this time on the bathroom door. A strange voice said, “Ma’am, I know you are in there. Open the door.”

  I shook, but I stayed right were I was. The door crashed open. Two men were holding a long cylindrical object that rammed the door open. The hotel was going to make us pay for the damages. I didn’t have that kind of money.

  The men were in black SWAT uniforms. One of the men clicked a button on a microphone clipped to his lapel and said. “We have the mother and child.”

  He listened to instructions that just sounded like static to me. He pointed to me and two men picked me out of the bathtub and put me on my feet. The one with the microphone took the baby. I kicked one of the men in the shins but all I did was hurt my foot. They cuffed me. I wanted to scream but there was no one to help me.

  I was surrounded. They perp walked me out of the door. A quick glance down and I saw both Dave and Jake lying in pools of blood. I wanted to scream. The two of them may have been a pain in the butt, but they had been my pain in my butt. I closed my mouth in a tight line and went limp.

  The man holding my child, gave me a look that said we don’t need you. I straighted up and walked. There was no way I could escape from this group. The hotel manager ran out. “Who’s going to pay for the damages?”

  One look from the leader and he stammered, “Have a nice day.” Then he backed away and ran into the hotel. These men looked government. Who could he complain to?

  There was a black van with tinted windows outside the hotel lobby. The side door slid open. One of the men jumped out and shackled my feet and hands. Then they took off the handcuffs. It wasn’t any better than the handcuffs. Now I had to shuffle and couldn’t step into the van. Two of the men picked me up and threw me into the back. The door closed. We drove away.

  I wasn’t sure why they thought I needed to be shackled. I couldn’t transform and I was a woman. Even if I had werewolf blood, I was not part of a pack.

  I had a suspicion as I watched the kidnappers that my baby was a prize they had won. They were laughing and joking. One of them high-fived another. Maybe these guys weren’t feds, because they were too excited about completing their mission. One of the men’s faces blurred and I could see fur. I blinked my eyes and the sight went away. I must have been hit on the head because I was seeing things.

  “Hey,” I yelled over the noise of the engines because these guys might be the ones who had invaded my grandmother’s home. “Is my grandmother alive?”

  “Oh she’s alive all right.” One of the men casually tapped me on the head. It hurt. “Now shut up.” He turned his attention to the road and checked behind us. So they weren’t sure that they had killed Jake and Dave. I felt a the hard rock in my stomach relax.

  About thirty minutes later, I felt the van slow down. I could hear a few honking horns and when I tried to look out the window, the guy who had hit me on the head hit me again. This time I was more than willing to lie quietly on the floor of the van. The guy casually put his foot on my stomach.

  He was heavy and I could feel my ribs take the strain. I would be sore. My face would be bruised and I might have a cracked rib or two. I kept glancing at the baby. He was in a car seat and was very quiet. I felt a sense of relief. That baby seemed to know when he was in danger. I was pretty sure that they needed my son for some reason, but why did they take me too? I hadn’t a clue.

  The side door slid open with a rush and two men pulled me out of the van. They didn’t bother putting me on my feet, but carried me inside. They were quick and fast. I could tell they were very strong because I was struggling and they didn’t notice. When we were inside they took off the shackles and placed me in a chimp cage. I sat in the middle with the bars around me. I couldn’t see my son, but as soon as I was out of his sight, he began to cry.

  I knew from experience that he wouldn’t stop until I picked him up. Good kid. I looked around me. There were five other cages. Four of them were empty. One of them had a half-wolf, half-man in a shredded suit. His eyes were feral and he lunged at the bars. I was glad that I had two sets of bars between him and me. I slid backwards and sat in the corner as far away from the half-wolf, half-man as I could.

  Moments later, a doctor walked into the lab. He wore a lab coat and carried a clipboard.

  As soon as I saw him, I opened my mouth. He didn’t look at me and said to the assistant that had walked into the lab with him, “We need some of that baby’s blood. He’ll stabilize our test subject until we find out how their blood works.”

  I screamed and yelled. The wolf-man yelled with me. Then the doctor looked into my face. “Shut up,” he said. “Or you will die.” Then he walked out of the lab.

  I was so stunned that I quit yelling. After seeing his eyes, I knew he wouldn’t let us go. We were both going to die. I corrected my thought, we would both be lab rats and then we would die.

  ###

  This part of the story happened while I was chained and caged like an animal. Jake told it to me later after I had tasted the blood of my enemies.

  It was already dark when Jake woke up in a pool of blood. He could have sworn that they had been attacked by a pack of werewolves except that the smell was not quite right. They had been driving to the Felony Flat’s pack to find sanctuary for Nova and her son. After the warning from the Felony Flats’ pack about the abduction of werewolf pups, the Sierra Nevada California pack, had watched any child suspected of having werewolf blood.

  They had been lucky to get to Nova before she had been captured. Still the kidnapper’s scent confused him. How could they be pack and not-pack? Should they still get help from the Felony Flats’ pack? Could they have attacked them?

  Dave started groaning and Ja
ke checked on him. He would be hurting for a long time and he needed to get Dave to the hospital. Since Dave couldn’t shift, he would need a transfusion and maybe surgery. Jake tried to call emergency services, but his phone was smashed.

  There would have been a knock on the door, if there had been a door. The kidnappers had demolished it. Jake carried Dave to the hotel front desk. The front desk clerk stood at the door.

  “Who’s going to pay for this?” he muttered under his breath. Jake ignored him, and Dave bled on the hotel lobby carpet.

  “Listen to me,” Jake looked into the clerk’s eyes. For a moment the clerk’s eyes clouded over and then he looked intently at Jake, “call 9-1-1 and get help. You saw someone break down the door.”

  The clerk nodded his head, and then pulled out his phone. Jake walked through the door and out the hotel as the clerk called for an ambulance. Jake laid Dave on the floor. He left him there with the clerk. Dave would be fine, he assured himself. The clerk wouldn’t remember Jake at all.

  Jake walked down the highway that also served as the city’s main street. It was taking too long so he started to jog. He reached another hotel that had a phone in the lobby. Thank God. It was hard nowadays to find public telephones since everyone started carrying cell phones.

  He pulled a piece of paper with a number on it from his wallet. He called the operator and gave her the number.

  “I want to call collect,” he said.

  In a few moments, he heard the operator say, “Will you accept the charges?”

  A man’s voice said, “Yes.”

  “Adam.”

  Chapter Eight

  Nova Tewa

  I sat in the cage with my knees against my chest and my arms around them. I closed my eyes and listened for any sound. The skin under the left cheekbone itched. Also my scalp and my right leg itched. I didn’t move, just relaxed and listened. The itches quit as I focused on my other senses.