Shimmers in the Dark (Rainier Pack Book 1)

by Bethany Shaw

  Shimmers in the Dark

  Rainier Pack, Volume 1

  Bethany Shaw

  Published by Bethany Shaw, 2016.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  SHIMMERS IN THE DARK

  First edition. May 5, 2016.

  Copyright © 2016 Bethany Shaw.

  Written by Bethany Shaw.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven | Three years later...

  About the Author

  Also By Bethany Shaw

  Chapter One

  Enid slid across the wet ground, sloshing watery mud as she made her way. Her hazel eyes narrowed as she overlooked the forest beneath her. Wisps of curly, auburn hair blew in her face and she huffed, blowing them out of her eyes. She needed to see. The icy ground numbed her thighs and belly, but she ignored it.

  Her gaze darted to the full moon as she pressed her assault rifle against her shoulder. She blinked, shifting her eyes to those of her wolf, allowing her to see further and sharper than any human eyes ever could.

  “Enid, are you in position?” Darren's voice boomed over her COM.

  “I am. All clear so far,” she commented, never taking her eyes off of the trees.

  Enid listened as Darren questioned Parker and Martin, the other shooters, before giving the changing youngsters below the all-clear signal. She drew in a deep breath and surveyed the area. A child wasn’t going to die on her watch. Losing a kid was a pain no parent should ever have to endure.

  She cleared her throat and blinked, forcing the tears that pricked her eyes away. Now was not the time to let her thoughts stray. The past sixteen full moons humans and witches had been hunting and attempting to kill the newly turned wolves. Six babies had died due to their insolence. Tonight, there would be no casualties.

  Howls erupted in the air and she smiled softly. The kids had completed their first transition and were now roaming the woods close to the caves they called home. She couldn’t see the wolf pups from her vantage point, but she had a perfect view of the road; their enemy didn’t have the skill to come up the side of the mountain any other way.

  So far, the frigid night was quiet. Her breath misted and she swallowed as she surveyed the slopes below while listening to the youngsters yip and bark at each other. The first full moon after a child born with werewolf blood turned twelve was an opportunity to transition into their alternate form for the first time. Tonight there were six youngsters, but they would be the last group making the change into adulthood for years.

  Enid sighed as she swallowed a thick lump that had lodged its way into her throat.

  “Do you hear that?” Parker’s voice inquired in her ear, drawing her out of her thoughts.

  Enid tipped her head to the side. Seconds ticked by and she held her breath. She opened her mouth to tell Parker he was crazy when a whirling sound came toward her. What is that?

  The steady thwacking grew louder. It was a sound familiar to her, yet from another time. Her mind spun trying to place the sound.

  “Helicopter,” she screeched as realization dawned on her. “Parker do you see it?”

  “No. You?”

  “No. Martin?” she questioned as she drew in a deep breath.

  “I don’t see anything,” Martin responded.

  “Darren we need to get the wolf pups inside,” Enid hissed as more howls and barks flitted through the air. They’d be sitting ducks out in the open if a helicopter were being used. The trees would provide some cover, but not enough for skilled shooters.

  “Already on it,” Darren replied.

  Enid swallowed and said a silent prayer for the kids to make it into the safety of the mountain before whoever was flying that chopper got close enough to see them.

  Leaves rustled beneath her and Enid slid closer to the edge, aiming her gun. She licked her lips as she curled her finger around the trigger. Before the world turned upside down, she’d been on the police force, one of the finest sharp shooters the state of Washington had ever seen.

  Her eyes searched for the source of the noise as she drew in an even breath.

  A gray and white wolf, an alpha, I didn’t realize there were any alpha kids here, stepped into a clearing and Enid sighed, closing her eyes. The kid must have come with the new group that just arrived. I guess I should’ve paid attention to the new arrivals. Lights flickered in the trees and she scooted forward, using her heightened sight to see. The orange—not so conspicuous—biohazard suit gave away the location of her enemies.

  Crap. There are humans on foot.

  “I’ve got movement over here. One of ours, a pup by the looks of it, and at least six men on foot,” she radioed as she pressed the gun into her shoulder.

  “Shoot to kill, Enid,” Darren ordered.

  She didn’t need to be told twice. There was a time when humans and wolves lived in harmony. Until the Wolf Flu, humans hadn’t realized werewolves, or witches, existed. Once the flu spread from wolves to humans and witches, the werewolves had been hunted mercilessly. They were blamed for the deaths of millions of innocent people that perished due to the nasty illness. But not everyone knew the entire story.

  Enid squeezed the trigger as she found her first target. The gun popped. Men hollered as her victim collapsed lifelessly to the ground. She bit her lip, locking on to her next target and firing.

  The whirling of the chopper grew louder and Parker’s voice bellowed in her ear, “Enid, find cover, the helicopter’s coming your way.”

  “They’ll get the wolf pup,” she argued as she took another shot. Three down, three more to go.

  “Enid!” Parker hollered into her COM.

  Enid ripped the device from her ear and focused on the remaining three men. The child wasn’t dying on her watch.

  The blinding, white of a chopper light loomed overhead. Its searching light scanned the trees beneath Enid.

  Shit. They're going to find the kid.

  She rolled to her back, staring up at the darkened sky. The dark green army chopper was hard to pinpoint with the glaring spotlight, but she managed.

  Men hung out both sides with their guns poised and ready to fire. Enid curled her finger around the trigger and took out the men on the right in rapid succession. Their bodies dropped out the side and plummeted to the ground below, crunching against the rocks.

  The spotlight jumped, landing directly overtop of her. Enid grunted, rolling to the side as she squeezed her eyes shut against the offensive light.

  Bullets sprayed down around her and she hopped to her feet, dashing behind a boulder.

  The bullets clinked against the rock and she ducked down, waiting for the rain of metal to stop.

  Voices called over her radio, but she couldn’t make them out over the gunfire. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t a good idea to take that out. Surely with a wolf’s excellent hearing the pack would know she and the pup were in danger. She just hoped they’d come for the kid.

  The bullets stopped and she jumped up, spun, and unloaded most of her artillery at the chopper. Pings filled the air as sparks flew. The small aircraft pulled up and jolted to the right as black smoke billowed out of the lower panels.

  Good. I hit them.

  A wolf howled from the woods below and Enid swore under her breath. The c
hild was in trouble. She fired at the helicopter again before darting to the edge of the cliff and skidding down the side of it. Dirt and debris fluttered down around her as she hurried to the wolf pup.

  The three men were still out there and had been close to the kid’s location.

  Her eyes whipped over the terrain wildly until she found the wolf hunkering down in the bushes. A man tiptoed toward her, his gun raised and ready to fire. To the child’s credit, she’d attempted to hide, but it appeared the approaching human hit her with a tranquilizer dart.

  Since when did they start taking prisoners?

  Enid pushed herself faster, determined to save the child in time. Her heart thumped in her chest and her pulse roared in her ears as sweat trickled down her forehead. The gun banged against her side as she continued her hurried descent.

  Her lungs burned as she leapt off a ravine and landed in a squatting position. She pushed up, drew her gun to her shoulder and shot the human point blank. Blood splattered on the inside of his biohazard suit as the bullet found its mark and the man toppled face-first onto the ground.

  “It’s okay,” she whisper-yelled as she searched the brush for the wolf pup.

  The leaves swayed and the timid wolf stepped out, bowing its head as it blinked rapidly at her.

  “We need to get home,” she instructed as she peered up at the sky before kneeling down to scratch the wolf behind the ears. Two men and a helicopter were still out there, though, she didn’t see either at the moment. “Can you run?” Her fingers found the tip of the dart and she plucked it from the wolf’s skin. “That should help a little.” With a wolf's accelerated metabolism, the drug wouldn’t knock the girl out, but she would become progressively sluggish as more time passed.

  The wolf whimpered and crouched down as if she were going to transition into her human form.

  “Wait,” Enid spoke up. “That will take a lot of energy and you’ve already been drugged. We need to get home as quickly as possible.” The sooner they got there, the better. She pointed in the direction of the caves and nodded. The drug was already taking effect. Sure, she could carry the girl if needed, but at five-foot-three and one-hundred-and-ten pounds it would slow her down.

  The pup bobbed her head up and down and yipped as it took off ahead of Enid. Enid sprinted after the girl while keeping a vigilant eye on the trees. The humans didn’t just disappear. Though they may keep their distance, the idiots wore the biohazard suits in case the wolves were still carrying the disease.

  As the first species hit by the devastating illness, and after three quarters of their population on the West Coast had succumbed to it, the survivors had learned they were immune. The humans and witches hadn’t gotten the memo. For the past eight years, the surviving wolf community had been hunted to near extinction.

  “Stop!” Enid gasped as lights danced across the trees.

  The wolf halted. Enid motioned with her hands to the side of the cliff. It didn’t provide much cover, but it might give them the edge they needed.

  Together they darted to the ridge and pressed their bodies against the icy rocks. The wolf panted as her eyes darted around.

  Enid clasped the gun tighter as she focused on the light drawing near. Just one man. She could take him in combat without her gun. She didn’t want to draw the other guy or the chopper to their position until the female pup was safely inside the caverns.

  The man crept forward, his movements clumsy in his large suit. Enid waited until he was close enough for her to strike him. She swung the gun out, using it like a baseball bat and hitting him in the gut. The guy grunted as he doubled over. He gurgled inside his suit, sputtering as he tried to breathe.

  She didn’t give him time to recover. Lifting the gun over her shoulder, she whipped it around again, connecting with his head. Her enemy slumped to the ground, flopping like a fish out of water as he tried to right himself. Part of her wanted to give him the chance to fight back, but that wasn’t the world they lived in anymore. It was kill or be killed.

  Enid bent down and tore the mask off the man’s face. She lifted the rifle and struck him with the butt just above his temple. The guy’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and she sighed as she knelt down and placed her fingers on his pulse point. Nothing.

  Death. It was the one thing she craved, but never managed to achieve.

  The wolf yipped and stumbled over her feet as she approached Enid. “Let’s get back to the caves,” she said, patting the girl’s head.

  The wolf zigzagged as it hobbled over the uneven ground. Enid darted her eyes over the terrain, ensuring the remaining man and copter were nowhere near them. Hushed voices and pawed feet padding over the earth met her ears and she narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t see her companions, but knew they were near, escorting them the rest of the way home. The group would likely go out and hunt down the human she hadn’t gotten before returning home.

  Home. Almost there. They just had to climb up the icy sheet that led into the caves.

  Enid’s feet slid under the sheet of ice covering the trek up to the cave entrance. She leaned forward, using her gloved hands to grip the slippery ground as she pulled herself up. The wolf ambled along, slipping and sliding back down to the bottom.

  “Come on,” Enid encouraged the girl.

  The wolf tried again, whimpering as it darted up. It reached the top, but her hind legs slipped out from under her. Enid reached out, clasping the girl around her front legs and hauling her the rest of the way up.

  “Enid,” Darren’s voice called as he jogged up to them and offered her a hand. “Are you two okay?”

  “She’s been hit with a tranquilizer, but I think she’ll be fine,” Enid commented ignoring her comrades hand as she stood on her own.

  Darren motioned over his shoulder and two more people hurried out of the caves, wrapping the pup in a wool blanket and lifting her off the ground.

  “You’re bleeding,” Darren commented.

  Enid frowned and glanced down at herself. Mud caked her jacket and pants, but she didn’t see any indications of an injury nor did she feel one.

  “You hit your head,” he said, wiping his thumb across her forehead.

  Enid shrugged as she pulled back. Her gaze darted to the blood smear on Darren’s finger before she pushed past him. “I’ll be fine.”

  A warm bath, book, and her bed were all the medicine she needed. She trudged forward slipping inside the caves, or at least that’s what everyone called them. It was easier to think of home as a set of long tunnels inside Mount Rainier instead of the lava tubes that they truly were. Despite the ice, the temperature inside the tunnels was remarkably warm due to the volcano lurking inside. Once she got out of her sopping clothes she’d be fine.

  “Cori, thank God,” a familiar voice cried out as a tall man pushed his way through the crowd gathering at the entrance.

  Enid’s head snapped up, her eyes narrowing as the man rushed to the girl Enid had rescued. She’d returned to her human self and was bundled in several wool blankets now. The girl couldn’t stand, but that didn’t stop the man from rushing to her and enveloping her in a tight hug.

  A twinge of jealousy raced through her and she swallowed, fighting back tears. Her eyes misted and she swiped at them with the backs of her muddy hands. The father and daughter spoke as they embraced, but she couldn’t make out their words. She didn’t even realize she was staring until the girl lifted her finger, pointing it at Enid.

  “Enid?” the familiar voice called out.

  Enid paused, her gaze snapping up to meet amber eyes. She gnashed her teeth together to keep from crying out. Alex! Her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes darted to the girl next to him. She had the same amber eyes and chocolate-colored hair as Alex. The girl she’d saved was his daughter.

  Questions tumbled through her head. When did he come to Mount Rainier? Is Melissa here too? Why did he come? She knew the answer to the first question. He’d come with the pack that had just arrived.

  Damn i
t, I really do need to pay more attention, she berated herself. Alex is here. He’s alive!

  “Enid,” Darren’s voice cut through her train of thought. “Get yourself cleaned up and out of those clothes before you get frostbite.” He placed a hand on her shoulder as he glanced at her.

  Enid shrugged away from him, meeting Alex’s eyes one last time before she bolted to her cavern.

  She made her way through the icy, narrow tunnels until she came to the fork that broke off from the main chambers. No one came down this way; flooding occurred occasionally when the weather got too warm. Enid didn’t mind; she liked the solitude. Everything that mattered was gone. What she had was material possessions and they could be replaced.

  Her fingers shook as she pushed back the sparse, yellow sheet that acted as a door to her cavern and then drew it shut again. She let out a long breath and shook her head, willing her racing heart to calm. Alex Andrews was the last person she’d thought to see here. There had been rumors of his death. Her heart pattered faster at the realization that he was alive and he was here.

  Melissa might be too, she reminded herself. Not everyone had succumbed to the Wolf Flu. The survivors were the lucky ones, according to Darren. She preferred to think of it as a curse.

  Enid closed her eyes and shook her head. She walked to the stack of clothes that rested on a rock. Shuffling through the cotton garments, she tugged out her well-worn sweats and hoodie.

  She slipped off her shoes and tiptoed to the hot springs that were in the corner of her cavern. One of the perks to exploring was finding this little gem. It was a cozy bath and a place to wash her drab linens. Much to Darren’s chagrin, her interaction with the pack was as little as possible. The idea of being banished from the pack had terrified her into submission fourteen years ago. Now, she relished the idea of solitude.

  Stripping off the rest of her soiled clothes, she sunk into the steaming water and closed her eyes, praying her troubles would leave. But it would be hard to relax knowing that Alex was here and under the same rock as her.