Finding Our Way (Werewolf Wars)

by Bethany Shaw

  “You would do that?” Daniel asked, leaning forward.

  Nora shrugged. “April’s my family and she’s going. It sounds like you are too. I’m not sure what I’d do here if I didn’t. I might go mad with worry if I didn’t go. I mean, there is only so much schoolwork I can immerse myself in. Not to mention, I find it personally appalling what these guys are doing to women.”

  “That’s not a reason to go,” Daniel warned.

  “I want to go.” She blurted the words out before she even realized it. Her eyes widened and her breath caught at the sincerity behind them. She did want to go—to help.

  “You’re really thinking about going? You barely know us,” Daniel said.

  “I know April. And you too.”

  “You’ve know me for a few weeks,” Daniel countered as he shook his head. He picked up his plate again, but kept his eyes on her.

  “Maybe it’s only been a few weeks, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t feel something. I like you and we are...together?” She’d meant it as a statement, but it came out sounding like a question. She tugged on one of her loose curls and stared down at her pasta. They were together, right?

  “I’ve never been in a relationship before,” Daniel replied after a long moment.

  “Really?” Nora questioned picking up her soda and taking a drink. The liquid slid down her parched throat and she took another swig, the fizzing coke helped to settle her knotted stomach.

  “Yeah.”

  “So, you...” Nora asked her voice trailing off. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted an answer.

  “I went out with Vincent on occasion. Although, there was never any promises of a relationship. Any girl I picked up knew it was just a one-time thing. Vincent was the one who led girls on and took them out a few times before moving on to the next.”

  Nora picked at her meatball as a thought occurred to her. Her stomach twisted and she closed her eyes. “So, what exactly are we doing then?” Is he only looking for a hookup?

  Daniel cleared his throat and she opened her eyes watching him. He ran a hand through his hair.

  “You're not like those girls, Nora.”

  Nora scoffed, looking down at her food. “That sounds like a line.”

  “You're not,” he said his hand reached out grasping onto her wrist. “You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met. You’re kind, caring, and friendly. The only reason I behaved the way I did in Guymon is because I wasn’t allowed to date. My dad was very strict with me and what I did. I don’t want to know what he would have done if I’d brought a girl home. I needed to be the perfect alpha and marry an alpha female. Going out and being stupid was an outlet.”

  Nora studied him, her eyes searching his. His fingers squeezed her wrist gently and she reached over with her free hand and placed it on top of his.

  “I haven’t had the best of luck with relationships,” she admitted. “It’s made me a little weary. I do like you, Daniel and I hope that whatever we are starting here means as much to you as it does to me.”

  Daniel leaned forward and Nora met him half way closing the distance between them. His hand wound up in her hair as hers brushed over his stubbled jaw. Their lips met softly, moving slowly, rhythmically against each other.

  A siren blared in the distance and for half a second, she thought it was all in her head as she was caught up in the moment. But as Daniel pulled away, she quickly realized that it was the alarm shrilling loudly across the Harris’ land.

  Daniel jumped up, tugging her up with him. “Come on. I have to get you back to the house.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Daniel hoisted Nora up, jumping off the ledge as he had a few nights before. He landed on his feet and set her to the ground. In the distance, he could see a pack of wolves darting toward the ranch, and members of his own pack were already sprinting out to stop them. Tonight was no accident. It was a full-blown attack.

  “We got to move, Nora,” he urged. Grasping her hand in his, he bolted toward the house. The short distance seemed to stretch endlessly as the wolves honed in on the ranch. Daniel’s pulse roared in his ears, the hairs on his arm rising as the severity of the situation set in. Things were going to get bad—Nora might not be safe in the house. “I want you to get one of Lark’s guns. Any one comes into the house that you don’t know, or acts threatening in any way, shoot them. Follow Lark and Natalia’s lead, if they give the order to leave, do it. But stay away from the fence it’s live. There are three exit points off the property my mom, Lark, or Natalia will help you to them,” Daniel instructed as they approached the wooden porch.

  “Be careful,” Nora whispered, her amber eyes wide.

  “I’ll see you later,” he promised.

  Nora squeezed his hand one last time before bolting up the steps and into the safety of the house. Daniel turned, and lunged forward, triggering his shift.

  As a wolf, he landed on his feet and sprinted toward the intruders. Members of his pack had already engaged their enemy. A wolf made a break, trying to get past him. Daniel charged him determined to keep his enemies away from the house. He tackled the assailant with a snarl, driving him to the ground. Their bodies rolled across the gravel drive, kicking up a layer of debris around them.

  Daniel bared his teeth, snapping at the wolf as he gained the upper hand. Lifting his long clawed foot up, he swiped it across the wolf’s tender belly. Blood poured out of the wound and his enemy yowled in pain. Daniel dug his claws in again, finishing the wolf off.

  Something hard struck his side, sending searing pain into Daniel’s side. His body tumbled across the drive and landed in the grass. Startled, he scrambled to his feet, barely dodging his attacker's mouth. The wolf didn’t let up, striking again. Daniel jumped to the side, but not in enough time.

  The wolf’s canines tore into his front leg, biting down to the bone. Blood gushed out of his leg and soaked into his reddish-brown coat.

  Daniel used his free paw and reeled up, slicing the trespasser across the face. It reared back and the reddish-brown wolf wasted no time surging forward. He clamped his teeth around the other wolf’s neck and bit down as hard as he could. A metallic taste rushed into his mouth, causing him to clamp down harder until he heard a low gurgle.

  Pulling away, Daniel saw a blur of brown race by him toward the house. He sprang forward to stop him when another pack of wolves broke through the lines. I have to stop them. He bolted towards the closest wolf with a snarl. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Devon and Gene leading a small group to intercept the invaders.

  He pounced shoving a grey wolf into the ground. The wolf snapped at him, it’s teeth grazing against his already injured leg. Daniel growled and sunk his canines into the back of the assailant’s neck. He bit down as hard as he could, squeezing until he felt a familiar crack, and the wolf's fighting ceased.

  A loud gunshot sounded in the air and Daniel raced toward the next wolf. He gritted his teeth as loud pops banged in the distance. As he lunged at another wolf, he prayed that Nora and the others could hold out until he or someone else could get back to the ranch.

  ***

  Nora took the rifle from Lark with shaking hands as Marcus shoved the furniture away from the window. Claire drew the curtains all the way back, then opened the window and knocked the screens out into the lawn.

  “Sarah, take this. Use it if you need to,” Lark instructed, giving her sister a handgun. Lark turned to Nora. “You remember what you’re doing?”

  Nora nodded, following the blonde to the window.

  “Don’t hesitate, they won’t if they manage to get in here,” Claire warned.

  Nora took a deep breath in and squared her shoulders. She placed the butt of the rifle against her shoulder and peered through the scope.

  Marcus stood between them, his gaze focused on the approaching pack. “None of them are ours,” he said. “Shoot them.”

  A loud crack rang out in the night sky as Lark’s rifle went off next to Nora. Nora’s ear rang, but she ignored
it, focusing on a grayish white wolf. Her finger wrapped around the trigger and she pulled. The wolf slumped to the ground motionless.

  Nora inhaled sharply and let it out. She blinked and prepared to shoot again. Setting her sights on a brown wolf, she fired, cursing under her breath when the bullet kicked up a spray of dirt a few yards away from her target.

  “It’s okay, take your time,” Emily said, standing next to her.

  Nora shook it off and reset as Lark fired steadily next to her. Aiming, she prepared to shoot again.

  A loud, high-pitched scream echoed through the house, followed by shouts and more screams.

  “The girls. They must be coming through the back,” Claire yelled, heading for the kitchen. “Marcus and Emily you stay here, Talia with me.”

  Natalia stiffened and placed a kiss to her son’s forehead. She walked over to Sarah, her feet weighted down with worry. “Take care of him,” she whispered to the younger blonde. She took one last look at her son as she ran her fingers over his tiny, round face. Everything would be okay, she assured herself. She placed a kiss to Adrian’s forehead.

  Sarah stepped out of the corner and took Adrian, clutching him tightly against her. “I will,” she whispered. “Stay safe.”

  Natalia swallowed, and then raced after Claire.

  The two women sprinted through the kitchen to the back of the house and came to an abrupt halt just outside the back door. It hung open and the women and children who should have been there were gone. Four bodies lay motionless just outside the door. Their guards were dead. Men’s voices shouted at the screaming girls as they tried to herd them into a large truck.

  Claire took a step back, her eyes flashing gold. Running, she leapt outside and landed on her feet as a black wolf. Natalia thanked Gene for his help with transitioning as she followed the other alphas lead.

  The two women raced toward the large truck parked in the yard. Some of the girls sat in the back—the ones who were too young to trigger a shift. The older females had all transitioned and were fighting the men who had tried to take them captive.

  Natalia sprung into the action, there was no way she was going to allow a single one of those girls be taken—ever.

  ***

  “There are three of them over there. They’re making a beeline for us,” Emily screeched as the three wolves bared down on them.

  Nora aimed and shot, reloading when she barely grazed one of them. Lark fired and one of the wolves fell to the ground. Nora squeezed the trigger, hitting the wolf in the leg.

  “Aim for the head, neck or torso,” Marcus instructed his voice rising as the wolf grew closer.

  Lark and Nora fired at the same time, taking down another wolf. The last wolf jumped and flew towards them.

  “Watch out,” Marcus cried out, knocking Nora and Emily out of the way.

  Nora hit the ground hard as Emily landed on top of her. Something furry flew by them and Nora saw Marcus’ feet fly up, and off the floor before he landed on the ground next to them. The wolf snarled and snapped as Marcus attempted to keep the sharp canines away. Blood flowed from Marcus’ arm in large rivulets and dripped onto the floor.

  “No,” Emily screeched, jumping to her feet, she lurched forward and grabbed the wolf from behind.

  Nora stood up. Grasping her rifle, she jabbed at the wolf’s head with the butt of the gun. The wolf turned to her, snapping its jaws. Nora took a step back as Emily wrestled with the wolf. Their enemy twisted, baring its teeth at Emily. It raised up on its back legs, and swiped at her, knocking her down.

  Nora stumbled back trying to right herself as she positioned the gun. The wolf stalked towards her. It’s muzzle pulled up in a snarl.

  With her pulse roaring in her ears, Nora jammed her finger down on the trigger. The wolf fell to the floor in a heap and Nora took a shaky breath in. Her body trembled and her heart pattered wildly against her chest as she moved her gaze to Emily’s unmoving body.

  Red pooled on Emily’s torso and her peach colored top was soaked. The girl’s face was ghastly pale.

  Marcus army crawled, dragging himself over the area rug to Emily. A deep gash ran the length of his arm, but it didn’t seem to faze him. “Em,” he whispered, cradling her to him.

  The kitchen door banged open and men filtered into the room. Marcus jumped up, and ran at the men. One of the intruders caught him around the waist and shoved him to the floor. The group closed in on him taking turns kicking and punching him. Nora curled her finger around the trigger to help her fallen comrade but nothing happened. Her heart stopped as she squeezed the trigger again. Nothing. She was out of ammo.

  Inhaling sharply, she removed the extra clip of ammo and immediately began to reload as she surveyed the scene.

  “Lark,” Sarah screamed, backing toward the stairs. Adrian wailed in her arms, his lips puckered and tiny face was beet red.

  Marcus lay crumpled on the floor, one arm shielded his face, and the other swung out in vain at his attackers

  If she didn’t do something now, Marcus could die, she realized.

  Nora lifted her loaded weapon up and fired a shot, hitting one of the men in the neck. He fell to his knees, and then pitched forward onto the floor. Lark’s gun went off behind Nora as she pulled the trigger again. Nora was preparing to fire again when one of the men grabbed the end of the gun and shoved it into her shoulder. Searing hot pain shot through her collarbone all the way down to her digits. Her finger slipped, causing the weapon to go off. The man’s eyes widened as a tiny spot of red formed on his white shirt. He stumbled and then pitched forward onto her, dragging her to the ground with him.

  The air whooshed out of her lungs and she drew in a strangled breath. Nora gasped, trying to get out from under the weight. Panic flooded her as she shoved at the corpse. I’m stuck!

  Someone grabbed her by the hair and tugged. She screamed as strands of copper were plucked from her head. Another hand went under her arm, and she was jerked to her feet as the rifle was kicked away.

  “He was my brother you, bitch,” a man snarled into her ear. His hand gripped her roughly, and Nora grunted in pain as stars flashed in her vision.

  Focus! Fight!

  Nora stomped down on his foot, twisting; she thrust her palm forward into the man’s nose. He cried out as blood spurted from his nostrils. Her eyes flew to Lark who was on the floor. The back of her head was soaked with red and she seemed to be struggling to get to her feet when someone yanked her up. Nora had to do something now before the situation escalated any further.

  Her eyes darted around the room, spotting the gun a few feet away. Nora dashed for her rifle, but strong arms wrapped around her middle first and lifted her off the ground. Her legs dangled in the air, and she kicked them, hoping to throw him off balance. She wiggled, frantically trying to break free. The man whose nose she’d bloodied, stalked toward her, grasping her chin with his dirty fingers.

  “I’m going to make sure you pay for that,” he hissed, gripping her hair and drawing her closer to him. “And I’m going to enjoy it too.”

  Nora shuddered, bucking against her captor trying to get free.

  “I think she’s excited for you,” the man holding her declared with a laugh.

  Bile rose in her throat and she gagged as angry tears blurred her vision.

  “Let’s get them out of here and do what we came here for,” one of the men holding Lark hollered.

  Lark’s blue eyes widened as they met Nora’s.

  “Get away from my sister,” Sarah screamed, from the staircase. She steadily held the handgun, and had it trained on one of the men holding Lark. “Get out!” she said her voice deathly quiet.

  The man laughed and a loud crack echoed through the room. Red sprayed across the living room as the man released Lark and clasped at his throat. Another bang erupted from the gun and the man still holding Lark dropped to the floor. Sarah cocked the gun again, firing at one of the men near Nora.

  Nora was thrust to the floor. Her knees jarring agai
nst the hard wood as the man who had been holding her raced toward Sarah. The blonde unloaded the pistol into him, but he still staggered toward her. Nora watched in horror as the younger girl squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened. Something flickered in Sarah’s eyes and she thrust herself toward the man, using her momentum to take him to the ground.

  “Get out! Get out! Get out!” Sarah shrieked repeatedly as she hit the man with the butt of the weapon. “I hate you.”

  “Sarah,” Lark cried, wrapping an arm around her sister as she pulled her off the bloodied, dead man. “Sarah.” She cradled her sister to her chest as Sarah began to sob.

  “I hate them. They killed Preston and Rick,” Sarah crumpled into her sister, her body shaking. The gun landed on the floor as Sarah stared down at her bloodied hands.

  “Shhh, it’s okay,” Lark cooed. “Where’s Adrian?”

  “In a bedroom upstairs.”

  Lark kissed her sister’s head. “Go get cleaned up and then look after Adrian. Nora and I are going to make sure it’s safe down here.”

  Sarah nodded and slowly stood up. Nora pushed to her hands and knees, ignoring the white-hot pain in her shoulder as she crawled over to Marcus first.

  His body lay crumpled and bloodied. Cuts covered his face, and blood seeped through his grey tee. Her hand shook as she placed two fingers on his pulse point. A slow, steady thrum met her fingers. Slowly, she slid over to Emily. Long jagged scratches ran from her collarbone to her abdomen. Nora placed her fingers on the woman’s neck. Sighing, she closed her eyes when a slow patter thrummed against her fingers. Nora snatched a blanket from the floor and pressed it to the brunette’s belly.

  “Is she okay?” Lark asked, stooping down next to them.

  “I think so,” Nora replied.

  Nora jumped as a wolf bellowed into the night. As if on cue, more throaty yowls filtered into the open window.

  “That means it’s over.” Lark sat down on the floor, running a hand through her red streaked hair.

  “Who won?” Nora asked quietly.

  Lark paused for a moment before reaching to get one of the rifles. “I don’t know.”