by Maggie Walsh
* * * *
There was no way he was going to make it with his ankle the way it was. He felt something snap as he landed and a jolt of pain shot through his body. Maddy was grateful he was able to bite his tongue enough to hold in the scream that wanted to come out. He needed to stay as quiet as possible because those two fucking wolves were at the end of the alley. They hadn’t turned their attention in his direction as he sat on the top of the wall, so without thinking, he just jumped. He knew there was no way that even those two morons would just walk past the alley and not at least look. So he wanted to get out of there before they spotted him. But now he was cursing his hasty move. Maybe he did have time to slowly lower himself before they found him. But with Ash being there with him, he couldn’t take the chance of being spotted. Ash had been so worried about him going to the restaurant by himself, that he had bugged Maddy all day about going with him, until Maddy agreed.
At least Ash kept with the plan and didn’t wait for him. When he told Ash to run he wasn’t sure if the wolf would, but he did. They had spent the first few hours of the night looking around for their best escape route. Then they went into the alley and moved crates to the wall so they would have something to help them get over it. Next, they walked the route they had planned, to make sure they wouldn’t have any problems. Then they came up with a plan B, and a second escape route just in case. Everything was going perfect until he had to go and pull a stupid move and get himself hurt. Couldn’t he ever do anything right? He slowly and painfully made his way down the street, pressing close to the buildings and staying in the shadows as much as possible.
When he reached the next alley, he turned and hobbled to a nearby dumpster. Hiding behind it, Maddy leaned against the building, giving his ankle a break. He could just shift and get it to heal, but he was afraid of doing that. The surge of power wouldn’t be enough to give away his position, but if those two were close enough, they may be able to feel it. He needed to suck it up and be a man. He couldn’t stay here any longer. He had to fight the pain and get back to their hiding spot. The old man needed good, healthy food if he was to heal.
Maddy straightened and adjusted the sack on his back. He was so happy when he found the big sack and was able to fill it with all kinds of goodies. Now he cursed it as it mocked him as if to say. “See, that’s what you get for stealing.” But the stealing was a necessary evil. They needed food. Ash and the old man had been living off garbage for months and it still wasn’t enough. They were both too skinny and malnourished. How the hell they survived a Montana winter living on the streets, Maddy didn’t know.
When they had found Maddy and hid him away from those two wolves that had been hunting him, Maddy had never been happier to see two people in his life. They got him to their hiding spot under an old overpass. Ash had used cardboard, pieces of wood, and old blankets to construct walls around them under the bridge. It didn’t look like much, but it kept most of the wind from hitting them. It was in an older section of town and not too many people used the bridge or the street below anymore, and those that did, either didn’t look up into the beams or pretended they didn’t see it.
Maddy was with them for two days when a massive storm blew through the area and their little makeshift shack was destroyed. Maddy felt that he owed them for finding him and getting him away from the wolves, so he went out to search for more supplies to build a new shack. While searching a rundown neighborhood, he spotted a section where six blocks of houses had been deserted.
The houses were all boarded up and looked like they hadn’t been lived in in years. Maddy walked through the neighborhood and spotted a house away from the others, but not too far to really stand out. He made his way over to it and tried the front door, but of course, it was locked. He made his way around the house, checking all the windows, when he found the back door just hanging by one hinge. Maddy moved it aside and went in. He searched the house and found that it had no electricity or heat, but if he let the water run for a few minutes, the orange-rust color cleared up and he had clean water. He also found a mattress, an old coffee table, and some tools under the sink.
He spent the day breaking into the other houses and taking whatever useful supplies he could find, and brought them over to the first house. By the time he was done, he was exhausted and filthy, but he managed to get three mattresses, a chair, sixteen cans of food, four blankets, two warm coats, a pair of boots that fit Ash, a hunting knife, and a box of matches. He went back to the bridge, and together with Ash, they moved the old man to the house.
The first thing they all did was wash up and break open some of those cans of food. Only three turned out to be dog food, and another five were beets that Maddy just wouldn’t eat, but the rest were good. So far, there was no sign that they had been followed or that the other wolves knew where they were hiding.
Maddy heard a noise from down the street and knew he had rested too long. He needed to move before he was found. Limping as fast as he could, he made it to the chain link fence and pushed his way through the opening. The sack snagged on a sharp point, causing Maddy to flinch back and putting unneeded pressure on his ankle. He cried out and then curse under his breath at how stupid he was. He quickly wiggled out of the sack’s hold and turned to un-snag it. As he was working the sharp piece of fence from the sack, a loud howl rang out. Shit, that sounds close.
He doubled his efforts and was able to free the sack. He wrapped his arms around it and headed down the next street. He only had a hundred yards to the tree line and then he could hide in the underbrush until they moved on. He hoped Ash listened to him and went back to the house if Maddy didn’t meet him at the storm drain in half an hour. It had already been twenty minutes since they split up. Maddy was moving way too slow for his liking, but he had no other choice. And as far as he was concerned, he had no other options than to make it back with the supplies he gathered. If they were to head back to Pennsylvania, they needed all the strength they could get.
The tree line was getting closer and Maddy breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was one step closer to his new family. They needed him and he wouldn’t let them down. He liked this sense of purpose it gave him to take care of others. To feel needed. Maybe that’s what he had been missing his whole life? He never felt like he was wanted or needed, except in a bad way. Like when his mother wanted to use his being alive as a way to trap his dad. He really hated Alison and was glad she was dead, but he knew he still had to watch out for Malachi. He was sure that sick fuck would mess with him again if he ever got his hands on him.
But he couldn’t allow that. He now had people that were counting on him and he needed to get them to Alpha Micah. His Uncle. Micah was a good man. A man that Maddy respected and looked up to. A man that he wanted to be like some day. Like his father, Raith. Raith was a good man too and Maddy wanted to get to know him better. He wanted them to be a family. But would Raith accept him back now that he ran from them? Or would he give up on Maddy too like everyone else did.
No, that’s not true. Evan and his brothers back at the home hadn’t given up on him. Josh hadn’t given up on him, and everyone in the Angel Pack hadn’t given up on him. They all accepted him and showed him great patience. He was the one who had given up on them by running away.
He was feet from the tree line when he heard the growl behind him. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t paid attention to his surroundings. Now Ash and the old man were going to pay for his mistake. He closed his eyes and sighed in resignation. He slowly turned to face his fate.
Maddy opened his eyes and was shocked to see what was there. The wolves weren’t growling at him. They were crouched in an attack stance back at the intersection a hundred yards away. Their lips were raised with canines showing and the hair on their backs was standing up. They weren’t even looking in Maddy’s direction. They were looking down the street at something Maddy couldn’t see. Suddenly two huge wolves came down the street from behind the building and faced off against th
e two smaller wolves. The huge wolves were not only scary looking, but they looked like they were on a mission to destroy the two assholes who were too damn stupid to back down.
Well, Maddy wasn’t stupid. He would take this opportunity and get the hell out of there. Being careful with his injured foot, he turned and made his way into the woods as fast as he could. He took about four steps in when he heard the fight begin. He wasn’t sticking around to see who would win. He was hightailing it out of there. Well, hightailing at his snail’s pace. And he was pretty sure he knew who was going to stand victorious after that fight anyway. He knew the two idiot’s from hiding from them for the past two weeks, but these new wolves he didn’t know and he didn’t want to go and introduce himself. What was that old saying, “Better the devil you know,” or some shit like that. So as fast as his twisted ankle would allow, Maddy got as far away from the wolves as he could. He only hoped Ash hadn’t come across the new wolves and that he was safe.
* * * *
“Shit. Where the hell are you, Maddy?” Ash whispered to himself. He had been hiding in the storm drain for forty-five minutes now and still no sign of Maddy. He couldn’t stay here any longer. He needed to follow the plan and get back to the house. Then he needed to get the old man well and head to Pennsylvania to go to Maddy’s pack. Maddy said that his alpha would protect them and take care of them, and he trusted Maddy.
Maddy had made him promise that if anything happened to him, that Ash would get them to his pack and let the council know what was going on here, and to tell his mates that he was sorry and that he loved them. When he asked the young wolf why he had left his mates, Maddy clammed up as tears built in his eyes. After a few minutes, he started to explain how he and his mate Josh had known for almost a year that they were mates, but because of their age, they couldn’t claim each other. Then Maddy told him all about the conversations they had and about their other mate Milo, and how Maddy had started to get to know him before he ran.
He was feeling really guilty about being selfish and only thinking about himself. He wasn’t taking Milo’s feelings into consideration when he insisted that it wasn’t fair that Milo got to claim Josh first. And Maddy felt really guilty about leaving when Milo was in such deep trouble that all of their futures hung in the balance. He was worried that the council would lock Milo up for a long time or kill him and then Josh would be alone, and then how would he handle the mating heat?
The pain and longing in Maddy’s eyes pulled on Ash’s heart and made Ash make a promise to himself, that no matter what it took, he was going to get Maddy back to his mates. So he had to have faith in Maddy. Ash could see in his eyes that he was determined to get home to his mates. So Ash had to believe that Maddy was okay. Somehow he got away and he was heading toward the house like they had discussed.
Ash grabbed the duffle bag and draped it over his shoulder. He peered out of the pipe, searching for any signs of the wolves. The coast was clear, so Ash stepped out of his hiding spot and started making his way back to the house to wait for Maddy there.
Ash walked the four miles back to the house and went inside. His heart fell when he saw that Maddy wasn’t already there waiting for him. He made his way over to the mattress and checked on the old man. He had shifted into his wolf and was fast asleep. That was probably a good thing. The more time he spent in wolf form, the better. It would help him heal faster. Ash quietly moved away, not wanting to wake up the older wolf, when a thought suddenly hit him. He turned back and stared at the wolf. He hadn’t shifted into his wolf since they escaped the pack eight months ago. Did this mean he was getting better and maybe they had a shot at escaping this town?
Ash smiled and turned back, moving away from the wolf. He sat on his mattress in the other corner and opened the duffle bag. His eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning when he saw what Maddy had gotten for them. There were two cooked chickens, three heads of cabbage, a raw steak in a zip bag, a steamer pot full of wild rice, and three bunches of bananas. “Thank you, Maddy,” Ash whispered as his throat clogged up with emotion and tears built in his eyes.
He stored all the food away in the cabinets except for the meats. He put those in a cooler that he had found one day while cutting through the park. They didn’t have ice, but it would hold the food for a little while at least. A burst of power hit him and Ash jumped. Turning, he looked to find that the wolf had shifted back to his human form, but he was still asleep. Ash went to his side and grabbed the blanket, covering him with it. As he brushed his fingers over the man’s skin, he noticed the heat coming off him. Ash placed his hand on the man’s forehead and found that he was burning up.
“Shit! What do I do?” Ash looked around for an answer, but found none. Then he thought of the tub in the bathroom. He could fill that with cool water and place him in it. Maybe that would break the fever? He quickly ran down the hall and into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and let the rusty water go down the drain. Once the water cleared, he used it to rinse the tub and then he began to fill it.
Running back to the living room, he stopped short when he realized he wasn’t going to be able to move the man on his own. He was too big and heavy for Ash to carry. He stood there trying to come up with a plan. Maybe he could lay him on a blanket and drag the blanket to the bathroom? But then how was he supposed to get him over the edge and into the water?
A noise came from outside and Ash froze. He listened for the sound again, but it didn’t come. Maybe it was just the wind? Then he heard a thumping sound. Ash moved to stand by the sick man and kept his eyes on the door. The door started to move and Ash reached over and grabbed the hunting knife, holding it out in front of him.
A head popped through the opening and Ash sighed in relief. His shoulders relaxed, and he blew out the breath he had been holding. He would know that shaggy head of hair anywhere. Maddy had made it. Everything was going to be okay now. Maddy came through the opening, dragging the big sack behind him. His eyes met Ash’s, and they gave each other a smile. Once Maddy was in, he closed and secured the door behind him, locking them in for the day.
“The sun’s about to come up. I was so worried they got you,” Ash said.
“I thought I was a goner there for a minute, but luck was on my side and I was able to get away. If it weren’t for this stupid ankle, I would have been here sooner. Sorry I made you worry, brother.”
The word caused Ash to pull back in surprise and then smile. “I’m just glad you’re okay and you’re back…brother.”
Maddy gave him a big smile and nodded. The two of them worked together to get the older wolf into the tub and then they put the rest of the food Maddy had gathered, away. Ash wrapped Maddy’s foot, and the two of them went to take care of the other man.
Chapter 5
Micah was shocked. He couldn’t believe the condition they had found his father’s once magnificent pack house in. He stood looking at his childhood home, and his heart hurt. He knew he had been gone for a long time, but he also knew his father would have never let his home or his lands get to this dilapidated condition. The paint was peeling off the siding, many shingles were missing from the roof, some of the windows were broken or missing, and the grounds were so overgrown it looked like a forest was growing around the house. He looked down at the stairs as he was about to take a step and wondered if they would be able to hold his weight. Some of the planks were missing, while others were broken and brittle.
He pulled his foot back and turned to look at Trevor. “What happened here? Why does the Alpha House look so decrepit?”
“This has only been since James took over. He and his buddies use it like a frat house. But none of them know how to clean up after themselves or take care of anything.”
“All this damage has been done in only five months?” Micah spun to face James. His eyes glowed and his breathing was heavy. “This is how you treat an Alpha House? This only proves once again that you are not an alpha. The alpha’s home should be the focal point of a pack. A pl
ace where all members of the pack can come and feel welcome. Where they can seek help when needed. How dare you disrespect my father’s house like this?” Micah spat angrily.
“Micah, it will be okay, mate. We’ll figure out what happened in this pack and fix everything,” Jesse said comfortingly.
Micah looked down at his mate. “I can’t go in there, Jesse. If the inside looks anything like the outside, then I can’t go in there,” he said softly.
“Then we’ll have the meeting out here.” Jesse gently ran a hand over Micah’s arm, trying to comfort him. He turned and looked at Crew and Haven. “Would you mind taking Sasha and Colby and finding the cells down below? Bring up anyone they have held there.”
“Yes, Jesse,” Crew answered.
“I can show them the way, Heart,” Trevor offered.
Jesse gave Trevor a gentle smile. “Thank you, Trevor.”
Once Trevor and the others went up the porch steps and into the house, Jesse turned back to face the crowd gathered there. “How many others are locked down in the cells?”
A young woman stepped forward. “We don’t know for sure, Alpha Prime mate. Pack members are always disappearing or being taken by James and his men. Sometimes their bodies are found down by the gorge. But some we have never seen again,” she answered sorrowfully.
“Why would they be taken?” Raith asked.
“For whatever reason James could come up with,” she said in disgust. “He had those thugs of his come into my house in the middle of the night, and they took my brother away. When I asked them what he had done, they told me someone had reported him looking at their husband lustfully. After they beat him bloody, they dragged him from his bed and took him to see James. I never saw my brother again.” She began to sob.
