by Lucy Lyons
Henny nodded and threw a poncho over Goldie’s shoulders. We all sat in silence around the fire as I stared up at the waxing moon and considered calling Caroline and explaining the new development in the intra-pack strife. But if she and Ashlynn talked like they were supposed to, she’d be here shortly anyway, hopefully with a few vampires and wererats in tow.
“Clayton, I know what you’re thinking, but you haven’t got the authority to call for war on another pack.” Henny crossed her arms and gave me a hard look across the circle. The prof patted her knee and smiled then turned toward me.
“Clay doesn’t want war with a clan, Henny. He wants to assassinate a perverted monster. I don’t think any of us want to fight these kids.”
“But something’s got be done, doesn’t it?” There was a rustle behind me and Simi, an old friend and Venatores double agent, stepped up to the fire.
“Hey, all. S’up with all my vagrants tonight?” She threw a leg over a log and leaned forward, her tight latex and leather suit hugging her body like a slick second skin, glowing in the flickering light. Her eyes met mine, and I was grateful for the darkness to hide my embarrassed flush.
I’d been rejecting Ashlynn’s increasingly persistent offers and after the shower episode my body was committing treason, demanding my needs be met, but none of the women in this circle belonged to me. I rubbed my hands over my shorts and felt the wolf inside me, offering the change instead of sex to placate my primal needs. I pushed the thought away and tried to focus.
“So, what brings you here tonight, Slick?” I asked before she could say anything about my perusal of her tight rear end.
“Aside from longing for your lecherous gaze? Caroline texted me to meet her here when I requested an audience with Nicholas. The Venatores received some intel I knew they’d need to hear.” She sat upright and accepted a beer from the prof, who glanced down at the cooler by his side with a mournful expression.
“How about I go raid the other coolers and bring back a few more beers?” I said. “On the way, I’ll also scout for any vampire or necromancer presence and direct them this way if I find them.” I needed a break from my libido, and I still hadn’t gotten the time alone I’d been looking for all afternoon.
I felt the heat of Goldie’s stare on my back like sparks from the fire as I headed into the trees, heading for the distant music and laughter. My stomach churned as I thought of what she’d been forced to endure, even though I knew she hadn’t told us a fraction of what she’d seen and been through. I had a lot of experience with victims from my time as a hunter. No one ever wanted to tell you everything, either out of self-preservation of their sanity or to keep you from seeing all their wounds laid bare. In her case, I suspected the latter. She was tough, stronger than almost any teen I’d ever met, and one day, she would be a force to be reckoned with.
Unfortunately for Bernie, I was in the middle of that line of thought when I reached the grills, which he was just cleaning up from the communal supper. His back slammed against the trunk of the nearest fir tree and pine needles showered down on us as I snarled into his face, reveling in the power as his eyes went to a canine ice blue.
“What is it about me, exactly, that made you think I was a sexual predator?” I hissed at him. He cringed away from me, and I leaned in until I could feel his panting breath on my face. “Why the hell would you put that girl through it, after all she’s been through already?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but we both looked skyward as the sound of a great rush of wings passed over us just before I heard the crunch of tires on gravel. Caroline had arrived, and she’d brought blood-sucking backup with her. I released Bernie and pivoted away from him, but he grabbed my arm and jerked me back.
“I chose you because Ashlynn refused to accept the girl. I knew you wouldn’t add to her suffering. What else could I do? I had to protect her. I was willing to do anything that didn’t force me to be disloyal to my own mate.” He jerked back from the rage that threatened to erupt from me.
“Ashlynn knew?”
“Ashlynn refuses to go up against the other alpha. She refused to accept any refugees the moment she bested me in battle.” He sighed and tugged at his thick, gray-streaked beard. “If I’d have known what it meant to the pack, I might’ve fought harder. But I didn’t want to widow my wife. I thought Ashlynn was so powerful she had to be better than an aging old wolf like me.”
I snorted. “You didn’t know she was a selfish coward,” I interjected, and he sighed again, deeper than before.
“I did not.”
I nodded and strode toward the fire, sensing the vampires that surrounded us like a wall of chilling death that separated the pack from professor Eldritch and the ladies at the other camp. Ashlynn stood near the fire, her hair softly floating like strands of flame on the updraft, looking every bit the part of the brave warrior leader. But I knew her secret, and if Bernie did too, then who else was waiting in the wings for her to make a mistake so they could exploit her weakness?
“Alpha of the Rainier wolf pack, the vampires of the Pacific coast request permission to sit with you in council,” Caroline called out, and I felt the tension leap skyward as wolves leaked power, out of fear or aggression.
“Lady D’Elbrecht of the Pacific coast vampires, necromancer and alpha among our people, we welcome you to our fire. Sit and counsel with us.” The tone was as important as the words, and Ashlynn was every bit the diplomat for once. I wondered if it was because of my words or because she knew she was at the edge of the precipice, about to lose her throne and possibly her life.
Caroline stepped into the light and embraced Ashlynn warmly as jaws dropped around the circle. The animosity between the women was no secret, so I wasn’t sure if it was the embrace that had everyone staring or the sweet bump in Caroline’s stomach that declared her a mother-to-be. As surprising as any friendship between them, my bet was on the latter, considering that Lord D’Elbrecht was the master vampire for the entire western United States, governing even other masters since he’d helped raise the source of all vampires, the Night Mother.
“Caroline, it’s good to see you. I’ve missed you these last few weeks,” I interrupted, stepping forward to give her a hug of my own. I reached out to her mentally, hoping she’d sense it with her telepathy. I knew we had a connection, but all I could do was receive her thoughts, not being a telepath myself.
Simi’s here with important information, and we have a serious problem with the wolf hierarchy, I sent her as hard as I could. I felt the sweat bead off my forehead and gave up, but Caroline threaded her fingers through mine and squeezed to let me know she’d heard.
“The vampires have come at my behest to discuss matters of our alliance,” Ashlynn declared, and I heard at least one wolf sniff derisively behind me.
“What do vampires, or their human whores, know about wolf law?” a young male scoffed, and I pivoted just in time to see Bernie slam him down to the earth and growl into his face.
“You will show visiting leaders the respect owed them, pup, or you will be disciplined accordingly,” he growled low in his throat and the guy, a new transplant from the east named Steven, turned his head to offer his throat to the old alpha in submission. Ashlynn flinched, and it reverberated through the circle. She’d lost her desperate grip on the pack, and the entire audience felt it. Instead of the vampires aiding her in keeping control, they were about to witness her fall from power.
Chapter Four
Caroline and her second, a vampire named Colette ushered us toward Ashlynn’s cabin with Caroline towing me behind her by the arm. Several younger wolves closed in behind us, and I sent a silent plea to my friend to protect Bernie and Henny and co.
“Bernard, as former leader of the pack and alpha, as well as mentor for so many of our young wolves, your input would be invaluable to us. Please bring your mate and your best people with you,” Caroline requested formally. I smiled despite the tension of the wolves at hearing Bernie called by the prope
r name he hated. I felt some of that angst dissipate as others snickered at the name as well and wondered if Caroline had just been lucky again or if she’d known the effect his irritation would have on the pack.
Colette was texting madly as I entered the cabin, still dragged by the worried mom-to-be, and she glanced up at me and mouth the word, “Simi.” I gave her a quick nod and let Caroline drag me into the center of the circle, where she finally released my hand and sat down on a chair at the large, rectangular table.
“Care, where’s Nick? I thought he went everywhere with you since the Night Mother and Dominique helped you get pregnant,” I whispered, even though every person in the room other than her had preternatural hearing and wouldn’t miss a word.
“Nick’s got a meeting with the Night Mother. He’ll attend when he’s finished, if we need him.” She smiled reassuringly, but I could tell from her voice that they had their own crisis emerging or Nick never would’ve left his pregnant wife’s side.
Colette stood behind Caroline’s seat and winked at me. I stifled a sigh of relief, feigning a yawn, and waited for Bernie and the people he chose to join us so we could figure out what the hell we were supposed to do with over a dozen young, power-hungry wolves literally right outside the door.
As though I’d conjured him like one of Caroline’s animations, Bernie slipped into the chair next to mine and leaned back in his seat, his hands locked behind his head. I recognized most of the wolves he brought with him, but the number of friends he’d brought to the table raised my hackles. Caroline patted my hand, and I glanced at her. Ashlynn was pale when she sat at the head of the table, her jaw clenched as she glowered at the last wolves to arrive.
“Are we all here?” she sniped, and Bernie grinned.
“You can begin, Alpha. From the power pushing at that door, it would probably be best if you kept the meeting short.” She opened her mouth to chastise him but thought better of it and snapped it shut again, pausing before she continued.
“We are beset on every side by the disloyal and the perverse, and the pack must stand as one to put down the dissenters and recreate the order we once enjoyed,” she started, and several of the young ones nodded or chuffed their agreement.
“But how do we serve that end when you refuse to keep the peace as an alpha should?” I countered. I leaned forward as she growled and batted at her with my power, reminding her that I too had alpha power, even if I didn’t hold the title. “You are so powerful, yet you’re a coward. You let innocents be tortured rather than go to battle. You turn a blind eye to those in your pack who undermine the nobility of our race,” I continued. She slammed her hands down on the table and the wooden legs cried out in protest as the entire table shook and threatened to collapse.
“Our pack…our pack?” she sneered. “Since when have you actually claimed the pack, intruder? Just because the moon calls to you does not make you one of us.”
I felt Caroline stiffen beside me, and Colette gripped her shoulders to keep her seated. It was my turn to reassure my friend, and I patted her hand the way she’d done to me.
“Actually, I’ve claimed the pack since almost day one. It’s you I don’t claim, Ashlynn. I come from a proud and valiant people. Imperfect as they are, they would never lower themselves by hiding from a pedophile rather than risk themselves to save innocents.” Bernie groaned and held his face in his hand, and several of the young wolves gasped outright at my accusation.
“You have no idea how difficult it has been to hold the pack together, the first female alpha to even attempt to do so,” she huffed, and I nodded and raised my hands in the sign of surrender.
“Yes, but if it’s that hard for you, are you right for the job?” Caroline interjected softly. “The pack needs strength in its leadership or the whole system fails. You’ve been so wrapped up in being the one in charge, you’ve neglected almost everything about what a leader is supposed to do. I understand your fear, but that doesn’t make what you’ve done, and what you’ve allowed to happen, any less wrong.”
“To give up my power means I have to fight to the death. Who’s to say my usurper will be as generous as I was when I bested the previous alpha?” she leaned forward, her palms on the scarred surface of the table. “I must find a mate who can lead this people so I don’t have to die,” she hissed.
I felt Caroline’s and Colette’s eyes on me, and my neck got hot as I flushed crimson with embarrassment. I didn’t want Ashlynn to die, but I didn’t want to fight those challengers either. I’d been as much a coward in my own way as she had, and for the same reason. She let the wolves do what they wanted to try to buy their loyalty, as short-sighted as that had been.
“So all those times you asked me to stand in challenge for your hand, you were asking for my help?” I made it sound like a statement, but Ashlynn nodded curtly.
Bernie and his wolves were quiet, and I glanced around the room at them, waiting for an outburst or declaration of war. Instead, Bernie’s brother Roger, the nearest of the wolves to Ashlynn, bowed his head with his hand over his heart. One by one, every wolf in the room followed suit, until Ashlynn and I stared gaping across the length of the table in astonishment.
My chair scraped on the planks of the floor as I stood and joined them. I wasn’t certain that Ashlynn was the best alpha the pack could have, but she’d shown the kind of mercy I wanted in a leader when she beat Bernie in a duel, and, in spite of her protests to the contrary, I knew she’d beat most of her challengers without breaking a sweat. The problem was the two that she couldn’t. They weren’t just strong—they were ruthless, the kind of men who would have taken Goldie without a second thought and caused her pain because they knew she expected them to.
“When we leave here, there will be an immediate battle,” Caroline warned us. “I can feel their thoughts, even if I can’t hear their words, and some of those wolves are ready to stage a violent coup to get the female off the throne.”
I rubbed my hands together and grinned, feigning excitement I didn’t feel. “The full moon’s close, and according to the professor, we’ve got a special lunar eclipse on the forecast. I say we beat these pups down and plan a big celebration party.”
“I’m not any good to you,” Caroline sighed. “The pregnancy is messing with my power, and the Night Mother warned us that I could damage the baby if I get wounded, even if it’s not in the stomach.”
Ashlynn floundered before finding her words again and scowled flabbergasted at the sorceress.
“In what reality would I ask a pregnant human to fight my battles? I’m not that afraid of these wolves. I simply wanted peace instead of always fighting.”
A fresh pang of guilt caught me in the gut, and I flinched. I’d said those exact words to myself every time I’d turned Ashlynn down. Now my words haunted me, and I wondered why Ashlynn had kept trying to win me over.
“Will your vampires fight with us? How will they know who is with us?” Steven asked. He didn’t look like he’d had a choice but to join Bernie and was wishing he’d never left Boston for the emerald coast.
“Don’t attack them. They won’t attack you,” Colette offered, her voice gravelly with hunger.
“No eating the wolves, either, Caroline,” I suggested. “The wolves will calm down a hell of a lot faster if they aren’t spun into a panic by the sight of feeding vampires.” Colette pouted and I rolled my eyes. “Not even you, gorgeous. Keep those fangs to yourself, and I’ll help you hunt if…when we all come out the other side of this.”
Colette had been turned and tortured and driven insane as a vampire fledgling. Caroline had somehow brought out the cunning and loyal heart under it all, and now her second-in-command was merely a powerful and terrifying soldier and spy without most of her old sadistic, murderous proclivities.
“You’re lucky I don’t do men, Clay. You get yummier every time I see you,” she retorted, and I stifled a laugh as I felt several young wolves bristle at the predatory tone. We’d worked together at the club e
nough that for us, this was friendly banter, but there was a bang at the door and I bit off my reply. Those with alpha-level abilities drew claws from their human hands, and we all turned to face the door as it opened and banged against the wall.
Simi pushed Goldie into the cabin before backing in with the professor and Henny following suit. Henny slammed the door shut and muttered a spell that flashed as the doorway was sealed and the banging on the outside was muted.
“Um, the wolves are trying to engage the vampires, Caroline. I suggested they take to the sky until you were finished, but they have to come down sometime, right?”
Caroline nodded as she chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. Her hands went to her stomach as the baby rolled, her stomach pulsing and heaving as the little one inside moved around. She breathed deeply and pressed her hand against her belly as she struggled to speak past her discomfort.
“OK, well, there was my reminder that I don’t get to play tonight,” she quipped, and a couple of the wolves chuckled while the rest of us kept our masks of concern. “I think Henny and I can still lay a protective spell for you all from in here. We’ll mark you as friends, so the vampires will protect you. Are there any outside who might be loyal or are we the underdogs again?”
“Definitely the underdogs,” I chuckled. “I don’t know how else to fight.”
Caroline rolled her eyes and shook her head, saying, “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know how to lose is a much more accurate caption to his fighting history.” She held out a hand to me, and I held it while she wobbled off the chair and cast about for a good place to start a protective circle. Ashlynn and Bernie slid the table against the far wall of the common area, leaving ample room for Henny and Caroline to spell cast, and the rest of us partially or wholly shifted as they started.
