Insatiable

by Rachel E Rice

  Winter had set in and the snow lay thick on the blue vinyl cover.

  Marcus thought he had to make this interview quick. He didn’t want to be caught in this town with the snow falling the way it is. It was his curious nature which brought him to the Samsa ranch, and because a lot of answers were left unanswered. And now he had one more question. How could Lycell Samsa get out of the crash without cuts or bruises?

  “It’s been a week and I heal quickly,” Wilder said. “My son found me, and got me medical attention immediately, and as you can see if you drove through our town, we have a large hospital and one out back. Would you like to sit and have something to eat or drink?”

  Wilder smelled liquor on the detective’s breath. Detective Marcus tried to disguise it with peppermint. A man wouldn’t have smelled the distinct odor of whisky, but Wilder wasn’t exactly a man. He knew the detective to be a drinking man. A man who drinks on the job. A man who needs a drink in his line of business.

  “Nothing, thank you. I just came to see if you were hurt. We’ve had some killings in my area and I just wanted to know if you’ve had any problems with wolves. And I was wondering if you saw any when your truck fell into that gorge.”

  Detective Marcus’s mind wavered as he took a brief look around. “You have a large ranch here.” He leaned looking at the large open space with large panorama windows. He could see the view is spectacular.

  “No. We have no problems with wolves, and I saw nothing.”

  “Well, it’s best that I start back. I don’t want to be caught on that road if there are packs of hungry wolves roaming about.” Detective Marcus turned around to get one last look of the place. Wilder didn’t know if he was just nosey as his job called for that, or if he was on to something. Neither men showed the other their real self. But Wilder’s knowledge of men and werewolves knew all he needed to know about Marcus.

  The only thing Wilder had a problem with was did the detective suspect anything? From looking at him and into his dark eyes Wilder knew that Marcus had some knowledge of Samsaville. He had to have known that it was a haven for shifters.

  When Wilder’s father, Harper, first set feet in this valley no one knew what a shifter was and still they don’t know for sure. But as the nearby towns began whispering about the existence of men and women who can change into wolves, mountain lions, panthers, and sub species of cats not prone to the area, more people and especially sheriffs of small towns began paying more attention.

  No one had reported that they had seen shifters, so the outsiders took it as just conspiracy theories, and the ones whose ancestors built the state of Nevada knew better.

  And it didn’t help that there were a lot of unsolved murders in the area. Lycell just managed to put Samsaville on the radar of a detective who is known to solve crimes in his town.

  Wilder walked the detective to the door. He turned and said to Wilder, “Do you live here alone?”

  “Just my family.”

  “You have a nice place to raise a family.” He extended his hand. Wilder shook it and this time he noticed a change. Detective Marcus’s handshake held a little less confidence and a lot of caution.

  Look on Wilder’s face, Marcus knew it was time to leave. He stepped out of the open door and climbed into a late model black Ford extended cab truck and drove around where the road led out of the ranch.

  It was almost a mile getting out of the Samsa compound to the main road. Detective Marcus had an eerie feeling about the Samsa’s but then he was the suspicious type. It went with the job.

  When Wilder turned, Lycell was standing looking at him with Tracker nearby. “You need to get back to the hospital room and rest. Those wounds will have to heal. I can’t go around pretending I’m you. If that detective returns he will know the difference in you and me,” Wilder said to Lycell.

  Tracker placed his leather jacket on and headed for the kitchen where his motorcycle was parked at the back of the ranch. “Where are you going, Tracker? I need you to make sure your father stays in the hospital until he heals.”

  “Father can take care of himself. I need to find Saadia,” Tracker said.

  “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with her?” Wilder said to him and kept walking up the stairs.

  “I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Tracker yelled to Wilder.

  “Just like your father,” Wilder murmured. Only a werewolf could hear what Wilder said, and Lycell and Tracker heard him.

  When Wilder reached Adrienne’s bed and stood looking down at her, Damon had healed from his wound. Almost.

  Chapter 23

  Damon stood, raised his arms took in a full breath of air. He looked at Saadia and smiled. “You’re getting good at taking care of Samsas.”

  “I wanted only to take care of one.” She lowered her head and appeared sad. Then she caught herself and said, “Well, if he can’t appreciate me, fuck him.” Damon knew she didn’t mean it. He knew she had been hurt by Tracker and she never really loved him. Tracker was all she saw and would ever see. It was a waste of time wanting Saadia to love him. His mind now focused on Naja.

  “I’m well enough to go after Naja.” Damon stood with a painful furrowed brow. Saadia glanced at Damon seeing that his legs were giving him problems. Had the wolves severed an artery she hadn’t picked up on?

  “I need to get you back to Samsaville. You may have internal injuries.” Damon braced himself on a table. He closed his eyes.

  “There’s nothing wrong with me that another eye couldn’t cure.” Damon tried to make light of it, but Saadia wasn’t buying his playful wit. He’s a werewolf and what he needed most was a pair of eyes. And the loss of one, could put him in harm’s way when he had to hunt and if he needed to protect the pack if for some unfortunate reason they were attacked by the Alaskan werewolves.

  And with him being with Naja, the Samsa werewolves were inching closer and closer to war.

  Damon picked up a piece of smoked meat, bit some and handed some to Saadia. She shared the meat with him before reaching for some water to wash it down.

  “Hurry. We need to go. I don’t know what I’ll find. I promised Naja that I would protect her with my life. She’s waiting for me to rescue her.”

  “She probably thinks you’re dead.”

  “She knows I’m alive. We mated under the full moon. I feel her life’s force and she feels mine. We are werewolves remember. If you stop being hostile to Tracker you will be able to feel his life force where ever he goes. And you can find him wherever he is.”

  Looking up at Damon, Saadia said, “You are right about Tracker and you’re right about Naja. You speak about her with fondness in your voice. You like her very much.”

  “It’s you the one I like. But we know how that turned out.” He moved close to Saadia. She glanced up and smiled at him. “But it’s Naja I love.”

  “You can’t go alone, Damon.”

  “I have no choice. There’s no one to help me. I’ve been banished from the pack by my father and by Wilder. Now I know how it feels to be alone. No family. If they take me back then I won’t make that mistake again.” Damon reached for a pair of jeans. Then he took a blue and black flannel shirt out of a drawer.

  “What were you and Tracker arguing about?” He asked placing his arms through the sleeves.

  “You.”

  “Me?”

  “That’s right. You.” Damon tried pulling up his pants and the bandages on his legs didn’t protect him from the pain nor was the painkillers strong enough to lessen his agony of losing one eye.

  “I’m going with you.” Saadia glanced up at Damon. “Why were you arguing over me?” She helped him button his jeans. And then she stood in front of him and buttoned his shirt.

  “I’m not helpless, Saadia. I can dress myself. I better get used to seeing with one eye.” She looked up at him because he didn’t answer her question. Standing back she waited for an answer.

  “I wanted him to make up his mind.” Damon looked down at Saadia, �
��I was going to ask you to be my mate. Not the way I am, I can’t protect you or anyone.”

  “I don’t need protecting. That young girl you love, Naja, needs your protection more than me. And you’re wrong, you are every bit of a werewolf with one eye as Tracker is with two. You have a heart and you have feelings. You just aren’t for me. I don’t think you ever loved me, and I know I didn’t love you. There can be no one but Tracker for me.”

  “He said those very words and that’s why I attacked him, but I know better now. I want Naja to be with me forever. If she thinks I’m worthy.”

  “The only way to find out is for you to find her and bring her back.” Saadia kissed Damon on the cheek. “Look at you. All handsome after I cut your hair.” She held a piece of leather in her hand and handed it to him. He took it and looked at it with a curious stare.

  “I made you an eye patch, silly. To cover your blind eye.” She stood on tiptoes and placed it over his head. “And you look just like your brothers with one exception, you have a heart and one eye. You look tough and handsome with your patch over your eye. Tracker won’t be able to top that with his leathers, motorcycle, and tattoos. You look like you’ve been in a war. You have street credit now,” she said smiling at him.

  “But Tracker is tough.”

  “Not the way you are. Even now with one eye and your legs hurt you’re thinking about keeping your word, and your obligation to Naja,” Saadia said her voice soft. Her envy of Naja showing. It was then she wished she had fallen in love with Damon and not Tracker.

  “Perception is reality and you look like you’ve been in battle and you have. Tracker would give an eye to have fought those werewolves and lived to talk about it.”

  “Alright. Alright you’ve convinced me. Are you taking your bow and arrow?”

  “Yes. Are you?”

  “No. But it’s ok for a werefemale. A werewolf meets another werewolf as equals. We aren’t like humans. It comes down to how strong we are. Our physical strength and dominance over another determines if we are Alpha or beta. If I don’t measure up to Alpha, then I will always be a beta in my family and in the world of werewolves.”

  “Then we’re ready.” Saadia picked up her case with her bow and arrow and draped it across her shoulder. She knew to dress for the cold. She knew that if she had to shift it would have to be as comfortable as possible with little effort. She wore fur boots and a fur vest over black stockings and a black leather top.

  “Let’s go,” Saadia said shooting Damon a closed smile.

  Chapter 24

  When Tracker raised his head and sniffed he caught Saadia’s scent. He took off running through the dropping snow in the direction of the Samsa’s cave. When he reached the cave, Damon and Saadia were gone. He stomped around imagining that they had slept together and he became furious. He picked up the leather stripping Saadia had used to make a patch for Damon. Tracker tore it apart and threw it in the corner.

  That wolf part of him and the need to mate during the coming full moon ripped through him and he headed through the mouth of the cave jealous and furious. This time he would meet Damon and with his father and brothers not around, he would teach him who was the Alpha, and never make the mistake of taking what is his.

  Tracker wanted now to possess Saadia as his everlasting mate, but he couldn’t at this time. It was too soon. He didn’t want a family and he didn’t want to be bound to a pack. That wild wolf in him was driving him and he didn’t know where it was coming from.

  He turned and looked around his nostrils flaring in anger.

  His first thought was to trash the place, destroy the scent of Saadia and Damon being together, but this was their home and what would Wilder and the others think. His father would understand because they had the same disposition.

  When Tracker calmed down and controlled that wolf part of him he set out to track Saadia, and heaven help Damon when he found him. They would be away from the Samsa territory and there was nothing in their laws that said they couldn’t settle their disagreements in land not belonging to a Samsa.

  Tracker trailing close behind the two would catch up to them soon. Along the way he caught scent of werewolves. Not wolves. He stopped to make sure and watched at their tracks. They changed from walking on four feet to walking on two feet.

  As Damon and Saadia approached the compound, it had snowed heavily that night. They had traveled over hundreds of miles following Naja’s scent. The remaining werewolves who left Damon for dead didn’t stop. They must have been very young, beginning yearlings, Damon thought.

  He and Saadia didn’t stop to rest they kept running through the deep snow. When they got tired they slowed and trekked along through the forest and woods in snow thigh high, and sometimes trudging through ice covered lakes.

  Damon looking around and said, “When the fuck will this snow stop?” He was huffing and out of breath and knee deep in a forest he didn’t recognize. Saadia was catching her breath too but not like Damon.

  “I like the snow,” she said picking up a handful and tossing it into Damon’s face. “Cheer up there’s no way that small band of werewolves can handle you and me.”

  “I’m glad you’re positive,” Damon said, “I’m not too sure about it being a small band.”

  “You said last night that the young wolves were a pack of young lone werewolves. Rogues who just happen to get together. I think you’re right.”

  He looked at Saadia and laughed, “You would think I’m right. I haven’t been right about too much lately.”

  “I think it’s time to tell you something.”

  “I hope you’re not going to tell me you’re pregnant for Tracker because he would kill me knowing you’re with me, and you could be killed or maimed because of me.

  “No nothing like that. I wanted to say that I’m different.”

  “But of course you are. You’re a werefemale. A rare werefemale. One of the few who are fertile.”

  “I know that, but that’s not what makes me different. What makes me different,” she stopped in her tracks and turned to Damon, “I can change.”

  “Yes, I know. All werewolves and shifters can change.”

  “Will you listen? That’s what pisses me off about you. You think you have all the answers and you never listen.”

  “Is that why you prefer Tracker to me?”

  “It’s not about that. I’m trying to tell you if you stop with the Tracker shit,” Saadia paused, “I’m trying to say that I can change into anyone. I can look like any female or male you’ve ever seen.” Damon stopped walking and turned around to look at Saadia, and flinched from surprise for what he saw before him.

  She laughed, “It’s not easy making a werewolf jump.”

  “Holy shit. Does Tracker know? Don’t answer that. That’s why he hasn’t left town. He doesn’t want to leave you. He’s afraid that someone else will get you. That’s awesome. How do you do that?”

  “I don’t know I just do. I can imagine a face and body and then I change into it.”

  “If you decided you want to leave Tracker, I’m all in with you.”

  “I’ll never leave him. We’re bound together. It was sanctioned by my father and mother and your parents, and what about Naja?”

  “So he was right. You will never leave him and he will never leave you.” Damon turned and started walking again. “That Tracker is fucking lucky. And that makes for some unlucky female and male to have to fall in love with you two. And here I am looking for a mate and I have one eye. Some werewolves have all the luck.”

  Saadia hungry stopped and reached in her bag. Damon stopped and sat with her under a large tree in a gloomy snowy forest with light filtering through the trees turning everything grey. The forest so dense it didn’t get much snow.

  She pulled out some meat and handed it to Damon. He ate it without protest. She knew he wanted to keep going but without fresh meat his body wouldn’t be up to the task if they came across the werewolves.

  As tired as they wer
e from traveling over hundreds of miles, when they did reach their destination they wouldn’t be good for anything. But Saadia knew she had to be up to the task because she knew by Damon’s stumbling and because he slowed enough for her to catch up to him, that he would need her help if they had to fight their way out.

  After eating they walked until they saw a clearing and there they saw a house. Not as large as the Samsa ranch but nonetheless impressive. It was surrounded by a stone wall, but it wasn’t to keep out werewolves and wild animals, it was to keep out humans.

  Saadia and Damon didn’t speak. They were aware that the werewolves would hear them. The place quiet with few lights gave the appearance that it was abandon. Under the emerging moon light there wasn’t a need for any lights. Before they reached the wall that surrounded the large home, the area was open. Damon signaled to Saadia to get on her belly and crawl. Which she did following his lead.

  When they reached the wall they stood facing it and Saadia changed into a male werewolf. She didn’t want them to know she was a female if she got caught. Then she turned to Damon and he turned to look at her in surprise.

  “Fuck, Saadia, you can’t keep doing that without telling me,” Damon said in a whisper.

  “I think I should go in first and see what we’re up against. Hold on to my bow and arrows until I get back.”

  “No. I forbid you.”

  “Do you think if I disregarded my father’s warning about Tracker I will listen to you?” Saadia shifted her head to the right side at an angle and shot Damon a small smile. “I’m going in and you can’t stop me. You need some rest.” She patted Damon on the shoulder. Then stopped to feel his muscles. “Very impressive.”

  Damon pulled her hand from his shoulder and said, “I’m fine.”

  “No you’re not and I’m going anyway.” Before Damon could stop her, she bounded up and over the six foot wall. When she landed on her feet she glanced around, and the place appeared to be abandoned. Why wasn’t there someone to guard the place, she wondered.