“Good question. The current Wolf Tracker is extremely ill and dying, so that means the next one is untrained and has no powers. We take out the girl first, and then we take care of the current Wolf Tracker. Through the years, I’ve taken out the other descendants through accidents and incidents. There are no other living relatives that can become the Wolf Tracker except this one young girl. Taking this action will give us the power to do whatever we wish!” Viktor exclaims over the roar of the crowd.
Panic rises within me, but I work to keep my face expressionless. After all, I’m not supposed to know much about the Wolf Tracker. I glance at Scott and show confusion. He leans down, “What?”
“Who is the Wolf Tracker? What do they do?” I need to play stupid. Once this is over, maybe I can get a message out to Red.
“Someone who destroys all wolves, no matter who they are or what they do.”
“Really?” I ask. Grandma is not a ruthless killer. And Red? I trusted her completely.
Viktor quiets the crowd with a raising of his arms. All eyes return to him. “Tonight is the perfect time. The moon is full. Almost all will be on the streets, patrolling. Three of us, discretely, so we do not draw unwanted attention, will go in and take out the girl. I’ve done preliminary work, visiting the Wolf Tracker, and know she is too weak to help her granddaughter. Tonight will end the Wolf Tracker lineage, once and for all!”
A loud roar erupts, and Viktor steps off the bar and returns to his office, a sinister smile spreading across his lips.
If I can just get somewhere private, I can text Red and warn her. As I stand, Scott grabs my arm and pulls me to his side. “You’ll be one of the three, with Viktor and myself. Don’t go far—we leave shortly.” He shoves me down hard into the chair, and I hear a crack. I pull my phone out of my back pocket. It’s smashed and unusable.
“I’m sorry Peter, I forget my own strength to this day. I’ll get you a new one later.” Scott chuckles, and of course I know it was not a mistake.
I shrug, keeping my poker face. “No big deal.”
How am I going to let Red know now?
My heart pounds in my chest, deafening me by filling my ears with the sound. Even with my poker face, the sweat beads on my nose and forehead. I swipe it away.
Evan eyes me. “You okay?”
I nod. “A little hot in here.”
One of his eyebrows lift because he knows it’s not hot in here, but what else am I supposed to say? He shrugs and heads over to Scott to get his assignment, the street he is to patrol. But Scott is still facing my direction and glances at me every few seconds. I have no opportunity to make a run for it.
After a few minutes, the pack is organized, and Scott gives out a short howl to signal Viktor.
Viktor, who I’d never seen wear anything but a suit, comes out wearing a leather outfit, armored, by the look of it. He is taking no chances.
He smiles, but his eyes are glaring. Then he raises his voice and arms. “Are we ready?”
All the wolves let out a howl, so I follow suit. Overwhelmed, I need more time to process. But no one is giving it to me. How am I going to protect Red and Grandma? I see no way.
Scott slaps me on the back so that I nearly fall out of my seat. “Let’s go!”
“We’re doing this now?” I blink and stand, watching the others begin to file out of The Den.
Scott narrows his eyes at me. “Of course. What did you expect?”
He’s totally suspicious of me, but I keep schooling my expression. I compose myself. “This is my first time to attack anyone. So, you know, a bit nervous.”
His canine teeth show in a lopsided smile that increases my discomfort. He grabs my arm. His fingers squeeze tightly. “That’s why you are with us. We will keep an eye on you.”
Those words are double edged.
“Thanks, I feel so much better,” I answer, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.
Scott urges me to go faster and I follow the pack’s surge out the door. In no time at all, we are at the apartment building. In the east, the slightest silver light is melting away the night, but the moon, in its fullness, shines upon us. Viktor and Scott flank me, and I have no way to escape, no way to help Red or Grandma.
I blink up at the six-story brick building and attempt to play stupid. “She’s in my old apartment building?”
“Enough Peter!” Viktor grabs my collar and growls in my face. “We know the truth—that you were protecting them from us. Well, now you will be the one to kill the girl.”
“What?” I step back, but then, my shoulders hunch forward and my hackles raise. I find myself baring teeth. “I won’t.”
Viktor’s smile becomes sinister as he grips me by the shoulder and squeezes. I wince and whimper from the pain. He, too, bares his teeth, for the first time since he bit me. “Yes, you will. It is what is needed to get you to complete the transformation to your new self. We will be right with you.”
Scott and Viktor each grab an arm and lead me to the front door, through it and up the stairs. When we stand in front of Red’s door, Viktor produces a key and unlocks it.
I don’t have time to wonder where the key came from. Victor and Scott drag me through the door, and their grip loosens. I shake loose and run to Red’s bedroom, hoping that we might have time to get her out of the house, or block the door and call for help, or something, but when I slam open the door, her bed lies empty.
Over my shoulder, Viktor peers into the bedroom. “Where is the girl?”
Scott shakes his head. “It doesn’t look like she’s here.”
Viktor sneers in disgust and spins around, pointing at the bedroom door across the hall. “No matter, let’s get the old lady.” He sniffs the air. “The girl is near. Even though the powers will go to her, she will still be too new to know how to use them. We can get her when she comes in.”
They grab me again and drag me towards Grandma’s door and shove the door open. I drop my weight, forcing them to a stop inside the room. I struggle and cry outas they yank me to my feet. “No! You can’t do this!”
My yelling wakes Grandma. She blinks and sniffs the air. Her eyes become more determined than I’ve ever seen them, and there’s a glint there of something new.
I push against the hands shoving against my back. “This is murder. You can’t do this. They are good people—not the monsters you make them out to be.”
Grandma sits and swings her legs off the bed, facing us. The early morning light glints off the sliver of a pistol in her hands. One shot rings out with a deafening boom.
Time stands still for a split second as the hands against my back fall away. Viktor and Scott both yelp as if shot by the same bullet.
But it is me who is hit. Heat and pain rip through my chest. I place a hand against the hole, to staunch the flow of blood, but it is of little use. It squirts through my fingers, reddening my hand.
Then another shot… another deafening boom. I glance to see Viktor’s hand pressing against a hole in his upper chest. Scott shoves me as he bolts toward the window, yelling for us to follow.
He dives out the window, glass shattering around him in pieces.
Viktor blinks, blood trickles from the side of his mouth., He shakes his head and smiles sadly. “Ruby.” His voice is but a whisper..
“Viktor?” Her eyes widen. “Oh, Viktor!” She presses a fist to her mouth and her gaze follows as the man leaps from the window.
Then her eyes turn back on me. That glare… that scary glint returns. Her cottony, white hair frames her pale face in a cloud. Nothing in her expression registers recognition. She sniffs the air and raises her pistol on me once again. “Werewolf.” Her tone is flat, unfeeling.
I raise my hands defensively, but the lump in my throat won’t allow a single word to pass. The blood drips steadily from the wound and pools at my feet. Weak beyond standing, I drop to my knees and wait for the sound of the gun and certain death.
Dizziness washes over me, and darkness gathers. My head h
its the floor.
Red
I can’t sleep, and it’s almost daylight. Insomnia is a bear. And I don’t know how anyone would be expected to sleep anyway when their grandma is dying. Just the sorrow alone is enough to tighten the chest and keep sleep at bay.
I need to do something besides brood. I recheck our luggage. Smaller bottles of shampoo and stuff wouldn’t take up so much room. I could run down to the market on the corner to buy what we need. I’d be leaving Grandma alone, but it would only be for a few minutes. I can detect werewolves by smell. If any came near our apartment building, surely I’d know. The corner market was less than half a block away — I’d catch a whiff before they were anywhere near.
I jog to the store, make my purchases, and head back. Almost home, I catch a whiff of wet dog and stop. It becomes stronger, so strong, I gag. More than one werewolf? I drop the bags and take off at a dead run.
I hear a gunshot, Woodcutter from the sound. I stumble and slow. I look at the window of my apartment building. “Grandma?”
Panic claws my insides. Did someone get her gun? She wasn’t possibly in a state to use it.
Glass shatters as someone jumps through the broken glass of Grandma’s window. Not someone. A werewolf, landing lightly on his feet. From six floors up.
It rushes toward me, at an inhuman speed. I cover my head, reflexively, protectively, but it passes by in a whirlwind. I straighten slowly but cringe when another jumps and passes, much slower. I lock eyes with him, squaring my shoulders, but he is in no position to fight. His hand is against his bloodied shirt. Blood trails him as he goes.
Did they hurt Grandma? A sob racks my body, and I’m frozen for a split second. I get a hold of myself and rush toward the building. I slam open the outside door and dart up the stairs, finding myself moving faster than I ever knew I could. The door to our apartment stands open. “Grandma!” I cry out and rush in. My foot hits the carpet of our living room.
Peter is lying on the floor, in the doorway to Grandma’s room and everything slows. His eyes are closed and red blossoms from his chest.
I’m kneeling by his side before I see Grandma with the gun pointed at Peter. “No!”
Grandma frowns at me. And then a deafening boom. It rings through the room, echoing, bouncing from the walls.
But she’d jerked her hand up at the last second and blown out a large hole in the wall, slightly to the right of her door frame
I hear gargling.
“Peter!”
“Peter? What do you mean Peter? They are werewolves—they tried to kill us.” Grandma blinks and looks around confused, yet fully coherent for the first time in weeks. She’s stands beside the bed, holding to the edge.
“It’s Peter! Peter got turned, it’s why he was avoiding us. Grandma! We need help.” I press my hands against his chest, trying to stop the blood, but it seeps between my fingers.
“Peter was turned? How? When?”
I ignore her, pull out my phone and start dialing 911 with my blood-covered fingers. Grandma continues muttering to herself.
“911 operator, what’s your emergency?”
“My friend Peter has been shot, and I need an ambulance.”
“Hello! Red? Is everything all right?” someone calls from the living room.
I whip my head around to find the small Indian man I need most in the world. “Doc, hurry! Peter’s been shot!”
“Ma’am, who is that?” the operator asks.
“It’s Doctor Smith. He was coming to take my grandmother to the hospital.”
“Red, hand me your phone and keep pressure on his wound.” He takes the phone from me. “Ma’am, I have an ambulance here already and will bring Peter and Ruby both in. Prep for an emergency operation — a gunshot wound to the chest.”
My hands press.Tears spring to my eyes. My vision blurs..
The operator’s voice is loud enough on the phone that I hear her answer, “Yes, sir. I’ll make sure they know.”
“Thank you.” He hangs up and kneels by Peter. “Red, tell the gentlemen at the bottom of the stairs to bring a stretcher quickly. He’s lost a lot of blood.” He was already working with Peter as he spoke.
I jump up and run to the stairs, swiping my eyes with the back of my wrist. I see the two men standing at the bottom of the stairwell. “Doc wants the stretcher up here immediately. Hurry!”
When I get back, I skirt around the doctor and Peter. Peter still lies deathly still, his eyes closed, his face contorted. I walk over to Grandma. “Gran, do you have the strength to get down the stairs on your own? We have to go to the hospital.”
“Well, of course. We need to be with Peter.”
Dr. Smith throws a quick glance to Grandma, with an expression I can’t read.
The doctor stands and moves back as the paramedics move Peter to the stretcher. Two roll the stretcher while the third comes over to help Grandma. I nod at her. “Go ahead, Grandma; I’ll grab our bags.”
“Bags? Whatever for?” She yanks her arm from the paramedic’s grasp. “Oh, let’s go, young man! I can walk by myself.” Grandma leads the way and the paramedic follows behind. Her strength makes me blink.
The doctor stops me as I start out the door, touching my arm gently. “Red, whatever happened here tonight has the adrenaline pumping through your grandmother’s veins. Her Wolf Tracker powers have kicked in and given her new life, but it’s temporary.”
His words lodge a wedge in my throat, and my chest tightens again. “Thanks for letting me know, Doc.”
We’re down the stairs quickly and in the ambulance. They blare the siren.. The monitors beep and let me know that at least Peter’s heart is still beating.
The moment we stop, the doors are thrown open, and people grab Peter and roll him away before I even react.
Doctor Smith stops me as I try to follow Peter. “Red, let’s get Grandma settled in a room while they work on your friend. You can’t help him now anyway.”
I blink at him. I know that he’s right, but it still feels wrong. What if Peter were to die? God forbid. He’d be all alone, abandoned by me. I swallow and search the doctor’s eyes for a moment. He only nods in reassurance.
I nod back and take my grandmother by the hand. “Come on, Grandma. Let’s go to your room.”
“I don’t have a room here. What are you talking about?” She looks at me in confusion, her body stiffening. She refuses to take another step
Anger, frustration, sadness. So many emotions war within me, I’m ready to have an emotional breakdown. If I open my mouth, I might scream… or sob. I have no idea. But before I can say anything, Dr. Smith steps in. “Of course you don’t, ma’am. But we don’t want you to have to stay in the waiting room. I’m going to take you to the room Peter will be in when he comes out of surgery.”
“Well, that makes sense. Thanks so much for thinking of us, Dr. Smith.” Grandma accepts his help getting out of the ambulance. I follow, grabbing our bags and thanking the ambulance guys.
We reach the room and Doc motions for me to wait outside while he gets Grandma situated in a recliner. “How does that feel, Honored Wolf Tracker? Comfortable enough?”
“Yes, yes. Thank you.” Grandma pats his arm and effectively dismisses him by turning to look out the window.
Dr. Smith comes out to the hallway to talk to me. “Red, I’d wait before you try to settle her into the room. It may upset her more. We can keep using Peter as an excuse for having the room reserved.”
“Okay, Doc. Can I check on Peter? Or will they not tell me anything?”
“I’ll see what I can find out and come tell you. They won’t tell you much because you are not family. I’ll do my best to keep you informed, personally.”
“Thank you so much, Doc. I’ll wait in here with Grandma. She hasn’t eaten yet this morning.” I pause. “Oh no! I forgot her medicines.”
“Red, we are in a hospital, and I am a doctor, remember? I will get her meds filled and bring them up. Calm down, relax, and spend time wi
th Ruby.” He pulls me into a hug to calm me. “Now, would you like some coffee and breakfast, also?”
“Thank you and sorry for being difficult.” I would laugh, but my emotions are still reeling. “I’d love some coffee with breakfast, but none for Grandma. She doesn’t like it. But if you have some Earl Grey tea?”
“Sure thing. I’ll be back shortly with breakfast, meds, and an update.”
After watching him leave, I slip into the chair next to my grandmother “Grandma, can you tell me what happened? I left early to go get some shopping done while you were still asleep. I get back and all hell is breaking loose.”
“Red! Language.” She slaps me on the wrist gently.
“I’m sorry, Grandma. I’m just upset about Peter.”
“I know, dear.” Grandma pats my arm before sitting back in her chair. “I was awakened by yelling, I assume it was Peter I heard. The stench in the house was overwhelming, and I found Woodcutter. I’d hidden the gun beneath my covers when I heard you leave the apartment.”
“I’m sorry I left you alone. I thought I’d smell the werewolves, if I didn’t go far.”
“It depends on the direction of the wind. Perhaps you were downwind of them.”
I nodded. “What happened after you heard yelling?”
“Two werewolves were dragging another between them — I had no idea it was Peter. Even though I was a little foggy, my head cleared fast. I shot towards them, aiming at a point where two of them overlapped. And then I fired again, hitting another one. Two jumped out the window.” She grew quiet, her brow drawn. “Before he jumped, I recognized one of them, the Alpha, Viktor.” She sighed heavily. “We had a truce. I trusted him, but he betrayed me.” Her face cleared. “I need to go after him, finish him off before he heals. Werewolves heal quickly.” Grandma attempts to rise as if she needs to go right now.
“Grandma, please stay. I can’t sit here alone. Let’s wait until Peter is out of surgery before you go running off.” I decided to do as Doc did and pretend she was still fine enough to act. “Doc is going to find out about Peter and let us know when he brings us up some breakfast.”
Red the Wolf Tracker Page 5
