Bayou Wolf

by Debbie Herbert

“Maybe Russell feared we’d believe your claim,” Adam suggested.

  He stared at them, appalled. Payton knew suspicion of his loyalty and character ran deep because of his father’s unprecedented act of killing a fellow pack member. After all these years, the sins of the father hadn’t dimmed the memory and mistrust of his pack. He’d suspected that was the case and now his fear was confirmed.

  “Stop it,” Matt said. “I’m inclined to believe Payton.”

  Inclined? That was still an insult. Anger rendered him speechless.

  “We’ll search the woods and find him. Hear his side of the story.” Matt was taking control. “Eli, get back to the house and gather everyone. We’ll spread in different directions.”

  The alpha fixed him with a domineering stance—hands on hips, teeth bared. “Return to the house with Eli and stay with him while we search.”

  Payton found his tongue. “You’re putting me under some kind of house arrest?”

  “It’s only temporary. With any luck, we’ll get this resolved tonight.”

  “To hell with this bullshit. He attacked my girlfriend.”

  Girlfriend? The word had slipped out, catching him by surprise.

  “The same girlfriend who’s been snooping around and spreading stories to the sheriff?” Eli said with a snarl.

  “Something weird about that one,” Adam chimed in. “No way she should have seen one of us enter the house in wolf form.”

  “Enough bickering,” Matt snapped. “Eli and Payton to the house. Now.”

  Payton turned from them, taking large, loping strides to the farmhouse. The more they talked and strategized, the better chance Russell had for escape. Eli caught up to him.

  “Stay in my sight,” he warned.

  Payton didn’t even look at him. “Fuck off.”

  A hand gripped his shoulder.

  “I’ve never trusted you,” Eli said, his face red with anger and exertion. “You ingratiated yourself in this pack when you had no business being one of us. For all his rough ways, Matt can be too soft.”

  “Go to hell. I’m returning to the house on Matt’s orders. Not yours. So leave me alone, asshole.”

  Payton mounted the porch steps and entered the house, Eli close on his heels.

  “Everyone join Matt and Adam outside,” Eli commanded. “He’s calling a search for Russell.”

  The men lounging by the TV sprang up and rushed toward the door, not even taking time to ask questions. The alpha’s commands were absolute.

  Payton watched the screen door bang shut and then stood by the window. Matt and Adam had already shifted to wolf form. In the twilight, their yellow eyes glowed in the shadow of the magnolias and oaks at the edge of the woods. His inner wolf howled to join them, to be one with the pack as they searched for the traitor. It had been weeks since he’d shape-shifted and his wolf craved release. His loneliness was absolute. They had excluded him.

  Eli joined him by the window. He felt it, too.

  “I’d rather be out hunting than stuck with you,” Eli complained bitterly.

  “Ditto.”

  At least in this, they were one.

  Payton paced the room, trying to burn off his hurt and anger. The last fifteen years of his life had been a farce. He’d given all his heart and mind to the pack only to discover they had never considered him one of their own.

  It was almost enough to make him entirely sympathetic to his father’s rash act of murder.

  After a while, shadows changed from a whisper of night to an inky darkness, but the others still hadn’t returned from the hunt. Russell had slipped away. The next hunt for the rogue might be too late for an unsuspecting human wanderer. The longer he lived in the wild with nothing to feed on except the blood of animals, the more dangerous the lycanthropic fever grew. Even if he was captured later, the chance to reclaim his human nature might be forever lost. Payton suspected that time might have passed anyway. If the craving had been so consuming as to attack a human in the middle of the day, it had indeed taken root in what was left of Russell’s soul.

  As his anger receded, Payton grew more concerned for Tallulah. What if she had taken an unexpected turn for the worse? He’d promised to return to her tonight, but if the pack didn’t come back...where did his loyalty now belong?

  “I see them,” Eli said, jumping up from his chair.

  Payton hurried to the window, eyes straining to pierce the night. His vision was much keener than a normal human’s, but not near as good as it was in wolf form. He studied the black tableau through the pane of glass. Ah, there. Over a dozen yellow eyes and moving shadows headed to the farmhouse. Too early to tell which was which. Had they captured Russell? The specks of yellow wolf eyes disappeared and the shadows shifted to vertical columns. They’d already shape-shifted to human form.

  Matt walked at the head of the hunters, his mouth a grim slash of frustration.

  No Russell.

  His alpha was as frustrated as he was. He’d been so close to capturing Russell.

  They filed into the house, silent and seething.

  Matt cast him the briefest of looks before striding to the fireplace and resting his right arm on the mantel, a familiar pose. Time for a lecture, a strategy session or both.

  No one else glanced his way as they took their seats, as surely as if each spot had been marked by an unsaid teacher’s assignment.

  “What happened?” he blurted. “Did you find any signs?”

  Matt gave a terse nod. “We found paw prints. But they looped and circled until we finally lost the thread of their direction in the swamp water. This terrain is the perfect place for a man—or wolf—to disappear.”

  “We need to find him,” Adam said. “Get his side of the story.”

  He couldn’t hold back his anger. “There is no other side. Russell has the fever and I confronted him. He attacked me first, refused to listen to reason—”

  “You had no right to confront him.” Matt clasped his hands behind his back in an obvious attempt to rein in his own temper. “I was here in the house, even asked you if anything was wrong, and you walked right past me and tried to talk to Russell on your own. Why?”

  “I wanted to assure him he’d get treatment, that I’d stand beside him when he confessed to the rest of you that he was infected. He was my friend.”

  “And I am your alpha. That takes precedent over anything else. It’s the law of the pack.”

  He should feel shame. In the past, this type of rebuke would have lanced his soul. But tonight? His heart was longing to be near Tallulah.

  “Maybe Russell would have been found if you all had believed me to start with. Instead, you each questioned my integrity and forced two members of the pack to house arrest while a search was organized.”

  “Hey, don’t lump me in with you,” Eli blustered, ruddy face aflame. “I was ordered here to keep watch on you.”

  Knuckleheads. “I didn’t need watching because I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “A killer’s on the loose and it’s your fault,” Eli accused.

  “That’s not true!”

  But even as he formed the denial, Payton’s conscience convicted him. If he had the chance to do it over, he wouldn’t have faced Russell. He should have foreseen this happening. Stupid, stupid, stupid to handle it on his own. Would a true pack member have tried to salvage a friendship, as he had? No, they always considered the pack’s welfare above all else.

  To hell with that.

  Matt held up a hand for silence and faced Payton. “You said Tallulah identified Russell as the attacker.”

  Payton nodded.

  “I want you to find out what’s going on with her. She seems to be at the core of all our problems. Sheriff Angier was around this morning. Acted like he was just taking a casual stroll—bu
t the wily old man senses something. If he’s already made the connection to similar murders in Montana, he didn’t let on. Thanks to Tallulah, he’s predisposed to think the worst of us.”

  “He didn’t need Tallulah’s help to think the worst,” he argued. “Trouble has followed us because of Russell, not her.”

  “She’s seen things no human should be able to see and she’s always around. I want to know why.”

  So did he. But not for the same reasons. She fascinated him, intrigued him. “What are you suggesting?” he asked Matt.

  “Get her to confide in you and tell us her secrets.”

  A few of the men snickered. “Gigolo,” one of them muttered under his breath.

  For the second time this evening, unfamiliar rebellion roiled in his gut. He wouldn’t do it.

  Matt frowned, as if reading his thoughts. “You got a problem with that?”

  He drew himself up, glancing at all the faces of the pack members regarding their exchange.

  “I will not.” Three simple words that could cost him everything.

  A heavy, absolute silence hung in the air. Outside, the sudden screech of an owl broke the spell—an angry cacophony of doom.

  Matt lowered his voice, but his harsh whisper echoed through the den. “I brought you in as one of ours when no other pack would take you. Guided you into our ways and provided you a home, a shelter. You want to throw it all away on a piece of ass you’ve only known a short time?”

  His temper flared, the flames licking and eroding his normal reserve.

  “That’s not what she is. Her life was in danger today but she survived and helped me find the killer.” He looked over Matt’s shoulder at the men he’d regarded as friends. Brothers, even, bonded through their rare lycanthropic blood. Part creatures of the night that roamed the land together and reveled in their wild, animalistic yearnings.

  “But instead of relief at ending the taint on our names, our very lives, you all turned against me. I’ve never been one of you. Not really. You hold my past against me. I can’t help what my father did. He broke a cardinal rule, yes. But I am not my father.”

  Matt strode past him, beckoning him to follow. “Let’s discuss this on the porch.”

  Outside, Payton drew in the fresh air, finding some comfort in the open space.

  Matt stepped off the porch and into the yard. He heaved a sigh and faced Payton. “Perhaps we were a bit harsh earlier.”

  A bit? But even this small concession wasn’t easy for the alpha. He kept his silence.

  “On further reflection, I realized you told the truth. Russell is infected. Tallulah has no reason to lie and Russell was your friend. If you falsely accused anyone, it would be Eli. The two of you have always clashed.”

  “Thank you,” he replied stiffly, still unappeased. The halfhearted apology would have been more generous if Matt had spoken it in front of the others. But no, as alpha he sought to save face at all times.

  “Russell is dead to us,” Matt said abruptly. “I don’t want to lose you as well.”

  “Why should I stay? The pack has shown their true feelings about me today.”

  Matt waved a dismissive hand. “That’s just Eli bulldozing everyone with his paranoid personality. Adam is young, looks up to Eli like a father figure. He just parrots Eli’s opinions.”

  And yet, his alpha had done little to defend him against the unjust accusations. Matt cared more about pride and power than fighting for truth. Sometimes Payton even wondered... “Do you even care about Jeb and the other people Russell has killed over the past year? Or are you more worried about the cops and possible arrests.”

  “It’s my job to look after the pack’s own interests.” Matt lifted his chin a fraction. “Russell can’t help what he’s become. I want to find him before the cops, see he gets help. I see nothing wrong with that.”

  “I can’t argue with your logic. I don’t want him in jail, either.”

  “Good, we’re on the same page on that issue. Now about Tallulah, I don’t see the harm in uncovering how she spotted Russell in wolf form, in the dark no less.”

  We all have secrets, Tombi had said. I don’t want them to discover my unusual nature, Tallulah had admitted. Yes, his curiosity was definitely aroused.

  Matt interrupted his thoughts. “We need to know how she does it to avoid detection in the future. That’s all.”

  Again, he couldn’t fault the man’s logic. Yet the idea of spying on Tallulah offended him. There must be a way to learn her supernatural senses without having to reveal all of it to his alpha.

  It was all too much to ponder tonight. For now, he wanted nothing more than to be with Tallulah. He’d figure it out later, in his own time and his own way.

  “I’m going to visit her tonight,” he said, avoiding an outright commitment to the alpha’s order. Let Matt draw his own conclusions.

  Chapter 8

  Where was he?

  Tallulah stared out the window, sipping a shot glass of whiskey to ease the pain gnawing at her shoulder. It had taken hours to persuade Tombi and Annie to leave, but she’d finally convinced them after promising to drink the herbal concoction Annie had left behind. That, and another promise to call if Payton never came. It was after midnight. The man was definitely looking like a no-show. Had he gone after the wolf who’d attacked her?

  She didn’t know whether to be worried for his welfare or curse an empty promise. Worse, she realized she didn’t even have his cell phone number to call and check in.

  Elliptical beams of light flowed into the driveway. She stepped away from the open curtains and peeked out the side of the drapes. A long, lean man scrambled out of the truck and reached over the seat, retrieving an overnight bag from the passenger side.

  Moonbeams shone down on sun-streaked, golden hair. Payton, at last.

  Equal parts relief and anger washed through her. Relief he was okay, anger that she’d been forced to wait and worry for hours. Tallulah hustled from view as he climbed the porch steps and knocked at the door. She paused a suitable amount of time, then opened the door, blinking, as if she’d been woken from a deep sleep instead of pacing the floors worrying.

  Never admit you care, never admit vulnerability. Her mantra since losing Bo and acting the fool over the traitorous Hanan. For all she knew, Payton might have a dark underside he had yet to display.

  Tallulah stretched her arms over her head and made a show of yawning. “What time is it? Didn’t expect you back tonight.”

  “I said I’d return.”

  She stepped away from the doorway and ushered him inside. “You didn’t have to come. I’m perfectly fine. What’s with the bag?”

  Payton’s lips curled slightly. “That’s your automatic reaction to everything.”

  “What is?”

  “Saying you’re fine. Even when you obviously aren’t.”

  “I’ve managed to get by on my own for a long time.” She pointed at the gym bag.

  Payton shrugged. “Thought I’d stay over in case you needed protection, or if the fever returned. I promised Tombi that I would.”

  Irritation buzzed along her nerves. How like her twin to butt into her business. “Like I said, I’m...” Tallulah broke off at the amused gleam in his eyes.

  “Fine?” he prompted.

  “Doing well,” she insisted.

  He followed her into the den, where she settled into her rocking chair. Payton dropped his gym bag by the end of the couch and sat down, patting the soft suede material. “I can sleep on this.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “Glad to be so wanted.” He gave his customary grin, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  “What’s wrong? Wh—” She narrowed her eyes, taking in the two red welts on his neck. Alarm tripped her heart. “You’ve been attacked
.”

  He casually lifted a shoulder. “Yeah.”

  She picked up the shot glass of whiskey on the end table and carried it to him. “Drink this,” she ordered, settling by his side.

  He dutifully downed what was left in one long swallow, coughing a bit, as if his throat were raw.

  “Want another?”

  Payton shook his head. “Nah. This will do me.”

  “Tell me what happened. Did you go after the wolf that attacked me?”

  “I did.” He set down the glass carefully, avoiding her eyes.

  “Well? Did you kill it?”

  He breathed out a deep sigh. “No. It escaped.”

  “So how did this happen?” She lightly ran her fingers down the side of his neck. “These are not bite marks.”

  “Those are courtesy of my former best friend, who tried to kill me tonight.”

  He said it so calmly, so matter-of-factly, his voice hollow. Something more than a physical injury had drained him.

  “But why were—”

  “Shhh.” He placed a finger on her lips. He dropped his hand lower, pushing aside the opening of her loose T-shirt. “I’ve been worried about you.” His breath drew in at the sight of the stitches. “Did Annie sew this?”

  “After I’d downed a few shots of whiskey. Still hurts like hell.”

  “Poor baby.”

  Warm lips touched her forehead like a benediction of grace. Tallulah closed her eyes, allowed the safe, gentle feeling to spread over her ruffled nerves. His breath was hot against her face, sweet as honeyed whiskey.

  She rested her head rested against his chest...and picked up a faint trace of something metallic. The same scent that had been on the wolf, tangy beneath the fur odor. She jerked up her head, all cozy warmth evaporating.

  “You smell like him,” she accused, her pulse quickening. Could he be the one—? No, he would never do that. At his blank stare, she continued. “Like the attacker.”

  “That’s because he’s the man I fought.”

  Her brow puckered in confusion. “You said your best friend did this to you.”

  He stood. “Correct. I’m going to shower, if you don’t mind.”