He shook off his curiosity as the crowd began to disperse. The men said their goodbyes to their families. The wives, tear stricken, replied with their love; hoping they would return unharmed.
In a wave of roars they transformed into massive mounds of fur, claw, and teeth. The ground shook beneath Connor’s feet, a feeling that he’d grown to fear but was now proud to be a part of.
The beating of the feet was drowned out by the honking of a horn driving into the thicket. Henry stepped further out on the patio to make out the source as Connor and Tess looked on with interest.
Samantha was behind the wheel. She barely had the car to a stop when she started shouting out the side window.
“Guys, this is bad,” she said, “Really, really bad.”
“What is it, Sam,” Henry said as he pulled the door open, “News from the Cliff Walkers?”
Samantha was visibly shaken. The bear that joined her on the trip pried his large body from the passenger side, slamming the door shut behind. He walked to the back side of the truck and flipped down the tailgate.
“I don’t know what happened. When we go there …” She spoke while Connor and Tess walked slowly around the truck. “… I did just like you said, I waited by the mile marker but nobody came. I got worried. I decided to try to sniff it out for myself. I almost wish I didn’t.”
Connor looked in the back of the truck. The Cliff Walker alpha was there, holding on for breath. His wounds were patched but the bandages were soaked through with blood. Any longer in the back of the truck and he might not survive. He needed real medical attention, fast.
Tess was the first to react. Connor expected she would look away in horror but she was strong. She bit her lip, wrinkled up her forehead, and got to work.
“I need a medical bag, right now. If we don’t get these sewn up soon he’s going to bleed out,” she said.
The bear passenger sprinted toward the house to follow her orders. Connor was proud of her for being able to take control of the situation so easily. In moments, Buck, the alpha from the den was being carried into the house. Tess threw Connor a sideways glance, the obvious question was on both of their minds but she was too afraid to hear it. Connor could tell.
“How many?” he asked.
“A lot,” she replied. Samantha couldn’t look anyone in the face; her gaze was planted firmly on the ground as she recalled everything she’d seen. “It was mostly the warriors that must have stayed behind, I still counted a couple women, but no children at least; other than that alpha, I didn’t see anyone else breathing.”
No.
“What about Alex,” Connor asked, “And, Cynthia. Did you see either of them there?” Connor hoped for Tess’s sake that Alex wasn’t among the wounded. Hell, he hoped for his own sake. She didn’t need that kind of loss now. He allowed himself to relax when Samantha shook her head no.
“I didn’t see either of them. They were the first people I looked for. Couldn’t find a trace of them,” she said.
“If I know Alex, there’s only one place that he would have taken the survivors,” Connor said, “There’s only one place close enough to that den that could house that number of people comfortably. I have a good feeling they’re at Crunch’s place.”
Samantha nodded, finally able to lift her head with hope. Connor was sure of it. Alex was smart and strong, even if he hated having to deal with his cocky attitude. If he knew that the bear den was closer he would have brought them here, but even Connor barely knew where here was.
Tess stepped from the house. Her tight fighting shirt was blood stained.
“He’ll be okay. It’s a good thing there’s an actual trained doctor here. I don’t think I could have saved him. It’s nothing like sewing up your leg wound,” she said.
Connor felt at the shotgun wound he’d received a few days ago. It still stung a bit but it was more or less healed. As he felt at the wound he saw Samantha’s head sink back down to the ground.
“Good,” Connor said, breathing out a breath he only now realized he’d been holding in. “I’m going to go find Alex and the rest of those pups that are missing. The last thing I need today is more bad news.”
“I’m going, too!” Samantha said. She stamped over to the yellow truck that never seemed to die. “Alex is my friend and I want to make sure he’s okay.”
Connor sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
“I suppose that means that I can’t convince at least you to stay here, hun?” he said. Tess hopped off the patio to join Samantha by the truck. That was answer enough for him. He dug around in his pocket for his keys, not that they really mattered, and tossed them to Samantha.
“If we’re goin’, you’re drivin’,” he said. Samantha knew the truck almost as well as Connor. Hell, she was half the reason the damn thing still ran at all. It was covered in dents from the impact of bears, shattered glass, shotgun holes, and a very crappy old spray can paint job. Through all of it, the truck started like a champ every time. Another adventure was awaiting the old girl.
Tess took the middle seat while Connor slammed the door shut on the passenger side. Henry came up to the driver’s side window.
“You best be careful,” he said, “I still don’t trust these wolves.”
“That’s where we differ, grandpa,” she said, “I’d trust them with my life.” She stamped on the gas pedal, whirling the truck around the roundabout driveway, and out to another adventure. Connor sat in the passenger seat hoping for a boring trip.
CHAPTER 4
Samantha drove fast. Her mind must have been just as worried as Connor’s. Tess couldn’t help but think of her brother in this situation. Was he alright? Did he manage to make it from the Cliff Walker den before their attack? All she could do right now was hope, and she hated that.
The sun reflected off the chrome of the truck, shooting rays of sunshine into her eyes. It was a sensation that would have been nice to feel on any day but today. The few hours they’d been driving felt like an eternity. The truck couldn’t move fast enough, even as Samantha sped. As the truck pulled off the road, onto the dirt driveway that would lead them to the clearing that Crunch considered his home, her nerves were on high alert.
Something wasn’t right. A plume of thick gray smoke rose from above the clearing. Tess hoped it was just Crunch starting the fire early tonight, but she could tell that was a lie.
When they entered the clearing she was greeted with a horrible sight. Three of the six small cabins along the right hand side were smoldering from a recently extinguished fire. The other three had scorch marks but were otherwise fine. Tire marks filled the grass that had at one time covered the entire clearing floor. On the patio of the largest cabin sat two bikers, neither of them Crunch. Both were catching their breath with a beer in hand.
“What the hell happened?” Connor shouted. As the truck came to a halt, he leapt from the passenger seat. The two bikers looked at each other but before either could talk, Crunch shoved his way through the cabin door.
“Dammit, you better have some goddamn good news or I’m going to-” Crunch screamed, it sounded like more of a guttural roar. He punched the door frame. The force of the blow sent shards of wood clattering to the ground, knocking the door from its hinges. “See what I mean!”
Tess was glad that Connor was there, but even he might have some problems dealing with a pissed off Crunch.
“The Cliff Walker den has been attacked,” Connor said.
“Dammit, tell me something I don’t already know,” he screamed. Crunch advanced but Connor stood in his way. If he needed to blow off some steam, Connor wanted to be sure he wouldn’t let it off on Tess, or Samantha.
Crunch stopped short, shaking his fists.
“How do you know about Cliff Walker den?” Connor asked, “We came as soon as we found out. We were hoping that Alex and Cynthia managed to get out.”
Crunch clomped over to the cooler. He produced a bottle of bourbon, tore the stopper out with his teeth, then p
roceeded to down almost half the bottle in one guzzle.
“Who the hell do you think did all this?” he asked, “This was Torque’s boys lookin’ for revenge.” He took another large swig from the bottle. “I know they used to be my boys but I’m prepared to kick them out of the gang permanently, if you know what I mean.”
“How the hell did Torque get here so fast?” Connor asked.
“I didn’t say it was Torque, I said it was Torque’s boys doin’ his dirty work,” Crunch replied between drinks. He stopped mid pour and locked eyes with Connor. The weight of his stare would have made a lesser man break, but Connor was a proud wolf, and an alpha. He would bow to no other wolf. “Are you tellin’ me that stupid sunovabitch got out of the bear den?”
Connor rubbed at his nose again. Tess would have spoken for him, but she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt their conversation.
“He got out this morning, just after breakfast sometime,” Connor said.
Torque downed what remained of the liquor then threw the bottle at Connor. He sidestepped the bottle, letting it smash into pieces on the side of the truck.
“Goddamit!” Crunch shouted, “Do those idiot bears know what they’ve done? You shoulda just let me beat his face in when I had the chance. But, No. You had to take him to the damned bears.” Crunch belched loudly.
Samantha giggled just under her breath. The raucous from his belch caused birds to flee from the safety of their trees. Despite the situation, even Tess had to hold back a laugh.
“Fuck,” Connor said with a sigh, clearly he was too distracted to laugh. Crunch plopped down on the edge of the patio. The weight of his body hitting the floor caused the cabin door, already off its hinges, to clatter to the floor.
Crunch broke the silence, “Those dumbass wannabe badasses rode around, tossing flaming liquor bottles. Good waste of liquor. But, one of them must have known what was goin’ on.”
“How do you know?” Connor asked.
“I nabbed one of them off the back of one of the motorbikes before they’d taken off. I’ve been beating information out of him for the last fifteen minutes,” Crunch replied. He pointed to the inside of the cabin with his thumb. Tess took a few steps to the side so she could see what he was pointing at and wasn’t surprised when she saw a biker covered in bruises trying to recover in a bed.
“What did he tell you?” Connor wondered.
“That bastard took Cynthia,” Crunch said, “Again.” He stumbled back to his feet. The alcohol was having an effect on him already. “I oughta beat you for sending her up there.” He made to punch at Connor, but his already blurred vision didn’t help. Connor side stepped every blow that Crunch threw but eventually caught his last punch before Crunch tumbled to his knee.
“You oughta beat yourself,” Connor replied, “You’re the one that gave Eli the map to Cliff Walker den.”
That blow hit Crunch harder than any punch could have. As he pulled himself back to full height, leaning against the truck to balance himself, he leaned in close to Connor, who backed away from Crunch’s foul breath.
“Don’t you think I know that?” Crunch said. He returned to the patio to sit once more. “Listen. The only other information I got out of this bastard inside is that the hunter, Eli, hit that mountain den earlier today. Everyone was trapped inside. Alex and Cynthia were leading people out the back but were caught in a trap. Eli wants revenge on all of us for what we did. He wasn’t using Torque’s guys for the attack though. I guess he was using some humans.”
Humans?
“They knew about the raids you guys have been workin’ on. Those won’t lead to nothin’. This bastard took them back to the lake. I guess there’s more there than we thought. Torque’s gang has been into some bad shit and they been using some old caves around the lake to hide their goods. No wonder they got enough money to buy all that silver for bullets.” Crunch hiccupped. “I wouldn’t doubt that’s where they’re keepin’ your pals.”
They went back to the lake?
Tess lost herself. She didn’t want to go back. Nothing but bad memories waited for her there if she went back. Eli scared her enough already. He’d shown himself to be ruthless and crafty. What if this was all just a trap?
“I’m going,” Connor said. He motioned to Samantha to get the truck started. The engine roared back to life.
Tess stood still. Connor reached out a hand which she took.
“You don’t have to come with us. You’ve seen enough as it is. You can stay here with Crunch and stay safe. I doubt they’ll come back here again.”
Tess shook her head no. This mattered to her, her brother mattered to her. She needed to see this through to the end. Inside her head she wished she could have called out to her wolf, but it wasn’t responding. Her pregnancy was quieting the voice that she grew up with her entire life. She wondered if it would ever come back even after she gave birth.
“I need to go,” she said, “Alex needs my help.”
“If you come with, you do exactly as I say this time. No running off. I say hide, you make yourself scarce, got it?”
She nodded her understanding then sidled her way into the truck. Samantha revved the engine beside her to keep it running.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can get my new bike up and running,” Crunch said. He pointed to a motorcycle, much smaller than his normal one. It must have been the bike his captive rode in on. “The next time I see Torque will be the last time he sees anything. And, I gotta get my damn bike back from that hunter.”
Connor nodded then offered a hand. Crunch eyed it wearily but accepted. They shook; one giant meaty paw over another. When Connor got back in the car, Samantha was in no mood for waiting any longer. The truck trudged onward, bringing them ever closer to their quarry.
CHAPTER 5
Connor clenched his teeth harder when he thought about the hunter attacking the Cliff Walker den. The brave warriors fought and died to protect each other. There was no way Eli could have taken on an entire den by himself, he would have had help. The first man to come to mind was Mutt.
If only Alex hadn’t gone so far, Eli might not have so much support from the bikers now. His one sided vendetta to kill Alex for breaking his arm and taking his bike gave rise to someone even worse.
The feeling of powerlessness stabbed at his chest. He wondered if this was how Tess felt all those time he’d run off into danger and left her alone in safety.
“Can you drive any faster?” Connor asked Samantha.
“Are you kidding? I’m flooring it right now. This old truck is barely holding together as it is. Can either of you remind me why we took this one instead of my grandpa’s?” she asked.
“Because your grandpa trusts me about as far as he can throw me,” Connor started, but then shook his head, “Okay, that’s a bad analogy. He could probably throw me pretty far now that I think about it.” He scratched at the stubble under his chin, “Listen, he doesn’t trust me. He thinks that one of us let Torque escape.”
“I can’t believe Torque escaped!” Samantha said, still in disbelief, “What the hell?”
“That’s what I said. I guess they found his lock undone. He had help on the inside. There’s a traitor in the bear camp.” All was silent for a second. It was clear that Samantha was thinking.
Tess caught Connor’s gaze and opened her eyes wide as if to scold him, as if to say that now is not the time for that. Connor shook his head to say he had no choice, she’d find out soon enough anyway.
“No way, nuh huh,” she finally spoke up, “Every single one of those bears follows my grandpa as though their life depended on it. There isn’t a traitor among them.” Samantha bit her lip, still deep in thought.
“I’ve been wracking my brain for the last few days trying to figure all this out. You told us that bears are fiercely independent, but yet your grandpa managed to bring them all together to fight against the wolves. How does he command so much power? If he’s the alpha, he’s supposed to be the biggest and
the strongest. There were way bigger guys in the camp, they could have easily taken him down,” Connor wondered.
Samantha shook her head, much to Connor’s frustration.
“You look at my grandpa and see a weak old man. I look at him and see a man that would do anything to make sure his people were taken care of,” she said, turning the wheel around a corner. “That house he lives in, he built that with his mate, Annie. You know what that house represents? Loyalty. That’s not the first one he built. Most of the bears that you saw in that den, they owed not only their livelihood but also a debt they couldn’t ever possibly repay. He gave them the chance to live their lives.”
“Your grandpa built their homes?” Connor wondered, “There was only one house there.”
Again, Samantha shook her head.
“You don’t get it. My grandpa not only built their homes but also their lives. They own businesses, they open property, and it’s all thanks to my grandpa. I told you that bears act independent? That’s because my grandpa invested in them. He gave them each a bit of land, he helped them build their homes, and he gave them a life and a future.” She said. “Tell me, what kind of a future do the wolves that live in your den have?”
Connor was stunned. She was talking bad about his den. But, was she right? The most that they could look forward to was living huddled around fires during the winter, or the sow fields in the spring. It was a simple living, but was it what they really wanted?
He thought about Crunch, the big man that didn’t belong at all. Didn’t he say that he built his own pack from the ground up? He accepted the castoffs and the exiles. They all came together under his leadership, and even though they were on the outside of society they were still capable of having a life.
“They have a home, isn’t that enough?” Tess said.
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