Hounds of God: A Werewolf Urban Fantasy Novel (Cursed Night Book 1)

by Justin Sloan

  Realizing Triston was staring at her, she dropped the stone and put both hands on his, forcing a smile. He took it, even though his eyes showed he knew it wasn’t genuine.

  “Last night,” he whispered in her ear, “was amazing.”

  And it had been, the part he was referencing. But now, in the light of day with a clear head, there was just too much to distract her.

  “It was,” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, and squeezed his hand.

  The train ride was fairly uneventful, and that night they found a hotel that overlooked a small canal—but that’s not why they chose it. They selected this particular one based on the strength of the bed material, because tonight was the full moon, and they had to strap her down, just in case. She had extra silver in her now, several loops in her ears and elsewhere, and had even picked up some silver bracelets in the hope that they would stop the flow of energy that caused her to transform.

  Triston finished fastening the last rope, and then sat beside her on the bed.

  “I’m telling you, this isn’t necessary,” he said.

  “If I wake up tomorrow and you’re gone....” She grimaced, trying to make light of the situation. “I’d hate to say I told you so.”

  He sighed.

  “Triston?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I can stay tied up and....” She winked, again trying to lighten the mood. “You know.”

  “Is that what it’d take to get you in the mood again?” he said with a smile. But she saw in his eyes the same worry she felt. The full moon was just visible through the window, and she turned to look at it.

  No change yet.

  Her stomach felt uneasy, heat in her face and pounding in her head. A spasm went through her body and she arched her back, trying to fight it off, feeling the silver hot against her skin. She wanted to scream.

  Triston leaped up beside her, hands on her shoulders, face not far from hers as he said something over and over, but she couldn’t tell what.

  She let out a whimper, then her body went limp.

  “Kat, stay with me!” Triston said, his voice coming in clear but distant. “Fight it!”

  For a moment she thought she had resisted, but then another spasm came, and this time her clothes tore as her body expanded. A warm trickle of blood went down the side of her mouth from where she bit herself, and her vision became crisp. The silver was glowing and steaming, and then it burst with a bright light.

  Shadows mixed with the light from the silver, hissing as if mixing fire and water. And then the light from the silver won! She felt it, like the flood of a river sweeping through her body, and she was calm, relaxed, as she returned to herself.

  She smiled up at Triston. “It—it’s working.”

  He caressed her face, and moved to untie the ropes.

  A crash sounded in the other room. Something broke. Triston sat straight, then moved for the door.

  “Don’t go,” Katherine said, struggling with her bonds.

  “Just, let me make sure.”

  He exited, leaving her there, restrained. Another crash and then a thud against the wall. A moment later, a BANG of a gun.

  Katherine froze, eyes on the door, her heart thumping heavily.

  The door burst open, Triston flying backwards through it and landing on his back with the wind knocked out of him—but no blood that Katherine could see.

  A man stepped in after him, silver pistol raised and aimed at Katherine. Hunter.

  “Ready and waiting,” Hunter said with a smile.

  He squeezed the trigger, but Triston was up again and plowed through him, causing the shot to miss its mark and hit the headboard inches from Katherine.

  Hunter rolled Triston over, hammer-fisted his back, and then reached to pistol-whip him. But Triston was too fast and turned with a book from the night-stand to whack the pistol away. Hunter cursed and stomped on Triston’s face before turning to search for the gun.

  Katherine screamed as she struggled with the ropes.

  It was as if she’d reminded Hunter she was there. He turned, pulling a silver blade from beneath his jacket. But he glanced at the window, where the full moon was in plain view, and then back to her. His face scrunched with confusion.

  “How…?”

  A kick from Triston sent the knife flying across the room, and then Triston and Hunter were at each other again.

  Hunter slammed Triston’s head through the plaster, turning for Katherine again. But Triston came back with a punch to the kidney and then one across the jaw. Hunter fell, then came up with two shots: the first to Triston’s groin and the second to his jaw.

  “It’s me you want!” Katherine shouted, turning to try and bite the ropes.

  Hunter ignored her and found the knife, then brought it down toward Triston, who narrowly dodged. But Hunter used the moment to side-step and grab him from behind, knife to the throat.

  “No more!” he said.

  “How’d you find us?” Triston asked, eyes moving as he looked for a way to escape.

  Hunter sneered, but hesitated, then said, “After hunting them as long as I have, you find their scent, and other signs along the way.”

  Had something glinted purple in his eyes? Katherine has always wondered how the man found them, but had never considered magic. She didn’t believe in magic, but then again, she didn’t used to believe in werewolves either.

  Hunter took a step forward, but Triston stood in his way.

  “She’s different,” Triston said, pleading. “The silver, she’s not changing!”

  That caused Hunter to hesitate, and he glanced at Katherine, considering this.

  “They must be stopped,” Hunter said. “All of them.”

  The blade bit into Triston’s neck, and Katherine couldn’t take it. She pulled at the ropes, screaming, and they snapped! She was free, but her rage was taking over and, as she rose, she began to transform.

  Her back arched, clothes ripping as hair sprouted from her skin. Claws grew from her fingertips, and they pulled blood from Hunter with a mighty swipe at his chest.

  He stumbled back in shock. Katherine charged and plowed into him, slamming him into the wall. Spitting blood, Hunter reached for his pistol holster, but it was empty.

  Katherine’s vision was fading, her rage piling up at this man, this man who she had thought killed Danny, and now almost killed Triston.

  She pulled back to strike again, feeling the darkness taking over. No, she refused to lose control. She had to fight it.

  Hunter looked up at her, hate-filled eyes almost begging her to do it. Just take his life and be done with it. Her hand fell to her side, claws digging into her paw under the stress of resisting. And in that moment of compassion, or weakness—she wasn’t sure which it was—he broke free.

  What happened next was a blur.

  The werewolf within was taking over, the yearning for flesh too strong. A bang sounded and Katherine was vaguely aware that Hunter wasn’t there, that she was following him, and that she had just broken down the door in her instinctual hunt.

  A knife flashed but missed, and then Katherine was on him, claws tearing at his shoulder as he dove for the front door and the stairway beyond.

  There was a faster way—the window—and that’s the path the werewolf used, crashing through glass and landing in time to see Hunter come pouncing down the stairs. Hunter’s eyes went wide and he turned down the gap between houses,

  A boy chasing a cat ran by, but froze in place to stare with terror at the werewolf before him.

  The werewolf snarled and took a step for the boy.

  “Kat, no!” Triston yelled from the shattered window above.

  For a moment, Katherine returned, fighting the werewolf long enough for the boy to escape. Remembering herself, the werewolf turned back to pursue Hunter.

  The darkness was her dominion, the night air her ally in the hunt. A whiff of Hunter told her to turn right. A part of her, the part that was still Katherine, pulle
d back, wanting to return to Triston and flee, but the beast within was in charge now.

  She reached a dead end, but that didn’t stop her. With a push off one wall and a kick off the opposite one, she was up and crouching on the wall. There was her prey, running, and with a leap she was on him.

  He was faster than she would have thought possible, his arms moving with inhuman speed in a bid to deflect the werewolf’s strikes. Again, the purple light flashed in his eyes. With a sweep of both arms he was able to maneuver around a strike and knock the werewolf off balance, and then he kicked her in the ribs.

  No human should have this strength! But as the werewolf looked up to see Hunter reaching for his weapon, she saw the first hint of why he had survived so long, and why he could hunt her--fangs.

  Hunter hadn’t been so pure in his search to eradicate the world of werewolves, it seemed. He must’ve turned to the dark arts at some point, and this was the result.

  Stopping him from pulling out the pistol with one hand, the werewolf lifted her other to deliver a backhand that sent him flying into a café’s umbrella and chairs.

  Hunter struggled to his feet. When he looked up, the werewolf had him, snarling as she lifted him up and then slammed him into the ground.

  “Katherine, stop!” Triston yelled, rounding a corner to join them. “This isn’t you!”

  For the second time that night, Hunter used the distraction from Triston to break free, and for that the werewolf turned on Triston with a snarl and teeth bared. Katherine was able to fight it this time, willing herself to turn back to Hunter—only, with a splash in the river, he was gone.

  She ran to the edge of the water, roaring in frustration, then collapsed to her knees as she began to transform back into Katherine. With a final whimper, she fell into Tristan’s arms and lost consciousness.

  Dreams swept over her, at first of Tristan’s body pressed against hers, shielding her nude form from the chill of night. Was it really happening, or part of the dream? She couldn’t be sure. Then there were howls, sweeping the night, and she saw her old master, Aldrick, with an army of men before him. The moon shone out from behind clouds and the men began to howl as they transformed into werewolves, all bowing toward him, ready to do his will.

  With a shudder she woke, hands shaking at what she’d seen in her dream. It felt so real, she could almost smell the candles burning just as they had when she was younger, when Aldrick had trained her. The thought brought back memories of Danny and others, and she found herself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, willing the tears back.

  “Did I hear something?” Triston said. He stood at the doorway, a tray of breakfast in his hands.

  “No,” Katherine replied. “I’m still asleep.”

  He lingered for a moment, then came in and set the tray beside her.

  “You didn’t hurt anyone,” he said. “You know, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “I know.” She turned in bed, facing away from him.

  “You remember then? It wasn’t a blackout?”

  “Most of it….” She sat up, suddenly alert. “Wait, that… that’s never happened. I always black out on the full moon, but not this time.”

  “The silver?” he asked.

  She felt her ears and her eyebrow, and sure enough, some of the silver remained. “It’s possible.”

  “We have to get you out of here,” he said. “Hunter knows, and more people might have seen you as a werewolf. As the outsiders here….”

  “They’ll be wondering for sure.”

  “More than wondering, I’d imagine.”

  “Triston, there’s something else,” she said. “The reason he was able to track me, especially at night.”

  “You saw something?” he asked.

  She nodded, then told him all about the glowing eyes and the long fangs.

  “He’s not so innocent after all then,” Triston said, with a look of amazement.

  Katherine looked away, wondering how it had all come to this. For the first time, she noticed that they were somewhere new. The walls were pure white, as was pretty much everything else in the sparsely decorated room.

  “Where’d you take me?” she asked.

  “A bed and breakfast,” he said. “I checked us in last night, got you cleaned up. Sorry, but I couldn’t leave you as you were.”

  She pulled the blankets around herself, suddenly self-conscious. Clothes rarely survived the transformation process. But he was looking away.

  “I was a gentleman,” he said, then stood and found a pair of pants and a t-shirt. “Went out and grabbed these while you were sleeping. I hope they fit.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I mean, I know we…. but can I have some privacy?”

  “Of course.”

  He left the room while she dressed and noted several recent scrapes from the night before. With her healing, they’d be gone before the end of the day. It wasn’t a big deal, this guy she barely knew seeing her naked, right? After what had happened in the other hotel, she didn’t know why she had this thought, but felt this was different.

  She shook it off, remembering that, although they’d both just met, their lives were kind of in each other’s hands at this point. Little things like this didn’t matter.

  When she was done dressing, she found him in the hallway, waiting.

  “I got us train tickets,” he said. “We should get going.”

  She nodded and followed him out. After a brief wait while he returned the key to the owners, they found themselves with the small amount of belongings they owned, trudging out of there.

  “It was a blur,” Katherine said. “I remember wanting to transform, and then I was fighting him.”

  “Your emotions can guide it?”

  She nodded. “But that’s not good enough for me.”

  “The silver is not enough, it’s time we seek deeper answers.” Triston paused, but only long enough to say, “My friend in Vancouver, Mauro, he may not have all the answers, but if he can shine even the slightest sliver of light….”

  “I’m so sick of running and hiding,” she said. “And done arguing. Let’s go to this friend of yours.”

  Chapter 16: Crossing the Border

  Danny watched the border signs disappear behind them. Customs had simply waved them past, when they’d seen Gregor’s face. Them too, huh, Danny thought. Someone was going to have to do something about this, but it wasn’t him. And seeing as they didn’t live in a world of super heroes masquerading around at night, he guessed it would be as Gregor said—a world where a werewolf army controls all, led by their Alpha, their Aldrick.

  And the rest of the population would suffer as slaves if they bent the knee but were too weak to serve as Hounds of God, or food if they resisted.

  Last night had been hell, what little he remembered of it. Flashes of fur, sharp teeth, and claws. But mostly, the taste of blood that he couldn’t clean away no matter how hard he scrubbed his teeth or what he ate. It was inside of him. Part of him.

  The full moon had brought the type of night he’d long ago left to his nightmares. Of course he’d tried to fight it, at first, but there’s no fighting the beast when it came calling. More lives lost, because of him and his cowardice—if he’d thrown himself from a cliff before Gregor found him, more innocents would be alive.

  Soon, he told himself. He’d build up the courage to end it, soon.

  “Why’re we in Canada?” he asked.

  “The boss is here, wants to see you,” Gregor said from the driver seat. Several of the soldiers near Danny shifted in their seats, casting him glances.

  “But why’s he in Canada?”

  “Seems like something that’s none of your business,” Gregor said. “But since we don’t want you dropping dead from curiosity, it has to do with what I was telling you, before.”

  “Ah, this man Mauro.”

  Gregor nodded, returning his focus to the road.

  Whoever this Mauro character was, he’d messed with the w
rong pack, if you could even call this a pack anymore. It was more like an infestation, Danny thought. An infestation that he was part of, to one degree or another.

  A city appeared not far off, and the car slowed with traffic.

  “Damned accident,” the soldier in the passenger seat said, craning his neck out of the window for a view.

  Danny leaned back, watching a large truck pass them. Behind that, a little girl stared out of the window of a red Mazda, a little teddy bear held up next to her as if it were looking out too. If she had any idea what kind of monsters she was looking at, she’d be shielding her eyes, crying.

  The way Aldrick was expanding his army, she’d know soon enough.

  Danny’s mind kept going back to that explosion, and the flashing lights he’d seen from atop the hill. Either Katherine was dead, or in custody. She was strong, but not that strong… right? He closed his eyes, remembering how she’d spar with them when they were younger, and the first time she’d revealed her power—her ability to transform any night, not just on the full moon. That little fact had consumed Aldrick, apparently setting him on his mission to gain the power for himself. And now he had, and he’d created an army of werewolves just like her.

  The thought was enough to make Danny cringe. But he was one of them now.

  ***

  Soon they pulled off at an exit, before the city, and drove to a side road that led to a mansion at the end of a long driveway. Aldrick certainly had his tastes, and they often involved large, drafty quarters.

  They parked out front and made their way inside, where the mansion was full of men and women. Mostly they were lounging about in conversation, some watching the news about a recent disappearance and bragging about how it must have been due to one them or maybe a werewolf they knew, and one or two were in the corner cleaning weapons.

  All stopped when they saw Gregor, and then stood at attention.