by Sky Winters
“Alpha, Omega,” the figures chanted ominously.
Bronson felt electrified when the elder looked up to the sky and began to howl, the old man’s body stuck in the painful state of transition. He was at his truest form this way—part wolf, part man—and it had probably taken him more years than Bronson had been alive to perfect this state of being. Still, Bronson couldn’t help but wince. As all wolf-shifters knew, it was excruciating to try to still the body in the throes of transition, and only men with shamanic qualities had been able to perform rituals like this on command.
“The issue arises,” the elder spoke, his voice other-worldly. He spoke between a whisper and a growl, his voice commanding as it rang through the mountains of Montana to address his pack. “The Alpha must mate.”
All eyes turned to Bronson, a figure of virility and hope to his tired pack. It shamed him that he hadn’t been able to produce an heir that would keep his pack alive, but it wasn’t as if anybody blamed him for it. Nobody could help that all of the women of his pack had been killed by mountain lion shifters. They’d been picked off gradually, one or two at a time. By the time the pack had realized the mountain lion shifters had been doing it as part of a plan, it had been too late.
“There is hope,” the elder said, his eyes turned to the moon and voice distant. “But it is not a great hope. Great Alphas over time have been able to mate with hybrids, and produce offspring that can keep our pack alive.”
“Hybrids?” Bronson asked. He had never heard of such a thing. The attention of the pack turned from Bronson back to the elder, who continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard Bronson. In the trance state, it was possible that he hadn’t.
“The women who were lost to us were not our only hope. However, chances of a sacred union occurring are slim. I’ve lived many hundreds of years and have not seen this happen in my lifetime. But the elder before me lived under just such an Alpha as a young boy.”
A stunned silence brought all eyes back to Bronson. He felt like he should be offering his men some kind of hope, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“We must find the hybrid fated to mate with our Alpha to protect the pack. They exist, surely, and it is up to us to bring them here. The Dire Wolves will rise again!”
The pack looked to the sky and unleashed powerful howls in unison. It brought Bronson to his feet and filled him with a new determination. The pack had suffered a tragic loss, and it was up to him to hold it together and bring his pack back to greatness. It was quite the challenge, but challenges were what the Alphas were made for.
Chapter 2
“Why do you have to move so far away?”
The voice of Hunter Lewis’ mother came through the speaker phone as he drove through the scenic Montana roads. His heart constricted painfully, both from the reality of leaving his family behind, despite their rocky history together, and the memories the mountains were stirring in his mind.
“You already know why,” Hunter said, trying to sidestep the issue.
“Honey, living in the mountains isn’t going to bring Tyler back,” his mom said.
At the sound of his partner’s name, Hunter’s eyes filled with tears.
“I know that! Don’t you think I know that? I know he’s not going to come back to life or anything, but being here just… I don’t know, I need to feel closer to him.”
“In the place he died, honey? Don’t you think that’s a little bit morbid?”
His mother’s voice was gentle and concerned, but Hunter couldn’t help but feel furious at her for broaching the painful subject. It had been almost a year since Tyler had been attacked at their campsite by a mysterious animal that had disappeared as quickly as it came. By the time Hunter had made it back from the convenience store with the hotdogs, Tyler was dying and there was nothing more that could be done.
“He loved it out here,” Hunter said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. “These mountains…this sky…these were the last things he saw. It’s the last place he ever took a breath. I just need to be close by. I can’t explain it.”
“Well honey, I hope this is for the best. I wish you would have finished out that therapy you were doing. It seemed to—”
“I’ve got to go, Ma. I’m sorry. I can’t really talk about this anymore. I’m driving.”
Hunter’s mom hesitated, and for a moment he was afraid she was going to continue to pursue the subject.
“All right honey, I’m sorry. I love you. Keep in touch.”
“Sure, Ma, of course. Love you.”
Hunter picked the phone up off the seat and hung it up, throwing it back onto the seat a little more violently than he meant to. Why did everybody think they had a right to tell him how to grieve? His mom had never even acknowledged Tyler as an important part of Hunter’s life until the funeral.
Sure, he wasn’t sure what he would have done with himself without her, but hearing her say Tyler’s name just filled him with rage. Homophobia had been more important than embracing her future son-in-law, and that was part of the reason he’d chosen to move far away from everything he knew and make the mountains where Tyler had proposed to him his new home. Hunter had felt happier and more alive here than he ever had anywhere else.
A road sign appeared in the distance, and Tyler had to squint against the light to make it out. There was a fork in the road. The name of the campground he had spent Tyler’s last days in was on one side, while a town he had never heard of was on the other. He hesitated.
A few weeks ago, Hunter had made a reservation at the campsite, thinking he could stay out in the wilderness while he looked for somewhere more permanent. He had more than enough money to survive for a while, especially after selling the condo he and Tyler had shared for the last three years. But now that the name of the campsite was right in front of him, Hunter wasn’t sure he could go through with it. Visiting the place where he had experienced the single most traumatizing moment of his life suddenly felt like a mistake. He just wasn’t ready yet.
Without any further thought, Hunter put his foot on the gas pedal and turned, leaving the memories of the campsite behind. He would find a hotel or something in this nowhere little town coming up. That would have to be close enough. At least for now.
Chapter 3
“Missed you at Fangz last night, B,” a gravelly voice said from behind the lat machine.
Bronson let the weights fall and stretched, composing himself before turning to face Lance.
“Yeah,” Bronson said noncommittally. When he was a teenager, he’d had the biggest crush on Lance. It had been powerful and consuming for a while, but he had never been sure if it was okay for him to feel that way. It had always been clear that Bronson was an Alpha, but submitting to lusts of this caliber had never been addressed by any of the older, more experienced pack members before.
“I get it though,” Lance said, peeling off his tight tank top and revealing his perfect abdomen. He was getting ready to work out beside Bronson. Bronson averted his eyes skillfully by toweling his face off. If he looked away from Lance’s gaze outright, it would make him appear submissive. “The elders really need you now. I guess it’s time for us to step up our game.”
“Yeah,” Bronson replied. He really didn’t feel like talking about this right now. Especially not with Lance. Lance had been an unattainable dream in his youth, the kind of mate Bronson actually wanted to have. In a small, perverse way, he was almost relieved that he wouldn’t have to choose one of the females to mate with. Not that he was glad they had all been killed, of course; that had been a horrible tragedy and he mourned their loss as the entire pack did. It was just that he had always been more sexually attracted to men, and mating had always been a subject of dread for him.
“You should drop by tonight though,” Lance said. “The guys and I are trying to come up with a plan. You know. To sniff out the hybrids and bring them here. It’s our last shot. We have a lot of planning to do.”
Bronson nodded. “I’ll be
there.”
He could feel Lance’s eyes on him as he turned his back and walked away. The other men in the pack were always watching him. How would Lance feel if he’d known that a secret, terrible, jealous part of Bronson had been slightly satisfied at discovering that the female Lance had chosen to mate with had been murdered by the mountain lion shifters? He was too ashamed of himself for that perverse pleasure to even look the man in the eyes anymore.
But that was what an Alpha was like, Bronson supposed. Competitive. They played to win. He couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of himself in the wall-length mirrors of the gym as he moved toward the locker room to shower. His form was impressive, intimidating, and his eyes and hair were as dark as the black fur that covered him when he shifted into his wolf form. He was built to conquer and take no casualties.
If he was made to be a winner, then why did it feel as though he was always losing? He’d lost Lance to the female Lance had chosen as a mate. And then, when she’d been murdered, his envy had turned into a sick sort of relief that consumed him with guilt and kept him from even fully being Lance’s friend, much less anything more.
The dark thoughts melted away as Bronson lathered his taut muscles in the shower. He winced as he ran his hand over his ribs, and gazed down at the dark purple bruise that was forming. Another mountain lion shifter attack had happened after the ceremony. They must have smelled the incense and come in for the kill.
“Done already?” a young man from the pack asked him. His name was Jameson, and his eyes always seemed to linger on Bronson a little too long. In a way, it was exciting to know other men in the pack might have sexual yearnings similar to his own, and Jameson and Bronson had taken to a casual, almost flirtatious, alliance.
“I have to take it easy today,” Bronson said, smoothing his hand over the firm ripple of his abdomen. Jameson’s eyes glittered at the invitation to look at Bronson’s powerful body, but his eyebrows quickly knitted when he noticed the Alpha’s injury.
“Ah, on the mend,” he said. “Take care then.”
Jameson walked away, slinging his towel over a broad shoulder. Bronson allowed himself to soak in Jameson’s confident masculinity from his vantage point. Vague tendrils of longing filled him, but he pushed them away. Now wasn’t the time to indulge in fantasy. He had something to finish.
Bronson stood and stretched, taking a deep, gratifying inhale. He always felt a little sore after a workout, but it was a feeling that he had come to relish. He felt alive, and a deep desire to protect the pack drove him forward. Injured or not, he had to take charge.
Chapter 4
Night had fallen, and the road splayed ahead of Hunter was dark and ominous. He couldn’t tell if it was creepy because he was so close to where his partner had been attacked, or if there was something more sinister at play. It was hard to put his finger on it. Whatever it was, all he really knew was that he couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding in his chest.
Hunter slammed on the brakes when suddenly, in his rearview mirror, he saw three sets of shining yellow orbs behind him. They looked like eyes, set deep in the faces of dark creatures he couldn’t quite make out. Could they be the animals that had attacked Tyler?
Hunter felt a sudden, foolish surge of vengeance. He put his car in park and, with trembling hands, reached for his seatbelt. He fumbled with the latch, blind with fury. He would get out and shoot every single one of them. He’d murder them in cold blood the way they had murdered the man he loved.
He reached for the glove compartment, where he had safely tucked away his father’s old revolver for safekeeping, but when he glanced back in the rearview mirror, the orbs were gone. Hunter’s rage turned into blind panic, and without a second thought, he whipped the car into drive and sped forward, breaking out in a cold sweat. What the hell was going on?
The road was lonely out this way; he hadn’t seen another car drive past for miles. He was too afraid to look back in case the beasts might be there, ready and waiting to take him the way they had taken Tyler. Hunter was somehow certain that there was something malicious about the attack, something almost premeditated. He had gotten the same cold, fearful feeling when Tyler had been killed that he had now, driving down this dark road. For the second time in his life, Hunter asked himself if he believed in evil.
Before he could answer himself, relief washed over him in waves as he passed a sign claiming he was now within the city limits of Dire, Montana. He would find a motel, something cheap and functional, and settle in. Maybe once he dropped his bags off, he would go find somewhere that he could have a drink to calm his nerves. It would be nice to be around other people, even strangers. Especially after the bizarre experience he’d just had.
“Evenin’ son,” an elderly man with a full white goatee said to Hunter when he stepped into the first building he saw—which was, unsurprisingly, a motel. His voice was cheerful, but his face was grave. It somehow seemed to suit the overall feeling of the town in general. The town was small, maybe a little bit dingy, but it was well-placed among the mountains and the humble atmosphere was quaint. Or it should have been. Instead, he felt some sort of shadow hanging over the place. He tried to push the feeling of foreboding away, telling himself it was just because Tyler had been murdered so close to here.
“Hi,” Hunter said, surprised by how high-pitched his voice sounded in comparison to the motel manager’s. He was still scared. “Do you have any vacancies?”
“Sure do,” the manager said, his cheerful voice somehow contradicting the stern look on his face. Hunter wasn’t sure the night could get any weirder. “Just how long are you planning on staying?”
“Oh…I’m not sure. Is it possible to put me down for a month? I can pay up front.”
“A month, eh?”
This time, the manager’s face was as surprised as his voice, and Hunter felt oddly satisfied at being able to change the man’s tired expression.
“A month, sir.”
“I suppose that wouldn’t be a problem. Mind if I ask what you’re planning on doing here during your stay? Most folks head to the campgrounds a few miles back.”
Mention of the campground tied Hunter’s stomach in knots.
“I’m not sure what I’m doing, yet,” he admitted, just as much to himself as to the motel manager. “I’m trying to figure that out.”
“Well, Dire is a good place,” the manager said, smiling decisively. “My name’s Ed. Take this card. If you need anything, my number’s right there.”
“Thanks,” Hunter said, unable to keep a shy smile from parting his lips. There was something strange about Ed—about the entire place. But if he stayed on Ed’s good side, he might just get to like him.
“Here’s your key,” Ed said, sliding a key ring across the table to Hunter. “I assume a one bedroom is good enough for you.”
“More than good enough,” Hunter said. He had been expecting just a single room with a refrigerator and bed cramped side by side.
“It’s upstairs to the right,” Ed called as Hunter headed out the door to get his belongings.
Hunter opened the trunk of his car and sighed as all of his worldly possessions came into view. He could probably just do with bringing in the essentials for now. At least until he’d had a shower. He slammed the trunk closed and looked up at the clear, star-blazed sky. A town called Dire. Nothing to worry about here.
Chapter 5
The forest was alive at night, and Bronson crept stealthily through the foliage. He was following the trail the mountain lion shifters had left the night before. He’d gained enough strength over the night to investigate and now, he was certain, he was hot on their trail.
Bronson’s skin tightened as a surge of static made him shiver. A mountain lion shifter was close. He would have to be careful. He was injured, and they weren’t known to have mercy; especially on the Alphas of the wolf shifter clan.
He stopped in his tracks, hoping to get a sense of where the shifter might be. He had to get some answers. Th
e fight that had happened between himself and the mountain lion shifters the night of the ceremony had left him feeling unsettled. They were getting bolder, and soon, he knew, they would make their move. But it was his pack’s mission to protect the town of Dire and the humans who dwelled there, and they wouldn’t abandon their people.
“A week is all it should take,” Bronson heard the tweedy voice of a mountain lion shifter say.
“They’re on their last legs,” another man sniggered. Bronson’s chest constricted with a rage so painful it was almost impossible to hold back. But this wasn’t an ambush, he reminded himself. It was reconnaissance.
“With the mutts out of the way, we’ll finally be able to take back the sacred land,” the first shifter said. “It’s been far too long.”
“The blood of the humans who have desecrated the land there will rain down as an offering to Bast. This will please the goddess.”
Bronson cringed as their laughter echoed in the darkness. The mountain lion shifters started moving away, back toward the territory line that separated them from the wolf shifters, and Bronson allowed himself to finally release the breath he’d been holding.
So that’s what they were planning. If anything happened to Bronson’s pack, the humans who lived in the town of Dire were going to be in grave danger.
Bronson knew the history of this place, all members of the pack were taught it when they were young. He wasn’t sure how much of it he believed, but the rumor was the mountain lions wanted the town because of a secret source of power, a sacred spot near the town hall that had once been the resting place of an ancient mural and the bones of the mountain lion’s deity, Bast. There was supposed to be some kind of underground lair, a sacred spring they said, that could give the mountain lion shifters supernatural strength. If they were ever able to reach it, the town would return to them and all the innocent people who lived there would be sacrificed.
Bronson wasn’t sure just how true the myths were. The wolf shifter packs didn’t have a deity or any source of secret power, so he didn’t know if it was possible for such a thing to exist. But it was real enough for the mountain lion shifters, and their claim to the land was long-lasting and vicious. When the humans had settled here, they’d quickly become a blight the mountain lion clan wanted to wipe out as quickly as possible.
