by Dean Murray
I found myself nodding. "So they really wanted Alec dead and the other pack to succeed."
"Yes, and I honestly thought that was how things were going to go. Alec actually has quite a bit of quiet support out among the various packs, especially the border packs that deal with almost constant incursions by the cats, but the Coun'hij had invested a lot of time and effort in making sure everyone was too scared to offer any kind of assistance. When the dust settled Alec had somehow managed to kill the rival pack leader and there was only one pack in Sanctuary."
"I'm getting the feeling that you're almost more impressed with Alec keeping his pack together for so many years than you are with him killing the other Alpha."
"Brandon wasn't any slouch, so it's hard to overplay how impressive Alec killing him really was, but yes, holding together like that for so many years, under that kind of duress is the sign of a very strong, loyal pack. The pack out there right now doesn't look like it would hold up for even a week against something like that."
I sighed. All of this doublethink was making my head hurt.
"I agree, but they are out there, ready to tackle Anton, so either they are trusting completely in Alec's mystery power, or there are still some bonds of loyalty that aren't readily apparent to us."
"Yes, but we're now in the realm of speculation. The only other thing I know for fact is that a little while back one of the Coun'hij paid a visit to Sanctuary. None of them are really pleasant, but given that they rely on terror to keep the rest of the wolves in check, Agony tends to be the one that gets the most face time with the other packs."
"Agony?"
"His power is that of creating lasting scars. Shape shifter combat tends to be brutal, but for the most part anything that doesn't kill you tends to be something that you can heal. Agony essentially removes our natural healing from the equation."
I felt my insides do a flip flop. That perfectly explained Donovan, Jess's father and Isaac's mother. Deliberately setting out to cripple another person just to keep everyone scared of you wasn't exactly a new concept, but that didn't stop me from wishing that I could put a bullet into Agony's skull. Ash paused for a second, but when I didn't comment he continued.
"The Coun'hij is trumpeting the visit as a success. Agony came back with all but one of his men, and Alec lost three of the weaker members of his pack. The rest of the story is that the man Agony lost was one of the old members of the other pack in Sanctuary, one of the dominant hybrids, and the three that Alec lost were likewise part of the other pack that he'd absorbed after killing Brandon."
"On the face of things, that does sound like a victory for Agony, Ash."
"I know, but the three that Alec lost weren't very powerful, and the normal contingent of bruisers that Agony took with him came back looking like they'd been through a shredder. I think Alec did exactly what his father failed to do. He sacrificed part of the pack in order to keep his real combat power intact. He may not have realized that was what he was doing when it happened, but it was the right answer."
"If it was the right answer, then why do you sound so unhappy?"
"Because it isn't the kind of thing you'd expect out of a Graves. They always beat the odds somehow without sacrificing their values. If Alec really is that pragmatic, he stands a fair chance of toppling the Coun'hij if he can stay a step ahead of them long enough to create a bigger powerbase. At the same time, the other packs aren't going to be in a hurry to support someone that they think could eventually turn out to be just as bad as the Coun'hij."
"So even though he really stood the Coun'hij off, they may have still beaten him because he won't be able to muster the kind of support he would need to topple them?"
"Exactly. This pack has been through hell twice, and assuming that we all survive this confrontation with Anton, we're going to go through an even worse time shortly."
Chapter 18
On day three Alec got a wild hair of some kind and decided to switch up the guard schedules. It meant that Ash and I weren't together now. Instead I was with Dominic, who continued to be incredibly nice and not very talkative.
I finally went back to girl-talk 101 and started asking her about James, which opened her up better than I was even hoping. I'd pegged James as one of those macho guys who treated his girlfriend like crap. Dominic was painting a different picture altogether, including the story of how she'd come to live in Sanctuary.
"I was so incredibly scared when I came over that hill and Alec's pack was there waiting for me. All I knew about wolves was that they had pushed into Central and South America and killed hundreds of cats. I expected them to kill me, but Alec made everyone hear me out, and it was James that convinced Jasmin that Alec wasn't out of his mind when he offered to help me. We faced down my father and I've been here ever since."
My mind was spinning. Ash had mentioned that Dominic was a cat rather than a wolf, but I'd still almost freaked out the first time I saw her shift forms. Now I was not only getting comfortable with her, I was realizing that there was a whole other world out there that Ash hadn't ever exposed me to. Ash had been mostly concerned with the results of the snake pit that the cats had created. Dominic, on the other hand, had lived there and when she talked I could almost understand how hard it must be not to turn into something like Anton if you lived there for very long.
"Is that why James hasn't given Alec a harder time over this? I mean, it's a bit of a replay of history."
Dominic shrugged uncomfortably. "I think it has more to do with the fact that he doesn't want to push Alec any harder than he has to right now. Don't get me wrong, James is nervous. We're all nervous. Anton sounds like someone we'd be better off not picking a fight with, but Alec is determined that we're going to take him down, and James knows that life will get much worse for his mother if the pack falls apart."
"I guess that makes sense. Most packs would welcome a strong hybrid, but then he'll always have to worry about someone going after her or you as a way to get to him. I guess Alec does a pretty good job keeping that kind of thing to a minimum?"
Dom nodded sadly. "Yes, he has been a very good leader in the past and I have some hope that he'll be a good leader again someday soon."
It was the best opportunity I'd had yet, so I decided to take it.
"Dom, what happened? Why did Alec change?"
"I…I'm not supposed to talk about certain things. I know how hard it must be for you though, having just joined the pack and seeing Alec as he is now rather than as he used to be. Possibly I can draw an analogy."
She paused for several seconds before looking over to where Ash was working on a laptop, 'minding the financial store' as he called it.
"Ash…well, he feels very strongly for you. It's obvious to any of us that can read his scent and hear his heartbeat."
I felt myself blushing. I knew that he liked me now, at least I mostly knew that he liked me, but the idea of everyone else knowing made me uncomfortable. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that they'd all known before I'd known and still had a better feeling for just exactly how strong his feelings were.
"I'm glad, by the way, that you're not denying his feelings, Kristin. For some reason that always seems to be the hardest part for us all, admitting that there is something worthwhile inside of us enough that someone could actually like us. Given that Ash feels so strongly for you, and given what he is capable of, what do you think he would do if he lost you?"
Now she'd thrown me for a loop, and it wasn't just her words, which were a bit hard to process all by themselves, it was the way she was saying them as well.
"What do you mean? I know Ash is dangerous in a way most people aren't, but he's also been coldly rational about every decision I've seen him make so far. If something happened to me then he'd move on. I mean, I know he likes me and all, but you make it sound like he would go on some kind of bloody rampage. That simply isn't Ash. He'd cut his losses because it would be the smart thing to do. He'd move on."
I wasn't e
ntirely comfortable with what I was saying. Not because I thought it wasn't the truth, it's just always hard for us girls to admit that while the guy we like does indeed like us, he isn't as head over heels for us as maybe you see in the fairytales.
Dominic paused for several seconds, long enough that I thought maybe I'd offended her somehow. She was just so fragile.
"I'm sorry, Dom. I didn't mean to just dismiss your opinion like that, I've always been too outspoken for my own good."
Dominic cocked her head at me.
"I'm not offended, Kristin, more like confused. Alec only recounted the barest details of how you got here. Anton tried to abduct you, Ash saved you, the two of you have been on the run ever since, and Anton is one of those rare shape shifters with the ability to track through non-physical means. Is that all correct?"
"Yeah, basically, but I'm not sure how that plays into all of this."
"This tracking ability, it probably seems like magic, but it is constrained with rules the same as anything else. Anton can't just pick out one individual from the sea of humanity and hunt them down. It requires a kind of link for him to track someone. Those cats with the ability to track have always been tight-lipped about it, especially in my homeland where the ability is part of how they foster the fear that keeps younger shape shifters in line. Still, the wolves have been fighting with my kind for long enough to have learned some of the rules, the limitations if you will, that such an ability operates under."
She paused to see if I was following, if I needed to ask a question, but I found myself paralyzed. I didn't know where she was headed, not exactly, but somehow I knew it was important. Maybe it was an echo of the precognition that I'd shown before with the dream of Anton attacking us. Maybe it was nothing, but I couldn't escape the feeling that there wasn't any going back from what she was about to tell me.
"In order for this ability to work, for this link to be established, Anton would have had to have met them previously, to have physically touched them, and to have a few seconds of relative calm while he touched them in which he established the link."
I felt my throat trying to close up, but I forced the words out despite the effort it took.
"Anton never had that kind of time with Ash. Every time they have been around each other, they've been fighting. There was never a chance for him to create the link with Ash, which means it's just me that he's tracking. Everything makes sense now. That's why Alec demanded that I come out here with everyone. My gosh, Ash could have cut me loose at any point and saved himself all kinds of trouble."
Dom nodded. "Instead he's signed up for a fight to the death that nobody is really quite sure whether or not we'll win, and in so doing agreed to join our pack which is something he obviously isn't very happy about."
My mind was reeling; it took me a couple of tries to continue.
"If you'd asked me a week ago, I would have told you that he'd die before he'd let himself be sucked back into a pack. I thought staying out on his own was the most important thing for him."
Dom reached over and patted my hand. "It probably was at one point, but it obviously isn't any more. Alec and Ash have more in common than either of them probably would ever admit. Imagine that Ash, the Ash who is now willing to lay his life down to save you, lost you. Worse yet, imagine that it was because of something he did or didn't do, something that would have bothered him even if it hadn't meant he lost you. What do you think that would do to him?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but a flash of movement caught my attention instead. Anton had just arrived.
Chapter 19
Ash was at my side seconds after Dom and I raised the alarm, assault rifle cradled in one arm. Dom had raced back to the rest of the pack, so we had a second alone.
"Don't forget that you promised. If Alec doesn't drop him in the first few seconds of the fight then we're probably not going to win. If that happens, then get to a vehicle and get out of here."
In all of the craziness of the last few seconds, I'd forgotten my promise. I opened my mouth to tell him that I knew now that he hadn't had to go down this path, but he pulled me in for a kiss.
"I'm serious. You promised and I'm holding you to it. Now let's drift back to the others."
I wanted to just blurt it all out, but it wasn't the time. If I started into that discussion, I'd come apart. Instead, I just nodded and let him guide me back towards the RV's.
Alec and the others reached us a few seconds later, all still wearing their normal forms and everyone looked down the canyon towards Anton. James was the first to break the silence.
"Somehow I'd expected him to come in hard and fast, avoid giving us time to assemble and meet him rather than strolling in like this."
Alec shrugged. "Could have gone either way. He knows just how good he is. No pack our size could possibly hope to stop him on a purely physical level. I'm sure he's acknowledged to himself that there's a possibility that one of us has manifested an ability, but even so, how many hybrids are there out there that could compete with a monster like him?"
Ash smiled grimly. "Agony couldn't do it. Puppeteer definitely given the right set of circumstances, Brandon possibly could have with the rest of his pack thrown in. Other than that, Jaclyn comes to mind and Oblivion probably could bring him down if the stars aligned just right. There might be one or two others out there that would have a shot in a direct confrontation and a few others like Dream Stealer that might be able to bring him down through indirect means given enough time."
Jasmin's smile was the kind of feral thing that usually made me slightly uncomfortable around her. Today it just made me glad she was on our side and willing to go up against someone like Anton.
"It's a pretty short list, but if we can bring this S.O.B. down it should buy us a little breathing room with the dispossessed."
Alec took a deep breath and then nodded. "We're committed now. Everyone put your game faces on, and stick to the plan as much as possible."
One second I was standing next to a bunch of gorgeous but otherwise normal teenagers, the next I was surrounded by wolves, a black jaguar, and three hulking wolf-man hybrids. The same odd, tingling energy I'd noticed around the pack before was back, stronger than I'd ever previously felt it. Ash was the only one who didn't shift, instead taking several steps off to the side and then dropping down to his stomach and sighting down the canyon.
"I'm engaging…now."
Ash's first shot was followed up by three more in rapid succession as Anton dropped to all fours, shifting to a large jaguar on the fly as he sprinted towards us.
I heard Ash mutter an oath as he missed again; Anton was just too fast and unpredictable. Additional shots tore away from the assault rifle and I was pretty sure at least one of them creased Anton, but he didn't noticeably slow.
I looked down and found that my pistol had somehow made its way into my hands, but I didn't open fire myself, the range was too far still for me to have any hope of hitting him. Alec's pack spread out slightly, the hybrids in the center, the three weaker members out on the wings.
I'd only thought the adrenaline was flowing before; as the range continued to drop, I really felt my heart start to race. Ash fired again and then swore as his slide locked back and he grabbed one of the spare magazines he'd laid out nearby.
Anton took advantage of the interruption in Ash's carefully aimed fire to really close the distance between him and us. I'd thought he was running fast before, but it was nothing compared to how much ground he was covering now that he didn't have to dodge at the same time. What had seemed like plenty of room for Ash to get reloaded and resume firing, suddenly didn't feel like enough space at all.
I opened up with my pistol, not because I thought I had any chance of tagging Anton when Ash wasn't having any luck, but because I wanted to buy Ash more time to finish reloading. I got one shot off, causing Anton to dodge slightly to one side, and then Ash opened up on full auto.
The shots stitched across Anton's side and back leg an
d then we were out of time. The pack braced for impact, the two hybrids on either side of Alec stepping forward and managing to get a claw each into Anton's flank as he sailed past and crashed into Alec.
Alec had been moving to the side, trying to buy himself some space, but Anton was just too fast. The force of the impact knocked Alec down, carrying the fight to exactly the position that favored a cat the most.
Anton's limbs thrashed about, ripping long, deep gouges in Alec's hybrid body, and then he sprang away again before the rest of the pack could close and pin him down. I feared the worst for just a second, but then Alec was back on his feet, bloodied but living.
The power radiating off of the pack crested and then dropped a step and I suddenly felt like all my strength was being sucked away. It was like someone had opened up some kind of energy vortex and as nearly as I could tell, Alec was the exact center of things.
Even as I was still trying to process the fact that my limbs had become leaden, I was registering the effects of what I assumed was Alec's ability on everyone else. Alec was on his knees while the rest of the pack seemed to have slowed down and Ash had dropped his heavy rifle and was staggering towards Anton with a knife in his hand.
I could tell that Alec was affecting Anton as well. His feline form still darted in and out, clinching with one or more of the pack and then springing away before the rest could help, but he was moving slower than before.
The lightning-fast melee had turned into a brutal slugging match and the odds still favored Anton. If Alec's ability had been able to just impact Anton things would have been different, but as it was, the rest of the pack was too slow and weak to take advantage of what Alec was doing to him.
The pack, including Ash, consolidated around Alec either out of loyalty or the hope that Alec would figure out how to fine-tune his ability. Now was exactly the time Ash had in mind when he'd made me promise to run. Anton didn't seem interested in me, I was a little ways away from everyone else, all I needed to do was move my tired limbs into a run and I could make it to Ash's SUV.
