The Girl Who Cried Werewolf

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “No humans,” Kash says, grabbing my wrist.

  “What do you mean? She’ll die if we don’t call for help. That wound is too deep.”

  He sighs, and I’m confused by his dark mood. He looks back at me, seeing the confusion on my face, and answers the question he sees reflected in my eyes. “She was bitten by a werewolf, Pepper. It won’t kill her, but humans can’t save her now.”

  “She’s not dying,” I say slowly, and Kash shakes his head.

  My face pales as I realize what he’s saying.

  “She’s not going to die,” he says quietly, “but she may wish she was, because when she wakes up, she’ll be a werewolf.

  “Absolutely not,” Kash says for the tenth time. “She’s not coming with us!” His anger is a tangible thing, but I ignore him.

  “I absolutely am, tail-wagger,” I shout.

  He growls and I growl back.

  Around us, half a dozen muscle-bound dudes are hard at work, cleaning up the scene. The gray wolf, still unconscious, has already been carried off and tucked inside a white creeper van they somehow managed to get back here to the edge of the trees. The girl, too. All that’s left is covering up any evidence of men turning to beasts.

  At my words, deep masculine laughter rumbles from the man leaning against the tree. “Aw, come on Kash. Let her come. She’s fun,” Lynch says, shooting me a wink. He holds up the bloodied chef’s fork as if it’s proof of his claim.

  “Exactly,” I say, waving a hand in his direction. “I’m a helluva good time. Besides, I’m just as invested in this as you are. I stabbed that asshole, for fuck's sake, or did you forget?”

  Kash steps closer to me, crossing his arms over his chest. His muscles bulge in the shirt Lynch brought him. “No, I most certainly did not forget about that,” he growls. “And you can bet your sweet little ass that we will be talking about that later.”

  I grit my teeth and roll my eyes. “I saved the girl. You can’t come in and steal all the glory and then tell me to go home. I deserve to know what that asshole was up to,” I say, nodding my head in the direction of the van holding the still prone wolf. I uncross my arms and step closer, placing my hand on his forearm. “Please, Kash. I need to know that she’s okay.”

  At my touch, he drops his arms and pulls me against him, pressing his forehead to my own. “It goes against everything inside of me to let you come. Can you not see that I’m trying to keep you safe?”

  “It’s not your job to protect me, Kash.”

  He steps back like I’ve slapped him. “Like hell it’s not,” he roars.

  “I’m just gonna go make sure the prisoner is secure and check on the girl while you two work this out,” Lynch mutters. “Nice to see ya again, Red,” he calls as he jogs toward the van where the girl and wolf wait with another member of Kash’s pack.

  We ignore him in favor of continuing our staring contest. When it’s clear Kash isn’t going to back down, I sigh and say the words I’ve been dreading. “Kash, I know you have a mate out there somewhere.”

  His face morphs into a mask of surprise like that’s the last thing he expected me to say. He opens his mouth to interrupt me, but I hold up a hand, needing to get it all out.

  “And I’m sure she’ll be lovely, and strong, and everything an alpha needs in a mate. I’ve read enough books to know how this will end. You’ll forget all about me when that time comes. You won’t be able to help it. But I won’t forget. Meeting you. Discovering werewolves are real. Helping that girl. Those things are life altering for me. My life will never be the same even if you push me out now. So stop trying to save me, okay? It’s too late.”

  He leans in, not giving me any time to react.

  His mouth crashes over mine as he pins me against a tree and kisses me senseless. His kisses are hard and demanding, and I feel them shudder through me all the way to my soul. A desperate part of me wishes I were strong enough to mark him in an irreversible way like he has me. But even more than the other times, this kiss feels like goodbye.

  A whimper escapes my mouth, and I cling to him. Just as quickly as the kiss started, it’s over.

  “Shit,” he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. I bend at the waist, my hand still clutching his shirt as I gasp for breath.

  A squeak escapes me as he lifts me up and throws me over his shoulder.

  “Kash, what the hell? Put me down!”

  His hand strikes my ass once firmly. Heat shoots to my core, and I stop struggling. He grunts as my hormones flare to life, but he doesn’t stop his slow prowl to the van where Lynch and his other pack members wait.

  “You’re coming with me, Pepper,” he rumbles, and his voice sounds strained. “It seems we have more to talk about than your penchant for danger and your ridiculous choice in weaponry.”

  I prop my elbows on his back and brace my head on my hands to stop the blood from rushing to my brain as I’m carried off into the night. Fucking werewolves.

  Chapter 11

  The drive to Kash’s pack land is split between the smooth, fast pace of the highway and the equally slow, bumpy gravel roads as we get farther from civilization. Trees block us in on all sides, crowding the narrow road ahead, and I can’t remember the last time we passed a street light or even another house.

  “Not to sound like a princess, but do you guys have, like, indoor plumbing out here?” I ask, suddenly worried about how smart it was to have insisted on getting into a van full of werewolves. We’ve already been driving forty minutes, and my nerves stretch tighter with each passing minute.

  Lynch’s laughter echoes around the van before he reaches out to ruffle my hair. “Of course we do, Red. We’re not complete cavemen. I think you’re actually gonna like it.” He winks at me before turning his attention back to the dirt trail they call a road.

  I chew on my thumb nail as I try to remind myself that we have bigger things to worry about than whether or not werewolves have running water or whether it was really a smart idea to let supernatural creatures lure me an hour away from home without notifying anyone. I snort. Okay, so I hadn’t so much let them lure me as I insisted they take me—but potatoes-tomatoes.

  I glance back to the girl and her furry attacker who lay unconscious on the seats behind me and the two men guarding them.

  “Ah, home sweet home,” Lynch says.

  I lean forward, trying to see anything other than trees and tall grass, but find nothing. I’m just getting ready to call Lynch an asshole for lying when I see something in the distance. I squint, trying to make out the faint yellow glow of artificial light growing steadily bigger as we approach.

  My pulse picks up, and I try to calm myself, knowing the wolves in the car can hear it. I squeak as a hand brushes my arm, and Kash chuckles.

  “It’s just me, Pepper.” He leans forward, his signature smirk in place. “So, this is what it takes to finally scare you? I was beginning to wonder if you had any sense of self-preservation at all.”

  My eyes narrow at his insult. I open my mouth to tell him exactly where he can shove his opinion, but he places his fingers over my mouth and nods his head out the window. “Welcome to my home.”

  I whip around in my seat and quickly roll down my window, desperate to see it without the barrier of the glass.

  “Are we sure she’s not at least part dog,” I hear Lynch mutter with a chuckle.

  Without turning, I flip him off as I take in the massive house and scenery framing it. Flood lighting illuminates rows of windows. Jutting out against all of the glass is an awning held up by three evenly spaced, massive stone pillars. The wooden beams of the interior are visible in the warm glow spilling out from the lamps inside. Large log wings extend off either side of the house, and a wooden porch wraps around the entire first floor. Soft twinkling lights in the trees light the outside of the compound, giving the place a welcoming feel.

  It’s breathtakingly beautiful.

  Lynch pulls the van to a stop directly in front then hops out and circles around
to lift the unconscious girl from the van. The others team up to carry the wolf and disappear inside.

  Kash opens my door from the outside, and I hop out, spinning in a slow circle before turning back to see if I can help.

  Lynch turns back so that the girl’s hair falls away, and I finally get a clear view of her face.

  I gasp, causing Lynch to freeze in confusion.

  “What?” he asks.

  I rush over, my hand shaking as I reach out to touch her. A single sob bursts from me before I can contain it. Kash is there in an instant, clutching my face between his strong hands.

  “Romy, what’s wrong,” He asks sternly. His intense blue eyes dark with worry as he tries to find any injuries he may have missed.

  I shake my head.

  “I think she knows her,” Lynch’s voice trails off, and Kash’s eyes widen as he understands.

  “Her name is Danielle,” I say, and Kash curses softly. “What will happen to her now?”

  “Lynch will take her straight to the medical ward,” Kash says. “The healer will need to check her out before you can see her again. The first change is always the hardest. I’m not gonna lie to you. She’s in for a rough few days.”

  I sag against him.

  “Come on,” he says quietly, taking my arm and leading me into the house.

  I don’t even stop to appreciate the spectacular architecture I was so excited about only minutes ago. Instead, I close my eyes and let the feel of Kash’s body soothe me.

  “Are you two close?” Kash murmurs against my hair.

  I sigh and look up into his eyes, forcing my own shock to dial back enough to focus. “Not really,” I answer truthfully. “She’s in Anna and Talia’s sorority. I’ve seen her around quite a bit, and we’ve hung out a few times. She’s really sweet. She’s going to be a doctor.” My voice breaks on the last word, and I quickly amend my statement. “Was. She was going to be a doctor.” I clamp my mouth shut as the tears start to flow.

  My interactions with Danielle have been superficial at best– from the time we were on the same beer pong team to the time Talia convinced all of us to go skinny dipping—but I can’t help but feel a bone deep sadness for this girl I don’t really know.

  Even if she makes it through the night, her life as she knows it is over. All because of some fleabag. I snap my head up and look around.

  “Where’s the asshole who bit her?” I ask vehemently.

  Kash hesitates.

  “Kash,” I say. “You can’t bring me all the way out here and then shut me out.”

  He lets out a long breath of frustration. “I’m not trying to shut you out, I just– you should know what you’re about to see isn’t going to be pretty.”

  “I’m good with that,” I say, hand on my hip.

  But Kash’s brows lift. “Have I changed you so much already that you’ll condone the thing that disgusted you the night we first met?”

  I swallow hard as his words sink in. Killing. He’s talking about killing, maybe even torturing. Am I okay with that?

  I think about Danielle and what she’d want. What I’d want if I’d just been bitten and begun changing into a furry beast, my whole life forever altered. My future ripped away.

  “I’m beginning to come around,” I say darkly.

  Kash watches my expression for another moment. A flash of sadness flickers in his eyes so quickly I’m not sure I didn’t imagine it, and then he nods once before leading me further inside.

  I follow Kash down a short hallway and then through a door that leads to a dimly lit stairwell. I hesitate, blinking as I enter the musty air that smells like exposed wood and feels wet on my skin. Someone shuffles up behind me, and I suck in a sharp breath until Lynch’s face appears.

  “Our girl’s getting checked out,” Lynch explains. “Figured I’d come lend a hand with this.”

  Kash grunts his agreement, and we all make our way downstairs. The lower we descend, the creakier the floorboards get and the cooler the air becomes. At the bottom, Kash’s hand reaches for mine, and he pulls me out of the way to let Lynch take up the lead. Up ahead, another man stands guard in front of a closed door. Lynch tells him to open it. Then, we follow him through.

  Lynch fans out to the right, and Kash steps left, pulling me with him, but at the sight of the prisoner, I falter.

  “Say the word, and I’ll take you back upstairs,” Kash says quietly.

  I can feel his eyes on me, but I can’t look away from the man chained to the opposite wall. He’s human again and wearing a pair of ratty cotton shorts. But he’s bruised and bloody although I have no idea if the bruises were courtesy of his meeting with Kash back at campus or something done to him since arriving here.

  He looks up at the sound of Kash’s voice and jerks hard against the iron chains around his wrists. They clink together as he pulls against them, and I squeeze Kash’s hand as the man snarls viciously.

  “Romy,” Kash prompts.

  Finally, I blink and turn to Kash, knowing full well I have to say something to assure him I’m okay. “Do you realize this fulfills pretty much every Teen Wolf cliché out there? Chaining a rabid werewolf to a wall? Really? Could you be less original?”

  Lynch snorts. “Hey, give us Underworld or Blade at least.”

  “Kate Beckinsale takes no prisoners,” I tell him seriously.

  Lynch hoots, and I flash a smile before turning back to Kash.

  “Stop worrying,” I say, reaching up to smooth out the lines on his forehead.

  “This isn’t a joke,” he warns.

  “I know,” I tell him.

  He doesn’t answer, and I can tell he’s still unsure about proceeding with me here. “Look, I want to know why he hurt Danielle. And I want him to know it’s not okay to hurt innocent people. So do whatever it takes to send that message.”

  “If it gets to be too much…” he begins.

  “I’ll wait outside,” I assure him even though I have no intention of doing that.

  Relief flashes in his eyes, and he looks at Lynch, who strolls up to the prisoner and slams his fist into the man’s gut.

  The prisoner moans, his eyes fluttering open. I watch as his ab muscles contract in pain. Lynch backs away long enough to study the man’s reaction then hits him again. The man moans louder, and the chains clink as he tries, and fails, to move out of reach of the next blow.

  “Whose pack do you belong to?” Lynch demands.

  Kash’s hand tightens around mine, but he doesn’t say a word or even tear his gaze from the man in chains. His expression is hard but otherwise unreadable.

  “Whose pack?” Lynch yells when the man refuses to answer.

  The moaning becomes unintelligible mumbling.

  Lynch hits him again, this time in the face. Blood and saliva spew sideways, and the man’s head hangs limp, his body droops, held in place only by the iron manacles around his wrists.

  I tense and suck in a sharp breath, holding it while I watch the pain play out over the man’s face. His naked body is marred by bruises and blood. The hint of a tattoo shows over one shoulder as he hangs limply. Lynch looks back at Kash as if asking silent permission for whatever happens next. I’m not an idiot; I can tell they’ve done this before.

  It’s too seamless.

  Too rehearsed to be improvised.

  As proof of my theory, Kash subtly shakes his head.

  Lynch looks back at the man in chains. “What’s your name?”

  “Nick,” the man says through gritted teeth.

  “Why did you bite that girl, Nick?”

  “Alpha’s orders,” he answers between pained breaths.

  Kash stiffens.

  Lynch glances back at us then steps closer to Nick.

  “Your alpha ordered you to attack that girl?” Lynch asks.

  “Not attack,” Nick says in a raspy voice. “Bite.”

  Lynch’s surprise mirrors my own. “He ordered you to turn her.”

  Nick nods, saliva dripping from his
open mouth. In the silence, the chains rattle as he tries to find relief for his arms. Lynch shoots a look at Kash who doesn’t react.

  This is not part of the routine.

  Lynch turns back to Nick. “Why?” he demands.

  Nick doesn’t answer.

  Lynch curls his hand into a fist then cocks it back.

  “We need women,” Nick blurts before he can strike. “A bloodline for the pack. A pure line.”

  My mouth falls open a little, and my stomach churns at what he’s implying. Breeders. They’re turning girls and dragging them off to God-knows-where in order to impregnate them. It’s nightmarish. Like the werewolf world’s version of sex trafficking.

  I can’t find the words to describe how sick that makes me. Suddenly, my relief over finding Danielle tonight is something I can taste. And the sight of Nick being tortured for answers seems a lot easier to stomach.

  Kash is utterly silent beside me, his hand limp in mine.

  Even Lynch looks shocked as he glances from Nick to Kash, uncertain.

  Kash lets go of my hand and strides forward.

  Nick’s eyes widen in recognition. “Look, man, er, Kash, Mr. Montgomery, I didn’t know it was you back there in the woods–”

  “You know who I am?” Kash’s voice is as smooth as silk and harder than steel.

  Nick nods. “You’re Kash Montgomery. Alpha to the Somerville pack.”

  Kash reaches up and brushes his hand over a mark on Nick’s shoulder. “And you’re new. I’d say, what, five months? Six?”

  “Six,” Nick says, his voice shaking now.

  I can’t blame him. Even a casual touch from Kash when he’s in this state seems dangerous.

  “Who turned you?” Kash asks.

  Nick opens his mouth to answer, but no sound comes out.

  Kash stiffens. “I asked you a question, pup.”

  Again, Nick attempts to speak, but it’s incoherent at best.

  “Let me spend some time with him, boss,” Lynch says, stepping forward again.

  Nick’s eyes widen, and he shakes his head violently. “I can’t tell you. I want to, but I can’t.” His words rush together, and the panic creeping into his expression makes me believe him. “I’m not allowed to–” His words seem to stop of their own accord, but he tries again. “I can’t say the words, no matter how much you beat on me, okay? It’s some kind of alpha trick.”