To Chase A Wolf

by Sara Kimball

  “You mean you haven’t told her you are desperately in love with her yet?” His grandmother was too astute by half, and Lincoln sighed and nodded in reply to her question.

  “My love, you are going to have to divulge that sometime soon. Especially if you want her to say it back to you.”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  ///

  Jax and Davin returned late that night, and Alex was woken up by a knock on the bedroom door. Lincoln went to answer it, talking in soft voices to Jax on the other side, and she dressed hurriedly to join them.

  In the sitting room of their suite was a bevy of people. Jax and Davin, looking tired, were eating sandwiches on the couch. Trent, Moira and Gareth were in various seats. Elizabeth was seated in the wingback chair near the door and Lincoln was standing near the entrance to the hallway, waiting for her.

  “Sorry to intrude on your sleep, but when these two got back and started to tell me what they discovered I deemed it prudent to wake everyone rather than have them keep repeating themselves.” Elizabeth looked towards Jax, who had just finished his food and was wiping his face with a napkin.

  Alex allowed Lincoln to lead her to one of the few remaining chairs, seating her in it and tucking a blanket over her lap as Jax began. “We got to Mitch’s stronghold in Denver, but pretty quickly realized we weren’t going to discover anything there. Whatever Mitch is involved in, it isn’t drugs. But we did pick up some intel from a few Great Plains Pack members that suggested Johnny Dupree is the one that’s involved. And apparently some of his Pack members have been going missing, and wolves travelling through his borders alone tend to disappear—never to be heard from again.”

  “We went to Louisiana, where I know some people. Just outside New Orleans, near Dupree’s stronghold. It’s…disturbing what we found.”

  Davin was nodding. “We interviewed some Pack members willing to talk to us. Their conditions are horrible. Dupree is sucking nearly all of the available income from the Pack, claiming that he has some plan to make them all wealthy, but it is taking startup capital. From what they told us, Dupree has been involved in meth production and running drugs up from some of the South American cartels for quite a while. Then he has wolves sell it to human dealers.”

  “But a human drug wouldn’t have affected a werewolf in the way the drug affected Alex.” Moira’s voice was crisp, more like she was at a board meeting rather than an impromptu pajama party in the middle of the night.

  Jax nodded. “Right. We figured the human drugs weren’t something we needed to follow up on…for now. So we tried tracking down some leads to this ‘plan’ that Dupree is telling his Pack will make them all rich. The rumors led us to Alabama, to a laboratory.” Jax stopped and swallowed, and the room got tense, waiting for him to finish.

  Davin’s pose was casual, but Alex could tell he was coiled tight as he spoke, picking up where Jax left off. Trent, sensing his twin’s unrest, moved to stand behind Davin, putting his hands on Davin’s shoulders in solidarity. “They were doing experiments on humans and werewolves alike. We found a freezer with the bodies of at least twelve wolves and double that of humans. We also found some information for a crematorium, so we think they are slowly disposing of the bodies by burning them. All of the humans that were still alive were too far gone, we watched one man whose heart just…burst. He fell over dead in front of us. The others…were raving. Insensible.

  “But the women’s bodies. Those were the worst.”

  Jax sat up straight and continued, swallowing first. “They were mutilated. Raped, beaten, scarred up. And the smell…fear and pain and lust. I think that they are using the shots to put human women into heat so they live longer and can take more pain as they are raped and tortured. Or at least that’s what they were doing there, at the lab.

  “As to what they are using on the men…they are strong, stronger than they should be, and quick. We made copies of all the files from the computers we found and of their security system logs, then deleted everything.”

  Alex rubbed her stomach at what they were telling her, feeling nauseous. “And the people left alive?”

  They both shook their heads. “We didn’t want to give away the fact that we had been there. We deleted everything and started a fire in the electrical panel, to make it look like a short ruined the circuitry and deleted everything. It’s a long shot, but we felt at least plausible. There wasn’t anybody to save though. All of them were dying. All the wolves and females were dead, the human men were the only ones left.”

  “There weren’t any guards?” Lincoln’s curious gaze was on the two men and Jax shook his head in the negative.

  “There was a pretty good security system, but we made sure to wipe the data of us breaking in before we crashed it,” Davin explained.

  Elizabeth’s eyes were yellow. “And Dupree is funding this? Draining money from his Pack to pay for sick experiments? What possible explanation could he have for this? It isn’t what Alphas do…” Her voice turned contemplative. “How could the rest of us have not known about this?”

  During Elizabeth’s questions, Jax had handed a USB device to Moira, who had plugged it into a laptop and was scrolling through its contents. “From what I’m seeing here Dupree hired—or is working with—a Dr. Rundell who had the idea for the drugs. There are some emails between them about the drug to put female wolves into heat, and then some more about changing the dosage to use on human women…” Moira kept scrolling. “Although it looks like at first Dr. Rundell was creating a drug to make werewolves quicker, stronger, and have increased mental alertness…it reminds me a bit of the US giving their troops amphetamines to keep them alert in battle situations.”

  Davin and Jax were taking it in, a look of agreement on their faces. “That would tally with what we saw. But this drug, if it works on werewolves, doesn’t work on humans in the same way. It destroys their minds and makes them irrational and uncontrollable.” Jax rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they had to be put down after the drug wore off…If it can wear off before it kills them.”

  “Do you know how long this has been going on?” Trent asked.

  Moira scrolled through some more documents. “I see some emails dating back ten, no twelve years or so.”

  “So…If Dupree is the one behind the drugs, then why would Mitch agree to an alliance with Dupree…or allow him to take Alex? He had to have known at the time what was going to happen to her, and what Dupree was.” Trent’s confusion was echoed in all of them. “What would he get out of that? And what did he get out of shooting Alex with a dart full of the compound to put her into heat?”

  “Maybe an alliance with the Gold Pack? Maybe he wants to take Dupree out so he’s looking for people he can call on?” Trent voiced the suggestion, but Elizabeth shook her head.

  “We didn’t give him an alliance. He offered one to us. Though, in the time I have known Mitch Cannon his plans tend to be rather more complicated than this suggests. The truth is we have no idea what he wants, at least yet. I suspect we will find out eventually.”

  They all sat in silence, thinking over the various scenarios. After a time, when no one offered suggestions or further information—Moira was still busy clicking and scrolling on her computer—Lincoln chose to disband the group.

  “Well, that’s enough for tonight. Davin and Jax are probably exhausted. Let’s all go to bed. We have the Conclave in a week, and I’m sure we can figure out something more enlightening by then.” He pulled Alex to her feet. “To bed, mate. You need your rest. We’ll come up with a plan to find out more tomorrow.”

  ///

  Johnny pressed the plunger down and felt the instant relief as the drug hit his vein. He didn’t have time to waste though as he put the items back into his hidden desk drawer. It wouldn’t do to have someone walk in and see him, they wouldn’t understand how it helped him. And if they did understand they would want some for themselves, and he wasn’t going to share. I won’t give any to those losers.
Arguing with me about Pack members going hungry because of the large Pack dues I take from them for the research…they don’t know anything. I’m the one with the vision. Not them.

  He felt the chemical working through his bloodstream and his thoughts turned to the coming Conclave. I’ll get her from that Harcourt bastard. She was promised to me long before he had her. She’ll be mine. She was always mine. And once I put my hands on her, she’ll know what a mistake it was to make me wait.

  ///

  Elizabeth studied the resolute faces before her. “You are all quite sure that you wish to do this?”

  They nodded and she shook her head in resignation. “Very well then, you have my permission. But I admonish you to be careful.” She made sure to stare at Lincoln in particular. “You know the risks.”

  A short while later they left. Elizabeth hoped that the time during the Conclave wouldn’t put her grandson’s newfound family at risk, but she also knew that there was no deterring them from their actions. Especially if it meant a swift outcome, which they all desired.

  From the Journal of Elizabeth Harcourt, 1995

  I tried setting Lincoln up with some of the eligible women from the Pack. But I have to say, I was just as disgusted as he was. They all want him because of his money, because of his title as my heir. They want the status of being his mate. But none of them want just the man.

  I did the same thing to my sons, I found women for them that weren’t their true mates, but rather just a mate. I don’t want to do it for my last grandchild. He deserves true happiness, like what I had with Brendan.

  I will have to put my mind to this. But first I need to know if he is ever interested in a woman. It is important to follow up on any possibilities he may find, just in case one of them is the woman that will make him most happy.

  And who better to keep an eye on him than his friends…

  Chapter 17

  Alex stepped off the small private plane onto the asphalt behind Lincoln. Stinson Municipal Airport, located just outside San Antonio, Texas, was nestled just inside the ring of Interstate 410. The freeway circled around the city proper, with multiple other freeways crisscrossing it in a hodgepodge of transit that made sense to no one.

  The humid, hot air hit her in a blast and made her feel instantly sticky, but she adjusted the lightweight outfit Moira had helped her pick out and trotted to the waiting car, hoping the air conditioning was on full blast.

  Lincoln had decided to take her a few days ahead of time to the Conclave grounds, and he told her of the surprise after securing permission from the Texas Alpha. On the flight he talked about wanting to show her the Alamo as well as the Riverwalk—a story below the city, the canal-like river was bordered on both sides by a walkway lined with shops, restaurants and bars. Typically cooler near the water, drinks and food could be enjoyed outdoors. Leafy trees swayed overhead, providing shade. There were always people meandering about, talking, laughing, and being merry.

  Alex had been delighted with the trip, even if it meant having wolfy guards accompanying them…though as the guards were Lincoln’s friends, it wasn’t that much of a hardship. Jax and Davin had been left at home this time, Gareth and Trent ‘volun-told’ by Elizabeth to join in on the trip. Trent had joked that this year he and Davin had been separated so much they were likely to forget they were twins.

  Alex tried to assist the porter with putting their luggage in the trunk of the car—since there was so much more of it than normal—only to be waved off politely. She gave in graciously, feeling a little self-conscious, and got into the rear seat. Lincoln joined her after a minute of talking with Gareth and Trent who were driving themselves in a rental Jeep behind them. Lincoln ignored the inequality in transportation and showed her how her seat could recline, putting up her foot rest and handing her a water bottle.

  “What kind of a car is this? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one that had footrests before.”

  Lincoln chuckled. “It’s a Maybach.”

  Rolling her eyes, Alex whispered, “Snazzy.” The driver got in then, so she fell quiet, and they were on their way to the hotel. They pulled up to an impressive edifice downtown, and were swiftly checked into a suite, a whole new set of porters taking their luggage up ahead of them and placing it in a neat pile in the living room.

  Some of Alex’s luggage was earmarked for the Conclave, and hadn’t even been packed by her. Moira had gone shopping again—she and Elizabeth had selected their contents. Alex was okay with it though. She trusted their judgement. Inspecting their suite of rooms—their home for the next two weeks— Alex took in the large central sitting room. Four bedroom branched off of it. Her and Lincoln’s room was the largest, with a grand bathroom and a large closet. She took the time to hang up all of her clothing, putting the rest away in the dresser. Setting her toiletries in the bathroom, she blew her hair out of her face with a quiet huff. This expensive, massive wardrobe took a lot longer to put away than her old one did. Smoothing her hand down the soft shirt, she smiled. Though it feels a lot nicer to wear.

  Lincoln joined her in the bedroom eventually with a roguish smile on his face, and they whiled away the afternoon and evening in bed, eventually ordering room service for sustenance.

  “You know, when you proposed this trip I didn’t think it was just going to be a week of bedroom time, I thought we were actually going to go out and do things.” Alex’s saucy tone and comment made Lincoln smile.

  “It so happens I have a plan for tomorrow, but it requires an early night as we will have to get up at an unattractive hour to beat the humidity. But I have better things to keep us occupied right now.” He loomed over her again, lifting her right knee to his shoulder and sliding into her gently, thrusting until she was breathless and languid.

  Sometime later, once Alex gathered her wits, she looked at the clock and noticed the late hour. “You know, if your goal was an early bedtime I think you’ve failed.”

  “Ah well. It was worth it.” He cuddled her up and stroked her skin softly until she went to sleep.

  ///

  The next morning came too soon for Alex, and she ate the fruit and oatmeal Lincoln had ordered from room service even though she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. They dressed in sturdy athletic gear and got into the rented Jeep that Gareth and Trent had driven the day before. They headed out of the city on Interstate 35 for about twenty minutes and then turned off. After nearly forty minutes of total drive time they arrived at the park for the Natural Bridge Caverns, passing the Wildlife Ranch on the way. Alex was staring at the sign for the animals thoughtfully when Trent spoke up from the back seat. “It says they have zebras. I’d love to see a zebra, wouldn’t you Gareth?”

  Gareth grunted, and there was a dull thunk—the sound of a fist hitting flesh briefly—and then he spoke up. “Yeah. That’d be fun.”

  “How about we go after the cavern tour then?” Lincoln was looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and Alex was having trouble controlling her laughter. She was pretty sure neither Trent nor Gareth had a strong desire to see zebras.

  They purchased tickets for the cavern tour and lined up with the other groups of people, some middle aged tourists and some frustrated parents with complaining children. Gareth got a few sideways looks, and Trent elbowed him and whispered softly, “It might help if you smiled.”

  Gareth’s face twisted into a mockery of a smile, and Alex quickly shook her head. “Nope. Not helping. Not smiling was better.” The expression slid off his face quickly and they all sighed in relief.

  They only waited a few minutes before having to endure the short safety briefing. Then it was time to walk into the opening before them, the earth seemed to swallow them as the light faded rapidly. It wasn’t long before Alex was marveling at the rock formations just like everyone else. Though all of the wolves were having to dodge flashlight beams to keep from being blinded. As they made their way deeper into the cave system the humidity increased until they were all slightly sweaty and damp,
but it still didn’t stop the amazement at the cave bacon, stalactites, stalagmites, and the sheer wonder of such large structures being created by nothing more than the earth’s natural process and time.

  They followed along with the group, though they lagged behind slightly, their sensitive hearing still able to pick up the tour guide’s voice as they meandered along. Alex was stopped by a strange chuckle behind her, and turned to investigate only to see Gareth quickly pulling his hand back to his side with a guilty look on his face.

  Leaning around him, Alex saw the rock formation he had been pointing to, only to realize why the men had found it so funny. They all had a good laugh about the phallus like shape, but a word from the guide had them hustling to catch up.

  Eventually they clambered from underground, returning to the fresher air of the surface—though it was considerably hotter and more humid than when they had gone in, and Alex knew why Lincoln had wanted an early start to their tour today. They purchased ice creams to cool down, like the rest of the tourists, and finished off their cones on the way back to the car.

  “So next is the zebras?”

  Lincoln put an arm around her, crunching on his last bit of cone. “Yes. After all, Gareth seems very interested in them. I wouldn’t want to disappoint him.” She chuckled, eyeing Gareth with a smile on her face.

  They drove over to the other park, purchasing tickets and several feed bags for the animals, and then made their way through the gates in the Jeep. There were herds and herds of various deer, goat, and antelope species, and Alex knew she wasn’t the only one salivating at the thought of climbing out as a wolf and chasing one down for lunch.

  For their part the animals were wary of the smell of a predator...however they also knew that the moving boxes with the people in them dropped food. The desire to eat overwhelmed their fear of the smell of wolf, and eventually they calmed enough to approach and eat the feed dropped for them. Alex and the others had to wait patiently whenever they entered a new section, but it only took a couple of minutes before they'd be surrounded once again.