To Chase A Wolf

by Sara Kimball

  He tore out two more saplings, stacking them on the first, and then using his blood from his wounds, drew an arrow in the gravel.

  Transforming again, he followed Alex’s scent at a trot. And if he stumbled every now and then, no one was around to see his weakness except himself.

  ///

  Jax turned off the road and onto a narrow, pitted gravel track. It curved around in the hills and he cursed as he was forced to slow to take a turn. Eventually, they came around a corner and he slammed on the brakes at the obstruction ahead. “Quick, Davin, Trent, get out and we’ll move those so we can keep going.”

  They hopped out, and were almost to the trees when they stopped, sniffing around and looking at something on the ground. Lincoln jumped out, his phone with the tracking app still in his hand, and Elizabeth and Jax quickly followed.

  “What’s the hold up? We need to go.”

  “Look.”

  Trent pointed at the ground, where an arrow had been drawn crudely on top of the gravel—Jax sniffed—in blood no less. He took a deep breath through his nose, and stilled. “I smell Alex, Dupree and Gareth. Looks like they went that way.”

  Davin glanced at the phone in Lincoln’s hand. “He must have left his phone and gone chasing after them.”

  Lincoln was already stripping, changing to his wolf quickly. The others followed suit, even Elizabeth, who had been eerily silent for a while now. Then, as a team, they took off into the trees, scenting their way after their targets.

  ///

  The fallen log across the river ahead gave her an idea, and she ran across it on light feet, stopping on the other side. Dupree was already stepping across, and she quickly got to work, pushing at the top, shoving it back to the water to knock him in. She managed to get it loose just as he made it to the other side, but he grabbed her as he fell, pulling her by the hair into the water. She lashed out as the cold stream enveloped her, punching at him as best she could, and the hand holding her loosened.

  Using her feet, she propelled herself away from him and through the water, kicking out to the shore as the current swept them along. She hit a boulder, which stopped her forwards progress, but also knocked the wind out of her. Grasping at the rocky surface, she pulled herself up onto the rock, looking around for Dupree.

  She shivered, even though the early morning summer sun was on her, and felt a trickle of warmth down her arm. Looking, she realized she had been cut—probably during her fall into the water. Pressing a hand over the wound, she resumed her search for Dupree, trying to think of what to do next.

  I can go back the way I came, then back to the cabin, see if I can get Gareth in Dupree’s car and then try to drive away. Without wasting more time, she leapt from her perch, aiming for the bank. Landing in the river, she twisted her ankle at her misstep on a slippery rock, but she figured she would heal soon enough, and used the adrenaline to push through the pain.

  Grabbing some brush on the far side, she clambered up and ran back into the woods, heading to where she had tumbled into the river, so she could follow her scent back to the road. She hadn’t taken more than a dozen steps when a roar behind her had her gaze searching through the trees. Fuck. That man just doesn’t give up, does he?

  Sopping wet and looking slightly battered, Dupree stood a hundred yards away from her, a look of manic rage on his face. He roared again, tipping his head back to scream. “You will be mine!”

  Alex took quick, panting breaths as she realized she wasn’t clear of him yet, and took off again, hearing him crash along behind her. Fear made her heart beat quickly, and she ignored everything but the goal to get away, trying to return back to the road as best she could.

  ///

  Gareth heard noises behind him, pausing his hobbled run to make a stand. He had realized during his chase that if Dupree had more wolves behind him to help, Gareth had led them right to their location. He hoped the noises behind him were friends, not foes.

  ///

  Jax paused as he took in the sight of Gareth, wounded and bloody. Then he rushed forward and changed to his human form. Gareth changed as well, though his change was much slower and more laborious than usual.

  Jax waited—impatiently, but silent—until the other man was done before speaking. “Where’s Alex?”

  Gareth was still on his hands and knees in the rocky leaf-strewn soil beneath the trees, shaking from exhaustion, but managed to weakly point with a hand. “We got separated. I was following her scent that way. Dupree is chasing her.”

  Lincoln and Elizabeth moved to follow the scent trail when a noise broke through the trees slightly to the left. It was a deranged scream, echoing through the trees. “You will be mine!”

  Zoning in on where the sound had come from, Jax motioned to Davin and Trent. “Take him back to the car and call Moira, see if she’s found a doctor close by. Preferably from the Colonial Pack, we’re close to their borders.”

  Gareth was protesting, but Jax ignored him and changed back to wolf form, sprinting after Lincoln and Elizabeth.

  ///

  Alex felt the pull of her hair, which had fallen out of its ponytail sometime between the run from the cabin and the tumble in the river. Her head was yanked back roughly, and she used the momentum to swing her body around, landing a good couple of hits on Dupree’s arm and neck.

  The pain didn’t seem to faze him much, instead he tried to grab her shirt and rip it off. Alex let him, beginning the change to her wolf form, letting her pants slide off her now canine hips. She bit at Dupree’s hand, and he loosened his grip on her just enough for her to dart back, now in her furry form.

  She stood back from him, watching him closely, and darted to the left when he reached forward to strike at her. She whirled, and he turned to face her as well, cursing. “You bitch. You belong to me. You have to do what I say.”

  He made several more attempts to grab at her, but Alex managed to use the trees to her advantage, placing them between her and Dupree so that he had to go around them to get to her—which in turn gave her just enough time to get away.

  “No. it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Your brother promised you to me. I own you. You are mine.” His mouth was foaming, like a rabid animal, and his eyes were crazed and wild looking. She saw him tense, and prepared herself for another quick maneuver to avoid him.

  Just then, two sleek black wolves, one with more gray around her ears and nose, darted into view, heading straight for Dupree. A third wolf, brown and mottled gray was right behind them. Alex initially felt a rush of relief at the sight of Lincoln, Jax, and Elizabeth—for the other black wolf could only be Lincoln’s grandmother—but then she felt fear. Dupree was fast, outmaneuvering both her and Gareth when they fought him at the cabin. Even though Gareth was injured, that was still hard to do. Alex cursed and charged forward with the other wolves, confronting Dupree.

  Lincoln came up to her side and pushed against her slightly. She understood the command to leave it to him, but she couldn’t ignore the threat that Dupree represented. Four wolves would have a better chance than three. When she didn’t move away, he sighed and stopped leaning on her. The action made feelings of love and affection rush through Alex, because she knew that even though he didn’t want her to fight, he wasn’t going to stop her, allowing her to help take down a monster.

  When Elizabeth made the first move Dupree was there to counter her, and punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. Alex winced as she heard bone crunch, but didn’t hesitate to lunge forward and attack as well. Jax gripped the man’s hand, biting down and shaking his head side to side, until great rents appeared in Dupree’s flesh. Lincoln got a good bite in on his leg, severing his tendons and making Dupree sink to his knee. Alex, who had jumped into the air—aiming for his other arm—was then too high, and her teeth closed around Dupree’s face, her lower jaw sinking into his eyeball, the upper part of her mouth in his hair. She hadn’t been intending to do it, but she bit down anyway and felt the soft ooze of blood and fluids on he
r tongue.

  Alex let go of Dupree’s head and rolled off before he could retaliate, but when she looked back she saw Elizabeth moving forward and gripping Dupree’s neck. He fought her, but weakly, making gurgling noises, more blood coming from his mouth and dripping down his chin onto Elizabeth’s muzzle. Lincoln was standing back, letting his grandmother take point. Jax was watching as well.

  Surprised at how quickly he went down, Alex looked at Dupree and realized that maybe he was more worn down from the fight with her and Gareth, coupled with the chase through the woods, than she thought. Blood and gore dripped down his face from his missing eye—courtesy of Alex’s bite wound. There was still the stick in his back, and she saw more blood staining his shirt red and dripping down his spine. There were multiple scrapes and cuts along his body from his dunking in the river, and his clothing was wet, torn, and dirty.

  Elizabeth began to twist her head, and with a sharp pull, she jerked her head back, moving back a step before spitting out the hunk of flesh that used to be Dupree’s throat. He gasped for air, but Lincoln was there, gripping the man’s neck with his teeth until bone crunched and cracked, and then tendons popped and tore. Alex vomited into the leaves as Dupree’s head came loose from his body, Lincoln dropping it on the ground several feet away.

  Elizabeth changed back to a human, stepping away from the corpse of the wolf in front of her, and breathing heavily, her eyes a dark molten amber color as she looked at the bloody scene before her. Lincoln took a step closer to Alex, but stopped and looked at his grandmother for a moment. Slowly, he walked to her and rubbed his muzzle on her knee. She was breathing hard, but reached her hand down into the ruff of fur at his neck, her gaze slowly following her hand.

  Blinking several times rapidly, Elizabeth’s eyes faded back to silver, and a small smile crossed her face as she took in Lincoln comforting her. “There now, silly pup, I’m alright. Go comfort your mate.” She turned, facing away from Dupree’s remains, and began to walk back to the road. “Jax, why don’t you accompany me? I have some phone calls to make.”

  Jax trotted after her, and Lincoln finally turned to Alex, shifting back to a human. Alex did the same, and leapt into her mate’s welcoming arms, wrapping her legs around his hips and her arms around his shoulders. She was thankful to feel his warm embrace. Lincoln pulled back, inspecting her closely. His deep voice was concerned when he finally began speaking. “Are you okay? Are you both okay? Did he hurt you—or touch you?” He saw some bruises and marks on her and began kissing them gently.

  Alex smiled. “I’m okay now that you are with me.” She looked over his shoulder, noting the body behind him once again. “What are we going to do about that?”

  Lincoln looked behind him and growled slightly, pulling her further away from the bloody mess. “I’m sure my grandmother will handle it. That’s no doubt one of the phone calls she has to make.”

  Alex nodded, allowing Lincoln to pull her through the brush, away from the bloody mess behind them, heading to the road. Shaky now with relief, she gripped his hand in hers. “Talk about cutting it close.”

  Lincoln stopped and gripped her to his naked body. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t there. I should have been with you and your brother. This never would have happened—” He trailed off as she started laughing at him softly.

  “Don’t start that on me now, my mate.” Alex looked into his eyes and leaned forward to kiss him. “Even if you had been there, that’s no guarantee that I wouldn’t have been taken. You may have been shot up with the same stuff that they gave Mitch—and Gareth and me for that matter—you would have been useless to me then.” She patted his chest, sliding her hand up and to his shoulder. “Don’t for one moment think that you get to stay with me twenty four hours a day. You aren’t my keeper. I am capable of keeping myself, and you know it, because you let me take care of Dupree with you.”

  He clutched her close again and tucked her head under his chin. “I know. I was just so worried.” They stood there for a moment before moving back to the road.

  “By the way, we have three bodies and a van with a werewolf-proof cage in it at a cabin nearby. That will need cleaned up too.”

  Lincoln only sighed and tugged her along.

  ///

  Mitch Cannon looked at his Beta and put the final nail in the man’s coffin. “James, I’d like you to meet Royce Levine.” He indicated the other werewolf in the room. “After Elizabeth Harcourt called and told me Dupree was dead, she also told me she assigned him as the new Everglades Pack Alpha.”

  James’ eyes flashed between them. “What do you mean? I thought you had an agreement with Dupree?”

  “Well. That’s what I wanted you to think. But we both know that you’ve been working for Dupree this whole time. Feeding him information.”

  James’ eyes took on a slightly panicked look, and they flicked between Mitch and Royce. “I haven’t.”

  Mitch pulled out a sheaf of paper, logs of phone calls and text messages between James and Dupree. “This says otherwise. And I have enough evidence to handle this matter internally, within the Pack.”

  “Why is he here then?”

  Royce answered for himself. “Since I’m now the Alpha, I feel a responsibility for cleaning up Dupree’s messes.”

  James was breathing quickly now, scanning the room for an escape and taking a step back. “What about Calder and Brett? Why aren’t they here? They were giving information to Dupree too.”

  Mitch smiled. “Oh I know. They’ve already been taken care of though.” At his words, James fled, opening the door behind him and rushed into the other room, only to stop short at the two dead bodies of his friends laid out on plastic sheeting on the floor.

  He turned, trying to go back, but Mitch was behind him, sliding a knife through his spinal column. Once he stopped moving, Royce and Mitch moved the dead wolf to the plastic, cutting his head off completely to make sure he didn’t recover.

  Mitch looked at the dead men, wanting to spit on them in disgust. “That was for killing my father.”

  Royce looked at him. “You ever find the proof you were looking for?”

  Mitch shook his head. “No. But I know they did it all the same. At least they are dead now, and so is Dupree.”

  From the Journal of Elizabeth Harcourt, 2018

  The wolf Lincoln was interested in is here, and I saw them talking. I believe they are mates, but time will ultimately tell. I’ll have to work on a plan to throw them together some more. I am so excited at the thought of him finding what I had with Brendan.

  Chapter 23

  Alex held the picture of the sonogram in her hands, smiling at it like a loon. Lincoln stood next to her, looking over her shoulder, then pointed to the picture. “Is that it? That…potato shape?”

  Alex laughed and swatted his hand away, then pointed out the baby again, showing him the head and body. “It’s not a potato.”

  Lincoln grunted. “It looks like a potato.”

  She rolled her eyes and got up, finishing getting dressed, and then she rubbed the photo one more time. “Well, it’s our little potato in any case.” Lincoln chuckled at her.

  Finally done, she turned to her mate. “Do you feel better now that we’ve both been checked out by a doctor?” They were at a clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina, that was owned by a werewolf. The woman had checked her over thoroughly and done her best to assure Lincoln that Alex was fine. Then she had given them a prescription for prenatal vitamins and some other advice, as well as an admonishment to find a doctor closer to home.

  As they left, Alex sniffed the air lazily, and a garlicy pasta scent made her tummy rumble. “I’m starved. That Italian place smells good. Do we have time before we have to go back?”

  Lincoln glanced quickly at his watch and then tilted his head slightly side to side. “We have about thirty minutes.”

  Alex was already striding off in the direction her nose was leading her, looking for food. “I’ll eat fast.”

  On the cor
ner of the next street was a small restaurant with red awnings. She smiled at the décor inside, the tables covered with clean, starched cloths, and felt a pang nostalgia for her time serving food at Lorenzo’s restaurant. In cheerful red lettering on a white sign was the Italian word for enjoy, “Godere”. Alex smiled fondly and stepped inside.

  The hostess, a shorter woman with dark hair—though it was graying at the temples now—was standing behind a slim wooden desk and smiled at them when they walked in. “Two for lunch?” She looked up and froze, her eyes widening at the sight of Alex.

  Alex was staring at the other with shock as well, and rushed forward to give her a hug. There was silence, and sniffling, for a short time while they embraced, and then they pulled back to look at each other once more. “What are you doing here, Alex?” Lorenzo’s wife, Raisa, stood before her, looking just as friendly and happy as ever. Even her smell was the same, Italian food mixed with her own scent.

  “What are you doing here, Rai—” but the other woman made a tsking noise and Alex quieted. “That’s right. How about I introduce you to my husband?” Alex didn’t say the word mate because she didn’t want to confuse her.

  The older woman smiled. “Certainly. I am Elaine, nice to meet you.”

  Lincoln smiled and shook her hand. “Lincoln Harcourt. I take it Alex worked for your husband’s old restaurant?” His face was reassuring and Elaine only hesitated briefly before nodding.

  Raisa, or the new Elaine—thanks to witness protection—still had her arm around Alex’s shoulders. She leaned her head closer to Alex and said in sotto voice, “This is your husband? Where’d you find him? I’d like one for myself.”

  Alex laughed. “He found me, actually.”

  Elaine sighed as she took in Alex’s smiling expression. “Ah that look. I’ve seen that a time or two. Love.” She turned back to Lincoln. “Your wife is a good woman. She worked for my husband, before…” her voice faded softly and Alex could see sadness in her gaze, “before everything happened. But I am so glad you came. And John will be so happy to see you, and to meet you as well Lincoln.”