Wild Savage

by Fel Fern

  “I told Dom and he’s the Beta. That’s good enough, right?” Sam asked. “I went to Talon’s cabin, but he wasn’t there.”

  Ryder whistled. Alec understood. It took plenty of guts to talk to Talon, and Sam was human, fragile.

  “Anyway, Alec. Let’s go.”

  “No thanks. Ask your mate.”

  “Kris won’t come with me because he’s kind of suspicious of this guy’s motive.”

  “Guy? Who is this guest you’ve invited?” Alec asked, frowning.

  “Oh, this is getting good,” Ryder said.

  Alec showed him the finger, but the other dominant werewolf didn’t get the message. “Sam, you’re purposely avoiding saying his name. Who?”

  “Well,” Sam ventured. The human looked nervous, an odd sight. “Okay, so he reached out to Kris, called him, but I answered. Then I found out he knew you two. He’s from your old pack.”

  Alec stilled at those words, because he wanted nothing to do with the Fire Claws. That pack ruined him and his brother so they couldn’t function normally anymore. That pack and the fucker who ran it.

  “Go back to Kris, Sam,” he said in a low voice. “I’m about to lose it, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Shit. He’s serious, Sam. Let’s leave,” Ryder suggested.

  “It’s Chip. He said you used to protect him when you were kids. He said you were important to him,” Sam blurted as Ryder ushered him off of Alec’s porch.

  “Wait,” he blurted. “Say that name again.”

  Chip. For as long as Alec lived he’d never forget that name. Chip had been different from everyone else in the pack. All the Fire Claws submissive werewolves allowed themselves to be pushed around. They always reminded Alec of zombies, but Chip wasn’t like that. He’d always been full of life. Chip was defiant, and more importantly, Chip was never scared of him when everyone else was.

  Alec’s one regret leaving the Fire Claws with Kris was not saying goodbye to Chip. He didn’t get a chance to, not when the entire pack wanted to murder him and his brother. Chip also lived on the outskirts of pack property. It had been too hard to reach him.

  Alec always felt like there was something between them. A possibility. A promise. He always kept away from Chip, from acting on his violent desires because the last thing he wanted was to hurt Chip.

  From the moment of his birth, it was decided Alec would be a killer. He wrecked everything he touched. Kris had been raised the same way, except the lucky bastard found someone who could manage him, who accepted him for who he was.

  Chip was coming up the mountain, to him?

  Alec had a hard time believing it, but unlike Ryder, Sam wasn’t the kind of guy who lied or made jokes for the fun of it.

  “Where?” he managed to ask Sam, his voice rough, uncontrolled.

  “Well, I can’t seem to contact him, but he said he’d go up through the main mountain road. I tried to warn him but—”

  Alec didn’t hear the rest of what Sam wanted to say. Alec silently cursed. He was out of his chair in seconds. Their enemies, the Grim Bite wolf pack and the remains of the Black Claws Pride—remains because their own pack decimated most of the werepanthers—liked to prey on unsuspecting tourists who didn’t know any better.

  Chip was a submissive werewolf, not a brawler. He wouldn’t be able to handle a group of bloodthirsty Ferals on his own. Rain pelted Alec as he let the angry wolf out of him. It tore out of him, the change savage. Fur crawled up his chest and shoulders, replacing human skin. Bones popped. Pain surged through his entire body as organs rearranged themselves.

  Alec fell on all fours. Sam was shouting behind him, but he could hardly hear the words. Alec didn’t need back-up. He could handle his own problems. This was personal. This was…Chip, and Chip had always been special to his wolf.

  He bounded for the woods, breaths short. Alec blazed downhill, towards a short-cut he knew, and hoped he wasn’t too late. As he went further into the forest and left the safety of pack territory, he could pick up the repulsive scents. The smell of wet fur, copper, and aggression.

  Other Ferals were close by, but Alec didn’t bother hiding his presence. With his snow-white pelt, it would be easy to spot him. If they wanted a fight, he’d give them one. There would be hell to pay if someone managed to lay a claw on Chip.

  * * * *

  Chip broke from paralysis and ran back to his car. His heart hammered. He nearly slipped over the rock he dug out, but he quickly righted himself. Chip yanked the car door open and dove inside. He slammed the door shut only to hear a distinctive ‘thunk’ sounds against his window.

  Chip locked the doors, screamed as a face appeared in the glass. The werewolf’s yellow eyes looked crazed, lacking any trace of humanity. Moisture from the creature’s nostrils and mouth formed on the glass. It also left a trail of saliva from its massive jaws, lined with sharp, yellowing teeth. Even from the safety of the car, Chip could smell its fetid breath. Decay.

  The werewolf backed away and used its body to slam against his car door. Metal creaked and dented. Chip fumbled for the key, which he’d left in the ignition. His fingers slipped. Chip cursed as the key fell. He bent down, desperately feeling for it.

  A thump from above him made him hit his head on the dashboard.

  Chip found the key and slotted it back in. He looked past his windshield wipers, moving back and forth to clear the rain. Bile filled his throat. Where was the other shifter, the panther?

  He shrieked as claws punctured through the roof of his car.

  “Oh God.” Chip started the car and hit the pedal. This time, Betty didn’t fail him. He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white and drove like a demon. Above him, he heard a snarl. The claws disappeared. Through his rearview mirror, he saw the werepanther tumbling off the hood of his car.

  “Yes!” Chip would’ve pumped his fist into the air if he weren’t focused on the road ahead of him. Another bang from the back of his car made him remember he still had one other shifter on his heels.

  One cat. One wolf. That was strange. Shifter groups usually stuck to their own kind. Were they allies?

  A dozen questions raced through Chip’s head, but he didn’t have the time to ponder on them. He drove, hoping to outrun the werewolf behind him. Chip would see warning signs up ahead of him. He tried to read one out loud.

  “Warning, Wild Manes territory ahead.” A wave of relief filled him as he stepped on the gas. Chip was going beyond the speed limit, but who was going to stop him?

  Branches creaked and broke from the left of him, but he didn’t dare look. Chip felt like he had been suddenly thrust into some kind of nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. Chip nearly lost control of the wheel as something agile leapt at the car from the trees.

  A lump of muscled beige fur hit the windshield. He cried out, as gigantic claws scrambled on glass. His car swerved. With his view now restricted, Chip could hit a tree or something. His chances of getting into an accident were high.

  “God, what’s wrong with these shifters? They never stop.” Chip hit the brakes just within more of those signs. So close, he thought in panic. The panther shifter hissed at him behind the glass, raking its claws over and over at him.

  These crazy bastards were beyond reason. A sane shifter wouldn’t be crazy enough to jump on a goddamn moving vehicle. How long before the glass would break? Chip fumbled for his seatbelt. After two tries, he got it out.

  Spiderweb cracks appeared on the glass. Chip let out a cry and crawled to the back seat ungracefully. He peered out the glass, heart beating fast. That mottled-fur werewolf was standing right outside the window, staring at him like he was a juicy piece of meat.

  Horror stories of Ferals turning on entire human towns came back to him.

  These two would drag him out of his car, rip him apart, and then eat him. They’d suck the meat off his bones with relish. Chip curled his knees to his chest as more cracks appeared over the glass. Jesus. This wasn’t the way Chip imagined he w
ould go. Damn it all. He didn’t even get to see Alec again.

  “This is unfair,” he whispered.

  Chapter 3

  Shards of glass flew everywhere. Chip ducked. Some of the fragments hit his back. One particularly sharp one managed to embed itself just below his neck. Pain seared up his skull. Chip couldn’t remain stuck here, cowering in the back seat. Giving up wasn’t an option yet. For a second, he froze up, but that wouldn’t happen again. Chip was so close to Wild Manes territory.

  Chip tried to think. He dared to look up. The werepanther tried to squeeze itself through the hole it made, but it hissed as the remaining shards cut into its fur and skin.

  “Serves you right,” he muttered. The big cat locked its unfriendly yellow eyes at him and snarled, the scary sound filling the entire space.

  If the werewolf was waiting on the left of him, then he’d try the other door. Chip unlocked it and stumbled outside, right into the muddy ground. The rain hadn’t stopped or slowed down. Chip had no time to lose. He reached for his own wolf, then froze, seeing the panther shifter’s companion a few feet from him.

  The other Feral padded towards him like it had all the time in the world.

  “So stupid, Chip,” he whispered. He counted on the fact that they acted like rabid animals without any human intelligence left. Chip wouldn’t be able to make that same mistake again, not when he was dead.

  The werewolf didn’t make a sound, didn’t attempt to signal his companion. First come, first serve, Chip guessed. He was still on his hands and knees in the mud, trembling. His wolf wouldn’t answer his call, refused to come out.

  The cowardly beast curled further inside him to a painful point, more chicken than predator.

  “Please,” he whispered.

  Pleading with a Feral was useless, he realized. The werewolf looked at him like he was a big and juicy steak. It pounced. He shut his eyes. Snarls erupted. A second passed, then another. Something splattered his face. Mud and something else. Blood.

  Chip opened his eyes, hope rising in his chest. He almost expected to see Alec’s snow-white fur and muscled wolf, but it wasn’t him. Chip edged back to the car until his ass landed on the ground and his back hit the wheels.

  This new werewolf was the king of monsters. A demon bigger than any werewolf Chip had ever seen. He was larger than even Alec or Kris. Even worse, he’d never seen fur on any shifter with that color. Like freshly spilled blood.

  Alpha, his wolf whispered in his ear. Chip shuddered, not being able to imagine himself or anyone being bonded to a monster like that.

  A hiss came from above the car. The werepanther leapt down and joined the fight. Violence erupted on the killing field. The big cat came at the demon wolf’s back, sinking claws and teeth, but the blood-colored werewolf only shook it off like it was an annoyance. Jesus. He’d never seen anything like it, and he’d seen his fair share of fights among the Fire Claws wolves.

  The mottled werewolf took that chance to go for the demon wolf’s throat.

  “Watch out!” he yelled. He didn’t even know why he yelled out that warning. This new werewolf might not be a friend, but if he hadn’t arrived, Chip would’ve been mincemeat.

  The werepanther recovered, watched the two brawling werewolves for a moment, and then its gaze moved to Chip. Chip had hoped it would’ve forgotten him. Fat chance of that happening. The bastard prowled towards him only for another enormous werewolf to jump down from the roof of his ruined Betty.

  His heart was his throat.

  “Alec,” he whispered, recognizing that distinctive white fur anywhere. Alec and the panther shifter tangled on the ground, raking and biting at each other. There was nothing pretty about the fight unfolding in front of Chip. No honor. The duels in the Fire Claws almost seemed choreographed compared to the dirty fighting he witnessed.

  None of the shifters held back. They fought to kill. Chip stayed where he was, helpless and hating himself completely for it. The red werewolf had his enemy under him. He’d been toying with his prey, Chip realized a second later. Chip almost felt sorry for the Feral as it whined and pawed at the demon wolf.

  On second thought, death would’ve been a blessed relief. A Feral needed to be put down to prevent it from hurting anyone else. That was standard procedure. The red wolf tore out its throat and let out a triumphant howl that made Chip’s chilled skin crawl.

  He looked over at Alec only to see the werepanther jump up the nearest tree, covered in rake marks. Patches of fur stuck out. Alec let out a snarl. It sounded like a challenge, but the werepanther leapt to a higher branch and to the next tree. Alec bolted for him.

  “Alec, don’t leave,” he yelled.

  Gold eyes turned to him. Shit. He swallowed. The red wolf gave him a hostile stare and came for him. He tried to get away, but the ground proved slippery. He screamed as the red wolf closed its sharp teeth on his left arm.

  A loud growl rattled the trees. Alec came back, looking mad as hell. Before the red demon could bite him again, Alec leapt at him, tearing him away from Chip. He shivered as more growls came from the road up ahead of him.

  More wolves.

  God. This nightmare couldn’t end. Watching Alec fend off the red demon prickled at his heart, took Chip back to all the times in his childhood Alec had had to pick off his bullies. Except this demon was giving Alec trouble.

  A massive wolf with dark brown fur appeared, along with three others. He recognized the one werewolf with the same white fur as Alec. Kris. Footsteps thudded behind him. He turned his head, terrified, but it was only a slender guy in his early twenties with blond hair and brown eyes. He smelled human, but Chip refused to let his guard down. Everyone on this cursed mountain was crazy and violent. Chip didn’t belong here. He shouldn’t have come here in the first place.

  “Chip?” The concern in the human’s eyes looked genuine. “I’m Sam. Let me help you up. It’s okay. You’re safe now. Come with me.”

  Chip shakily accepted the hand Sam offered him and let the human haul him to his feet. His wolf withdrew further inside him until Chip could barely feel the animal. Useless coward. Chip clutched at his bleeding arm and looked over to where the demon wolf was still clawing Alec to bits. The dark brown wolf got between them, so did the two other werewolves. It took all of them to break the fight.

  “Welcome to the Wild Manes Pack,” Sam whispered, following his gaze. “You’re hurt. Let’s go. We have supplies at camp. Teddy’s also excited to meet you.”

  “What about Alec?” Chip asked. “I can’t leave him.”

  Sam shook his head. “You’ll only get in the way. Talon’s their Alpha. Right now, all he can, all they can think about is drawing blood.”

  “Talon’s the red wolf?” Chip whispered. Sam, by some miracle, got him walking uphill, past more signs. He kept looking over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Alec, but the brawling shifters were a blur.

  They were all monsters, even his Alec, but he’d already known that from the start. It wasn’t Alec or Kris’s fault. Emmet Ward had made them that way. Chip began to shiver uncontrollably. Sam noticed and took off his jacket and placed it over his shoulders.

  “Why are you being nice to me?” he asked, teeth clattering. He could see the signs of habitation up ahead of him. There were five trucks parked up front and a row of neat, almost charming little cabins and the remains of a dead campfire at the center.

  “Because I’ve been where you were. So has Teddy. Coming here must seem like a shock.” Sam entered one of the cabins, the one in the middle.

  “Teddy?”

  “He’s also a submissive werewolf like you. He’s Dom’s mate. Dom’s the Beta, the werewolf with the dark brown fur,” Sam explained.

  The cabin looked warm and homey. Wooden walls and floors. Dark furniture and, even better, it smelled familiar. Like Alec. His scent lingered in the space. A tall, skinny guy with brown hair sat up from the couch when he saw them. He had a first aid kit with him.

  “Chip? I’m Teddy,�
�� Teddy introduced, then grimaced at Chip’s bloody arm. “Shit. That looks bad. Sit. I’m good at first aid.”

  Chip sat. His brain still couldn’t process what just went down. “This all feels like a nightmare, but the pain in my arm tells me it’s not.”

  Teddy and Sam traded looks.

  “Show me your arm,” Teddy said. “Sam, grab me a pair of scissors.”

  Chip extended his injured arm. Teddy grabbed a pillow and placed it under his arm. Sam returned with the scissors, which Teddy used to cut off the fabric of his sweater still clinging to his arm.

  “You’re not healing as fast as you should,” Teddy said with a frown. “I can’t feel your wolf either. Are you sure you’re a shifter?”

  He bit on his lower lip and sighed. “I am, but I don’t exactly get along with my wolf.”

  “Is the wound bad?” Sam asked, hovering over Teddy’s shoulder.

  “He’ll heal,” Teddy said. “I’m a decent medic, but recovery’s just going to take longer than expected.”

  “I’m used to that,” Chip answered.

  “Can you tell us what happened, Chip?”

  He thought he could trust them. These were Alec’s pack mates after all, so he told them everything.

  “My brother attacked you?” Teddy asked, looking dismayed.

  “Wait. Talon’s your brother?” Chip didn’t hide his shock. “You guys are so different.”

  “Everyone says that,” Teddy answered. Teddy disinfected the wound, making him grit his teeth. “Talon wasn’t like that in the past. I mean, he wasn’t Mr. Nice before, but he’s just gotten so bad. Worse.”

  “Alec and the others are bonded to him. You, too, I’m guessing. How—” Chip faltered, unsure how he could continue.

  “How can we bind ourselves to a monster?” Teddy asked him warily.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”